15 Edition)

September 10, 2015 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Craig Mullins will be honored this week as Georgetown College plays Lindsey Wilson College. Mullen passed away last May from cancer. (News-Graphic Photo)

Last week seemed as though every game was either a knockdown drag-out fight to the end or a blowout. The top games in the NAIA proved to be just that while 13 other games ended with the losers scoring 8 points or less. The GPAC/KCAC challenge was that in name and not in substance as the GPAC went 8-1 against their opponents from the south with the lone KCAC win being Kansas Wesleyan over Midland.

Needless to say this week should be a lot different across the country as there are seven featured games.

Morningside answered any questions their might be about their offense not being able to function without newly named Carolina Panther Brandon Wegher by putting up 897 yards of total offense against Sterling. The Mustangs had two rushers over 100 yards in the win.

Carroll College topped Southern Oregon 26-20 and even though the Saints won the game I was impressed by the talent SOU has on roster. The Raiders have a lot of guys who haven’t played together and they will only get stronger throughout the season. Mac Roche threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Continue reading →

NAIA Campus Report for 10/30/2004 from Jason Dannelly: Dana vs. Peru State

October 15, 2013October 27, 2014 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

Some of the most fun that I have is talking with the trainers, Mark Kwikkel and Jeff Hume. While I was in school at Dana I became very good friends with both of them while I was a student trainer and also because it seemed like I was always in the training room for one injury or another. It was good to see their facilties had been upgraded from racquetball board to actual training room. The face of the facilities has changed greatly since I played my last game at Dana. There is the newly built Gardner Hawks Arena, visiting football stands, and new offices. It is really a nice face lift for a college whose facilities had been out of date.

Seeing old friends was a great time and seeing Dana finish the season with a victory was nice too. Even though I am as unbiased as I can be, I still have my degree from Dana and it was a big part of my life. I can certainly separate business and my past, but it does make me feel good when I see Dana puts one in the win column. Bill Danenhauer is bringing in the local kids and improving the atmosphere of the games. Heck, I even think he was showing off for me Saturday when Dana ran the ball 34 times for over 130yds!

As for Peru State, injuries and lack of depth have killed this team this year. They are athletic and big, but they lack the depth they need to be 5-5 instead of 1-9. Scott Beveridge is still a great wide receiver, but unfortunately he won’t have the numbers needed to repeat his All American campaign from two seasons ago. On Saturday he was Mr. Peru as he spent time as a kicker, kick returner, and wide receiver.

The unfortunate events at the end of the game were just a symbol of frustration from the entire season. Both teams only had one win. They had a lot of emotion on the field and things got really hot. I’m not going to go into detail about who started what, but there were a lot of personal fouls and ejections during the game that led to the heated skirmish after the contest. It was very unfortunate. I’m sure both teams are disciplining their players right now.

The bad thing is it was a no win situation for anyone after the game. If you take your players off the field after the game and not shake hands people call you unsportsmanlike and classless. If you shake hands and a fight breaks out, everyone says “The coaches should’ve known better than to let them shake hands.”

It was a small black eye to end the season on, but both teams can now move forward and get ready for next season. My time at Dana was great, I’ll be returning in December for the Football banquet. So in the words of Dr. Christopherson “GO DANA!”

NAIA Campus Report for 10/30/2004 from Jason Dannelly: Midland Lutheran/Concordia

October 15, 2013October 27, 2014 / jasondannelly / Leave a comment

That’s the one thing I have always said about the Bulldogs from Seward. These guys play hard. No matter what the score, the opponent, the type of game Concordia plays hard. They could be playing the #1 team in the NAIA or playing an 0-11 pasty and you’ll still get the same effort from Courtney Meyer’s Bulldogs. That’s the type of thing I think every team strives for and the Bulldogs have mastered.

Midland Lutheran plays on an emotional roller coaster. If things are going well and the team is playing together, watch out. Morningside saw this side of Midland this season as MLC sneaked in a game winning field goal as time expired to win the ball game and give Morningside their only loss of the season. Or there is the MLC that gave up 72 points to Sioux Falls . The ball really got rolling for the Cougars after Midland was flagged and threw an interception to change the face of the game.

Essentially both teams are very different in their style of play. Midland is capable of playing at an extremely high level if things are going right, where Concordia will play on that even keel for 60 minutes. Saturday was a case of Midland Lutheran being on the wrong end emotionally and Concordia bringing their best effort as usual. Even though CU won 49-10, I’ll be the first to say a lot of good things can come from this loss. First, it will make MLC realize they have to turn it back on if they are to finish strong in the conference. Secondly, it gave Concordia hope of getting to .500 again, something the program never did in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

The GPAC is always competitive and this week proved that. Unfortunately for some it looked like two teams going past one another on a highway. Concordia’s was heading upward toward a strong finish, while MLC’s was moving quickly to nowhere. Hopefully the Warriors exit off the highway ramp this weekend and turn things around.