12.15.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has named Monmouth College defensive end Anthony Goranson (Bartlett, Ill./Belvidere) to their Division III All-American team.     

Goranson, a senior, was the only player from the Midwest Conference named to the 25-man squad. AFCA has named All-American teams since 1945 and currently selects the nation’s top players in five divisions.     

The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Goranson led the Scots in two defensive categories, tackles for loss (21) and sacks (7.5). He also earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honor and was named all-conference for the fourth time. He is the Scots’ all-time leader in tackles for loss (76.5) and is second all-time for sacks (32.5). Goranson holds the distinction of playing on all three of Monmouth’s NCAA playoff teams.    

Goranson was also named a preseason All-American this spring by Consensus Draft Services, and earned an All-West Region postseason selection from D3football.com., which will announce its All-American teams this weekend.

12.15.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – Monmouth College quarterback Alex Tanney (Normal, Ill./Lexington) gave it his best shot, but this year’s Gagliardi Trophy – the nation’s top Division III award – went to an offensive lineman instead.  
   
Tanney – the only junior in the field of four finalists – was edged in the voting by the Gagliardi Trophy committee by Augustana (Ill.) offensive lineman Blake Westemeyer. A four year starter at tackle, Westemeyer is the first offensive lineman to receive the award in its 16 year history.      

12.11.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – A school-record five members of the Monmouth College football team and one member of the Beloit College football team have been named to the D3football.com All-West Region team announced this week.       

Quarterback Alex Tanney (Normal, Ill./Lexington) led the nation with 3,856 passing yards and is the Scots’ lone first team selection. His 10,158 career passing yards shattered the school record. Recently named to the final four for the Gagliardi Trophy – Division III’s top award – the junior was named to the All-West team for the second consecutive year.      

Wide receiver Matt Shepherd (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg) was named to the second team offense. Earning all-region status for the first time, the junior became the first receiver in Fighting Scots’ history to record more than 1,000 yards in a season. As a return man, his 1,881 total runback yards ties him for the career record with Evan Haffner, who earned all-region selections in 2005 and 2006.     

Two senior offensive linemen were named to the third team unit. Right guard Josh Kotecki (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) and left tackle Dan Schwindenhammer (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) each earned their second consecutive all-region honor. The Scots generated nearly 528 yards of total offense per game, ranking them second in Division III. Scoring more than 45 points per game ranks them third in that category. Monmouth also converted 52 percent of their third downs.     

Senior defensive end Anthony Goranson (Bartlett, Ill./Belvidere) was selected to the defensive all-region team for the second time. A third teamer, Goranson led the Scots with 21 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He finished his career with 32.5 sacks, second all-time among Monmouth defenders. His 56 tackles this season included 34 solos.     

Andrew Christensen, a junior wide receiver/running back for the Beloit College Football team from Janesaville, Wisconsin, was named to the third team. Christensen, a First Team All-Midwest Conference selection, led the Conference in All-Purpose yardage and kickoff return yardage while finishing third in kickoff return average. He broke Beloit’s career kickoff return yardage record during the season with 2,233 yards and enters his senior season 4,290 career all-purpose yards.

The D3football.com All-West Region teams were selected from more than 150 nominations and voted on by the region’s sports information directors and D3football.com staff. The Web site’s All-American team will be announced on Dec. 19 prior to the Division III national championship game in Salem, Va.

12.10.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – Monmouth College quarterback Alex Tanney (Normal, Ill./Lexington) is in rarified air after being named one of four finalists today for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy.     

Tanney was selected as the West Region candidate for the “D3 Heisman” in a poll of the 35 committee members and a fan vote. He is joined by East Region winner John Peters, a linebacker from Union College (New York); North representative, offensive tackle Blaine Westemeyer of Augustana College; and South winner Gerry Dick, a quarterback from DePauw University. Tanney is the lone junior to make the final four.     

The Scots’ signal caller leads Division III quarterbacks this year with 3,856 yards, while his 350.55 passing yards and 348.73 total yards per game rank him fourth in both categories. His 44 passing TDs and one rushing score make him responsible for more than 24 points per game, ranking him second in the division. He has tied or broken nine school records and four times this season passed for more than 400 yards. The junior sports a 28-5 career record as Monmouth’s quarterback.     

