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For Immediate Release 18 April 2003
Southwest
Baptist’s Head Football Coach Ray Richards announced
the schedule for the 2003 football season.
The Bearcats will open the 21st season of gridiron action
on the road at Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro, Ky. Kickoff
is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6. This will be the
latest start for Bearcat football since the 1997 season. It
will be the first September start for the Bearcats under Richards.
“I think I am going to like having an extra week to prepare,”
Richards said. “I like the idea of having four weeks
to get ready for the first game at Kentucky Wesleyan. They
have a new coaching staff and are going to be a better football
team that what they have been. The new coaching staff will
create a new hope and optimism they have been missing.”
Kentucky Wesleyan was 1-10 in 2002, including a 35-7 loss
to SBU in Bolivar. The only other game between the two teams
was on Sept. 1, 2001 when SBU won in Owensboro, Ky., 54-20.
The Bearcats will continue non-conference action when they
open the 2003 home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 13. The game,
scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff, will be against Lone Star
Conference member Central Oklahoma.
“Central Oklahoma is going to be a very, very talented
football team,” Richards said. “It wouldn’t
surprise me if they are ranked in the Top 25 going into the
football season. They would be very similar to a lot of the
MIAA teams. I think that will be a game that dictates a lot
as to how well we will do in the course of the year. How we
play against them will be a good indicator as to how we will
do the rest of the season.”
UCO finished last season with a 5-6 overall record. The Bronchos
are 550-302-46 in 97 seasons of play and this will be the
first meeting between the two teams.
SBU opens Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
play on the road in St. Joseph against Missouri Western at
1 p.m. The Bearcats lost to MWSC in St. Joseph 39-6 last season.
The Griffons lead the series 12-2, including a 6-2 record
at home over the Bearcats. SBU has dropped the last 11 to
the Griffons who were 6-5 overall last season and 4-5 in conference
play.
“I don’t think opening the MIAA schedule on the
road makes any difference for us,” Richards said. “You
have to play just as well on the road as you do at home. In
this conference, it really isn’t that big of a deal because
we really don’t have to travel that far. It hasn’t
really affected us, nor have I noticed any significant difference
for the most part. We have played some good games on the road
in the last two years.”
The Bearcats will then host two of the MIAA’s top teams.
Pittsburg State will come to town on Saturday, Sept. 27 for
a 2 p.m. start time. The following Saturday, Oct. 4, Central
Missouri State will kickoff against the Bearcats at 2 p.m.
PSU defeated SBU last season 48-13 in Pittsburg, Kan. and
ended the season with a 8-3 overall record. The Gorillas were
ranked No. 21 in the final national poll and finished the
season tied for third in the MIAA with a 6-3 record. PSU leads
the overall series, 14-0, including a 7-0 mark in Bolivar.
CMSU finished the 2002 season with a 10-2 record and was 8-1
in the MIAA. The Mules were second in the conference and finished
the season ranked No. 10 in the final American Football Coaches
Association poll. CMSU defeated the Bearcats 35-6 last season
in Bolivar and leads the series between the two schools, 14-2.
The Bearcats have dropped seven of eight to CMSU in Bolivar.
Richards hopes seeing two of the top MIAA teams early will
be good for the Bearcats.
“When you catch those guys early in the year, you are
likely to be healthier, of course so are they,” Richards
said. “You find out where you are right away. If you
are any good, then that shows up, but they can put a knot
on your head in a hurry. I am glad to have them at home because
it’s more convenient.”
The Bearcats will then travel to Missouri-Rolla for a 1 p.m.
kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Bearcats defeated UMR last
season 17-7 in Bolivar. The Miners finished the 2002 season
0-11 overall and 0-9 in the MIAA. SBU leads the series 11-5-1
and is 6-3 in Rolla.
SBU will host Washburn for Homecoming 2003 on Oct. 18 at 2
p.m. The Bearcats defeated Washburn in 2002 for the second
straight season. SBU won in Bolivar, 26-20. The Ichabods finished
the 2002 season 3-8 overall and 3-6 in the MIAA. Washburn
leads the series 9-5 and is 4-3 in Bolivar.
The Bearcats will open a three-game road stretch on Saturday,
Oct. 25 when they travel to Emporia State in Emporia, Kan.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ESU defeated the Bearcats last season
in Emporia, Kan., 1-13 and finished the season 9-3 overall.
The Hornets tied for third in the MIAA with a 6-3 record.
ESU leads the series, 9-3,
including a 4-2 mark at home.
SBU will then travel to Joplin to take on Missouri Southern
at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Bearcats dropped a 40-25
decision to the Lions in Joplin last season. MSSC will have
new artificial turf on its field for the 2003 season. Missouri
Southern leads the series, 12-2. SBU is 0-7 in Joplin against
the Lions. MSSC was 5-6 overall, 3-6 in MIAA play last season.
The Bearcats will end the 2003 road trip with a contest at
Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. Kickoff is set for
2 p.m. on Nov. 15. The green and white-clad Bearcats of NWMSU
defeated SBU last season in Bolivar, 28-7. NWMSU leads the
overall series, 12-3, including a 5-2 record at home in Maryville.
Northwest Missouri State won the MIAA crown in 2002 after
going undefeated (9-0) in conference play. The Bearcats were
12-1 overall and ranked No. 10 in the final AFCA poll.
The regular-season campaign will end on Saturday, Nov. 15
when the Bearcats host Truman at 2 p.m. The game will also
be Senior Day for Bearcat seniors. SBU lost a close game to
the Bulldogs last season, 44-32. Truman leads the series 13-2,
including a 5-2 record in Bolivar. Truman finished the 2002
season 6-5 overall. The Bulldogs were 4-5 in the MIAA and
tied for fifth place.
Richards knows the schedule will be tough.
“It’s a normal scheduled; there is not anything
unusual about it,” Richards said. “We are locked
in with nine conference games. The schedule is brutal regardless,
however you play. You have five or six teams in this league
that are very good and there is no way around them, you have
to go through them. Every week is a battle. That’s just
the way it is in the MIAA. I think if you are Northwest or
Pitt State or Central it may be a little different. I think
the schedule may lay different for them because they are more
talented than most of the teams in the league. For us we just
have to go line up, play and battle each week.”
SBU finished the 2002 season 3-8 overall and 2-7 in MIAA play.
The Bearcat football program is 58-141-2 in 20 seasons of
competition.
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