New Regional Allignment for 2008

The NCAA is once again realigning its regions for football and all sports. Hillsdale and the GLIAC remain in the Northwest Region but trade the liquidating NCC for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Here is D2football.com's Bob Eblen's take on the matter:

New Regional Alignment

Beginning next season, Division II will once again be realigning the regions for football. The basic alignment as far as conferences go:

Northeast Region:

Northeast-10
WVIAC
PSAC
CIAA

Southeast Region:

GSC
SAC
SIAC

Northwest Region:

GLIAC
NSIC
RMAC

Southwest Region:

MIAA
LSC

The GNAC's five teams (not an official conference) will be in the southwest region.

As I understand it, the driving force behind this new alignment is, as strange as it may sound, volleyball. D-II's leadership wanted to equalize playoff opportunities for volleyball and at the same time, create regions that were the same for all sports. Hence the new alignment.

The problem with these new regions in football is that they are stupid. You're going to put four conferences in one region and two in another call it fair? I thought this was the reason we changed everything around back in 2004-- to equalize the number of teams in each region. Now we swing back the other way and put over 40 teams in the Northeast again? This makes zero sense.

I understand the concept behind regionalization and it probably does make sense at this level in sports like basketball where there are 280+ teams. But the folks setting the rules in this division have to understand that strict regionalization makes no sense in football and only serves to hurt the sport.

Division II is claiming to have made many strides over the past couple of years in shoring up its image and establishing an identity. As far as I'm concerned, decisions like this one make those claims pretty hollow.

Five Chargers on All Region Team

We knew all along Mark Nicolet was the top quarterback in the the Northwest Region. Here is further proof as Nicolet was named to the first team of the Daktronic's All Region Team.

Tom Korte and Matt Vanover also gained some well earned recognition with first team nods at linebacker and punter respectively. This is Korte's 2nd straight appearance.

Aaron Waldie (wr) and Jared Veldheer (ol) were named to the All Region 2nd team.

Congratulations guys!

FIRST TEAM
Quarterback: Mark Nicolet, Sr., Hillsdale (Mich.)
Running Back: *Amos Allen, Sr., South Dakota; +Joique Bell, So., Wayne State (Mich.); +Brian McNeill, Jr., Nebraska-Omaha
Wide Receiver: *Weston Dressler, Sr., North Dakota; Scott Peters, Sr., Winona State (Minn.)
Tight End: Jared Bronson, Jr., Central Washington
Offensive Line: *Brandon Barnes, Sr., Grand Valley State (Mich.); Mitch Braegelmann, Jr., North Dakota; Vince Cashdollar, Sr.,
Ashland (Ohio); Ben Hochstein, Sr., Nebraska-Omaha; Christian Morton, Sr., South Dakota
Defensive Line: *Rob Lewis, Sr., Nebraska-Omaha; *Dan Skuta, Jr., Grand Valley State (Mich.); *Jake Visser, Jr., Ferris State
(Mich.)
Linebacker: *Anthony Adams, Sr., Grand Valley State (Mich.); Tom Korte, Jr., Hillsdale (Mich.); Shane Simmons, Sr., Western
Washington; Jeff Souder, Jr., Nebraska-Omaha
Cornerback: *Brandon Carr, Sr., Grand Valley State (Mich.); Dustin Rice, Sr., Augustana (S.D.)
Safety: *Randy Kush, Jr., Nebraska-Omaha; Tyler Reed, Jr., Southwest Minnesota State
Kicker: Brandon Hellevang, So., North Dakota
Punter: Matt Vanover, Sr., Hillsdale (Mich.)
All-Purpose Back: Ryan Chappell, So., North Dakota

SECOND TEAM
Quarterback: +Brad Iciek, So., Grand Valley State (Mich.); +Mike Reilly, Jr., Central Washington
Running Back: Alex Wiese, Sr., Winona State (Minn.)
Wide Receiver: Johnny Spevak, So., Central Washington; Aaron Waldie, Jr., Hillsdale (Mich.)
Tight End: Brandon Hill, Sr., Mercyhurst (Pa.)
Offensive Line: Bill Bourdlais, Sr., Ferris State (Mich.), Sam Himmelman, Sr., Central Washington; Jake Krause, Sr., Nebraska-
Omaha; Nick Urban, Jr., Winona State (Minn.); +Brian Okonofua, Jr., Wayne State (Mich.); +Tim Schneider, Sr., South Dakota;
+Jared Veldheer, So., Hillsdale (Mich.)
Defensive Line: Randy Earl, So., Minnesota State Mankato; Ryan Kees, Jr., Saint Cloud State (Minn.); Troy Pribnow, Jr., Wayne
State (Neb.)
Linebacker: Nick Baldetti, Sr., Wayne State (Neb.); Dion Harvey, Sr., Findlay (Ohio); Buddy Wood, So., Central Washington;
Steven Yarbrough, Sr., Tiffin (Ohio)
Cornerback: Shawn Cunningham, Sr., Winona State (Minn.); DeQwan Young, Sr., Saint Joseph’s (Ind.)
Safety: Chris Hemphill, Sr., Central Washington; Cheyne Nelson, Sr., Michigan Tech
Kicker: Paul Potemra, Fr., Bemidji State (Minn.)
Punter: Paul Potemra, Fr., Bemidji State (Minn.)
All-Purpose Back: Anthony Schreiber, Sr., Bemidji State (Minn.)

