Friday, December 6, 2013

Runners Blast LA Tech 30-10 in Season Finale

                Last Sunday November 30, the Roadrunner football team put on their all orange uniforms and played their last game of the 2013 season against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.  The game was of critical importance as a win would result in an above .500 regular season record, a secure spot as second place in Conference USA – West, and a chance at landing an appearance in an FBS Bowl Game.  More than 26,000 fans packed the Alamodome after Thanksgiving for what was the first of many future divisional matchups between the two, and UTSA came out fast and blasting after winning the toss and electing to receive.
                After a 20 yard kickoff return to start the drive at the 30 from RB Jarveon Williams, freshman, QB Eric Soza, senior, threw a 36 yard bomb to RB Evans Okotcha, senior, on the first play from scrimmage.  Two plays later QB Soza throws another 31 yard pass to RB Williams for a Roadrunner touchdown!  Following a series of punts from both teams LA Tech made a 24 yard field goal, putting the score at 7-3 Roadrunners.  The Roadrunners took over on offense on the ensuing drive and on an important 3rd down, Eric Soza threw a 28 yard pass to TE Cole Hubble, junior.  Two plays later, QB Soza takes off on foot and scrambles all the way to the endzone for another Roadrunner touchdown!  14-3 UTSA at the end of the 1st quarter.
                The 2nd quarter began with UTSA marching down field to the redzone, however the offense came up short on a 3rd and goal at the 4 yard line, resulting in a Roadrunner field goal to start the period.  17- 3 UTSA.  The remainder of the 2nd quarter remained uneventful until the play prior to the 2 minute warning.  With UTSA on offense, QB Eric Soza dropped back to pass and threw a LA Tech interception that ran back 26 yards to the endzone for a pick-6.  Halftime had UTSA up 17-10.  During the 3rd quarter QB Eric Soza bounced back and the offense continued to dominate as RB Evans Okotcha took a 1 yard run into the endzone to put UTSA up 24-10 at the end of the 3rd quarter.  K Sean Ianno tacked on 2 field goals from 21 and 37 yards out during the 4th quarter, and UTSA went on to win their fifth straight ball game 30-10.
Making a huge statement in the third year of their tenure and first season of Conference USA play, the Roadrunners finished the season 7-5 to end 2nd place in the Western Division of C-USA just behind Rice, whom the Runners have lost to the past two seasons.  According to Athletics Director Lynn hickey, NCAA certification rules state that a team as young as UTSA is still not eligible for bowl play, which is extremely unfortunate for the seniors on the squad.  There are teams with worse records that will be selected for a bowl appearance.  Although the season comes to an end, the Roadrunners proved excellent in being competitive in an FBS Conference and performed against major establishments.  A 7-5 record after being projected to go 1-11 is a huge statement to the nation that the UTSA Roadrunners are a team to be reckoned with.  Birds up and GO RUNNERS!

Preview: 2013/14 Track and Field Season

Back on November 22, 2013, the UTSA Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, Aaron Fox announced his program's 2013-14 recruiting class. The Roadrunners will be welcoming eighteen newcomers, nine men and nine women, to the track and field and cross-country teams. The upcoming indoor and outdoor track and field season is one to be excited about. With one of the most promising recruiting classes in UTSA history, the Roadrunners look to live up to their name on the track.

When asked about the upcoming season, Aaron Fox said, "this signing class is filled with outstanding athletes and it addresses several needs within our programs. I want to thank my assistant coaches for their hard work in building this class and we are looking forward to this group joining our returnees for our first season in Conference USA." The last part of Fox’s statement is not to be ignored. This upcoming track and field season will be the Roadrunners’ first as a member of the competitive Conference USA. With track and field powerhouses such as Tulsa, UTEP, Rice, and others, this upcoming season will be a tough one and the recruiting class aims to make an impact in the tough conference.

