Sinnott gets call at QB for T-Wolves tonight

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Randy Sinnot

The Southern Michigan Timberwolves will be without No. 1 quarterback Kent Smith today, but coach Dick Clark doesn't sound concerned.

Smith, a former NFL practice-team player, will be out of town attending a family reunion.

That mean backup Randy Sinnott will take over the reins when the T-Wolves travel to Tiffin, Ohio, to play the Northwest Ohio Raiders in a 7 p.m. contest at Frost Kalnow Stadium on the Tiffin University campus.

"Randy will be starting," Clark said at practice Thursday night. "He's done a really good job of filling his role on this team. I couldn't be happier with his progress."

The T-Wolves played everyone on their roster last weekend in an impressive 30-0 season-opening win over the Indiana Cardinals.

Smith was smooth in his Southern Michigan debut, completing 7 of 12 passes for 93 yards and rushing for 12 yards on his only carry. "I couldn't believe he went 12 yards because he only took three strides," Clark marveled.

The T-Wolves scored on every possession in the first half and didn't punt all day against Indiana.

Because the officials in Fort Wayne were unfamiliar with NFL rules, the teams used high school rules with 12-minute quarters. Southern Michigan had only two possessions in the second half. One stopped with a fake field-goal attempt and the other ended when the game clock expired.

"We spent more time trying to get into our locker room then we did on the field," said Clark, whose team was locked out of the visitor's locker room for 90 minutes in a game that was delayed for one hour.

Sinnott played the fourth quarter and engineered a 57-yard drive that ended with the final gun. He did not throw a pass and carried twice for 13 yards.

The Westland John Glenn product previously played semipro football with the Detroit Diesels. He was one of several Diesels to join the Timberwolves along with new defensive coordinator Rob Streeter, who had been Detroit's head coach.

Clark said the current Southern Michigan roster of 68 includes about 20 ex-Diesels, 20 other newcomers and 20 returning T-Wolves.

Tailback Nate Lewis, the only T-Wolf back ever to rush for 1,000 yard in a season, will fill in as backup quarterback tonight. Lewis threw a pair of successful two-point conversion passes on trick plays last weekend.

On paper, Saturday's matchup with the Fremont-based Raiders looks like a mismatch. Northwest Ohio, which plays in the United States Football Alliance, is 0-3 and is coming off a 28-6 loss to the Ohio Outlawz. The T-Wolves and Raiders have never met.

Northwest Ohio's team includes linebacker Neal Arnold, who played for the Timberwolves in 2005 and 2006. "They're still in a building process," Clark said. "They've got a good organization."

Southern Michigan came out of its nonleague opener with no significant injuries. Wide receiver Darius Mason remains sidelined with a practice injury and defensive back Jim Hughes returns from a hamstring injury. The team has been practicing since March.

The T-Wolves will be off next weekend for the Fourth of July holiday, then will be tested in their nonleague home opener against the London (Ontario) Silverbacks. That game will be played at 7:25 p.m. July 12 at Erie Mason.

Clark calls this his best team in four seasons as Southern Michigan head coach.

"Coach Pi (offensive coordinator Mike Piasecki) has put in a good offensive scheme," he said. "Coach Streeter has adapted really well, his players respect him and he's got multiple schemes for opposing offenses."