Winona, MN-
North Dakota State College of Science and Dakota College - Bottineau will square off for state bragging rights and the traveling LumberCat Trophy this weekend, one of six football contests around the Minnesota College Athletic Conference.
The NDSCS Wildcats began 2019 in the 'Receiving Votes' category of the NJCAA Football Top 20 poll and are coming off of a 31-20 win over the JV team at Concordia College-Moorhead. In contrast, the DCB 'Jacks started 0-3 this fall but pulled off an impressive victory last week, defeating Northland Community & Technical College, 38-7.
The 2019 edition of the long-standing series will be in Wahpeton and is a part of the NDSCS Homecoming activities. For those unable to make it back in person to catch the game, Wildcat football is covered by Brad Anderson @BradA_Pbp
More information on the host institution - North Dakota State College of Science - is at: http://www.ndscswildcats.com/landing/index
Dakota College-Bottineau Athletics is at: https://www.dcbjacks.com/landing/index
On the national scene, the Week Five match-up of unbeaten Itasca Community College and undefeated Mesabi Range College will factor heavily into post-season opportunities and national rankings.
Head coach Weldon Braxton and his ICC squad have outscored their four opponents 150-17 so far this year, pitching two shutouts along the way. Mesabi Range mentor Tom Inforzato and his Norsemen have been equally impressive, going 4-0 with a shut-out of Dakota College and posting 61 points on Rochester CTC in Week One. The winner of the game at MIB Field in Mt. Iron, Minnesota will have the inside track for hosting of MCAC post-season contests and a possible bowl bid.
For more on Mesabi Range College, the host of Saturday's contest, go to: https://www.mesabirange.edu/athletics/football/
Itasca Viking Football is at: https://www.itascacc.edu/athletics/football/
Rochester Community & Technical College has won three straight contests and will host Central Lakes College on Saturday for their Yellowjacket Homecoming in the Med City.
RCTC quarterback Justin Lynn (Memphis, TN) will likely feature heavily in the outcome this weekend- since earning the starting job, he has claimed current NJCAA football Player-of-the-Week honors, coming off of a nearly 500-yard passing performance on the road in Ely last week. Central Lakes will look to right the Raider ship on Saturday; CLC started the 2019 campaign 2-0 but have fallen to Minnesota West (20-14) and Mesabi Range (27-7) in two tough outings.
Central Lakes took the 2018 RCTC-CLC contest by a 32-27 scoreline. All indications are the this week's edition should be a high-scoring and entertaining affair at Rochester Regional Stadium.
Yellowjacket football and RCTC Athletics can be found at: http://www.rctcyellowjackets.com/sports/fball/index
More on CLC Raider Athletics at: https://www.clcraiders.com/landing/index
Northland Community & Technical College will host M State-Fergus Falls on Saturday in a Western Division game. Both teams are looking for their first Divisional points and each will hope to break a winless streak on Saturday.
The Pioneers dropped a road contest to DCB last week 38-7 while the Spartans fell to Minnesota West, 36-12. First-year head coach Cory Miller and his team will be on their third straight away game Saturday, but have two of their final three games at home in Fergus Falls. Northland and new head coach Jeremy Richardson will hope running back Trenod Desrosier (Miami, FL) will be able to return to the form that saw him rush for 148 yards in Week Three against RCTC. He was held to only 19 yards last week in Bottineau.
For more information on the host college and their home game media coverage, please visit: https://northlandpioneers.com/sports/football
M State Spartan Athletics is at:http://athletics.minnesota.edu/landing/index
Vermilion Community College will make one of the longest trips in the MCAC this week, as they go from Ely to Worthington to face Minnesota West CTC.
VCC is still searching for their first 'W' of 2019, while MnWest has put together two successive victories, beating Central Lakes 20-14 and M State, 36-12. Blue Jay quarterback Andrew Ortiz (Alburquerque, NM) threw for 320 yards and five touchdowns last week; one third of that passing yardage was to Titonaro Bumpus (Racine WI) who hauled in six catches for 104 yards on the day.
VCC also had a penchant for airing out the ball last week, as their signal caller Goy Majiok had 224 yards and four touchdown passes.
For more information on the host college, Minnesota West, please visit: https://www.mnwestathletics.com/landing/index
Vermilion Football is at: https://www.vcc.edu/athletics/mens-football/
Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College will be off from MCAC action this weekend, but not off from football, as they will travel to Stevens Point, Wisconsin to play the JV team at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Sunday's contest - kicking off at 2pm - will not count in MCAC standings or factor in post-season play, but will offer the Thunder a chance to rebound after playing nationally-ranked Itasca last week, where they fell 39-6.
Other than their loss in Grand Rapids, FDLTCC has fared well in their other three contests, claiming two strong wins over M State and Vermilion, and battling well at NDSCS before losing late, 38-28. Head coach Robert Smith has seen QB Danny Jackson complete 44-of-101 passes so far in 2019 for 565 total yards; wideout Mason Klinger has 20 catches and is averaging 71.5 yards a contest. DJ Buckhanan leads the Thunder defense with 35 tackles on the year.
For all things MCAC Football, go to: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/index
The 2019 MCAC Football Season Poll and Previews for the Western and Eastern Divisions, as well as current scores and statistics, are found at: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/index
The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system, as well as select member colleges in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions. The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.
Be sure to follow our MCAC Facebook and Twitter feeds @MCACSports
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