Head Coach, Mike Magistrelli

Mike Magistrelli will take the reigns of the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League champion St. Ambrose Fighting Bees after serving as defensive coordinator the past three seasons. Along with leading a defense that was fifth in the nation against the run last season, Magistrelli also was a college offensive coordinator before returning to St. Ambrose.

As a college quarterback, Magistrelli was selected to the all-conference team twice. Upon graduation in 1997, he started looking for a graduate assistant opening, and ended up working for Sturdy coaching defensive backs.

Since coming back to St. Ambrose before the 2004 season, Magistrelli has helped the Bees to an overall record of 25-7 including two berths in the NAIA Playoffs.

“My goal is to prepare the student-athletes for success on the field, but more importantly for the world that is ahead of them when they leave,” Magistrelli said. “It’s a tremendous honor for me and an awesome responsibility that I am really looking forward to.”

Magistrelli received his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Coe, while starting at quarterback for three years. He was named All-Midwest Conference during his junior and senior seasons. After an outstanding career at Coe, Magistrelli received his Master’s in Post-Secondary Disability Services from St. Ambrose in 1999.

He currently resides in Bettendorf with his wife Lisa, their three children, Paige (4), Brooke (2) and Matthew (2 mos).

Jeff Girsch - Defensive Coordinator

Jeff Girsch enters his 13th season on the Fighting Bees coaching staff. After a one year hiatus, Girsch returns as the Bees Defensive Coordinator. During his tenure at St. Ambrose, he has coached the defensive backs and wide receivers.

Girsch is a graduate of SAU, where he excelled as a four-year starting wide receiver. On the all-time record list, he currently ranks second in career receiving yards (1,617), seventh in career pass receptions (94), and fifth in career touchdown receptions (11). Girsch currently resides in Davenport with his wife Erin, an admissions counselor at St. Ambrose, and their daughters Jamee Kay and Jill.

Tom Freeman - Wide Receivers and Special Teams

Tom Freeman will continue to utilize his 40 years of high school coaching experience at the collegiate level this season. He enters his seventh year as an assistant on the Fighting Bees, coaching the wide receivers and kickers.

Tom’s coaching resume includes stops at Lake Central (Ind.) High School and at River Forest (Ind.) High School. For the past 27 years, Tom has been the offensive coordinator at Bettendorf High School, helping guide the Bulldogs to five state championships.

Tom and his wife Sandy are the proud parents of Tom and Rob, and also have two granddaughters and one grandson.

Steve Bakeris - Offensive Line Coach

Steve Bakeris enters his 13th season as a member of the Fighting Bees staff. During his time at Ambrose, Bakeris has been the offensive line coach.

Bakeris graduated from the University of Northern Iowa where he was a member of the football team as an offensive guard.

Currently, Bakeris is a physical education instructor at Sherrard High School where he also served as the assistant varsity football coach for 11 years. He lives in Bettendorf with his wife Martha and their daughters Andrea and Amanda.

Ed Morrissey - Outside Linebackers

Ed Morrissey joins the Fighting Bee coaching staff and will be coaching the outside linebackers.  Morrissey was the head coach at Pleasant Valley High School for 28 seasons and currently teaches physical education at Pleasant Valley High School.

Coach Morrissey's coaching experience includes a three year stint as an assistant at Assumption High School. Morrissey received his bachelor's degree from Iowa and went on to receive his Master's from Syracuse University.  While at Syracuse, Morrissey served as a graduate assistant for football for two seasons.

Morrissey currently resides in Leclaire with his wife Carol.  They have five children - Mike, Erin, Joe, Katie and Jim.

Nathan Fisher - Defensive Line

Nathan Fisher graduated from St. Ambrose in 2005. He will be the other defensive line coach, with an emphasis on the noseguard position. Coach Fisher has been around for five of the last seven football seasons as a player for the 2000-2001 season, and coaching of some sort from 2002 through the fall of 2004.

Coach Fisher is back helping out the coaching staff after living in Nashville, TN for the past two years. Fisher was the Health Teacher and Assistant Varsity Boys Track coach at Hillwood High School in West Nashville.

Nathan became engaged to Betsy Griffith, another Ambrose Alumni, back in December of 2006. They plan to get married next in the fall of 2008.

Before the move back to Iowa, Coach Fisher was working as the PE Teacher/Recreation Specialist and the Career Development Teacher at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in Downtown Nashville. He recently accepted a position at Truman Elementary in Davenport, Iowa as the Physical Education Teacher.

