Blazing a Trail - Coaching Legacy of Tyler McCray (NCAA 14)

[K0ZZ]

Jonathan Banks breaks Alvin Jone's tackle, sliding out of the way of the senior linebacker for a big gain

27 @ 31

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Improbable reception stuns Miners in final minutes as Tulane holds on

An immaculate reception of Tulane's own design occurred on Saturday, turning an underthrown pass into a huge touchdown reception that would leave the Miners stunned. Tulane would hold on in the final minute, stopping a fourth and goal attempt that would've given the lead back to the Miners to come out on top. Jonathan Banks earned player of the game for his performance. "I was feeling it, the offensive line was winning their battles and we were getting our holes." Spoke the senior quarterback.

Indeed he was, from the first whistle until the end, he truly looked as though he was going to dominate this game. The Miners came out, pushing the ball downfield at a slow pace, but picking up first downs thanks to a strong between the tackles ground attack that didn't stop until they were in the end zone. Kevin Dove would punch the ball in from a yard out, the bruising runner pummeled the ball in, fighting through two Green Wave for the score.

Jonathan Banks had a lot to say about that. On the following drive he would connect on a good pass setting his team up in good field position, then on an option keeper, the senior quarterback would break upfield and score breaking three tackles including senior linebacker Alvin Jones to score. He would do it again on their next drive as well, leading his team downfield with the dual headed threat of him and halfback Dontrell Hilliard. This time he would scramble on a pass attempt in the redzone going untouched for the score and just like that it was 7-14 and for Miners fans, memories of last weeks beating came on strong.

Thankfully the offense got out of its early rut and started to push the ball downfield again, Kevin Dove would be called upon again in the redzone to punch the ball in. Dove didn't show much explosiveness but his strong, lower the shoulder running style absolutely came crucial in the redzone of this contest. His second touchdown knotting the game up. Tulane would knot in a field goal before halftime to give themselves a lead, to which the lone score of the third quarter would be a Brady Viles field goal to tie the score.

The fourth quarter had fire works, as 24 combined points would be scored and most of them coming late in this contest. At the top of the quarter, Ryan Metz would get pressured and be flushed to his left side. Eddie Sinegal would beat his man and the junior quarterback would lob up a beauty, Sinegal would have his man beat by seveal yards when he brought in the reception and the 24-17 lead.

That lead wouldn't hold very long, as the Green Wave would once again be led downfield by Jonathan Banks, who was terrific on the ground as he and Dontrell Hilliard would pile up the yardage and churn out first downs, and in six plays, Hilliard would take a run to the outside for a touchdown score and the tie. Though the Miners still felt the momentum on their offensive end.

They would drive the ball downfield fast, Ryan Metz would hit Tyler Batson for a gain of 12, Eddie Sinegal for 11 and 17 and Tavika Johnson for 10 to push the ball deep into Tulane territory, but they wouldn't be able to cross the goal line and would have to settle for a Brady Viles field goal, with a good amount of time left on the clock for Tulane to make some moves of their own.

Tulane came out looking to bring a mixture of run and pass, and would get an early first down. Jonathan Banks would take a sack on second and ten that pushed them back to third and eighteen. Bringing a new blitz scheme, the Miners sent five after the quarterback, and would pressure him, he would roll away and throw an across the body pass. It would be short but wideout Darnell Mooney would run back to the ball and pull in the reception. Turning up field he would break one tackle. There was only one man to beat but he would miss the tackle and he would off to the races, scoring what would become the game winning touchdown on an improbable play that will certainly be featured on sportscenter. He had one catch on Saturday, but it came at the perfect time.

The Miners weren't going to go down without a fight though and they came out swinging. On second and ten, Ryan Metz would find his senior wideout Tyler Batson open deep and would hit the wideout deep in Tulane territory, he would try to make his man miss the tackle, but he would be brought down. The Miners would bring the ball up to the nine for a fourth and one. They would line up with two halfbacks and a fullback in the backfield, the ball would goto Kevin Dove who would get pulled down in the backfield as Tulane stopped the surge and held onto the victory. Previously the Miners had been 2-2 in this game on fourth down.

UTEP has lost two straight, falling to 5-5 on the season and need to win one of their last two to simply be bowl eligible. At 6 wins for a Sunbelt squad, there is no guarantee of a bowl birth especially with how many Sunbelt teams are looking to be bowl eligible, and righting this ship as quick as possible is a neccesity. The Miners travel back home for their contest against the current top team in the conference, the Louisiana Ragin'Cajuns.

