Football

Mustangs To Host St. Ambrose In Opening Round Of NAIA Football Playoffs

Advance Tickets For Playoff Game Go On Sale Tuesday

Mustangs Ranked 3rd In Final Regular Season NAIA Poll

Morningside Wraps Up 10-0 Regular Season With 49-27 Win

Watts Makes Academic All-District Team

Zevenbergen And Jaminet Are GPAC Players Of The Week

Fobbe Is NAIA National Offensive Player Of The Week

Mustangs Knock Off Sioux Falls In 27-26 Thriller!

Fobbe Is GPAC Offensive Player Of The Week

Mustangs Ranked 12th In NAIA Pre-Season Poll

Craig Fobbe was the NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week after he led the Mustangs to a 27-26 win against the University of Sioux Falls.

It's Morningside Vs. St. Ambrose In NAIA Playoffs

Morningside College, champions of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, will host St. Ambrose University of the Midwest League of the Mid-States Football Association in the opening round of the 2005 NAIA Football Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 1 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Morningside posted a perfect 10-0 record during the regular season and is ranked third nationally in the NAIA's final regular season poll released on Sunday, Nov. 13.

St. Ambrose, 8-2, is ranked 14th in the final regular season NAIA poll.

Click here for the complete first round pairings.

Tickets For Playoff Football Game Go On Sale Tuesday

Advance ticket sales for Morningside College’s NAIA National Playoff football game against St. Ambrose University on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Elwood Olsen Stadium will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Advance ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students in grades K-12 and college students with an id. Ticket prices will be $12 for adults and $5 for students on the day of the game.

Advance tickets can be purchased in the Hindman-Hobbs Center, 3501 Peters Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Tickets can also be purchased by calling (712) 274-5531 from 10 a.m .to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday’s playoff game will start at 1 p.m.

All Morningside faculty, staff, and students must purchase a ticket in order to be admitted to the game.

Mustangs 3rd In Final Regular Season Poll

Morningside College is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the NAIA’s final regular season football poll released Sunday, Nov. 13.

The Mustangs, who completed a 10-0 regular season with a 49-27 triumph against Dana College this past Saturday, are the 2005 Great Plains Athletic Conference champions.

Morningside will host St. Ambrose University, ranked 14th in the final poll, in the first round of the NAIA National Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 19. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Click here for the complete final regular season NAIA Top 25.

Mustangs Wrap Up 10-0 Regular Season

Craig Fobbe	Damon Mothershead

Morningside's football team put the finishing touches on a 10-0 regular season with a record setting performance in a 49-27 triumph against Dana College on Saturday afternoon at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

The Mustangs, the 2005 Great Plains Athletic Conference champions, will now turn their attention to the upcoming NAIA National Playoffs, whose pairings will be announced Sunday afternoon.

Morningside rolled up a school-record 695 yards total offense against Dana to break the school's long existing former record of 679 yards total offense against Missouri Western back in 1970.

The Mustangs also amassed a school-record 476 yards passing, all of it from the arm of senior quarterback Craig Fobbe, who broke his own individual school single-game passing yardage mark. The Mustangs' previous record of 471 yards passing, also all by Fobbe, came in this year's opening game 48-18 win at Midland Lutheran College.

Fobbe went over 400 yards passing for the fourth time this season.

Fobbe completed 25 of 43 passes and threw touchdown strikes of 19 and 21 yards to Trae Johnson, 55 yards to Damon Mothershead, and four yards to Justin Hargens. Fobbe, who raised his season's totals to 3,673 yards and 29 touchdowns, finished one TD pass shy of tying his own school single-game record. Fobbe, who has thrown only six interceptions all season, extended his streak to 118 consecutive attempts without an interception. He has thrown only one interception in his last 210 attempts.

The Mustangs had three receivers finish with over 100 reception yards in a game for the first time in school history. Mothershead led the way with eight catches for 173 yards for the ninth highest single-game reception yardage total in Morningside history. Cody Jaminet had six catches for 145 yards and Johnson hauled in six passes for 101 yards.

Morningside's running game also did its share of damage, as freshman Tyler Childress rushed for 158 yards in 23 carries with touchdown runs of 65 yards and one yard. He went over the 100-yard mark for the second game in a row after rushing for 101 yards in the Mustangs' 35-9 win against Briar Cliff the previous Saturday.

The Mustangs' defensive leader was Dallas Browning, who amassed a whopping 17 tackles, including a quarterback sack, and had two pass breakups.

