-Northern Iowa:
UNI gives Farley extension, temporary AD post
Saturday, February 2 2008
CEDAR FALLS - Mark Farley got a new job and a new deal, all in the same day.
Farley, the University of Northern Iowa's head football coach, was named the Panthers' interim director of athletics today. The appointment was effective immediately and makes him the temporary replacement for departed AD Rick Hartzell.
"Mark's intimate knowledge of the UNI athletic program, his decision-making abilities and his willingness to work with his coaching colleagues and staff to continue to move our athletic program forward is what I was looking for during this transition," said Tom Schellhardt, UNI vice president for administration and finance, in a statement released by the university. "Mark is completing his recruiting for the season and has agreed to serve in this interim role as we search for a permanent athletics director. We plan to have the position filled in three to four months."
Schellhardt said UNI will begin the search for a new AD immediately and Farley will not be a candidate for the position.
Farley, however, will have his hands full guiding a football program that earned the No. 1 seed for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last season, and that's because the school gave him a five-year contract extension today. His old deal was set to expire in 2010, and so the new deal secures him through 2015.
With the new contract, Farley will receive a base salary of $220,000 plus incentives base on team athletic and academic performance. The increase from his current base salary of $159,000 will come from private funding.
"I feel very fortunate to be part of a state and university that embraces a quality of life and commitment to excellence that everyone can be proud of," Farley said in the statement. "I am confident in and thankful for the leadership of President Ben Allen and Tom Schellhardt, and appreciate the opportunity to be a part of their plans for the future.
"As the interim athletics director, I look forward to working with my colleagues to guide our department through this transition."
-Southern Illinois:
Football press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. today
Friday, December 28 2007
Dale Lennon, who led UND to its only national football championship, will be named the head coach at Southern Illinois on Friday.
Sources confirmed Thursday afternoon that Lennon has accepted the job at Southern Illinois.
Southern Illinois is a Division I Football Championship Subdivision program. The Salukis are members of the Gateway Football Conference.
UND finished 10-2 this season, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Lennon leaves UND with 90 career wins, tying him with Roger Thomas for the most in school history.
Lennon will replace Jerry Kill, who left Southern Illinois to take over the Northern Illinois position.
Lennon, who has spent more than two decades at UND as a player, assistant and head coach, is expected to be introduced as the Southern Illinois coach on Friday.
UND named Lennon as its head coach in 1999.
-Southern Illinois:
Kill named head football coach at Northern Illinois University
Thursday, December 13 2007
CARBONDALE, Ill.-Jerry Kill's dream to take over the helm of a Football Bowl Subdivison (formerly I-A) program became a reality today when he was introduced as the head coach at Northern Illinois University. Kill succeeds Joe Novak (63-75), who retired after 12 seasons, at the Mid-American Conference school.
"It has been Coach Kill's aspiration to coach at the FBS level, and I am very happy for him to get that opportunity," said Saluki Director of Athletics Mario Moccia.
Kill's departure comes five days after SIU lost to Delaware in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division I Football Championship. The Salukis ended the 2007 season at 12-2 overall, winning 10 or more games for the third time in five years.
"What he has done for Saluki Football is nothing short of miraculous," Moccia said. "Jerry essentially built this program from scratch, and he is leaving an excellent foundation upon which his successor can continue."
Driven by a no-nonsense, hard hat, lunch pail approach, Kill built a model program at SIU that consistently contended for the Gateway Conference championship and Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) playoffs.
He compiled a glittering 55-32 record in seven seasons at SIU. He guided the Salukis to three consecutive Gateway Conference titles (2003, 2004, 2005) and five-straight (2003-2007) postseason appearances -- second longest active FCS playoff streak in the country behind Montana (15 years in a row). The Salukis have been ranked in the Top-25 for 64-straight weeks under Kill's watch. He leaves Carbondale as the second-winningest head coach in Saluki Football history.
To fully appreciate Kill's revival of Southern's football program, you must first understand how far it had fallen. After dropping to Division I-AA status in 1983 and winning a National Championship, the Salukis hit a 20-year dry spell without a playoff bid or conference title. In fact, the program had posted 11-straight losing seasons prior to the 2003 campaign. Five head coaches had tried and failed to right the ship.
A finalist for the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach-of-the-Year award and recipient of the 2004 Eddie Robinson Coach-of-the-Year honor, Kill made incremental progress in his first two years at SIU. He was instrumental in striking a deal with the local electrical union to install lights at McAndrew Stadium so the team could play night football again. He reached out to the community, making himself and his team available for frequent community-service and goodwill projects.
