|
Northwest Missouri State 34, Grand Valley
State 16
The Story: Two titans collided in Maryville on
the 8th. While the result was not favorable for those of us in GLIAC-Country, I
don't think anyone can dispute the fact that team that was better on that
particular night was victorious. Congratulations to Northwest Missouri State for
their impressive win and for earning their third straight trip to Florence.
The storylines were plentiful in this one, as
battles such as this between great teams/programs are likely to provide. The
weather was a big one, as was the game being played in Maryville. Xavier Omon
made himself the biggest story of all, however, by thrashing the Laker defense
for 292 yards and three TD's on 31 carries. The senior RB added a fourth TD on
an 11-yard catch in the fourth quarter that put the Bearcats up by a pair of
scores. He posted the now infamous "backbreaker" a few minutes later -
a 98-yard run with about nine minutes to go that sealed the deal.
QB Joel Osburn was great for NW as well,
finding open receivers when he need to with timely, accurate passes. He finished
20-25 for 238 yards and a score. TE Mike Peterson led the receivers with six
grabs for 93 yards. They were both very good, but their performances have been
overshadowed a bit by what Omon did. He didn't do all of it alone, as the
line-play was solid. However, more than half of his carries in the game were for
two yards or less. GV's defense was not terrible in this one, it's just that
when Omon got any space at all he made the Lakers pay - and dearly. One could
speculate how things may have been different away from NW's campus or on a dry
field, but those points are really moot. It was Omon's night and he was
fantastic.
The Lakers actually went into halftime with an
edge on both the scoreboard (13-10) and in total offense (244-230). It seemed as
though GV was able to do a lot of what they wanted on offense throughout the
better part of three quarters, as they were able to make red zone trips five
separate times. Unfortunately, they simply had trouble making plays from there.
As I have said all year, good teams make plays when they need to and the Lakers
were just not themselves in this one - they didn't make plays. Untimely
penalties and an inability to finish drives were the bugs that Grand Valley
could not avoid that night, despite having mastered them throughout the balance
of the year. Make no mistake, Northwest had plenty to do with that and I don't
mean to insinuate otherwise.
QB Brad Iciek finished a terrific first season
as the starter by hitting on 23 of 43 for 273 yards, a TD and an INT. As a
whole, he probably didn't look quite as sharp as he might have liked in this
one. With that said, he was still rather effective at certain points. Brandon
Horn was a great addition to the receiving corps in his lone Laker campaign, and
he caught seven balls for 89 yards in his final Grand Valley appearance.
Jimmy Berezik caught Iciek's TD pass, and also
led the ground attack with 49 yards on ten carries. Those yards pushed him over
the 1,000-yard mark for the season, making him the first true-freshman in school
history to reach that milestone. I think Laker fans everywhere are excited about
what he's going to be able to accomplish over the next three years.
Miles Burnsides led the Bearcat defense with
eight tackles. Safety Jacob McGuckin finished up a great sophomore season with
12 stops, as well as forcing and recovering a fumble. Anthony Adams concluded
both an All-America senior season and an outstanding Laker career in this game
with 10 tackles, including four TFL.
T's Take: For whatever reason, the closer it
got to gametime the more and more I felt like this was NW's night. I'm not sure
what it was - all of the circumstances aligning just right (at Maryville, Omon's
last title chase, their frustration at losing the last two to GV) is what I
think I started to feel. At any rate, my gut ended up being right. I don't think
I'm fooling anyone by not admitting that I was disappointed. I mean, I am a GV
alum as I'm sure most of you have figured out by now. I'd be lying if I said
this one didn't have some sting to it. But hey, you can't win them all. Right?
40 in a row certainly isn't anything to sob about, that's for sure.
To me, the bottom line in this game was that
the Lakers' displayed an inability to score TD's when they made trips into the
red zone. Each of the first four times they did so, they had a first-and-goal.
Those four possessions netted one TD and three FG's. If any of those FG's (let
alone all) are TD's, the entire complexion of the game changes. Both teams would
have had a different demeanor, play-calling would have been altered, etc. Even
if everything else works out EXACTLY the same (which I don't think it would
have), with GV cashing in for TD's on those drives Omon's 98-yard jaunt would
have only put the Lakers down six (or possibly seven had NW gotten two) with
almost 10 minutes to go. Hardly insurmountable. In fact, it would have made
these three games look more like an on-going script of seesaw football than
three individual contests.
