Nov. 7, 2008

A Brief Look Inside: Report #9 | Complete PDF Version

Page 1               Winningest Teams of the 2000s

                            Cris Reisert Record Watch

                            Game of the Week: #10 Malone at #3 Saint Francis (Ind.)

Page 2-3           Conference Championships on the Line NEW!

                            Games to Watch; Streaks

                            Carroll’s (Mont.) Legacy: More Wins Than Oklahoma

Page 4               Hank Biesiot: Chasing History

                            What is the Toughest Conference?

                            Useful Nuggets in 2008

Page 5               100 Coaching Wins

Page 6               New Home for Championship

                            2008 VSN First Down Classic

Page 7               Latest Top 25 Coaches’ Poll (Nov. 3)

Page 8               Postseason Dominance in the 2000s

Page 9               Active Coaching Lists

Page 10             National Players of the Week

Page 11             National Individual Statistical Leaders

Page 12-15       Composite Schedule: Aug. 23 - Nov. 8

Page 16-18       Week-By-Week Top 25 Polls

Page 19             Conference Breakdown: Key games remaining NEW!

2008 Rawlings-NAIA Football Season Report #9

With time running out on the regular season and nine of the 10 NAIA football conferences up for grabs, Week 11 is guaranteed to be an exciting slate of games. There are still six undefeated teams in the country - the top six in the latest Coaches’ Top 25 poll. Carroll (Mont.) tops the list with a 10-0 record and winners of 25 straight. Following the Fighting Saints are Sioux Falls (S.D.), St. Francis (Ind.), Morningside (Iowa), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Friends (Kan.). Interestingly enough, no more than four programs total have finished the regular season with an unblemished record in 13 years. Six teams were perfect during the 1995 regular season.

 

St. Francis, MidAmerica Nazarene and Friends have perhaps the toughest challenges this weekend on staying undefeated. In the Game of the Week, USF hosts No. 10 Malone (Ohio) as both teams are spotless in Mid-States Football Association - Mideast play. MidAmerica welcomes No. 15 Baker (Kan.) - a team that upset No. 7 Missouri Valley last weekend. Leading the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 7-0 record, Friends will be tested with a battle at No. 23 Bethel (Kan.).

 

Once conference champions are determined and regular season play wraps up on Nov. 15, the Football Championship Series will begin on Nov. 22 with 16 teams participating. The official postseason field will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 16. The Championship Series culminates in the Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship in Rome, Ga., on Dec. 20 and televised live on CBS College Sports.

 

Cris Reisert Record Watch:

All eyes should be on Ohio Dominican senior quarterback Cris Reisert this weekend, who needs one more touchdown pass to break the NAIA all-time national record for touchdown throws. With three touchdowns last weekend (Nov. 1), Cris tied the record of 113 set by Mark Weekly (1990-93) of Pacific Lutheran (Calif.). Still battling for a slight chance into the postseason, No. 24 ODU hosts Urbana (Ohio) this Saturday (Nov. 8). He also has a good chance of hitting the career passing yards mark of 13,063, accomplished by Kirk Baumgartner (1986-89) of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Cris needs 270 passing yards to tie the mark. Cris is also chasing the total offense mark of 13,979 yards, set by Carroll’s Tyler Emmert (2002-05) - he stands with 13,250 yards.

 

For perspective, in all divisions of the NCAA, Cris ranks in the Top 20 in total career touchdown tosses and passing yards. Jimmy Terwilliger of East Stroudsburg (NCAA Division III) and Justin Peery of Westminster (Mo.) (NCAA Division III) each had 148 career touchdown throws. For passing yards, Timmy Chang of Hawaii finished his career with 17,072 yards.

 

On Oct. 11, he set the NAIA career mark for completions with 31 against St. Xavier (Ill.). His 1,104 career completions has bettered the old record accomplished by Carroll’s (Mont.) Tyler Emmert from 2002-05. The Archbishop Moeller High School (Ohio) graduate smashed Detroit Lions and former Central Washington quarterback Jon Kitna’s single-season passing mark of 4,944 last year -- Reisert went for 5,434 yards.

 

Through eight games in 2008, Reisert is 241-for-359 (.671) for 2,432 yards and 21 passing touchdowns against just five interceptions. He has tossed for at least 300 yards and four touchdowns in three of his games this year.

 

Conference Breakdown:

Mentioned previously, nine of the 10 NAIA conference titles are yet to be decided. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on. Here is a breakdown of the conferences.

 

In the Central States Football League, Langston and Bacone are tied for first as Bacone hosts Northwestern Oklahoma State this weekend -- a team one game back in the standings. If Bacone gets past NWOSU Saturday, it will face Langston the final weekend (Nov. 15) for the outright conference title.

