#99 La-Monroe Warhawks Preview

  #99 – La-Monroe Warhawks 5-6 SU; 6-4 ATS   

 Fargo’s Take  A missed field goal against Florida International cost the then Indians a win and an outright Sun Belt title. A blowout loss at the end of the season against rival La-Lafayette did the same thing and hung another losing record at Monroe. Now the Warhawks must regroup, retool and hope they can find a replacement for quarterback Steven Jyles, who was a four-year starter at Monroe. Those are some big shoes to fill and it isn’t going to be pretty early on. The good news is that this is the Sun Belt where anything can happen and any team can contend with the right breaks. The other good news is that behind La-Lafayette, the Warhawks bring back everyone on the offensive line along with leading rusher Calvin Dawson. The rushing offense has improved each of the last three seasons and with a new signal caller, it will go up for a fourth straight season. The defense will play a bigger role this season and if it improves from its 30.8 ppg allowed last year, La-Monroe will be contenders once again, proving a lot of people wrong.

 Returning Starters on Offense – 8  The loss of Jyles is a tough loss but this is college and the Warhawks need to move on. Replacing him will be sophomore Kinsmon Lancaster, a versatile quarterback who will use his legs to succeed. He rushed for 242 yards last season in limited action and running behind a veteran line will be huge. He is not considered a great drop back passer so we will likely see a lot more of a running game this season. The Warhawks finished 77th in total offense and 88th in scoring offense so the loss of Jyles might not be as big as everyone is predicting. A strong offensive line is equally important and La-Monroe has just that which will be the difference between success and failure on offense.

 Returning Starters on Defense – 5  Defensively, this team was not as bad as the statistics indicated last season. The Warhawks allowed 38, 44 and 44 to Wyoming, Georgia and Arkansas so taking those games out and the defense gave up a respectable 26.6 ppg and 22.7 ppg after removing the 56 points allowed against La-Lafayette in the finale. All indications are that the defensive line looked very good in the spring while the linebackers and secondary looked even better. This will be one of the best secondaries in the conference with two all-Sun Belt players roaming the backfield. The Warhawks finished 48th in the country in passing defense and that should get even better this year. Stopping the run is the top priority heading into the fall as they finished 100th in that category a season ago.

 Schedule  Three SEC teams and a Big XII squad highlight the non-conference schedule so we can pretty much mark down a 0-4 record in those contests, especially considering that those are all on the road. The Warhawks open at home against Alcorn St. and that game will be a huge one as a win will jumpstart the confidence. Games at Kansas and Alabama loom with the home conference opener against Florida Atlantic coming two weeks later. The rest of the SBC slate is not easy but it isn’t overwhelming either as the biggest test will be the game at La-Lafayette at season’s end. Four of their last five games are on the road, never a fun way to end the campaign.

 You can bet on…  Head coach Charlie Weatherbie will have his team ready to play as he has done wonders thus far despite not having a winning season. Back-to-back 5-6 years are frustrating but coming off a four-year run of going 7-39, things are looking much better. The Warhawks finished with a winning record against the number last season that included a 5-2 ATS mark as a dog. We will see them in that role numerous times again this year and with a solid rushing attack able to pound the ball, some of those games could be closer than expected. The road team is 8-1 ATS the last nine years in the Monroe-Lafayette rivalry.

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