BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The 2020 All Mid-South Conference Sun Division teams and individual award winners were announced by conference officials on Monday.

Pioneer College Caterers is the official sponsor of the 2020-21 Mid-South Conference football awards. Pioneer College Caterers is an organization committed to providing for the food service needs of Christian colleges and universities.  

Southeastern’s (Fla.) Cooper Jones is the Craig Mullins MSC Sun Offensive Player of the Year, while Keiser’s (Fla.) Jalen Wring is the MSC Sun Defensive Player of the Year and Sun Defensive Freshman of the Year.

The individual awards and all-conference teams are selected by a vote of the Sun Division’s coaches. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players.

In addition to the players of the year, Webber International’s (Fla.) John Mangarillo is the Offensive Freshman of the Year and Keiser’s Doug Socha is the 2020 Ron Finley Sun Division Coach of the Year.

Jones averaged 252 passing yards per game and accounted for 20 touchdowns this season. He completed 60.6 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,512 yards. Jones finished first in the MSC in both total passing yards and passing yards per game. He earns Offensive Player of the Year honors for a second consecutive season.

Wring finished his freshman campaign leading the Seahawks with 41 tackles. He also recorded five tackles for loss and three sacks. Wring’s three sacks are tied for the fourth-most in the conference.

Mangarillo was apart of a Webber International offense that totaled 1,765 yards this season and scored 14 touchdowns. He was a member of an offensive line that allowed just 1.5 sacks per game which is tied for third in the conference and 12th in the NAIA.

Socha led Keiser to a 7-0 record during his third year at the helm of the Seahawks. Keiser won its second-straight MSC Sun Division Crown finishing 5-0 in conference play. Socha was also named the Ron Finley Sun Division Coach of the Year last season.

Ave Maria’s (Fla.) Kristian Marks, Florida Memorial’s Anthony Harris, Keiser’s Sage Chen-Young, Southeastern’s (Fla.) Connor Curry, St. Thomas’ (Fla.) Tyler Thomas, Warner’s (Fla.) Quinterrious Hill and Webber International’s (Fla.) Colton Cormier were all named to the MSC Football Sun Division Champions of Character Team.

31 players earned first team all-conference honors and 27 were selected second team all-conference as voted on by the coaches. Ties for all-conference teams were not broken.

2020 First Team All Mid-South Conference Sun Division:

2020 Second Team All Mid-South Conference Sun Division:

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LAKELAND, Fla. – Despite trailing by two scores at multiple points during the game and having a third-string quarterback in the game, the Fire still had themselves in a position to tie or take the lead at the end.

Unfortunately, the rally came up just short as Southeastern dropped its first game of the season to Keiser, 31-28.

The Fire defense held the Seahawks to just 62 yards of offense in the second half after racking up 246 in the first half.

Keiser (4-0) got off to a fast start, going 62 yards on four plays on their first possession with Marques Burgess scoring the first of his three touchdowns on the night from 15 yards out. The Seahawks got a 78-yard punt return from Michael Robinson to set up a three-yard TD run by Burgess to put KU up 14-0 just over five minutes into the game.

Southeastern answered back with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Jones to Wendell Harris on their next drive, converting on third-and-goal.

Following a three-and-out, the Fire got a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Eugene Witherspoon on fourth-and-nine to tie the game.

With 9:22 left in the second, Burgess picked up 40 on third-and-four to give Keiser the lead back. The teams traded interceptions late in the quarter, with Keiser using theirs to set up a 20-yard field goal at the end of the half to go up 24-14.

The Fire defense forced a quick three-and-out to start the third quarter, then recovered a fumble at the one-yard line on the next possession which set up a Jones QB sneak to get the Fire back within three.

“I was proud of the effort of our guys and the way they fought back,” said coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “Unfortunately we dug too big of a whole and made too many mistakes tonight.”

However, the ensuing kickoff was returned 89 yards for a touchdown by Caleb Walls to put the lead back at 10.

Southeastern got it back to three, using an Eddie Graham interception to take over at the Keiser 40. Six plays later, Bryan Bell scored from three yards out for his fourth touchdown run of the season.

