Tonight’s games in the divisions Balladeer’s Blogs follow will be kicking off before too much longer. Here’s the rundown:
Washington and Lee Generals @ Catholic Cardinals
The next two games are being played at the Metrodome:
Minnesota-Morris Cougars vs MacAlester Scots
Greenville Panthers vs the Crown Storm
In the Jayhawk Conference:
Garden City Broncbusters @ Independence Pirates
Filed under college football
Yes, the headline is a play on the Kansas Jayhawks’ traditional chant “Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk”. It’s the final week of the regular season in the Jayhawk Conference so they get priority for this week’s gridiron preview. Teams will see action tonight and tomorrow except for the conference’s and the nation’s #1-ranked JUCO team, the Butler Grizzlies, who have their bye week, which in this case allows them to rest up and get healthy for the start of the playoffs next week.
The 7th-ranked Hutchinson Blue Dragons will be hosting the 14th-ranked Coffeyville Red Ravens in a very “colorful” matchup Saturday at 7PM local time. The Red Ravens come into the game boasting a 6-2 record and the Blue Dragons come in at 7-1, with their 1 loss coming last week against Top-Ranked Butler.
The Dodge City Conquistadors are hosting the AFP Huskies at 1:30PM local time on Saturday. The Huskies have racked up 6 wins so far but the Conquistadors are trying to avoid ending the season without a single win. Will it be an early Halloween “Treat” for the home team, or will they face an ending as downbeat as the one in the Conquistador movie Aguirre, The Wrath Of God?
The Garden City Broncbusters (that’s not a typo – they go by Broncbusters without the “O”) take it on the road against the Independence Pirates. It will either be the Pirates who claim the win as their booty or the Broncbusters who end their season in a happier mood than Jack Palance had when his series Bronk was canceled. (I’ll admit it. A reference to an obscure 70’s detective show in a post about the Broncbusters is a new low even for me.) This game kicks off at 7 tonight.
The Highland Scotties play host to the Fort Scott Greyhounds in a real dogfight that could be called The Great Scott Bowl. Well, it IS Halloween season so I figured a reference to the “Great Scott” bit in The Rocky Horror Picture Show wasn’t out of line. This game starts at 1PM on Saturday. Readers of Balladeer’s Blog will recognize the fact that 5 of the teams mentioned here made my list of the 20 Coolest-Named JUCO Sports Teams. For the whole list click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/10/18/the-20-coolest-named-juco-sports-teams/
And to follow these games on line click here: http://www.kjccc.org/mobile/
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There’s only one game tonight in the divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers, and it’s in NCAA Division2. Both teams are ranked and they both play in the Gulf South Conference, often called the SEC of D2. The road team is coached by THE Terry Bowden, the only member of the Bowden coaching family that is still a head coach.
#20 NORTH ALABAMA LIONS @ #15 DELTA STATE STATESMEN (On ComCast SportsNet)
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Eastman Has Career Day – Sioux Falls Cougars QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman had a career day as USF decimated the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers 63-3. (In any Sioux Falls game it’s best to put the over/under in the 60’s or 70’s) Eastman went 20 of 30 for 360 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Top-Ranked Cougars are now 8-0 and have extended their NAIA-record winning streak to 37 games in a row. USF has a bye next Saturday and will resume its quest to Threepeat as National Champions on Nov 6th against the Dordt Defenders.
Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – The 16th-ranked McKendree Bearcats upset the 11th-ranked William Penn Statesmen 24-14 for the Statesmen’s 1st loss of the year … In a very slight upset rankings-wise #13, the Dickinson State Blue Hawks defeated #12, the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers, in their own house by a score of 24-14 … The 18th-ranked Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes were upset at home as well, losing to the unranked Sterling Knights 22-21 in a spoiled Homecoming for the Kansas Wesleyan faithful … The team at #20, the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets, also lost to an unranked team, the Minot State Beavers, in a 17-14 Instant Classic.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – Just one Top 25 team in D3 suffered an upset yesterday. The team with that dubious distinction was the #19 St John Fisher Cardinals who fell to the unranked Alfred Saxons 42-31.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – The 4th-ranked California (PA) Vulcans were defeated on the road by the Mercyhurst Lakers 31-21 … The #7 Hillsdale Chargers also lost on the road to an unranked team, the Wayne State (MI) Warriors by a score of 14-9 … THE Terry Bowden’s 9th-ranked North Alabama Lions fell to the Ouachita Baptist Tigers in overtime on a failed extra point attempt, 23-24 … #13 fell to #15 as the West Texas A&M Buffaloes defeated the Midwestern State Mustangs 42-29 and the 23rd-ranked Missouri Western Griffins will likely fall from the Top 25 after losing to the unranked Missouri Southern Lions by a score of 23-6.
