Tag Archives: football

September 30, 2010 · 12:57 am

THE COOLEST HELMET IN THE ATLANTIC CENTRAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

 

Team: NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS 

Location: Newport News, VA 

Division: NCAA Division 3 

Site: http://www.gobuilders.com/landing/index 

Comment: It’s the return of the Coolest Helmet feature! NNAS has one of the most eye-catching helmets in D3. In fact when they wear their maroon jerseys and the gold pants their entire uniform looks 1A-caliber! The Builders’ motto is “We build great ships: Craftmanship … Scholarship … Leadership” If you’re wondering why, if they build great ships, they’re not called the Shipbuilders instead, well, just say it out loud a few times and you’ll see the potential minefield they’re avoiding.  

For the NCAA Division 3′s Coolest-Named Teams click here: https://glitternight.com/d3-20-coolest/     

 For the NAIA edition of The 20 Coolest College Sports Teams You May Never Have Heard Of click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/06/21/the-20-coolest-named-college-sports-teams-you-may-have-never-heard-of-naia-edition/  For The 20 Coolest College Sports Logos click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/20/the-20-coolest-college-sports-logos/ 

 For The 20 Coolest Football Helmets In NCAA Division 3 click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/08/23/the-20-coolest-football-helmets-in-ncaa-division-3/   

 For the 20 Coolest-Named Sports Teams In NCAA Division 2 click here: https://glitternight.com/d2-20-coolest/ 

 Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or the NCAA or any of their member institutions.  

 © Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

 

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September 26, 2010 · 4:03 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM SEPT 25TH’S ACTION

“Win One For Ransburg” – The NAIA’s 6th-ranked MNU Pioneers upset the #2 Lindenwood Lions 26-20. Winning QB Sean Ransburg wrote himself into the pages of college football lore with a well-placed remark toward the end of the game. Clinging to their 6-point lead the Pioneers needed to burn up the remaining 2:37 on the game clock. Picking up 2 first downs would do the trick and as Ransburg reported this moment with his teammates, “I looked into their eyes and told them to tell me how bad they wanted this.”  I held a seance to find out how the late Howard Cosell would have described what Ransburg did next and he said “With his troops thus inspired, this latter-day Napoleon of the gridiron turned Pioneer Stadium into his own version of the battlefied of Marengo. A 26-yard completion to tight end Juan Redmon on 3rd and 8 from the Lindenwood  43  gave the battle-hardened MNU team a 1st down and with it the tactical high ground to ensure a victory.” Maybe I should have conjured up someone a little more contemporary instead.

Top 25 Upsets – In NCAA Division 3 the 9th-ranked Coe Kohawks upset the #7 Central Dutch 37-28; in Division 2 action #13, the West Liberty Hilltoppers fell at home to Continue reading →

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September 23, 2010 · 11:32 pm

THE LEADING SCORER FOR ALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYS IN THE NAIA

SXU's Mike Maher Official Balladeer's Blog nickname: "M Squared"

 

Let’s get to the bottom of the latest sports scandal: a college football player with no arrest record leads the entire nation in scoring! Mike Maher, better known to my readers as “M Squared” in stories about the Saint Xavier Cougars leads all college scoring. The following courtesy of the SXU Sports Information Department: 

CHICAGO – If asked to guess where college football’s top scorer is playing this season, most fans and followers would likely choose a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) school or maybe even a NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program with a rich history of football success.  However, the real answer lies at a small NAIA institution nestled in the south suburbs of Chicago.  Saint Xavier University senior wide receiver Mike Maher (Plainfield, Ill./Providence Catholic) has posted 78 points over four games this season behind 13 touchdowns (10 receptions, three kick returns).  The next highest scorer is NCAA Division II University of Minnesota-Duluth’s senior running back Isaac Odim, who has tallied 60 points (10 TDs) over three games.  

