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NAIA National Playoff Participant - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

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Morningside is ranked second in the nation in the 2013 NAIA Football Coaches’ Spring Top 25 Poll.

The Mustangs received three first place votes and 279 points. Defending NAIA National Champion Marian University received the other 10 first place votes to top the NAIA Spring Top 25 Poll with 284 points.

The Mustangs are coming off a banner 2012 season where they posted a 13-1 record, won their second consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship, and advanced to the 2012 NAIA National Championship Game, where they lost 30-27 against Marian in overtime.

Morningside has made nine consecutive post-season appearances in the NAIA Championship Series.

The Mustangs are one of three teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA Spring Top 25. Aside from Morningside, Northwestern College is ranked 13th and Doane College is ranked 21st.

Morningside will open the 2013 season with a home game against Valley City State University on Sept. 7. Valley City State is ranked 24th in the NAIA Spring Top 25.

Morningside College enjoyed its greatest football season in school history during the 2012 campaign by playing in its first-ever National Championship Game. The Mustangs finished the regular season undefeated at 10-0 en route to a final record of 13-1 for the most wins in school history. The Mustangs won their second consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship, were ranked second nationally in the final NAIA poll, and made their ninth consecutive post-season appearance in the NAIA Championship Series, where they lost 30-27 against Marian University in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

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Steve Ryan has been named the 2012 NAIA National Coach of the Year by both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and American Football Monthly.

Ryan guided the Mustangs to their greatest season in school history this past season when Morningside posted a 13-1 record and appeared in its first-ever national championship football game. The Mustangs finished the regular season undefeated at 10-0, won their second consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship, and made their ninth consecutive post-season appearance in the NAIA Championship Series, where they lost 30-27 in overtime against Marian University in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

Ryan was named the AFCA’s 2012 NAIA Region 4 Coach of the Year in December.

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Nathan Turner has been named the 2012 Samson Equipment and American Football Monthly NAIA Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.

Turner, who is also Morningside’s Co-Defensive Coordinator and Outside Linebackers Coach, completed his sixth season with the Mustangs during the 2012 campaign. He was part of a coaching staff that helped guide Morningside to its most successful football season in school history this past fall when the Mustangs posted a 13-1 record, won their second consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship, and advanced to the 2012 Russell Athletic NAIA National Championship Game, where they lost 30-27 in overtime against Marian University.

Turner was previously the running backs coach and video coordinator at Eastern Oregon University before he joined the Mustangs’ coaching staff.
He graduated from Eastern Oregon in 2004 and was one of the Mountaineers’ team captains during the 2003 season. That year he was the recipient of Eastern Oregon’s Iron Man Strength award.

This is the tenth consecutive year that Samson has sponsored the awards that include nine different categories – the NFL, Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, NAIA, Junior College and two high school coaches of the year.

Ten Morningside College athletes have been named to the 2012 Beyond Sports Network (BSN) NAIA All-America Football Team.

The Mustangs’ headliner is Jared Goforth, a 6-0, 195 lb. senior defensive back from Polk City, Iowa, who was named a BSN First-Team All-American.

In addition to Goforth, the Mustangs placed Joel McCabe and Joel Nixon on the second team and Chris Calvillo, Colby Henderson, Aaron Roberg, and Kyle Schuck on the third team. Morningside’s Cole Albright, Austin Klett, and Marcus Smith were named honorable mention All-Americans.

Their exploits helped lead Morningside to its greatest football season in school history. The Mustangs were the 2012 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) champion, finished the regular season undefeated at 10-0, and were the NAIA national runner-up after they lost 30-27 in overtime against Marian University in the 2012 Russell Athletic NAIA Football National Championship in Rome Ga., to close the books on a 13-1 season.

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Morningside College is ranked second nationally in the NAIA Football Coaches Post-Season Poll released Tuesday, Dec. 18.

The Mustangs, who were ranked third in the final regular season poll, posted a 13-1 record this season and lost 30-27 in overtime against Marian University in the Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga. Morningside led all of NAIA football with its 13 victories. The Mustangs finished the regular season undefeated with a 10-0 record, including a 9-0 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to win their second consecutive GPAC title.

Morningside is one of three teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA Post-Season Top 25. In addition to Morningside, Northwestern College is ranked 12th and Doane College is ranked 20th.

Click here for the complete NAIA Post-Season Top 25.

Mike Josifovski kicked a 26-yard field goal to lift fifth-ranked Marian University to a 30-27 overtime victory against No. 3 Morningside in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship held Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

Marian finished with a 12-1 record to win a national championship in only its sixth season of football. Morningside bowed out at 13-1 while making it’s first-ever appearance in a national championship football game.