In 2005, Kill had a well-publicized off-season bout with kidney cancer. It prompted him to start the Coach Kill Cancer Fund, a foundation to assist needy southern Illinoisans seeking cancer treatment.
"On a personal level, I would like to thank Coach Kill and his wife, Rebecca, for the wonderful impact they've made upon the southern Illinois community," Moccia said. "Whether through the cancer fund he established or by virtue of the many acts of simple kindness he displayed, Coach Kill endeared himself to this University, this region and our fans."
SIU will begin a national search to fill the position, according to Moccia.
"We will cast a wide net in our search for the next leader of Saluki Football," he said. "We're looking for the right combination of experience, geographic ties, recruiting ability, commitment to academic excellence and the desire to be a Saluki."
-Southern Illinois:
Delaware Beats Salukis, 20-17, Ends SIU's Season at 12-2
Monday, December 10 2007
(AP) Joe Flacco threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, helping No. 13 Delaware edge fourth-ranked Southern Illinois 20-17 on Saturday to advance to the Football Championship Subdivision title game.
Omar Cuff ran for 102 yards on 21 carries for the Blue Hens (11-3), snapping the Salukis' six-game winning streak.
Delaware plays Appalachian State (12-2) next Friday in the title game of what used to be Division I-AA. The Mountaineers moved to within a victory of their third-straight national championship by ousting Richmond 55-35 on Friday night.
Jon Striefsky added had two fourth-quarter field goals for Delaware, the first a 47-yarder that extended the Blue Hens' lead to 17-10 with 10:09 left.
Southern Illinois' Alan Turner returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, tying the score at 17. But Flacco picked away at the Salukis (12-2) on the next possession, completing five passes for 67 yards in setting up Striefsky's 24-yard field goal with 6:58 to play.
Southern Illinois' ensuing drive stalled when Nick Hill was sacked on fourth-and-4 at the Delaware 36 with 3:56 left. Anthony Walters sealed Delaware's victory by intercepting Hill at the Southern Illinois 45 with 1:42 to go.
John Randle had 129 yards rushing for the Salukis. Hill finished with 106 yards on 12-of-25 passing, but was intercepted twice. Hill also ran for 41 yards.
Delaware, which trailed 10-7 at the half in a game thick with razzle-dazzle, took its first lead on a 9-yard TD pass from Flacco to Kervin Michaud midway through the third quarter. Southern Illinois then squandered opportunities on its next two possessions, first botching a snap on what would have been a 40-yard field goal attempt. On the next drive, holder Justin Allen threw a 17-yard TD pass to lineman Dolapo Adubifa on a fake field goal. But Southern Illinois was flagged for an ineligible receiver, and Kyle Dougherty missed a 39-yard field goal.
-Gateway:
Two Gateway Players Earn Walter Camp All-America Honors
Monday, December 10 2007
Two Gateway Football Conference players have been named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation 2007 Football Championship Subdivision All-America Team, as UNI's OT Chad Rinehart and Illinois State LB Kye Stewart represent the Gateway on the All-America squad.
The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools and certified by UHY Advisors, a New Haven-based accounting firm.
Rinehart started all 13 games at right tackle for the Panthers this season, while earning first-team all-Gateway Football Conference honors. He was also named to 2007 ESPN the Magazine academic all-district squad and was a first-team academic all-Gateway selection. The Panthers' rush offense (227.38 yards/game) ranks No. 2 in the Gateway and No. 15 in the nation, the Panthers' pass offense (229.92 yards/game) ranks No. 2 in the Gateway and the Panthers' total offense ranks No. 7 in the nation (457.31 yards/game).
For the fourth-straight season, Illinois State has had a representative on the prestigious Walter Camp Football Foundation Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-America Team, as senior linebacker Kye Stewart was named to the 2007 team Friday. Stewart became the sixth player in Redbird history to be honored by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, as he joins Cameron Siskowic (2006), Laurent Robinson (2005), Brent Hawkins (2005), Boomer Grigsby (2004) and Mike McCabe (1988). Stewart was also one of two Gateway Football Conference members on the team, as he was joined by Northern Iowa offensive lineman Chad Rinehart.
The 2007 Buck Buchanan Award finalist, an honor presented to the nation’s top defensive player, led the Gateway in tackles, after finishing runner-up in 2006. Stewart earned first-team all-league honors for the second-straight year in 2007 and finished with 131 tackles on the season. He posted double-digit tackle totals in every game but two, and matched his career-high with 17 takedowns against Western Illinois.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American Football,” first selected an all-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven, Conn.,-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting All-America teams for the Football Bowl and Championship subdivisions.
