Re: #SWARM - The Reboot
Y1, G3
September 22nd, 2013
Despite 247 rushing yards and 4 first half picks, Swarm fail to hold on to the ball as Wendell Hearn throws for just 46 yards on 6/22 passing -- Alonzo Smith posts career day with 200 yards, 3 scores -- Hearn at odds with running back group after locker room spat following the loss
2 of the 4 first half picks for Westlake State's defense
Oxford, OH -- "Heartbreaking. Devastating. Infuriating." Those are adjectives Westlake State head coach Dion Barkley used to describe the team's 30-23 loss to the Miami Redhawks. There were definite positives. The Swarm led a game for the first time ever, leading as late as the 4th quarter. The offense managed to post 241 rushing yards, averaging 6 yards a rush. The defense picked off Redhawks signal-caller Greg Ragland 4 times in the first half. But there were also glaring negatives. Wendell Hearn completed 6 of 22 passes for 46 yards. Those 241 rushing yards? Likely an outlier caused by a few long runs from Dionte Norton and Hearn. That passing defense? Nowhere to be found as Ragland shredded them when it counted most.
It was the best start to a game so far for the Swarm, as after allowing the Redhawks to get into the red zone, true freshman Terrence Owens would make his second interception in as many weeks. He's playing dime corner after starter Martin Finley was ruled out for the year following concussions in back-to-back weeks. They rode the momentum, putting together a good drive that ended in a Wendell Hearn touchdown pass to Zeph Connor. That TD pass marked the first time that Westlake State had ever led a game.
But Miami were able to drive down the field and get into range for a 41 yard kick from Sam Sloman, one of the sophomore's 3 field goals on the day. They followed it up with a defensive stop and another good drive that ended with a 6 yard touchdown run from Alonzo Smith. A Swarm drive fizzled out, then Ragland threw another pick, this time to Deonte Abrams. But Westlake State couldn't take advantage of good field position, with Wendell Hearn throwing a redzone pick.
After the pick, Ragland and the Redhawks went on a long drive, getting all the way to the Swarm 17, where Ragland threw an ill-advised deep ball, which was picked off by freshman corner Abdul Coles, the first of his 2 first-half interceptions. But Westlake State couldn't capitalise, with Wendell Hearn failing to hit open receivers twice in yet another 3 and out.
Both quarterbacks were looking shaky, so Westlake State went away from the pass, using Mason Benjamin and Jaron Alfred to get yards up the middle, with Dionte Norton coming in as a change-of-pace back. Wendell Hearn attempted one pass all drive, on the drive's first play. He missed badly, and didn't throw it again. Benjamin and Alfred took handoffs between the tackles for 8 consecutive plays, gaining 38 yards, before Hearn broke a zone read for 17 yards and a big first down. After a couple more bruising runs from Benjamin, Dionte Norton came in. He took an outside handoff, spun a Redhawk linebacker out of his shoes, and outran everyone else for a 24 yard score.
Halftime came shortly after that, with the Swarm up 14-10. The 3rd quarter opened with Sloman kicking a long 50 yarder after the Redhawk offense sputtered. But Westlake State couldn't take advantage, going 3 and out. Miami went 3 and out, then the Swarm went on a drive that ultimately fizzled in long field goal range. But they opted for a punt instead, and Leslie Motley pinned Miami back at their own 1. Alonzo Smith, who had over 200 yards on the day, gained nothing on 1st down, and on second down, was brought down in his own endzone by safety Donte Oliver. The safety extended Westlake State's lead to 3 points, and with possession, had a chance to take control of the game heading into the 4th quarter. But yet again, the offense failed to deliver after the defense made a big stop. Miami got the ball back, and went on a quick drive, capped by an 8 yard score from Smith.
Smith goes down in the endzone
20-16 for the Redhawks to open the 4th. Westlake State would score. A drive that saw 2 of Hearn's 6 completions on the day went the distance, with Hearn himself scoring the TD, a 13 yard scramble. 23-20, Swarm.
But those would be the last points of the day for Westlake State. Miami's next drive started with a few good runs from Smith, but at their own 31, they faced a 3rd and 10 after 3 straight incompletions. The coverage was good, and the play broke down, forcing Ragland to throw to James Gardner, who appeared to be out of bounds. Indeed, that was the call on the field. But video review overturned it, and the Swarm were livid about it.
Certainly looks like Gardner had a foot out of bounds
That play changed the game. If Westlake State gets that stop, they have the ball, probably in solid field position, with around 3 and a half minutes left. Instead, Miami had all the momentum, and got a quick 40 yards before the Swarm defense woke up. The drive ended with a 33 yard kick, and the game tied at 23.
