Category: Culver-Stockton College sports

Jacoby closes in on the big time in MMA

Posted by dobrien – October 3, 2011

For the better part of three years, Dustin Jacoby had a tough time winning as the quarterback of the Culver-Stockton College and Quincy University football teams. The Concord Triopia graduate was winless in two seasons with C-SC. In 2009, he became the starter at QU and got hurt in his first game, a game the Hawks pulled out in overtime at Indiana State.

Now a professional mixed martial arts fighter, Jacoby hasn’t had any problems finding success. He’s 6-0 with five knockouts as a pro and is getting a shot at the big time later this month. Jacoby will fight in UFC 137 on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas. Jacoby is scheduled to face Brad Taveras as part of the undercard for the event, which is being headlined by the Georges St. Pierre-Carlos Condit bout.

Jacoby’s a replacement for Tim Credeur, who had to withdraw from the bout with an unspecified injury. Taveras is 7-1 overall and 2-1 in UFC bouts. Unfortunately, the bout is currently schedule to be an untelevised preliminary bout. UFC 137 is available on pay-per-view and part of the undercard will be shown on Spike TV.

Since leaving the QU program after his junior season, Jacoby’s been training to be an MMA pro. He’s working with Marc Fiore, who is set to open his own gym later this month in Springfield, Ill.

I’m trying to get a hold of Jacoby for a story to be published in the Herald-Whig.

Getting to Know — Culver-Stockton College coach Jeff Duvendeck

Posted by dobrien – September 10, 2011

In this latest edition of “Getting to Know,” I sit down with first-year Culver-Stockton College football coach Jeff Duvendeck.

Hired by the school in July, Duvendeck has hit the ground running, including a 35-10 victory over Graceland last week in his debut.

We talk about how he celebrated his first win as a head coach, who he tries to pattern his coaching style after and who his favorite football team is.

C-SC Review — Culver-Stockton 35, Graceland 10

Posted by dobrien – September 4, 2011

The Wildcats won their first season-opener since 2005, giving Jeff Duvendeck a win in his first game as the Wildcats’ head coach.

Here’s a look at Saturday’s stars from Ellison Poulton Stadium:

1. Marcus Maas

The true freshman from Tinley Park will never forget his first college football game. He scooped up a Graceland fumble at the 1-yard line and dove into the end zone for a third-quarter score. He added another TD in the fourth quarter when he pounced on a blocked punt in the end zone to help drive one of the final nails in the Yellowjackets’ coffin. He added a monster sack of Graceland quarterback Matt Fink just for good measure.

2. Dontay McGaffie

Making his return to the C-SC lineup after sitting out last season, McGaffie was too much for the Yellowjackets’ defense to handle. The senior wide receiver made six catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He caught scoring passes of 47 and 14 yards from Jacob Harnacke, who was also back after redshirting last season. McGaffie gives the Wildcats something they haven’t had in their passing game for a while — a legitmate deep threat.

3. Jeff Duvendeck

You have to wonder if he’s even had time to unpack his house. Hired in July after Cam Keller resigned to join the staff at Winona State, Duvendeck managed to craft a winner in his first game out. The Wildcats looked better all the way around — offense, defense and special teams. When Keller left, he said he knew that this team was going to win some games. Duvendeck may be cooking with the groceries that Keller bought him, but it doesn’t appear to be a fluke that the Wildcats tore apart Graceland. And don’t be surprised if its now two straight wins when the Wildcats head to Peru State next week. Don’t print the playoff tickets yet, but the days of the Cats being the laughingstock of the Heart of America Athletic Conference may be ending soon.

DOBservations

The Wildcats’ last season-opening win also came in the first game for a C-SC skipper as Christian Guenther won his first-ever game when the Cats upset Lindenwood. … The game resembled a baseball score for much of the first half thanks to a C-SC field goal and a safety and a Graceland field goal. … The Wildcats seemed to be much more hard-hitting. Dylan Braden, a sophomore defensive back, had a couple of nice pops. … C-SC also pulled off what has to be the worst fake punt in the history of fake punts. C-SC punter Greg Kindle tried to fake out Graceland on an attempt near midfield by tossing the ball up underhanded about 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The ball fell to the ground as both teams tried to catch the ball. It was pretty ugly. … C-SC had a nice pregame ceremony for the late Max Zumwalt, who died outside of LaGrange, Mo., in a January car accident. … As you’ll see from the video below, the few C-SC students who made it to the game were happy about the win. Sadly, no one went for the goal posts. … Saturday marked the first time since Oct. 20, 2007 — which was the Cats’ last home win — that C-SC and Quincy University’s football teams won on the same day.

