Football

Category: Football

Saints pull away late to top Lawrence

The College of St. Scholastica scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and benefitted from a pair of key plays to post a 34-21 nonconference victory over Lawrence University in the season opener for both teams.

St. Scholastica broke a 21-21 tie on Jake Jensen’s 4-yard touchdown run with 12:34 left in the game. Jensen then added a 1-yard scoring run with 4:50 left in the game to seal the victory.

Jensen ran 30 times for 128 yards to pace the Saints. Quarterback Alex Thiry was 18 of 23 for 211 yards and three touchdowns.

Lawrence took a 6-0 lead when Luke Barthelmess hit Jon Bruehl down the left sideline, and Bruehl went 94 yards for the touchdown. That is the third-longest touchdown pass in Lawrence history. Bruehl finished with five catches for 188 yards.

The Saints took a 7-6 lead with 5:42 left in the half, but Lawrence drove right back down the field. Barthelmess hit Tyler Mazur with a 26-yard scoring pass to give Lawrence a 13-7 lead with 4:09 left.

St. Scholastica then got a huge play in the final seconds of the first half. Jonny Bennett caught a pass from Thiry on the final play of the half, slipped a Lawrence tackler and dived just across the goal line for a touchdown to give the Saints a 14-13 lead.

Lawrence later tied the game at 21-21 on Mazur’s 1-yard run, and the Vikings were driving for the go-ahead score when a mixup in the backfield caused a fumble. The Saints recovered at their own 18-yard line, and then drove 82 yards for the go-ahead score.

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Student-athletes receive awards at Honors Day

Twelve Lawrence University student-athletes were recently honored at the 2011 Honors Celebration.

The awards and winners are as follows.

The Ruth Bateman Award is given for excellence in scholarship, athletic ability and leadership by a female athlete. Senior Sarah Ehlinger (Wauwatosa, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) was a star on the women’s soccer squad for four years. A four-time All-Midwest Conference selection, Ehlinger ranks second in Lawrence history with 99 points and 38 assists and third with 23 goals. An Academic All-MWC selection, Ehlinger has a 3.92 grade point average and was an Academic All-District 5 selection.

The Iden Charles Champion Cup is given for excellence in scholarship, athletic ability, college spirit and loyalty. Senior Robert Rashid (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) was a four-year starter for the baseball team and an All-MWC and All-Central Region selection in the outfield. Among the nation’s leaders in stolen bases as a junior, Rashid hit .341 for his career. Rashid is a math major with a 3.4 grade point average and is an Academic All-MWC selection.

The Outstanding Freshman Athletic Award for Men is given the freshman man who has made the most outstanding contribution to Lawrence athletics. Luke Barthelmess (Dow, Ill./Principia) and William Thoren (Gothenburg, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) shared the award.

Barthlemess was a starter in both football and baseball. As a quarterback on the gridiron, Barthelmess completed 91 of 168 passes for 1,044 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed 52 times for 151 yards and caught three passes for 49 yards and a score. The starting rightfielder on the baseball team, Barthelmess hit .258 on the season. Thoren was an All-Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association selection at defenseman. Also named to the MCHA All-Freshmen Team, Thoren had four goals and a team-high 16 assists for 20 points on the season.

The Outstanding Freshman Athletic Award for Women is given to the freshman woman who has made the most outstanding contribution to Lawrence athletics. Swimmer Hannah Gabriel (Elmhurst, Ill./York) won the 200-yard freestyle at the Midwest Conference Championships and set Lawrence and MWC Championships records in the process. She also took second in the 1,650 freestyle and second in the 500 freestyle. Gabriel also won a title at the Wisconsin Private College Championships and was named a MWC Swimmer of the Week.

The Ralph V. Landis Award was established by the Lettermen of Lawrence in honor of Dr. Landis, physician to Lawrence students from 1926-78, and is awarded for outstanding contributions to Lawrence athletics by a senior male athlete. Senior defenseman Jon Sheridan (Midland, Mich./Dow) was the hockey team captain and a member of the MCHA All-Academic Team. Sheridan also was chosen for the 2011 MCHA Harris Cup Team. Sheridan twice earned MCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors and also was chosen as the MCHA Player of the Week.