Adam Jordison - Defensive Line

Adam Jordison is in his first year on the St. Ambrose coaching staff, and will coach the Defensive Line. Jordison, a Coe College graduate, played from 2003-2007 for the Kohawks and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Strength and Conditioning/Health and Wellness.

Jordison was a 4 year starting defensive end for the Kohawks and was a part of two Iowa Conference title championships. He was named to Don Hansen’s Football Gazette 1st team All-West Region and also named to D3Football.com’s 1st team selection All-West Region. Jordison was also named to Don Hansen’s All-American Team. His football career was highlighted by a 6 sack game, which is still the Iowa Conference record for sacks in a game. He became Coe's all-time leader in sacks in a game, tackles for a loss in a career and sacks in a career. Jordison also broke the single-season record for tackles for loss and sacks.
 

Lon Wilkinson - Running Backs

Lon Wilkinson is in his eighth season as a part of the SAU coaching staff. During his span, Lon has served as the Running Backs coach and as the defensive line coach. Previous to coming to St. Ambrose, Lon taught at Davenport Central High School for over 25 years. Lon also was a member of the coaching staff for the football team during his time at Central.

He also served as the track and field coach for St. Ambrose University during the 2004 season.

Coach Wilkinson took over as Head Coach of Davenport Central in 1990 and remained in that position through the 1995 season. Wilkinson led Central to a 32-24 record and qualified the team twice for the post-season playoffs, during his tenure. Wilkinson graduated from the University of Northern Iowa, where he was a track standout in the 440 yard dash. He currently resides in Davenport with his wife Cheryll.

Kevin Hopkins - Linebackers

Kevin Hopkins is in his second year on the St. Ambrose coaching staff, and will coach the linebackers. Hopkins, an SAU graduate, played from 2001-2004 for the Fighting Bees and graduate in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Organizational Leadership at St. Ambrose.

Hopkins was a two-year starting linebacker for the Fighting Bees and was part of three Mid-States Football Association Midwest League conference championships. He also helped the Bees to three striaght playoff appearances, including the 2003 season when the Bees finished in the elite eight. Hopkins was named to Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American Team in 2003 & 2004, and was an All-MSFA pick those same years (HM in '03 & 1st team in '04). He currently ranks fifth in total tackles (212) and third for most tackles in a season (113).

Brad Cook - Offensive Line

Brad Cook is in his first year on the St. Ambrose coaching staff, and will coach offensive line and tight ends. Cook, an SAU graduate, played from 2003-2006 for the Fighting Bees and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Finance and Economics. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Business Administration at St. Ambrose.
 

Cook was a four-year starting center for the Fighting Bees and a member of two Mid-States Football Association Midwest League conference championships one in 2003 and another in 2006, in which the Fighting Bees went 10-0. He also helped the Bees to three playoff appearances in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Cook was a first team selection to the Victory Sports Network's All-American team in 2006 and was an All-MSFA pick in 2005 and 2006. Cook was also a Two-time Academic All-American and a three time All-MSFA Academic team member. In 2006 Cook was one of seventeen football players from all levels of college football selected to National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's National Scholar-Athlete Class and as a finalist for the Draddy Award, given to the nation's top football scholar athlete. He is the first athlete at St. Ambrose to receive the honor.

Ronnie McDougle - Defensive Backs

Ronnie McDougle is in his first year on the St. Ambrose coaching staff, coaching Defensive Backs
McDougle is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls. McDougle began his college career as a receiver at the University of South Dakota where he caught 31 passes for 429 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also averaged 11 yards per punt return and 22 yards per kick return. McDougle transferred to the University of Sioux Falls where he excelled as a defensive back.
 

McDougle racked up 87 tackles, 9 interceptions, 29 pass break-ups, two forced fumbles, and six blocked kicks for the University of Sioux Falls in 2003 and 2004. He was selected 1st-team in 2004 and 2nd-team in 2003 All Great Plains Athletic Conference, Honorable mention All-American, 4th-team Academic All-American, and was selected by his teammates as Rookie of the Year.

McDougle's talents are not limited to just the football field as he also was an NCAA All-American Track athlete in the 200 meters, clocking a career best time of 20.8 seconds. McDougle continued his football career at the professional level, playing Arena2 Football with the Quad City Steam Wheelers as a DB/WR.