GRINNELL COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Pioneer Black Swarm Defense on a Roll

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Pioneer Black Swarm Defense on a Roll

The Grinnell College Pioneer Black Swarm defense has forced ten turnovers in the past two games. The Pioneers have intercepted six passes and forced four fumbles, scoring two touchdowns themselves and setting up the Pioneer offense inside the five yard line on a third drive (click here to see the video: Black Swarm Forces Ten Turnovers).

This past Saturday, against Beloit College, the Pioneers finally put together a complete team effort. Playing in rainy conditions the offense took care of the ball (only one turnover compared to Beloit's six) and scored on several big plays. The Pioneers travel to Monmouth College October 12, where they'll look to defeat the Midwest Conference heavyweight Monmouth Scots for the third time in four years.

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.