2016 Emporia State Hornets football team

2016 Emporia State Hornets football
Conference	Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
2016 record	11–2 (10–1 MIAA)
Head coach	Garin Higgins (10th year)
Offensive coordinator	Matt Nardo (2nd year)
Defensive coordinator	Mike LoPorto (3rd year)
Captain	Mitchell Foote (1st year)
Captain	Landon Nault (1st year)
Captain	Kole Schankie (1st year)
Captain	Eddie Vinson (1st year)
Home stadium	Francis G. Welch Stadium (capacity: 7,000)

2016 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#1 NW Missouri St. $^		11	–	0					13	–	0
#9 Emporia State ^		10	–	1					11	–	2
#20 Central Missouri ^		9	–	3					9	–	2
Fort Hays State		7	–	4					8	–	4
Pittsburg State		7	–	4					7	–	4
Washburn		7	–	4					7	–	5
Missouri Western		4	–	7					4	–	7
Central Oklahoma		3	–	8					3	–	8
Lindenwood		3	–	8					3	–	8
Missouri Southern		2	–	9					2	–	9
Northeastern State		2	–	9					2	–	9
Nebraska–Kearney		1	–	10					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

The 2016 Emporia State Hornets football team represented Emporia State University in the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. The Hornets played their home games on the newly-renovated^[1] Jones Field at Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas, as they have done since 1937.^[2] 2016 was the 119th season in school history.^[3] The Hornets were led by head coach Garin Higgins, finished his 16th overall season, and 10th overall at Emporia State.^[4] Emporia State has a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association since 1991.^[5]

Preseason

The Hornets entered the 2016 season after finishing with an 11–3 overall, 9–2 in conference play last season under Higgins.^[6] On August 2, 2016 at the MIAA Football Media Day, the Hornets were chosen to finish tied for third place in the Coaches Poll, and fourth in the Media Poll.^[7]

Sporting News released their Top-25 on May 25, 2016, landing Emporia State at #24.^[8] On June 15, 2016, Lindy's NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 released its poll, ranking Emporia State at #12.^[9]

On August 15, the American Football Coaches Association released the Preseason Division II Poll,^[10] landing Emporia State at #24.^[11]

On August 22, D2football.com released its Top 25 poll, ranking Emporia State 12th.^[12]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Along with Higgins, there were 10 assistants.

Name	Position	Seasons at ESU	Alma Mater
Garin Higgins	Head Coach	10	Emporia State (1992)
Mike LoPorto	Co-Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach	9	Emporia State (2007)
Bryan Nardo	Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach	5	Ohio (2008)
Matt Nardo	Off. Coordinator/Recruiting Coord./Inside & H-backs/Receivers coach	2	Ohio (2005)
Nathan Linsey	Secondary/Special Teams Coordinator	5	Emporia State (2010)
Justin Wieser	Running Backs/Strength & Conditioning	4	Emporia State (2010)
Tony Koehling	Offensive Line Coach	2	Ohio (2013)
Terence Coleman	Outside Receivers	4	Northwestern Oklahoma State (2000)
Daniel Goodman	Graduate Assistant – Tight Ends Coach	2	Emporia State (2014)
Antwan Crutcher	Graduate Assistant – Defensive Line	1	Ohio (2015)
Daniel Siehndel	Graduate Assistant – Defensive Backs	1	Southeast Missouri State (2015)
Reference:[13]