-Indiana St.:
Trent Miles to Take Over Sycamore Football Program
Tuesday, December 4 2007
Indiana State University Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman announced today (Dec. 4) the hiring of Trent Miles as head football coach.
Miles is a native of Terre Haute, Ind., and is a 1987 graduate of Indiana State. Miles was a wide receiver at Indiana State from 1982-86, where his 1983 and 1984 squads each won nine games and advanced to the NCAA FCS playoffs. The 1984 Sycamores were ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season. That team was inducted into the Indiana State University Hall of Fame on Sept. 7, 2002.
“It is with great pride and anticipation that we have named Trent Miles as head coach of the Sycamore Football program,” Prettyman said. “Coach Miles brings a wealth of experience having worked in some of the most respected programs in the nation, alongside some of the most respected coaches in the nation. coach Miles started his coaching career at ISU and has now returned as head coach. Please join me as we welcome coach Miles and his family, wife Bridget, and daughters Kaylee and Anna back home to Indiana State University”.
He recently completed his third season as the Washington running backs coach in 2007 after having spent the previous three years on Tyrone Willingham’s staff at Notre Dame as the wide receivers coach.
This past season Husky running back Louis Rankin rushed for 1,294 yards, becoming the first Washington player to tally a 1,000-yard rushing season since 1997.
While at Notre Dame, he mentored future NFL standouts Maurice Stovall, Rhema McKnight and Arnaz Battle, as well as Jeff Samardzija, who is now playing professional baseball in the Chicago Cubs organization.
Prior to coaching at Notre Dame, Miles worked under Willingham for one year at Stanford. That season Miles had the opportunity to coach some of the nation’s finest receivers including Luke Powell (whose 22.3-yard average per catch set a school record) and Teyo Johnson (the 2001 Pacific-10 Co-Freshman of the Year and a second-round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2003).
Miles spent the 2000 campaign with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive assistant, working with the wide receivers and as a quality control coach. During his tenure with the Packers, he coached NFL all-pro receiver Antonio Freeman.
Miles has 17 years of coaching experience on the collegiate level. He was the wide receivers coach at Fresno State for three years (1997-99), producing some of the greatest receivers in Bulldogs’ history. In 1999, two of his receivers, Rodney Wright and Charles Smith, combined to produce more than 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns on 120 receptions. Their production helped the Bulldogs to a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the Las Vegas Bowl. He also recruited and coached Bernard Barien of the Chicago Bears.
Throughout his career, Miles has coached on both sides of the ball including wide receivers, defensive backs and linebackers. Miles began his coaching career at Indiana State in 1987, tutoring the wide receivers and defensive backs as a graduate assistant. Another graduate assistant position followed at New Mexico (1988-89), where he worked with the receivers and linebackers. Miles then moved on to Oklahoma in 1990, working with the wide receivers as a graduate assistant.
Following four seasons as an assistant at Northern Illinois (1991-93 as receivers coach, 1994 with defensive backs, Miles headed west to Hawaii for two seasons (1995-96), where he spent a season each with the wide receivers and defensive backs.
Miles earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Indiana State in 1987. He was born July 29, 1963, in Terre Haute, Ind. Miles married the former Bridget Hogan on July 10, 2004. They have two daughters, Kaylee and Anna.
-Northern Iowa:
UNI's Farley Named AFCA Region-4 Coach of the Year
Tuesday, December 4 2007
University of Northern Iowa head football coach Mark Farley has been honored as the American Football Coaches Assocation's (AFCA) Football Championship Subdivision Region 4 Coach of the Year.
Farley guided the Panthers to the first-ever perfect regular season in the 23-year history of the Gateway Football Conference. The Panthers also held down the No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network's top 25 poll for the final six weeks of the regular season. The Panthers completed the season with a 12-1 record and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA FCS playoffs.
This marks the second time that Farley has earned the AFCA Region Coach of the Year honor. Farley also won the award following the 2001 season, after helping UNI to an 11-3 record and a berth into the national semifinals.
"What makes this award so special is that this is the only coach of the year award voted on exclusively by the coaches themselves," AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff said. "The winners are selected by the coaches they compete with and against on a daily basis."
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
The Winners:
West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez and Boston College's Jeff Jagodzinski tied for Football Bowl Subdivision Region 1 honors this year. Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to a 10-2 record, the Big East championship and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl, while Jagodzinski led the Eagles to a 10-3 record and a trip to the Champs Sports Bowl.
