'Hounds look to turn things around against Pirates

Friday, September 10, 2010

Fort Scott Community College will be looking to turn things around on its 2010 campaign after consecutive losses to two nationally ranked opponents: No. 1-ranked Blinn College and No. 4 Butler, as they take on Independence at Frary Field Saturday in a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Independence (0-1 Jayhawk Conference, 0-2 overall) also comes into this Saturday's game looking for its first win. The Pirates lost to Trinity Valley (Texas) in their season opener and again last weekend to eighth-ranked Hutchinson 55-26.

The 'Hounds (also 0-1, 0-2), ranked 19th in this week's NJCAA poll, look to find the offense that led them to the national title game last year and to find a way to stop the oppositions offense from putting points on the board.

Offensively, the Greyhounds are averaging 307 yards a game -- 120 yards on the ground and 187 through the air. Redshirt freshman quarterback Blaine Dalton has 26 completions on 55 passing attempts for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns. The University of Missouri transfer has rushed for 75 yards on 28 carries and has scored twice on the ground.

Wide receiver Malcolm Moulton has been Dalton's main weapon, catching 14 passes for 283 yards. The redshirt freshman from Atlanta also has scored 3 touchdowns.

One bright spot on the defense has been the play of sophomore linebacker Jeremy Walker. The Kansas City, Kan., product has led the 'Hounds in tackles in both games. For the season, he has made 21 tackles and intercepted a pass.

For Indy, Quarterback Broderick Waters will be the player that the 'Hound defense will have to pay close attention to on Saturday. The returning sophomore from Sarasota, Fla., was one of the conference's top playmakers in 2009, rushing for 618 yards and throwing for 942 more. So far in 2010, Waters has struggled completing just 2 of 19 passes for 68 yards and 1 touchdown. But the Greyhounds know he can light it up both through the air and on the ground at any time.

Tailback Stephan Houston leads the Pirates in rushingwith 184 yards on 23 attempts with 1 touchdown. The redshirt freshman Houston, a 5-10, 225 pound bruising back from Little Rock, Ark., also leads the team with 52 yards receiving.

Defensively, Independence is led by returning starter Mike Juene, a 6' 2", 220 pound linebacker who has 18 tackles in his team's first two games. Juene led the Pirates with 9 sacks (third best in the KJCCC) in 2009 while getting in on 51 tackles (9.5 of them for losses). Juene also takes care of the punting duty for the visitors and is averaging 40.5 yards per boot this season.

The match-up last season between these two teams in Independence saw the visiting Greyhounds score 24 second quarter points in route to a 31-9 victory. Fort Scott outgained the Pirates 415 yards to 216 in the contest.

Fans that cannot make it out to Frary Field can listen to the game on KSEK-FM (99.1) with Matt Newbery and Aaron Amershek. Pregame will start at Noon. Fans can also utilize the Internet to listen to live streaming of the game on www.991espnfortscott.com.

NOTES

Other Jayhawk Conference games, all with 7 p.m. kickoffs, have Highland at Butler and Coffeyville at Garden City. In a non-conference game, Air Force Prep travels to Hutchinson. Dodge City has the bye this week....

One streak FSCC hopes to keep going with a victory on Saturday is the one they have against unranked teams. The Greyhounds have won 23 consecutive games against teams that are not ranked....