Going into week two of the regular season, the football team has a single win under their belts as they take on the Texas “powerhouse” team Angelo State this weekend.
One thing head coach Chris Ostrowsky pushed last season was finishing the game, and not giving up when you’re down in the second half.
The Wildcats did just that during Saturday’s game in Ohio. The Lake Erie Storm were up 32-24 with 53 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
A 25-yard pass from senior quarterback Shaye Brown brought the ’Cats within two points of the Storm. The Wildcats forced overtime after a completed 2-point conversion by senior wide receiver Paris Woods.
The Storm settled for a field goal to pull ahead 35-32. Sophomore running back Jake Mayon was in the end-zone two plays later, finishing scoring and winning 38-35 for the Wildcats.
“We’ve had enough games around here in the last two years where we really felt like we played good enough to win and found a way to lose,” Ostrowksy said.
“It was a tremendous show of our resolve, our belief in each other and in the process.”
Brown’s last minute touchdown was his 54th of its kind during his Wildcat career, breaking the previous NMU record. Buddy Rivera threw 53 last-minute touchdowns between 2004-2007.
Brown was happy to break the record, but he said it hasn’t really set in yet.
“I don’t really think of it as a crazy thing right now,” Brown said. “I think after I leave it’ll be ‘Man, that was really something,’ but right now it’s a second thought.”
Ostrowsky was more excited for Brown and the hard work he’s put into the team.
“The goal and the focus for us now is to create enough space between him and the pack to where these records stay for a long, long time,” Ostrowsky said.
“At the end of the day it’s about us winning and in order for us to win he’s got to continue to throw touchdowns and take care of the football and not throw interceptions, and I think the rest takes care of itself.”
While the Wildcats pulled off a win on Saturday, Ostrowsky said the team has a lot to fix leading up to this weekend’s game against Angelo State. They are emphasizing coming out fast and being mentally prepared for the game to start.
He said they’ll be doing drills in practice this week that stress exactly those things.
“We clearly have a long way to go to fix some things,” Ostrowsky said. “It’s certainly a good feeling to be fixing them at 1-0 than 0-1.”
Senior defensive back C.J. Washington said he sees a difference in the mindset of the team going into the Angelo State game. On the bus back from Ohio, Washington said people were excited about the win but everyone was far more focused on the next game.
Washington knew this game was a big deal when he saw the coaches watching Angelo State film on the bus back. He says it speaks to the focus of the team this year.
“We’re focused this year. We’re more focused on the next play,” Washington said. “We’re always trying to better ourselves. We’re always moving forward.”
Angelo State University is located in San Angelo, Texas. They play in the Lone Star Conference, an athletic conference made up of mostly Texas teams but also includes teams from New Mexico and Oklahoma.
During the 2014 season Angelo State finished second in the conference and made an appearance in the playoffs before losing in the second round. Last season they still managed to make it into the top three in their conference.
Ostrowsky said the atmosphere during this game should be great because they’re a big, physical team which should make for a good football game.
Playing a team from a different region is beneficial for the Wildcats, they’re historically a powerhouse team and they aren’t going to take that lightly, Brown said.
“It’s a Texas football team,” Brown said. “Football is a religion down in Texas.”
Playing at home is always special according to Ostrowsky. He also said he’s excited to be able to see his own son play on Friday night, which he missed last week.
“We’ve been a pretty good football team in the past year, year and a half at home,” Ostrowsky said. “I’m excited to continue that and play at home.”