"There's no reason to hang our heads. It was a hard fought loss. At the end of the day, there's always going to be someone taking a loss. Today it was us. We need to get our heads back on, have a good week of practice and get ready to face off against the Ragin' Cajuns and defend our home field. That's all there is to it. I'll never be happy with a loss, and I know no one in that locker room will be either, but at the end of the day, we showed progress. We've been dealt some bad blows in recent weeks, and as we continue to grow we will only get better" Spoke an optimistic Tyler McCray.

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(1)Roderic Teamer gets a huge sack on Ryan Metz in the final minute of this one, turning a second and short into a third and long.
(2)Eddie Sinegal broke free of the Tulane secondary, Ryan Metz would find him wide open and connect for a beautiful completion that gave a fourth quarter lead to the Miners.


(3)Darnell Moodey had one catch on Saturday, but it was a huge one, the wide out would score the game winning touchdown on a huge play.
(4)Tyler Batson reels in this catch, Tulane's cornerback mistiming his attempted interception and leaving the senior to make a huge fourth quarter catch

UTEP Miners at Tulane Green Wave
Nov 16, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
UTEP Miners (5-5)	7	7	3	10	27
Tulane Green Wave (8-3)	14	3	0	14	31

Team Stats Comparison
	UTEP	TULN
Total Offense	399	400
Rushing Yards	133	213
Passing Yards	266	187
First Downs	19	7
Punt Return Yards	12	20
Kick Return Yards	45	92
Total Yards	456	512
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	3-13	2-7
4th Down Conversion	3-4	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	(2-2)/7	(2-1)/6
Penalties	2-10	4-33
Possession Time	20:17	11:42

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		UTEP	TULN
5:50	(UTEP) K.Dove, 1 yd run	7	0
4:39	(TULN) J.Banks, 52 yd run	7	7
0:10	(TULN) J.Banks, 13 yd run	7	14
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		UTEP	TULN
5:17	(UTEP) K.Dove, 3 yd run	14	14
3:34	(TULN) C.Neenan, 31 yd FG	14	17
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		UTEP	TULN
1:51	(UTEP) B.Viles, 23 yd FG	17	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		UTEP	TULN
6:52	(UTEP) E.Sinegal, 34 yd pass from R.Metz	24	17
5:18	(TULN) D.Hilliard, 12 yd run	24	24
2:33	(UTEP) B.Viles, 32 yd FG	27	24
1:22	(TULN) D.Mooney, 80 yd pass from J.Banks	27	31

UTEP Miners PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Metz 21/32 266 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kevin Dove 20 54 2.7 2 Ryan Metz 17 64 3.7 0 Quardraiz Wadley 3 15 5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyler Batson 6 101 16.8 0 Kevin Dove 5 31 6.2 0 Eddie Sinegal 5 103 20.6 1 Kavika Johnson 3 13 4.3 0 Terry Juniel 2 18 9 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Luke Elsner 5 1 0 0 Jerrell Brown 5 0 0 0 Devin Cockrell 4 1 0 0 Alvin Jones 4 0 0 0 Dante Lovilotte 3 1 0 0 Michael Lewis 3 0 0 0 Lawrence Montegut 3 0 0 0 Mike Sota 1 1 0 0 Dylan Parsee 1 0 0 0 Denzel Chukwukelu 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Brady Viles 2/2 3/3 9 32

Tulane Green Wave PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jonathan Banks 7/9 187 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jonathan Banks 14 110 7.8 2 Dontrell Hilliard 9 50 5.5 1 Kendall Ardoin 1 45 45 0 Sherman Badie 1 8 8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Dontrell Hilliard 3 13 4.3 0 Jacob Robertson 1 19 19 0 Darnell Mooney 1 80 80 1 Terren Encalade 1 5 5 0 Devin Glenn 1 70 70 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Taris Shenall 9 0 0 0 Roderic Teamer 8 1 0 0 Donnie Lewis 7 0 0 0 Rae Juan Marbley 6 0 0 0 Parry Nickerson 6 0 0 0 Sean Wilson 5 1 0 0 Ade Aruna 4 1 0 0 Jarrod Franklin 4 0 0 0 Thakarius Keyes 4 0 0 0 Will Harper 2 0 0 0 Eldrick Washington 2 0 0 0 Zachery Harris 2 0 0 0 Quinlan Carroll 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Coby Neenan 1/1 4/4 7 31

[TexasBallCoach]

This is an interesting dynasty so far. Cool to see you at 5-5 in your first season. Room to build as you continue.

