WORTHINGTON - The mistakes that plagued Minnesota West in its season opener last Saturday, according to head coach Jeff Linder, are completely fixable.
Those mental miscues - such as false starts and missed assignments - are to be expected with a young team, which certainly describes this year’s Bluejays. But the repairs necessary to pick up a win in Week 2 will need to be done quickly. West opens its home schedule at 5 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 5) against a stout Rochester Community and Technical College squad.
“We do have a young team and as we go along we know that we’re going to have those mistakes,” Linder said. “What we need to do is try to minimize those types of things. I think we gained confidence with some of our younger guys on Saturday; getting that first college football experience over with. We expect them to do much better this weekend.”
The Bluejays are coming off a 27-7 road loss to Itasca College. That game was tied at halftime before the Vikings rattled off 20 unanswered points in the second half. On the plus side, West’s defense was solid as it allowed 161 passing yards and 131 on the ground. The offense struggled at times, however, collecting only 154 yards of total offense.
Rochester - ranked No. 18 in the nation - put together a convincing 54-17 win over North Dakota State College of Science last week in its opener. The Yellowjackets were led by star second-year quarterback Nick Rooney, who completed 26-of-37 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. Jalen Esters (10 receptions, 97 yards, two touchdowns), Terrance Bowers (five receptions, 93 yards) and Connor Watts (five receptions, 80 yards) provided plenty of targets for him in Week 1.
Last year, Rooney carved up the Jays’ defense by going 36-for-52 for 569 yards and seven touchdowns in a 63-13 rout.
“He’s a great athlete,” Linder said of the Prior Lake native. “They have a lot of great athletes. We know that we have to perform to our highest expectations against Rochester. Hopefully our defense can keep their offense off of the field and our offense can sustain drives, but their defense is still pretty salty, too.”
Offensively, Minnesota West knows it will have to put up some points to keep up with RCTC. Quarterback Edgar Blackbull, Jr., will look to provide a spark as he grows more comfortable in his first year as a starter. Last week he completed 6-of-17 passes for 74 yards and one interception while also rushing for 49 yards; the highest ground total among MCAC West Division ballcarriers in Week 1.
Trying to stop the Bluejays will be a solid RCTC defense that is led by second-year linebacker Cody Stanger, who was named MCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his 12-tackle effort against NDSCS. The Yellowjackets held the Wildcats to only 13 rushing yards but did surrender 152 through the air.
But all of that is in the past. Linder said his team had a great week of practice. This is the third year in a row the Yellowjackets have visited Worthington and for the sophomores on West’s squad, the 50-point beating they experienced last year still stings.
“Whenever you’re at home you feel confident,” Linder said. “We’re really excited and they got us good last year so I’m sure the sophomores would like to get on the field with them and try to turn that around.”
As far as keys to victory, according to Linder it’s really pretty simple.
“We need to take care of the ball and minimize our mistakes. If we do that, it should be an exciting game.”
