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Tuesday, September 16, 2014.
Boise State had more team speed than UConn, so it would figure that the slick surface at Rentschler Field Saturday would have more of an effect on the Broncos. But coach Bryan Harsin wouldn’t use that as an excuse for a Jay Ajayi-led rushing attack that was ground to a halt by the Huskies. “We slipped—their guys slipped,” said Harsin at his Monday press conference. Obvious question: was it the cleats? “We wore the same pairs that we wore on our grass,” said Harsin. “We’d practiced well with the ones we’d been wearing.” He said later that in hindsight the Broncos would have taken another set of shoes with them to Connecticut. There are no more natural turf games on the schedule this year, barring one in a bowl game. But Harsin will file away the East Hartford experience. “We’ll remember that—I promise you,” he said.
Still, Harsin maintains the Boise State running game wasn’t that far away Saturday despite netting just 52 yards. “One guy here and there,” he said. “Their D-line played well in the game. We didn’t quite get the creases that we’ve gotten before.” With UConn’s mission clearly to stop the run and Ajayi, Harsin added, “That’s why it opened up the passing game more.” He came back to that point when talking about game-planning moving forward. “We have answers, if that’s what you choose to do,” said Harsin. “Pick your poison a little bit.” He did say the Broncos “prefer to keep (the run and pass) 50/50 if possible.”
There were no new injuries in the win at UConn. As for the old ones, Harsin expected left tackle Rees Odhiambo back at practice today. “I don’t know if he’ll play yet (on Saturday),” Harsin said. “Bryan Douglas—same.” Douglas, the senior backup cornerback and kickoff returner, left the Colorado State game with a possible concussion. Starting corner Cleshawn Page, who injured a knee in the win over CSU, may get back to running at practice this week but won’t participate in drills. Page will miss the Louisiana game Saturday night, and maybe more.
There were three college football games in the state of Idaho Saturday, and the College of Idaho registered the second-highest attendance of the three, outdistancing Idaho State. The Coyotes drew 4,961 for their 31-28 win over Montana Western, while the Bengals had 4,838 for their 39-34 victory over Chadron State. That trend is unlikely to continue, but if the Coyotes can settle into the 3,500-4,000 range for their four remaining home games, their return to the gridiron will be a rousing success. Idaho, incidentally, attracted 14,721 for its home-opening 45-33 loss to Western Michigan in the Kibbie Dome.
Another one of those fun C of I facts: Cory Brady’s three interceptions against Montana Western Saturday were the most by a Coyote since Dexter Bell recorded four picks against Pacific in 1976. What does it really mean for Brady? The former Bishop Kelly Knight has been named NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week. Brady also joined teammates Teejay Gordon (offense) and Luke Taylor (special teams) in sweeping the weekly Frontier Conference awards.
As the Idaho Steelheads close in on training camp in a couple weeks, coach Brad Ralph is filling out his roster. The Steelheads, already flush with returning players, have picked up some valuable experience with the addition of forward Wade McLeod, who has played 129 career games in the AHL. The 27-year-old MacLeod has been effective in limited time in the ECHL, scoring 11 goals in 19 games.
Today is the first day the Boise Hawks can negotiate with Major League Baseball organizations as they seek an affiliation replacement for the Chicago Cubs. If the Hawks don't find a new partner by a week from Thursday, MLB will assign them one that itself hasn't found a minor league base in short-season Class A. Hopefully it doesn't get that far—you'd prefer to have a parent club that really wants to be in Boise as opposed to one that’s forced into an arrangement. Last Friday on Idaho SportsTalk, Hawks general manager Todd Rahr assured fans, "We'll have a new affiliate next year, and we'll be in Boise, and that's that."
Now that the Cubs era is over for the Hawks, let's take a look at some of the more interesting things that happened over those 14 seasons—beyond the two Northwest League championships they won. There was Opening Night in 2001, with Dontrelle Willis on the hill two years before he was National League Rookie of the Year. A bunch of Cubs first-round draft picks came through Boise, but not all of them made it. First-rounder Ryan Harvey played for the Hawks in 2004—and struck out six times in a 16-inning game against Everett. Harvey is out of baseball now. You had Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija pitching for the Hawks in the summer of 2006, before his senior year. Six months later Samardzija would forsake what looked like a lucrative NFL career and sign a five-year, $10 million contract with the Cubs.
Also in 2006, Tyler Colvin homered in five straight games for the Hawks near the end of the season. He hit six during that streak, one of them an extremely rare inside-the-park grand slam. Kris Bryant, the highest draft pick ever to play for Boise, made his Hawks debut in July of last year. The No. 2 overall selection would like to forget it. Bryant went 0-for-5 and struck out all five times. That was an aberration, of course, as Bryant batted .354 with four homers in 18 games with Boise and was promoted to long-season Class A. He was the 2014 Minor League Player of the Year and will surely be in the bigs with the Cubs next season.
Then this summer there was Kyle Schwarber, who was the fourth overall pick in the draft in June. Eight days later he made his professional debut in a Boise uniform and blasted a three-run homer to give the Hawks a 4-2 Opening Night win over the Tri-City Dust Devils. For the night he went 3-for-4, picking up where he left off as a star catcher for the Indiana Hoosiers. Four games and three more home runs later, Schwarber and his .600 batting average were bumped up to Kane County.
Back to football, kind of. Bryan Harsin was asked in his press conference if he had talked with Joey Martarano about the Cubs and the Hawks parting ways. Martarano, the redshirt freshman linebacker from Fruitland, was drafted by the Cubs in June and played four games in the Arizona rookie league this summer. There was speculation he could end up in Boise in a Hawks uniform, but it didn’t happen. Harsin said he hasn’t visited with Martarano about the Cubs. “I didn’t even know about that,” Harsin said. “I struck him out once in a Wiffle ball game—you can put that out to the Cubs.” The third strike? “It was a split-finger,” grinned Harsin.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by GROUND FX…the Treasure Valley mulch experts!
September 16, 2000: Boise State plays its first-ever game against a team from the Southeastern Conference, facing Arkansas and former BSU coach Houston Nutt. It took the Broncos awhile to settle down as they fell behind 24-0 in the second quarter before rallying to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Then, trailing 38-31 with just over a minute to play, Boise State had a fourth-and-goal from the Arkansas nine. Bart Hendricks hit Jay Swillie, but he was stopped a half-yard short of the goal line and a possible overtime.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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