Winona, Mn-
With the start of the 2019 Minnesota College Athletic Conference football season just around the corner, Conference coaches took time recently to make their predictions for the upcoming fall campaign. Read on for more information regarding the MCAC Western Division football teams in 2019.
In 2018, Northland Community & Technical College ran through the MCAC West ranks to a 5-0 Division mark; Northland dropped only a pair of non-Divisional games to FDLTCC and Itasca in MCAC play, as well as suffered a 46-6 setback to Nassau Community College in the Red Grange Bowl. The Pioneers won the 2018 MCAC State Championship game 34-10 over fellow Western squad North Dakota State College of Science.
A pair new coaches are found on the sideline in the MCAC West; NCTC will be led by Jeremy Richardson while Minnesota State-Fergus Falls now has Cory Miller at the helm. Second-year head coach Eric Issendorf leads NDSCS and long-time mentor Jeff Linder pulls the strings at Minnesota West Community & Technical College. MnWest will have to replace a pair of student-athletes who have moved on to the NCAA Division II level in Beau Priegnitz (Upper Iowa University) and Reginald Colson (Western New Mexico State University); Colson was a dominant receiver in the MCAC in 2017 and 2018. On the sideline, MnWest's Linder currently sits at 113 wins in NJCAA football, tops in the league. Dakota College-Bottineau is led by Danny Davis, who also holds down the athletic director role for the 'Jacks.
Both North Dakota colleges were seen as tough opponents by their Divisional colleagues; DCB and NDSCS tied for second in the Divisional poll. Northland Community & Technical College was tabbed as the team to beat in the Division, while Minnesota West and Minnesota State-Fergus Falls were tabbed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Several notable games loom on the horizon for Western Division sides. The LumberCat trophy marking the 'Jacks and Wildcat rivalry will be decided in Wahpeton on September 21; DCB will host Eastern Division defending champ Central Lakes to open up the 2019 on Saturday, August 24.
Minnesota State-Fergus Falls will open up on the road at Eastern Division foe Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College on August 24; the battle of two first-year head coaches will give one mentor his first MCAC win. Minnesota West will have one of the toughest tests in their season opener as they travel to Itasca Community College; the Vikings were picked to win the Eastern Division this year. North Dakota State College of Science has a bye in Week 1, so the first look at the Wildcats in game action will be on Saturday, August 31 when they host FDLTCC; ND Science will appreciate the extra time in pre-season to sort through their 62 new, incoming players.
NDSCS is also one of two Western squads to have a contest against the JV team from Concordia-Moorhead; Miller's MS-FF Spartans will also face the Cobbers this fall. Both MCAC contests against Concordia-JV will count in the MCAC standings as non-Divisional games, as the Conference adapts to the loss of Ridgewater College, who dropped football in 2018.
This fall, Division coaches offered their thoughts as to how teams would fare in 2019: #1 Northland Community & Technical College; Tie-#2 Dakota College-Bottineau; Tie-#2 NDSCS; #4 Minnesota West, #5 Minnesota State-Fergus Falls.
Read below for more information on each Western Division teams, with preview information as provided by the head coach of each program.
Most teams will kick-off the season this Saturday, August 24; for all things MCAC Football, go to: https://www.mcacsports.org/sports/fball/index
The 2019 MCAC Athlete-of-the-Week honors program - sponsored by the United States Marine Corps, Nicklasson Athletics and Adidas - will begin the week of August 26-31. In football, Conference coaches will submit nominees for Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Athlete-of-the-Week, additionally, the MCAC will recognize a Lineman-of-the-Week, a new honors category in 2019.
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Northland Community & Technical CollegeThief River Falls, Minnesotawww.northlandcollege.edu |
Head Coach: Jeremy Richardson, Entering 1st Season at Northland. Coaching Staff: Coach Francis, Coach Boutte, Coach Johnson 2018 Record: 8-4 Overall, 4-0 West, MCAC State Champion |
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Coach Richardson on the Pioneers in 2019: "We plan to be disciplined and hard workers."
Notable: New Pioneer coach Jeremy Richardson brings several levels of coaching coaching background to his new role at Northland. Richardson has coaching stops at Fairmont State, Northern Michigan University, and Joliet Junior College, among others. He comes to Thief River Falls from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. Read more about Coach Richardson in this article on the Northland Pioneers Athletics website. |
Former Pioneers at Four-Year Colleges in 2019: Tristin Murrin, an All-Region LB from Northland is listed on the roster at Delaware State University in 2019. Shannon Patrick, the 2017 Region XIII Player-of-the-Year from NCTC is on the roster at University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff; his 2018 campaign at UAPB was cut short due to a hand injury.
For more on Northland Athletics: |
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North Dakota State College of ScienceWahpeton, North Dakotawww.ndscs.edu |
Head Coach: Eric Issendorf, 2nd year (9-2 Overall) Coaching Staff: John Freeman - OC; Trevor Keller - DL; Freddie Smith - WR; Matt Fellows - DB; Jaleel Johnson - OL; Kyle Wantland - RB 2018 Record: 9-2 overall, 4-1 MCAC West
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| The NDSCS Wildcats return 19 student-athletes from their 2018 MCAC State Championship Runner-Up team and welcome 62 new faces to Wahpeton.