Off the field, Tanney volunteers with groups such as Special Olympics and the Alzheimer’s Walk. A business major, he is a two-time academic all-conference selection.     

Sponsored by Jostens and the J-Club of Saint John’s University, the Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service. The national winner will be announced on Dec. 15, and the recipient will be presented with the trophy on Dec. 17 at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va., as part of the festivities leading up to the Division III National Championship Game in Salem on Dec. 19.

11.30.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill . – A record-setting year by Monmouth College junior quarterback Alex Tanney (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) has caught the attention of a national awards committee, which named him one of 10 finalists for Division III’s highest honor, the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Tanney already holds numerous MC career records, including touchdown passes (118) and passing yards (10,158). He has passed for 200 or more yards in 30 of his 33 games – also a school record – and he had four games this season of more than 400 yards.

The Fighting Scots were ranked as high as No. 8 this season and finished with their second consecutive 10-0 regular season, winning back-to-back conference titles for the first time since 1971-72. Monmouth has also played three of its four NCAA playoff games with Tanney under center. He leads Division III quarterbacks this year with 3,856 yards, while his 350.55 passing yards and 348.73 total yards per game rank him fourth in both categories. Tanney’s 164.07 pass efficiency rating places him ninth.

One of four quarterbacks named as finalists, Tanney is the lone junior to make the cut. The remainder of the field is seniors.

This marks the second time in five years the Fighting Scots have a player among the finalists. Tanney’s older brother, Mitch, was a Gagliardi finalist in 2005.  

The 2009 winner will be announced the week of Dec. 14 as part of the festivities leading up to the DIII National Championship game on Dec. 19. The winner will be chosen by a combination of the 35-member selection committee and a fan vote. Fans may log on to www.d3football.com to cast their ballot. The fan’s pick will account for one ballot and fans are limited to one vote per computer.

The Gagliardi Trophy – loosely referred to as the Division III Heisman – recognizes DIII’s outstanding football player based on academic and athletic achievements as well as community service. Sponsored by Jostens and the J-Club of Saint John’s University (Minn.), the trophy was first awarded in 1993.

11.24.2009 | Football
De Pere, Wis. - St. Norbert College senior offensive lineman Jake Reisner has been named to the second team of the 2009 College Division Academic All-America football team as sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and ESPN The Magazine.

Reisner, a senior from Kaukauna and a Fox Valley Lutheran High School graduate, holds a 3.98 grade point average with a major in biomedical science. Reisner, a 2009 first-team All-Midwest Conference selection, started all 10 games on the offensive line this season and helped the Green Knights rush for 190.4 yards per game. Reisner is a teaching assistant in the St. Norbert biology department.

The Academic All-America honor is Reisner’s first. Reisner is St. Norbert’s first football Academic All-America honoree in 10 years, following wide receiver Mike Krueger’s first-team selection in 1999.
Reisner is the St. Norbert football program’s eighth Academic All-America selection.

The honor marks the 41st time a St. Norbert College student-athlete has received Academic All-America mention. St. Norbert’s 41 Academic All-Americans are the most among Midwest Conference member schools.

To be eligible for national or regional selection, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. The Academic All-America team is selected after All-District teams are picked from eight geographic regions nationally.

11.21.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. –
One of the best football seasons in Fighting Scots history came grinding to a halt as the visiting Tommies, ranked No. 10 in the nation, delivered the Fighting Scots their first loss of the season in a 42-21 contest.

11.17.2009 | Football
Ripon, Wis. -- The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced the 2009 MWC Football Awards today, November 17, 2009. Monmouth College swept the individual accolades in addition to having a league-high 22 all-conference representatives.

Junior quarterback Alex Tanney repeated as the Offensive Player of the Year, senior defensive lineman Anthony Goranson was tabbed the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and the Fighting Scots’ head coach Steve Bell (pictured) was named Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

[2009 Football All-Conference Awards]

11.15.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – For the second consecutive year, the Monmouth College football team will be at home for their first round game of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The Fighting Scots – ranked No. 8 in two national polls – will host St. Thomas (Minn.) Saturday in a noon kickoff at April Zorn Memorial Stadium. The Scots won the Midwest Conference title for the second straight year and put their 10-0 record on the line against the Tommies, the runners-up in the tough Minnesota League who enter the game with a 9-1 record. The Tommies only loss was a 20-17 defeat at St. John’s.

