Oct. 7, 2010

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Around NAIA Football            

• As the midway point of the football season nears, 11 schools stand undefeated. No. 3 Saint Xavier (Ill.) has the most victories with a 6-0 record. Seven schools hold a 5-0 mark, while three others are 4-0. Conversely, 13 teams are searching for their first win in 2010.

• The Victory Sports Network video-streaming has a busy week with two Games of the Week. On Thursday, the VSN Game of the Week broadcasts Georgetown (Ky.) at No. 25 (tie) Campbellsville (Ky.). Then, No. 8 Walsh (Ohio) heads to No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.) on Saturday.The broadcast team of Jason Dannelly and John Thayer will call all the action live on the internet. The games will be streamed live and free through the Victory Sports Network website at www.victorysportsnetwork.com. Next week features No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) at No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.).
• There are two Top-25 games this week: the aforementioned game between No. 8 Walsh (Ohio) and No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.) and No. 14 Marian (Ind.) heading to No. 3 Saint Xavier (Ill.).

• No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) takes its 34-game winning streak to Briar Cliff (Iowa) on Saturday. That streak is college football’s (any level of NCAA or NAIA) longest active winning streak. The NAIA all-time winning streak stands at 42 straight accomplished by Texas A&I in the mid-70s.

• Last week (Oct. 2), Top 25-teams went 18-6 (.750) which included two ranked teams losing to another ranked school. The top-10 teams went 10-0 with No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) dropping No. 17 Northwestern, 20-17 and No. 6 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) defeating No. 20 Benedictine (Kan.), 23-7. The current top-five is a combined 26-0 on the season.

• William Jewell (Mo.) is the all-time wins leader in NAIA history with 560 wins. Missouri Valley is close behind with 559 all-time program wins. Dickinson State (N.D.) recently captured its 400th program win after a 26-16 victory against Jamestown (N.D.) on Sept. 25 and Northwestern Oklahoma State reached the 400-milestone after a 43-14 win over Missouri Science & Technology on Oct. 2. The next school looking at a milestone is Peru State (Neb.) with 498 total wins.

• Missouri Valley head coach Paul Troth became the newest member of the 100-win club after his Vikings defeated Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 70-0 on Sept. 11. In his 14th season overall, Troth is 102-48 (.680). Overall, there are 11 active NAIA head coaches with at least 100 wins. Three other coaches have a shot at hitting the 100-win mark this year. Coach Mike Feminis at Saint Xavier (Ill.), who is in his 12th year with a 95-39 (.709) mark. His club has averaged 10 wins in each of the last four seasons. The other two on the radar for 100 wins are Dan Kratzer at South Dakota Mines (17th year; 93-89, .511) and Keith Barefield at Northwestern Oklahoma State (15th year; 90-45-2, .664). Refer to page seven for more details.

• One coach is close to hitting the 200-win milestone, coach Carl Poelker of McKendree (Ill.). In his 29th season, he is 195-83-1 (.701). There are seven all-time NAIA coaches to reach 200 wins with three of them on the active list.
• Holding a dubious record is Culver-Stockton (Mo.). The Wildcats hold the longest active losing streak in all levels of college football (NCAA, NAIA) with 29 straight losses. The last victory for Culver-Stockton came on Oct. 20, 2007.

NAIA Game of the Week*       

No. 8 Walsh (Ohio) (5-0) at No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.) (4-0), Victory Sports Network Game of the Week

Saturday, Oct. 9, Fort Wayne, Ind., 12 p.m. EDT, Bishop D’Arcy Stadium (3,500)

• No. 8 Walsh heads to Fort Wayne for a key Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division game with No. 9 Saint Francis. Both teams are undefeated and both have longevity and success on the sidelines. Walsh coach Jim Dennison is in his 29th year overall (189-121-2) and ranks 10th (tie) on the all-time NAIA wins list. Meanwhile, St. Francis coach Kevin Donley is third on the same chart (240-112-1) and in his 32nd year.

• St. Francis has won 12 straight in the all-time series and is 12-1 overall. Walsh’s only win occurred in 1998, the first meeting, in the 44-41 double overtime win at Fort Wayne, Ind. During the current St. Francis’ winning streak, the Cougars have averaged over 36 points per game and held Walsh to just over 14 points.

• Walsh’s Dominic Williams, the reigning conference offensive player of the week, leads the NAIA in rushing, averaging 184.2 yards per game. He has totaled 924 yards (7.1 ypc) with seven touchdowns. As a team, Walsh is third in rushing offense (286.2 ypg) and has out-scores its opponents this season by an average of 29 points.

• St. Francis also has offensive punch with an average of 200.0 rushing yards per game, good for 17th in the NAIA. Frank Wolfe is in the top-10 in rushing with 130.7 yards per game. The Cougars is +21 on average in scoring margin through four games.

• St. Francis has posted 11 consecutive winning seasons and has appeared in 10 NAIA playoffs. The Cougars had their streak of eight straight MSFA Mideast titles snapped last year after Saint Xavier (Ill.) took home the hardware.

• Walsh is off to its first 5-0 start since 2006, when the Cavs finished 9-3 and qualified for the postseason for the first time. Walsh has been 5-0 four times in its 16 years of football. The Cavs have been 6-0 only once, in 2006.