Chad Hustedt added 12 tackles and an interception, while Mike Winklepleck had five tackles and an interception.

Winklepleck's interception and 52-yard return came in the first quarter to set up the Mustangs' first touchdown of the game, a 19-yard pass from Fobbe to Johnson, with 5:21 left in the opening stanza.

Dana took a 7-6 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Matt Neesen and a Rick Lebeda PAT with 14:35 left in the second quarter. However, Morningside answered with 33 consecutive points, including 26 in the second quarter, to move in front 32-7 by the intermission.

Morningside will make its second-ever appearance in the NAIA National Playoffs when first round games begin on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Click here for complete game statistics.

Watts Earns Academic All-District Honors

Steven Watts, a 5-11, 185 lb. senior punter from Council Bluffs, Iowa, has been named to the second-team of the 2005 ESPN The Magazine College Division Academic All-District VII football team. The teams are selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Watts has a 3.46 cumulative grade point average at Morningside. He is majoring in biology teaching.

He has punted 35 times for 1,324 yards this season for a career-high average of 37.8 yards per punt. His longest punt this season went for 54 yards.

Morningside will take a 9-0 record and a No. 3 NAIA national ranking into this Saturday’s regular season finale against Dana College at 1 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Eligible players for the ESPN The Magazine All-Academic teams must be of at least sophomore status and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher.

Zevenbergen And Jaminet Receive GPAC Honors

John Zevenbergen	Cody Jaminet

John Zevenbergen, a 6-2, 190 lb. senior cornerback from Hinton, Iowa, and Cody Jaminet, a 5-11, 185 lb. junior wide receiver from Sioux City, have been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for their performances in last Saturday's 35-9 win against city rival Briar Cliff.

The two players each scored early touchdowns to spot the Mustangs a 14-0 lead before their offense took the field for the first time. Jaminet returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, then Zevenbergen intercepted a pass on Briar Cliff's fourth play from scrimmage and returned the theft 37 yards for a touchdown.

Zevenbergen finished the contest with three solo tackles, two assists, and a whopping eight pass breakups. His coverage skills helped limit Briar Cliff's Michael Turner to just 28 yards on five receptions. Turner had entered the game ranked among the NAIA national leaders with an average of 94.0 reception yards per game.

Jaminet's 93 yard kickoff return was Morningside's first touchdown return since Keith Green returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against Mankato State University in 1994. Jaminet also had six punt returns for 48 yards. He raised his season's punt return total to 277 yards, putting him within 50 yards of the Morningside single-season record total of 327 yards he set last year.

Morningside will take a 9-0 record into this Saturday's regular season finale against Dana College at 1 p.m. at Elwood Olsen Stadium.

Fobbe Named NAIA National Offensive Player Of The Week

Craig Fobbe	E.J. Infanger

Craig Fobbe, a 6-3, 225 lb. senior quarterback from Maple Lake, Minn., has been named the NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Mustangs’ 27-26 victory against the University of Sioux Falls this past Saturday in a matchup between the third and fourth ranked teams in the nation in the NAIA.

In addition, Fobbe and teammate E.J. Infanger, a 6-1, 225 lb. sophomore linebacker from Salmon, Idaho, were named the Great Plains Athletic Conference’s (GPAC) Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.

Fobbe completed 30 of 46 pass attempts for 401 yards and two touchdowns to tie a Morningside record for pass completions in a game and amass the second highest single-game passing yardage total in school history. His touchdown passes were strikes of 12 and 10 yards to Damon Mothershead.

Fobbe earned NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career. He also received the award last season when he had 337 yards passing and 364 yards total offense in a 45-0 win against Dakota Wesleyan University.

Infanger collected a game-high 11 tackles, including five solo stops, to go along with a quarterback sack and two fumble recoveries. His second fumble recovery came on the defensive play of the game when the Cougars turned the ball over after they had driven to the Mustangs’ one-yard line with less than four minutes left in the game.

Morningside’s victory ended a 40-game GPAC winning streak for Sioux Falls that dated back to the 2001. The Mustangs, 6-0 for the first time in school history, will travel to Seward, Neb., this Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. game against Concordia University.

Mustangs Prevail In National Showdown

Damon Mothershead	Dallas Browning

Morningside staged a goal line stand late in the fourth quarter to hold off the University of Sioux Falls 27-26 on Saturday at Elwood Olsen Stadium and end the Cougars' 40-game GPAC winning streak.

