GRINNELL COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Pioneers Among Statistical Leaders

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Pioneers Among Statistical Leaders

As the Pioneers prepare for back to back trips to the northern-most schools in the conference (Lawrence and St. Norbert) it is time to take a look at how the Pioneers rank statistically, both nationally and within the Midwest Conference.

David Ternes forces a fumble against Lake Forest

Nationally, the Pioneers Black Swarm Defense ranks 17th in total turnovers forced with 20. Indvidually, David Ternes ranks 6th in the country with 13.1 tackles per game. The last time a Pioneer defender ranked so high in a national statistical category was in 2008, when linebacker Brett Maloney led all of Division III with 16.1 tackles per game (see them here and here).

Richard Renteria with one of his 4.5 sacks

The Pioneers also rank well within the conference, with four individuals leading the league in a statistical category. Ternes of course leads the league in tackles per game, senior defensive back Andrew Clark is leading in kick return average (22.6), senior safety Kevin Hwang is tied for the league lead with four interceptions, and junior Richard Renteria is tied for the lead in forced fumbles. Ternes is also second in the league in fumble recoveries and Renteria is third in sacks (4.5). Clark is fourth in passes defended and Hwang is fifth, while fellow senior defensive back Seth Gustafson is tied for second with nine in only seven games. Rounding out the leaders on the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Jeremy Wiles is fifth in tackles per game.

Jeremy Wiles getting ready to bring pressure from the edge.

Offensively the Pioneers are paced by quarterback Sam Poulos, who is ranked third in passing yards per game (214.4), just .2 yards per game behind second place. Wide receiver Jake Meixler is fourth in the conference in receptions per game (4.9) and fifth in yards per game (60.4). First-year running back Jacob Bernholtz is 8th in the league in scoring with 6.0 points per game.

Jake Meixler turns a short hitch into a long gain against Beloit

The Pioneers look to improve their standing, both individually and as a team, this weekend against Lawrence. The game will kick off at 1:00 PM, with the webcast at MWCTV and the live audio at KGRN.

The Honor G

The Honor G, the official emblem of Grinnell College athletics, was first used at the Iowa state track championship in 1892. Designed by Earnest "Skip" Atherton, class of 1895, the original Honor G consisted of a scarlet maltese cross with a black "I and "C" (for Iowa College) superimposed on the cross. Two years later in 1894, the "I" and "C" were replaced by a black gothic "G", and the modern day Honor G was born. The gothic "G", which was also used on letter sweaters and is now used on letter jackets, was replaced by an Old English "G" in the mid-1930's. After some protest, it was quickly changed back to the gothic "G", and it has remained unchanged since that time.