BLOG 8: Schneider: I wasn’t nervous during my first game

By Sandy Gholston

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Schneider directed the Bulldogs to a victory in his first collegiate contest Saturday at Tiffin

TIFFIN, Ohio – Tom Schneider, starting in his first college game at quarterback for Ferris State, was far more relaxed than most people would have thought.

“To be honest, the biggest part of the nerves I felt came when I first found out I was going to be starting this season,” said the 6-foot-3 Schneider, a native of Jerome who prepped at Addison High School, where he was an all-state player. “After I found out … I knew I had time to prepare and that preparation helped me to feel a lot more comfortable so that when I got on the field I was a lot more relaxed. … When I got on the field I felt like I was ready to go.”

Schneider’s play reflected composure as he led his team to a hard-fought 14-12 season-opening win over Tiffin at Frost-Kalnow Stadium in Tiffin, Ohio. Although the team had its struggles finishing off several drives, even with good field position, Schneider managed a statistically-solid performance for the Bulldogs. He completed 6-of-13 passes for 73 yards and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Seth Hubbard. Actually, Schneider inflicted most of his damage on the Dragons his feet. He rushed the ball 29 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.

“Tom did a nice job out there … being in his first game for us,” said Ferris head coach Jeff Pierce. “We’re going to have some things to look at, as we break down the film, but Tom made some nice throws and he missed a few as well. We also dropped some passes out there and we still have to work to establish the running game a little better … to be able to run with some consistency. We have a lot of things we will have to look at and get better at as we get ready for next week.”

The Bulldogs (1-0) return to Ohio on Sept. 6 to take on Ashland in a 1 p.m. game that will be played at Community Stadium in Ashland, Ohio.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com