Seer Set to Play in D3 Senior Classic!

Robert Seer ’12, who has earned numerous honors in his Grinnell College football career, has another achievement to add to that list.

The 6-3, 205-pound wide receiver from Saukville, Wis. (Port Washington) will play in the third annual D3 Senior Classic All-Star Game in Salem, Va., on Friday.

Division III seniors nationwide were selected to participate based on their performance during their senior year. The game, presented by the Collegiate Development Football League (CDFL), will give pro scouts a chance to size up small school talent as the nation’s best Division III seniors battle in a head-to-head North vs. South contest. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Central time.

Fans will have two options to watch the action. Television coverage will be available on Fox College Sports. Fans may choose to watch from on their computer by logging on to http://www.knoxivi.com/.

Go Pioneers!

Pioneer Awards Announced!

This past Sunday night, the 2011 Grinnell Pioneer football team gathered together for one final time at the team banquet. Along with great desserts (provided by Missy Dostal) and some bad jokes, the 2011 Pioneer football awards were announced.

Dick Ullrich '33 Award (Most Valuable Offensive or Defensive Back): Robert Seer '12

Abe Rosenbloom '34 Award (Most Valuable Offensive or Defensive Lineman): Chris Jarmon '12

Steve Kriegel Award (for dedication, desire, and determination): Ryan Creps '12

Troy Barboza Award (Most Inspirational): Tom Brinkman '13

Offensive Backs/Receiver Player of the Year:  Robert Seer '12

Defensive Backs Player of the Year:  Drew Blumberg '13

Offensive Linemen of the Year:  Chris Jarmon '12 and Morgan Kinsinger '14

Defensive Lineman of the Year:  Tom Brinkman '13

Special Teams Most Valuable Player: Max Jacobson '14

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Isaac Chadri '15

Defensive Rookie of the Year: David Ternes '15

Following the most successful back-to-back campaigns since 1999-2000, the Scarlet & Black are poised to make another jump into the very top of the MWC in 2012.  We open on September 1st, 2012 versus Carleton College!

Go Pioneers!

Granera and Seer Selected to Play All-Star Game in Mexico!

Grinnell College’s Robert Seer ’12 (left) and Logan Granera ‘12 (right) have been chosen by a panel of NCAA Division III football coaches to represent Team Stars & Stripes in the third annual Tázon de Estrellas (Bowl of the Stars).

The D-III All-Star team’s contest against the CONADEIP All-Stars from Mexico is slated for Dec. 17 at El Tempo del Dolor (The Temple of Pain) in Puebla, Mexico.

Seer, a 6-3, 205-pound wide receiver, was recently named to the All-Midwest Conference Team for the third time in his career. He established Grinnell career records for touchdown receptions (46), receptions (232) and receiving yards (3,262) while tying the school mark for receptions in a season (84). In 2011, he ranked second in the conference in receptions and scoring (108 points) and was fourth in receiving yards (1,152). For his career, he ranks in the top five in the MWC in four categories.

Granera, a 5-11, 185-pound wide receiver, has also earned All-MWC honors during his time at Grinnell. He was second on the Pioneers in receiving with 55 catches for 676 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned punts and kickoffs, punted and made a pair of field goals.

Seer, Jarmon, Taylor Named All-MWC!

Three Grinnell College players have been named to the 2011 All-Midwest Conference Football Team.
Earning second-team honors were wide receiver Robert Seer ’12, left guard Chris Jarmon ’12 and defensive end Brian Taylor ’13 .

Seer (left), a three-time All-MWC selection, established Grinnell career records for touchdown receptions (46), receptions (232) and receiving yards (3,262) while tying the school mark for receptions in a season (84). In 2011, he ranked second in the conference in receptions and scoring (108 points) and was fourth in receiving yards (1,152). For his career, he ranks in the top five in the MWC in four categories.

Jarmon (center) is an All-MWC selection for the second time in his career. He anchored an offensive line that passed for more than 3,000 yards in 2011, second-best in the league. Jarmon was recently named to the Academic All-District first team and was selected as a candidate for the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award.

Taylor (right) ranked fifth in the conference in sacks with seven, and was sixth in tackles for loss with 11.5. He was also among the top 20 in tackles with 68. Taylor had 3.5 sacks in a game against Lawrence University, just a half-sack shy of the Grinnell school record.

See the official MWC release here.

Pioneers Fall in Season Finale

It was Senior Day and the Season Finale this past Saturday at Rosenbloom Field and the host Pioneers fell short against the visitors from Carroll University, 31-21. 