The Fire had one last chance at the end of the fourth after the defense got a turnover on downs at their own seven. Demetrius Burns found Witherspoon for a 50-yard completion to get into Keiser territory, then got to the 33 after the Seahawks were hit with a facemask penalty, but Burns was intercepted in the end zone to ice the game.

Witherspoon finished with five catches for 134 yards. The Fire struggled to get the run going as five different ball carriers netted 92 yards.

The Fire return to action next week at Ave Maria.

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BABSON PARK, Fla. (September 26, 2020) – The Webber International University football team defeated Florida Memorial University 56-7 on Saturday on the Warrior Turf Field, giving the Warriors their first victory of the 2020 season.

It was also the first Mid-South Conference Sun Division game of the season for both teams as Webber improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the MSC Sun Division while Florida Memorial fell to 0-3 and 0-1 in what is the Lions’ first varsity football season in 62 years.

Webber opened the game with a nine-play, 70-yard drive that finished with quarterback Cody Bradenfinding Ethan Blanchard for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Then on the first play of the second quarter, Braden and Blanchard hooked up again for an eight-yard score, and then the pair connected one more time on a nine-yard pass to make it 21-0 Warriors with four and a half minutes left before halftime.

The Warriors then added two more touchdowns in the final two and a half minutes of the second quarter to finish with 28 points in the quarter. Tremon Bright rushed one in from six yards out, and then with only 35 seconds left before the break, Braden threw his fourth touchdown pass of the half with a 45-yard bomb to Frederick Curry Jr. to make it 35-0.

Braden finished the first half 10-of-15 passing for 164 yards and four touchdowns, which was already good for his career high in passing scores.

After a 25-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Jamon Jones on the first drive of the third quarter, Braden then added to his career high in total touchdowns with a 39-yard run to make it 47-0 with 9:20 left in the third quarter. It was Braden’s second 39-yard rush of the game after he did the same back on Webber’s second play of the game to help set up the first score of the day.

The final points of the third quarter for Webber came via a 42-yard field goal by Austin Smith to make it an even 50-0, and then Jalen Williams came up with Webber’s second interception returned for a touchdown of the day, a 70-yard pick and score to make it 56-0.

It was the fourth interception of the game to that point for the Warriors after Joseph Burton recorded two picks in the second quarter alone. However, even more impressively is that Webber finished with six interceptions as a team as Trent Peacock and Justin Dixon both added takeaways in the fourth quarter as well.

Also on defense, Colton Cormier led the way with six total tackles while Tye Bailey added five and Jaren Muse had three. The Warriors also combined for four sacks while Burton had two tackles for loss, Bailey had 1.5, and Chandler Kerr and Jimmie Harper also had one.

In addition to the six interceptions and the four sacks, the Warrior defense also held FMU to only five total first downs, only one of which was on the ground, only eight total rushing yards, only 121 total yards of offense, and a third-down conversation rate of only 2-for-15.

Offensively, Braden finished the game 12-of-18 for 209 yards and also eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career with 106 yards on eight attempts, good for an average of 13.3 yards per attempt.

Tino Hunt added 73 yards on 12 attempts, good for an average of 6.1 yards per rush, Bright finished with 28 yards, and Shemar Troutman had 26 yards.

In addition to Blanchard’s three receiving touchdowns, the Warriors’ receiving corps was led by Hunt with four catches for 79 yards and Frederick Curry Jr. with three catches for 66 yards. DaShaun Young also had a clutch 33-yard reception on third down late in the first quarter to help keep the drive alive and set up Webber’s second touchdown of the game.

This was the final game in the month of September for Webber, who will now play four times in October, starting with a tough road game on Saturday, October 3, at No. 15 nationally-ranked Southeastern University at 7 p.m. at Victory Field in Lakeland, Fla.

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Two Mid-South Conference football divisions have postponed their fall divisional schedule while a third intends to play this fall, MSC Commissioner Eric Ward announced on Tuesday.