 

In the Dakota Athletic Conference, Dickinson State (N.D.) travels to Minot State (N.D.) in the final weekend of conference action. DSU is one game up in the standings over Minot and searching for its first conference title since 2005.

 

Carroll, winners of 25 straight games and nine consecutive Frontier Conference Championships, has already secured the 2008 crown. They will more than likely be the No. 1 team heading into the Championship Series.

 

In the Great Plains Athletic Conference, it is basically a two-team race. The two teams with an 8-0 league record entering this Saturday will meet up on Nov. 15 in Sioux Falls, S.D. -- Sioux Falls and Morningside. Both teams have either won or shared the conference title going back to the 2001 season.

 

The Heart of America Athletic Conference has four teams in contention starting with first-place MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). The Pioneers host Baker (Kan.) this Saturday (Nov. 8) -- BU is tied for second with last year’s champion Lindenwood (Mo.) with a 7-1 mark. Missouri Valley, who travels to Lindenwood next Saturday (Nov. 15), is two games back of the leader, MNU.

 

Similar to the HAAC, four teams are gunning for the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. Friends (Kan.) is leading by one game at 7-0. The Falcons will be tested against the 2007 co-champion, Bethel (Kan.) this Saturday (Nov. 8) -- Bethel is two games back of Friends. Ottawa and Sterling, both tied for second place, will battle it out next weekend (Nov. 15).

 

In the Mid-South Conference (East), league-leader Cumberlands (Ky.) hosts Virginia-Wise, a team one game back of U of C. Also in the mix is Union (Ky.) with a 4-1 league mark. However, the Bulldogs have to hope UVa-Wise defeats Cumberlands and then there will be a three-way tie. Union took down UVa-Wise last weekend but lost to Cumberlands by a touchdown.

 

If two teams in the Mid-South Conference (West) can win this weekend, the conference title will be on the line next Saturday (Nov. 15) in Lebanon, Tenn. Lambuth (Tenn.) sits with a 4-0 mark while Cumberland (Tenn.) is at 3-1 and welcomes LU on Nov. 15.

 

Perhaps the most competitive conference, the Mid-States Football Association has numerous teams still in the thick of the championship. In the Mideast Division, St. Francis (Ind.) hosts Malone (Ohio) this Saturday (Nov. 8) with both teams entering undefeated in circuit play. St. Xavier (Ill.) is one game back while Ohio Dominican is two games behind the leader. On Nov. 15, St. Xavier faces St. Francis while Malone and ODU tangle that same day. With a 4-1 mark in the Midwest Division, St. Ambrose (Iowa), William Penn (Iowa) and Quincy (Ill.) are all tied for the top spot. St. Ambrose and Quincy do battle on Saturday (Nov. 8) while William Penn hosts Quincy the following weekend (Nov. 15). McKendree (Ill.) is sitting on the outside with a 3-2 record and needs to win out and get some help.

 

Game of the Week:

• No. 10 Malone (Ohio) (6-1) at No. 3 St. Francis (Ind.) (8-0) • Nov. 8 • 12 p.m. EST • Ft. Wayne, Ind. • Bishop D’Arcy Stadium | Listen to Game Live

The 49-game home winning streak will be put to the test once again for No. 3 St. Francis (Ind.). The Cougars play host to No. 10 Malone (Ohio), who is tied with USF at 4-0 in league play. Picked to finish fourth in the MSFA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Malone is searching for its first conference title since 1998.

 

The cream of the conference and a national championship contender in the last decade, St. Francis won eight outright conference titles from 1999-2006 and advanced to the Championship Series Semifinals in each of the last five seasons.The Cougars are first in the country in scoring offense averaging nearly 50 points per game. They have been blowing teams out, based on the +40 scoring margin.

 

Leading the high-octane offense is quarterback Jeff Wedding, who ranks No. 4 in the country in passing efficiency (165.8). He has thrown for nearly 1,700 yards and has totalled 18 touchdowns against four interceptions. Wedding is second on the team with 221 rushing yards. The main offensive weapon is Daniel Carter. The running back and return specialist has 12 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and two kickoff returns for touchdowns. He averages 144.5 all-purpose yards per game, good for 13th in the country.

 

Winners of six straight, Malone sports an explosive offense as well led by Billy Bob Orsagh. He averages more than 300 passing yards per game (300.3), good for fifth in the NAIA, and ranks No. 5 in passing efficiency (164.5). His main target is Derek Deardorff, who is No. 2 in the country in receiving yards/game (107.9) and ninth in catches per game (6.3). A defense that gives up over 300 yards a game will be tested. Ronnell Lee looks to have a big day on the pass rush as he has 6.0 total sacks on the year.

 

Last year, USF was on the winning end by a 31-17 score. Wedding rushed for 117 yards as the Cougars amassed 523 yards of total offense.

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