Despite gaining more total yardage (403-282) and winning the turnover battle (3-1), Grinnell wasn't able to over come the field position battle and fell behind early before the late rally fell short.

Offensively, Robert Seer '12 and Logan Granera '12, one last time, paced the Scarlet & Black with a combined 256 yards receiving and 1 TD among their 14 catches. 

Defensively, the Pioneers were about as balanced as possible.  Drew Blumberg '13 led the unit with 11 tackles, but 10 players had at least 5 tackles AND at least .5 TFL.  The Pioneers also had 2 INT (Andrew Clark '14 and Max Keller '14).

Drew Blumberg (#44) '13 and Max Keller (#20) '14 combine for a tackle

Players of the week:

Offense: Logan Granera '12
Defense: Matt John '12 and Ryan Creps '12
Practice: Harpreet Singh-Mann '12

The Pioneers finish the 2011 campaign at 5-5 (4-5 in MWC) good for 6th in the league.  The last two seasons have been the most successful back-to-back years since the 1999-2000 seasons that combined for 12 victories.

We bid farewell to Jimmy Borrasso, Ryan Creps, Kelsey Davis, Logan Granera, Chris Jarmon, Matt John, Stephen Hudak, Robert Seer, Harpreet Singh-Mann, and Brian Westerlind!  Thank you for all that you have done for Grinnell College Football.  You will be missed!

2011 Senior Profiles: Robert Seer

Each week this season we will highlight a member of our 2011 senior class, up next is senior wide receiver, Robert Seer!

Name: Robert Seer

Hometown: Saukville, WI

High School: Port Washington High School

Major: History

Why did you choose to attend Grinnell? 
I chose to attend Grinnell after coming and doing an overnight stay.  What sold me was actually meeting the people here including my potential teammates.  Everyone at Grinnell is super nice and the guys on the team are awesome to hang out with.  I couldn't ask to have better friends.

What is your favorite Pioneer football moment? 
My favorite Pioneer football moment has to be beating Monmouth, as I'm sure it is for a lot of guys.  More specifically though it was the very end when we got to use our victory formation.  I remember going onto the field in near disbelief saying to some of the guys, "We are taking knees on Monmouth!"  That was a good feeling.

Plans after graduation? 
I would like to go law school after graduation, where I want to go depends on where I get in.  Probably either Madison or Marquette.

Favorite Professional Sports Team: 
By far the Green Bay Packers.  Being a Packers fan is like nothing else.  No fan base has more commitment to their team.  We are all die hard.  Going to a Packers game is as near to a religious experience as you can get.  Oh, and by the way, we just beat the Bears at Soldier Field for the NFC Championship, and then won the Super Bowl, take that Jimmy.

Favorite Division I team: 

No surpise, the Wisconsin Badgers.  Not a glamorous school by any means, but somehow the Badgers are always competing for the championship in both football and basketball.  Being on the field after they beat Northwestern 70-17 was another good memory, as the Badgers were on their way to the Rose Bowl.  On Wisconsin!

Favorite Song: 

Any country music, because the lyrics are actually meaningful and applicable to life.  I realize there are a lot of haters, but country music rocks, if you don't believe me, go to Country Thunder, the greatest place in the world for four days in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.

Favorite Food: 

Probably a well-marinated and cooked steak.  Also anything with lots of cheese.

Favorite Course at Grinnell: 

My history seminar.  It was titled Family History as American History.  Basically, I got to interview my grandpa about his entire life and figure out when major historical events impacted his personal life.  I wrote what was more or less a short biography filled with these interaction points.  I learned a ton about my grandpa that I hadn't known, including the fact that he had worked on the guidance system for the Apollo missions.  Pretty cool stuff.

Interesting facts about you: 

I really enjoy singing and I sing here at Grinnell in the student-run male acapella group called the G-Tones.  We sing pretty much anything and really have a lot of fun together.  We aren't the best, but people are still really supportive.  Definitely nice to be involved here at Grinnell.

Photos from Lawrence Game!

Some photos from the Pioneers victory over Lawrence University.  As always, our Flickr account has these and many more pictures for your viewing!

All photos are courtesy of Pioneer Football's official photographer, Alysia Horcher '15.  Thanks Alysia!