The Appalachian and Bluegrass Division’s administrative councils recommended — with a subsequent vote by those institutions’ presidents — to postpone the fall divisional schedule due to the ongoing concerns from COVID-19. The Sun Division leadership announced their intention to play its original divisional slate beginning on September 12.

Each of the three divisions independently determined divisional play during the fall. With the football footprint spanning over seven states, each division’s administrative council was given the authority to make the decision on fall play based on state and federal regulations within its geographical area.

While the schedule is adjusted in the Appalachian and Bluegrass, institutions within those divisions retain the autonomy to play non-conference games or scrimmages this fall.

NAIA officials announced on July 31 that the NAIA Football Championship Series would be moved to spring 2021. The NAIA expects to announce the FCS dates later this month. The Mid-South Conference schedule for the Appalachian and Bluegrass will be announced following the NAIA’s release of the FCS dates.

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward announced today the postponement of fall sports to spring 2021 due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. The decision comes following last week’s administrative council meetings and subsequent approval by the MSC Council of Presidents.

The sports impacted by the decision are men and women’s cross country, men and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The regular-season conference schedule is slated to precede the championships in the spring.

Conference regular season and tournament dates will be announced following the NAIA’s release of national championships dates.

While the conference schedule is adjusted, institutions are given the autonomy to play non-conference games this fall.

In football, each of the three divisions will independently determine conference play. With the football footprint spanning over seven states, each division’s administrative council was given the authority to make the decision on fall play based on state and federal regulations within its geographical area. An announcement on the football schedule will come later this week once all three divisions’ leaderships have met.

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward announced that the conference revised its football schedule for the upcoming 2020 season following return to play guidelines established by the NAIA.

NAIA President Jim Carr’s announcement on June 4 regarding return to play guidelines for all fall sports has necessitated a schedule adjustment for all Mid-South Conference football teams. As recommended by the conference Football Oversight Committee and approved by the football athletic directors and head coaches, the conference schedule will officially begin on September 12 with all 22 teams in action.

The Fire will begin their eight-game schedule that night at home against Ave Maria University for “Hometown Heroes Night.” Southeastern will travel to St. Thomas in a non-division contest on September 19, then will have a bye week before returning home on October 3 to open division play with Webber International on “Youth Football Night,” then will host defending champion Keiser the following week for “Faculty and Staff Appreciation.”

“I’m so excited for our fans, our university, Polk County, but more importantly our players,” said coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “They’ve worked so hard to represent SEU on the gridiron and I’m happy that we now have a solid schedule and plan to have our student-athletes go out and represent our institution on Saturdays this fall.”

After a trip to Ave Maria on October 17, the Fire will host St. Thomas for Homecoming on October 24.

The season concludes with trips to Warner and Florida Memorial on October 3 and November 7, respectively.

The 2020 schedule marks the first time in program history each Southeastern game will take place in Florida with no road game more than 230 miles away.

“Every week will be tough,” Rivas said. “With a shortened schedule, every week will have a great deal of importance looking towards the postseason.”
Teams will play primarily within their divisions in 2020, including playing some opponents in a home-and-home series. Only one of the games — as determined by the conference — will be considered a divisional game and count towards the divisional standings.

Season ticket memberships are on sale now at SEUFire.com/tickets, starting at $43 for adults and $23 for youth (17 and under) which includes admission to all home games. Reserved Fire Club season memberships, which include private entrance and chair back seating, are available for $125. Individual game tickets will go on sale August 15.

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward announced today that the conference will revise its football schedule for the upcoming 2020 season following return to play guidelines established by the NAIA.

NAIA President Jim Carr’s announcement on June 4 regarding return to play guidelines for all fall sports has necessitated a schedule adjustment for all Mid-South Conference football teams. As recommended by the conference Football Oversight Committee and approved by the football athletic directors and head coaches, the conference schedule will officially begin on September 12 with all 22 teams in action.

