A lot of work goes into the first college game. Spring football. Summer workouts. Fall camp. Scrimmages. Practices and more.
There is a long buildup for just 12 opportunities. 12 games that roughly last four hours to prove what all those practices and workouts were for. Head coach Mike Neu said you only get so many games, so starting out with a 42-34 win over Missouri State (0-2) is an excellent start.
Neu said he knew the home crowd would be a factor on Monday, and he said the community backed him up.
“It was a great day, [and] it was a great crowd,” Neu said. “We need them, there is nothing better than that.”
It is the first time since 2021 that the Cardinals (1-0) won their first game of the season. Neu was able to stop and high-five Muncie Southside students while he ran out with the Cardinals. He said he was recognizing some of them on the way.
“That is really uplifting for me,” Neu said. “Because really, it is all about the kids at the end of the day.”
Senior running back Braedon Sloan said his first game in Muncie could not have been more welcoming. Fans were welcoming him around the sidelines and punching in two touchdowns made his first game as a Cardinal memorable.
Redshirt junior cornerback Myles Norwood is coming off a season where he did not touch the field due to injury. Today, Norwood took the field as a starter. Just like Sloan, it was also his first game in Muncie.
“It was special,” Norwood said. “It felt great to get back out there and play. I know it wasn’t my best game, but it is a good game to come back from.
“It was crazy, I ain’t even going to lie. The first play I was nervous. Like, nervous. Taking a whole year off, especially Division 1 football is crazy. It is a fast game.”
Sept. 16, 2024, was the last time quarterback Kadin Semonza led the Cardinals out as their QB1. Almost a year later on Sept. 7, the now redshirt freshman Semonza got the opportunity again.
“It was a surreal feeling,” Semonza said. “I have to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It has been a long time coming.”
Freshman quarterback Kadin Semonza prays before facing Missouri State Sept. 7 at Scheumann Stadium. Semonza had four passing touchdowns in the game. Andrew Berger, DN
In the first quarter, Neu said the Cardinals had self-inflicted wounds hurt them in the first half, causing low scoring and poor play.
“Some of the things we shot ourselves in the foot,” Neu said.
It was only 7-7 heading into the locker room for halftime. Neu said he is not sure if he can remember the Cardinal defense ever being as dominant as they were in the first half.
Norwood and the Cardinals held Missouri State to -11 rushing yards in the first half. He said it was amazing for the relatively new defense to come out and hold them like they did. For the first game of the season, the play from the defense excites him even more going forward.
Semonza said the defense in the first half was what kept Ball State in the game.
“If they do not do that in the first half, who knows what the outcome of the game is,” Semonza said.
Semonza and linebacker Keionte Newson communicate with each other on the sideline when they can.
“I got a whole defense behind me,” Semonza said. “No matter what happens, if I make a mistake or if I do something good. At the end of the day, that feels great to come to the sideline whether it was good or bad and they have my back.”
Neu said the offense turned itself around on the scoreboard in the second half, but had the potential to do the same if small mistakes did not hold them back in the first half.
After a pick-six in the first half, Semonza said he made the effort to put it immediately behind him. Semonza said it was a miscommunication that ended up going horribly for Ball State, but he is proud of the offense for not letting it stop them and continuing to play.
“We just kept battling,” Neu said. “Lot of good work put in here [today].”
The ramped-up second half for Ball State saw the Cardinals score seven points in the third quarter and 28 in the fourth. One of the touchdowns in the fourth quarter was a 40-yard rush from Sloan.
Sloan said the offense talked about maybe going down if he were to break away in the fourth quarter, but when he saw open room, he sped into the end zone.
“It was in the back of my mind like, “Should I go down? Should I not go down?” Sloan said. “I was like, “We were here now, so might as well finish it off.””
Sloan gave big props to the offensive line in their experience and ability to protect all day.
“I think it is going to be a real real special year in the run game,” Sloan said about himself and the offensive line.
Semonza said the third and fourth quarters showed what the offensive power could be.
“It was good to see at the end of the day when it really mattered, our guys showed up,” Semonza said.
Junior wide receiver Justin Bowick was inactive due to an injury picked up last week in practice. To make things worse for the receiver room, redshirt junior Ty Robinson went out of the game after the very first play.
Regardless of receiver injuries, other Cardinals stepped up to the plate.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver ended the day with seven catches and 69 yards. Senior wide received Malcolm Gillie had five catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. Two other receivers had six catches. The room had 173 total yards. Neu said post-game, there is nothing better than the locker room.
“You savor every second you get a chance to sing the fight song,” Neu said. “There is nothing better than doing that with guys you love. And guys that love each other and lay it on the line for each other.
“You only have so many of these.”
Sloan echoed his coach.
“It is hard to win at any level in Division 1 football,” Sloan said. “To come out with a win is very special. When you get into the locker room with the music going, people dancing and everything, it is just really exciting because it is hard to win.”
Ball State will travel to Miami on Sept. 14 to take on the No. 12 ranked team in the nation at 3:30 p.m.
Contact Elijah Poe via email at @elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on X @ElijahPoe4.
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