Coach Issendorf on the Wildcat Offense & Defense: "We will Play hard, Play fast, Play together." Coach Issendorf on the Wildcat Special Teams: "We plan to create field positive field position and be special." Notable: Coach Issendorf will face off with his former coaching stop when NDSCS plays the JV team of Concordia College in Moorhead, where he coached for three seasons. Issendorf is also former Wildcat student-athlete and was elected into the NDSCS Hall-of-Fame in 2012. |
For more on NDSCS Athletics: NDSCS Website: http://www.ndscswildcats.com/landing/index
Wahpeton Daily News: |
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Dakota College at BottineauBottineau, North Dakotawww.dakotacollege.edu |
Head Coach: Dan Davis, 4th year (17-11 Overall) Coaching Staff: Robert Dennis, Stefan Morales, Juwann Howard, Sid Hunter 2018 Record: 5-4 Overall, 3-2 West, 3rd place
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Key Returning Athletes: Noe Guiterrez, OL, Corinth Holders, NC Brandon Smith, OL, Baker, AL
Coach Davis on the DCB Offense: "We hope to be more consistent on offense as at times we were not as productive as we would have liked." Coach Davis on the DCB Defense: "We have played good defense the past several years, hope we can again despite our youth and inexperience." Coach Davis on the DCB Special Teams: "We hope to have sound special teams that play hard." Notable: DCB hosted Sgt. Tarleton and Sgt. Perry of the United States Marine Corps during their preseason training camp; the 'Jacks got a first-hand look at USMC physical training programs and leadership development. Read more here. |
DCB 'Jacks Playing at Four-Year Colleges in '19: Tyree Humes, St. Augustine University Aaron Appleton, St. Francis University (PA) Dimitrius Fitzgerald, St. Augustine's University Francisco Flores, Concord University Varshawn Wilson, Alderson Broaddus University DeAndre Holmes, Presentation College Farbod Adivi, University of British Columbia Malik McKane, Tabor College Peter Tuccio, Clarke University
For more on Dakota-Bottineau Athletics: https://www.dcbjacks.com/landing/index Bottineau Courant, local newspaper
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Minnesota West Community & Technical CollegeWorthington, Minnesotawww.mnwest.edu
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Head Coach: Jeff Linder 113-105 Overall Coaching Staff: Ben Devries, Tyler Skow, Coonor Kunkel, Houston Coleman, Mike Preuse, Jake Steffl.
2018 Record: 3-5 Overall; 1-3 Division; 4th West |
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Key Returning Players: Tyler Linder, TE, Worthington, MN Andrew Ortiz, QB,Albuquerque, NM LaDarius Laster, LB Miami, FL Joshua King, OL, Union City, GA Dylan Svoboda, OL, Lakefield, MN Ja'Wuan Thomas, DL, Detroit, MI Coach Linder on the MnWest Offense: "We have good sophomore leadership, but we are a very young unit overall. The keys will be to minimize mistakes and turnovers which plagued the unit last season." Coach Linder on the MnWest Defense: "Our defensive unit has only 5 returning players, but our recruiting class looks to be very competitive and athletic." Coach Linder on the MnWest Special Teams: "We have a very athletic unit but not a strong kicking game. We will have to improve and be consistent for the team to be successful." Overall, Coach Linder Reports: "We have a solid core of incoming freshmen, we are hoping that they can get acclimated to the level of play at which they are about to compete at. I have been very happy thus far with the progress in which they shown so far. The games will be the true test; we are very young and will rely on our freshmen class to improve every week." |
Key Incoming Players: Dalton Passon, OL, Burnsville, MN Logan Moss, LB, GA Tayloe Yahnke, DL, Jordan, MN
Blue Jays Playing at Four-Year Colleges in '19: Beau Priegnitz, Upper Iowa University Reginald Colson, Western New Mexico State University
For more on MnWest Athletics: MnWest Athletic Website: |
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Minnesota State Community & Technical CollegeFergus Falls, Minnesotawww.minnesota.edu |
Head Coach: Cory Miller, 1st Season Coaching Staff: Hal Reeser, Josh Altenhof, Cameron Knoll, Mikey McCarty.
2018 Record: 1-6 Overall, 0-4 West, 5th Place
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Key Returning Athletes: Walker Sheppard, WR, Brooksville, FL Lucas Maloney, WR, Bakersfield, CA Coach Miller on the Spartan Offense: "Our offense will be featuring several new faces. A lot of position battles are currently being fought out. We expect to have to use to the first couple games to figure out the right combinations. With two returners at WR we feel our receivers are the strength of the offense." Coach Miller on the Spartan Defense in 2019: : Like the offense we will be featuring several new faces. Andy Nelson, John Thomas and Devaughn Prince will provide the experience in the back seven for the Spartan Defense." Coach Miller on the Spartan Special Teams: "Newcomer Irving Friedman will handle all the kicking responsibilities. Lucas Maloney will bring experience back in the return game." |
Key Incoming Athletes: Kyangelo Robinson, OL, Lansing, MI Ken McKay, DB, Melbourne, FL Joel Dejorste, RB, Palm Bay, FL
For more on Spartan Athletics:
MS-FF Spartan Athletics Website- Craig Olson Sports Fergus Falls Daily Journal
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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.
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