Jackets Fall In Extras To West Salem On 8th Grade Night

On Tuesday, September 11th, Yellow Jackets Baseball hosted West Salem for non-conference action.  It was also 8th grade night for JD Bowser and Wyatt Gher, both of which have been in the program for 4 years.  The Yellow Jackets fought hard, but fell in defeat in 8 innings, 9-4.  In the bottom of the first inning with one out, Jesse Brogan doubled and JD Bowser brought him home to score with a laser ground out to second base.  Yellow Jackets to the 1-0 lead to the top of the second inning, when West Salem tied it up with a lead-off walk, stolen base, an error and a wild pitch.  Then West Salem took the lead in the top of the third inning with a runner getting on base due to error and three wild pitches in the inning.  In the bottom of the third inning, the Yellow Jackets tied it up at two apiece as JD Bowser was hit-by-pitch with one out, stole second, moved to third on an error, and then scored on a wild pitch.  West Salem then added a run in the sixth inning and a run in the seventh inning, without the benefit of a hit, to lead 4-2. The Yellow Jackets weren't finished though.  With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jesse Brogan hit a double, moved to third base on a wild pitch, JD Bowser walked and stole second base.  With runners on second and third, Chase Gher put the ball in play just past the pitcher to score Brogan and then Bowser scored on an error trying to get him at third base.  The Yellow Jackets tied it up and forced extra innings.  In the eighth inning, West Salem scored 5 runs without the benefit of a hit to win the game 9-4.  JD Bowser started pitching and went 2 innings, followed by Jesse Brogan for 5 innings.  JD and Jesse combined to strike out 18 batters in the seven innings and only gave up one hit.  Brendan Bowser started the 8th inning, then Wyatt Gher faced the last two batters of the ballgame to pitch for the first time ever.

 

West Salem    -  0  1  1  0  0  1  1  5  -  9

Yellow Jackets - 1  0  1  0  0  0  2  0  -  4

 

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-4

Jesse Brogan     2-4, 2 runs, 2 doubles

JD Bowser         0-1, 2 runs, HBP, 2 BB, 3 SB, RBI

Chase Gher        0-3, HBP, RBI

Wyatt Gher         1-3, BB

Brendan Bowser  0-2, 2 BB, SB

Kasen Dulgar      0-3, BB

Trenton Potts      0-1

     Michael Smith 0-3

Tristan Bray        0-4

 

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

 

JD Bowser          - 2 innings, 6 K, 4 BB, 2 runs

Jesse Brogan      - 5 innings, 12 K, 3 BB, 1 hit, 2 runs

Brendan Bowser  - 0.2 innings, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 5 runs

Wyatt Gher         - 0.1 inning, 1 K, 1 BB

 

Yellow Jackets are now 3-5 on the season and 3-3 in WEAA Conference play.  Next up - SIJHSAA Regional TBD

 


 

Yellow Jackets Baseball 8th Grade Players: JD Bowser, Coach Bob Bowser, Wyatt Gher

Yellow Jackets Baseball 8th Grade Players: JD Bowser, Coach Bob Bowser, Wyatt Gher

Yellow Jackets Cross Country Competes In Robinson

On Wednesday, September 5th, Yellow Jackets Cross Country traveled to Robinson to compete on a two mile course in the heat and humidity.  The girls team finished in 5th place out of six team, while the boys finished in 6th place.  Three of the girls finished in the top 20 as an individual:  Lilly Keepes 16th, Camryn Strine 17th, Kali Walker 19th.  The following are the individual times for each member of the Yellow Jackets:

Girls:

 

Lilly Keepes      16:36.34

Camryn Strine   16:39.76

Kali Walker        17:06.86

Isabella Monroy 20:01.91

Bella Andrews    21:21.65

Hallie Courter     22:27.58

Mady Stevens    25:14.72

Jordis Riley        26:04.32

Elizabeth Hefner 26:04.75

Boys:

Blake Strine       14:56.09

Kollin Kelsey      16.00.15

Carlos Monroy    17:01.93

Trentin Casburn  18:54.78

Alex McGinnis    19:36.48

Jesse Brogan     20:12.26

JD Bowser          21:48.53

Wyatt Gher         23:06.26

Brendan Bowser  24:19.60

Trenton Potts      24:20.46

Roland Foster      27:51.43

Next up for Yellow Jackets Cross Country:  Thursday, September 13 at NCOE.