Mount Union's Larry Kehres is the Division III Region 4 winner this year, the 12th time Kehres has been so honored, moving him into sole possession of first for the most District/Regional Coach of the Year Awards in AFCA history.
California's (Pa.) John Luckhardt earned his fourth Regional Coach of the Year award, this time in Division II Region I. Luckhardt won his three previous Regional honors in 1987, 1990 and 1992 as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson.
Joining Rodriguez and Jagodzinski as winners in Football Bowl Subdivision are Mississippi State's Sylvester Croom (Region 2), Illinois' Ron Zook (Region 3), Kansas' Mark Mangino (Region 4) and Air Force's Troy Calhoun (Region 5).
In Football Championship Subdivision, the winners are Richmond's Dave Clawson and Fordham's Tom Masella (Region 1-tie); Delaware State's Al Lavan (Region 2); Eastern Kentucky's Danny Hope (Region 3); UNI's Mark Farley (Region 4) and South Dakota State's John Stiegelmeier (Region 5).
Joining Luckhardt as winners in Division II are Catawba's Chip Hester (Region 2); Grand Valley State's Chuck Martin (Region 3), West Texas A&M's Don Carthel (Region 4) and Nebraska-Omaha's Pat Behrns and Chadron State's Bill O'Boyle (Region 5-tie).
Joining Kehres in Division III, are Middlebury's Bob Ritter (Region 1); Muhlenberg's Mike Donnelly (Region 2); Mary Hardin-Baylor's Pete Fredenburg (Region 3) and Central's (Iowa) Jeff McMartin (Region 5).
In NAIA, the winners are Bethel's (Tenn.) Dino Kaklis (Region 1); Ohio Dominican's Dale Carlson (Region 2); Missouri Valley's Paul Troth (Region 3); Sioux Falls' Kalen DeBoer (Region 4) and Carroll's (Mont.) Mike Van Diest (Region 5).
The 2007 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2008 AFCA Convention in Anaheim, California. The dinner is scheduled for January 9.
2007 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Jeff Jagodzinski, Boston College; Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia University (tie)
Region 2: Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State University
Region 3: Ron Zook, University of Illinois Region
4: Mark Mangino, University of Kansas
Region 5: Troy Calhoun, U.S. Air Force Academy
Football Championship Subdivision
Region 1: Dave Clawson, University of Richmond; Tom Masella, Fordham University (tie)
Region 2: Al Lavan, Delaware State University
Region 3: Danny Hope, Eastern Kentucky University
Region 4: Mark Farley, University of Northern Iowa
Region 5: John Stiegelmeier, South Dakota State University
Division II
Region 1: John Luckhardt, California University of Pennsylvania
Region 2: Chip Hester, Catawba College
Region 3: Chuck Martin, Grand Valley State University
Region 4: Don Carthel, West Texas A&M University
Region 5: Pat Behrns, University of Nebraska-Omaha; Bill O'Boyle, Chadron State College (tie)
Division III
Region 1: Bob Ritter, Middlebury College
Region 2: Mike Donnelly, Muhlenberg College
Region 3: Pete Fredenburg, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
Region 4: Larry Kehres, Mount Union College
Region 5: Jeff McMartin, Central College (Iowa)
NAIA
Region 1: Dino Kaklis, Bethel College (Tenn.)
Region 2: Dale Carlson, Ohio Dominican University
Region 3: Paul Troth, Missouri Valley College
Region 4: Kalen DeBoer, University of Sioux Falls
Region 5: Mike Van Diest, Carroll College (Mont.)
AFCA National Coach of the Year:
The AFCA will announce its five 2007 National Coach of the Year winners at the 2008 AFCA Convention in Anaheim. All head coaches who were eligible for regional honors are eligible for national honors as well.
Repeat Winners:
Chadron State's Bill O'Boyle, Mount Union's Larry Kehres, Bethel's (Tenn.) Dino Kaklis, Missouri Valley's Paul Troth and Sioux Falls' Kalen DeBoer are the only repeat winners from 2006.
Multiple Winners:
Other multiple winners in the 2007 class are West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez (second), Northern Iowa's Mark Farley (second), California's (Pa.) John Luckhardt (fourth), Nebraska-Omaha's Pat Behrns (second) and Mary Hardin-Baylor's Pete Fredenburg (fourth).
First Time Schools:
Seven coaches earned the first AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Award for their school in 2007: Fordham's Tom Masella, Delaware State's Al Lavan, West Texas A&M's Don Carthel, Middlebury's Bob Ritter, Muhlenberg's Mike Donnelly, Ohio Dominican's Dale Carlson and Carroll's (Mont.) Mike Van Diest.