The Charles E. Pond Award for Men is given for all-around athletic ability by a senior man in two or more sports and for sportsmanship, school spirit and scholarship. Jon Mays (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) starred in both basketball and golf for the Vikings. A team captain in both sports, Mays was an All-MWC selection in basketball and led the basketball squad to two conference championships and a pair of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.

The Charles E. Pond Award for Women is given for all-around athletic ability by a senior woman in two or more sports and for sportsmanship, school spirit, and scholarship. Annie Sullivan (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) earned 12 letters during her time at Lawrence, four apiece in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Sullivan was one of the Vikings’ top distance runners throughout her career in both cross country and track.

The Marion Read Award is given for outstanding contributions to Lawrence athletics. Women’s soccer star Mallory Koula (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly) piled up 19 goals and finished with 42 points this past season and led the Vikings to the MWC Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. An All-MWC selection in each of her two seasons at Lawrence, she led the league in points, points per game, goals and goals per game in 2010. Also a stellar student, Koula sports a 3.94 grade point average in biochemistry and is a member of the Academic All-MWC Team.

The Letterwinner Award is presented by the L Club to those outstanding seniors who have earned eight or more letters. The winners are:

Jon Mays (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), basketball and golf;

Dan Moeller (Decorah, Iowa/Decorah), cross country and track and field;

Jesse Peterson (Monroe, Wis./Monroe), football and track and field;

Matt Eddy (South Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy), cross country and track and field;

Annie Sullivan (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay), cross country and track and field.

Beller joins Lawrence football staff

Mark Beller has joined the Lawrence University football coaching staff, Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski announced Wednesday.

Beller comes to Lawrence from the University of Puget Sound, where he coached the offensive line in 2010.

“I am really excited to be able to work with such a great staff,” Beller said. “It will be fun to get back into the Midwest Conference and be working with Coach Howard again.”

Beller is a native of Minocqua, Wis., and is a 2001 graduate of Lakeland High School. Beller starred in football, hockey and baseball at Lakeland.

Beller attended St. Norbert College and he played football when Lawrence head coach Chris Howard was the defensive coordinator for the Green Knights. Beller played both on offense and defense during his career. A 2005 graduate of St. Norbert, Beller earned a bachelor’s degree in biology.

Beller went on to serve as a graduate assistant coach at Minnesota State University Mankato in 2007. Beller moved to the University of Redlands and was a graduate assistant coach for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He earned a Master’s degree in higher education from Redlands in 2010.

“We are excited to get a coach with Mark’s background and familiarity with the Midwest Conference,” Howard said. “As a player and coach combination, Mark and I were 36-1 in conference play while we were together at St. Norbert. That’s where we want to be here at Lawrence.”

Lawrence opens the 2011 season on Sept. 3 when it hosts the College of St. Scholastica in a nonconference game at the Banta Bowl.

Three Vikings earn All-MWC football honors

Three Lawrence University football players have been selected for the All-Midwest Conference team in a vote by league coaches.

Senior wide receiver Jeremiah Johnson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Wayland) and senior safety Jeff Nichols (Janesville, Wis./Craig) were both second-team selections. Senior offensive lineman Cullen Dunn (Oshkosh, Wis./West) received honorable mention.

Johnson, who made the all-conference team for the first time, led the team with 54 catches, 781 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Johnson averaged 14.5 yards per catch and caught a career-long 51-yard pass against Grinnell College.

Johnson, who had three 100-yard receiving games this season, set career highs with 10 catches and 150 receiving yards in Lawrence’s victory over Beloit College on Oct. 30. Johnson’s last career catch went for a touchdown in the season finale against Ripon College.

Nichols received all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. He piled up 68 tackles and tied for the team lead with four interceptions. He picked off passes against Monmouth College, Illinois College, Grinnell and Beloit. Nichols finished his career with eight interceptions.

Nichols compiled 9.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks and also recorded three pass breakups and one blocked kick.