In terms of scoring average, Maher ranks third (19.5 points per game) in all of college football (all divisions, including junior college) behind NCAA Division III Thomas More College’s (Ky.) freshman running back Domonique Hayden with 54 points over two games (27.0 points per game) and Odim (20.0 ppg).  Maher has had the start to his senior season that every college student-athlete dreams about.  He currently has 31 receptions for 508 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns (three off kick returns).  The 5-10, 185-pound speedster has also returned either a kickoff or a punt for a score in each of his last three games and, most importantly, his team is off to a 4-0 start and ranked No. 4 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Football Coaches’ Poll.  Maher’s 508 receiving yards this fall currently ranks him No. 2 among all college football institutions in total receiving yards behind only NCAA Division III Wittenberg University (Ohio) junior wideout Josh McKee.  McKee has 514 receiving yards in three games after Saturday’s big game that saw him finish with 318 yards and five touchdowns in a 37-7 win over Washington-St. Louis (Mo.). 

“Mike is an absolutely dominant player at our level,” said SXU football coach Mike Feminis.  “In my mind, he’s a Division I-type caliber athlete who, luckily for us, slipped through the cracks.  We give a “Play of the Day” award after each game and we might as well rename it the “Maher Play of the Day,” because he wins it just about every week.  Mike’s a human highlight reel, but what makes him so special is his incredible work ethic and desire to be successful.  The only negative about Mike is that he’s too hard on himself.  He hates to fail.  Every coach uses the phrase, ‘play every play like it’s your last.’  That’s Mike Maher in a nutshell.” 

 Maher will get the chance to add to his scoring total on Saturday, September 25, when the Cougars head to Quincy, Ill., to take on Quincy University (Ill.) in a Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) crossover match-up.  The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

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September 19, 2010 · 2:38 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM SEPT 18TH’S GAMES

Top 25 Upsets – Let’s take this division by division. Our New Kids On The Block are the D2 teams so starting with them the 12th-ranked Tuskegee Golden Tigers got spanked by the unranked Albany (GA) State Golden Rams 34-6. *** The #22 Delta State Statesmen  continued to be dream-wreckers for the 17th-ranked Valdosta State Blazers, who lost at home to the Statesmen in a 27-23 instant classic.***In addition to Tuskegee, other ranked teams in D2 losing to unranked opponents were the 15th-ranked UNC-Pembroke Braves, who fell on the road to the Wingate Bulldogs 28-23 and the #19 Winona State Warriors who lost at the St Cloud Huskies 31-26. *************In the NAIA the biggest upset among the ranked teams came when the #16 Cumberlands Patriots got beaten by the unranked and previously winless Georgetown (KY) Tigers by a score of 58-40! The only other Top 25 upset in NAIA was a milder one – the 7th-ranked Ottawa (KS) Braves fell to the 9th-ranked McPherson Bulldogs 56-24.*********In D3 the only upset among the ranked teams was the 15th-ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen’s road loss to the unranked Pacific Lutheran Lutes 35-21. 

Crop-Man Forever – St Xavier Cougars’ outstanding quarterback, Anthony “Crop-Man” Kropp was 19 of 21 for 263 yards and 6 touchdowns as SXU trounced the Olivet Nazarene Tigers 56-17. Kropp’s teammate, “M Squared” himself, wide receiver Mike Maher, had 230 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns, 1 off a punt return. The defense proved just as super-powered as Kropp and Maher, recording 11 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, 3 interceptions and a fumble. To read Crop-Man: Origins (with a teaser about M Squared)  click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/22/saint-xavier-cougars-quarterback-anthony-kropp-joins-new-superhero-team/  

The Lambuth Eagles Rule The World Again! – Last Saturday the NAIA’s Lambuth Eagles defeated Division 1AA’s Georgia State Panthers (I’m such a rebel for continuing to say 1A and 1AA) and yesterday they upset Division 2’s 13th-ranked West Alabama Tigers in a 14-13 nail-biter. Rumor has it Lambuth is targeting 1A’s Michigan Wolverines next! (I’m kidding!)  

Comeback Cougars – The St Francis (IN) Cougars, ranked 11th in the NAIA poll (and 1 of 14 teams called Cougars in the Top 25) trailed the St Ambrose Fighting Bees 20-9 going into the 4th quarter, but then scored 22 unanswered points to emerge with a 31-20 win.

How Long Has This Been Going On? – This week’s award for the Marathon Game goes to the D3 matchup between the LaGrange Panthers and the Maryville (TN) Scots. The Scots won 20-17 in 3 Overtimes.

