The Pioneers are looking forward to the 2015 season and the opportunity to add a few more notches in the win column. In the second, and final season of divisional play, our schedule will be the same as last year, with the location of the games flipped. With the departure of Carroll University following the 2015 season, the schedule will look significantly different in 2016.
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| Zach McGriff scores his first career TD against Beloit |
The non-conference portion of the season will kick off with home contests against Beloit and Luther, September 12th and 19th respectively. Against Beloit last year the Pioneers started slow and dropped a close game 23-27, our first loss against Beloit since 2009. The Buccaneers will once again have a game under their belt before we play them, but the emphasis this year will be on starting fast and avenging our loss.
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| Emmi Sandoval keeps his balance to score vs Luther |
Following the Beloit game, we host in-state opponent Luther College, and their triple-option attack. Luther's offense provides a challenge, but one we look forward to. A big second quarter won the game for Luther last year, but the teams were an even 21-21 in quarters one, three, and four. We're looking for a more consistent level of execution from both sides of the ball in the rematch this year.
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| Rich Renteria's scoop and score provided a spark against Macalester |
The next two games on the schedule are the crossover games against opponents from the northern division. We will travel to St. Paul to play rival Macalester College. After a close 21-16 victory over us last year, the Scots ran off seven straight victories to win the conference. They will obviously be heading into the 2015 season full of confidence and momentum, but ideally we will have established momentum of our own by that point. This is definitely one of the more anticipated matchups of the season.
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| David Ternes celebrates one of a school record 4.5 sacks vs Lawrence |
We follow up the Macalester game with another home contest against Lawrence. With a new head coach it will be interesting to see what the Vikings look like next year, but we are excited to be facing Lawrence at home. In my time as the head coach we've averaged 32.3 points per game against Lawrence at home and only 25.3 on the road. We're looking to add to that home total this year.
The rest of our schedule will be against our southern division opponents. I'll preview those later in the week.
