Tabor stumbles at Sterling
Warriors use four mistakes to keep Bluejays winless, 36-27
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
With new Tabor College football coach Mike Gottsch ready for a new year, the Bluejays are all about restoring the order this year.
Before they even attempt to take a swing at that, they'll have to restore some ball control on offense first.
When Gottsch and the Bluejays look for the culprit of what's keeping them in last place, somewhere they haven't been since Bill Clinton was in the White House, they won't need a microscope.
Committing four turnovers a game makes it hard to beat anybody, much less a good Sterling Warrior team.
The Warriors (1-1) capitalized Saturday night on two of four Bluejay mistakes for 14 points to keep Tabor (0-2) and Gottsch winless.
"Four turnovers against a quality football team, you can't have that," Gottsch said. "They're predicted as a top-three team in the league, and the turnovers kept us from being comfortable on offense."
Starting quarterback DeJuan Jones suffered a thumb injury in last week's loss to Ottawa, and after one interception in the first quarter that gave the Warriors a two-touchdown lead, his night was done.
Jason Aubrey came off the bench to throw for three touchdowns, completing 23-of-44 passes for a game-high 265 yards, but two crucial interceptions kept Tabor from jeopardizing the Warrior lead.
The Warriors pose the KCAC's top returning quarterback in Jake Buchanon, but it was the Sterling ground attack that wore out the Bluejay defense.
Sterling burned Tabor for 437 yards of total offense with the Warriors' option game gaining 262 yards. Tyler Degenhardt ran roughshod for a game-high 127.
The Bluejays were hot on the Warriors' heels at halftime, trailing just 17-13 and out-gaining Sterling offensively by 57 yards, 210-153.
For the second week in a row, Tabor played a balanced game, getting 429 yards offense, but in a losing cause.
Tabor has struggled with adversity, leading just once this year, while special teams have crippled the Bluejays as well.
Tabor scored twice in the game's final five minutes, with Cox recovering an Aubrey fumble and taking it 20 yards to pull Tabor to within 30-19, with 4:47 left.
Aubrey hit Caleb Marsh for a seven-yard score with four seconds left, but it was too little, too late.
"(Sterling) coach Lambert does a great job with the option, and when we had the fiasco with the turnovers, that put our defense right back on the field," Gottsch said. "They were hitting us with the dive, they were hitting us with quarterback, the pitch back and the shovel pass.
"If we can eliminate the turnovers, I think we'll be all right. We're playing hard."
The Bluejays can only hope so at 7 p.m. Saturday as they host the NCAA Division II and Lone Star Conference member Panhandle State (Okla.) Aggies.