Point Of Pride – Division 3’s UW – Stevens Point Pointers upset Division 2’s Missouri S&T Miners by a score of 29-10. The Pointers were led by Mike Griffin, who rushed for 138 yards and by stellar play on the defensive side of the ball.

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – This week’s game that fits this category was the 7-3 game between the Midland Lutheran Warriors who won out over the Concordia (NE) Bulldogs in a textbook example of a defensive struggle. 

 We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – The 20th-ranked William Penn Statesmen beat out the Quincy Hawks 67-58. Statesmen fullback Shawn Davis ran for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game.

Team To Keep A Closer Eye On – The #17 Benedictine Ravens defeated the Central Methodist Eagles 38-14. The Ravens are 3-0 under the leadership of senior QB Ryan Kelly and you can look for them to move up in the rankings.  

“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – Let’s take a look at how this week’s games between NAIA and NCAA Division 3 teams went.  Winners on the NAIA side were: the 19th-ranked Azusa Pacific Cougars, who defeated the Whittier Poets 46-21; the Southern Virginia Knights beat the Ferrum Panthers in their own house 20-17 and the Malone Pioneers, who crushed the Anna Maria Amcats 69-0.  D3’s winners were: the Willamette Bearcats, who defeated the Southern Oregon Raiders 42-24; the top-ranked Whitewater Warhawks beat the Campbellsville Tigers 37-7; the Emory and Henry Wasps over the UVA-Wise Highland Cavaliers 20-10 and the Huntingdon Hawks  who manhandled the Faulkner Eagles 42-10.

Under The Radar Instant Classics – If you’re as into college football as I am, these are some games you may want to catch in archived video or audio form. You can check the scores in my Saturday Scoreboard but to avoid spoiling the outcomes for people who will be checking them out I’m leaving out the scores in this section: the Millersville Marauders hosting the Gannon Golden Knights; the JC Smith Golden Bulls hosting the Brevard Tornadoes; the Upper Iowa Peacocks taking on the MSU-Moorhead Dragons; the Lincoln Blue Tigers hosting the Panhandle State Aggies; the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers at the VCS Vikings; the Jamestown Jimmies hosting the Black Hills State Yellowjackets; the Newport News Apprentice School Builders hosting the Greensboro Pride; and the Christopher Newport Captains at the Frostburg State Bobcats.

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September 13, 2010 · 10:49 pm

THE WINNER OF THE 20 COOLEST HELMETS CONTEST

Once again the voters have spoken and the winners of the 20 Coolest Helmets In NCAA Division 3 contest are the Carleton Knights! The competition this time was the fiercest its been in Balladeer’s Blog’s young history. The 2nd place team was just 3 votes behind the Knights and the 3rd place team was only 5 votes behind the 2nd place team! Congratulations to the Knights on the win for their incredibly eye-catching helmets. Their fans launched a veritable crusade to have their team come out on top and they succeeded. You can take a Force Leap over to Carleton’s site by clicking here:  http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/ 

In 2nd place were the Washington and Lee Generals with a surprising number of e-mailers embracing my joking proposal to make their logo the 27th letter of our alphabet as a combined w and l sound like in “owl”, “bowl” and “knowledge”. Take the interior lines and bring superior forces to bear at the Generals’ site here: http://www.generalssports.com/landing/index 

The 3rd place team, like the Knights, plays in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Not only that but they also play in Northfield, MN like our champs. Yes, the St Olaf Oles survived my lame Olsen and Johnson reference in their entry and still garnered plenty of votes. To see their site and their iconic logo click here: http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/

The remaining helmets in descending vote order:

4. Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

5. Ohio Northern Polar Bears

6. UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs

7. Merchant Marine Academy Mariners

8. Heidelberg Student Princes

9. Lake Forest Foresters

10. Trinity Bantams

11. Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders

12. Ursinus Bears

13. St Norbert Green Knights

14. Kenyon Lords

15. Maritime College Privateers

16. Tufts Jumbos

17. Morrisville State Mustangs

18. NC Wesleyan Battling Bishops

19. Anderson Ravens

20. Rowan Profs 

For the original post that featured the competing helmets click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/08/23/the-20-coolest-football-helmets-in-ncaa-division-3/