Robert Seer (#82) '12 gets a congratulatory hug from Cody Weber (#5) '13 after breaking the Grinnell career TD receptions record

Pregame breakdown

Kelsey Davis '12 celebrates his INT

Logan Granera '12 hurdles a defender while Brian Taylor '13 has an upclose view

Isaac Chadri '15 enjoys the Pioneer victory

Pioneers Drop Close Contest!

In a closely contested game the entire way, the host Pioneers lost to the visitors from St. Norbert 30-28 on Saturday.  Both offenses put up close to 500 total yards, but turnovers proved to be costly, as Grinnell offered up the football back to the Green Knights on 4 different occasions.

Robert Seer '12

Robert Seer '12 had another massive day for the Scarlet & Black with 14 receptions for 204 yards and 3 TDs.  Quarterback Mike McCabe '13 threw for 470 yards, which was good for 2nd most all-time in Grinnell history, and 4 touchdowns.

Defensively, safety Drew Blumberg '13 had 13 tackles and a pass break-up while his safety counterpart, Kelsey Davis '12 added 8 tackles and his own pass break-up.

Max Jacobson '14 continued to impress in the kicking game, blocking his third kick of the season, this one a 30 yard 3rd quarter attempt from St Norbert.

Max Jacobson '14 (#8) continues to block kicks

Grinnell's four game-win streak is snapped and falls to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in MWC play and is tied for 5th place.  St Norbert is now 5-3 overall as well but sits at 5-2 in the MWC.

See the official game story here.

Players of the week:
Offense - Robert Seer '12
Defense - Drew Blumberg '13
Special Teams - Max Jacobson '14
Rookie - David Ternes '15
Practice - Jimmy Borrasso '12

Longest Win Streak Since 1999!

With a thrilling 17-15 road victory over Lawrence University, the Pioneers have run their current winning streak to four games.  The longest in program history since 1999!

Both offenses struggled to consistently gain any momentum with winds over 30 MPH blowing throughout the afternoon.  Rob Seer '12 was perhaps the least affected, hauling in 2 TDs, both from non-quarterbacks (Kelsey Davis '12 and Trent Baker '15).  And with those two scoring catches Seer tied and then over took Richard Wemer '99 for the Grinnell career receiving touchdowns record with 42.  Congrats Rob!

Brian Taylor '13 paced the defense with 6 total tackles but 3.5 were by sack for a combined negative 21 yards.  Drew Blumberg '13 also posted 5 tackles including a couple big hits and a pass breakup.

Punter Logan Granera '12, also set a school record for longest punt in Pioneer history.  Granera boomed a 79 yard kick in the 1st quarter to help flip the field for the Scarlet & Black.

Players of the week:
Offense - Kelsey Davis '12
Defense - Brian Taylor '13
Special Teams - Colton Feller '14
Practice - Drew Blumberg '13

The win bumps Grinnell's record to 5-2 overall and they play host to St. Norbert this Saturday.

Pioneers Explode Against Lake Forest!

On a beautiful fall afternoon at Rosenbloom Field, in front of a terrific Family Weekend crowd, the Pioneers handled the visitors from Lake Forest 49-34.

Quarterback Mike McCabe '13 led the Pioneer offensive output

Quarterback Mike McCabe '13 had a hand in all 7 offensive touchdowns, throwing 5 and running for 2.  Receivers Robert Seer '12 (11 receptions for 156 yards and 3 TDs) and Logan Granera '12 (6 for 81 yards and 2 TDs) helped the offense score more points in any game since 2001.

Safety Kelsey Davis '12 and linebacker Richard Renteria '15 led the defensive effort with 13 tackles each, while cornerback Seth Gustafson '14 had an interception and nose tackle Tom Brinkman '13 had a fumble recovery and a crucial 4th-down pass breakup.

Pioneer Players of the Week were awarded to:
Mike McCabe '13 - Offense
Brian Taylor '13 - Defense
Daniel Munger '15 - Special Teams
Max Keller '14 - Practice
David Ternes '15 - Rookie

More photos and video highlights to follow!

See the official game story here.

Rob Seer '12 Earns MWC Player of Week Honors!

Pioneer Wide Receiver, Rob Seer '12, has earned the first MWC Offensive Player of the Year honor of 2011!

From the MWC release:
Seer caught seven passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns as Grinnell won its season opener, 31-6 over Macalester College. Among his TDs were a 5-yard catch from Trent Baker early in the fourth period and a 78-yard completion from Mike McCabe later in the period.

See the complete weekly football release here.

Pioneers Open With a W!

The visiting Grinnell Pioneers christened their 2011 season in a big way, with a 31-6 victory over Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota this afternoon.

