Preview by Morningside Sports Information Director Dave Rebstock
The Matchup
Morningside College (3-0) is a NAIA member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) and is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Mustangs come off a banner 2014 season where they posted an 11-2 record, won a fourth consecutive GPAC championship, and advanced to the semifinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series. The Mustangs are one of the nation’s most successful football teams since the start of the 2004 season with a record of 115-23 for a .833 winning percentage and 11 consecutive post-season berths in the NAIA Championship Series for the nation’s longest current active streak. The Mustangs have advanced to at least the NAIA Semifinals each of the last three years, including an appearance in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game, where they lost 30-27 in overtime against Marian University.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (2-0) is a NCAA Division III member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WSIC). The two-time reigning NCAA III National Champion Warhawks are ranked No. 1 in the nation in the NCAA III. Wisconsin-Whitewater finished 15-0 last season and defeated the University of Mount Union 43-34 in Stagg Bowl XLII to win the NCAA III National Championship for the sixth time in the last eight years. The Warhawks are riding a 34-game winning streak for the longest active winning streak in all of collegiate football. The Warhawks have won nine of the last 10 WSIC titles and have a 69-3 record for a .958 winning percentage since the start of the 2010 campaign. Continue reading →

Well, the week got away from me and I don’t have much time to analyze what’s going on this week.  So I’ll keep it brief. . here’s a look at this week’s games and my picks! Continue reading →

HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College defense is perennially regarded as one of the best in the NAIA but hadn’t looked like it against Southern Oregon since the Raiders joined the Frontier Conference in 2012.

That changed Saturday afternoon at Nelson Stadium, where the fourth-ranked Saints finally bogged down top-ranked SOU in a 26-20 win. The rivals engaged in an opener that was dictated by defense and special teams until Saints quarterback Mac Roche threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Connor Poulson on fourth down to break a tie with 7:16 remaining.

The Raiders – who won 42-40 in last year’s NAIA quarterfinals at Carroll but have now lost three straight regular-season games in Helena – scored only one offensive touchdown: Melvin Mason‘s 40-yard run up the sideline that made it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game.  Continue reading →

Oskaloosa, Iowa–If future historians compile a list of the best NAIA football games ever played, they will be hard-pressed not to include Saturday’s three-overtime Instant Classic as William Penn (Iowa) defeated #8 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in a Heart of America Athletic Conference North-South Crossover game.

In the ongoing theme of the 2015 season’s rollercoaster ride, the #19 Statesmen (2-0) survived last Saturday’s ‘Viking Vortex’ only to take on the ‘Pioneer Punisher’ this week.

In a complete reversal of its opening week start, the home team fell behind 14-0 to MNU. After two lengthy drives stalled out in Pioneer territory, the navy and gold finally finished one off late in the second, going 98 yards on just four plays. The first of five huge Tyler Hafner (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Communications) to Jatavius Stewart (Sr., Rock Hill, S.C., Biology) pass plays–this one for 66 yards–highlighted the drive. Continue reading →

September 2nd, 2010: Lindenwood started off their season with a 68-7 win over Evangel in a game that was marred by storms in the St. Charles, Mo. area. LU QB Philip Staback was 19-21 for 385 yards through the air while the Lions put up 735 yards of total offense. The game was also the first for head coach Brenton Illum at Evangel University.

On the lighter side, John Thayer and I broadcast the game as one of our “NAIA Game of the Week” broadcasts. Kickoff went off as scheduled at 6:00 and Lindenwood went right down the field and scored. Then came the rain. . .the lightning. . . and the delay. If I remember correctly John and I didn’t leave the stadium until well after midnight.

Continue reading →

September 1, 2007: Ohio Dominican quarterback Cris Reisert started off the season with a bang by ripping off 456 yards on 31-36 passing to defeat Campbellsville, 71-0. Reisert finished the day with six total touchdowns, five of them through the air.

Today, Reisert is an assistant coach for NCAA DI FCS Elon University. The Phoenix begin their football season this Saturday at Wake Forest.

CHICAGO – From “Start to Finish” is the mantra for the 2015 season of Marian University football. The NAIA No. 1-ranked Knights started the 2015 season with a dominant performance in a 45-13 road victory over No. 4-ranked Saint Xavier University at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field in Chicago on Saturday night.

Continue reading →

Marshall, Mo.–Senior quarterback Tyler Hafner (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Communications) scored on a fourth down play in the final minute to cap off a great comeback in an incredible rollercoaster of a game as the William Penn (Iowa) football team rallied to knock off #9 Missouri Valley, 35-28, in its Heart of America Athletic Conference debut Saturday.

The 19th-ranked Statesmen (1-0) were looking forward to the excitement that would come from a new conference, but there was no way they were ready for what their debut would bring.

The visitors could not have asked for a better start, though, as the defense forced the Vikings (0-1) to punt after just three plays. A bad snap then gave WPU a short field at the MVC 4-yard-line. Continue reading →