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September 12, 2010 · 2:58 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM SEPT 11TH’S ACTION

Top 25 Upsets – Depending which side of the upset you were on it wasn’t always a great day to be a ranked team in the NAIA and D3. The Linfield Wildcats, D3’s 4th-ranked team, lost to the #25 Cal Lutheran Kingsmen, 47-42. If only the Kingsmen were still sporting their cool helmets instead of these bland ones with just lettering it would really have been a great day for their fans…The 9th-ranked St John’s Johnnies fell to the unranked Eau Claire Blugolds 23-20. After being on the losing end of an epic tussle last year Todd Glaser’s boys emerged with a win this time around…In what was just barely an upset in the rankings #14, the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys won a 31-22 game with the 13th-ranked Willamette Bearcats…Over in the NAIA, the 13th spot in the rankings was equally unlucky with the Hastings Broncos losing at home to the 23rd-ranked Northwestern (IA) Red Raiders, 24-10. As usual Great Plains Athletic Conference teams are beating up on each other…The 8th-ranked McKendree Bearcats suffered a road loss to the unranked Marian Knights in a 45-12 beat-down…The #18 Campbellsville Tigers lost at the unranked Cumberland Bulldogs, who were obviously inspired by Ron Pavan’s participation in Sherry’s Run Day, 33-21… The Grand View Vikings, at # 20, also lost a road game to an unranked opponent, the St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints, by a score of 17-10, and the 22nd-ranked Taylor Trojans were upset at home by the William Penn Statesmen in a 44-19 shocker that nobody outside the WP locker room saw coming.

The Lambuth Eagles And The Franklin Grizzlies Rule The World – Last Saturday the Azusa Pacific Cougars defeated the 1AA San Diego Toreros. Yesterday the NAIA’s Lambuth Eagles defeated the 1AA Georgia State Panthers 23-14. The Panthers may be in their 1st year of playing football, but they are Division 1 with all the money and facilities that suggests, so this is another David and Goliath story for the ages. D3’s Franklin Grizzlies, who just barely missed the cut in my list of The 20 Coolest Football Helmets In NCAA Division 3, thrashed 1AA’s Valparaiso Crusaders 42-7, treating Valpo like Simon Bar Sinister to their Underdog.

Not-So-Blue Raiders – Like the Notre Dame College Falcons last weekend it only took the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders 2 games to get the 1st ever win in their new football program’s history! They beat up on the hapless Southern Virginia Knights, 44-3. The Blue Raiders had an extended audience for their historic moment since the matchup was the Victory Sports Network’s Game Of The Week yesterday. For archived views of all VSN games from this season go to http://www.livestream.com/victorysports. 

S.A.M. – Service Academy Mania – It doesn’t get anywhere near the press of Army vs Navy, but the Merchant Marine Academy Mariners and the Coast Guard Academy Bears have an intense rivalry. The Bears walked away with bragging rights following an emotion-charged 10-8 victory.

Hands Across The Border – The Southern Oregon Raiders traveled to Burnham, British Columbia to play the Simon Fraser Clan, one of the Canadian teams who play in the USA‘s lower divisions for collegiate athletics. The Raiders came out with a 31-18 win, becoming the 2nd Oregon team to recently beat up on the Clan, who also lost to D2’s Western Oregon Wolves 38-0.

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – Yesterday’s game that fits this feature was the 6-3 win by the Rensselaer Engineers over the Endicott Gulls. It’s always noteworthy when just 1 touchdown and successful conversion attempt would have let you emerge with a victory. 

We Went To A Football Game And Half A Basketball Game Broke Out – The NAIA’s 10th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings crushed the Culver Stockton Wildcats 70-0 on Saturday! This lopsided victory was  the theme of the day for MVC sports as the Women’s Soccer team routed the Tabor College Bluejays 7-0 and the Men’s Soccer team took it to Tabor 9-2. Who would have thought the football team would give up fewer points than the Men’s Soccer team on a given day?