Mike McCabe '13    Courtesy: Jody Russell

After a scoreless 1st quarter, the guests tacked on 10 quick points just before the half using a successful onside kick sandwiched between the scores.  Things were put away in the 4th, with three scoring aerial strikes, two to Rob Seer '12 and one to Cody Weber '13.

Check out the official game story here and the box score here.

Photos and highlights to follow early this week.

2011 home opener is Saturday against Monmouth!  Come out to Rosenbloom and support the Scarlet and Black!

Pictures from Camp!

With classes starting tomorrow, today was the last day of "training camp".  The past two weeks have flown by but we continue to be excited about this year's Pioneer Football team.  All signs point to a great season opener next weekend up at Macalester College!

Below are some pictures taken during practice by Alysia Horcher '15.  Thanks Alysia!

Down the line of scrimmage during an Inside Run period

Getting some extra work in!

Rob Seer '12 hauls in a deep ball during Competition

Coming together at the end of the day...

Coach Pedersen is 2010 MWC Coach of the Year! Pioneers Garner 7 All-MWC Honors!

The Grinnell College football team had an amazing run in the 2010 season, and that success has been reflected in the All-MWC selections.

Head Coach Jeff Pedersen ’02 (top, left) has been named MWC Coach of the Year, and linebacker Marquis Bradley ’11 (top, second from left), wide receiver Robert Seer ’12 (top, second from right) and returner Logan Granera ’13 (top, right) have been named to the All-MWC first team in voting by the league’s coaches.

Granera was also a second-team pick - at the wide receiver position - and was joined on that team by linebacker Ryan Fletcher ’11 (bottom, left), safety Marc Heronemus ’11 (bottom, second from left) and running back TJ Schaid ’13 (bottom, second from right). Offensive tackle Jake McVeigh ’11 (bottom, right) was an honorable mention pick for a team that won as many games in 2010 as the three previous Grinnell squads combined.

Under Pedersen’s guidance, the Pioneers achieved success not seen at Grinnell in quite a few years. Among them were beating Monmouth College for the first time since 2000, winning four of their first five games for Grinnell’s best start since 1999 and finishing at 6-4 for the team’s best record since 2004.

See the entire Grinnell release here.  See the entire 2010 All-MWC team here.

2010 Season Recap

 The 2010 Grinnell Pioneers finished the season with a record of 6-4, which is the school's best record since 2004.  After 5 consecutive seasons of 3 wins or less, the 2010 version of the Pioneers broke out in a big way.  They won 4 of their 5 home games and despite having the smallest roster size in the conference, went on the road and defeated the two-time defending conference champions Monmouth Scots in Week 2.

Under first-year head coach Jeff Pedersen, the 2010 Pioneers were an attacking, fast, and intelligent team that bought into the three tenors of Coach Pedersen's Pioneering Spirit:  VISION, COURAGE, AND CONVICTION.

There were numerous individual standout seasons, as the Pioneers had two receivers finish in the top 5 in the MWC in both receptions per game and receiving yards per game (Logan Granera '12 and Robert Seer '12).  Seer also finished 2nd in the conference in scoring with 14 TDs.  Granera led the MWC in All-Purpose yardage, racking up 900 return yards and 1 TD.

Defensively, the Pioneers were led by 3 seniors.  Linebackers Marquis Bradley '10 and Ryan Fletcher '10 were all over the field, both finishing in the top 6 of the MWC in tackles.  Bradley had 103 total, 3 sacks, and 3 INTs.  Fletcher had 87 tackles, 10.5 of which were TFL.  Marc Heronemus '10 led the Pioneers' secondary with 59 tackles and 10 passes defended, which was good for 5th in the MWC.

Coach Pedersen and company are already excited for the 2011 season and bringing in the next batch of Pioneers to help continue the winning at Grinnell College!

Bradley & Boehm Named All-MWC

Junior linebacker Marquis Bradley (Wichita, KS/Independent) and senior defensive back and return specialist Ryan Boehm (Iowa City, IA/City High) were both named to the All-Midwest Conference Second Team on Wednesday. The Pioneers also had three players recognized as All-MWC Honorable Mention: Sophomore receiver Robert Seer (Saukville, WI/Port Washington), sophomore offensive lineman Chris Jarmon (Boulder, CO/Boulder) and junior safety Marc Heronemus (Topeka, KS/Topeka).

Congrats to all five players! The honor is certainly well received in each case!

To read the Grinnell release please go here.