So once again, the outcome was in the hand of Westlake State. 1st down saw Mason Benjamin gain 4 yards. 2nd down, Redhawks stack the box and Benjamin only gets a yard. 3rd and 5. Wendell Hearn fakes a handoff, rolls right, takes off and gets only 3 yards. From their own 32, they had to punt.
Miami football. Alonzo Smith gains 28 yards on his first 3 carries of the drive. Gus Ragland then does his best Tom Brady impression, completing 6 straight passes to get all the way to the Swarm 9. 24 seconds left. Handoff to Smith, he goes 9 yards for the score, untouched.
Swarm defenders throw their hands up in dismay
Ballgame. Westlake State tried having strong-armed QB Daniel Cummings chuck it deep with 21 seconds to go, but he couldn't get a pass off on the game's last 2 plays.
Swarm head coach Dion Barkley spoke to us briefly on the field postgame, offering a few thoughts on the game.
After the game, Barkley talked to the team for a bit, then left the arena. After he and most of the coaching staff left, Wendell Hearn got into it with Jaron Alfred. Alfred criticized Hearn's performance, and Hearn took issue with that, turning on his backs and offensive line, saying they weren't protecting him well enough, before telling Alfred he should "have more than 30 yards before talking". He then left the locker room.
The Swarm will play 2-1 (0-0) Ohio in Akron next week.
Y1, G3
September 22nd, 2013
HEARTBREAKER IN OXFORD AS SWARM FALL 30-23
Despite 247 rushing yards and 4 first half picks, Swarm fail to hold on to the ball as Wendell Hearn throws for just 46 yards on 6/22 passing -- Alonzo Smith posts career day with 200 yards, 3 scores -- Hearn at odds with running back group after locker room spat following the loss
2 of the 4 first half picks for Westlake State's defense
Oxford, OH -- "Heartbreaking. Devastating. Infuriating." Those are adjectives Westlake State head coach Dion Barkley used to describe the team's 30-23 loss to the Miami Redhawks. There were definite positives. The Swarm led a game for the first time ever, leading as late as the 4th quarter. The offense managed to post 241 rushing yards, averaging 6 yards a rush. The defense picked off Redhawks signal-caller Greg Ragland 4 times in the first half. But there were also glaring negatives. Wendell Hearn completed 6 of 22 passes for 46 yards. Those 241 rushing yards? Likely an outlier caused by a few long runs from Dionte Norton and Hearn. That passing defense? Nowhere to be found as Ragland shredded them when it counted most.
It was the best start to a game so far for the Swarm, as after allowing the Redhawks to get into the red zone, true freshman Terrence Owens would make his second interception in as many weeks. He's playing dime corner after starter Martin Finley was ruled out for the year following concussions in back-to-back weeks. They rode the momentum, putting together a good drive that ended in a Wendell Hearn touchdown pass to Zeph Connor. That TD pass marked the first time that Westlake State had ever led a game.
Zeph Connor catches the first score of the game
But Miami were able to drive down the field and get into range for a 41 yard kick from Sam Sloman, one of the sophomore's 3 field goals on the day. They followed it up with a defensive stop and another good drive that ended with a 6 yard touchdown run from Alonzo Smith. A Swarm drive fizzled out, then Ragland threw another pick, this time to Deonte Abrams. But Westlake State couldn't take advantage of good field position, with Wendell Hearn throwing a redzone pick.
After the pick, Ragland and the Redhawks went on a long drive, getting all the way to the Swarm 17, where Ragland threw an ill-advised deep ball, which was picked off by freshman corner Abdul Coles, the first of his 2 first-half interceptions. But Westlake State couldn't capitalise, with Wendell Hearn failing to hit open receivers twice in yet another 3 and out.
Both quarterbacks were looking shaky, so Westlake State went away from the pass, using Mason Benjamin and Jaron Alfred to get yards up the middle, with Dionte Norton coming in as a change-of-pace back. Wendell Hearn attempted one pass all drive, on the drive's first play. He missed badly, and didn't throw it again. Benjamin and Alfred took handoffs between the tackles for 8 consecutive plays, gaining 38 yards, before Hearn broke a zone read for 17 yards and a big first down. After a couple more bruising runs from Benjamin, Dionte Norton came in. He took an outside handoff, spun a Redhawk linebacker out of his shoes, and outran everyone else for a 24 yard score.