* Special thanks to Walsh Sports Information for assistance with game notes

This Week Around the Top 25               

• On Thursday, Georgetown (Ky.) heads to No. 25 (tie) Campbellsville in the first of two games on the Victory Sports Network Game of the Week. Georgetown leads the all-time series 18-4 including a 7-4 mark at Finley Stadium. The Tigers are looking to get over the .500 mark (2-2) and has struggled defensively, allowing an average of 31.5 points per game. Campbellsville is ranked this week for the first time in 2010 and is 4-2 overall.

• In the second Top-25 game in the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division, No. 14 Marian (Ind.) (4-1) goes to No. 3 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (6-0). Marian, a newcomer to the polls this year, has already faced two ranked opponents this year. On Sept. 11, Marian defeated No. 8 McKendree (Ill.), 45-12 but fell to No. 9 St. Francis (Ind.) 28-25 on Sept. 25. St. Francis has won 20 of its last 21 games overall dating back to last season.

• No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.) looks to keep its 34-game winning streak intact dating back to 2008. The Cougars, who visit Briar Cliff (Iowa) (2-3) on Saturday, also have a 48-game winning streak in conference action.
• No. 5 Morningside (Iowa) is a perfect 5-0 and can’t look past its opponent this week, winless Dordt (Iowa). Looming on the calendar on Oct. 16 is No. 1 Sioux Falls (S.D.).

• Leaders in the Dakota Athletic Conference with a perfect overall record (5-0), No. 10 Dickinson State (N.D.)travels to winless Mayville State (N.D.) on Saturday. After this weekend, Dickinson wraps up the regular season on challenging note -- three straight weeks against teams undefeated in conference play.

• No. 17 Kansas Wesleyan, the lowest-ranked team with an undefeated record, is looking for some level of respect. The Coyotes have sprinted out to a 4-0 record for the first time since 2006. Those wins have come against opponents with a combined record (through four games) of 3-13. Kansas Wesleyan plays Haskell Indian Nations (Kan.) (1-4) on Saturday.

Top 25 in Review (Oct. 2)       

• No. 6 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) defeated its third Top-25 opponent this year (Baker, Lindenwood, Benedictine) as the 5-0 Pioneers knocked off No. 20 Benedictine (Kan.), 23-7. The Pioneers have held four of five opponents under 20 points this year.

• No. 4 Morningside (Iowa) stayed undefeated thanks to a 20-17 win over No. 17 Northwestern (Iowa). The winning score came off a 50-yard punt return with 3:51 left in the fourth quarter.
• Webber International (Fla.) pulled off one of the biggest upsets in 2010 with a 13-10 win over No. 14 Azusa Pacific (Calif.). Placekicker Mason Prater nailed the game-winning 54-yard field goal with :15 left. That 54-yarder is the sixth-longest in college football this year, and it’s the longest for any non-NCAA Division I kicker. He is also the younger brother of Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater.

• No. 2 Carroll (Mont.) took care of business in facing an old nemesis. The Fighting Saints handled Montana State-Northern, 65-13 against a team that was the last Frontier Conference foe to win. That win extended Carroll’s streak to 38 straight in the conference.

• Unranked Midland Lutheran (Neb.) handed No. 21 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) its first loss this year, 21-19. The Warriors scored 14 fourth-quarter points.

We’re Going Streaking          

• Sioux Falls (S.D.) has won its last 48 straight games against Great Plains Athletic Conference competition as the Cougars sport a 5-0 record this year. The last league loss came against Morningside (Iowa) on Oct. 15, 2005. Overall, USF has won 88 of its last 89 conference games. The Cougars are also riding a 45-game home winning streak -- their next home game is against Morningside on Oct. 16.

• Carroll (Mont.) has won 38 straight conference contests heading into a Bye Week on Oct. 9. The last league opponent to defeat the Fighting Saints was Montana State-Northern back on Oct. 28, 2006, in a 10-3 win. Late last year, Carroll had its 24-game home winning streak at Nelson Stadium snapped after a 42-35 loss at the hands of Lindenwood (Mo.) on Dec. 5, 2009, in the national semifinals.

• St. Francis (Ind.) had one of the nation’s longest home winning streaks snapped late in the 2009 season. Saint Xavier (Ill.) ended the 56-game home winning streak with a 36-24 defeat of St. Francis on  Nov. 7, 2009.

Cream of the Crop  

• Through games played on Oct. 2, there have been numerous noteworthy individual performances. Overall, there have been 133 100-yard rushing games; 118 100-yard receiving games; and 43 300-yard passing games.

• The best performance on the ground came from Jeran Trotter of Friends (Kan.). Against Tabor (Kan.) on Sept. 25, he rushed 21 times for 240 yards (11.4 ypc) and three scores. There have been 11 games of 200-plus yards.

• In the passing game, Joey Erickson of Tabor (Kan.) threw for 511 yards on 36-of-53 passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions against Peru State (Neb.) on Oct. 2. There have been 10 games of 400-plus yards.

• For the receiving corps, Andy Skinner of McPherson (Kan.) finished with eight catches for 268 yards (33.5 ypc) and three scores. That came against Friends (Kan.) on Sept. 11. There have been seven games of 200-plus yards.