Swedes invade Memorial Field to face Chargers
By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer | Posted: Saturday, September 15, 2007
Briar Cliff would like nothing better than to massage the Bethany College Fighting Swedes into a relaxed state of submission today at Memorial Field.
The Kansas collegians invade Memorial Field (1 p.m. kickoff) for the non-conference affair with a 1-0 record after tripping McPherson College 17-14 last week.
Briar Cliff, on the other hand, is aiming to rebound from consecutive losses to Concordia (36-23) and Hastings (24-21) that have sullied what had hoped to be a more rewarding start to the campaign.
Bethany's football star, on the wane for several seasons, might be in a waxing phase under first-year coach Jamie Cruce, a Bethany graduate.
The program has been just 2-8 in each of the past two seasons, but the school's tradition is punctuated with five NAIA playoff appearances, the last in 1999 when the Swedes lost a first-round game to perennial GPAC power Hastings.
Bethany also lost in the first round in 1990 to Baker, fell to Tarleton State of Texas in a 1987 postseason opener and dropped another first-round clash to Missouri Valley in 1979.
In 1988, Bethany defeated Baker, its Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference rival, in the first round, but lost to Evangel in the quarterfinals.
"One word describes the Bethany football team -- speed,'' says Briar Cliff Coach Dick Strittmatter. "This team will worry you with its exceptional speed.
"It is a fairly young team and they're playing a lot of new kids, both freshmen and transfers.
"But, they called and wanted to play us and we said come on up to Sioux City. It gives us an 11th game, but a non-conference game is fine.''
Strittmatter, Briar Cliff's only coach in the school's five seasons of intercollegiate football, is unbeaten in two non-conference games. The Chargers defeated Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., last season and tripped Peru State in 2005 at a neutral site in Auburn, Neb.
Some bragging rights will be on the line.
"We've got to represent the GPAC well against the KCAC'' said Strittmatter. "Right now we've got to execute much better than we have been, but this is a chance to build some momentum with a much-needed win. It'll take four quarters of football, which we haven't been getting.''
Briar Cliff meets GPAC foes Dana and Midland Lutheran in its next two games and those two are a combined 0-4 going into today's games.
Briar Cliff's running game has fizzled in the first two games, but quarterback Kyle Gerdes returns and will start after missing the Hastings contest with a shoulder injury.
Bethany features an elusive junior college transfer in quarterback Kawika Kalawe, a 6-1, 200-pounder who played last season at San Jose (Calif.) City College. Kalawe is from Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
Chris Sutton, a 5-10, 200-pound junior from Houston, Texas, rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries in the opener, while Kalawe passed for 133 yards, but was held to three yards rushing on 13 carries.
Briar Cliff's Gerdes, a junior from Wahoo, Neb., has passed for 1,029 yards in two seasons.
"Briar Cliff started preseason camps two weeks before we did so they might be a little bit more polished than we are,'' said Cruce. "This is their third game so they'll have an advantage in game experience.
"They play in a very competitive conference and they look physical with good size on both the offensive and defensive lines.''
Bethany's defense permitted just 52 yards rushing and 117 yards of total offense in what was considered a mild upset of McPherson.
And, McPherson, a Bethany KCAC rival, collected 47 of its 117 yards on its final drive of the game.
GAME NOTES: Bethany, founded in 1881, is in Lindsborg, Kan., a city of 3,400 located 200 miles west of Kansas City .... With an enrollment of 515, the college, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was founded by Swedish immigrants -- hence the nickname of its athletic teams .... Bethany offensive coordinator Everest Martin played collegiately at the University of South Dakota and then Wayne State College .... The school colors of each school are blue and gold .... Dana and Midland, the next two Charger foes, have been outscored 116-10 and 88-8, respectively, in their 0-2 starts.
The Kansas collegians invade Memorial Field (1 p.m. kickoff) for the non-conference affair with a 1-0 record after tripping McPherson College 17-14 last week.
Briar Cliff, on the other hand, is aiming to rebound from consecutive losses to Concordia (36-23) and Hastings (24-21) that have sullied what had hoped to be a more rewarding start to the campaign.
Bethany's football star, on the wane for several seasons, might be in a waxing phase under first-year coach Jamie Cruce, a Bethany graduate.
The program has been just 2-8 in each of the past two seasons, but the school's tradition is punctuated with five NAIA playoff appearances, the last in 1999 when the Swedes lost a first-round game to perennial GPAC power Hastings.
Bethany also lost in the first round in 1990 to Baker, fell to Tarleton State of Texas in a 1987 postseason opener and dropped another first-round clash to Missouri Valley in 1979.
In 1988, Bethany defeated Baker, its Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference rival, in the first round, but lost to Evangel in the quarterfinals.
"One word describes the Bethany football team -- speed,'' says Briar Cliff Coach Dick Strittmatter. "This team will worry you with its exceptional speed.
"It is a fairly young team and they're playing a lot of new kids, both freshmen and transfers.
"But, they called and wanted to play us and we said come on up to Sioux City. It gives us an 11th game, but a non-conference game is fine.''
Strittmatter, Briar Cliff's only coach in the school's five seasons of intercollegiate football, is unbeaten in two non-conference games. The Chargers defeated Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., last season and tripped Peru State in 2005 at a neutral site in Auburn, Neb.
Some bragging rights will be on the line.
"We've got to represent the GPAC well against the KCAC'' said Strittmatter. "Right now we've got to execute much better than we have been, but this is a chance to build some momentum with a much-needed win. It'll take four quarters of football, which we haven't been getting.''
Briar Cliff meets GPAC foes Dana and Midland Lutheran in its next two games and those two are a combined 0-4 going into today's games.
Briar Cliff's running game has fizzled in the first two games, but quarterback Kyle Gerdes returns and will start after missing the Hastings contest with a shoulder injury.
Bethany features an elusive junior college transfer in quarterback Kawika Kalawe, a 6-1, 200-pounder who played last season at San Jose (Calif.) City College. Kalawe is from Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
Chris Sutton, a 5-10, 200-pound junior from Houston, Texas, rushed for 75 yards on 17 carries in the opener, while Kalawe passed for 133 yards, but was held to three yards rushing on 13 carries.
Briar Cliff's Gerdes, a junior from Wahoo, Neb., has passed for 1,029 yards in two seasons.
"Briar Cliff started preseason camps two weeks before we did so they might be a little bit more polished than we are,'' said Cruce. "This is their third game so they'll have an advantage in game experience.
"They play in a very competitive conference and they look physical with good size on both the offensive and defensive lines.''
Bethany's defense permitted just 52 yards rushing and 117 yards of total offense in what was considered a mild upset of McPherson.
And, McPherson, a Bethany KCAC rival, collected 47 of its 117 yards on its final drive of the game.
GAME NOTES: Bethany, founded in 1881, is in Lindsborg, Kan., a city of 3,400 located 200 miles west of Kansas City .... With an enrollment of 515, the college, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was founded by Swedish immigrants -- hence the nickname of its athletic teams .... Bethany offensive coordinator Everest Martin played collegiately at the University of South Dakota and then Wayne State College .... The school colors of each school are blue and gold .... Dana and Midland, the next two Charger foes, have been outscored 116-10 and 88-8, respectively, in their 0-2 starts.
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