“The Mid-South Conference football athletic directors and head coaches have vetted and approved a revised 2020 conference football schedule,” Ward said. “With the lingering uncertainty regarding many of the details surrounding a return to play in the fall, our conference leadership, in accordance with the NAIA guidelines, felt it would be prudent to move forward with a contingency plan for football, the sport with the largest student-athlete participation and the most procedural complexities from the start of preseason practice thru completion of the regular season schedule. Our schools will face a number of challenges this fall, and the revised football schedule will make some of those challenges easier for our members to address.”

Ward, along with the MSC Football Oversight Committee — comprised of two athletic directors from each of the three conference divisions — sought a plan that would fit within the NAIA guidelines, but most importantly consider the well-being of the student-athletes while also being mindful of the potential fiscal challenges of Mid-South Conference institutions in the wake of COVID-19.

“The reasons this change in scheduling was deemed necessary are primarily two-fold,” Ward said. “First and foremost, we are committed to and 100% focused on the safety, health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff. Pushing the conference start date back to September 12 gives our coaches more time to get student-athletes acclimated and assess and focus on their appropriate physical conditioning after such a long, unprecedented period with no supervised work-outs. A later start will also help accommodate a later-than-usual initial reporting date for football due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the preparations that our campuses are making in anticipation of a return to in-person instruction this fall.

“The second reason for the scheduling change was out of concern for the fiscal health of our member institutions,” Ward added. “The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to place financial pressures on our members, whether due to increased costs and/or restricted revenues as a result of adherence to state and local guidelines for appropriate testing and prevention of the spread of the virus on their campuses and in their local communities. The revised schedule dramatically reduces travel for all teams, which means fewer hours riding on buses, fewer nights in hotels, and fewer meals in restaurants. Conference leadership felt it was important that we anticipate some sort of alteration or interruption in these and possibly other facets of team travel, particularly when considering the various states where our schools are located and the different responses and guidelines within each.”

Following multiple web-conferencing discussions, Ward presented the committee’s proposal to all football-participating athletic directors and coaches. A vote of approval from the athletic directors soon followed.

Teams will play primarily within their divisions in 2020, including playing some opponents in a home-and-home series. Only one of the games — as determined by the conference — will be considered a divisional game and count towards the divisional standings.

Ward said he is incredibly proud of how everyone worked together to find a solution under difficult circumstances.

“I want to especially thank our athletic directors and head football coaches for their leadership and spirit of cooperation through this process,” Ward said. “Making decisions in a crisis situation with 22 member-institutions can be like trying to turn a battleship in a bathtub. Instead we found that our athletic directors and coaches were all eager and willing to work together to find a solution to the challenges that we all will face in getting our teams back on the field and keeping them on the field this fall.”

Sept. 12

St. Andrews (N.C.) @ Bluefield (Va.)
Faulkner (Ala.) @ Reinhardt (Ga.)
Kentucky Christian @ Union (Ky.)
St. Thomas (Fla.) @ Point (Ga.)
Bethel (Tenn.) @ Cumberland (Tenn.)
Campbellsville (Ky.) @ Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Pikeville (Ky.)
Thomas More (Ky.) @ Georgetown (Ky.)
Ave Maria (Fla.) @ Southeastern (Fla.)
Keiser (Fla.) @ Florida Memorial
Warner (Fla.) @ Webber International (Fla.)

Sept. 19

Bluefield (Va.) @ Kentucky Christian
Point (Ga.) @ Faulkner (Ala.)
Reinhardt (Ga.) @ St. Andrews (N.C.)
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) @ Bethel (Tenn.)
Cumberland (Tenn.) @ Campbellsville (Ky.)
Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Thomas More (Ky.)
Pikeville (Ky.) @ Georgetown (Ky.)
Florida Memorial @ Ave Maria (Fla.)
Southeastern (Fla.) @ St. Thomas (Fla.)
Webber International (Fla.) @ Keiser (Fla.)

Sept. 26

*Faulkner (Ala.) @ Union (Ky.)
*St. Andrews (N.C.) @ Kentucky Christian
*Pikeville (Ky.) @ Bethel (Tenn.)
*Campbellsville (Ky.) @ Thomas More (Ky.)
*Cumberland (Tenn.) @ Cumberlands (Ky.)
*Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) @ Georgetown (Ky.)
*Florida Memorial @ Webber International (Fla.)
*Keiser (Fla.) @ St. Thomas (Fla.)
*Warner (Fla.) @ Ave Maria (Fla.)