St Francis (IN) And Peru State Rule The World – Two NAIA teams defeated higher division opponents yesterday. The 7th-ranked St Francis (IN) Cougars routed NCAA Division 2’s Missouri S&T Miners 41-14, and the Peru State Bobcats defeated D2’s Lincoln (MO) Blue Tigers 41-33.
Putting Another “W” In Lindsey Wilson – The Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders, in their very 1st year of intercollegiate football, have already notched their program’s 3rd win. Yesterday they won in Double Overtime by a score of 40-37 over the Kentucky Christian Knights.
These Teams Are Anything But Rank – The Millsaps Majors won on the road yesterday over the Centre Colonels 30-18.
Oh Yes They Call It The Streak – The 5th-ranked Northwest Missouri Bearcats continue adding to their MIAA conference winning streak, topping the Washburn Ichabods in a 41-40 nailbiter at Washburn. Ichabods coach Craig Shurig could have gone for just a one-point conversion to send the game in to overtime after his team scored a touchdown making the score 41-40. Shurig went for the win instead of planning on OT but the 2-point pass attempt was broken up by the Bearcats in the endzone. The streak now stands at 43 conference wins in a row.
“Win One For Mark Trail” Dept – The Lake Forest Foresters got their 1st win of the season yesterday, defeating the Lawrence Vikings by a score of 35-14. With fellow Midwest Conference bottom-dwellers the Knox Prairie Fire coming up next Saturday the Foresters have a good shot at winning 2 in a row.
And Those Chargers Keep Charging Along – The New Haven Chargers, in just the 2nd year of their revival of football, have just 1 loss on the season and yesterday took sole possession of 1st place in the Northeast 10 Conference by defeating the Merrimack Warriors 27-25.
The Fleeces Stay Perfect – The 11th-ranked Albany (GA) State Golden Rams (I call them The Fleeces for short) and their Dirty Blue Defense won on the road in the final seconds to spoil Homecoming for the 25th-ranked Morehouse Maroon Tigers. The final score was 13-12, keeping Albany State’s record blemish-free so far this season.
We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category was the 6-5 victory the Indianapolis Greyhounds had over the Northern Michigan Wildcats. This was one game A-Rod and the Yankees might have been able to win!
We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – No defense? No problem! At least that seemed to be the sentiment held by the Puget Sound Loggers and the Lewis and Clark Pioneers yesterday. The Pioneers came out on top in a 68-64 orgy of scoring.
“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – In the ongoing rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 it was all D3 this weekend. The Huntingdon Hawks defeated the streaking Webber International Warriors at their place 35-23. The Newport News Builders took down the Southern Virginia Knights in a 20-18 Instant Classic and the Willamette Bearcats defeated the Menlo Oaks 32-15.
The Lightning Round – In a game that had to be concluded today because of an extended lightning delay yesterday the Austin ‘Roos won a nail-biter over the Rhodes Lynx 17-16.
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“Mountain Lion” Ryan And Sioux Falls Remain Perfect – Wr Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan starred as the NAIA’s Top-Ranked USF Cougars defeated the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs 28-3. The game was Victory Sports Network‘s Game Of The Week. At the start it looked like things would not go the Cougars’ way, especially after the usually automatic “Brassy” Braden Wieking missed 2 early field goals. The Sioux Falls defense (and some excellent punting by Wieking) kept Morningside’s offense scoreless long enough for the offense to start countering the Mustangs’ defensive gameplan. QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman connected with Mountain Lion Ryan on 3 td’s while RB Chevon “Fire” Walker and the rest of the Cougar offense found their rhythm. The defense was led by Dom “The Studmeister General” Studzinski who had 6 tackles. Up next in USF’s quest to Threepeat are the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers.
Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – The Dickinson State Blue Hawks, ranked #9, suffered their 1st loss of the season at the hands of the unranked Black Hills State Yellow Jackets in a 19-13 Instant Classic … The 13th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers fell to an unranked team for the 2nd week in a row, losing to the Taylor Trojans 21-17 … The unranked Baker Wildcats, who had such high pre-season hopes, have settled into a spoiler role, upsetting the 20th-ranked Benedictine Ravens by a score of 20-14 … #21, the Montana Tech Orediggers, lost to the unranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in a beautiful 31-28 game. The Mountaineers will hope to keep this upset mojo going next week when they take on the Frontier Conference’s Fighting Saints in next week’s VSN Game Of The Week.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The 6th-ranked Coe Kohawks, obviously jarred by my recent investigative piece linking their mascot to the giant buzzard from outer space in the movie The Giant Claw (I’m kidding!), lost at home to the unranked Wartburg Knights 31-21 … The #19 Alfred Saxons lost on the road to the unranked RPI Engineers by a score of 27-24 … The Washington and Lee Generals, still undefeated in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play, upset the 20th-ranked Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets 42-28 … The Cortland State Red Dragons, ranked at #23, lost on the road to the Rowan Profs in a 20-17 Instant Classic.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – In a slight upset rankings-wise, the 6th-ranked West Texas A&M Buffaloes lost to the 10-ranked TA&M– Kingsville Javelinas 28-24 … The 9th-ranked Delta State Statesmen fell to the Harding Bisons (they go by Bisons, not Bison) by a score of 38-35 … The #17 Tuskegee Golden Tigers, in the midst of one of their most up and down years ever, lost again to an unranked team, the Fort Valley Wildcats, in a 26-0 shutout and the 23rd-ranked Wayne State (NE) Wildcats lost at home 17-14 to the Concordia-St Paul Golden Bears.
Hard-Charging Chargers – In this, just the 2nd season of their revival of football, the New Haven Chargers have wracked up an impressive 6-1 record and are an amazing 4-0 on the road. And they’re not playing teams below their own division to do it, either. All of their games have been against fellow D2 teams with their only loss coming against the ever-tough Assumption Greyhounds. Yesterday the Chargers blanked the American International Yellow Jackets 13-0 and are at the top of the Northeast 10 Conference standings.
It Isn’t News If A House Isn’t On Fire Dept – The Top-Ranked and undefeated teams in D2 and D3 won big yesterday. D2’s Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs crushed the Mary Marauders 49-0 and D3’s Whitewater Warhawks devastated the Eau Claire Blugolds 45-0.
We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category just barely qualifies. The UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs defeated the Nichols Bison 9-7. Where have all our 3-0 and 6-3 games gone?
We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – This week’s entry for a game in which the defenses seem to have just stayed on the team bus for the whole game is the matchup between the Georgetown (KY) Tigers and the Pikeville Bears, with the Tigers winning 70-58. The 6th-ranked Lindenwood Lions tried to provide a 2nd game for this category this week by scoring 90 points yesterday, but their opponents, the Culver-Stockton Wildcats indignantly refused to play along, putting up only 19 points in return.
Filed under college football
The NAIA‘s Top-Ranked team, the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, host the fourth-ranked Morningside Mustangs in the Marquis Matchup of this Saturday. Both teams come into today’s game sporting 6-0 records, so the old cliche that “Someone’s 0 Will Go” certainly applies. Cougars stars like QB Jon “Jonny East” Eastman, RB Chevon “Fire” Walker, WR Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan and K “Brassy” Braden Wieking will be in action as USF continues its quest to threepeat as National Champions. Kickoff is 6PM local time.
Here are links to updating scoreboards for the Divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers:
NAIA – http://football.victorysportsnetwork.com/
NCAA Division 3 – http://d3football.com/scoreboard/composite
NCAA Division 2 – http://www.d2football.com/scores/2010-10-16/
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MVC VIKINGS TIE NAIA RECORD – As hyped here yesterday the 11th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings had a chance to tie the NAIA record for total football victories at 560 and, as luck would have it, were playing against the team that had a 1-win edge over them: the William Jewell Cardinals! As this “What are the chances?” game unfolded, the Vikings actually trailed at half-time 13-10 but went on to win by a score of 40-23. Congratulations to MVC and it will be interesting to watch the Vikings and Cardinals jockey to see who gets to hold the new record week by week.
Hurlin’ Hewitt Enters The Record Books – In a game played Friday night, Johns Hopkins Blue Jays QB Hurlin’ Hewitt Tomlin became the all-time wins leader for Blue Jays quarterbacks as JHU crushed the Dickinson Red Devils 44-10. Tomlin also had a personal best 4 td passes in the game and threw for 271 yards. Next week the Blue Jays take it on the road against the 5-0 Ursinus Bears, who currently sit at the top of the Centennial Conference standings.
Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – Thursday night the unranked Georgetown (KY) Tigers pulled off an upset over the 25th-ranked Campbellsville Tigers 52-21 … In a minor upset the #9 St Francis (IN) Cougars defeated the 8th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers 20-14 … The 12th-ranked McKendree Bearcats were also upset, losing to the unranked St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 28-24 in the final seconds, with last-second upsets being a Fighting Saints specialty of late … Both the other teams tied for 25th lost to unranked opponents: the Hastings Broncos fell to the Midland Lutheran Warriors 35-23, Midland’s 2nd straight win over a ranked team and the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves upset the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers for the Tigers’ 2nd straight loss to an unranked foe.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The #17 Eau Claire Blugolds got pummeled on the road by the unranked Platteville Pioneers 35-14 … The 19th-ranked Wabash Little Giants (Am I the only one who thinks they should be called the Wabash Cannonballs instead?) also lost on the road, to the Washington (MO) Bears 24-20 … Completing our Trifecta of ranked teams losing on the road to unranked foes are the St John’s Johnnies, who fell to the Bethel (MN) Royals in a 17-14 Instant Classic.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – The 22nd ranked Winston-Salem State Rams, in their 1st year back in D2 after moving down from Division 1, suffered their 1st loss of the year to the St Augustine’s Falcons 40-35 … The #23 Tusculum Pioneers also fell at home to the Newberry Wolves in a 63-56 Mega-Shootout … As proof that “Rock beats Fighting Scots”, the 24th-ranked Edinboro Fighting Scots lost at The Rock of Slippery Rock 28-14 and the #25 CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves fell to the Colorado Mines Orediggers by a score of 19-16.
Webber International and Concordia (AL) Rule The World – Two NAIA teams logged wins over Division 2 opponents yesterday. The Webber International Warriors, 1 week after handing the Azusa Pacific Cougars their 1st loss of the year, brought down the UNC-Pembroke Braves, who were ranked #17 in the D2 Poll, by a score of 26-13. Meanwhile, the Concordia (AL) Hornets won on the road against D2’s Stillman (Yawn) Tigers in an 18-17 Instant Classic. Congratulations to the Warriors and the Hornets and here’s wishing that half the college teams called Tigers would be required to change their names to something less over-used.
“At Least Put A Color In Front Of Tigers” Dept – D2’s 18th-ranked Tuskegee Golden Tigers were road warriors yesterday, traveling to take on the 20th-ranked Morehouse Maroon Tigers and pulling off a 31-15 win.
It’s A Cliche, But Someone’s “0” Will Go – The NAIA’s Top-Ranked Sioux Falls Cougars (raise your hand if you’re sick of me mentioning that they’re trying to Threepeat as National Champs) won handily yesterday, mauling the Briar Cliff Chargers 66-21. Meanwhile, 1 of the few teams to play USF tough in recent years, the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs, obliterated the Dordt Defenders by a score of 71-0. This means both teams go in to next week’s meeting at USF with 6-0 records, adding even extra spice to the matchup in what is sure to be a memorable Victory Sports Network Game Of The Week. “Getcher popcorn ready” as a certain locker-room wrecking wide receiver once said.
We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out- This week’s entry for this category would be the game between the Shenandoah Hornets and the Maryville Scots, both from D3. The Hornets won 7-6 in a game where Bud Selig for once didn’t have to worry about bad umpiring.
Lindsey Wilson College Wins Again – Like the Notre Dame College Falcons, the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders are in their 1st year of intercollegiate football. Yesterday the Blue Raiders got their 2nd win by defeating the Pikeville Bears in an offensive supernova, 59-52.
Bearcats Tie Their Own Record – The Northwest Missouri Bearcats, ranked #6 in the D2 Polls, tied their own record for consecutive conference wins at 41 by defeating the Missouri Southern Lions 49-21. Coach Tjeerdsma’s boys try to set a new record next week against the Emporia State Hornets.
“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – In this week’s round in the rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 things ended in a stalemate. The NAIA’s Southern Virginia Knights kicked around D3’s Guilford Quakers 36-21 but then the Lewis And Clark Pioneers from D3 evened things up by defeating the NAIA’s Menlo Oaks 31-10.
How Long, Oh Lord, How Long? – The Marathon Game Of The Week Award goes to the matchup between the Methodist Monarchs and the Ferrum Panthers. The game wound up as a 51-45 win for the Panthers in Triple Overtime.
Generals Exterminate The Wasps – Insert your own Dalek joke here following that title. The Washington and Lee Generals defeated 1 of the teams that has given them the most trouble over the years, the Emory and Henry Wasps, 45-24. The Generals had 2 backs run for over 100 yds, Luke “The Lambaster” Heinsohn (130 yds; 1 TD) and “Bullet” Brett Murray (121 yds; 2 TD) and a 3rd, Harrison Hudson, “The Hawk” himself, had 95 yds. QB Charlie Westfal, Official Balladeer’s Blog nickname, “The New Canaan Nuke”, was 6 of 9 for 66 yds and 2 TD and added 65 yds and another TD with his legs. (His kidneys had just 11 yds rushing) Washington and Lee is 2-0 in conference play and still hoping to win their 1st Old Dominion Athletic Conference title since 2006. The Generals get to try exterminating another insect team next week as they face the Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets.