Josifovski, who sent the game into overtime tied at 27-27 with a 35-yard field goal as time expired, was also the hero in the Knights’ 20-17 upset victory against No. 1 Missouri Valley College in the NAIA Championship Series Semifinals when he kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired.

Morningside also had some late game heroics when Joel Nixon tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Schuck with 1:04 left in regulation time to bring the Mustangs back from a 24-20 deficit to go up 27-24.

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Jared Goforth, a 6-0, 195 lb. senior defensive back from Polk City, Iowa, has been named to the 2012 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NAIA Coaches All-America Team.

Goforth is a defensive standout for a Morningside team that will take a 13-0 record and a No. 3 national ranking into the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship against No. 5 Marian University on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

Goforth leads the Mustangs with nine interceptions for the fourth highest total in the nation in the NAIA ranks. He is two pass thefts shy of the Morningside single-season record of 11 interceptions set by Colby Henderson last season.

Aside from leading the Mustangs in interceptions, Goforth is second on the team with 10 pass breakups and is their third leading tackler with a team-high 49 assists to go along with 32 assists for 81 total tackles. He also has six tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 26 yards, including a quarterback sack.

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Jon Halvorson was named to the second-team of the 2012 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Football Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Halvorson, a 5-11, 190 lb. running back from Sioux Falls, S.D., was one of just six sophomores named to the 48-player honor squad comprised predominately by juniors and seniors.

He has a 3.87 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in business administration and a minor in physics. On the field he is the second leading rusher for a Mustang football team that will take a 13-0 record into the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship against Marian University on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

“It’s great to be recognized for accomplishments off the field,” Halvorson said. “It’s not the first thing people look at a lot of times, but academic recognition is really a great honor.”

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Players from Morningside’s football team visited students at Unity Christian Elementary School in Rome, Ga., during the NAIA Champions of Character program activities held in conjunction with the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship.

The players were greeted on their arrival with signs the students had prepared to welcome the Mustangs and wish them luck in this Thursday’s national championship game against Marian University. The players listened to a cheer the students had prepared, signed autographs, read books to the students, and sang Christmas carols with them.

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Aaron Roberg and Jordan Sitzmann have been named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes in the sport of football.

Roberg, a 6-0, 225 lb. junior linebacker from Grand Island, Neb., has a 3.65 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in business administration. He is the Mustangs’ leading tackler with 41 solos and a team-high 74 assists for 115 total tackles to go along with 11.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 40 yards, four pass breakups, 2.5 quarterback sacks, and two interceptions.

Sitzmann, a 6-1, 180 lb. junior punter from Le Mars, Iowa, has a 3.86 cumulative grade point average with a major in business administration. Sitzmann is averaging 36.4 yards per punt with a long of 65 yards. Sixteen of his 54 punts have resulted in a fair catch and 12 others have been downed inside the 20-yard line.

Student-athletes must be of at least junior academic status and have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in order to be eligible for Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Morningside will take a 13-0 record into the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship against Marian University on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

Click here for the complete list of 2012 Daktronics-NAIA Football Scholar-Athletes.

Jared Goforth has received numerous accolades for his exploits on the football team.

Goforth, a 6-0, 195 lb. senior free safety from Polk City, Iowa, is one of the most decorated athletes on a Mustang football team that has a 13-0 record and will play for the 2012 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship against Marian University on Dec. 13 in Rome, Ga.

Goforth was named to this year’s All-Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) First-Team, marking the third time he has been named to the first-team of the all-league honor squad. In addition to his all-conference honors, Goforth was named a Victory Sports Network (VSN) honorable mention All-American in 2010 and a Beyond Sports Network (BSN) honorable mention All-American in 2011.

This year a new honor came his way when Goforth was named to the second-team of the 2012 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Football Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Third-ranked Morningside blew out reigning national champion Saint Xavier University 47-19 in the semifinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series at Olsen Stadium.

The victory put the 13-0 Mustangs into the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game to be played Thursday, Dec. 13, in Rome, Ga.

The Mustangs’ title game opponent will be Marian University, which advanced to the final with a 20-17 upset win at No. 1 Missouri Valley College in Saturday’s other semifinal. Marian shared this year’s Mid-States Football Association Mideast League title with Saint Xavier and the University of Saint Francis.

The Mustangs, champion of the Great Plains Athletic Conference, had too much offense, more specifically too much Joel Nixon, for the defending national champions. Nixon shredded the Cougars’ defense for 367 yards total offense and played a role in five of the Mustangs’ seven touchdowns.

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Jared Goforth and Jon Halvorson have been named to the second team of the 2012 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Football Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Goforth, a senior defensive back from Polk City, Iowa, has a 3.35 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in business administration. He leads the Mustangs with nine interceptions and is the team’s third leading tackler with 49 solos and 32 assists for 81 total tackles. Goforth is second on the team with 10 pass breakups.