[K0ZZ]

Week 13 Recap

Week 13
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
#11 Michigan (9-2) 30 @ #24 NC State (8-3) 27	Peters (UM) 147 Yds 2 TD	Hines (NCSU) 108 Yds 1 TD	Cook (NCSU) 45 Yds
#9 Auburn (9-2) 24 @ #17 Florida (8-3) 17	Stidham (AUB) 183 Yds 2 TD 2 I NT	Pettway (AUB) 101 Yds	Pettway (AUB) 57 Yds 1 TD
#23 Arizona State (7-4) 34 @ UCLA (8-3) 27	Wilkins Jr (ASU) 340 Yds 1 TD 1 INT	Olorunfunmi (UCLA) 96 Yds 1 TD	Harry (ASU) 128 Yds
#16 Oklahoma (8-3) 28 @ #19 Kansas State (7-4) 35	Mayfield (OU) 250 Yds 3 TD	Ertz (KSU) 104 Yds 2 TD	Badet (OU) 98 Yds 1 TD
Boston College (5-6) 38 @ #21 Louisville (8-3) 14	Jackson (UL) 191 Yds 1 TD 1 INT	Dillon (BC) 182 Yds 3 TD	Smith (UL) 80 Yds 1 TD

[K0ZZ]

Quote: Originally Posted by TexasBallCoach

This is an interesting dynasty so far. Cool to see you at 5-5 in your first season. Room to build as you continue.

Our record has definitely surpassed expectations in the first year! There's definitely room to grow and there's a lot of youth on the roster to grow.

[K0ZZ]

Matchup Preview | November 2, 2017
	@
Louisiana's Ragin Cajuns (7-3, 3-2 Away)		UTEP Miners (5-5, 3-1 Home)
Historical Record: 1-0-0 UTEP Last Result: 37-24 UTEP (2008) Team Ratings C Overall C C Offense C C+ Defense C+ Offensive Stats Comparison 24.4 Points Per Game 23.7 332.5 Total Offensive Yards 369.7 146.9 Rushing Yards 155.1 185.6 Passing Yards 214.6 8 Passing TD 10 19 Rushing TD 15 193 First Downs 183 83 Red Zone Percentage 66 Defensive Stats Comparison 20.7 Points Per Game 30.3 324.9 Total Yards Allowed 435.8 165.1 Rushing Yards Allowed 171.6 159.8 Passing Yards Allowed 264.2 20 Sacks 40 4 Fumble Recoveries 7 10 Interceptions 11 70 Red Zone Percentage 54 TEAM LEADERS Jordan Davis (QB) JR 80 OVR Passing Ryan Metz (QB) JR 80 OVR 136-287 1704 Yds 14 TD 8 INT 174-348 2147 Yds 10 TD 12 INT Trey Ragas (HB) FR 79 OVR Rushing Ryan Metz (QB) JR 80 OVR 101 Car 424 Yds (4.1) 6 TD 118 Car 488 Yds (4.1 YPC) 6 TD Keenan Barnes (WR) JR 78 OVR Receiving Eddie Sinegal (WR) SO 74 OVR 46 Rec 683 Yds 4 TD 31 Rec 617 Yds 4 TD Jacques Boudreaux (OLB) SO 72 OVR Tackles Alvin Jones (ILB) SR 88 OVR 68 TKL 12 FL 60 TKL 19 FL Jacques Boudreaux (OLB) SO 72 OVR Sacks Denzel Chukwukelu (DE) SO 74 OVR 4.5 SACKS 10 SACKS Lorenzo Cryer (CB) JR 75 OVR Interceptions Justin Rogers (CB) SO 71 OVR 3 INT 4 INT

Week 14 Preview

UTEP finally returns home as they wrap up their 2017 campaign. The trail won't be easy for them as they look to secure a bowl birth. They will battle the Sunbelt leading Ragin' Cajuns this week in hopes of picking up the coveted sixth win of the season. Louisiana comes into this matchup undefeated in the Sunbelt and riding a win streak, the Miners will absolutely have an uphill battle for them.

Jordan Davis has been a star for Louisiana, he has been extremely efficient with the football and he has been terrific on the offensive end. He doesn't make mistakes and makes good reads. The Miners secondary will have its work cut out for them, leading to one of the keys of victory for the Miners. They need to get pressure on Davis and force him to make mistakes. Louisiana has done so well in large because they don't make mistakes, if this defense can hit Davis and force him into some bad throws, this could open the game up for the Miners.

For the Miners offense, the ground game is going to be brought up. Ryan Metz leads the Sunbelt in yardage, and he is a solid quarterback under center, the big thing is getting him support from the ground attack to prevent the opposition from running a lot of coverage sets and being able to get coverage on the wideouts. Can Kevin Dove or Quardraiz Wadley get it going? That'll be huge in determining the outcome of this one.