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Soccer Aces Get Back On Winning Track By Blanking Rams

From Coach Ed Berberich: 

The MCHS Soccer Aces hosted Mt. Vernon, IL Thursday night, winning 2 - 0. Ethan Belt scored the opening goal in the 15th minute on an assist from Kaleb Johnson. Britton Heinrich completed the scoring for the match 6 minutes later, scoring on an assist from Belt. The Aces took 24 shots in the match with 13 on frame, they also created 10 additional scoring chances, had 8 interceptions and had 3 ball recoveries. Tye Kanipe had 11 saves. Mt Vernon had 15 shots with 11 on frame, and 10 corner kicks.

As on Tuesday, we had a short bench tonight due to injuries etc, but we held up a little better stamina wise. Again, as on Tuesday, we jumped out and scored the first 2 goals of the match, but this time we were able to hold on for the win. We created more scoring opportunities in this one than in Tuesday's match, but we still need to work on our possession and how we're moving without the ball. I think fatigue is having an effect in this regard, but offensively, we're watching the ball too much, rather than moving as the ball moves to get in good positions to help out whoever has or receives the ball. If we can start being more active when our teammates have the ball, we'll improve our possession which will help us in attack and also in defense, as we gave up quite a few shots tonight. Defensively, we did do a better job of moving with the ball and jumping on passes when we could and that led to us getting 6 more interceptions than we did on Tuesday.

The win brings the Aces' record to 5 - 1 (0 - 1). Their next match will be at 5:30 pm on Monday September 10th at home versus the undefeated, and 2nd ranked in Indiana 2A, Washington Hatchets.Washington comes in with a 8 - 0 - 1 (2 - 0) record on the season.

PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTY MCPHERSON

PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTY MCPHERSON

Wildcats Deal Soccer Aces First Loss Of Season

MCHS Soccer Aces drop first game of the year to Mt. Vernon, IN:

From Coach Ed Berberich:

The MCHS soccer Aces opened up Big 8 play Tuesday night with a home loss to Mt Vernon 2 - 3. Rayce Loudermilk gave Mt Carmel the early lead with a goal in the 9th minute on an assist from Brady Decker. Beau Stipp added to the Aces lead when he scored 4 minutes later on an assist from Jarrett West. Mt Vernon cut the difference to 1 when they converted on a penalty kick in the 26th minute & that score held going in to halftime. The Wildcats tied the match up in the 54th minute & then scored the winning goal with 12 minutes left. A late altercation after a Mt Vernon foul resulted in a player from each team being sent off, making it a 10 v 10 match for the final 7 minutes. The Aces took 11 shots in the match, 9 on frame, & created 4 additional scoring chances. They also had 2 interceptions, goalkeeper Tye Kanipe had 11 saves. Mt Vernon took 19 shots, 14 on frame. 

As the stats show, we were outshot in this one, which was the first time that's happened this year. We also possessed the ball much less than the other team, which is another first on the season. We were short a few players in this one which had an impact for sure, but bottom line, we weren't quite ready for the defensive pressure that Mt Vernon put on us. Because of that we really didn't play as well as I think we're capable of, as we had way too many times where we panicked with the ball when under pressure and just resorted to kicking it upfield. That said, with about 10 minutes still left in the first half we were already starting to see the effects of the short bench & the extreme heat on the players out there, so we were happy that the guys were able to fight through that like they did, giving themselves a chance to tie it up & maybe win it up to the least second of the game. In the long run, even though we didn't get the end result we would've preferred, it was good for us to have an intense game like this to see where we're at and hopefully convince us to turn up our intensity in practice moving forward. If we do, it should carry over to the matches and then we'll be better able to handle the other team's pressure & do more constructive things with the ball as a team. 

The loss brings the Aces record to 4 - 1 (0 - 1) on the year. Their next match is another home game Thursday September 6th at 5:00 pm against the other Mt Vernon, from Illinois. 

