Sterling College

Grand Island, Neb—The Victory Sports Network has released its 2007 NAIA All-American Teams. Four Sterling College players received Honorable Mention All-American status according to the news release by VSN Monday.

Joey Gilsdorf, 6'5 285lb, OL, Providence, Utah. Gilsdorf was a First Team ALL-KCAC Selection and an AFCA First Team All-American.

Jonathon Conklin, 6'2, 265, OL, Springtown, Texas. Conklin has been a three year starter for the Warriors and helped protect the KCAC leading offense this past season.

Kevin Laudermilk, 6'1, 245, TE, Sterling, Kansas. Laudermilk averaged 8.6 yards per catch for four touchdowns on the season.

Tyler Degenhardt, 5'9, 195, UT, Holton, Kansas. Degenhardt had yet another impressive season for the Warriors. He had total of 735 yards of total offense for the Warriors this past season with six touchdowns.

"This is a great honor for our team to have these guys recognized" said Head Coach Andy Lambert." VSN has done a great job promoting NAIA Football and we are excited to be recognized by them and the NAIA coaches

The 2007 VSN All-American Football Teams are selected by a committee of NAIA coaches along with members of the Victory Sports Network.

Sterling football players and fans of all ages – junior high, high school and college - will have a new field and facilities for the 2008 football season. Plus, the following spring all Sterling tracksters will be running on a new track. Sterling College and USD 376 reached agreement this week to partner together to build a new football field and track on the college campus.

The 1.2 million dollar project will accomplish the needs of both the College and school district. One-third of the funding will come from the school district with two-thirds from Sterling College.

The scope of the project will include a new rubberized track surface, new football field, new visitor seating area, new restrooms and press box in Smisor Stadium and various esthetic elements such as fencing, entrance and walks. The current plan for the football field includes sod, drainage and crowning but artificial turf could still be considered if additional funding can be obtained.

With August 15 as the designated completion date for the project, construction will begin as soon as possible weather permitting. The existing track could be torn out as soon as February 1.

"We are pleased to partner with the school district in this unique project," comments Sterling College President Dr. Bruce Douglas. "The sports of football and track are vitally important to Sterling College and to the community as well. It is great that we can work together for improvements for all."

Sterling College senior Joey Gilsdorf was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America Team this past week.

Gilsdorf, a 6'5 285lb, offensive lineman, Providence, Utah was a Unanimous and Repeat
selection by the KCAC football head coaches as an offensive lineman on the KCAC All-conference
First-team Offense honor team. Gilsdorf helped protect the #11th best offense in the nation this season. Joey is the first player ever to be named a first team All-American by the AFCA from SC.

"This is a tremendous honor for Joey and our program," said Sterling College Head Coach Andy Lambert. "He (Joey) had an outstanding senior season and probably one of the best four year careers that I have ever coached. This is a very deserving honor for a great young man who has been an instrumental part of our success the past four seasons."

Gilsdorf is majoring in Business Administration at Sterling College.

The AFCA's NAIA All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA's nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.

For more information on the AFCA and its programs, log on to the AFCA's website at www.afca.com.

The 2007 Warriors of the Gridiron had many honored in a year for the record books as the squad posted 8 wins for the 2nd time in school history, the first since 1930.

The Offense which ranked 12th in the nation in scoring had a number of players recognized as First Team KCAC. To no one's surprise Jake Buchanan was recognized as 1st team quarterback, but also received the honor of the Offensive Player of the Year averaging close to 220 yards a game, 60 yards better than the next closest opponent, while throwing for 25 touchdowns across only 9 interceptions. Joining him on the first team was senior running back Adam Langvardt, averaging 66 yards a game on the ground with 7 TDs; senior wide receiver Josh Oberle, putting up 81 yard/game receiving with 13 TD receptions, the conference best; senior tight end Kevin Laudermilk who hauled in 30 receptions with 4 TDs; senior utility player Tyler Degenhardt who accounted for 11 total TDs, 6 receiving and 5 rushing; and two of the front men of the offense senior linemen Joey Gilsdorf and Jon Conklin.

