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Show StatesmanSports Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 Page 9 Aggies fail to close out another game BY TYLER HUSKINSON assistant sports editor Utah State football head coach Gary Andersen seems to be heading back to basics after his team gave up another lead late in the game. The Aggies failed to score after a touchdown early in the second quarter gave them a 21-14 lead, and the Fresno State Bulldogs rallied to score 17 straight points and hold on to win the game, 31-21. "It's dishearting," Andersen said. "There are a lot of things to look at on this one when we look back and study it, but I'm looking at the coaches. That means I'm looking at myself. I'm looking at the coaches, because there are some questions I want to get answered with offense, defense and special teams." USU dominated Fresno early in the game and even led, 14-0, midway through the first quarter, after 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chuckie Keeton to running back Michael Smith and a 59-yard run to the end zone from running back Robert Turbin. Fresno State tied the game early in the second quarter on a one-yard keeper up the gut from Derek Carr. Smith found paydirt for his second touchdown of the night on the ensuing possession, and that is where the Aggies began to spiral downward. USU's secondary, especially the corner back position, has been targeted from time to time all year long, but Fresno made an asserted attack on USU's corner backs all night long and exploited the weakness. "Fresno has some very talented wide receivers, and they have a very talented quarterback who throws the ball very well," Andersen said. Carr threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns and completed passes to five different receivers. USU struggled mightily with penalties, but the Aggie corner backs may have struggled the most, and they were responsible for 60 of the 118 penalty yards the Aggies incurred. Jumanne Robertson and Nevin Lawson each had a pair of pass interference calls. "We had 11 penalties tonight, and about four of those were passing interference," Andersen said. "I think everyone of those passing interference calls were good calls, so we need to improve in that area." Despite all the problems the Aggies experienced Saturday night, Andersen said he feels his team needs to figure out how to finish drives late in the game. "If you sit and you evaluate this football program right now, that might hit it right on the head," he said. "Execution - consistent execution - understanding the details and the little things you have to be able to handle - as coaches we need to be better. We need to coach better. We need to teach better." Andersen said he is very serious about re-evaluating the performance of the coaching staff after so many disheartening losses this season. "Maybe I need to do things a little bit different," Andersen said. "Maybe I need to challenge (the players) a little bit harder and let them understand where we're sitting. Maybe the coaches need to do a little bit better job, and that starts with me. "I want to look at the commitment of the kids," he continued. "I want to ask the kids how we are teaching them. If we're not teaching them right, then we need to fix that with getting new coaches or train coaches better - get the players taught better." Andersen and the Aggies will have a week to figure things out before they face Louisiana Tech for the Western Athletic Conference home opener. "I'm not going to sit here and point fingers at kids, but I will point them at myself, and I will point them at assistant coaches and we better get better," Andersen said. "It's time to put up or shut up and figure it out." - ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu. edu AGGIE WIDE OUT TRAVIS VAN LEEUWEN jumps to catch a pass against the Fresno State secondary. Van Leeuwen had two catches for 60 yards. Photo courtesy The of Collegian Cross-country finishes fourth, 14th at Arkansas BY USU MEDIA RELATIONS Senior captain Brian McKenna led the Utah State men's cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the University of Arkansas hosted Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday. McKenna finished 15th out of 288 runners with a time of 30:09.5. USU's women took home a 14th-place finish with sophomore Hannah Williams leading the charge as she crossed the finish line in 81st-place (22:16.1). The men ran a 10-kilometer race while the women competed in a six-kilometer race at University of Arkansas' off-road course at Agricultural Park in Washington County. Junior Kaylee Campbell finished the women's race with a time of 22:21.3, which was good enough for 85thplace. Joining Williams and Campbell in the top 100 were senior Jessie Chugg (92nd, 22:30.1) and redshirt junior captain Ruth Hilton (99th, 22:33.6). Action continues for USU's men and women's cross-country teams as they travel to Honolulu for the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Championship on Oct. 29, where last season