PHOTO COUNRTESY OF CHRISTY MCPHERSON

PHOTO COUNRTESY OF CHRISTY MCPHERSON

Soccer Aces Blank Harrisburg

The MCHS Soccer Aces traveled to Harrisburg for their first match since the St Anthony tournament, beating the Bulldogs 7-0. Brady Decker scored the first goal in the 5th minute on an assist from Beau Stipp. Rayce Loudermilk scored 4 minutes later, assisted by Ethan Belt. Belt then scored 1 minute later on a hustle play, blocking a clearance attempt from the Harrisburg goalkeeper & then gathering the rebound & putting the ball in the net. Stipp then scored 3 goals in between the 16th & 26th minutes, on 2 assists from Loudermilk & 1 from Decker, giving the Aces the 6-0 halftime lead. Kaleb Johnson scored the final goal on a penalty kick 2 minutes in to the 2nd half for a 7 goal lead, which cut the remaining game-time in half. The Aces took 29 shots, 15 on frame, created 12 additional scoring chances, had 6 interceptions & 4 ball recoveries. Goalkeeper Tye Kanipe had 2 saves. Harrisburg took 1 shot on goal, which was on frame.

There was some good and bad in this one. To hit on the good first, we came out aggressively, which is a mindset we've been talking about starting out with for awhile now, especially against teams we feel we should perform well against. That allowed us to take a quick lead & gave us more flexibility in our decisions. We also did a good job of using Tye's feet to shut down attacks & keep possession, which is something we're getting better at doing as a team. As to the bad, we had an injury in the last minute of the game to Reese Linson, who's been playing well and giving us a lot of quality minutes. We're hoping it's not major, but we don't know for sure yet. In the meantime, that's going to be a lot of minutes that other players will need to step up and fill for us. That's something we feel the guys can do, but no doubt it'll hurt us if we lose him for an extended period. Play-wise, there were too many times where we resorted to just kicking the ball long upfield and that won't work much against the stronger teams, which we starting facing off against in our next match. Lastly, our finishing was the sloppiest we've had so far. We've been pretty good about keeping our shots on-frame this year, but in this one we were basically 50-50 in that regard. We've had a great start to the season, outperforming teams that, honestly, we feel we should be able to. It's important that we continue to do that, but now we'll start to see how we look against some stronger teams, which is something we really need to be tested with right now. Whatever this next stretch of games holds, this team is young & has shown us enough potential to raise our expectations for them.

The Aces currently stand at 4 - 0 (0 - 0) on the season. They'll open Big Eight play with their next match when they host Mt Vernon IN at 5:30 pm on Tuesday September 4th at the WVC field.
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Jackets Fall Below .500 With Loss To Cisne

 

On Thursday, August 30th, Yellow Jackets baseball traveled to Cisne for its final WEAA Conference game of the 2018 campaign.  Cisne defeated the Yellow Jackets 18-3 in 4 innings.  Cisne scored one run in the bottom of the first inning, then added 10 runs in the bottom of the second inning with some well placed hits and a few miscues by the Yellow Jackets.  Down 11-0 in the top of the third inning, the Yellow Jackets got on the board with a one-out double by JD Bowser scoring Blake Strine.  Cisne added another run in the bottom of the third inning to take a 12-1 lead.  In the top of the fourth inning, Brendan Bowser led off with a walk followed by a walk to Kasen Dulgar.  Trenton Potts walked to load the bases for the Yellow Jackets, then Michael Smith walked to plate the first run in the inning and Jesse Brogan hit into a fielders choice to plate the second run.  Going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Yellow Jackets trailed 12-3.  Cisne plated 6 runs in the fourth inning to win by the mercy rule.  

Yellow Jackets -   0   0   1   2   -   3

Cisne               -  1  10   1   6   -   18

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-2 with a run scored, 1 BB

Jesse Brogan     1-3, RBI

JD Bowser         1-3, RBI

Chase Gher        1-2

Wyatt Gher         0-2

Brendan Bowser  0-1 with a run scored, BB

Kasen Dulgar      0-1 with a run scored, BB

Tristan Bray        0-1

     Trenton Potts 0-0, BB

Michael Smith     0-0, 2 BB, RBI

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

Brendan Bowser - 3.1 innings, 4 BB, 15 hits, 16 runs

Blake Strine       - 0.1 innings, 2 BB, 2 hits, HBP, 2 runs

Yellow Jackets are now 3-4 on the season and finish 3-3 in WEAA Conference play.  Next up - at Wayne City on Thursday, September 6th at 4:30 pm.