“My Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Department – Balladeer’s Blog has made several references to the passionate rivalry that exists between NAIA schools and NCAA Division 3 schools. To dispassionate outsiders they seem equal in athletic prowess but never to their partisans. NAIA teams had a 5 games to 4 edge in inter-divisional contests coming into this weekend but wound up on the losing side of some thumpings this time around, despite a few wins here and there…D3’s Top-Ranked Whitewater Warhawks dismembered the Dakota State Trojans 70-7. I understand the Warhawks just scored again a few minutes ago…Here are a few more D3 wins over the NAIA: the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers topped the Valley City State Vikings 42-0; the McMurry “No Nicknames” (I’m serious) crushed the Texas College Steers 64-0; the Coe Kohawks beat the Olivet Nazarene Tigers 45-7; the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets slammed the SWAG Lions 32-7; the Birmingham-Southern Panthers up-ended the Faulkner Eagles 52-16 and the Buena Vista Beavers defeated the Peru State Bobcats 27-7. NAIA teams who made a fight out of it but fell short were the Jamestown Jimmies, who fell to the Stout Blue Devils 27-24 and the ever-tough Belhaven Blazers lost to D3’s 21st-ranked Mississippi College Choctaws, 21-14. NAIA teams who came out with a win were the Menlo Oaks, who defeated the Chapman Panthers 21-10 and the Azusa Pacific Cougars, who lambasted the La Verne Leopards 59-14.

Other Thoughts – The Washington and Lee Generals got their season back on the right track by opening up a can on the Sewanee Tigers, walking away with a tidy 48-17 win. Washington and Lee promised to stop scoring if Sewanee  would stop talking about their “most wins within a few days of each other” road trip from way back when. (Just kidding! I love that kind of college football lore!) The Generals are now 1-1 and next face the Averett Cougars on Sept 25th***The Saint Ambrose University Fighting Bees (love that name!) improved to 2-0 with a 28-7 win over the Malone Pioneers. This bizarre turnover-happy game was tied 7-7 at halftime but under the sure leadership of QB “Dangerous” Danny Tharp the Fighting Bees took control in the 3rd quarter***The Ursinus Bears snuck by the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats 10-7 in a game with huge implications for the Centennial Conference race.  Ursinus trailed 7-3 at halftime and neither defense blinked in the 2nd half until Bears QB “Joltin'” Justin  Decristofaro hit Nick “Nicky G” Giarrantano with a 22 yd touchdown pass with just over 6 minutes left***Another big win for the Saint Xavier Cougars and another record-setting performance for wide receiver Mike “M Squared” Maher. In the 62-6 smothering of the Trinity Intnl Trojans Maher become SXU’s all-time leading receiver with 258 catches. Cougars quarterback Anthony “Crop-Man” Kropp was 15 of 22 for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns. For the full story on Kropp’s superhero persona Crop-Man (which includes foreshadowing of the star performances by M Squared), click here: https://glitternight.com/2010/07/22/saint-xavier-cougars-quarterback-anthony-kropp-joins-new-superhero-team/

Under The Radar Instant Classics – Yesterday’s crop of unheralded matchups that provided little bits of Pigskin Heaven were: the Randolph Macon Yellow Jackets over the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays 41-37; the Wabash Little Giants over the Wooster Scots 21-17; the Carthage Red Men over the Lakeland Muskies in Overtime 35-34; the LaGrange Panthers over the Millsaps Majors 27-21, also in Overtime; the Methodist Monarchs downing the Guilford Quakers 26-21; the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes over the Tabor Bluejays 23-20; the Montana Tech Orediggers beating the Montana State–Northern Lights 17-13 and the Rocky Mountain Battlin’ Bears over the Montana-Western Bulldogs 33-31. Archived video or audio broadcasts would be well worth your time!

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September 10, 2010 · 11:17 pm

SOME PREVIEWS OF THIS SATURDAY’S FOOTBALL ACTION

 It was 1894 when Franklin & Marshall and Ursinus 1st played each other in football. How can things like that NOT make you fall in love with college football? The Diplomats have won 6 of the last 8 meetings, but Ursinus is much-improved and some are calling this the de-facto Centennial Conference  Championship Game! It will be played this Saturday at 1pm on Sponaugle-Williamson Field. How can a name like that NOT make you fall in love with college football venues? I may name my first child Sponaugle-Williamson Wozniak. Send contributions for the kid’s therapy bills to me if you like! 