Mid-Week Grades for Dec. 8

Posted by dobrien – December 8, 2010

Here’s a look at the good, bad and ugly happening in the sports world with my own special twist. If you have a Mid-Week Grade text it into the WGEM SportsCenter program at 217-617-9437. Host Josh Houchins and I will break these down around 8:20 or so. If you want your voice to be heard, shoot us a line. Here we go:

A — Culver-Stockton College. The Wildcats’ athletic department has been pretty easy to pick on over the last few years thanks to all of its struggles on nearly every field their teams take. But you have to give credit where credit is due. Greg McVey went toe-to-toe with his old bosses as Quincy University for the top free-agent volleyball coach on the market in Caren Kemner and wound up luring her to Canton, Mo. Considering the turnaround she helped orchestrate at Quincy Notre Dame the last two years, you’d have to think the rest of the Heart of America Athletic Conference is on notice that the once-proud C-SC spikes team is ready to become a force again.

B — Central boys basketball team. Don’t know if you can label the Panthers the surprise team so far on the boys basketball scene, but they’ve certainly been the most impressive. Central goes into its rematch with Quincy Notre Dame with a perfect 6-0 record. They’ve already beat QND by double digits once this season and followed that up with a double-digit win over Pittsfield last weekend. Things are shaping up for a magical season in Camp Point.

C — Jerry Kill. What a week for the former Southern Illinois University football coach. He wound up losing the Mid-American Conference championship game to Miami, Ohio, on a last-minute touchdown. Two days later, he would up taking over as the coach at the University of Minnesota, only to have some of that group’s fan base hate on him for not being a bigger name. (Guess it doesn’t matter to Gopher fans that he took tiny NIU into Minneapolis and beat them earlier this season.) I’ve always liked Kill, who’s a down-to-earth guy, but I don’t know if anyone can win in Minnesota, which hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1962.

D — Bill Belichick Coaching Tree. The Patriots boss is the undisputed No. 1 coach in the NFL. Too bad none of his underlings can get it done. Josh McDaniels, a former assistant to Belichick in New England, was the latest Belichick disciple to flame out as a head coach after being fired by the Broncos earlier this week. Romeo Crennel left New England for Cleveland and had one good year but was eventually fired. Eric Mangini was the “Mangenius” for about five minutes before getting the boot by the New York Jets. Those three combined to go 68-101 as NFL head coaches. Lest we not forget about Charlie Weis, who flamed out at Notre Dame.

F — Albert Haynesworth. If there’s a bigger $100 million bust, I’d love to see him. Haynesworth hasn’t been able to get along with new Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan from the start. Remember all of the training camp drama when he couldn’t pass a physical? Well, things never got any better in D.C. and Haynesworth was sidelined by the team for “conduct detrimental to the team” for the final four games of the season. Haynesworth is trying to fight the suspension, but it doesn’t really matter. He’ll forever been seen as a bigger bust in D.C. than most politicians.

New life for the Great River Bowl?

Posted by dobrien – April 17, 2010

The hiring of Greg McVey as athletic director at Culver-Stockton College could mean good things for the Great River Bowl, the football series between C-SC and Quincy University.

On Saturday, McVey fully endorsed the resumption of the rivalry.

“We’re going to make every attempt to play that game,” said McVey, who was hired Saturday just eight days after Joel Dant announced his resignation at the Canton, Mo., school. “It’s a great game for the area, the university and the student-athletes.

“We look forward to playing them every year it’s possible.”

In the past, the hang up has been coordinating the program’s various league schedules. Quincy University plays in the Mid-State Football Association, while C-SC is a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference. There was some talk last year of possibly getting the NAIA to sanction the series as a bowl game after each team’s regular-season was finished. That was before C-SC football coach Christian Guenther resigned his post.

QU football coach Bill Terlisner, a QU alum entering his 11th season at the school’s coach, has long been an advocate of the game.

The Hawks hold the Old Mississippi Bucket by virtue of its 28-25 victory at C-SC in 2007. The Hawks lead the all-time series between the schools 17-10. Since the teams started playing for “The Bucket” after the flood of 1993, QU has won seven of 10 matchups, including 4 of 5 games since Terlisner took the reigns at QU in 2000.