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Yellow Jackets Get Walk-Off Win Over Clay City To Move Above .500

On Monday, August 27th, Yellow Jackets baseball hosted Clay City in a rescheduled WEAA Conference game.  The Yellow Jackets won the game 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase their winning streak to three games.  Clay City scored four runs in the top of the first inning with two outs, a bases loaded single, and 3 errors on the same play allowed the bases to clear.  These would prove to be the only runs Clay City would score in the game.  In the bottom of the second inning, the Yellow Jackets scored two runs on an RBI walk by Blake Strine and an RBI single by Jesse Brogan.  In the bottom of the fourth inning, Blake Strine scored on an RBI single by Chase Gher to bring it to within a one run game.  Then in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jesse Brogan scored on a fielder's choice by Brendan Bowser.  Then in the bottom of the seventh inning, with one out and Michael Smith on second base and Jesse Brogan on first base, JD Bowser smoked a double to left-center field to plate Smith for the winning run.  On the mound, Brendan Bowser started and pitched well through the defensive miscues in the first inning.  He was relieved by JD Bowser in the third inning due to pitch count and JD got the final two outs of the third inning.  Jesse Brogan came in to pitch the final four frames and threw scoreless ball to get the win.  

Clay City         -   4  0  0  0  0  0  0  -  4

Yellow Jackets -   0  2  0  1  0  1  1  -  5

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-3 with a run scored, 2 BB, 1 RBI

Jesse Brogan     1-2 with a run scored, 3 BB, 1 RBI

JD Bowser         3-5, 2 doubles, 1 RBI

Chase Gher        1-4, 1 RBI

Brendan Bowser  0-2, 2 BB, 1 RBI, SB

Wyatt Gher         1-3 with a run scored, HBP, SB

Kasen Dulgar      0-1 with a run scored, 3 BB

Trenton Potts      0-2

     Tristan Bray   0-1, BB

Michael Smith     0-2 with a run scored, 2 BB

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

Brendan Bowser - 2.1 innings, 3 K, 3 BB, 2 hits, 4 runs, 1 HBP

JD Bowser         - 0.2 innings, 2 K, 1 BB

Jesse Brogan     - 4.0 innings, 11 K, 4 BB, 3 hits, 1 HBP

Yellow Jackets are now 3-2 on the season.  Next up - home against Red Hill on Tuesday, August 28th at 4:30 pm.

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Jackets Even Record By Routing West Salem

On Thursday, August 23rd, Yellow Jackets Baseball traveled to West Salem for WEAA Conference action.  The Yellow Jackets won the game 13-3 to move to the .500 mark in the season for the first time since the program started back up five years ago.  In the top of the first, Jesse Brogan got a one out hit followed by an RBI double by JD Bowser.  Chase Gher walked, stole second, and JD Bowser stole home on the play.  Wyat Gher followed up with a two out RBI single to close the scoring in the first inning.  West Salem scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to trail 3-1 to the Yellow Jackets.  In the third inning, Chase Gher reached on an error and later scored by stealing home to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-1 lead.  West Salem also scored a run in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Yellow Jackets heading into the 4th inning.  The Yellow Jackets plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI double by JD Bowser and a 2 RBI single by Chase Gher to take a 7-2 lead.  In the top of the fifth inning, JD Bowser had a double plating two runs and Jesse Brogan stole home to take the lead up to 10-2.  In the bottom of the 6th inning, West Salem plated a run to bring the score within 10-3, but the Yellow Jackets would score three more times in the top of the 7th inning.  Jesse Brogan had an RBI single, JD Bowser had an RBI triple, and Chase Gher had an RBI single.  This brought the final score to 13-3.  Brendan Bowser was the starting pitcher for the Yellow Jackets and Jesse Brogan relieved him to shut the door.  These two young players, a fifth grader and sixth grader respectively, pitched an outstanding ballgame.  Very happy for this group, as the Yellow Jackets have their first winning streak in the five years the program has been a co-op between Allendale and St. Mary's.

