Mike Magistrelli - Head Coach

Mike Magistrelli took the reins of the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees football program in 2007 and has won the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League championship in back-to-back seasons.

In 2008, the Bees were 8-4 overall and 6-1 in MSFA Midwest League play. The season ended with a 28-0 loss to eventual national champion Sioux Falls in the NAIA playoffs. In his initial year at the helm, Magistrelli guided the Bees to an 8-3 mark and a perfect 7-0 record in the MSFA Midwest League.

A two-time all-conference quarterback at Coe College, Magistrelli began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at St. Ambrose from 1997-99.

He returned to Coe in 1999 and served as the quarterback coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons. In 2000, his quarterback set the single-season Iowa Conference record by throwing for 2,275 yards. Magistrelli was promoted to defensive coordinator at Coe in 2001, and the following year, the Kohawks won their first conference championship in school history.

After five seasons at Coe, Magistrelli came back to St. Ambrose in 2004 as the defensive coordinator under head coach Todd Sturdy. He remained the defensive coordinator through the 2006 season before taking the helm in 2007.

“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 enjoy.”

Magistrelli received his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Coe in 1997 and his master's in Post-Secondary Disability Services from St. Ambrose in 1999.

He currently resides in Bettendorf, Iowa, with his wife Lisa and their three children, Paige, Brooke, and Matthew.

Contact Information
Phone: 563-333-6240
Email: MagistrelliMichaelJ@sau.edu

Jeff Girsch - Defensive Coordinator

After a one-year hiatus in 2007, Jeff Girsch returned to the Fighting Bees coaching staff in 2008 and made an immediate impact by being named a co-MSFA Midwest League Assistant Coach of the Year.

During his tenure at St. Ambrose, Girsch has coached defensive backs and wide receivers, and now serves as the defensive coordinator.

Girsch is a graduate of SAU, where he excelled as a four-year starting wide receiver. He currently ranks fourth in career receiving yards (1,617), eighth in career touchdown receptions (11), and tenth in career pass receptions (94) at St. Ambrose.

After graduating from St. Ambrose in 1994, Girsch joined the Fighting Bees football coaching staff in the fall of that year. He coached the wide receivers from 1994-98. Girsch returned to the staff and coached the defensive backs from 2000-03 before again coaching the defensive backs from 2004-06.

In 2007, Girsch coached receivers and tight ends at Bettendorf High School, where the Bulldogs won the Iowa state championship. He returned to SAU in March of 2008 for the start of spring practice.

Girsch currently resides in Davenport, Iowa, with his wife Erin, an admissions counselor at St. Ambrose, and their daughters, Jamee Kay and Jill.

Contact Information
Phone: 563-333-6153
Email: GirschJeffreyT@sau.edu

Brad Cook - Offensive Line

Brad Cook joined the St. Ambrose coaching staff prior to the 2007 season. Cook played for the Fighting Bees from 2003-06 and graduated from St. Ambrose with a bachelor's degree in Finance and Economics in 2007. 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 (2003, 2006). The Fighting Bees were a perfect 10-0 through the 2006 regular season. Cook helped St. Ambrose qualify for the playoffs in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Cook was a Victory Sports Network First Team All-American in 2006, and was an All-MSFA selection in 2005 and 2006. He was a two-time Academic All-American and a three-time All-MSFA Academic Team pick. In 2006, Cook was one of 17 football players from all collegiate levels selected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's National Scholar-Athlete Class. That year, he also became the first athlete at St. Ambrose to be a finalist for the Draddy Award, given to the nation's top football scholar-athlete.

Cook resides in Davenport and is engaged to Kristyn Brasseur.

Contact Information
Phone: 563-333-5895
Email: CookBradL@sau.edu

Matt Drinkall - Wide Receivers, Special Teams Coordinator

Matt Drinkall joined the St. Ambrose coaching staff in 2008. After coaching the inside linebackers in 2008, he will switch over to coach the wide receivers in 2009. Drinkall will also serve as the special teams coordinator.