Dunn received all-conference honors for the first time in his career. A three-year starter at left tackle, Dunn made the move to center this season. During his career, he was part of a group that helped running back Craig Ebert win the Midwest Conference rushing title in 2008.

Ripon runs past Lawrence

The Ripon College football team used its impressive ground game to post a 63-7 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at the Banta Bowl.

In the 110th meeting between the teams, Ripon had 390 rushing yards and retained possession of the Doehling Heselton Memorial Trophy. Ripon (7-3, 6-3 MWC) has now won the last 11 meetings in the state’s oldest college football rivalry.

T.J. Pierce paced Ripon’s ground game by running 20 times for 112 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jake Marshall had six carries for 100 yards and two scores. He also completed 8 of 10 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

Lawrence (2-8, 2-7) was limited to only 166 yards of offense and got its only score in the final minute of the game. The Vikings were hurt by four turnovers on the day.

Ripon led 21-0 after the first quarter. The Red Hawks got a big early punt return to take over at the Lawrence 16 and scored three plays later on Pierce’s 7-yard run.

An interception allowed Ripon to start its next drive at the Lawrence 18. Marshall connected with Ben Garland on the next play to go up 14-0. Ripon then put together an eight-play, 89-yard drive, capped by Garland’s 16-yard touchdown catch.

In the second quarter, Ripon got touchdown runs of 54 and 27 yards from Marshall, who threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Craig Bednarek to build a 42-0 lead at the half.

Ripon put three touchdowns on the board in the second half, including one by kicker Jacob Garhart when the Red Hawks faked a field goal to go up 49-0.

Lawrence’s lone score came Jeremiah Johnson capped 10-play, 90-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown catch from Tyler Mazur. Johnson finished his Lawrence career five catches for 94 yards.

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Nichols chosen for Academic All-District football team

Jeff Nichols

Lawrence University football standout Jeff Nichols has been chosen for the ESPN Academic All-District 5 Team.

Nichols (Janesville, Wis./Craig), a senior safety, was a first-team selection.

Nichols, who will earn the maximum of three Academic All-Midwest Conference selections, also was chosen for the all-conference football team in 2009. Nichols is a biology major and has a 3.78 grade point average.

A member of the Dean’s List at Lawrence, Nichols was elected to Mortar Board, which is the school’s senior honor society.

Nichols has been busy studying off-campus the last two summers. In summer 2010, Nichols did a LU-R1 Summer Intership, which allowed him to do research at a R1 institution. In the summer of 2009, Nichols did a Kasel Trust Fund Internship to explore local health problems in the Appleton, Wis., area.

Nichols also serves as a Friends of Jaclyn mentor to Luke Peters, a local boy with brain cancer that has been adopted by the football team.

Nichols is second on the team this season with 62 tackles and has a team-high 8.0 tackles for loss. Nichols, who has 1.0 sacks, is tied for the team lead with four interceptions.

Vikings, Ripon square off Saturday in state’s oldest rivalry

The Lawrence University football team wraps up its season on Saturday when it hosts its oldest rival, Ripon College, at 1 p.m. in the Banta Bowl.

Lawrence vs. Ripon is the oldest college football rivalry in the state with the teams’ first meeting dating back to 1893. Lawrence is coming off a 29-23 victory over Beloit College, and Ripon lost 37-13 to St. Norbert College last Saturday.

Game preview

Galle picks off MWC Player of the Week award

Lawrence University football standout Luke Galle has been named the Midwest Conference Defensive

Luke Galle

Player of the Week.

Galle (Madison, Wis./Memorial), a freshman linebacker, did something in Lawrence’s 29-2 victory over Beloit College last Saturday that a Lawrence linebacker hadn’t done in more than two decades.

Galle recorded a pair of interceptions, the first time a Lawrence linebacker had picked off two passes in a game since Eric Karnosky did it against Ripon College on Nov. 4, 1989.

Galle’s first interception came in the third quarter with Lawrence nursing a 15-3 lead. Galle picked off Beloit quarterback Brian Maughn at the Lawrence 20-yard line to snuff out a Bucs drive. Late in the fourth quarter with Lawrence up 29-16, Galle picked off Maughn at the Lawrence 31 to stop another drive.