* Top vote-getter at position (where multiple players are selected) ... + Tied for final spot at position on that team

Breakdown by School (first team/second team in parenthesis)
Ashland 1 (1/0), Augustana 1 (1/0); Bemidji State 3 (0/3); Central Washington 6 (1/5); Ferris State 2 (1/1); Findlay 2 (1/1); Grand
Valley State 5 (4/1); Hillsdale 5 (3/2); Mercyhurst 1 (0/1); Michigan Tech 1 (0/1); Minnesota State Mankato 1 (0/1); Nebraska-
Omaha 6 (5/1); North Dakota 4 (4/0); Saint Cloud State 1 (0/1); Saint Joseph’s 1 (0/1); South Dakota 3 (2/1); Southwest
Minnesota State 1 (1/0); Tiffin 1 (0/1); Wayne State (Mich.) 1 (1/0); Wayne State (Neb.) 3 (0/3); Western Washington 1 (1/0);
Winona State 4 (1/3)

Mark Nicolet Season Highlights

Well so much for this video helping Mark Nicolet win the Harlon Hill Trophy. Grand Valley's Brad Iciek and North Dakota's Wes Dressler were recently voted as Northwest Region's representatives.

Nonetheless, we can still enjoy all Mark gave us this season. Check out also the great offensive line play and amazing performances from the receiving corps. There were so many highlights and I didn't have access to everything. If anyone creates a season video for the whole team, I would love to see it and be able to share it with the rest of the D2 world.

Free Decor - Mini Helmet Contest

Hey everybody,

Here is some free decor for your rooms in Simpson or whatever crumbling old houses you players might be living in right now. Married guys, just try and hang this up in your house. Extra bonus points for you if you can.

Download this .pdf. Print it out (Hint: It's pretty ink intensive. Use somebody else's printer.). Piece it together and hang it up.

Fully assembled, the poster is approximately 5 foot by 6 foot.

The first person to email me a digital picture of it up on a wall with themself next to it gets the last Charger mini-helmet I have left.

Get to work!

Nicolet Named GLIAC Player of the Year, 4 others 1st Team

Hillsdale quarterback Mark Nicolet has been named 2007 GLIAC Player of the Year.

Receivers Aaron Waldie and Nick Gurica join Nicolet who was also named to the all-league 1st team as a qb.

Defensively, LB Tom Korte and punter Matt Vanover are first teamers as well.

Chargers named to the second team include OL Jared Veldheer and DL Eric Weber.

Honorable Mention goes to Chet Crowley (Sr./OL), Josh Hutchison (Sr./DB), Vinnie Panizzi (So./RB), Matt Patillo (So./TE),
Dan Staph (Sr./OL), Josiah Swartz (Jr./OL)

Charger Post-season Awards

Hillsdale College Release

November 13, 2007 - After its most successful season this decade, the
Hillsdale College football team announced its team award winners at the
annual banquet Sunday afternoon.

Senior quarterback Mark Nicolet received the Roy Beck Most Valuable
Player Award after a record-setting season. Nicolet also received the
Leonard Urbonik Award for scholarship, leadership and ability.

Nicolet set single-season school records for passing yards and touchdown
passes in 2007, and set a new GLIAC record for passing yards in
conference games in one season.

Nicolet and junior linebacker Tom Korte received the Captains Awards.
Korte led the team in tackles with 109, and in interceptions with five.
Korte also received the Ralph Miller III Award as the team's outtsnding
linebacker for the second year in a row.

Senior wide receiver Nick Gurica received the Howard "Champ" Messenger
Award, as well as the Outstanding Offensive Back Award. Gurica shattered
the school record for receptions in a season with 78. He also set
single-game school records with 13 catches in a game twice.

Fellow wide receiver Aaron Waldie received the E.P.E.P. Award (Every
Player Every Play). Waldie broke the school record for touchdown catches
(18) and receiving yards (1,139) in 2007. His 110 points scored are
second-most in a season in school history.

Senior punter Matt Vanover was given the One Play Warrior Award for
turning in one of the finest season a punter has ever had in Charger
history. Vanover averaged 43.4 yards per punt, a new single-season GLIAC
record. He was also named GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice.

Sophomore Jared Veldheer received the Outstanding Offensive Lineman
Award, while junior Eric Weber took home the Outstanding Defensive
Lineman Award for the second year in a row.

Defensive back Cody Henderson was named Outstanding Freshman. Henderson
earned a starting safety spot early in the season and played extremely
well throughout the season. he was one of two true freshmen to get
regular playing time on the team.

Senior Josh Hutchison was named the team's Outstanding Defensive Back.
Hutchison intercepted four passes and was second in the GLIAC with 12
pass breakups during the season.

Defense Gets Overlooked Where it Matters Most

At the end of the day, what really matters for a defense? When it all comes down to it, keeping people out of the endzone matters most.

The Chargers finished smack dab in the middle of the GLIAC for total yards yielded, but finished #3 in least points allowed. Hillsdale's defense showed it could stop opponents deep in Charger territory as they finish #2 in redzone defense. These numbers went a long way to help Hillsdale finish #3 in Passing Defense Efficiency.

Over the years when Hillsdale has played its best, the defense has been great at taking away fumbles and interceptions. This year the Chargers dominated turnover margin with a +18. That means they took the ball away 18 times more than they gave it away. The next closest was Saginaw Valley with a +12. Three Chargers finished in the top 10 for interceptions. Tom Korte led the league with 5 picks. Josh Hutchinson had 4 and Jared Kell nabbed 3 this season. Hutchinson ended up 2nd in the league for passes defended with those picks and 12 more break-ups.