The defensive side of the ball saw junior defensive back Craig Mans voted in the first team putting up 48 tackles, 5 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. Making the Second Team ALl-KCAC from the defense was Derrick Sullivan, the leading tackler for the Warriors with 88. Brent Schneider, ranking with the top in the nation with 9 interceptions was honorably mentioned in the incredibly competitive defensive back position in the KCAC. Also honorable mentioned from the defense were senior DB Gabe Eliserio, sophomore LB Justin Hejny, sophomore LB Austin Kingsbury, and sophomore DL Quinten Burgess.

The Warriors also received the CO-Coach of the Year award as Andy Lambert was recognized along with Coach Monty Lewis of Friends University. Coach Lambert remarked, "It was great to see our guys get recognized for their efforts this year. In our program, we never make it a goal to receive individual recognition or rewards, and for these players to be recognized as they were knowing our goals are about reaching potential as a unit is a great thing, I am very proud of them as they earned it."

To view the entire Football All-KCAC release, go to www.kcacsports.com

At 1-2 in early fall, after a tough Bethel loss, 4 yards away from a run at the KCAC championship and postseason play, then looking ahead what would be a postseason contender and perennial power Northwest Oklahoma State ahead, the Warriors had reasons to doubt a successful 2007 campaign.

The ethos of Coach Andy Lambert and the Sterling College football program came through however, as 7 short days after a devastating loss, the Warriors went on the road to Northwest Oklahoma and began what would be 7 weeks of dominating performances, culminating in this past weekends 28-0 shutout of the Braves of Ottawa University.

Saturday's game would prove to be the Tyler Degenhardt show as the Junior rushed for 3 touchdowns, one of them a 62 yard scamper with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 1st half to make the score 21-0. Degenhardt was the reason for the previous two scores with a 1 yard and 10 yard jaunt respectively.

Senior Jake Buchanan hooked up with senior Kevin Laudermilk for the finishing touches of the Braves locking in the 28-0 final score. Junior Brent Schneider would also have a day picking off his 8th and 9th interceptions of the season putting himself atop the KCAC.

With the win, the Warriors tied the all time season wins record set in 1930 with eight. In addition to the record setting season, the performances of the team and players garnered many top spots in the national ranks.

The offense was a force to be reckoned with all year as they ranked 13th overall in the nation scoring an impressive 33 points a game. Leading the way for the Warriors was senior Jake Buchanan. A virtual shoe-in to be an all-conference player came through as he was the 11th best in passing efficiency in the nation, the best in the KCAC. Buchanan finished the season 7 yards away from a 2000 yard year throwing for 1993 yards and 25 TDs with only 9 interceptions. One of Buchanan's key targets was Josh Oberle who ended up 5th in the nation in TD receptions with an incredible 13 on the year, while also averaging 81 yards a game, ranking 19th in the nation.

The defense, regardless of a less than desired beginning strung together an amazing finished also garnering top spots in the nation for their performance. By season's end the Warrior defense ranked 17th in scoring defense allowing only a stingy 17.6 points per game, posting 2 shutouts against conference foes, Bethany and Ottawa. Junior Derrick Sullivan led the way with an amazing 88 tackles on the year, ranking 3rd in the KCAC. Brent Schneider put together an impressive performance in the secondary this year hauling in 9 interceptions which tied him for 1st in the nation in total INTs. The defense was also able to create a +19 turnover margin ranking them 2nd in the nation in the turnover category.

As the fall comes to a close, the numbers tell the tale of one of the successful seasons of all time in Sterling College football history. Granted, the 'what could have beens' when it comes to playoffs and postseasons are always there. More importantly, however, is the message that Coach Andy Lambert has conveyed from day one and is one of the big reasons why the Warriors at the 1-2 crossroads in September began in what would be a historical year. "It's never about wins, it's about maximizing our potential day-in and day-out. That is the ethos of SC football. If that is achieved and we lose, we'll accept that, if we don't maximize our potential even though we win, that's not something we will be comfortable with."