Halftime came shortly after that, with the Swarm up 14-10. The 3rd quarter opened with Sloman kicking a long 50 yarder after the Redhawk offense sputtered. But Westlake State couldn't take advantage, going 3 and out. Miami went 3 and out, then the Swarm went on a drive that ultimately fizzled in long field goal range. But they opted for a punt instead, and Leslie Motley pinned Miami back at their own 1. Alonzo Smith, who had over 200 yards on the day, gained nothing on 1st down, and on second down, was brought down in his own endzone by safety Donte Oliver. The safety extended Westlake State's lead to 3 points, and with possession, had a chance to take control of the game heading into the 4th quarter. But yet again, the offense failed to deliver after the defense made a big stop. Miami got the ball back, and went on a quick drive, capped by an 8 yard score from Smith.
Smith goes down in the endzone
20-16 for the Redhawks to open the 4th. Westlake State would score. A drive that saw 2 of Hearn's 6 completions on the day went the distance, with Hearn himself scoring the TD, a 13 yard scramble. 23-20, Swarm.
But those would be the last points of the day for Westlake State. Miami's next drive started with a few good runs from Smith, but at their own 31, they faced a 3rd and 10 after 3 straight incompletions. The coverage was good, and the play broke down, forcing Ragland to throw to James Gardner, who appeared to be out of bounds. Indeed, that was the call on the field. But video review overturned it, and the Swarm were livid about it.
Certainly looks like Gardner had a foot out of bounds
That play changed the game. If Westlake State gets that stop, they have the ball, probably in solid field position, with around 3 and a half minutes left. Instead, Miami had all the momentum, and got a quick 40 yards before the Swarm defense woke up. The drive ended with a 33 yard kick, and the game tied at 23.
So once again, the outcome was in the hand of Westlake State. 1st down saw Mason Benjamin gain 4 yards. 2nd down, Redhawks stack the box and Benjamin only gets a yard. 3rd and 5. Wendell Hearn fakes a handoff, rolls right, takes off and gets only 3 yards. From their own 32, they had to punt.
Miami football. Alonzo Smith gains 28 yards on his first 3 carries of the drive. Gus Ragland then does his best Tom Brady impression, completing 6 straight passes to get all the way to the Swarm 9. 24 seconds left. Handoff to Smith, he goes 9 yards for the score, untouched.
Swarm defenders throw their hands up in dismay
Ballgame. Westlake State tried having strong-armed QB Daniel Cummings chuck it deep with 21 seconds to go, but he couldn't get a pass off on the game's last 2 plays.
Swarm head coach Dion Barkley spoke to us briefly on the field postgame, offering a few thoughts on the game.
Originally posted by Dion Barkley
The Swarm will play 2-1 (0-0) Ohio in Akron next week.
| Westlake State Swarm at Miami (OH) RedHawks | |||||
| Sep 21, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Westlake State Swarm (0-3, 0-0) | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | |
| Miami (OH) RedHawks (1-2, 0-0) | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | |
| Team Stats Comparison | ||
| WSU | M-OH | |
| Total Offense | 287 | 443 |
| Rushing Yards | 241 | 206 |
| Passing Yards | 46 | 237 |
| First Downs | 17 | 22 |
| Punt Return Yards | 0 | 25 |
| Kick Return Yards | 199 | 115 |
| Total Yards | 486 | 583 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| 3rd Down Conversion | 3/11 | 6/11 |
| 4th Down Conversion | 0/1 | 0/0 |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 2/0 | 3/1 |
| Penalties | 1 | 2 |
| Possession Time | 14:44 | 17:15 |
| Scoring Summary | |||
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | WSU | M-OH | |
| 5:53 | (WSU) Z. Connor, 7 yard pass from W. Hearn | 7 | 0 |
| 4:13 | (M-OH) S. Sloman, 41 yard FG | 7 | 3 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | WSU | M-OH | |
| 5:45 | (M-OH) A. Smith, 6 yard run | 7 | 10 |
| 0:47 | (WSU) D. Norton, 24 yard run | 14 | 10 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | WSU | M-OH | |
| 5:08 | (M-OH) S. Sloman, 50 yard FG | 14 | 13 |
| 2:59 | (WSU) D. Oliver, safety | 16 | 13 |
| 0:06 | (M-OH) A. Smith, 8 yard run | 16 | 20 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | WSU | M-OH | |
| 6:00 | (WSU) W. Hearn, 13 yard run | 23 | 20 |
| 3:48 | (M-OH) S. Sloman, 33 yard FG | 23 | 23 |
| 0:21 | (M-OH) A. Smith, 9 yarc run | 23 | 30 |
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