Before arriving at SAU, Drinkall coached tight ends at Western Illinois University for two years. During that time, the Leathernecks were one of the nation’s top rushing offenses. In 2007, starting tight end Matt Warner finished second on the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. In 2006, Drinkall guided former Penn State linebacker J.R. Zwierzynski to 2006 Gateway Conference All-Newcomer honors.

Drinkall came to Western Illinois from Bettendorf High School, where he served as the strength and conditioning coordinator and coached defensive backs and wide receivers from 2003-06. He was a member of a coaching staff that helped Bettendorf to a No. 13 national ranking by USA Today and an undefeated Class 4A Iowa state championship in 2004. Bettendorf compiled a 30-4 overall record during his tenure.

Drinkall was a wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes before an injury ended his playing career prematurely. He played his prep football at Bettendorf High School where he was one of only two players in program history to have both 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving. Drinkall earned his Master’s degree in 2007 and his undergraduate degree in 2006.

Drinkall resides in Davenport and is engaged to be married to Erin Morrissey.

Contact Information
Email: DrinkallMatthewD@sau.edu

Adam Laffey - Defensive Backs

Adam Laffey joins the St. Ambrose coaching staff in 2009 after spending a year as a graduate assistant at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Laffey played collegiately at Loras College as a defensive back and will be coaching the defensive backs for the Fighting Bees.

Laffey is currently working towards a master’s degree in Health Education.

Lucas Lueders - Defensive Line

Lucas Lueders joins the Fighting Bees staff as defensive line coach in 2009 after coaching linebackers at Sterling College in Kansas for a year. Lueders was a four-year varsity player at Sterling playing wide receiver for a year before making the switch to linebacker.

Lueders, a native of Dell Rapids, SD, graduated from Sterling in December 2008 with a degree in exercise science. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership at St. Ambrose.

Kyle Krogmann - Linebackers

Kyle Krogmann is in his first season as a graduate assistant coach with the St. Ambrose University football team in 2009.

Krogmann comes to St. Ambrose University after spending the past year at Wisconsin Lutheran College as an assistant defensive coach. Before that he played four years (2004-07) of football at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Krogmann was a three-year letterwinner for the Rams and was named 12th Man of the Year following his sophomore season.

Playing in 27 career games at Cornell, Krogmann caught 64 receptions for a total of 895 yards and six touchdowns. He graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology.

Krogmann was a four-sport athlete at Northeast Goose Lake High School in Goose Lake, Iowa. He earned all-conference accolades in football, baseball and track.

Krogmann is pursuing a master's degree in Organizational Leadership.

Patrick Rotchford - Offensive Line

Patrick Rotchford will be serving as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line for the Fighting Bees in 2009. Rotchford comes to St. Ambrose from MacMurray College where he was offensive line coach for a season. Prior to that, Rotchford was a scouting intern with the Buffalo Bills.

Rotchford received his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from St. John Fisher College in New York. Rotchford was a varsity football player at St. John Fisher and as a senior was part of a team that made it to the national semifinals of the Division III Championships, falling to powerhouse Mount Union.

Rotchford will be pursuing a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership at St. Ambrose.

Duane Bark - Tight Ends

Duane Bark brings 28 years of coaching experience to the Bees. He spent the past three seasons as an assistant defensive coach for his alma mater, UW-Platteville. Bark was the head coach at Durant in the late 1980s, turning a program around that had not won a conference game in five years.

Bark, from 1997-2001, took over the head football position at Prairie du Chien while also serving as high school principal. He resurrected a program that had two wins in the previous two seasons into conference contenders while making the playoffs in all but one year.

Bark has also served as a defensive coordinator at Riverdale and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and Mid-Buchanan, Missouri. He served as an offensive coordinator at River Valley, Wisconsin. Bark also was a varsity assistant coach at Linn-Mar, Iowa and Iowa-Grant, Wisconsin.

Bark received his B.S.E.D. from UW Platteville, his M.A. from Northwest Missouri State and his E.D.S. from Winona State University. He has returned to Durant and serves the Durant CSD as their superintendent.