The game was a showdown between two of the top ranked teams in the nation in the NAIA ranks between the No. 4 Mustangs and the third-ranked Cougars. Morningside is now 6-0 for the first time in school history and the only undefeated team left in the GPAC. Sioux Falls, the four-time defending GPAC champion, dropped to 6-1.

Morningside led 27-26 late in the game when Sioux Falls faced a second and goal from the Mustangs' one-yard line with just under four minutes left. The Cougars gave the ball to running back Mike Dvoracek, a second-team All-American in 2004, who coughed the ball up to the Mustangs' E.J. Infanger after a big hit by Dallas Browning caused the fumble.

The Mustangs were able to run out the clock after two pivotal third down conversions. The first came when Craig Fobbe completed a 45-yard pass to Damon Mothershead on third and nine from the Mustangs' five-yard line. The Mustangs were faced with a third-and-11 three plays later when Sioux Falls was penalized for pass interference. The penalty gave the Mustangs another first down with just over one minute left and with Sioux Falls out of timeouts.

Fobbe, the NAIA national leader in total offense and passing, finished with another big day by passing for 401 yards for the second highest single-game passing yardage total in Morningside history. Fobbe tossed touchdown passes of 10 and 12 yards to Damon Mothershead. Fobbe completed 30 of 46 attempts without an interception to tie a school record for pass completions in a game.

Mothershead finished with career highs of 10 receptions and 142 yards, while Trae Johnson had seven catches for 170 yards and Cory Wirth caught eight passes for 74 yards.

Cody Jaminet led the Mustangs' rushing attack with a 39-yard touchdown reverse that came on the first play of the second quarter to open the game's scoring.

Sioux Falls battled back to take a 13-7 lead on a pair of touchdown passes from Joe Wright to reigning first-team All-American Dusty Hovorka.

The Mustangs answered with two touchdown passes of their own with the TD passes from Fobbe to Mothershead to take a 21-13 lead at the intermission.

Sioux Falls closed withihn 21-19 on a 30-yard TD pass from Wright to Michael Warren with 9:45 left in the third quarter, then went on top 26-21 when Robbie Tiff blocked a Morningside punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown with 1:53 left in the third stanza.

Morningside went ahead to stay, 27-26, on a three-yard touchdown run by Tyler Childress with 9:08 left in the game to cap a 12-play, 54-yard drive.

Infanger, who made the Mustangs' game-saving fumble recovery, played his best game of the season with a game-high 11 tackles, including five solo stops, to go along with a quarterback sack, two fumble recoveries, and two tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of seven yards.

The exploits of Infanger and rest of the Mustangs' defense limited Dvoracek, one of the nation's leading rushers, to 25 yards in 14 carries for an average gain of just 1.8 yards per carry. His longest run of the game went for just eight yards.

Morningside will travel to Seward, Neb., next Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. game against Concordia University.

Click here for complete game statistics.

Fobbe Honored By GPAC

Craig Fobbe, a 6-3, 225 lb. senior quarterback from Maple Lake, Minn., is the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Offensive Football Player of the Week after his record-setting performance in the Mustangs’ season opening 48-18 victory against Midland Lutheran College last Saturday.

Fobbe broke Morningside’s single-game records with 471 yards passing and 477 yards total offense. He broke the former Morningside records of 392 yards passing by Pat Murphy against South Dakota State University in 1970 and 451 yards total offense by Mike Junck against the Kearney State in 1971.

Fobbe completed 22 of 35 pass attempts with four touchdowns against Midland Lutheran. He passed for 198 yards on just four completions in the first quarter alone. His touchdown passes were strikes of 78 and 13 yards to Trae Johnson, 45 yards to Cody Jaminet, and 11 yards to Kyle Ortegren.

Morningside, ranked 12th nationally in the NAIA pre-season poll, will host No. 20 Northwestern College on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Mustangs 12th In NAIA Pre-Season Poll

Morningside College is ranked 12th nationally in the NAIA football pre-season poll released on Aug. 16.

The Mustangs are coming off one of their best seasons in school history following an 8-3 finish in 2004 where they tied a school record for wins in a season and made their first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Playoffs.

Morningside is one of four teams from the GPAC in the NAIA pre-season ratings. The University of Sioux Falls is ranked fifth, Hastings College is 13th, and Northwestern College is 20th.

The Mustangs will open the 2005 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, with a 7 p.m. game against Midland Lutheran College at Fremont, Neb.

Click here for the entire NAIA Pre-Season Top 25.