Most Awards:
Mount Union's Larry Kehres (1986-90-92-93-96-97-99-2000-01-02-06-07) has the most district/regional honors in AFCA history, earning his record 12th award this year. Penn State's Joe Paterno (District 2: 1967-68-71-72-73-77-78-82; Region 1: 1985; Region 3: 1994-2005) is second with 11 District/Regional Coach of the Year honors. Following Kehres and Paterno is Bloomsburg's Danny Hale, who won his ninth award in 2006 (College Division I, Region 1 1986-87-88-94-95; Division II, Region 1, 2000-01-05-06). Hale won his first three awards while at West Chester. Six coaches have won the award seven times: Jim Butterfield, Ithaca; Carmen Cozza, Yale; Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, Nebraska; Tubby Raymond, Delaware and Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan.
Most Winners by School:
Nebraska-15 (Bob Devaney-7, Tom Osborne-7, Frank Solich-1); Mount Union-13 (Ken Wable-1, Larry Kehres-12); Penn State-12 (Rip Engle-1, Joe Paterno-11); North Dakota State-10 (Darrell Mudra-1, Ron Erhardt-4, Jim Wacker-1, Don Morton-3, Earle Solomonson-1); Southern California-10 (John McKay-6, John Robinson-2, Pete Carroll-2); Texas-10 (Darrell Royal-6, Fred Akers-2, David McWilliams-1, Mack Brown-1); Wittenberg-9 (Bill Edwards-3, Dave Maurer-4, Ron Murphy-1, Joe Fincham-1); Michigan-8 (Bump Elliott-2, Bo Schembechler-6); Alabama-8 (Bear Bryant-4, Bill Curry-1, Gene Stallings-2, Mike Shula-1), Oklahoma-8 (Chuck Fairbanks-3, Barry Switzer-2, Bob Stoops-3); Yale-8 (Jordan Olivar-1, Carmen Cozza-7).
Two Years, Two Schools:
Five coaches have earned AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at two schools in consecutive years: Fred Akers: Wyoming, 1976 & Texas 1977; Dick Sheridan: Furman, 1985 & North Carolina State, 1986; Dennis Franchione: Pittsburg State, 1989 & Southwest Texas State, 1990; Joe Tiller: Wyoming, 1996 & Purdue, 1997; Hal Mumme: Valdosta State, 1996 & Kentucky, 1997.
Most Schools:
South Carolina's Lou Holtz is the only coach to earn AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at four different schools. Holtz has earned the honor at North Carolina State (1972), Arkansas (1979), Notre Dame (1988) and South Carolina (2000). Mike Price (UTEP, Washington State, Weber State) became the fifth coach to win district or regional honors at three different schools in 2004. He joins Jerry Claiborne (Virginia Tech, Maryland, Kentucky), Darrell Mudra (North Dakota State, Western Illinois, Northern Iowa), Jim Sweeney (Montana State, Washington State and Fresno State) and Jim Wacker (North Dakota State, Southwest Texas State and TCU) on that list.
Consecutive Years:
Northwest Missouri State's Mel Tjeerdsma and Nebraska's Bob Devaney are the only coaches to win district/regional honors in five consecutive years. Tjeerdsma earned the honor in Division II from 1996-2000. Devaney earned the honor in the AFCA's old University Division (1962-63-64-65-66). Trinity (Texas)'s Steve Mohr, North Dakota State's Ron Erhardt and Mount Union's Larry Kehres are the only men to win the award four years in a row. Erhardt earned district honors in the AFCA's old College Division (1967-68-69-70) while Mohr earned the honor in Division III (1996-97-98-99). Kehres earned the honor in 1999-2000-01-02. Thirteen coaches have earned district or regional honors three years in a row. One of the 13, former Ithaca College coach Jim Butterfield, earned the award in three consecutive years on two different occasions (1978-79-80 and 1984-85-86).
Award History:
The AFCA began recognizing district coaches of the year following the 1960 season. The awards were established the same year Eastman Kodak agreed to sponsor the AFCA Coach of the Year award. Prior to 1960, the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain had sponsored the program, which recognized one national Coach of the Year. The AFCA first recognized eight district winners in each of two divisions: university and college. In 1972, a ninth district was added in each division.
In 1983, the award was changed to recognize regional winners instead of district winners, and the number of divisions was increased from two to four, and five regional winners were selected in each division. This resulted in a more equitable selection process and better represented the make-up of the membership. At the same time, the new system increased the number of honorees from 18 to 20. In 2006, the AFCA Division II Award was split into separate Division II and NAIA divisions, giving us the 25 winners we now recognize.
