The U.N.I. Panthers prepare for this weekend’s Missouri Valley Conference opener at Missouri State. The Panthers are 2-1 after a 30-0 victory over Saint Francis of Pennsylvania and coach Mark Farley says his team is ready for the league race. Farley says they can start to plan and scheme based on those three games as they learned a lot from the different teams they faced.
Farley talks about some of the things they learned during the first three games. He says the secondary has been tested in many different ways and that has been a good way to teach them. Farley says they’ve also learned what his offensive and defensive line can and cannot do.
Missouri State is led by former U.N.I. coach Terry Allen, and Farley says they have made a lot of progress and are a lot better team than they were last year. Farley says Allen’s connection to U.N.I. will have no bearing on the outcome. He says it comes down tot he players lining up in the first conference game and both teams are trying to set the tempo. Farley says you have to win on the road to win the league.
Contributed by Elwin Huffman KOEL Oelwein