At different times in this game, I really
thought that the Lakers were "ever so close" to really getting things
rolling. Having watched NW in the title game this past weekend, I am now
convinced of this fact. Valdosta State did a lot of the same things
schematically (especially on defense) that GV did the week before and they
succeeded in finishing off the Bearcats. Their biggest key was holding Omon to
his lowest yardage total (63) of the season on the ground. They tackled
extremely well (something GV had done all season), and NW looked tentative at
times on offense (both teams did to me, actually). Neither of those things
happened in the previous game. Again, give credit to NW. They played well and
were MORE than deserving of the win. Moreover, when it counted, Grand Valley
just "didn't have it", while Northwest came up huge at every turn.
With all of that said, Lakerfans are going to wonder for a long time just how
big an impact the "extenuating circumstances" had on this game. Just
like the answer to the age-old question of "How many licks does it take to
get to the Tootie-Roll center of a Tootsie-Pop?" - The world may never
know.
After 40 straight games of always
having/finding the answer when they needed it, this time GV (again) just didn't
have it. Hats off to the Bearcats. I've said repeatedly over most of this season
(as well as earlier in this post) that great teams make big plays when they need
them, execute with discipline, and finish drives. Northwest was superior in all
of those factors in this game, especially in the fourth quarter when that type
of performance/output matters the most.
The End of an Era?
I've actually had a few people start talking
along the lines of "well, it was a great run". The thing is, I don't
think they were only talking about the win-streak. Let's be real, people. Anyone
who thinks GV won't be in the thick of things again next year is likely not
paying very close attention. I think that most DII fans label North Dakota State
as the premier dynasty in DII history. I tend to agree. Their five titles are
unmatched. However, let's remember that they won those five titles over an eight
year span of dominance. In fact, in the ten year span between 1981 and 1990 the
Bison won their five titles and finished second twice. So, the notion that GV
will all of a sudden disappear is, in my opinion, jumping the gun a bit. The
Lakers' present run of seven seasons (2001-2007) has produced the following
results:
- Seven consecutive 10-plus win seasons
- Seven consecutive playoff berths
- Six Regional Championships
- Five GLIAC Championships
- Four National Championships
- One National Runner-Up
- Division II Record 40-game Winning Streak
I don't say this than for any other reason than
to remind everyone (well, mostly Laker fans) that while many might consider this
year's finishing short of a title a failure, in reality it is far from it. Very
few teams went 12-1 this year, and NO team has come close to the consistent
level of success that has been produced in Allendale over this stretch. NDSU
kept it going for a long time, and with the talent coming back/up for the Lakers
there is no reason to think that they won't be able to keep their run going as
well. Will it end? Much like the streak that ended on Saturday, I think it's
safe to say it has a likelihood. On the other hand, it certainly has few signs
of slowing down soon and LakerNation has much to be proud of - not to mention
hopeful for in the future. Grand Valley has been the gold standard in the GLIAC
for some time, and the loss of one game in the playoffs should hardly tarnish
that fact or diminish the brightness of the future.
Congratulations to Grand Valley, fellow
playoff-qualifier Ashland, and the rest of the GLIAC for a great season. It's
been quite a ride.
Another Coaching Change
In my last post I talked about Randy Awrey's
departure from Saginaw Valley. Within a matter of days, Northwood Head Coach Pat
Riepma announced that he would be stepping down from his post after 15 years at
the helm. Riepma has been pulling double-duty for The Wood as both the football
coach and the school's athletic director, and he will now be focusing his
efforts exclusively to the role of A.D.
I wish Coach Riepma the best. I don't know him
personally, but he has always struck me as a classy guy who runs a solid
program. Northwood had not done much for several years prior to his arrival, and
Riepma turned them into a perennial contendor for the conference crown. Charged
with continuing that tradition is Mike Sullivan, who has been on the NU staff
for the past eight seasons. He served most recently as Associate Head Coach, and
had also worked with the offensive line. The Timberwolves bring a lot of talent
back for next season, especially at the skill positions on offense. I'm sure
that will help make Coach Sullivan's transition that much smoother.
Region Re-Alignment
As most of you know, the NCC is no longer and
the NCAA has re-aligned the regions. We won't get into it here, but I think some
of the changes continue to perpetuate the notion that many of us hold regarding
the NCAA - and that is that it doesn't know what in the heck it is doing.
Fortunately, the negative aspects of the updates really don't impact us here in
the Northwest - and thank goodness! Again, I won't go into detail, but suffice
it to say that we should all be grateful that the GLIAC isn't in the Northeast
any longer.