AFCA National Coach of the Year Winners to Earn Rewards for Their Assistants The full-time assistants at the five schools represented by the AFCA National Coach of the Year winners will each receive a $1,000 grant from the American Football Coaches Foundation to assist in the education or professional development of each assistant.
-Southern Illinois:
Southern Ill. 34, Massachusetts 27
Saturday, December 1 2007
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) -- Nick Hill threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns in a matchup of quarterbacks, pacing fourth-ranked Southern Illinois to a 34-27 victory Saturday over No. 7 Massachusetts in a Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal.
All of Hill's TD tosses came in the first half as Southern Illinois (12-1) rolled to a 27-13 halftime lead, then held on against the Minutemen (10-3) and quarterback Liam Coen, who threw for a school-record 421 yards and three TDs.
The Salukis, into the semifinals for the first time since winning the national title in 1983, will play Delaware on Friday. The Blue Hens stunned Northern Iowa 39-27 on Saturday, knocking out the only team to have defeated Southern Illinois this season.
The last of Coen's TD passes was a 4-yarder to Brad Listorti that pulled the Minutemen -- champions of the Colonial Athletic Association and last season's national runner-up -- to within 34-27 with four minutes left.
The Salukis got three more first downs and managed to run out the clock.
Hill became the first Saluki in school history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season. John Randle added 86 yards on the ground, and Larry Warner had 64-yard touchdown run that put the Salukis up 34-13.
Southern Illinois, which entered averaging 40 points per game, scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, the first coming 53 seconds and three plays into the game.
Hill dodged a rush and hit tight end Byron Gettis along the sideline pass. He did the rest, rambling 69 yards for the touchdown -- the longest play Massachusetts gave up this season.
The Salukis pushed the margin to 13-0 on their next possession on Richard White's 10 yard run, one play after Hill kept the drive alive with an 8-yard scramble on third and seven.
After an 8-yard TD pass from Hill to Rick Burgess extended the Salukis' lead to 20-3, Coen hit Rasheed Rancher on a 71-yard scoring pass -- the Minutemen's longest play of the season -- to close to 20-10.
Southern Illinois closed out first half with a 9-yard TD pass from Hill to Randle with just over a minute to go.
-Northern Iowa:
Delaware 39, Northern Iowa 27
Saturday, December 1 2007
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) -- Joe Flacco passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns and Erik Johnson returned a fumble 55 yards for a score, sending Delaware past top-seeded Northern Iowa 39-27 Saturday in the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals.
Omar Cuff added 102 yards rushing and a TD for the Blue Hens (10-3), who will play the Southern Illinois-UMass winner next weekend for the right to advance to the national championship game Dec. 14 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Delaware won the national title in 2003.
Northern Iowa (12-1), which had been the last unbeaten team in the playoffs, got 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Corey Lewis and sacked Flacco five times. But the Panthers struggled much of the time after jumping to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and their defense couldn't make enough stops to get off the field.
Lewis finished with 1,513 yards rushing to break the school record of 1,383 set by Adam Benge in 2001.
Flacco finished 25-of-45 with no interceptions and 7-yard touchdown passes to Mark Duncan and Robbie Agnone. Duncan ended up with eight catches for 112 yards.
Northern Iowa's Eric Sanders completed 26 of 38 passes for 291 yards and a touchdown. But Sanders overthrew several receivers, failed to see some open receivers and didn't look like the smooth-operating quarterback who had completed 76 percent of his passes coming in.
Trailing 20-19 in the third quarter, Delaware went ahead to stay on Jon Striefsky's 47-yard field goal, the longest of his career.
Cuff's 15-yard touchdown run made it 29-20 and finished a drive that Flacco saved with a big third-down conversion. Facing third-and-13 at his own 25, Flacco scrambled to avoid a sack, rolled to his right and fired a pass on the run to Duncan for a 44-yard gain.
Five plays later, Cuff burst up the middle and into the end zone.
Defensive end Matt Marcorelle then made a huge play, stripping the ball from Sanders after the Panthers had driven to the Delaware 15 and recovering it at his own 39. Delaware converted the opportunity into a 46-yard Striefsky field goal to make it 32-20.
Sanders hit a leaping Austin Howard in the far right corner of the end zone with a 4-yard pass to draw the Panthers to 32-27. But Flacco led the Blue Hens right back down the field and scored on a 1-yard sneak to secure the victory.