11.9.2009 | Football
Galesburg, Ill. - Knox College announced that Head Football Coach Andy Gibbons will step down from his role as head coach. Chad Eisele, a 1993 graduate of Knox College and Director of Athletics at Knox, will take over as head football coach while Gibbons remains on staff as the assistant coach and defensive coordinator. Eisele has 15 years of experience as a football coach and began his coaching career at Knox in 1993.

Gibbons took over as head football coach in 1996, and has amassed the second most wins by a head coach in 114 years of Knox College football history. During Gibbons’ 14 years as head coach, Knox had 124 football athletes chosen as All-Midwest conference selections and nine All-American picks. The program also set 46 school records during his tenure.

Eisele takes over the Knox football program which is in search of its first winning season since 2002. When Eisele took over at Lake Forest College as head football coach in 2000, he inherited a football program that was in a similar predicament, having not had a winning season since 1986. In only Eisele’s third season, (2002) the Foresters would go 9-1 in the regular season, and make a playoff appearance for an overall record of 9-2. Eisele hopes to follow this track record of success as he leads the Prairie Fire football team.

Knox Release

11.5.2009 | Football
Ripon, Wis. -- St. Norbert College's Jake Reisner has been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Reisner, a senior linebacker for the Green Knights, sports a 3.98 GPA in Biomedical Science.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team is part of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Academic All-America program annually honors over 1600 student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom.

First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America football team will be announced on Tuesday, November 24.

11.2.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – Monmouth College’s 44-17 win Saturday over Illinois College at April Zorn Memorial Stadium helped the Fighting Scots return to the top 10 in two national polls.

D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) both ranked the Scots No. 8 in the latest polls released Monday. Monmouth and Central (Iowa) are the only two teams in the top 10 boasting 9-0 records with one game to play. Losses by Washington and Jefferson (Pa.), Otterbein and North Central opened the door for Monmouth’s move up in the polls.

10.31.2009 | Football
Ripon, Wis. --The Monmouth College Football team (9-0, 8-0 MWC) clinched at least a share of the 2009 Midwest Conference (MWC) title with a 44-17 home victory over Illinois College on Saturday.

The Fighting Scots will attempt to win the title outright when they play their final regular-season game on Saturday, November 7 at Knox. Regardless of the outcome, Monmouth has punched its ticket to the NCAA football playoffs as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over St. Norbert.

10.25.2009 | Football
Grinnell, Iowa – Grinnell College quarterback Mike McCabe established a school record for pass attempts in a game when he threw 67 aerials in a 55-34 loss at Illinois College on Saturday.

The Pioneers also established a school mark with 105 plays in the game, surpassing the 100-plus total for the first time in Grinnell history.

McCabe, a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder from Port Washington, N.Y. (Paul D. Schreiber HS), completed 34 of his aerials for 377 yards and four touchdowns. His pass attempt total surpasses the previous school mark of Ben Remington ’08, who threw 59 against Lake Forest College in 2007.

10.19.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – For the first time in history, the Monmouth College football team has cracked the regular season top 10 in two national polls.

Ranked 11th and 12th last week by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), respectively, the Fighting Scots jumped two notches in each poll thanks in part to last week’s 35-13 win over Ripon. The win impressed the pollsters and handed the Red Hawks their first conference loss while giving the Scots sole possession of first place in the Midwest Conference and the inside track on the league’s automatic NCAA playoff berth.

The Scots jumped to No. 9 in the D3football.com rankings, moving past Wabash. Monmouth is just six points behind Mary Hardin-Baylor.

In the AFCA poll, Monmouth leapfrogged Wabash and Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Scots are just a point back of Case Western Reserve for ninth.

10.9.2009 | Football
Lake Forest, Ill. - The Lake Forest College football team will host Lawrence University on Homecoming this Saturday (October 10). When the captains from both teams proceed to midfield for the coin toss, they will do so with a pair of special individuals by their sides.

The Lake Forest College football team recently made the decision to "adopt" a local child through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and their families.

The newest member of the Foresters is Benny Watters, 4-year-old son of Lake Forest residents Brendan and Lisa and younger brother of Bella, 8, and Lily, 6.

Lake Forest Release

10.6.2009 | Football
Appleton, Wis. -- Lawrence University football standout Matt Frelich and Beloit College wide receiver Julian Ross have been named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. 

