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.