"We had good talent this year, but our leadership and an extraordinary senior class has a lot to do with our success and ability to fight back and show the resolve we needed to complete the things were able to. They truly have become a first class of first class guys, we will miss them very much, but at the same time love the fact they get to leave here as one of the most successful group of seniors in program history, not many football players get to hang their hat on that."

The KCAC looks to release All-Conference selections any day with National Recognition coming later.

Log onto www.naia.org to access more stats for the 2007 SC Warriors.

K.C.A.C. Player-of-the-Week, OFFENSE: Jake Buchanan, STERLING COLLEGE, 6-3, 195, Senior, Quarterback, Vancouver, WA. In a 48-21 at UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY, he completed 19 of 22 pass attempts for 204 yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception, and he rushed 3 carries for 29 yards.  NOTES: He has 27 TDs on the season.  NOTES: Sterling records are now 7-2 overall and 6-2 KCAC Conference, while USM fell to 3-5 overall and 3-5 KCAC Conference.

For athletic press release inquiries, contact Justin Morris at jmorris@sterling.edu

Jake Buchanan once again puts in a stellar effort this past weekend to give him Player of the Week honors as released on Tuesday.

Buchanan was voted KCAC Player of the Week on Monday as he put up 209 yards passing against the Spires finding 5 different Warrior receivers for TDs during the contest. Buchanan now ranks 12th in the nation in passing efficiency with his 58% completion percentage and 24 TDs across only 8 INTs.

The Warriors sit 7-2 overall and 6-2 in KCAC play looking toward the Braves of Ottawa. The Braves will come off a disappointing loss to Southwestern as they sit 4-5 overall, 3-5 in the KCAC. The Warriors unfortunately will need help getting to the playoffs as Friends bested Bethel this past Saturday creating a tie in 1st place and the need for an underdog to best either foe for the Warriors to climb back into the playoff hunt.

As it is, the Warriors will look to end with a 7 game winning streak at which offensive records are being destroyed. The game will be on Saturday at 1:30 in Ottawa.

For athletic press release inquiries, contact Justin Morris at jmorris@sterling.edu

There is tending to be a couple themes on Saturday afternoons of late. The NCAA football world is unpredictable, but the Sterling Warrior offense is.

The uncanny consistency of Jake Buchanan putting up another 240 yards passing going 21 for 37 and 3 TD, and the ground game posting 272 yards behind a big effort from freshman Rashard Colquitt going 9 for 132 and 1 TD is getting to be like reliable re-runs of M.A.S.H. You know what's going to happen, but you just love to watch anyway.

Wesleyan did not help their own cause by turning the ball over in their first posession as Sterling scored because of it with a Buchanan to Kevin Laudermilk 8 yard TD reception. Sterling would go on to put up 20 more first half points on two more Buchanan passes to Laudermilk and Josh Oberle respectively mixed in with an Adam Langverdt rush for TD, putting the half-time score at 27-0. Wesleyan tried to test the pass defense in the first half, and 4 interceptions later, they took to the locker room to adjust the game plan.

As expected however, the Coyotes has a second half howl left in them as they found success in the running game. Tailback Steven Valliere found paydirt for the Coyotes with a 16 yard scamper beginning what seemed like a possible 2nd half challenge for the Warriors. To the Coyotes dismay, the Warriors punched back with a ground attack as their own, as a well rested Colquitt threw up almost all of his 132 yards of rushing in the 2nd half, making his long of 58 yards, closely following that with another breakout run of 32 yards for the last Warrior touchdown of the afternoon.

"We knew we were going to have to be efficient today, and we honestly missed chances to put up points. Our defense really stepped up in those situations. We battled well against a team that has very good athleticism," remarked Coach Andy Lambert after the game.

Jake Buchanan keeps plugging away as the top rated passer in the KCAC and ranks in the top 20 in NAIA passing efficiency. Josh Oberle with his TD catch moved to 12 TD receptions on the year (13 overall), that putting him in the top 5 of NAIA receivers.

