Ben Hicks; El Elegido.

Razorbacks 20 v. Portland State13

Por: Silvia Veronica Isaac Paredes & Carlos Chicas

Fotos: José Pablo García Bucio & Crant Osborne

A pesar de afirmar “que no pedirá disculpas por una victoria, ya que no existe una mala victoria”, Coach Norris aseveró que “hay mucho trabajo por hacer tras el partido de esta jornada”. Los Razorbacks sufrieron durante la primera mitad del partido pero repuntaron y terminaron con una victoria de 20-13 sobre el equipo de Portland State

Si bien todos esperaban que la estrella de la noche fuese el mariscal de campo Hicks, la victoria y los laureles fueron para la defensa, quienes realizaron varias jugadas espectaculares y detuvieron los avances de los Vikingos.

Unos días atrás, Coach Norris anunció que Hicks sería el elegido como mariscal de campo para el equipo local, una suerte de hijo pródigo regresado al hogar, ya que Hicks había entrenado bajo Morris en MSU. Todos los ojos estaban puestos en su desempeño, y si bien realizó algunas buenas jugadas, finalmente afirmó en la rueda de prensa que “debe mirar los videos para saber qué tiene que mejorar para enfrentar a Ole Miss la semana próxima, hay mucho para mejorar pero estoy contento con la victoria de hoy. Vamos 1-0”.  

‘Su defensa nos dio una paliza, nosotros teníamos un plan pero Arkansas jugo muy bien defensivamente. Nosotros veníamos con un plan y varias opciones. Mi mayor preocupación era defender ante los 7 que ellos tenían, trate de hacer ajustes en tercio del juego pero no me funcionaron. Jugaron mas en zona de lo que esperaba y al final del primer tiempo tuve que hacer cambios.” 

Ante las jugadas fallidas de Hicks durante el partido, los seguidores de los Razorbacks varias veces gritaron  que querían el mariscal que se merecían, o que deseaban un mariscal en serio. “Nunca jamás me voy a disculpar por una victoria, no hay malas victorias, lo que tienes que hacer cuando ganas jugando mal, es corregir y es lo que haremos.” Comento Chad Morris. 

A pesar de haber sido una partido sin mucho brillo, los Razorbacks sumaron una victoria y comenzarán mañana mismo a prepararse para enfrentar a Ole Miss en próximo sábado en Oxford, Mississippi.

Ben Hicks; The Chosen One

Razorbacks 20 v. Portland State13  

By: Silvia Verónica Isaac Paredes & Carlos Chicas

Photos: José Pablo García Bucio & Crant Osborne

Despite stating that “never would I apologize for a winning, because there is no such thing as a bad win”, Coach Norris shared that “this was not the victory he expected to see, we got a lot of stuff we must get better at”. The Razorbacks struggled through the first half of the game, but their game improved in the second half and they beat Portland State 20-13.

Everyone was expecting Quarterback Ben Hicks to be the star of the game. However, all the credit should be given to the Razorback defense, their stout plays blocked several attacks from the Vikings. 

A few days ago, Coach Morris announced that Ben Hicks would be the chosen Razorbacks quarterback, a sort of prodigal son, as hicks had trained under Morris for two seasons at MSU. Everyone´s eyes were set on Hicks, and even when he managed to do some good plays, Hicks stated during the press conference that he “would go over the videos to know what must be improved for next week to beat Ole Miss. There’s a lot to do and to improve for the next games. I’m happy with today’s victory. A win is a win, we are 1-0”. 

“Their defense whooped us. We had a plan but they (Arkansas) did a hell of a job on defense. We came at them with option routes and had our guys off the ball. My fear was we couldn’t protect with their front seven, so I wanted to throw quick. They sat on our routes and did a hell of a job. Upfront, they got to us. We don’t see defenses like that. That was my fear. I tried to adjust to it and it didn’t work. It was a frustrating first half. They played more zone than I thought they would. We had to make some adjustments at halftime.” Said Portland State Head Coach Bruce Barnum.

The Razorbacks’ fans at the stadium felt discouraged when the quarterback did not perform as expected and they shouted at the coach demanding for the quarterback they deserve or one that knows what he should do. “Never will I ever apologize for winning, there is no such thing as a bad win. You win and you correct. Now, you may not have played as well as you wanted to play, and we didn’t, but we won and we’re going to be able to use this win to make corrections.” Said Chad Morris. 

Even when the Razorbacks did not shine during their debut, the ended the game with a victory and they will start tomorrow to get ready to face Ole Miss next Saturday at oxford, Mississippi.