Another Heartbreaker!

For the third consecutive week, the Grinnell College Pioneers lost a tough game, this time on the road versus Carroll University by a final of 28-21.

After spotting the home team a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, we fought back with 21 straight points to take the lead midway through the third quarter only to have the first win of the year taken from our hands.

We feel like each game so far has been a terrible repeat of the one before. We lost a close game to a tough team that outplayed us enough to win. We have to find a way to get that first win and let it be a contagious feeling!

This Saturday we are back at home against Lawrence University! Go Pioneers!

Pioneers Travel to Carroll!

We leave today for our first road game of the 2009 season at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. After last Saturday's heartbreaking loss to St. Norbert, the team is anxious and excited to get back on the field and get that elusive first win.

Carroll figures to be a formative opponent and a hungry one as well. They have lost their first two games of '09 as well and tomorrow will be their home opener. We are convinced we will see their best football and in order to come out on top we will have to match their level of play!

Check us out on MWC-TV, the game broadcasts are free of charge!

Senior Profiles: Jordan Courtain

Throughout the season we will run profiles on each of our 14 senior players. We've asked them to tell us why they chose to attend Grinnell, what their favorite moment as a Pioneer football player was, among other fun facts. Please enjoy getting to know a little more about these guys before they graduate this spring!

Next up, is senior wide receiver, Jordan Courtain!


Name: Jordan Courtain
Hometown: Chico, CA
Major: Economics

Why did you choose to attend Grinnell?
I chose Grinnell because I had the opportunity to play sports as well as get a good education.

What is your favorite Pioneer football moment?
My favorite Grinnell football moment would be my 1st touchdown on a hitch-and-go against Lake Forest my sophomore year.

What are your career ambitions and/or future plans?
My future plans are to graduate college with my econ degree. Hopefully, after that join a company where I can put my degree to use.

Favorite Professional Team: San Fransisco 49ers

Favorite Division I team: USC Trojans

Favorite Song: Don't have one

Favorite Food: Tri-tip steak

Favorite Movie: Gladiator

Favorite Book: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Favorite Course at Grinnell: Microeconomics

Other hobbies: Working out, reading books, and watching TV and movies

Curtis McCoy's Summer Project Featured by College

(L-R) Senior defensive lineman Curtis McCoy, student Ian Bishop, and professor Peter Jacobson

Senior defensive lineman Curtis McCoy is featured by the College for participating this summer in a MAP (Mentored Advanced Project) with professor Peter Jacobson. Curtis' focus was on local water wells and their content and makeup of the local hydro-system.

Read Curtis' story on the Grinnell College home page. Or you can reread our June post on Curtis' project here.

Ryan Fletcher Named MWC Player of the Week

After a dazzling defensive performance, Grinnell junior linebacker, Ryan Fletcher was named this week's Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Week!

Fletcher's stat line on Saturday vs. St. Norbert:
7 total tackles, 3.0 TFL (including 2.5 sacks), 1 forced fumble, and 2 pass break-ups

Read the MWC press release here.

Pioneers Fall to St. Norbert

In what can only be described as a defensive struggle, Grinnell lost a tough one on Saturday to perennial conference powerhouse, St. Norbert, 14-11. After an early 3-0 lead, the Pioneers surrendered two touchdowns, one in each of the second and third quarters, before a GC fourth quarter score and two-point conversion brought the hosts within 3.

We are extremely proud of our guys for their effort. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game and that is what we ask for each week. The defense played fantastic, only once in the last 3 seasons has SNC scored less than 14 points.

We are already preparing for our first road game of the 2009 season against the Carroll Pioneers on Saturday. Should be a great day to be a (Grinnell) Pioneer!

Pioneers Host The Green Knights!

We open our conference schedule tomorrow versus St. Norbert College from DePere, Wisconsin. There is no denying that SNC is a good football team. They are coming off of a big win over #17 ranked Wartburg College and we are certainly going to be challenged.

We will relish in this challenge and we will use it to help gauge our progress towards winning a MWC Championship. St. Norbert is perennially one of the top teams in the conference and we are excited to have such a great opportunity!

Senior Profiles: Chad Christoff

Throughout the season we will run profiles on each of our 14 senior players. We've asked them to tell us why they chose to attend Grinnell, what their favorite moment as a Pioneer football player was, among other fun facts. Please enjoy getting to know a little more about these guys before they graduate this spring!

