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Final 2008 National Poll Finds DAC Champion Blue Hawks Perched at #13
Final 2008 Poll - BLUE HAWKS #13
NAIA Football - CLICK HERE
Football - Postseason Poll Sioux Falls (S.D.) Finishes 2008 as No. 1 Team in Football Coaches' Top 25 Cougars won third national title; ranked first or second in last 32 straight polls Jan. 12, 2009 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) ends the 2008 season as the No. 1-ranked team, according to the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll, announced today (Jan. 12). The Cougars went undefeated at 14-0 and won its third ever National Championship after a 23-7 victory over Carroll (Mont.) College on Dec. 20. USF earned 418 total points and all 18 of the possible first-place votes. Sioux Falls also ended the 2006 season with the No. 1 billing after defeating St. Francis in the National Championship.
Sioux Falls held down the No. 2 spot for the entire 2008 season (12 polls) prior to the final postseason rating. The Cougars have either been No. 1 or No. 2 for the last 32 consecutive polls.
Carroll sits No. 2 with 402 total points in the ranking and went 13-1 this season. Perhaps one of the biggest surprises this season was No. 3 Lindenwood (Mo.). The Lions, which finished 11-2 this year, advanced to the Football Championship Series Semifinals and nearly defeated Carroll in Helena, Mont., losing by a 38-37 count. St. Francis (Ind.) checks in at No. 4 while Morningside (Iowa) is at No. 5.
The only team that jumped into the Top 25 after finishing the regular season with no votes is No. 25 Jamestown (N.D.). The Jimmies tied for second in the Dakota Athletic Conference with a 5-2 league mark. JC won five of its last six overall games to finish 7-3 on the year.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The 2009 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Spring Poll is scheduled to be released on Monday, April 20.
NOTES: Sioux Falls finished No. 1 in the postseason poll for the second time this decade – USF was first in 2006 after winning their second ever title… USF takes over for Carroll at the No. 1 spot, a team who had held the top ranking for the previous 13 polls (going back to 2007 postseason)… The last time a team other than Carroll and Sioux Falls has been No. 1 was Saint Francis on Nov. 12, 2006… Carroll has now been ranked in the Top 5 in the last 51 straight polls dating back to November of 2004… St. Francis boasts the longest consecutive stretch of being named in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – now standing at 117 straight mentions… The last time USF was not mentioned in the Top 25 was Oct. 19, 1999… Carroll (Mont.) is the next team in line with 104 straight Top 25 rankings while Sioux Falls (S.D.) stands at 103 straight mentions… Carroll had its 28-game winning streak snapped after the 27-9 loss in the National Championship to Sioux Falls… Since 2004 when Ohio Dominican started varsity football, the Panthers have been ranked in 35 of a possible 64 polls – those 35 polls happen to be the last 35 straight weeks… Since 2000, Carroll has been No. 1 a total of 53 times, the highest amount of any program during that time span; Sioux Falls is second with 29 mentions at No. 1 followed by Georgetown (Ky.) with 14, Northwestern Oklahoma State with 11 and Saint Francis (Ind.) with three. Five Gridders Honored by NAIA for Academic Achievements
NAIA Academic All-American Team - CLICK HERE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2008 Daktronics-NAIA Football Scholar-Athletes were announced today (Dec. 19) with 247 student-athletes receiving the distinction. Evangel (Mo.) University placed 10 student-athletes on the list, marking the most of any school.
In order to be a recipient of the NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete award, one must fulfill these requirements: the recipient must be a junior or senior above in academic standing; has been in attendance at the nominating institution a minimum of one full year of attendance; has a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) at the time of nomination at the nominating institution; has been certified as eligible.
These student-athletes were officially submitted from individual schools by the reported deadline to the NAIA Football Scholar-Athlete Coordinator. Scholar-athletes to make the list from Dickinson State are Jon Breitbach (SR, WR, Bismarck, N.D.), Carl Gauthier (SR, DE, Columbus, Mont.), Russell Lambert (JR, FB, Ekalaka, Mont.), Ryley McPeters (SR, DB, Upton, Wyo.) and Shane Zeidler (SR, DB, Plentywood, Mont.) Hank Biesiot Region 4 Coach of the Year, Ryley McPeters Named to NAIA All-American Team
COMPETE STORY ALL-AMERICAN TEAM - CLICK HERE
WACO, TEX. - Ohio Dominican quarterback Cris Reisert and Carroll (Mont.) linebacker Owen Koeppen headline the 2008 AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Team announced today by the American Football Coaches Association.