Prediction: Louisiana 28-17

[SilverBullet19]

Another tough loss, and suddenly you need to win one of the last two to keep a season going. Although 5 wins is a nice improvement, a bowl game is better.

Get back on track and take down The Ragin Cajuns. It should be a good game. They're a tough team but you've got the home field advantage!

[K0ZZ]

Quote: Originally Posted by SilverBullet19

Another tough loss, and suddenly you need to win one of the last two to keep a season going. Although 5 wins is a nice improvement, a bowl game is better. Get back on track and take down The Ragin Cajuns. It should be a good game. They're a tough team but you've got the home field advantage!

That is definitely true, it's a tough one to stomach, but remembering where UTEP was, this season has been a huge success. Ending it with a bowl game would be a huge opportunity to make a statement to roll into next season with!

I'm expecting it to be a difficult game, but we've played with the top of our conference, and I expect it to be a back and forth matchup!

[K0ZZ]

Kevin Dove throws a would-be tackler to the ground on Saturday

21 @ 33

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Miners defense strikes early and forces five interceptions to lead them to victory

One of the keys to victory for the Miners was forcing quarterback Jordan Davis into making mistakes. On Saturday, they did just that and more. Forcing five turnovers, all coming on interceptions as they would run away with the game on Saturday. The interceptions would lead to a fast lead for the Miners, who jumped out to a 24-7 first-half lead that would hold through the rest of the game.

Jordan Davis had an awful game, nearly doubling his interception total. He came into this game with just 8 interceptions thrown. He would add 5 more in this game. Defensive back Nik Needham would pull in 3 while safety Devin Cockrell would pull in two more. It seemed the two members of the secondary were ball hawking the whole game.

The first quarter was a back and forth affair as many expected it to be. After all, despite their recent skid, the Miners were sitting at the top of the conference. UTEP was the first to get on the scoreboard and once they did they would relentlessly start to pound the Cajuns. Ryan Metz ran up the middle where he would fight for the last few yards to power them ahead at the end of the quarter.

The Cajuns would start to push the ball downfield on their next drive, though it would stall thanks to Nik Needham intercepting his first pass and having a solid return, which would lead to the Miners scoring when Kevin Dove punched the ball right up the middle. Dove was a workhorse on Saturday finishing with 99 yards for the Miners, and his bruising style definitely played into the Cajuns defensive fatigue early on.

Up 14-0, the Cajuns would start to show life and they would grind the ball downfield and after a near interception that would be knocked down by Justin Rogers, the Cajuns would ultimately score on a huge touchdown pass when the Miners sent a man too many on the blitz and Jordan Davis would lob the ball right over the top of their heads to Ja'Marcus Bradley for a 59 yard touchdown, getting the score on a huge play to bring it within a single score.

The Miners would respond in kind as they pushed the ball downfield, having forced three first half interceptions the momentum was on their side despite holding only a 7 point lead. They would drive the ball downfield, and this time in the red zone, they would run a wide receiver run, sending Terry Juniel in motion and faking the handoff up the middle to Kevin Dove before giving the ball to Juniel who would score in the wide open right end of the endzone. The Miners would take a 21-7 lead into the half.

Coming out of the locker rooms, the Miners looked as though they were going to be right back at smashing the Cajuns, given they got the ball back to open the half, they pushed the ball right down field. They would find themselves right on the goal line again, Ryan Metz was having an up and down day, but on this drive he would make some great passes, which meant him getting the green light on the goal line. With the Cajuns having seen three different Miners run the ball in, a play action pass would see Tyler Batson barely beat his man by a step. When he had, Ryan Metz laced a beautiful throw that Batson managed to reel in for the score and a 28-7 lead.

Things wouldn't get much better for the Cajuns, as the two teams would trade possession, but the Miners would get a huge break when the Cajun's punt returner would misgauge the balls trajectory and he would miss it. The ball would roll back before rolling just to the outside of the pylon. Forcing the ball to be placed on the one. Sending the whole house, the Cajuns would try to run a quick pass from the shotgun but Dante Lovilotte would beat his blocker and bring down the quarterback before he could throw it getting the Miners a safety and a 30-7 lead.

The Miners were in control and through the rest of the game the Cajuns would start to apply some heat, as their final drive of the third quarter would net six for them. This time on a slant, Jordan Davis would connect with Keenan Barnes for a touchdown pass to make the score looka little better. Keenan Barnes would answer again with a second touchdown reception, this time beating sophomore defensive back, Justin Rogers on a fly route, and given the blitz was on the offensive line gave Jordan Davis enough space to throw a beauty. The 62 touchdown would make the score 30-21, and some were getting a little anxious that a comeback could be in the works.