QU is scheduled to leave the MSFA after the 2012 season and play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s football league. The Hawks, who have dual affiliation in the NAIA and NCAA for football, would no longer be part of the NAIA when it makes the move to the GLVC. The schools have been in different divisions previously, which was a sticking point for some involved with planning the game.

GLVC slaps postseason ban on USI

Posted by dobrien – October 6, 2009

The Great Lakes Valley Conference today handed the University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball program a one-year GLVC and NCAA Tournament ban for violations inside the program that happened under former coach Rick Herdes.

Here’s the full text of the GLVC’s press release:

———

INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference Council of Presidents has levied a postseason ban against the University of Southern Indiana men’s basketball program for the 2009-10 basketball season. This postseason ban shall include both the GLVC and NCAA postseason tournaments.

In unanimously endorsing the recommendation to ban the Southern Indiana men’s basketball team from competing in the 2010 GLVC and NCAA Tournaments, the Council of Presidents did affirm and acknowledge the proactive measures taken by the institution during the investigation into the violations.

The case, which is pending review by the NCAA enforcement staff, involves five secondary violations, including unethical conduct, extra benefits and impermissible contact, and involved three different men’s basketball student-athletes during the 2008-09 academic year.

As a result of the findings of the institution’s investigation into violations of NCAA Bylaws, Southern Indiana has instituted self-imposed penalties which include vacating all wins from the 2008-09 season and returning NCAA funds received from the institution’s participation in the 2009 NCAA DII Regional Basketball Tournament.

———

You’d have to think the folks at Kentucky Wesleyan are loving this news about now. It made sense for the GLVC to ask for an NCAA postseason ban on top of missing the league’s postseason event.

Had the Screaming Eagles only been banned from the GLVC event, they would have been able to rest up for the NCAA’s since this year’s conference tourney will be spread over two weekends. And the school would have taken a spot from a more-deserving member from the GLVC or GLIAC.

With three teams ineligible for the GLVC tourney this season — newcomers Illinois-Springfield and Maryville aren’t eligible until they have full Division II status — that means no GLVC men’s team will have to fight its way into the postseason field. On the women’s side, only the last-place team in the GLVC East will be left out.

Mid-Week Grades for Nov. 19

Posted by dobrien – November 19, 2008

Time for an extra-special edition of the Mid-Week Grades. Break out your favorite college sweater like Cosby used to because we're dealing exclusively with our area college teams now that the fall sports season is (almost) over.

To listen in, tune your AM dial to 1440, home to ESPN 1440, or join us online at wgemradio.com. Josh Houchins and I go over the grades around 8:15 or so. Listen in a few minutes earlier and try to win a Thickburger compliments of our fine sponsor for WGEM SportsCenter presented by Hardee's.

I'm also using a tad bit different scale than usual: 

A — Hannibal-LaGrange College men's soccer. The Trojans are headed to the NAIA Tournament for the first time in school history. The fact the third-ranked Trojans have to go on the road is somewhat baffling, but they still have a great shot to get to Fresno, Calif., for the NAIA finals the week of Dec. 1-6. 

B + — Quincy University women's soccer. The Lady Hawks made the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season and finally won a game in the NCAAs for the first time under coach Dave Musso. Top-ranked Grand Valley State wound up being too much for the Lady Hawks in the Midwest Region semifinals, but it wasn't enough to tarnish another fine season by QU.

C – — Quincy University men's soccer. Count me among those who severely overestimated the Hawks this season. Jack Mackenzie thought so much of this squad that he took them overseas before the season for some extra training and exhibitions. Unfortunately, it never carried over to the regular season and the Hawks wound up missing the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament

D – — Culver-Stockton College soccer — men's and women's. The teams combined for just three wins — two by the men and one from the women. At least the men were competitive in most of their games. The women's team, which finished the season with barely enough players to field a team, lost its final 17 matches and was outscored 164-12 on the season. 

F — Culver-Stockton College football. The Wildcats finished 0-11 for the first time in school history and had the program's first winless season since 1982. They showed some signs of life midway through the season, but couldn't find a way to win. 

Disclaimer: I'm sure most of these student-athletes are great kids and will be fine citizens. That's why I didn't call any of them out by name. They don't deserve that. However, as a unit, they're free game. If you have a beef with the grades, email me at dobrien@whig.com or leave a comment here.