Mustangs, Cougars look to fight it out for GPAC title
By Barry Poe, Journal sports writer | Posted: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Ryan
Posted from 08/05/08:
LINCOLN - There's a lot of football to be played between now and then, and of course, nothing can be taken for granted in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
However, it would be wise for GPAC fans to circle Nov. 15 on their calendar. That's the date when Morningside travels to two-time defending league champion Sioux Falls for a 1 p.m. contest.
On Monday, at the ninth annual GPAC football media day at the the Cornhusker Marriott here, league coaches voted Sioux Falls to repeat as league champions. Morningside, though, is right on the Cougars' heels.
Sioux Falls received 117 points and seven first-place votes while Morningside had 115 points and five first-place votes. Northwestern was picked third with 99 points.
The Cougars of fourth-year coach Kalen DeBoer have compiled a 27-1 record over the past two seasons. Sioux Falls finished 10-0 in the league and 13-1 overall, losing in the NAIA national championship game, 17-9, to Carroll College. That loss snapped a 27-game winning streak.
Sioux Falls has won 63 of its last 64 conference games and 28 straight at home.
"I don't want this to sound bad, but we expect to win them all," said DeBoer. "But, it takes one game at a time and that's the way we have to look at it.
"I truly couldn't tell you who after week two who we play and in what order. We have to take care of week one before we take care of any other games.
"We feel feel we should be in the national championship game every year. We feel we have very good players and as long as we do a good job coaching them each week, because of the caliber of the team, we should have that chance again this year."
The Cougars must replace Chad Cavender, the 2007 NAIA player of the year who passed for 7,083 yards and 64 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter. Versatile Lorenzo Brown, a junior from Bristol, Conn., who passed for 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 416 yards and six scores, is poised to take over as the starter.
"We feel good about Lorenzo Brown," said DeBoer. "Athleticism is the name of his game, but he throws the ball well and seems eager to step in and lead this teams like the quarterbacks from the past."
Another important position to fill is tight end, where former Sioux City East standout Josiah Fenceroy earned first-team All-America honors last season.
"There are seven guys battling for that spot and it might take all seven to fill in for Josiah," said DeBoer.
Morningside, coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the playoff quarterfinals, is certainly not short on talent. The Mustangs will have a powerful offense, triggered by senior quarterback Ian Gilworth, who passed for 3,623 yards and a whopping 36 touchdowns while setting a school record for completion accuracy of 65.5 percent.
"It's always great to return a quarterback," said Ryan, whose team won the GPAC in 2005. "That relieves a lot of doubt and we really return all of our skill players, including three receivers with over 50 catches."
Antuan Bloom, the big-play receiver, had 93 catches for 1,231 yards en route to first-team Victory Sports Network All-America honors. Junior Beau Kildow had 65 receptions and senior Blake Anderson 52.
"We know we need to be able to run the ball better," said Ryan. "We need to get more than three yards on a carry. We're just trying to get better at falling forward."
The one-two punch of junior Pete Lewis (599 yards) and senior Tyler Childress (24 career touchdowns) return in the offensive backfield. Seniors Cody Fisher (250) and Pat Dempsey (270) and junior Andy Scott (285) anchor the offensive front.
Morningside set a school record with 31 interceptions last season, including seven by junior Mike Buckley and five by senior Ryan Oetken. Junior Brett Nicckolite emerged as a big-play man at linebacker.
How about that mid-November date?
"Who are we playing then, anway?," joked Ryan. "Right now we're looking at Dakota Wesleyan (Sept. 6 season opener) because they have a lot of starters returning. That (Sioux Falls game) is a long way off and a lot can happen between now and then."
Northwestern, picked third by the league coaches, will once again rely on a defense anchored by two-time All-American linebacker Nate Jansen. Coach Orv Otten, though, must replace three-year starter Carlton Hector at quarterback.
"We just hope we can scrape out a win," quipped Otten, beginning his 14th season. "But we're optimistic about the season because it's an opportunity for us to get out and do what we do."
Dordt is set to play its first varsity season after playing a club schedule against junior varsity squads last fall.
"Everybody is really excited about starting the season," said John Heavner, named Dordt's first football coach in June of 2006. "We certainly have a big challenge ahead, but we have to focus on the things we can control."
Briar Cliff, coming off an 0-11 campaign, is under the guidance of first-year Coach Tom Rethman, who spent the last seven seasons as offensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"We really aren't looking at anything that happened in the past," said Rethman. "That's something we have can't control or that has anything to do with what we do in the future."