The Warriors say goodbye to Smisor for the '07 season as they head out on the road for their final 2 games, next week in Leavenworth to take on the Spires of St. Mary.

There's probably not a better way to script a homecoming game. Most schools schedule 'light' for homecoming to 'insure' a good chance of winning. What made Saturday sweet was hosting the #8 ranked pass defense in the Nation and a 4-2 Swede team and still dominating opening kickoff to triple 0's; 42-0.

"We needed a couple breaks early as strong as Bethany is on the defensive side; and the turnover on their first posession was a big break," exclaimed Coach Andy Lambert after the game.

Even though there was the better part of 55 minutes left in the game, it seemed as though a fumble on the 2nd Swedish offensive play, after a 38 yard Tyler Degenhardt TD scamper, resulting in an Adam Langvardt TD reception from Jake Buchanan took the air out of any Swedish plans for a homecoming ambush.

With the Swedes averaging less than 20 points a game offensively, giving up 14 in the first 5 minutes did not bode well.

Bethany gave the ball to previous back-up QB Mark Margres who did what he could to move the ball; but most of the success for Bethany came from Sean Dahley who ended the day with 81 yards rushing on 22 carries. Unfortunately, the 14 point spot early did not give the Swedes the luxury to matriculate the ball down the field in the hands of the 210 pound runner. They had to produce points to hang with the #1 ranked offense in the KCAC.

After 2 more TDs via the popular Jake Buchanan/Josh Oberle connection giving Buchanan his 15th and 16th passing TDs and Oberle his 10th and 11th receiving TDs, the Swedes seemed to be caught in a whirlwind. To end the half, the Warriors tacked on one more TD with a Degenhardt carry putting the halftime score at 35-0.

The Warriors kept it conservative for the most part for the most of the 2nd half not wanting to give the Swedes any fuel to mount a 2nd half attack. However, the Warriors capped the day with 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter after a Brent Schneider reception that placed the ball on the Sterling 1 yard line.

The Warriors chewed up half of the remaining time in the quarter while driving the ball 99 yards ending with a Stephen Wilson rushing TD, his first of the year putting the score at 42-0 for the Warriors.

The Warriors closed the day outrushing the Swedes 273 yards to 94 yards; 482 total yards to 260 total yards; the Warriors running 14 more plays on the day. Jake Buchanan was the sharp shooter going 15 of 20 for 205 yards and 3 TDs, Tyler Degenhardt carried the load in the ground game rushing for 130 yards on 12 carries, some of those yards coming out of the QB position when the Warriors switched to a single wing look to keep the Swedes guessing.

Craig Mans and Derrick Sullivan led the way defensively as the compiles 7 and 11 tackled respectively, Mans also pulling in his team leading 5th interception of the year.

The Warriors host the 4-3 Coyotes from Kansas Wesleyan next Saturday at 1:30pm. The Warriors with the win over Bethany sit alone in 3rd place in the conference behind the 6-0 Bethel and 5-1 Friends.

Sterling College senior Josh Oberle was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference "Offensive Player of the Week" after helping lead the Warriors to a win over McPherson College last Saturday at Smisor Stadium.

Oberle, a 5'11 185lb, wide receiver, Chase, KS. In a 42-28 win over the Bulldogs last Saturday, he caught seven receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Oberle has nine touchdown receptions in his last five games for Warriors.

"Oberle made some great catches Saturday night," said Sterling College Head Coach Andy Lambert. "He (Josh) continues help our team get better everyday."

Oberle is majoring in Exercise Science at Sterling College.

Oberle becomes the third player this season to be named KCAC Offensive Player of Week along with Tyler Degenhardt (Holton, KS) and Adam Langvardt (Buhler, KS). The Warriors are 3-2 on the season and 2-2 in the KCAC. Sterling will travel to Southwestern College this Saturday for a 1:30pm kickoff.