Frelich was honored after a big game in Lawrence's 35-19 loss to Illinois College. The highlight of Frelich's day was his first career touchdown and interception. Frelich dropped into coverage and intercepted a Mitch Niekamp pass near the sideline and raced untouched 13 yards for the score. 

Frelich finished the game with a season-high eight tackles, including seven solo, and included in that total were 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Frelich also forced a Niekamp fumble on one of the sacks and recovered the fumble on the play. Frelich also picked up a pair of pass breakups. 

Ross caught ten passes for 187 yards, including a 69-yard score that put Beloit up for good in the third quarter in a 29-22 win against Lake Forest. Seven of Ross’ receptions went for 12-plus yards and three of the ten catches converted third downs for the Bucs.

D3Football.com Team of the Week

9.30.2009 | Football
Andrew Christensen, a junior running back/wide receiver for Beloit College has been named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week, for week number four.

Christensen, who was also named the Midwest Conference Football Special Teams Player of the Week a day ago, was recognized for his performance in the Buccaneers 42-14 win over Knox College last Saturday.

In that game, Christensen had a career day, running up 326 total yards and scoring a school-record tying four touchdowns. He had 107 yards on five punt returns, including a 69-yard punt return for the Bucs' first touchdown. He also had 53 yards in kickoff returns, including a long of 29. He rushed three times for 15 yards and two TDs and caught eight passes for 161 yards and a 58-yard touchdown.

D3Football.com Team of the Week

9.22.2009 | Football
MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College football team remained just outside the top 10 in one national poll and debuted in the top 15 in another while climbing up the NCAA’s statistical charts. 

D3football.com ranks the Fighting Scots 11th in this week’s poll while the American Football Coaches Association ranks the Scots 13th in their initial rankings. Monmouth had begun the regular season ranked 14th in the D3football.com poll after an opening week 39-20 win over Loras.

Statistically speaking, the Scots plus-4 turnover margin ranks them third in Division III. The offense, with a 51.0 ppg average places them fifth. Springfield College (Mass.) has the nation’s top scoring offense for DIII, averaging 56.0 ppg.

Monmouth’s defensive unit is just outside the top 10 in scoring defense. Opponents have scored just 11.1 points per game, ranking the Scots 11th in that category. The defensive unit has allowed just three points in the last two games.

D3Football.com Top 25 Poll - Week 3

9.22.2009 | Football
Northbrook, Ill. – For a select group of college football players, the words “sacrifice” and “commitment” extend far beyond the football field to places that don’t require helmets and shoulder pads. Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) have announced the 22 student-athletes chosen for the 2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams^®, honoring dedicated and hard-working student-athletes for their off-the-field achievements and selfless contributions to their communities.

 Joe Goldufsky, a senior defensive lineman for the Beloit College Football team from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, is one of those 22 honorees.

[Complete Allstate Release]

9.21.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – Monmouth College quarterback Alex Tanney (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) broke the school’s career touchdown passing record in a 58-0 win over Beloit last week.


Tanney took just three minutes of Saturday’s game to set the Fighting Scots career touchdown pass record. His 5-yard toss to Mike Blodgett broke Rob Purlee’s career TD mark of 83 set from 2000-03. The score capped an eight-play, 94-yard drive.

Monmouth Release

9.9.2009 | Football
Ripon, Wis.. -- St. Norbert College senior Jeremy Gezella has been named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for the first week of the 2009 football season.

Gezella hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass on the final play of regulation to force overtime leading to a 42-35 overtime St. Norbert win over Wartburg. Gezella's 12 receptions tied a school record and his 179 receiving yards is the 11th best in school history.

D3Football.com Team of the Week

8.27.2009 | Football
The Lawrence University football team recently adopted six year old Luke Peters through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization that improves the quality of life for children suffering with pediatric brain tumors and their families. Six members of the team spent time with Luke at his home playing Wii, football and baseball. Luke will go meet the rest of the team this Saturday at a practice followed by a team picnic.

Luke's Journal
Friends of Jaclyn Website

8.20.2009 | Football
After receiving eight out of ten possible first place votes in the poll, Monmouth enters 2009 as the favorite while 2007 MWC Champion St. Norbert received the final two first place votes and was voted a clear cut second. Ripon, last season’s MWC runner-up, came in third followed closely by Carroll in fourth.