Tyler Finke, James Johnson and Javier Salas are three of the men’s track and field recruits. Finke is the 2012 USATF Youth Outdoor Champion in the shot put and will bring a much-needed talent to the field portion of the team. The ten-second man, James Johnson looks to contribute to the Roadrunners track team by competing in the 100m and 200m sprints. He has a personal best of 10.55 seconds in the 100m dash. The C-USA is a conference renowned for it’s extremely competitive sprinters, so Johnson will have his work cut out for him. Finally, Javier Salas looks to improve the distance portion of the track program by competing in the 1500m and one mile events. Salas has personally logged a 4:03 1500m, which will immediately make him a force to be reckoned with in the Conference USA.

The Roadrunners will kick off their 2013/14 season on December 7 at the Gilliam Indoor Track & Field Stadium in College Station while they compete at the Texas A&M Reveille Invitational. The Roadrunners will compete against athletes from the host Aggies, along with Houston and TCU. The event will host twelve events, and both the men and women will be sending 23 athletes each. The Reveille Invitational is a staple meet in the indoor track and field season and promises to be competitive. This will be a great meet for the new UTSA recruits to compete against some of the fastest athletes in the nation.
 
Gilliam Indoor Track & Field Stadium

After Saturday, the Roadrunners will not be in action again until January 11th at the Houston Opener. UTSA is scheduled to compete at a total of six meets this season before heading to their first-ever C-USA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama on February 28th. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 14-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Cross Country: Roadrunners finish seventh at Conference USA Championships

The UTSA Men’s Cross Country team competed in the Conference USA Cross Country Championship on Saturday, November 2, 2013. The Roadrunners finished in seventh place during their first time competing at the C-USA Conference Championship. That’s right, this was the first time in the UTSA Cross Country program’s short tenure that the Roadrunners have even qualified to compete in the Conference Championship. This may not sound like much of an achievement, however, considering the competition that the Roadrunners were up against this season in the C-USA, qualifying and then placing seventh, should be considered quite a successful season.

First of all, it is not easy to qualify for the Conference USA Cross Country Championship Meet. In order to do so, a team must have a specific team average time for an 8K run, or five miles. This average time was around 27 minutes, which rounds out to about 5:24 minutes per mile for those of you with no perspective to competitive race times. Throughout their season, the Roadrunners ran well and met this average time, and qualified for the C-USA Championship Meet for the first time ever.

Qualifying is only the first accomplishment that the men’s team has garnered this season. After qualifying for a tough Conference USA Championship race, the Roadrunners finished in a respectable seventh place, beating several veteran Cross Country programs in the process. The UTSA men’s Cross Country team finished ahead of reputable programs such as Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Marshall and East Carolina, amongst others.
 
Nathan Collier led the Roadrunners with a 27th-place performance. 
Leading the way for the Roadrunners was Nathan Collier who finished in 27th place with a time of 25:47 and was the Roadrunners' top finisher for the second time this fall. Harvinder Singh (30th/25:54.56), Tony Jaramillo (41st/26:16.04), Javier Salas (46th/26:25.55) and Saul Vasquez (58th/26:43.47) rounded out the team's scorers. Three-time defending champion Tulsa accounted for 26 points and set a league record with its fourth consecutive Conference USA Championship. North Texas (63) and Rice (97) rounded out the top three squads (UTSA Athletics).

After greatly improving over the course of the 2013 season, the Roadrunners will be back in action next fall with a team that should improve even more. With four of the top five runners returning next season, the Roadrunners look to improve on their latest season and compete for the Conference USA Cross Country Championship next season. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Safety in College Sports

When it comes to the topic of sports in injuries I am an acquired expert having had three broken bones, four torn muscles, and two compressed disks . Though most of my injuries occurred in High School, impeding my college career, I have noticed lately that safety in sports has become somewhat of a hot button issue especially as it pertains with safety in impact sports such as Football.

With the NFL being America’s new pastime any injury that happens is magnified and scrutinized by every fan, which has lead to new policies on concussions and training camps. But the question lies “Does this same protection trickle down towards the NCAA rule and how does this affect UTSA?” As a matter of fact it means nothing, because silently the NCAA has adopted the same stringent rules in safety that the NFL has laid the guidelines for concussions.