THE OFFENSE Cris Reisert of Ohio Dominican has earned AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Team honors for the second time and is one of two two-time AFCA All-Americans on this year's squad. Reisert was previously honored as a sophomore in 2006. Reisert threw for 3,027 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. He ends his career as the Mid-States Football Association's most prolific passer and owns 10 NAIA offensive records, including most touchdowns responsible for in a season with 57.
Reisert's receiving corps on this year's team includes Derek Deardorff of Malone, Chauncey Calhoun of Valley City State and Conor Walsh of Benedictine (Kan.). Deardorff ended the regular season as the NAIA's leading receiver, averaging 115.5 yards per game and 16.7 yards per reception. He established new Pioneer single-season records with 69 receptions for 1,155 yards and 14 touchdowns. Calhoun was the No. 2 receiver in the NAIA with an average of 113.7 yards per game, and added 14 touchdowns. Walsh hauled in 71 passes for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Ravens to rank among the nation's receiving leaders.
Campbellsville's Greg Fountain and Minot State's Nick Banks are the runningbacks on this year's AFCA NAIA All-America Team. Fountain averaged 156.9 yards rushing this season to lead the NAIA. He carried the ball 283 times for 1,726 yards and 21 touchdowns. Banks finished No. 2 nationally, averaging 143.8 yards per contest and scored 17 touchdowns.
The offensive line features Jacob Bruster of Friends, Steven Dawley of William Penn, Jeff Hynes of Lindenwood, T.J. Wendt of Sioux Falls and Beau Weiss of Bethel (Tenn.). Bruster helped clear the way for an offense that averaged more than 400 yards per game and scored 59 touchdowns this season. Dawley was the lead blocker for a Statesman offense that rushed for more than 2,600 yards and scored 29 touchdowns on the ground in 2008. Hynes leads a Lindenwood offensive line that surrendered just five sacks this season for an offense that averaged 469.8 yards per game in 2008. Wendt anchors an offensive line that has helped the Cougars rank eighth in scoring offense at 37.5 points per game, and earn a berth in the NAIA national title game. Weiss was the key blocker for a Bethel offense that averaged more than 300 yards per game in total offense this season.
THE DEFENSE The linebackers on this year's team include Owen Koeppen of Carroll (Mont.), Clayton Norberg of St. Francis (Ill.) and Nathan Jansen of Northwestern (Iowa). Koeppen joins Reisert as a returnee on this year's AFCA NAIA Coaches' All-America Team. He anchors a Saints defense that is holding opponents to 264.4 yards per game in 2008. On the season, Koeppen has 105 tackles and two interceptions for the defending NAIA champions. Norberg led St. Francis with 74 total tackles, including 13.5 for a loss, to go with three sacks and two pass break-ups. Jansen was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Great Plains Athletic Conference. He led the conference in tackles for loss with 15 and posted 61 total tackles, seven sacks, three interceptions and four pass break-ups.
This year's defensive linemen include Larry Wentzel of Missouri Valley, Tim Farrell of St. Francis (Ind.), Lantz Mathers of Northwestern Oklahoma State and Cedric Fisher of Lambuth. Wentzel finished the season with 25 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss along with 2.5 sacks. Farrell anchors a St. Francis defensive front that limited teams to 98.5 yards rushing per game. He recorded 67 tackles this season. Mathers led the NAIA in fumbles forced and tackles for loss per game and was No. 5 in the country in sacks per game while finishing the season with 82 tackles. Fisher posted 77 stops along with 13 tackles for loss this season. He also recorded a team-leading 5.5 sacks.
The secondary features Chris Rodgers of St. Xavier, Darnell Brown of Langston, Ryan Oetken of Morningside and Ryley McPeters of Dickinson State. Rodgers recorded 46 tackles, three interceptions and 18 pass break-ups for the Cougars. He also set a school record by blocking three punts in one game against Walsh. Brown finished the season with 60 tackles, an NAIA-leading 10 interceptions and seven pass break-ups. Oetken had 68 tackles, nine interceptions and 10 pass break-ups for the Mustangs. He tied a Morningside single-game record with three interceptions in a Sept. 6, 31-7 win against Dakota Wesleyan. McPeters had 47 tackles, nine interceptions and 10 pass break-ups for the Blue Hawks.
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