SectionsBears look forward to Saturday
Redbirds to visit Springfield
Jon Poorman
Issue date: 10/27/09 Section: Sports
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The Bears will enter their homecoming showdown with the Redbirds having won three of their last four games. They are looking to make it three conference wins in a row and capture their first home conference win. Along with that, they also want to put on a good show for the fans and students.
"Homecoming is a big deal because you have all the old players coming back and we're going to have a lot of people around that enjoy the (football) program," tight end Clay Harbor said. "We just want to perform in front of them. We've got a lot of friends and family in town and there's a lot of school spirit going on that week. We feel like we owe it to the students and the fans to get a win."
Coach Terry Allen agreed that getting a win for the students and fans on homecoming is huge and gives the team something to play for.
"It's always important to win homecoming," Allen said. "We've been fortunate to have done that the last couple of years. We get a great turnout from the student body, so it's really important to us."
Linebacker Antoine Wilkinson mentioned that getting a big win on homecoming would be a good way to show that the team is headed in the right direction.
"It's very important for us because this year is kind of a reconstruction year, and we're trying to build something and establish ourselves," Wilkinson said.
Along with the pressure of homecoming, the game is also a very important conference game for the Bears.
"We've got them (Illinois state) here at home," Allen said. "We've won in the league on the road but we haven't won one at home yet so we look forward to rectifying that."
The Bears are coming off a 21-17 victory over North Dakota State on Saturday. The Bears' defense closed it out in the end, as they stopped the Bison in Missouri State territory three times in the final 12 minutes.
The first Missouri State score came in the first quarter as quarterback Cody Kirby scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown run. Later in the period, Kirby connected with tight end Clay Harbor for a 10-yard score.
In the third quarter, running back Mikael Cooper-Falls exploded for a 57-yard touchdown run to cap the Bears' scoring. Cooper-Falls ended the game with 105 yards on 16 carries, the best rushing performance by an Missouri State running back this season.
The homecoming game against Illinois State will take place at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Plaster Sports Complex, as the Bears try to secure their sixth win of the season.
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