The Miners quelled those fears as they would drive the ball downfield, and they would end up scoring on a Brady Viles field goal after a good drive stalled in Cajun territory. The Cajuns wouldn't be able to answer back, their next drive would take too long and ultimately end when Nik Needham intercepted his third pass of the evening to end the game. The Miners would be able to come out in victory formation to kill the rest of the clock.

The players and fans would celebrate this victory as it was that coveted first win which meant the Miners were bowl eligible, for the first time since 2014. With the loss, the Cajuns fall to 7-4. The Cajuns will face South Alabama in an unofficial conference championship tilt, as the winner will take the conference, while the loser will fall to second place. Tulane and UTEP were eliminated from winning the conference this week.

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Sights from the Game

(1)Dante Lovilotte tears down quarterback Jordan Davis in the end zone for a safety.
(2)Ryan Metz fights through the tackles and gets into the end zone.


(3)Nik Needham pulls in this interception, he would have 3 on the day which would tie him for the team lead for the Cajuns for receptions.
(4)Tyler Batson brings in this improbable ball, catching the ball despite the coverage where it was thrown in a way only he could catch it.

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns at UTEP Miners
Nov 26, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (7-3)	0	7	7	7	21
UTEP Miners (5-5)	10	14	9	0	33

Team Stats Comparison
	ULL	UTEP
Total Offense	305	397
Rushing Yards	48	174
Passing Yards	257	223
First Downs	9	17
Punt Return Yards	15	19
Kick Return Yards	101	88
Total Yards	421	504
Turnovers	5	2
3rd Down Conversion	2-11	7-16
4th Down Conversion	2-3	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	(0-0)/3	(4-1)/8
Penalties	1-12	2-10
Possession Time	12:17	19:42

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ULL	UTEP
0:26	(UTEP) R.Metz, 10 yd run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ULL	UTEP
5:24	(UTEP) K.Dove, 1 yd run	0	14
0:55	(ULL) J.Bradley, 59 yd pass from J.Davis	7	14
0:11	(UTEP) T.Juniel 2 yd run	7	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ULL	UTEP
5:18	(UTEP) T.Batson, 1 yd pass from R.Metz	7	28
3:24	(UTEP) SAFETY	7	30
0:50	(ULL) K.Barnes, 26 yd pass from J.Davis	14	30
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ULL	UTEP
5:50	(ULL) K.Barnes, 62 yd pass from J.Davis	21	30
3:38	(UTEP) B.Viles, 33 yd FG	21	33

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jordan Davis 13/31 257 3 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Trey Ragas 15 63 4.2 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Chase Rogers 3 12 4 0 Michael Jacquet 3 39 13 0 Keenan Barnes 3 95 31.6 2 Ja'Marcus Bradley 2 75 37.5 1 Ryheem Malone 1 27 27 0 Trey Ragas 1 9 9 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Corey Turner 9 0 0 0 Trev Miller 7 0 0 0 Travis Crawford 7 0 0 0 Tracy Walker 6 0 0 0 Damar'ren Mitchell 6 0 0 0 TJ Posey 5 0 0 0 Ladarrius Kidd 3 0 0 0 Jacques Boudreaux 3 0 0 0 Tanner Holmes 2 0 0 0 Denarius Howard 2 0 0 0 DJ Miller 2 0 0 0 Lorenzo Cryer 1 0 1 0 Mustafa Mitchell 1 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Steve Artigue 0/0 3/3 3 0

UTEP Miners PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Metz 15/32 223 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Kevin Dove 28 99 3.5 1 Ryan Metz 10 60 6 1 Quardraiz Wadley 2 13 6.5 0 Terry Juniel 1 2 2 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tyler Batson 8 158 19.7 1 Kavika Johnson 3 27 9 0 Terry Juniel 2 28 14 0 Quardraiz Wadley 1 1 1 0 Eddie Sinegal 1 9 9 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Dante Lovilotte 9 1 0 0 Luke Elsner 6 1 0 0 Devin Cockrell 3 0 2 0 Kalon Beverly 3 0 0 0 Denzel Chukwukelu 3 1 0 0 Lawrence Montegut 3 0 0 0 Michael Lewis 3 0 0 0 Alvin Jones 2 0 0 0 Mike Sota 2 1 0 0 Jesse Montgomery 2 0 0 0 Justin Rogers 1 0 0 0 Nik Needham 1 0 3 0 Jerrell Brown 1 0 0 0 Broderick Harrell 1 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Brady Viles 1/2 4/4 7 27