LINCOLN - There's a lot of football to be played between now and then, and of course, nothing can be taken for granted in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
However, it would be wise for GPAC fans to circle Nov. 15 on their calendar. That's the date when Morningside travels to two-time defending league champion Sioux Falls for a 1 p.m. contest.
On Monday, at the ninth annual GPAC football media day at the the Cornhusker Marriott here, league coaches voted Sioux Falls to repeat as league champions. Morningside, though, is right on the Cougars' heels.
Sioux Falls received 117 points and seven first-place votes while Morningside had 115 points and five first-place votes. Northwestern was picked third with 99 points.
The Cougars of fourth-year coach Kalen DeBoer have compiled a 27-1 record over the past two seasons. Sioux Falls finished 10-0 in the league and 13-1 overall, losing in the NAIA national championship game, 17-9, to Carroll College. That loss snapped a 27-game winning streak.
Sioux Falls has won 63 of its last 64 conference games and 28 straight at home.
"I don't want this to sound bad, but we expect to win them all," said DeBoer. "But, it takes one game at a time and that's the way we have to look at it.
"I truly couldn't tell you who after week two who we play and in what order. We have to take care of week one before we take care of any other games.
"We feel feel we should be in the national championship game every year. We feel we have very good players and as long as we do a good job coaching them each week, because of the caliber of the team, we should have that chance again this year."
The Cougars must replace Chad Cavender, the 2007 NAIA player of the year who passed for 7,083 yards and 64 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter. Versatile Lorenzo Brown, a junior from Bristol, Conn., who passed for 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 416 yards and six scores, is poised to take over as the starter.
"We feel good about Lorenzo Brown," said DeBoer. "Athleticism is the name of his game, but he throws the ball well and seems eager to step in and lead this teams like the quarterbacks from the past."
Another important position to fill is tight end, where former Sioux City East standout Josiah Fenceroy earned first-team All-America honors last season.
"There are seven guys battling for that spot and it might take all seven to fill in for Josiah," said DeBoer.
Morningside, coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the playoff quarterfinals, is certainly not short on talent. The Mustangs will have a powerful offense, triggered by senior quarterback Ian Gilworth, who passed for 3,623 yards and a whopping 36 touchdowns while setting a school record for completion accuracy of 65.5 percent.
"It's always great to return a quarterback," said Ryan, whose team won the GPAC in 2005. "That relieves a lot of doubt and we really return all of our skill players, including three receivers with over 50 catches."
Antuan Bloom, the big-play receiver, had 93 catches for 1,231 yards en route to first-team Victory Sports Network All-America honors. Junior Beau Kildow had 65 receptions and senior Blake Anderson 52.
"We know we need to be able to run the ball better," said Ryan. "We need to get more than three yards on a carry. We're just trying to get better at falling forward."
The one-two punch of junior Pete Lewis (599 yards) and senior Tyler Childress (24 career touchdowns) return in the offensive backfield. Seniors Cody Fisher (250) and Pat Dempsey (270) and junior Andy Scott (285) anchor the offensive front.
Morningside set a school record with 31 interceptions last season, including seven by junior Mike Buckley and five by senior Ryan Oetken. Junior Brett Nicckolite emerged as a big-play man at linebacker.
How about that mid-November date?
"Who are we playing then, anway?," joked Ryan. "Right now we're looking at Dakota Wesleyan (Sept. 6 season opener) because they have a lot of starters returning. That (Sioux Falls game) is a long way off and a lot can happen between now and then."
Northwestern, picked third by the league coaches, will once again rely on a defense anchored by two-time All-American linebacker Nate Jansen. Coach Orv Otten, though, must replace three-year starter Carlton Hector at quarterback.
"We just hope we can scrape out a win," quipped Otten, beginning his 14th season. "But we're optimistic about the season because it's an opportunity for us to get out and do what we do."
Dordt is set to play its first varsity season after playing a club schedule against junior varsity squads last fall.
"Everybody is really excited about starting the season," said John Heavner, named Dordt's first football coach in June of 2006. "We certainly have a big challenge ahead, but we have to focus on the things we can control."
Briar Cliff, coming off an 0-11 campaign, is under the guidance of first-year Coach Tom Rethman, who spent the last seven seasons as offensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"We really aren't looking at anything that happened in the past," said Rethman. "That's something we have can't control or that has anything to do with what we do in the future."
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