Second-year Missouri State head football coach Terry Allen made a preseason prediction that his 2007 ballclub would be young, fast and exciting. After one game, he appears to be correct on all three counts.
    The Bears punched up a record-tying 28 points in the first quarter and amassed 690 total yards in rolling past the Division II University of Missouri-Rolla Miners 62-17 in the Bears’ season opener Thursday night at Plaster Field. UMR fell to 1-1.
    The contest saw 29 Bears make their college playing debuts, including 24 freshmen. Ten of the rookies were true freshmen and the others were redshirts. In rolling up the highest point total for a Missouri State team since a 63-14 win over Drake in 2001, the Bears got rushing touchdowns from four different backs and three of those were true freshmen. Senior co-captain TB Gerald Davis set the tone as he tied a Missouri State record shared by nine other people with four rushing touchdowns in the contest. Rookie tailbacks Stephen Johnston and Kingjack Washington and freshman quarterback Cody Kirby scored once each and redshirt freshman TB Jonathan Davis and G. Davis each topped 100 yards rushing. It was the first time two Bears had gained 100 or more yards on the ground in a contest in four seasons.
    G. Davis started at tailback and had 110 yards and four scores on 15 carries. Washington came in and collected 60 yards on seven rushes, Johnston added 78 on nine carries and J. Davis was the most productive with 113 yards on 19 carries.
    Operating with a no-huddle offense from a shotgun formation most of the night, the Bears were effective early through the air, then kept the ball on the ground most of the second half. Starting QB Matt Krapfl hit 8-of-12 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown with Kirby hitting 5-of-8 and Tyler Horner connecting on all three of his throws as the trio combined for an efficient 16-of-23 for 293 aerial yards. Krapfl found WR Tamarkus McElvane on a 55-yard scoring pass early in the second period and Horner threw a nine-yard TD aerial to WR Jared Emery to open the fourth period. The 16 catches were spread among nine receivers with McElvane grabbing four for 139 yards while WR Eric Davis had five receptions for 76 yards.
    The Bears scored touchdowns on nine of their 14 possessions. They turned the pigskin over three times and had the ball at the end of each half on the other five possessions. Missouri State did not punt in the contest.
    After G. Davis and Washington scored the first two times the Bears had the ball, UMR’s Antonio Williams returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to put the Miners on the board. G. Davis and Johnston then scored to make it 28-7 after a quarter as the Bears tied the MSU record for points in a first quarter, set in 1992 against Washburn. McElvane’s long scoring reception and G. Davis’s third TD made it 41-7 at halftime, and Davis scored again midway in the third period before the regulars retired for the night.
    The Bears’ 690 total yards tied the third best single game total on record at Missouri State. The Bears’ 35 first downs were within one of another single game team record.
    Defensively, the Bears went three units deep with LB Sam Block and LB Dan Graham coming up with pass interceptions while CB Derek Miller recovered a fumble. LB Jeron Poole and Block led the way with six tackles each. UMR was held to 206 yards in offense.
    Missouri State has its second straight Thursday game next week when the Bears travel to the University of Tennessee-Martin Sept. 6 for a 6 p.m. game against a UTM team which reached the NCAA FCS playoffs last season.