The Eau Claire Blugolds will be hosting the 9th-ranked St John’s Johnnies this Saturday night at 7pm under the lights at Carson Park (in case my child needs a sibling with an equally odd name I can call them Carson Park Wozniak). Last season the Blugolds fell 35-28 in a back and forth game for the ages. Tomorrow night Head Coach Todd “Blugold Football Fiiiiiive” Glaser hopes to lead Eau Claire to their 1st win in the series since 2004.

 The Sioux Falls Cougars have won 84 of their last 85 conference games. This week they hope to make it 85 of 86 as they go on the road for the 2nd week in a row. Tomorrow’s opponent will be Great Plains Athletic Conference rivals the Midland Lutheran Warriors. The last time these 2 played was 2007 and the Cougars won 69-3, with USF scoring 23 field goals for the win. I’m just kidding of course, but with a kicker like Fred Mitchell Award Watch List member like “Brassy” Braden Wieking 23 field goals would be no problem, probably from the mid-field mark!

The 19th ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the defending Centennial Conference Champions and tomorrow they host the Old Dominion Athletic Conference‘s Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. It’s the season-opener for the Blue Jays but the Yellow Jackets opened last weekend with a win over the Methodist Monarchs. JHU is 11-8-1 in season-opening games under Head Coach Jim “Madman Jimmy” Margraff. To link to live video and audio for the Jays and the Jackets game tomorrow at 2pm ET click here: http://athletics.rmc.edu/sports/fball/2010-11/schedule

 And speaking of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the Washington and Lee Generals will be on the road against the Sewanee Tigers tomorrow. The Generals have seized the high ground in the series by winning the last 5 in a row and also hold an overall edge in the series 36-22. Sewanee comes in with a win under their belts and W&L is looking to bounce back from a loss by reasserting their dominance over the storied Sewanee program. Kickoff is 1pm CST. For video click here http://www.sportsnation360.com/schools/Sewanee-University-of-the-South   or for a radio link: http://wlu.edu

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September 10, 2010 · 1:07 am

BECAUSE YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH BETHANY SWEDES FOOTBALL…

If you’re the type of fan who would come out of a 20 year coma and say “Forget about everything else! How often have the Swedes won the KCAC title?” then you’ll love this piece of news. This Saturday’s game between the Bethany College Swedes and the St Mary (KS) Spires will be offered in a live video internet feed courtesy of MOKSSports.com.  To access the link at gametime click here: http://mokssports.com/

Football helmet via The Helmet Project at: http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

And for the Swedes home site click here: http://www.bethanyswedes.com/

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September 7, 2010 · 11:33 pm

QUICK TAKES – WIDE WORLD STYLE

Drovers Are Doin’ It For Themselves – The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers men’s and women’s soccer teams registered impressive wins over the Emmanuel College Saints. The 15th-ranked Drover men won by a score of 4-nil and the women won by a score of 5-nil. Drover sports have been on such a roll I understand people have begun to say “Drover Hat” and “Drover Boots” instead of Cowboy Hat and Cowboy Boots, and not just in Oklahoma!

Generally Great Student-Athletes – 6 Washington and Lee Generals players have been named to the Virginia Sports Information Directors Academic All-State Team. The honorees, with my own typically odd nicknames accompanying their real names, are as follows: Ben “Benny Stretch” Goetsch, basketball and track and field giant; Jenna “Aqua Woman” Worsham, swimming superheroine; “Gridiron” Greg Kurkis, football PhD; “Empress” Emmy Mathews, Lacrosse and Field Hockey royalty; Becca “The Wrecka” Bolton, basketball diva and Tamara “Rhiannon” Morse, riding team.  

Diplomats Top Crusaders In Field Hockey – The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats field hockey team won an exciting game over the Alvernia Crusaders (not to be confused with the Alverno Inferno) 3-2. Becky Willert tied the game up at 1 apiece after the Crusaders jumped off to an early lead. The Diplomats then went up 2-1 on a goal from Allison McLaren. Alvernia knotted the game up at 2 all before Franklin and Marshall’s Eileen O’Reilly scored the game-winner for the Diplomats barely a minute later. F&M will be in action again Sunday against the Eastern Mennonite Royals.