Essentially, the new look of the Northwest
comes from NCC being replaced by the RMAC which moves in from the Southwest
Region. For those looking for a frame of reference, Chadron State is likely the
most recognizable of the teams from that conference. Adams State, Mesa State and
Nebraska-Kearney are some other RMAC names that GLIAC fans might recognize,
especially from other sports.
At any rate, it will be interesting to see how
the addition of the RMAC, the expansion of the NSIC (to include some former NCC
members), and the move to the Southwest Region for a few other teams (primarily
a few former NCC'ers) will impact the playoff dynamic in the region. Most of you
are aware that the NCC has always been known as the region's "power
conference". While the GLIAC is also in that "power" category, it
has never been held in the same regard as the NCC (or the MIAA or Gulf South for
that matter). Traditionally, the NSIC (in its old alignment) and the RMAC have
not been regarded as top-tier leagues, so the GLIAC will likely be seen as the
power conference of the region. I'm sure some of the old NCC teams that are now
in the NSIC will have something to say about that, and their chances to do so
are improved as the remaining NCC teams that did not join the NSIC or move to
I-AA are all in the Southwest Region now as part of either the re-vamped GNAC or
the MIAA (UNO).
With all of that completed, the playoff
pairings in the Northwest should be almost entirely new to us in 2008. The
typical regional opponents most GLIAC teams have faced in recent years (North
Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha, Central Washington) are no longer there to
be played. New teams will be seen and hopefully some interesting rivalries will
develop as a result of these new match-ups.
Triva Quiz
In my last column, I tossed in a bonus question
with a movie quote. I've done that few times this year, but this one (as I had
suggested) was obviously the least obscure of the ones I have used as I had a
bunch of people respond with answers. The phrase "Gorilla Math" comes
from the movie Rounders (man, I LOVE that flick), and Shaun Skibinski was the
first to drop the knowledge.
As for the football-related question, I asked
for the Grand Valley single-game record-holder for rushing yardage. That
distinction is held by John Mahan, who posted 256 yards in a 28-9 win over
Manchester College in 1973. Manchester now plays in Division III, and is
probably best known in recently as the place where Steve Alford got his start as
a collegiate basketball head coach - but I digress. Congrats to Larry Dykhouse
for correctly identifying the former Laker great Mahan, whose record continues
to stand since he set it in the program's third campaign.
With the season wrapped-up, those are our final
two winners for 2007. To all of the winners, thanks for reading and
participating - and again, Congrats!
Thanks
It's been quite a season, I just wanted to
thank all of you for reading every week, for your interest in the site, and for
the overwhelming passion that so many of you have for the GLIAC. I have heard
from a good number of you, and the amount of positive feedback I have received
has not only been a pleasant surprise, but also greatly appreciated. I did have
a few detractors out there, but they were few and far between. And, to be
honest, most of the time we actually saw eye-to-eye on most things after we
exchanged a few e-mails. You readers are the reason that we write these posts
every week, so once again I want to say thank you to all of you.
I also want to extend my appreciation to the
Athletic Departments, AD's, SID's and Coaches at all thirteen GLIAC
institutions. You have all been very gracious and helpful to "the new
guy", and I am eternally grateful. Along those same lines, a special thank
you goes out to Jeff Ligney, Media Relations Director for the GLIAC. He's been a
constant source of great information and assistance - not to mention the
T-Shirts that you trivia winners are enjoying. Thanks, Jeff. You did a lot of
things for me that you didn't have to and I appreciate it.
Not to be forgotten, thanks also to Brandon
Misener who created and edits this sight. I was a reader and a fan before I
became a contributor, and Brandon's tireless efforts make this far and away the
best place to get information on our favorite D2 teams. Thanks for the
opportunity to do something I've though about trying for a long time, Brandon.
It means a lot.
Lastly, I'd like to thank my friends and
family, especially my wife Becky for being so supportive of this undertaking.
You all put up with a lot of of late nights of work/writing, forced reading, and
excessive football talk (OK, I talk a lot anyway - just ask any of them, I
pretty much never shut up). Some even did some secretarial work for me, and
always with a pleasant and supportive smile (thanks, Mom). You all were always
understanding and helpful, and to say I am blessed to have people like you in my
life is the greatest of understatements.
Well, take care GLIAC Fans, and the most joyous
of Holiday Seasons to each of you and your families. I'm looking forward to a
fantastic 2008. Remember, it's only another four months or so until Spring Ball!
I can hardly wait.
|