The current NFL protocol is as stated “Unaffiliated Neuro-trauma Consultants' this season. These experts are independent of any club, are specialized in concussion treatment, and are there to observe or perform all concussion examinations.” In the NFL’s case they have hired a third party to ensure neutrality in the health of a player, while UTSA has the same practice they also have students on the sidelines to provide an extra hands as these students gain much needed experience and the students are ensured some of the best care available.


I even went as far as to inquire a student, Brian Davis, currently perusing his Doctorate in Physical Therapy here at UTSA dealing with sports injuries. “ There have been many advancements made in recent years to keep players in both the NCAA and NFL safe by revising and instituting new protocols and safety regulations.” Brian was able to confirm my suspicion and say that regulations in the NCAA and here at UTSA could even be more stringent since some students are on scholarship and are “property” of the school.

Brian went on to add “The sideline concussion assessment tool is one such protocol that is designed to measure symptoms of suspected concussion before players return to the game” Referencing the tests run on student athletes who have suffered a major blow and are suspected of having been concussed. “These simple tests alone can prevent further injury and future damages that may be sustained by returning to the field too quickly.”

Simply put the NCAA and football program here at UTSA have the same stringent rules that are backed by the NFL’s Players Association with more hands on deck with many interns available on hand to give more attention to individual players.
So all in all you really have nothing to fear, your family and friends who are involved in athletics have to the same care the professionals do.

Finally I asked Bryan one last questions “Would you being a father of two allow them to participate in impact sports when they grow up?” Bryan paused and said “Of course.” This as a fan of the game brought me great joy. Unfortunately I cannot remember the words because I have suffered three concussions but I am sure it was something sweet.


Speaking from personal experience with this school I can say their safety regulations are fairly strict. I had trouble even enrolling into the football program with my history of clumsiness and who could blame em'? So perhaps it was for the best that all those injuries lead me on a different path writing this blog for you today. No sour grapes here because knowing my style of play they probably would have had to double down on the sideline help when it came to me.


So fellow Roadrunners when it comes to the issues of sports and safety do you even ponder the idea of injuries in sports before one strikes your team? And if so do you feel content in knowing the regulations are up to professional standards? And most importantly to the parents of current and future athletes would you allow your children to play football when they come of age? Be sure to sound of in the comments down below.
The Bird Bowl!!

Remember back to the inaugural game of the UTSA Roadrunner football program. The excitement in the air, the anticipation felt with a new football program’s first game, and the roar of 65,000 strong filling the Alamodome as we defeated Northeastern State. The first love is usually the one we remember but the key to a long-standing passion in the sporting world is that of a rivalry. And that void needs to be filled with the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals. Ladies and gentleman I present the Bird Bowl.

Imagine a homegrown rivalry for the two biggest Universities in the city of San Antonio, the 7th most populous city in the nation. Why can’t we have a new football rivalry to fill the whole left by the NFL? A friendly rivalry between two local upstart scho
ols to act as a catalyst for NCAA football in the state of Texas to fill the void left by Texas A&M with their switch to the South Eastern Conference. A fresh field of competition to give this city what it deserves in this one sport town.

While this game will probably not gain much national attention at first the potential is there. With the scorning from University of Texas alum and former NFL All-Pro running back Ricky Williams’s decision to choose to coach for the UIW Roadrunners over his former sister school, a rivalry now has a major name attached for national recognition.

Ricky Williams and his UT Heisman
Who knows this inner-city rivalry can be big enough to maybe one day generate interest from a major NFL franchise. But I must digress because for now, as our schools are not even in the same division. Although this doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem if it were just a scrimmage game, with no ranking implications, that two young franchise could use to generate some excitement for their upcoming seasons.

If college is all about networking what better way to build a bridge between the two football universities than with a friendly round of football at the Alamodome.
A rivalry to show that this city can handle larger events, besides our San Antonio Spurs dominating every season, lets show the country we are ready for some football.


So fellow San Antonio sports fan how would you feel about this inner-city matchup? Do you feel it would be too one sided, or could it naturally flourish overtime with more recruits wanting to participate in the Bird Bowl? Also down the line what other major matchups could await UTSA down the road as our school grows and gains credibility? Be sure to sound off in the comments below and let this rivalry get rowdy.