The Association’s Greatest Hits – For newcomers to my blog I’ll point out that I refer to the Mid-States Football Association as “The Association”, like Jim Rome does with the NBA. Anyway, The Association’s MidEast League has bestowed Player Of The Week honors on 2 Saint Xavier Cougars. Defensive Tackle Ben “The Touz” Touzinsky  was named Defensive Player Of The Week with 3 tackles, half a sack and a crucial interception against the Bethel (TN) Wildcats. Placekicker Tom “Tommy The Linchpin” Lynch (who is on the Mitchell Award  watch list but was oddly left off of the Gallano and Mistretta Awards Watch Lists – bad movie fans will get it) was named Special Teams Player Of The Week for his performance against the Saint Francis (IL) Fighting Saints in which he was 7 of 7 on extra point attempts and had a career-long 47 yard field goal. This week the Cougars host the Trinity International Trojans.   

MVC Vikings Student-Athletes Are Anything But Hacks – The Missouri Valley College Vikings had 3 of their student-athletes honored as HAAC (or Heart of America Athletic Confernce) Players Of The Week. The 3 are: Ryan Buster, “The QB Buster” as I call him, who was named football’s Defensive Player Of The Week with 9 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in the Vikings’ win over the Baker Wildcats. The QB Buster is a Criminal Justice Major; Chris “The Punting Czar” Heale, HAAC football’s Special Teams Player Of the Week, who had 6 punts for 283 yards in that same game. The Czar majors in Exercise Science; Juliana Castro,  “The Unstoppable JC” herself, was named HAAC Women’s Soccer Offensive Player Of The Week. The Unstoppable JC AVERAGED 2 1/2 goals per game last week (more than some entire teams managed) and has scored 7 goals total in the first 3 games of the season. JC’s major is undeclared. She’s been too busy scoring goals to decide.

Sioux Falls Women’s Golf Puts Their Morningside Up! – The USF women’s golf team placed 3rd out of 10 teams at the Morningside Invitational today in Sioux City, IA. The ladies had a team score of 366, just 12 strokes behind the runners up, the Midland Lutheran Warriors and 18 strokes back from the winners, the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers. As for individual scores Allison “The Diabolical Dr Z” Zeller placed 2nd overall with 82 strokes over 18 holes (I have coworkers who would have a stroke if they ever shot as well as 82), Kali “K-Gott” Gottsleben shot a 91, “Dangerous” Davee Johnson shot 92 and Jordon “The Razor” Wilkinson had a 101.

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September 5, 2010 · 3:30 pm

NOTEWORTHY RESULTS FROM SATURDAY”S ACTION

Sioux Falls Survives Road Scare – NAIA‘s # 1 ranked USF Cougars were trailing the Northwestern (IA) Red Raiders (Motto: “We’re not the ones involved in the Mike Leach lawsuit.”) by a score of 21-10 deep in the 3rd quarter in last night’s game. I had even posted “Upset Watch” updates on my blog but the Cougars stayed cool and wound up winning 41-24. That final score is a bit misleading because it was 34-24 when a fumble by the Red Raiders was immediately recovered by Sioux Falls for another touchdown with barely a minute left in the game.

Fighting Saints Trump Battlin’ Bears – The Cougs weren’t the only highly ranked team facing a real struggle yesterday. The 3rd ranked Carroll (MT) Fighting Saints won a squeaker against the Battlin’ Bears of Rocky Mountain College 24-20. The proverbial grace under pressure prevailed, as perennial football power Carroll emerged with the win.

The Feel-Good Falcons – The Notre Dame College Falcons are in the school’s very first year of intercollegiate football but already have their 1st win. Yesterday  in a historic matchup against the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders, who were playing in their 1st intercollegiate football game since discontinuing football 75 years ago, the Falcons won a tight 14-10 victory. You could tongue-in-cheekly say that “experience” was the deciding factor since NDC had played a game last week (a loss to D2’s Mercyhurst Lakers) while LWC’s players were in their 1st game ever.  