-Gateway:
Gateway Football Announces 2007 All-Conference Squad
Tuesday, November 27 2007
For the first time in seven seasons, a Gateway school has swept the league's top three specialty awards as QB Eric Sanders and LB Brannon Carter of UNI have earned this year's Gateway's top player honors. Panther head coach Mark Farley, meanwhile, earns Bruce Craddock Coach of the Year award honors for the second time in his career.
Although Sanders shared first-team QB honors with SIU's Nick Hill (both received an equal number of first-place and second-place votes), the senior signal-caller from UNI had a decisive edge in the Offensive Player of the Year balloting. Entering this week's game, Sanders had led the Panthers to 35 wins in his four-year career as a starter.
Carter, meanwhile, is the first Panther defender since Adam Vogt to win the league's top defensive honor. He leads the league with five interceptions and is third for the Panthers with 78 tackles. UNI led all of FCS in scoring defense in the regular season.
A finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the nation's top FCS coach, Mark Farley is this year's Gateway Coach of the Year. The Panthers, ranked No. 1 in the FCS and the top seed in this year's playoffs, became the first team in Gateway history to complete a regular season with a perfect 11-0 slate.
Each team was represented on the first- or second-team units, with the league's two playoff teams (UNI and Southern Illinois) garnering the most selections. UNI had nine first-team picks and five additional second-team picks, while Southern Illinois had six first-teamers and seven second-teamers. Youngstown State (10) and Western Illinois (9) also had a significant number of honorees on the league's top two units.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: QB Eric Sanders
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LB Brannon Carter
GATEWAY COACH OF THE YEAR: Mark Farley, UNI
2007 Gateway Balloting
Offensive Player of the Year - Top 3
Pts. -- Player, School
45 -- QB Eric Sanders, UNI
33 -- QB Nick Hill, Southern Illinois
27 -- RB Herb Donaldson, Western Illinois
Defensive Player of the Year - Top 4
Pts. -- Player, School
38 -- LB Brannon Carter, UNI
23 -- LB Jason Williams, Western Illinois
23 -- LB James Terry, Youngstown State
21 -- LB Kye Stewart, Illinois State
2007 all-Gateway Football Conference Team
(selected by coaches, sports information directors and media panel)
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB -- Nick Hill, SIU, 6-3, 210, Sr., DuQuoin (Ill.) High / Western Kentucky
QB -- Eric Sanders, UNI, 6-1, 200, Sr., Oelwein (Iowa) High
RB -- Herb Donaldson, WIU, 5-11, 225, Jr., St. Louis (Mo.) CBC High
RB -- Corey Lewis, UNI, 6-0, 197, Jr., St. Paul (Neb.) High
FB -- Javid Milton, WIU, 5-10, 240, Jr., Houston (Texas) Westfield High
WR -- Johnny Gray, UNI, 5-9, 185, Jr., Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High
WR -- Ferlando Williams, YSU, 6-0, 195, Jr., Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside High / Georgia Military
TE -- Clay Harbor, MSU, 6-4, 230, So., Dwight (Ill.) High
OL -- Barret Anderson, UNI, 6-3, 315, Sr., Rochester (Minn.) Mayo High
OL -- Brandon Keith, UNI, 6-6, 331, Sr., McAlester (Okla.) High
OL -- Darren Marquez, SIU, 6-4, 280, Sr., New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine High
OL -- Chad Rinehart, UNI, 6-5, 308, Sr., Boone (Iowa) High
OL -- Brad Samsa, YSU, 6-3, 280, Jr., Warren (Ohio) Howland High
OL -- Isaiah Wiggins, ILS, 6-3, 290, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Prosser High
PK -- Taylor Rowan, WIU, 6-0, 185, Jr., Melbourne (Fla.) High
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL -- James Cloud, SIU, 6-2, 215, Jr., Hackensack (N.J.) High / Coffeyville Community College