Illinois College and Beloit finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the poll, but with only two points separating the squads. First-year head coach Jim Catanzaro inherits a Lake Forest Squad that will look to pick up from where they left off last season, seventh in the MWC. Knox was tabbed to finish eighth, one spot ahead of Grinnell, while Lawrence rounded out the 2009 MWC Preseason Coaches Poll.

2009 Preseason Coaches Poll
Rnk Team (1st place votes)
1. Monmouth (8)
2. St. Norbert (2)
3. Ripon
4. Carroll
5. Illinois College
6. Beloit
7. Lake Forest
8. Knox
9. Grinnell
10. Lawrence

[Full Story]

8.4.2009 | Football
Minneapolis, Minn. -- Last year's top three finishers returned at those spots in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 for NCAA Division III football, while Monmouth enters the 2009 season ranked #12.

D3football.com Top 25

7.30.2009 | Football
RIPON, Wis. - Red Hawk offensive lineman Josh Novak will be featured in the September issue of
Inside Wisconsin Sports for his selection to the 2009 Inside Wisconsin Sports Preseason Wisconsin
D3 Football Team, Presented by Mueller Sports Medicine.

Beloit College's RB Terence Steward and Tony Baratti and St. Norbert College's Rob Berger were also featured.

Inside Wisconsin Sports is the highly praised statewide magazine that features the best of Wisconsin
sports at all levels—from high school to college to the pros. It was born out of a pure love of Wisconsin sports and a true appreciation for the greatest sports fans in the world.

The September issue of Inside Wisconsin Sports will be available on newsstands and can be viewed by
visiting www.InsideWisconsinSports.com.

[Full Story]

7.28.2009 | Football
RIPON, Wis.--Four Midwest Conference individuals have been named 2009 D3football.com preseason All-Americans. Claiming First Team accolades were Illinois College’s Michael Jennings and Monmouth’s Josh Kotecki, while Monmouth’s Alex Tanney and Dan Schwindenhammer received Second Team honors.

This is the third preseason All-American nod for the trio of Scots, who were named First Team Division III Preseason All-Americans by Lindy’s Sports Magazine less than two weeks ago and preseason All-Americans by Consensus Draft Services in May.

Jennings earns his second preseason accolade after being tabbed by Consensus Draft Services to its 2009 NCAA Division III Preseason All-American Football Team in May.

This is the first of D3football.com’s preseason awards, which will be followed in early August by the preseason D3football.com Top 25 poll.

D3football.com 2009 preseason All-Americans List

7.17.2009 | Football
Monmouth, Ill. – A trio of returnees have been named First Team Division III Preseason All-Americans by Lindy’s Sports Magazine. It’s the second preseason honor for junior quarterback Alex Tanney (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) and senior offensive linemen Josh Kotecki (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) and Dan Schwindenhammer (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame), who were named preseason All-Americans by Consensus Draft Services in May.

The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Kotecki, who was named Second Team All-American last fall by D3football.com, helped anchor an offensive line that allowed Scots quarterbacks to pass for a school-record 3,790 yards.

Schwindenhammer, a 6-foot-3, 260-pounder, was another key cog in Monmouth’s offensive unit that balanced passing with a potent ground game.  Twelve different backs picked up a combined total of more than 2,000 yards and three ran for more than 300 yards each. 

Tanney, a strong-armed 6-foot-4, 190-pound signal-caller, shattered nearly every MC season passing record including yardage (3,624) and touchdowns (50). He was ranked eighth nationally with a 166.97 efficiency rating.

The Scots enter the 2009 campaign as the defending Midwest Conference champions and return the majority of the offensive unit that led Division III in scoring with an average of 46.75 points per game. The squad also scored a school-record 50 passing touchdowns and rushed for another 25 scores.

Monmouth opens the season Sept. 5 on its new home field surface against Loras College.

7.9.2009 | Football
Ripon, Wis. -- The Midwest Conference is pleased to announce Lake Forest College’s senior Alison Lynch and Knox College’s junior Maurice McDavidhave been selected as the league’s 2009 Sportsmanship Award winners.

The pair will be the conference’s nominations for the 2009 NCAA Division III Sportsmanship Award. The NCAA Committe will select one male and female student-athlete from each division as finalists and then one male and one female from those six finalists as the NCAA Sportsmanship Award winners.

[Full Story]