Destination Daytona

SEMIFINALS: Daytona Date – Overtime thriller sends Mustangs to championship game

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – The number 329 will go down in Morningside College lore.

Morningside College’s household passing combination of senior quarterback Trent Solsma and senior wide receiver Connor Niles had increased their career connection total to 328 to the joy and delight of Mustang fans near and far by the latter stages of the 3:00 p.m. hour Saturday, Dec. 1. So, head coach Steve Ryan and his staff went back to the option on an overtime possession in the 2018 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Championship Series semifinals.

As time seemingly stopped and breaths were collectively drawn among 2000 fans packed into Elwood Olsen Stadium on a snowy afternoon, Solsma took the snap, looked right and then left and sent a spiral to the left corner of the west end zone. Niles turned away from a University of St. Francis of Indiana defender and grabbed it tightly with two hands as he stepped inside the pylon, breaking back-to-back seasons of heartbreak against their current opponent and cinching the program’s first national championship berth since 2012 in the wake of a 34-28 victory.

“Honestly, I was fortunate to be able to be a part (of that play),” Niles, the game’s Offensive Player of the Game, remarked still holding on to the football as fans and friends high-fived and hugged their way to him and all of the Maroon-clad student-athletes and coaches gathered near midfield at game’s conclusion. “Our defense made so many great stands in the second half. When they held (St. Francis) on their overtime try and the kick was missed, the defensive coordinator looked at us and said we need to go out and score now.”

“You don’t get a lot of chances to try and do something three times … we talked about the fact we needed to cash in on this opportunity (against St. Francis),” he added. “I can’t ask for much more than this feeling.”

“We felt we had something (with that play),” Ryan noted. “We just had to block their defensive line who had been making things difficult. Sophomore running back AP “AP” Ponder stepped up and created enough protection. Once that happened, Trent throwing to Connor was something obviously we were comfortable with.”

The 25-yard touchdown wrapped up a heart-stopping afternoon of drama. The Mustangs, as has been a trademark throughout 2018, jumped out quickly. After junior wide receiver Bo Els narrowly missed taking the opening kickoff to the house, Solsma hit Niles down the left side for a 50-yard touchdown just 14 seconds in. Holding number eight-ranked Cougars on their opening attempt, Solsma and company went back to work and found the end zone again with a 30-yard six-point connection to senior wide receiver Addison Ross to make it 14-0. The two sides each added a touchdown later in the frame, with the Mustangs’ end zone appearance occurring on a 17-yard scamper by Ponder, for a 21-7 Mside lead at the end of 15 minutes.

The visitors, looking to add to their back-to-back national championship status, buckled down from that point. Riding a potent arm of their own in quarterback Matt Crable, the University of St. Francis answered with a 21-7 run of its own over the final three periods of regulation. Crable threw for two more touchdowns for three on the day, while Solsma and Niles were the order for the Maroon score. Between those four touchdowns, both sides were turned away by stubborn defensive units which included junior defensive back Deion Clayborne and Morningside.

“(Defensive coordinator Casey Jacobsen) kept telling us to just do our jobs knowing that our offense would get going again after the fast start,” Clayborne said. “We have one of the best in the country, so our defense needed to keep getting them chances.

“This is just a great feeling,” he added. “Being able to be a part of this especially for our seniors is awesome. They’ve been working their tails off, and it’s going to be great getting to go down to Florida with them and the rest of the team.”

Solsma, recording a staggering 27th straight contest with two-or-more touchdown passes, finished the afternoon with 306 hard-fought yards, the four scores and 28 completions among 57 attempts and two interceptions. Niles hauled in 161 yards and the three pay dirt stops, and Ponder recorded his ninth 100-yard-plus effort in the last 10 weeks with 147 yards on 22 battering ram carries with one touchdown included. The defensive digits were just as impressive, turning over the Cougars twice on fumbles and registering three sacks. Junior linebacker Chase Nelson topped the chart with nine tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and one of the fumble recoveries. Clayborne picked up the other fumble recovery, and the Katzer connection of juniors Joel and Jacob joined junior defensive back Klayton Nordeen with eight tackles each.

QUARTERFINALS: Ticket Punched – Morningside back to playoffs’ Final Four

One more step.

