Black Swarm ready for EWU offense
9/27/2013 11:19:00 AM | Football
A constant theme for the Sam Houston State defense going into Saturday's highly-anticipated matchup against No. 2 Eastern Washington has been to contain the elusive sophomore quarterback Vernon Adams.
The Bearkats remember Adams quite well from last year's FCS semifinal round, when SHSU jumped out to a 35-0 lead in Cheney, Wash., before Eastern Washington inserted the freshman just before halftime. The switch resulted in a furious comeback by the Eagles, as the Kats edged out a 45-42 win to advance to the Division I National Championship game.
Like the Bearkats, Eastern Washington players marked Saturday on their calendars long ago, but hoping to avenge the opportunity taken from them by SHSU.
In order to prevent that, the Kats defense affectionately known as the “Black Swarm” will have to be solid. SHSU head coach Willie Fritz said earlier this week the team that plays the best defense will be the winner.
Black Swarm wants to answer the call.
“We're going into the game with our mindset to contain the quarterback,” SHSU defensive end Andrew Weaver said. “He's a scrambler. Our main concern, it's really going to be on the d-line. We have to contain him and every chance we get, try to hit him.”
Adams spent part of his summer helping out at the Russell Wilson Passing Academy. In an interview with the Sports Network earlier this season, Adams was asked if it would be accurate comparing him to the Seahawks second-year quarterback.
“You can say it's pretty accurate,” Adams said. “He's more of a pocket passer, I guess. I like to throw a lot, too, but I'm looking at my first, second and third reads, and I'm trying to get out of there. Him, he actually stays in the pocket, he can actually move around in the pocket. Me, I get flushed out really quick because I just like to get out of there.”
That's certainly what he did against the Kats in last year's semifinal game. Adams threw for 364 yards and six touchdowns in just two-plus quarters against SHSU. Adams only netted 26 yards on the ground, but it was a team-high for the Eagles who were forced to abandon the running game after falling behind 35-0.
“No.1, he has great athletic ability,” first-year SHSU defensive coordinator Mike Collins said. “He's as big a duel threat quarterback in all of our level. I would compare him to Johnny Manziel. He does an outstanding job of running their offense. He has the capabilities of making what might seem like a sack or a big play for the defense, turn it around to a big play for the offense because he can run. Not only can he run and scramble, but he can get the ball downfield when he does that.
“It presents a couple of different problems. We've got to be able to contain him. We've got to be able to get him down when we get the opportunity. Then in turn, we've got to stay in coverage when he goes to scrambling.”
Eastern Washington has the fourth-ranked total offense in FCS, but ranks 86th in total defense, giving up 424 yards per game. The Eagles came up big with a win against FBS opponent Oregon State to open the season.
The Kats are 31st in total defense allowing opponents 337 yards per game.
But this is the first game for SHSU with another FCS heavyweight, or team the Kats can look eye-to-eye. The players don't want emotions running too high or low for any game, yet this is one is sure to receive more attention. It's widely considered the biggest regular season game ever at Bowers Stadium.
“We take every game as a big game for us,” Weaver said. “To them (EWU), this is like their Super Bowl because it was a last stop before a national championship for them and we ended up taking that advantage from them. So we're taking this game seriously just like we take every other game. We're going in with our mindset, one play at a time and try to get this victory.”