the women finished second and the men took home third place. Utah State results Chile Pepper Festival Oct. 15, 2011 Fayetteville, Ark. Men's Team Results 1.Oklahoma State 25 2. Arkansas 78 3. Oklahoma 161 4. Utah State 178 5. Weber State 179 6. Southern Utah 187 USU Men's Individual Results 15. Brian McKenna, 30:09.5 35. Kyle McKenna, 30:37.4 40. Daniel Howell, 30:47.0 58. Hunter Nelson, 31:07.7 64. Eric Larson, 31:12.9 94. Nick Bolinder, 31:50.1 121. Devin Lang, 32:10.0 127. Eric Shellhorn, 32:15.2 159. Austin Neuner, 32:56.5 230. Corey Kimzey, 34:58.9 USU Men's Tennis Rolls Through Tournament Utah State's men's tennis team rolled at the University of Utah's Regional Invitational tournament this weekend. The Aggies finished strong in their last fall-season tournament, marking up several double-match wins and improving singles play. Increased depth of fresh talent benefited the team after the loss of four key players last year. Assistant coach Bryan Marchant commented on the hardship of losing those players from last year. "Our team is young," Marchant said. "Last year we lost a lot of experience. But we have gained a lot of new and Curran Wearmouth. Ballem and Wearmouth breezed past Scott Hintze and Peter Stromer-Pelio of Weber State University, 8-1, in the semi-finals. The two faced another Weber pairing of David Hintze and Caio Poitern in the finals, pulling out the win, 8-5. Wearmouth played notably in singles action as well. Wearmouth won the last two sets over Weber's Poitern, 7-5, 6-2, after dropping the first set, 0-6. Marchant said Wearmouth had tenacity in the tough match. "Wearmouth lost that first set, was down in the second set, but he stayed mentally tough and pulled it out," Marchant said. "(It was) just a good comeback win for him." Marchant said he felt that the team played well this weekend, showing experience and mental toughness. "We had some pretty good results. Our freshmen did well, played tough matches," Marchant said. "It was a decent performance - not our greatest tournament, but still a positive." Next week the Aggies compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Regional tournament, their last outing of the fall season. - mega.bodi@aggiemail.usu. edu 81. Hannah Williams, 22:16.1 85. Kaylee Campbell, 22:21.3 92. Jessie Chugg, 22:30.1 99. Ruth Hilton, 22:33.6 122. Stephanie Burt, 22:54.7 125.B. Bushman, 23:01.2 126.Brittany Fisher, 23:02.6 179. Cherice Chugg, 24:01.9 194. Tessa Brown, 24:22.3 a Rifle on Tennis teams nearing end of fall play talent this year and have good team spirit." Junior Sven Poslusny leads the team as No. 1 player, along with other returning seniors Nate Ballam and Fredrik Peterson. New-talent freshman Marcus Fritz was one of the two seeded USU players to enter the tournament, ranked as the sixth seed. Fritz battled with a shoulder injury and ended up dropping out of the singles bracket but continued doubles play. Posulsny, USU's third seed, played both singles and doubles brackets with a broken finger. He won his first-round doubles match with freshman partner Matt Sweet, and the duo met teammates Fritz and Peterson in the quarterfinals, in which Fritz and Peterson won the contest, 8-6. Fritz and Peterson reached the semi-finals in the doubles main draw before losing the U.'s Ace Matias and Alejandro Medenilla, 8-1. Marchant notes the efforts of USU against the tough competition but feels there is room for improvement. "Our effort was good, we played hard," Marchant said. "We weren't 100 percent this tournament, but we still want to focus on finishing matches and staying tough in close points." Notable play came from the doubles team of Ballem 1.Texas 85 2. Arkansas 89 3. Oklahoma State 123 4. Texas Tech 156 5. Weber State 175 6. Southern Methodist 202 7.Wichita State 215 7. Utah 215 9. Oklahoma 238 14. Utah State 419 USU Women's Individual Results Buying a Pass to Heaver? From Page 8 Junior Mersadi Wilkins lost in the consolation bracket first round to New Mexico State's Ginet Pinero, 6-0, 6-0. In similar fashion freshman Kimberly Watts dropped her matches in the main draw and in the consolation bracket to Kaley Schultz of Colorado State, 4-6, 0-6. Senior Brianna Rowland also struggled at the ITA tournament, losing her first round match in the consolation bracket, 3-6, 2-6, to New Mexico State's Laura Richardson. The women's team will pick up regular action again in their regular spring season match play. Women's Team Results RPWa on! Round Trip Shuttle Service from USU to Beaver Mtn. (must be current USU Student] 2 or more Saturdays a month and several weekdays! Reserve your spot todayi 41 /4 797.32 UtahStateUn iversity CAMPUS RECREATION usuorp@usu.edu 811MIT 2182 14,8818 NOW on SALE $300 2011-12 season USU Students must present: • Current school schedule • Photo ID beaver mounta in Sale applies to High School & Middle School Students also! Those under 18 must have parent sign release. This price valid through November 21. 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday 1351 East 700 North Logan www.skithebeay.com |