Tag Archives: college football

ASA COLLEGE AVENGER MOVES ON TO THE NFL

Avengers

Avengers

The ASA College Avengers football team has only been around for a handful of years but last year made their first Bowl appearance and now they’ve already gotten their first player into the NFL!

Gilbert Pena, standout defensive lineman for the Avengers, was signed as an undrafted free agent by the storied Green Bay Packers franchise. Pena is a Yonkers, NY native and delayed the start of his college career by 4 years to care for his mother as she battled cancer.

Gilbert was an impact player for Head Coach Dennis Orlando’s ASA College team and earned all-conference honors after a Continue reading →

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COOL FOOTBALL HELMET: MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN

MSU- Northern LightsMONTANA STATE-NORTHERN LIGHTS

Location: Havre, MT

Division: NAIA

Conference Affiliation: Frontier Conference

Comment: MSU-Northern cleverly decided to call their sports teams the Lights because of the “Northern” at the end of their university’s name. An unfortunate side effect is that people often mistakenly think their teams are called the “Northern Lights” and that they Continue reading →

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NAIA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS DEFEAT THE NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW

Marian University KnightsThe votes are all in for the 3rd edition of Balladeer’s Bowl in which my readers get to vote on who would win if the NAIA college football champs played the NCAA Division 3 football champs. D3 needed a Joe Namath moment for this 3rd go-round but none materialized as the NAIA champs made it 3 Balladeer’s Bowl victories in a row.

The MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS came in as the NAIA title holders with the storied MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS carrying the banner of D3 football. 263 voters felt the Knights would defeat the Purple Raiders with just 212 voting for Mt Union. D3 can take solace from the fact that this was the most votes their team has gotten thus far in this hypothetical matchup. 

Here’s a look at the winners and losers of all 3 Balladeer’s Bowl games:

Balladeer’s Bowl 3: MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS defeated the Mount Union Purple Raiders

Balladeer’s Bowl 2: Continue reading →

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COOL FOOTBALL HELMET: BACONE COLLEGE

Bacone WarriorsBACONE COLLEGE WARRIORS

Location: Muskogee, OK

Division: NAIA

Conference Affiliation: Central States

Comment: Even if you’re not an Okee from Muskogee you’ve got to love these thoroughly intimidating helmets! Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with the tendency of the Bacone Warriors to Continue reading →

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BALLADEER’S BOWL 3: NAIA FOOTBALL CHAMPS VS THE NCAA CHAMPS

Marian U Knights helmetMount Union Purple RaidersBalladeer’s Blog regularly chronicles the intense gridiron rivalry between the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and the NCAA Division 3. Each year I allow my readers to vote in Balladeer’s Bowl about who would win if the NAIA champions played D3’s title winners. This year that means the MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS from the NAIA and the MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS from D3. Will it be 3 victories in a row for the NAIA team? As always, to avoid multiple votes by the same people you can cast your vote by emailing me at Continue reading →

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2012 COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS

The college football season in the divisions covered by Balladeer’s Blog has come to a close. Here’s one final round of congratulations to the champions of those six divisions.

Marian U Knights helmetNAIA

(National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics)

Champions: MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS

Runners-up: Morningside College Mustangs

2011 Champions – St Xavier University Cougars

Greenville College PanthersNCCAA

(National Christian College Athletic Association)

Champions: GREENVILLE COLLEGE PANTHERS

Runners-up: Northwestern (MN) College Eagles

2011 Champions – Campbellsville University Tigers

Valdosta_StNCAA Division 2

(National Collegiate Athletic Association)

Champions: VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY BLAZERS

Runners-up: Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES: DECEMBER 13TH, 14TH AND 15TH

Three down and three to go! That is, three of the divisions of college football covered by Balladeer’s Blog already have crowned their 2012 champions leaving just three more title games to go! Those games will be played today tomorrow and Saturday.

*** NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP ***

Marian_INTHERE’S NO PLACE LIKE ROME – Rome, GA was the site of tonight’s (Dec 13th) heart-stopping NAIA championship game between the MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS and the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS. For the bulk of the game the Mustangs seemed to be in control, leading 14-7 after 1 quarter, 14-10 at halftime and 20-10 to start the 4th quarter. A missed extra point in the 3rd quarter came back to haunt Morningside when the Knights outscored them 17-7 in the 4th to tie the game at 27 all. A 26 yard field goal in Overtime won the game for Marian, giving them their very first national championship in football. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MARIAN KNIGHTS!

*** D2 CHAMPIONSHIP ***

Valdosta_StTHE HUBRIS BOWL – The NCAA D2 championship game on the 15th saw the final game of the 2012 college football season for the divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog. The VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY BLAZERS took on the WINSTON- SALEM STATE RAMS for the title. The Rams had hubristically bragged about having the superior athletes in this matchup, but those athletes couldn’t stop the Blazers, couldn’t catch the Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS: DECEMBER 8TH, 2012

*** NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP ***

The NAIA championship game between the Marian University Knights and the Morningside College Mustangs will be played this Thursday December 13th, at 6:30pm ET in Rome, GA.

*** CCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ***

Bakersfield College RenegadesTHE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD – The BAKERSFIELD COLLEGE RENEGADES completed their fairytale postseason run today in the CCCAA championship game. Compared to last year’s CCCAA title game the 2012 edition lacked a certain amount of drama with the Renegades dominating from start to finish. Bakersfield dethroned the reigning champs, the CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS, in a 35-14 spanking. After compiling a 28-14 lead by halftime the Renegades coasted through the rest of the game to become the 2012 CCCAA champions! 

*** NCAA D2 PLAYOFFS ***

Valdosta State BlazersBLAZING A TRAIL TO THE TITLE GAME – The first semifinal in Division 2 today was played between the VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY BLAZERS and the homestanding MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS. The first half was a tightly contested affair with the Blazers leading at half-time 14-10. The second half saw the Continue reading →

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COOL FOOTBALL HELMET: KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY

Kentucky_St_OLD1KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY THOROBREDS

Location: Frankfort, KY

Conference Affiliation: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

Comment: How could you possibly top this helmet on the Continue reading →

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF AND BOWL RESULTS FROM DECEMBER 1ST AND 2ND

*** NJCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ***

Iowa Western CollegeDREAM REIVERS – Just four years after the start of their institution’s football program the IOWA WESTERN REIVERS became the national champions of the NJCAA! The top- ranked Reivers defeated perennial gridiron powers the number 2 BUTLER (KS) GRIZZLIES in an epic clash between a feisty newcomer and an established powerhouse. Most surprising of all was the way Iowa Western College dominated the game from start to finish, pounding Butler by a score of 27-7. Congratulations to the Reivers!

*** NAIA PLAYOFFS ***

Morningside MustangsDEFENDING CHAMPS DETHRONED – Just a week after Balladeer’s Blog pronounced them this year’s Team of Destiny in the NAIA the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS unseated the incumbent champions, the SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS. The homestanding Mustangs were all business and dominated on both sides of the ball, advancing to the December 13th national championship game with an intimidating 47-19 win.

Marian U Knights helmetONE STEP FURTHER – Last year the MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS made it to the NAIA semi-finals but lost to St Xavier University. This year the Knights proved that the additional year of experience under their belts made all the difference. Marian U took it on the road this time around and won a grueling, hard-fought Instant Classic against the MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS  20-17. It will be Knights vs Mustangs for the NAIA title on December 13th in Rome, GA.

*** NCAA D2 PLAYOFFS ***

West Texas A&MNUMBER ONE TAKES A FALL – The overall one seeds in NCAA Division 2, the CSU-PUEBLO THUNDER WOLVES, were upset in the quarter-finals by the WEST TEXAS A&M BUFFALOES. The Buffaloes have been this season’s answer to last year’s Wayne State, having to play on the road every round but coming away with win after win. West Texas proved they weren’t fooling around today and put the Thunder Wolves away in convincing fashion by a final score of Continue reading →

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