Yellow Jackets -   3  0  1  3  3  0  3  -  13

West Salem     -   1  0  1  0  0  1  0  -  3

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-3 with 2 runs scored, 2BB, SB

Jesse Brogan     5-5 with 4 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2 SB

JD Bowser         5-5 with 3 doubles, a triple, 3 runs scored, 5 RBI, SB

Chase Gher        2-4 with 2 runs scored, BB, 3 RBI, 2 SB

Brendan Bowser  0-5

Wyatt Gher         2-5, RBI, 2 SB

Kasen Dulgar      0-3, BB

Trenton Potts      0-3 with a run scored, BB

Michael Smith     0-1 with a run scored, BB

     Tristan Bray   0-2

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

Brendan Bowser - 3.2 innings, 6 K, 3 BB, 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 HBP

Jesse Brogan -     3.1 innings, 10 K, 1 BB, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 HBP

Yellow Jackets are now 2-2 on the season.  Next up - home against Clay City in WEAA Conference play on Monday, August 27th at 4:30 pm.

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Allendale Blasts Grayville For 1st Win Of Year

On Monday, August 20th, Yellow Jackets Baseball hosted Grayville in WEAA Conference play.  The Yellow Jackets got their first victory of the season by winning 22-7 in four innings.  Grayville struck first with a run in the top of the first inning, but the Yellow Jackets bats came alive in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 behind an RBI by Brendan Bowser and 2 RBI's on a single by Wyatt Gher.  In the top of the second inning, Grayville plated another run to scratch within one run.  The bottom of the second inning made the difference for the Yellow Jackets, as they jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind a three run double by Jesse Brogan and an RBI single by Brendan Bowser.  Grayville came back out in the top of the third inning and plated two more runs, but the Yellow Jackets put together a big inning behind a three run triple by JD Bowser.  After three innings, the Yellow Jackets led 20-4.  In the top of the fourth inning, Grayville plated 3 runs, but the Yellow Jackets came back in the bottom of the inning to plate 2 runs to win in four innings.  JD Bowser started pitching for the Yellow Jackets and Jesse Brogan got the final two outs to shut the door on the victory.  

Grayville -            1  1  2  3 - 7

Yellow Jackets -   3  6 11  2 - 22

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-1 with 3 runs scored, 4 BB, 1 RBI

Jesse Brogan     2-2 with 4 runs scored, 3 BB, 5 RBI

JD Bowser         2-2 with 4 runs scored, 2 BB, 4 RBI, SB

Chase Gher        0-3 with 2 runs scored, BB, 2 RBI

Brendan Bowser  1-2 with 3 runs scored, 2 BB, 3 RBI

Wyatt Gher         2-4 with a run scored, 2 RBI

Kasen Dulgar      0-1 with a run scored, 3 BB, 2 RBI

Trenton Potts      0-2 with a run scored, 1 BB

   Michael Smith  0-1

Tristan Bray        0-1 with 3 runs scored, 3 BB, 1 RBI

 

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

JD Bowser - 3.1 innings, 7 K, 3 BB, 5 hits, 6 runs, 1 HBP

Jesse Brogan - 0.2 innings, 1 K, 3 hits, 1 run

Yellow Jackets are now 1-2 on the season.  Next up - at West Salem in WEAA Conference play on Thursday, August 23rd at 4:30 pm.

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Allendale Falls To New Hope

On Monday, August 13th, Yellow Jackets Baseball traveled to Fairfield to take on WEAA Conference foe New Hope.  New Hope jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one inning, then expanded the lead to 4-0 and 7-0 in the second and third innings respectively.  New Hope added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 10-0 lead.  The Yellow Jackets didn't give up, as they scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning to now trail 10-6.  New Hope then scored seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to win the game by the final score of 17-6.  One rare feat in baseball was accomplished by the Yellow Jackets in the fourth inning, as JD Bowser turned an unassisted triple play.  With the bases loaded, JD caught a line-drive at shortstop, then stepped on second to double off one runner and ran down the runner from first base to record all three outs on one play.