DL -- Josh Galloway, WIU, 6-3, 250, Jr., Reno (Nev.) High / Glendale Community College
DL -- James Ruffin, UNI, 6-4, 265, So., Burnsville (Minn.) High
DL -- Mychal Savage, YSU, 6-2, 300, Jr., Hartsdale (N.Y.) New Rochelle High / Hargrave Military
LB -- Brannon Carter, UNI, 6-3, 233, Sr., St. Charles (Mo.) Francis Howell North High
LB -- Kye Stewart, ILS, 6-0, 210, Sr., Nashville (Tenn.) Pearl-Cohn High
LB -- James Terry, YSU, 6-2, 235, Sr., Stafford (Va.) Fork Union / Woodbridge High
LB -- Jason Williams, WIU, 6-3, 225, Jr., Chicago (Ill.) DuSable High
DB -- Jesse Caesar, ILS, 5-10 190, Sr., Rockledge (Fla.) High
DB -- Clayton Johnson, SIU, 5-10, 190, Jr., Miami (Fla.) Central High
DB -- Patrick Stoudamire, WIU, 5-11, 190, So., Portland (Ore.) Centennial High
DB -- Clifford Waters, UNI, 6-0, 203, Sr., Kirkwood (Mo.) High
P -- Scott Ravanesi, SIU, 6-0, 195, So., Carol Stream (Ill.) Glenbard North High
RS -- Craig Turner, SIU, 5-10, 195, Sr., Boutte (La.) Hahnville High
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB -- Tom Zetts, YSU, 6-1, 210, Sr., Boardman (Ohio) High
RB -- John Randle, SIU, 5-11, 195, Sr., Wichita (Kan.) Southeast High / University of Kansas
RB -- Rafael Rice, ILS, 5-11, 220, Sr., Los Alamitos (Calif.) Mater Dei [Santa Ana] / Fullerton JC
FB -- Rick Burgess, SIU, 6-0, 215, So., Palm Beach (Fla.) William T. Dwyer High
WR -- Justin Allen, SIU, 6-0, 195, Sr., Glenpool (Okla.) High / Northeast Oklahoma A&M
WR -- Jason Horton, ILS, 6-0, 185, Sr., Bolingbrook (Ill.) Neuqua Valley High
TE -- Derrick Bush, YSU, 6-4, 265, Jr., Circleville (Ohio) High
OL -- David Arkin, MSU, 6-5, 281, Fr., Wichita (Kan.) Kapaun High
OL -- Eric Hoffman, UNI, 6-5, 301, Sr., St. Cloud (Minn.) St. Cloud Tech High
OL -- Aaron Lockwood, SIU, 6-3, 305, Jr., Topeka (Kan.) Seaman High / Barton County Community College
OL -- Drew Sweeney, WIU, 6-4, 295, Sr., Rockford (Ill.) Guilford High
OL -- Josh Tanner, YSU, 6-2, 305, Sr., Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater High
PK -- Brian Palmer, YSU, 5-11, 175, Jr., Youngstown (Ohio) Mineral Ridge High
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL -- Myles Banford, YSU, 6-2, 237, Sr., Anaheim (Calif.) Fountain Valley High / Santa Ana CC
DL -- Mark Huygens, UNI, 6-6, 277, Jr., Sergeant Bluff (Iowa) High
DL -- Larry Luster, SIU, 6-0, 310, Sr., Springfield (Ill.) Sacred Heart Griffin High / Harper CC
DL -- Victor Visoky, WIU, 6-4, 255, Fr., Northbrook (Ill.) Glenbrook North High
LB -- Shonda Faulkner, INS, 6-1, 215, Sr., Poukeepsie (N.Y.) Hudson Valley High
LB -- De'Veon Harris, UNI, 6-1, 215, Jr., Pompano Beach (Fla.) Ely High
LB -- Brandin Jordan, SIU, 5-11, 215, So., Kenner (La.) John Curtis Christian High
LB -- Chauncey Mixon, SIU, 6-1, 215, So., Mobile (Ala.) Davidson High
DB -- Vince Gliatta, YSU, 6-1, 210, Sr., Canton (Ohio) Central Catholic High / Penn State Univ.
DB -- Robert Hodges, WIU, 6-1, 190, Jr., Bradenton (Fla.) Bayshore High
DB -- Darrell Lloyd, UNI, 6-0, 191, Jr., O'Fallon (Mo.) Fort Zumwalt High
DB -- Tom Nelson, ILS, 6-0, 200, Jr., Arlington Heights (Ill.) John Hersey High
P -- Nathan Stokes, MSU, 5-11, 181, Sr., Ozark (Mo.) High
RS -- Johnny Gray, UNI, 5-9, 185, Jr., Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High
HONORABLE MENTION
Illinois State: RB Geno Blow, QB Luke Drone, LB Bill Hronec, KR Jason Horton
Indiana State: OL Jack Byrne, P Chris Johansen, OL Zach Odle
Missouri State: DB Marcus Colbert, RB Gerald Davis, PK Nathan Stokes, SS Roger Wright
UNI: DL Jordan Lacy, FB Ryan Mahaffey, CB Adam Roberts
Southern Illinois: TE Ryan Kernes, LB Trevor Moe, OL Shawn Smith, WR Alan Turner
Western Illinois: LB Jerome Bennett, LB Travis Cherry, WR Carl Sims
Youngstown State: P Ben Nowicki, DL Torrance Nicholson, LB Jeremiah Wright
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