Halvorson, a sophomore running back from Sioux Falls, S.D., has a 3.87 cumulative GPA with a major in business administration. Halvorson is the Mustangs’ second leading rusher with 556 yards and nine touchdowns in 115 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry. He also has 14 pass receptions for 104 yards.

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Morningside College head football coach Steve Ryan has been named the 2012 American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) 2012 NAIA Region 4 Coach of the Year.

Ryan’s Mustangs will be playing in the 2012 Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship Game against Marian University on Thursday, Dec. 13, in Rome, Ga. Ryan has guided the Mustangs to a 13-0 record, a No. 3 NAIA National ranking, and the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship this season.

Ryan has a 98-30 record for a .766 winning percentage with the Mustangs for the highest victory rate in Morningside history. Ryan, who ranks second in the Morningside annals with his 98 victories, has led the Mustangs to nine consecutive appearances in the NAIA Championship Series. Ryan trails only Jason Saunderson, who had a 118-93-11 record from 1912-41, on Morningside’s all-time coaching victory list.

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In a game for the ages, Morningside defeated Southern Oregon 47-44 in overtime in the quarterfinal round of the NAIA Football Championship Series to move on to next Saturday’s semifinals.

The Mustangs, ranked third in the nation with a 12-0 record, are in the semifinals for the second time, joining the college’s 2005 team that finished 12-1.

The contest was the high scoring shootout it was expected to be as two of the nation’s most prolific offensive attacks squared off. Southern Oregon amassed 587 yards total offense, the most yards the Mustangs have allowed all season, while Morningside rolled up 505 yards total offense.

Morningside quarterback Joel Nixon fired a four-yard touchdown pass to Joel McCabe for the winning margin in the overtime.

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Third-ranked Morningside prevailed 40-35 in a high scoring shootout with No. 14 Montana Tech at Elwood Olsen Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series.

The Mustangs are in the NAIA Quarterfinals for the seventh time in the last nine years.

The 11-0 Mustangs had some anxious moments in their opening round victory, especially when Oredigger quarterback Nick Baker broke loose for an apparent go-ahead 47-yard touchdown run that would have put the guests in front 41-40 with less than four minutes left, but the play was nullified by a holding penalty.

Montana Tech finished with 517 yards total offense against the nation’s No. 1 defense that had shut out each of its last three regular season opponents. The Orediggers’ 517 yards and 35 points were the most surrendered by the Mustangs all season.

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Joel Nixon, a 6-0, 205 lb. senior quarterback from Wakefield, Neb., has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Offensive Player of the Year to highlight the Mustangs’ representatives on the 2012 All-GPAC Football Team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

Morningside’s Steve Ryan was named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Coach of the Year after he guided the Mustangs to a perfect 10-0 regular season record and a second consecutive GPAC championship. Ryan, who also received GPAC Coach of the Year honors in 2004, 2005, and 2011, has a career record of 95-30 for a .760 winning percentage at Morningside and has led the team to nine consecutive appearances in the NAIA Championship Series. The Mustangs will host Montana Tech in a first round game.

Nixon, a converted wide receiver, has excelled in his first season as the Mustangs’ starting quarterback and was named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week four times during the regular season.

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Jared Goforth, a 6-0, 195 lb. senior defensive back from Polk City, Iowa, has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Mustangs’ 62-0 victory against city rival Briar Cliff on Nov. 10.

Goforth had seven punt returns for 73 yards. His longest return went for 20 yards.

Aside from his special teams exploits, Goforth also had an interception, two pass breakups, and three tackles to help the Mustangs’ defense post its third straight shutout. The interception was his seventh of the season for the fourth highest total in the NAIA.

The Mustang football team and the Morningside community presented the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a check for $2,200 from funds raised for "Fight Leukemia Day" that was held on Nov. 3 in conjunction with that day’s home football game against Concordia University.

The event was held in honor of Austin Granatowicz, a sophomore linebacker on the Mustangs’ football team from Firth, Neb., who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) earlier this fall.

Members of the Morningside football team sold raffle tickets for an autographed football signed by the Mustang football team. Orange wristbands were also sold in the days leading up to the event. All proceeds were presented to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for research of the disease.

Doris Henry, a representative from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society office in Des Moines, Iowa, attended the game and spoke at halftime.

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Three Morningside College athletes have been named to the 2012 Capital One College Division Academic All-District 5 Football Team as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The players are Jared Goforth, a senior defensive back from Polk City, Iowa; Jon Halvorson, a sophomore running back from Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Aaron Roberg, a junior linebacker from Grand Island, Neb. They will be placed on the national ballot for selection of the 2012 Capital One College Division Academic All-America Team.

Goforth has a 3.35 cumulative grade point average (GPA) with a major in business administration.