We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – With Midnight Madness just around the corner, this category doesn’t seem as unusual as in past weeks. This week’s entry is the 84-55 win the Union Bulldogs had over the Bethel (TN) Wildcats.
Filed under college football
In a gridiron matchup that cannot be called anything but serendipitous, the 11th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings play the unranked William Jewell Cardinals today. The Vikings currently have 559 football wins, 2nd all-time in the NAIA. The team in the #1 spot has 560 wins. Guess who that team is. Yep, as proof that the football gods must love stat geeks the Vikings are playing the team whose record they are attempting to tie! YOU DON’T DARE MISS THIS GAME!
And here are the links to scoreboards for October 9th’s games in the divisions Balladeer’s Blog covers:
NAIA – http://football.victorysportsnetwork.com/
NCAA Division 3 – http://d3football.com/scoreboard/composite
NCAA Division 2 – http://www.d2football.com/scores/2010-10-09/
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The NAIA’s Top-Ranked Sioux Falls Cougars are 5-0 and going on the road to take on the Briar Cliff Chargers. The Chargers are coming off their 17-7 win over the Dordt Defenders but are 2-3 overall. Cougars receiver Jon “Mountain Lion” Ryan was named the Great Plains Athletic Conference Player Of The Week on offense and must be champing at the bit to get his hands on the ball again this week, considering the fact that last year USF beat the Chargers 41-8. Will the Cougars move to 6-0, or will Briar Cliff catch them looking ahead to next Saturday’s game against the Morningside Mustangs, one of USF’s toughest foes of late? Plus there’s the continuing drama of the Cougars trying to threepeat as NAIA football champs!
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays take the field Friday night, October 8th, hosting the Dickinson Red Devils. The Blue Jays will be trying to put last week’s game, in which their gutsy comeback attempt versus the Muhlenberg Mules fell short, 30-27, behind them. Some individual Blue Jays will also be playing for the record books. QB “Hurlin'” Hewitt Tomlin will have his 2nd try at becoming the all-time wins leader for a Johns Hopkins starter. Meanwhile, WR Tucker “The Trapster” Michels needs 114 more receiving yards to become the 7th Blue Jay to reach 2,000.
And speaking of records and the like, the 6th-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats can match their 41-game conference winning streak with a win Saturday evening against the Missouri Southern Lions. The Bearcats have won 15 straight against the Lions and lead the overall series 17-4. Northwest comes in with a 3-1 record, Southern with a 2-3 record. The conference the 2 play in is the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
A week after making Head Coach Frank Miriello the winningest coach in program history, the Washington and Lee Generals take on the Emory and Henry Wasps. The Generals are hoping to improve to 3-2, but the Wasps have been a tough hive to crack for the Washington and Lee football team. Emory and Henry leads the all-time series 28-11 and have won the last 2 in a row including last year’s 23-16 Instant Classic in Emory. Just as Rutgers is remembered as the site of the 1st ever college football game in 1869, Washington and Lee is remembered for playing the Virginia Military Institute in the 1st college football game played in the south, way back in 1873.
The 2-2 Wingate Bulldogs take on the 3-2 Carson-Newman (Insert your own “Hello Newman” joke here) Eagles tomorrow. Bulldogs Head Coach Joe Reich (Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: “Joe”) will be playing gridiron chess against the Dean of South Atlantic Conference coaches, Ken Sparks. Look for incumbent SAC Special Teams Player Of The Week Timmy Rogers (Official Balladeer’s Blog Nickname: “Tigershark”) to have another big game.
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Here's a pic from those rare moments when Coach Tjeerdsma isn't coaching the Bearcats in the D2 Championship Game.
Mel Tjeerdsma, Head Football Coach for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, is interviewed by former NFL quarterback (And QB-rearing machine) Archie Manning in the Oct 4th issue of Sports Illustrated, at newsstands now(I always wanted to say “at newsstands now”). Tjeerdsma, pronounced CHURCH-ma (In a related note, even though my last name is spelled W-O-Z-N-I-A-K it’s pronounced “Johnson”. Go figure.), led his team to their 3rd overall D2 Football Championship last December. That was the 5th year in a row that the Bearcats played in the title game, by the way. You try keeping a team full of youngsters, many of whom are shaking from withdrawal after being on the football field without access to their Twitter accounts for several minutes, focused through playoff game after playoff game just once, let alone 5 years in a row! Tjeerdsma is being interviewed as D2’s Liberty Mutual Coach Of The Year and, among other topics, discusses preparing students for life after football, a commitment to community involvement and his father.
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