Next up, is senior defensive tackle and fullback, Chad Christoff!


Name: Chad Christoff
Hometown: Donahue, IA
Major: Economics

Why did you choose to attend Grinnell?
The combination of a great education and an opportunity to contribute significantly and immediately to the football and baseball teams.

What is your favorite Pioneer football moment?
Beating Knox at home as a freshman with a two-point conversion pass from Sean Pfalzer to Todd Doleshal from the 40 yard line after a 10 second scramble only to be followed up by a game winning PAT by converted soccer player and newest member of the football team, Scott Koenning.

What are your career ambitions and/or future plans?
I plan on pursuing a career putting to use my Economics degree in some fashion. I have yet to decide what avenue that will lead me but this summer I spent time interning at Edward Jones financial services and would like to continue to investigate my opportunities in the financial services sector.

Favorite Professional Team: St. Louis Cardinals and whatever NFL team has the most former Hawkeyes on its roster

Favorite Division I team: Iowa Hawkeyes

Favorite Song: Fighters by Lupe Fiasco and My Town by Montgomery Gentry

Favorite Food: At school - turkey club sandwich; At home - ribeye steak with fresh Iowa sweet corn

Favorite Movie: Field of Dreams

Favorite Book: "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

Favorite Course at Grinnell: ECN 338 Advanced Game Theory with Bill Ferguson

Other hobbies: Following North Scott High School athletics, collecting vintage Iowa Hawkeye apparel, maintaining two aquariums at home

Grinnell Football in the News

Des Moines' NBC affiliate, WHO - Channel 13, paid a visit to Grinnell last week to talk college football. And in particular the history behind the Pioneers defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes!

Enjoy the video!

Game Recap

Saturday afternoon brought good weather to Rosenbloom Field, but unfortunately the sun didn't serve as a positive omen for the Pioneers. Cornell ended up on top 28-21 and they were the deserving victors. We didn't make enough plays to overcome their big plays and such is the game of football.

We are already looking forward to this Saturday and hosting conference opponent, St. Norbert, who is coming off a win against Wartburg yesterday. We hope to see you out there Saturday at 1pm!

It's Gametime!

Well... almost.

We open our 2009 season tomorrow against in-state rival Cornell College. We obviously await tomorrow afternoon with excitement and energy. For the last three weeks we've worked tirelessly and meticulously to prepare and it's about time we line up across from someone else and see what we are made of! We are confident that it'll be a great day to be at home on Rosenbloom Field and to beat the Rams!

Senior Profiles: Ryan Boehm

Throughout the season we will run profiles on each of our 14 senior players. We've asked them to tell us why they chose to attend Grinnell, what their favorite moment as a Pioneer football player was, among other fun facts. Please enjoy getting to know a little more about these guys before they graduate this spring!

First up, is senior free safety, Ryan Boehm!


Name: Ryan Boehm
Hometown: Iowa City, IA
Major: Economics

Why did you choose to attend Grinnell?
I chose Grinnell because of its liberal, tolerant environment and its emphasis on self-governance. Similarly, its non-restrictive curriculum was especially attractive. The college is also situated on a beautiful and serene campus.

What is your favorite Pioneer football moment?
The game against Lawrence in my junior season (2008), in which the Grinnell defense intercepted six passes and led the Pioneers to a 32-16 win.

What are your career ambitions and/or future plans?
Immediately after college, I plan to enter into one of the service corps (possibly the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps). Afterward, I plan to attend graduate school or law school.

Favorite Professional Team: Chicago Bears

Favorite Division I team: Iowa Hawkeyes

Favorite Song: Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band

Favorite Food: Barbecued Pork

Favorite Book: "Going After Cacciato" by Tim O'Brien

Favorite Course at Grinnell: Applied Game Theory

Other hobbies: Disc Golf, Basketball, Reading, and Weightlifting

Camp Highlights

It's game week!

But wanted to give you one last video of some clips from the rest of fall camp. Enjoy!

Practice Highlights

Here's a video with shots from the first few days of practice!

Fishing Competition Video

We are blessed to have such a great support staff here at Grinnell and our equipment manager, Roger Baumann, is the best of them all. Just this past weekend, Roger and his wife invited the entire team over to his place for our annual fishing competition and some barbeque. Enjoy the video!

Fall Camp Day #1 Video

This is a short video from our first day back on campus!