Yellow Jackets - 0 0 0 0 6  = 6

New Hope        - 1 3 3 3 7  = 17

Yellow Jackets Hitting:

Blake Strine       0-2 with a run scored, BB

Jesse Brogan     1-2 with a run scored, SB, RBI, BB

JD Bowser         0-0 with a run scored, 2 BB, HBP, SB, RBI

Chase Gher        1-3 with a run scored, BB, RBI, SB

Brendan Bowser  0-2 with a BB

Wyatt Gher         0-2 with a BB, RBI

Kasen Dulgar      0-1 with a run scored, RBI

Trenton Potts      0-1

   Michael Smith  0-1 with a run scored, SB

Tristan Bray        0-3

Yellow Jackets Pitching:

Jesse Brogan  1.2 inn, 14 BF, 5 K, 8 BB, 1 HBP, 4 runs

JD Bowser      1.1 inn, 8 BF, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 Hit, 3 runs

Kasen Dulgar     0 inn, 5 BF, 2 BB, 2 Hits, 3 runs

Blake Strine     1.2 inn, 12 BF, 8 BB, 2 Hits, 7 runs

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Scheidecker Resigns As Lady Warrior Coach To Take DI Job

After one of the most successful two year runs in the NJCAA ranks, Wabash Valley College Lady Warrior basketball coach Luke Scheidecker has announced his resignation to accept a Division I assistant coaching job.

Scheidecker informed WVC officials of his resignation on Friday. Scott Allen reported on today's ATA Report on WSJD that it's believed an announcement will come Monday that Scheidecker is joining the staff at Indiana State in Terre Haute. ISU is a Division I program playing in the Missouri Valley Conference.

In his two years at WVC, Scheidecker took his teams to the NJCAA National Tournament both years compiling a 64-5 record. Before coming to Wabash Valley, Scheidecker led Shawnee to a 30 win season in his only season there.

Scheidecker took the WVC job in May of 2016 after Zach Loll resigned to take over the womens' program at Dodge City, Kansas.

The search process for Scheidecker's successor has already begun as the IECC District has the position posted on their website. 

www.iecc.edu/files_user/EMPL/Position_Announcements/Womens_BB_Coach_WVC_818.pdf

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SIU Picked to Finish 8th In 2018 Missouri Valley Football

North Dakota State has been tabbed as the Missouri Valley Football Conference pre-season favorite in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. NDSU has been picked first in the pre-season poll for seven-straight seasons.

North Dakota State has earned the league title for seven-straight years, four times sharing it with another league school. This year, NDSU was a unanimous choice, receiving all 39 first-place tallies and a total of 390 points. It marks just the second time in league history that a team received all of the first-place votes in the MVFC pre-season poll (NDSU also did it in 2013.) South Dakota State earned the second spot in the poll, finishing with 340 total points, followed by UNI (270), Youngstown State (258), Illinois State (248) and South Dakota (206). The league is coming off a season in which five teams represented the conference in the playoffs.

The MVFC has had four or more playoff teams in four-straight seasons (earning five each in 2014, 2015 and last year). Western Illinois was one of the league's five playoff teams a year ago, and the Leathernecks -- with new head coach Jared Elliott at the helm -- are picked seventh with 163 total points. Western is followed by Southern Illinois (139), Missouri State (90) and Indiana State (41) in the voting.

A pre-season favorite has claimed the league crown 20 times (in 32 previous polls). North Dakota State was picked to win the league last season, and the Bison earned both the league title and the national title (following a 17-13 win over previously unbeaten James Madison in the NCAA Division I Football Championship game in Frisco, Texas).

Valley Football is celebrating its 34th season in 2018. In its first 33 seasons the league owns eight national crowns. MVFC teams combined for an 8-4 record in last year's playoffs, while North Dakota State and South Dakota State both reached the semifinals. That marks the third time in the past four years in which two league teams played in the semis. North Dakota State, meanwhile, represented the league in the title game, marking the 7th-straight year at least one MVFC team has reached the championship game -- an FCS record. Notably, MVFC teams have combined for a 52-23 record in the playoffs this decade.

Only one other league has as many as 20 wins since 2010 (CAA Football is next best with 37.) The 2018 season begins Thursday, Aug. 30, with four league teams in action. Nine non-conference games feature road matchups against FBS opponents. An MVFC school has recorded a win against an FBS school in each of the past eight seasons, setting a league record in 2016 with four that year. Conference play begins Thursday, Sept. 27, as Indiana State hosts UNI in the first league tilt of the season.

The MVFC will announce its pre-season all-conference teams this week (Tuesday-Offense; Wednesday-Defense). North Dakota State tops the league with 11 total selections, including a league-best eight on the first-team unit. South Dakota State, meanwhile, has the second-most selections, with eight total honorees. Youngstown State has five firstteam selections, meanwhile, which is second-best to NDSU.

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