Duane and his wife Pam live in Durant and are the parents of Brad, Brian and Brittany.

Max Duvall - Inside Linebackers

Max Duvall joined the Fighting Bees football coaching staff in 2008. He coaches the inside linebackers after coaching the defensive backs last year.

Before arriving at St. Ambrose, Duvall spent two seasons as the head coach at Davenport Central High School. He previously spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Drake University. Duvall has also coached at Des Moines Hoover and Bishop Heelan in Sioux City, Iowa.

Duvall graduated from Westmar College in Le Mars, Iowa, before earning his Master’s degree from Drake University. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

Duvall resides in Davenport, Iowa, with his wife Lauri and his daughter Michaela.

Nathan Fisher - Defensive Line

A 2005 graduate of St. Ambrose, Nathan Fisher returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2007. He coaches the defensive line, primarily nose tackles.

After playing for St. Ambrose from 2000-01, Fisher coached for the Fighting Bees from 2002-04. He spent two years in Nashville, Tenn., working as the Health Teacher and Assistant Varsity Boys Track Coach at Hillwood High School in West Nashville.

Before returning to Iowa, Fisher was working as a Physical Education Teacher/Recreation Specialist and the Career Development Teacher at the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in downtown Nashville. He currently serves as the Physical Education Teacher at Hayes Elementary and Lincoln Academy in Davenport, Iowa.

Fisher resides in Rock Island, Ill., with his wife Betsy Fisher.

Tom Freeman - Running Backs, Kickers/Punters

Tom Freeman joined the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees coaching staff prior to the 2001 season. After coaching wide receivers for several years, Freeman now coaches the running backs, kickers and punters.

As the offensive coordinator at Bettendorf High School for 27 years, Freeman helped guide the Bulldogs to five Iowa state championships. His 40 years of coaching experience also includes stops at Lake Central High School and at River Forest High School, both in Indiana.

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

Ed Morrissey - Outside Linebackers

Ed Morrissey joined the Fighting Bees football coaching staff in 2007. He coaches the outside linebackers. Morrissey was the head coach at Pleasant Valley High School for 28 seasons and currently teaches physical education there.

Morrissey received his bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa and went on to earn his master's from Syracuse University. While at Syracuse, he served as a football graduate assistant for two seasons. Morrissey also served as an assistant coach at Davenport Assumption High School for three years.

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

Russ Monk - Tight Ends, Running Backs

After a standout career, Russ Monk remained with the St. Ambrose football team as a student assistant coach in 2008. He will coach the tight ends and running backs in 2009.

Originally from Monticello, Iowa, and Monticello High School, Monk was a two-year starter at right tackle for the Fighting Bees. He earned first team All-Mid-States Football Association Midwest League honors in 2007. Monk played professionally as a fullback for the Quad City Steamwheelers of the AF2 during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Monk is majoring in Physical Education at St. Ambrose.

Vince Fillipp - Defensive Line

Vince Fillipp joins the coaching staff as the junior varsity defensive line coach in 2009 after a successful playing career with the Fighting Bees. Fillipp was a two-time all-conference selection and was chosen as one of the Top 8 Defensive Linemen in the country in 2008.

Fillipp graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management. The 2009 season will mark his first year of coaching. A native of Cary, Ill., Fillipp currently lives in Davenport.

Zach Bellendier - Student Assistant

Zach Bellendier will be serving as a student assistant and coaching the junior varsity quarterbacks, as a sophomore at St. Ambrose.

Bellendier played quarterback in high school at Maquoketa, Iowa, where he set many school passing records during the 2007 season, some that were previously held by current NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels.

During his senior season for the Cardinals, Bellendier threw for school season records of 161 completions, 2,259 yards, and 23 touchdowns. He currently holds the Iowa Class 3A Record for passing yards in a game at 501 yards.

Bellendier was also selected to play for the North squad at the 2008 Iowa Shrine Bowl.

As a St. Ambrose recruit during the summer of 2008, Bellendier suffered a spinal cord injury, which ended his football career prematurely.

Bellendier is majoring in Physical Education at St. Ambrose.