Upsets Abound to Start 2018 MCAC Football Season

Posted: Sep 01, 2018

Rochester, MN-

(Photo credit: Joe Ahlquist / jahlquist@postbulletin.com)

Several football teams across the Minnesota College Athletic Conference set out to prove that the 2017 season was behind them and 2018 offered a fresh slate; the opening week of MCAC play lived up to that billing.

Minnesota West CTC, Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College and Itasca Community College all notched wins on Saturday, handing losses to three 2017 MCAC playoff teams, and doing so on the road to boot.

In Brainerd, the Minnesota West CTC BlueJays raced out to a 30-point halftime lead and eventually dispatched host Central Lakes College, beating the Raiders 36-12. MnWest will seek to replicate their eye-opening week one performance next week when they return to the Iron Range to take on Mesabi Range College on Saturday.

Also finding success on the road was Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, which provided first-year head coach Davin DePoe with his first Thunder victory over Ridgewater College. FDLTCC piled on the points in a 32-6 win over the Warriors in Wilmar. The Thunder will face Northland CTC in Thief River Falls in week two.

Itasca Community College faced perhaps the toughest task of MCAC week one squads, traveling to Bottineau, North Dakota to take on the Dakota College 'Jacks, one of the leading vote-getters in the 2018 coaches poll and 2017 Western Division regular season champion. The Vikings found a way to win on the road, grinding out a 15-13 triumph over their host, providing head coach Weldon Braxton and his squad some momentum heading into their week two match-up with Ridgewater.

MCAC state champion Northland CTC overcame a slow start to run away from Rochester CTC in the second half, 34-6, at RCTC. After a first half marred with penalties and misfires by both teams, the Pioneers quickly built on their 11-0 halftime lead, cruising to victory against the Yellowjackets. NCTC will open up their home schedule in week two, when they host, Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College.

North Dakota State College of Science had one of the longest hauls of week one road teams, but they shook off the road dust and bus legs to outlast Vermilion CC in Ely, 33-24. NDSCS spoiled VCC's first year head coach Justin Kosik's Ironmen debut, but gave their own new mentor, Eric Issendorf, his first Wildcat win. NDSCS will face Central Lakes College at home in Wahpeton for their week two contest.

Mesabi Range College beat M State-Fergus Falls, 47-6 to close out the MCAC week one match-ups. MRC picked up a win on their season opener for the second consecutive year under Tom Inforzato and will host Minnesota West next week, while M State and head coach Korey Fry will host Vermilion Community College.

MCAC Football Sport Page: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/index

MCAC Football Stat Leaders: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/2018-19/leaders

NJCAA Football Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/NJCAAfootball

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About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system. 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.

For more information, visit www.mcacsports.org