Sometimes the best thought process along a postseason trail is just that. Not taking anything for granted against a tough St. Xavier University of Illinois program that trekked to Elwood Olsen Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, head coach Steve Ryan’s Morningside College Mustang team systematically produced another impressive scoreboard lighting display to the thrill of their home fans. The top-seeded and top-ranked Maroon churned out just south of 500 total yards (489) and opened the national quarterfinals’ match-up with 21 straight points in route to a 51-14 victory.

Mside’s sixth appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ semifinal round in the last seven years came with more reconfiguring of the already wellerased national record book in the case of senior quarterback Trent Solsma and senior wide receiver Connor Niles. Solsma’s aerial assault didn’t allow much opportunity for the visiting Cougars to stay in step, as he hit on 31 of 39 attempts for 374 yards and five touchdowns, helping him surpass former standout Austin Dodge of the University of Southern Oregon in career touchdown strikes (157-154). Niles was again a favorite selection to the tune of 13 catches for 181 yards and two scores. Along the way, his season receiving yardage total (2314) bypassed former national record holder Chris George of Glenville State University of West Virginia’s 2,221 of 1993.

The record-breaking duo’s marks weren’t the only ones shining brightly. Sophomore running back AP “AP” Ponder reeled off his 10th 100-yard-plus effort, rushing 24 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns to earn Offensive Player of the Game honors. Morningside’s defense was also a big part of the equation, sacking St. Xavier quarterbacks five times and turning over the visitors once. Junior defensive back

Klayton Nordeen turned in nine tackles, three break-ups and an interception to be named Defensive Player of the Game, while junior linebackers Jacob Katzer and Chase Nelson made themselves familiar with the opposing offense, ending with 13 and 10 tackles, respectively.

FIRST ROUND: Marching Onward – Balanced effort sends Mside to quarterfinals

The roadmap to an opening round National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ playoff victory Saturday, Nov. 17, featured offensive and defensive stars aplenty.

The nation’s top-ranked team didn’t disappoint its home crowd huddled together inside Elwood Olsen Stadium on a blustery November afternoon. The trail started on the arm of senior quarterback Trent Solsma. Resuming a stalwart collegiate career, he threaded the proverbial needle throughout the day, hitting on 28 of 38 attempts for 368 yards, marking the ninth time this season he’s been above 300 yards, to go along with four touchdown strikes. A well-earned Offensive Player of the Game honoree in the wake of a 49-20 victory over No. 16 seeded Rocky Mountain College of Montana, Solsma also used his feet to rush for another score, part of an afternoon in which he increased a remarkable streak to 26 consecutive games in which he’s connected on two-or-more touchdown passes.

The offensive story didn’t stop there, though. Senior wide receiver Connor Niles was again his classmate’s favorite target to the tune of three paydirt stops, 190 yards, good for his fourth successive triple-digit contest, and 13 catches and junior wide receiver Bo Els and sophomore wide receiver Reid Jurgensmeier kept the Battlin’ Bears defensive unit guessing Solsma’s passing patterns. Els grabbed six receptions for 81 yards and scored a touchdown, and Jurgensmeier received four passes for 75 yards. Sophomore running back AP Ponder and the Maroon ground game was rolling, too. Ponder scored twice and carried the ball 21 times for 131 yards for his eighth triple-figure yardage total.

All of those accolades enabled head coach Steve Ryan’s team to stampede out to a 21-0 lead after one period and not look back in route to a seventh straight opening round win and the program’s 20th all-time playoff victory. Mside’s defense ensured a quarterfinal round advancement, making it tough the entire 60 minutes on RMC’s offense.

Individual standouts were as numerous as on the offensive end. Junior linebacker Chase Nelson gaining Player of the Game honors to join Solsma, kept himself in the backfield of the visitors on several occasions with two forced fumbles, a thundering sack and a tackle and a half for losses to go with four quarterback passing hurries. Other top numbers came from senior defensive back Xavier Spann who garnered his sixth interception and fourth pick-off in the last six games; junior defensive back Deion Clayborne who led the tackle chart with nine; and junior linebacker Joel Katzer, senior linebacker Jesse Faltys and sophomore defensive lineman Niklas Gustav who added sacks to Nelson’s hit.