Oct. 3

*Point (Ga.) @ Bluefield (Va.)
*Faulkner (Ala.) @ Kentucky Christian
*Reinhardt (Ga.) @ Union (Ky.)
*Bethel (Tenn.) @ Thomas More (Ky.)
*Campbellsville (Ky.) @ Pikeville (Ky.)
*Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
*Georgetown (Ky.) @ Cumberland (Tenn.)
*Florida Memorial @ Keiser (Fla.)
Warner (Fla.) @ St. Thomas (Fla.)
*Webber International (Fla.) @ Southeastern (Fla.)

Oct. 10

*Kentucky Christian @ Bluefield (Va.)
*Union (Ky.) @ Point (Ga.)
*St. Andrews (N.C.) @ Reinhardt (Ga.)
*Bethel (Tenn.) @ Campbellsville (Ky.)
*Georgetown (Ky.) @ Cumberlands (Ky.)
*Thomas More (Ky.) @ Cumberland (Tenn.)
*Pikeville (Ky.) @ Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
*Ave Maria (Fla.) @ Webber International (Fla.)
*Keiser (Fla.) @ Southeastern (Fla.)
*St. Thomas (Fla.) @ Florida Memorial

Oct. 17

*Bluefield (Va.) @ St. Andrews (N.C.)
*Reinhardt (Ga.) @ Faulkner (Ala.)
*Kentucky Christian @ Point (Ga.)
*Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Bethel (Tenn.)
*Campbellsville (Ky.) @ Georgetown (Ky.)
*Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) @ Cumberland (Tenn.)
*Thomas More (Ky.) @ Pikeville (Ky.)
*Florida Memorial @ Warner (Fla.)
*Southeastern (Fla.) @ Ave Maria (Fla.)
*Webber International (Fla.) @ St. Thomas (Fla.)

Oct. 24

*Reinhardt (Ga.) @ Bluefield (Va.)
*Faulkner (Ala.) @ Point (Ga.)
*Union (Ky.) @ St. Andrews (N.C.)
*Bethel (Tenn.) @ Georgetown (Ky.)
*Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Campbellsville (Ky.)
*Cumberland (Tenn.) @ Pikeville (Ky.)
*Thomas More (Ky.) @ Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
*Ave Maria (Fla.) @ Florida Memorial
*Warner (Fla.) @ Keiser (Fla.)
*St. Thomas (Fla.) @ Southeastern (Fla.)

Oct. 31

*Bluefield (Va.) @ Union (Ky.)
*St. Andrews (N.C.) @ Faulkner (Ala.)
*Kentucky Christian @ Reinhardt (Ga.)
*Cumberland (Tenn.) @ Bethel (Tenn.)
*Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) @ Campbellsville (Ky.)
*Pikeville (Ky.) @ Cumberlands (Ky.)
*Georgetown (Ky.) @ Thomas More (Ky.)
*Keiser (Fla.) @ Webber International (Fla.)
*Southeastern (Fla.) @ Warner (Fla.)
*St. Thomas (Fla.) @ Ave Maria (Fla.)

Nov. 7

*Bluefield (Va.) @ Faulkner (Ala.)
*Union (Ky.) @ Kentucky Christian
*Point (Ga.) @ St. Andrews (N.C.)
*Bethel (Tenn.) @ Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
*Campbellsville (Ky.) @ Cumberland (Tenn.)
*Thomas More (Ky.) @ Cumberlands (Ky.)
*Georgetown (Ky.) @ Pikeville (Ky.)
*Ave Maria (Fla.) @ Keiser (Fla.)
*Southeastern (Fla.) @ Florida Memorial
*Webber International (Fla.) @ Warner (Fla.)

Nov. 14

Union (Ky.) @ Bluefield (Va.)
*Point (Ga.) @ Reinhardt (Ga.)
*St. Thomas (Fla.) @ Warner (Fla.)

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