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Cougars Host Crookston on Saturday

Football USF Athletics

Cougars Host Crookston on Saturday

Sioux Falls Wraps Up Cross Divisional Play This Weekend
The University of Sioux Falls (1-2) returns home to host the University of Minnesota Crookston (0-3) for its final contest against an NSIC North opponent. It is the first-ever matchup between the Cougars and Golden Eagles. Both teams are coming off losses.    

The Broadcast
Live Stream: The University of Sioux Falls will provide a free live stream of Saturday's NSIC matchup at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/siouxfalls.portal#

Radio: KWSN (AM 1230/ FM 98.1) will air Saturday's game. Player interviews and the Jed Stugart pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Tom Frederick and Tim Hiatt will call the play-by-play.

Take a Kid to the Game
Saturday is USF's annual “Take a Kid to the Game” day. Kids get in free to the Bob with a paid adult admission. Entering its 18th year with NCAA Football, the Take A Kid to the Game (TAKG) program provides NCAA® member institutions with an opportunity for community outreach as it introduces area youth to its athletics programs, and the college or university itself, while also boosting attendance at football events. Institutions participate by signing up online, selecting an official TAKG game, and offering free or discounted tickets to children ages 14 and under when accompanied by a paying adult. Through TAKG, adults are encouraged to take children to collegiate sporting events, inspiring them to pursue higher education opportunities and athletics.

Good Home Cookin'
The Cougars have won their last 11 games at Bob Young Field USF is 43-1 all-time at “The Bob.” The Cougars' only loss to date was a 33-17 setback to the No. 18 Washburn Ichabods on 9/1/2011.  

Having a Senior Moment
The Cougars list 16 seniors on their roster, the second-largest senior class of the past five seasons. USF graduated a program-record 25 seniors last season and the senior class sizes of the previous three season are as follows: 2011 (13), 2010 (12) & 2009 (11).

Bypassing the Redshirt
With true freshmen quarterbacks Luke Papilion and Matt Young and freshman defensive lineman Evan Gentry all experiencing action in their first two games against UMD and Northern State, they have set Stugart's current “play immediately” count to six since his arrival at USF in 2010 (Grant Schindler, Tyler Swanson and Joel Martens).

Charting the Cougars Month-by-Month
USF is 1-0 in August, 10-5 in September, 11-1 in October, 5-2 in November and 1-1 in December during Stugart's tenure.

Looking at the Golden Eagles
The University of Minnesota Crookston football team (0-3) ended major droughts last season picking up a pair of NSIC wins over University of Mary and Southwest Minnesota State University, which ended a 39-game conference losing streak. The Golden Eagles are poised to continue to build on last season as they return a plethora of talent from last season and bring in what is thought to be one of the most talented recruiting classes in recent history for UMC. One major hiccup in the offseason was head coach Paul Miller announcing a leave of absence due to health concerns and he was replaced long-time colleague and friend Mike Fritze, who has nearly 40 years of football coaching experience under his belt including the last 18 as head coach at Apple Valley High School.

Larson Making Progress
A key story line all season long for the Golden Eagles has been be the progression of freshman starting quarterback Kyle Larson. Larson, who struggled in week one against Upper Iowa, with just 61 yards passing on 9-of-20 passing and one interception, showed improvement against one of the nation's top defenses. Larson went 11-of-19 for 169 yards, two touchdowns and an interception versus the Mavericks. He was even better last week against Wayne State, finishing 22-for-38 for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw a pair of picks.

West Coast Flavor/Near and Far
Crookston's roster features 14 players from the state of California and a total of six athletes from Hawaii. While 23 Golden Eagles are Minnesota natives, their teammates hail from 12 other states, including Texas, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio, not to mention two players from Canada.

Week by Week Improvement
While currently winless (0-3), the Golden Eagles have shown consistent week-by-week improvement. After being shut-out by Upper Iowa on Sept. 6, the Golden Eagles put 26 points on the board at No. 2 Minnesota State in a 68-26 defeat. In their previous two meetings, UMC had just three points combined against Minnesota State. The Eagles rallied from a 28-0 deficit to make it a game against Wayne State last week, eventually falling by a 41-25 score. The Golden Eagles have increased their first downs and total offense with each passing week; going from 12 first downs and just 61 yards of offense in the season opener to 24 chain moves and 374 yards of total offense last week versus the Wildcats.

3-and-Out
Crookston ranks dead last in the NSIC and third-to-last nationally third down conversion percentage (.174).

Eagles Struggle to “Protect the Nest”
Crookston ranks second-to-last in NCAA Division II in pass efficiency defense, at 224.15 yards per game. This could bode well for the Cougars, who are averaging just 113 yards in the air this season. Crookston is 159th (out of 162 teams) in scoring defense, at 52 points per contest. The Golden Eagles have struggled to stop their opponent's running attack this season. They are giving up 266 yards per game on the ground this season.


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Players Mentioned

Evan Gentry

#69 Evan Gentry

DL
6' 3"
Freshman
Joel Martens

#34 Joel Martens

DB
5' 8"
Junior
Luke Papilion

#15 Luke Papilion

QB
6' 5"
Freshman
Grant Schindler

#57 Grant Schindler

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Tyler Swanson

#54 Tyler Swanson

DL
6' 1"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Evan Gentry

#69 Evan Gentry

6' 3"
Freshman
DL
Joel Martens

#34 Joel Martens

5' 8"
Junior
DB
Luke Papilion

#15 Luke Papilion

6' 5"
Freshman
QB
Grant Schindler

#57 Grant Schindler

6' 2"
Sophomore
LB
Tyler Swanson

#54 Tyler Swanson

6' 1"
Senior
DL