Halvorson has a 3.87 cumulative GPA with a major in business administration.

Roberg has a 3.65 cumulative GPA with a major in business administration.

Athletes must be of at least sophomore academic status, be a starter or significant reserve, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher to be eligible for Capital One Academic honors.

Joel McCabe, 6-1, 225 lb. junior J-back from Jefferson, S.D., has been named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Mustangs' 50-0 victory against Concordia University on Nov. 3.

McCabe had career highs of nine pass receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns. He caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Joel Nixon with 10:58 left in the first quarter for the game’s first score. McCabe added a 32-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter and scored the Mustangs’ final touchdown on a 12-yard reception with 12:12 left in the third quarter.

McCabe is the Mustangs’ leading pass receiver with 56 catches for 907 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns for an average of 16.2 yards per catch. He has been the Mustangs’ leading receiver in six of their nine games and has five 100-yard games this season.

Morningside secured sole possession of the 2012 GPAC Championship with last Saturday’s win against Concordia. The Mustangs have a 9-0 record and are ranked third nationally in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Morningside will wrap up the regular season against city rival Briar Cliff University with a 1 p.m. game this Saturday at Memorial Field.

Joel Nixon, a 6-0, 205 lb. senior quarterback from Wakefield, Neb., has been named the NAIA National Player of the Week and the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Mustangs' 63-7 Homecoming victory against 19th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan University on Oct. 13.

Nixon amassed 435 yards total offense to lead No. 4 Morningside to its sixth victory in as many outings. He completed 20 of 28 pass attempts for a career-high 395 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 40 yards in nine attempts. The 395 yards passing was the eighth highest single-game total in Morningside history. Nixon threw touchdown passes of 75 yards to Colby Henderson, 69 yards to Jake Allen, 20 yards to Kyle Schuck, and 17 and eight yards to Joel McCabe.

Nixon, who received the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week award for the fourth time this season, is averaging 322.2 yards total offense and 271.2 yards passing per game to rank third and eighth, respectively, in the NAIA national ranks. He has completed 100 of 168 pass attempts (59.5 percent) for 1,627 yards and 20 touchdowns and has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of the Mustangs’ six victories. His 1,627 yards passing through six games is already the 12th highest single-season total in the Morningside record book.

Cole Boger, a 5-11, 195 lb. junior strong safety from Battle Creek, Iowa, has been named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in No. 4 Morningside’s 28-3 victory against No. 18 Doane College in a matchup of nationally ranked teams on Oct. 6 in Crete, Neb.

Boger was also named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Special Teams Player of the Week.

Boger scored the first touchdown of the game when he blocked a Doane punt and had a three-yard TD return just three minutes into the contest. It was the first touchdown of Boger’s collegiate career and the first time the Mustangs blocked a punt for a TD since John Kirwan accomplished the feat against Dordt College during the 2009 season.

Ty Littzen, a 5-6, 140 lb. freshman kicker from Fort Dodge, Iowa, has been named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the Mustangs' 34-7 victory against Northwestern College on Sept. 8.

Littzen was also named the Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Special Teams Player of the Week, while teammate Joel Nixon, a 6-0, 205 lb. senior quarterback from Wakefield, Neb., is the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Littzen accounted for the first two scores of the game in the Mustangs’ lopsided victory over a Northwestern team that was ranked 10th nationally in the NAIA Pre-Season Poll. Littzen made a 51-yard field goal to put the Mustangs on top 3-0 with 7:14 left in the first quarter and added a 45-yard field goal with one second left in the opening stanza to put the Mustangs in front 6-0.

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Morningside finished first in the first-ever GPAC Media Pre-Season Football Poll and second in the annual GPAC Football Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll announced at the 2012 GPAC Football Media Day held Aug. 2 in Lincoln, Neb.

The Mustangs received five of the eight first place votes from the members of the media in attendance to top the GPAC Media Poll with 76 points for a two-point edge over Northwestern. The Red Raiders received six of the 10 first place votes from the league’s head coaches to top the GPAC Coaches’ Poll with 78 points and a two-point margin over Morningside.

The poll results set up a key early season matchup when Morningside and Northwestern will square off in their GPAC openers in a 7 p.m. contest at Elwood Olsen Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 8. The Mustangs will open the campaign with a 7 p.m. home game against Valley City State on Thursday, Aug. 30.

Morningside is the defending GPAC champion and returns 12 starters, including seven on the defensive side of the ball, from a team that posted a 9-2 record last season en route to an eighth consecutive post-season appearance in the NAIA Championship Series.

The Mustangs have a 77-18 record for a .818 winning percentage since the start of the 2004 season.

Click here for the complete poll results.

Morningside home football games are also broadcast live by the college's campus radio station KMSC 92.9 FM. In addition, a live video stream is available for Morningside home football games.