Azusa Pacific Rules The World! – Azusa Pacific, one of the roughly 612 NAIA schools whose teams are called the Cougars, humbled the Division 1AA San Diego Toreros 42-14. This duplicates a feat accomplished last year when the Sioux Falls Cougars defeated 1AA’s North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Congratulations to Azusa Pacific for winning against a team from 2 divisions higher and honorable mention to the Virginia-Wise Highland Cavaliers who gave the 1AA Campbell Camels almost more than they could handle but ultimately lost 20-16.

They Shoot Football Players, Don’t They? – Yesterday’s Marathon Game Award goes to the contest between NCAA Division 3’s Endicott Gulls and the Framingham State Rams, which wound up going to 3 Overtime Periods before the Gulls emerged with a 33-27 win. 

No Shirt, No Nickname, No Problem! Division 3 McMurry, formerly the McMurry Indians but now a team without any nickname at all, oddly enough, won yesterday’s Indian Bowl against the NAIA’s Bacone Warriors 41-6. Personally I think nature abhors a sports team without a nickname so somebody needs to come up with one for McMurry. Something like, “The Big M” or “The McMurry Freds” for you My Three Sons fans. For fun they could call themselves  “The Big Macs” and see how many nanoseconds it takes McDonald’s to bring a lawsuit against them!

“My Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Department – Since McMurry vs Bacone was an NCAA Division 3 team against an NAIA team that leads us to the year-in, year-out argument over which division plays better football. The NAIA got off to a 2-0 start with the Taylor Trojans and Black Hills State Yellowjackets beating D3’s Anderson Ravens and Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils respectively. Here’s a roundup of yesterday’s NAIA vs D3 matchups – The NAIA’s additional winners were: Dickinson State Blue Hawks over the Concordia (MN) Cobbers 29-25; Belhaven Blazers over the Louisiana College Wildcats 41-34 and the Menlo Oaks over the Occidental Tigers 42-25. D3 teams notching wins over NAIA schools were: Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds over the Bethel (TN) Wildcats 35-31;  Coe Kohawks over the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers 48-21 and the Austin Roos over the Southwestern Assemblies of God Lions 28-6.

We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out – The Concordia (NE) Bulldogs beat the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves 3-0 and the McDaniel Green Terror defeated the Juniata Eagles by the same score. It’s always odd when 2 safeties would have beaten the winning team.  

Other Thoughts: NAIA – In a game moved to Saturday following weather concerns Thursday night the 4th ranked Saint Xavier Cougars routed the Saint Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 52- 21…the # 10 Missouri Valley Vikings won a close game against the #24 Baker Wildcats 17-10. Baker is sure to drop out of the Top 25 completely following this 0-2 start…the Montana Tech Orediggers upset the 21st-ranked Eastern Oregon Mountaineers 37-21. Eastern is also off to an 0-2 start…the Jamestown College Jimmies won in overtime agains the Peru State Bobcats 56-54 when the Bobcats failed on a 2-point conversion attempt…the Concordia (AL) Hornets played D2’s West Georgia Wolves very tough in a 24-20 loss, as did the Southwestern Moundbuilders in a 32-27 loss to D2’s Panhandle State Aggies.  

Other Thoughts: D3 – Defending Champs (And #1 ranked) the Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks won their opener by hammering the Adrian Bulldogs 35-0…the Wartburg Knights upset the # 17 Monmouth Fighting Scots in a 27-7 shocker…another, milder Top 25 upset occured when the 18th ranked Willamette Bearcats registered a road win over the 16th ranked Stevens Point Pointers 33-14…the #7 Central Dutch survived a scare against the unranked  Oshkosh Titans 34-28 (Insert your own “Well don’t that beat the Dutch” joke here)…Some terrific under-the-radar games were played in D3 yesterday. SPOILER ALERT – Stop reading if you plan to listen to archived audio webcasts of these games at the schools’ websites…the Merchant Marine Academy Mariners in a last-minute win over the Gallaudet Bison 35-34; the Mississippi College Choctaws over the Millsaps Majors 27-23; the Emory and Henry Wasps over the Ferrum Panthers in overtime 23-17; the Oberlin Yeomen over the Kenyon Lords 29-26; the Rowan Profs over the Lycoming Warriors 24-17 and the Muskingum Muskies over the Defiance Yellowjackets 19-13 in 2 Overtime Periods.

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