Galle, who finished with three tackles, also recovered a pair of on-sides kicks, including one with 52 seconds left to seal the win.

Lawrence wraps up its season on Saturday when it hosts Ripon in the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin.

Mazur’s arm, legs lead Vikings to win over Beloit

Quarterback Tyler Mazur passed for 261 yards and ran for another 83 to lead the Lawrence University football team to a 29-23 Midwest Conference win over Beloit College on Saturday at the Banta Bowl.

Mazur completed 18 of 40 passes for 261 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He ran 15 times for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Jeremiah Johnson had a career day for Lawrence (2-7, 2-6 MWC) with 10 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.

Beloit quarterback Brian Maughn was 26 of 52 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw four interceptions.

Johnson and Mazur got the Vikings on the board late in the first quarter. The Bucs (4-5, 4-4) had stopped Lawrence and forced a punt, but a roughing the kicker penalty kept the drive alive and gave Lawrence a first down at its own 47. Mazur hit Johnson with a 49-yard pass on the next play to give Lawrence a first down at the Beloit 4.

The Vikings were then whistled for three consecutive penalties to move back to the Beloit 27. The teams were called for 31 combined penalties. Mazur found Mason Garcia across the middle to move the ball back to the Beloit 4. Johnson caught a 4-yard touchdown pass on the next play for a 6-0 Lawrence lead.

After Eric Follett recovered a Beloit fumble at the Bucs’ 36, Lawrence moved all the say to the Beloit 1 but had to settle for Cody Robel’s 19-yard field goal with 6:27 left in the first half.

In one of the more bizarre finishes to a half, Beloit benefitted from a call by the officials. Beloit, out of time outs, drove to the Lawrence 1 in the final seconds. Dillon Hess then fumbled but managed to recover. The Bucs lined up to spike the ball and stop the clock but ran out of time.

The officials then conferred and put one second back on the clock. The Bucs lined up and Mat Kahl kicked a 20-yard field goal to cut Lawrence’s lead to 9-3 at the half.

With Mazur at the controls, the Vikings dominated the third quarter.

Lawrence took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 70 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. Mazur burst up the middle and ran the final 27 yards for the score, breaking tackles along the way, to give Lawrence a 15-3 lead.

Beloit’s next two drives were stopped on interceptions by Jeff Nichols and Luke Galle.

Lawrence then went 73 yards in 12 plays to go up 22-3. Mazur set up the score by hitting Johnson with a 43-yard pass to the Beloit 26. Three plays later, Mazur had an 11-yard run to give Lawrence a first down at the Beloit 6.

The Bucs stopped Lawrence and Robel lined up for a 24-yard field goal, which he missed. The Bucs were called for roughing the kicker again, and Mazur ran it in from 2 yards out four plays later for the touchdown.

The Vikings then put together along long scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. The Bucs had forced Lawrence to punt, but the Vikings put on the fake. Mazur hit Nichols with a 12-yard pass to the Beloit 48 to keep the drive alive.

Two plays later, Garcia caught a 28-yard pass from Mazur for a first down at the Beloit 2. Mazur ruan it in from a yard out two plays later to give Lawrence a 29-3 lead.

The Bucs battled back as Maughn connected with Derek Carrier for a 12-yard scoring pass with 8:23 left in the game to cut the lead to 29-9.

Sam Kossow, who had split quarterback duties with Mazur early in the game, came in and was intercepted by Tony Baratti, who returned it 17 yards for a touchdown with 5:40 left.

Galle stopped the next Beloit drive with his second interception of the game, but Lawrence was forced to punt. Beloit then moved 54 yards in five plays for another score. Maughn hit Carrier with a 7-yard scoring pass to cut the lead to 29-23 with 53 seconds left.

Galle recovered the on-sides kick and Lawrence ran out the clock to seal the win.

Lawrence wraps up its season next Saturday when it hosts Ripon College in a renewal of the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin.

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