More video to follow over the next two weeks!

2009 SEASON PREVIEW!

We are as optimistic and fired up as we can be at Grinnell College! We start camp tomorrow- Aug 13 and to say we're excited is an understatement. There's plenty of reason for optimism because of the talent we have returning and the talent we have coming in.

I'll start with our defense. We have an experienced secondary back with a great mix of "hard-hitting" safeties (Marquis Bradley '11 and Marc Heronemus '11 come to mind) and superb cover guys at corner. Seniors Ryan Boehm and Ben Johnson are expected to be all conference performers. All four positions are returning starters. Add in some solid backups and some talented newcomers and you can argue that our secondary will be the strength of the defense. At linebacker, we're looking forward to seeing the return of John Hereford '10 who pretty much missed all of last year with an injury. The leading tackler from '07 is chomping at the bit to get back on the field. Our two leading tacklers from last year have graduated- both played LB, so this is our biggest void to fill on defense. We have some "salty" guys who are ready to step in and fill the void- I'm thinking of Ryan Fletcher '11, Ryan Creps '12. Our defensive line is anchored by seniors Curtis McCoy, Kyle Lobaugh and Jake Thompson who are poised to have breakout seasons. Some of the hardest working and most unselfish guys on the team are at our defensive line position. Senior Chad Christoff who will also see time as a blocking back is moving over to help with the defensive line.

On offense, we have a great mix of experienced upperclassmen and talented underclassmen. Our offensive line will be lead by senior Mike Tricoli who will make the move to center. Mike will lead a talented but "thin" group of olinemen- Jake McVeigh '11, Stephen Hudak '12, Joe Sinnwell '12, and Scott Mata '11 who is moving over from the d-line. Throw in Chris Jarmon '12 who transferred in from Colorado College and our offensive line will be a strength again this year. At the skill positions, we are loaded with talent all around. This is the group I'm most excited about. Our coaching staff has to figure out a way to get the ball in the hands of all the talent we have at RB, and WR. Joey Snyder, Mike Martinez, and Jordan Courtain- all seniors- will lead a deep and talented receiving corps. Returning QB Mike Bogard '12 will look to get the ball in the hands of slot back Kelsey Davis '12, RB Carlos Sims '12, newcomer TJ Schaid '13, transfer WR Logan Granera '12 and Robert LaPorte '12. Robert Seer '12 Mike McLeran'12 and Brian Westerlind '12 are expected to be playmakers for us as well.

Our special teams is an area where we showed improvement last year, but still have plenty of things we can get better at. Mike Bogard will still do the kicking and punting duties. Scott Koenning '10 and Logan Granera are also proven kickers. Some of the Pioneers I'm excited about seeing contribute on special teams are senior Fernando Jenkins and a host of freshmen like Cody Weber, Drew Blumberg, and Kevin Hwang. We are going to continue to work very hard at our special teams and use it to gain an advantage over our opponents and help us win. We have an aggressive and somewhat unorthodox approach to special teams and I think this will cause problems for our opponents.

Our first game is Sept. 5 at home against Cornell.

CAN'T WAIT!!

Coach Swett Overseas

Around here, the student-athletes aren't the only ones who get to travel abroad.

Pioneer wide receivers coach, Nolan Swett, spent a week in Sweden this summer coaching football to the Swedish youth. Coach Swett is back at Grinnell for his second season and we are excited to have him as a part of our program.

To read more about Coach Swett's experience check out this release from D3Football.com.

Grinnell Dining Hall is the Best in the Nation!!

I often brag to recruits when they eat in our dining hall that ours is the best in the nation. It's my opinion because I eat there often and the food is awesome and the selection is unbelievable.

Well...it turns out it's true.

Our dining hall just won the National Association of College and University Food Services grand prize award- beating out over 160 other colleges and universities!

Click on the Grinnell College Homepage link to the right and check out the article on our website!

2009 High School Football Camp

This past weekend, we hosted our 1st ever High School Football Camp with great success!

With over 50 players representing Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and even California it was a great way for these guys to meet us and each other. Many a good friendship was formed, yet there were plenty of reps to be had and there was great competition all weekend; though, of course, my Pioneer team beat the Honor G team in Saturday's scrimmage!

It was obviously a positive experience for the players, their families, and the coaches here at Grinnell and we look forward to next summer and an even bigger and better camp!