Roster

2016 Emporia State Hornets football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Williams II, MorrisMorris Williams II Jr QB 4 Lowe, JaylenJaylen Lowe Jr WR 5 Brown, JustinJustin Brown  So WR 6 Dailey, LouisLouis Dailey Jr WR 8 Foote, MitchellMitchell Foote Sr RB 9 Callins, KaiKai Callins  So WR 10 Radel, JaylonJaylon Radel Jr QB 12 Wallace, T'QuanT'Quan Wallace Fr WR 13 Davenport, BrentBrent Davenport So QB 14 Marstall, BraxtonBraxton Marstall  So RB 23 Brown, AntonioAntonio Brown Sr RB 24 Strong, DenzelDenzel Strong Sr RB 25 Van Weezel, RickyRicky Van Weezel Fr RB 26 Nault, LandonLandon Nault So RB 30 Rietzke, TrentonTrenton Rietzke  Fr RB 34 Osbern, BrettBrett Osbern  Fr WR 35 Dade, MalcomMalcom Dade  Fr WR 36 McGee, AnthonyAnthony McGee So RB 37 Rivers, J.J.J.J. Rivers  Fr RB 39 Squier, BrockBrock Squier Sr H 43 Berblinger, LukeLuke Berblinger  Fr H 44 Oliver, NickNick Oliver So H 45 Richards, ReeseReese Richards  Sr OL 53 Warehime, JakeJake Warehime Jr OL 62 Cruz, ColeCole Cruz  Jr OL 63 Watts, BranceBrance Watts  Fr OL 64 Stastny, JarrettJarrett Stastny Sr OL 66 Vega, NickNick Vega  Sr OL 67 Gall, DylanDylan Gall Jr OL 68 Pemridge, CarterCarter Pemridge Fr OL 69 Pomatto, JoeJoe Pomatto Jr OL 70 Lillich, AndrewAndrew Lillich So OL 71 Fasbender, ZackZack Fasbender So OL 72 Radel, DaveDave Radel Jr OL 74 O'Grady, ThomasThomas O'Grady Jr OL 75 Arana, EstevanEstevan Arana  Fr OL 76 Unterreiner, AustinAustin Unterreiner Fr OL 77 Herron, DeAndreDeAndre Herron Sr OL 78 Janzen, BradenBraden Janzen So OL 79 Banta, TylerTyler Banta Fr H 80 Ball, TrentonTrenton Ball So WR 81 Parks, KirvinKirvin Parks  Fr WR 82 Buffalomeat, AnthonyAnthony Buffalomeat Sr WR 83 Jackson, JordanJordan Jackson So WR 84 Stramel, RamseyRamsey Stramel Jr WR 85 Surface, SethSeth Surface  Fr WR 86 Talley, SeanSean Talley Fr WR 87 Profitt, CarsonCarson Profitt So WR 88 Reed, JordanJordan Reed So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Houghton, MarcusMarcus Houghton Jr DB 3 Glover, DeAndreDeAndre Glover Sr LB 7 Cleveland, GabeGabe Cleveland Jr DB 11 Mathis, M.J.M.J. Mathis Sr LB 16 McKenzie, TyTy McKenzie  So LB 17 Sheets, OrlandoOrlando Sheets So DB 18 Lohrentz, J.P.J.P. Lohrentz Sr DB 19 Lohr, DillonDillon Lohr  Fr LB 20 Strode, JarettJarett Strode Sr DB 21 Monteagudo, JoshJosh Monteagudo Sr DB 22 Gatewood, RoscoeRoscoe Gatewood  Fr DB 27 Woods II, GaryGary Woods II  Fr DB 28 West, A.J.A.J. West Jr DB 29 Shorts, CurtisCurtis Shorts Sr LB 31 Whitley, RemingtonRemington Whitley Jr DB 32 Wariboko, MaxMax Wariboko Fr DB 33 Cook, DrewDrew Cook So LB 38 Schankie, KoleKole Schankie Sr LB 41 Montgomery, JarronJarron Montgomery Sr DB 42 Dickerson, TreyTrey Dickerson Sr DB 46 Joseph, FerrandoFerrando Joseph Jr LB 50 Goodman, BrandonBrandon Goodman Sr LB 51 Cashier, DarricDarric Cashier So DE 52 Walker, DonovanDonovan Walker Jr DE 54 Powell, LoganLogan Powell So DE 55 Dugan, PatrickPatrick Dugan Jr LB 56 Thompson, LoganLogan Thompson Jr LB 57 Meyer, LukeLuke Meyer Fr LB 58 McDown, ImmanuelImmanuel McDown So LB 59 Bass, JaceJace Bass Fr DE 60 Frickey, CollinCollin Frickey Jr DE 61 Foster, PaulPaul Foster So DL 65 Smith, RyanRyan Smith So DE 73 Proby, CamrenCamren Proby  Fr DE 90 Bass, ParkerParker Bass So DL 91 Vinson, EddieEddie Vinson Sr DE 94 Nwarie, UgonnaUgonna Nwarie Jr DE 95 Ammons, Tre'VaunTre'Vaun Ammons  Fr DL 97 Giddings, TimTim Giddings  Fr DE 98 Maase, JacksonJackson Maase  Fr DT 99 Abston, LarenzeLarenze Abston Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 40 Weaver, DakotaDakota Weaver Jr LS 48 Buckingham, ReidReid Buckingham Jr K 49 Marcha, JustinJustin Marcha Jr P 89 O'Neal, RileyRiley O'Neal  Fr K 92 Motron, AustinAustin Motron Jr	Head coach Garin Higgins Coordinators/assistant coaches See #Coaching staff Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2016-08-03

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 pm	No. 1 Northwest Missouri State	No. 24	Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		L 14–41	6,821
September 8	7:00 pm	at Nebraska–Kearney		Ron & Carol Cope Stadium • Kearney, NE		W 34–7	4,663
September 17	2:00 pm	Missouri Southern		Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS (Traditions Day)		W 49–21	5,304
September 24	1:00 pm	at No. 13 Central Missouri		Audrey J. Walton Stadium • Warrensburg, MO		W 37–31 ^3OT	7,995
October 1	2:00 pm	Central Oklahoma	No. 23	Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		W 35–21	4,987
October 8	2:00 pm	at Northeastern State	No. 18	Doc Wadley Stadium • Tahlequah, OK		W 47–27	1,503
October 15	2:00 pm	Lindenwood	No. 12	Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		W 35–28	6,014
October 22	2:00 pm	at Pittsburg State	No. 12	Carnie Smith Stadium • Pittsburg, KS		W 41–36	8,763
October 29	2:00 pm	Fort Hays State	No. 10	Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		W 24–16	6,103
November 5	1:00 pm	at Missouri Western	No. 9	Spratt Stadium • St. Joseph, MO		W 27–14	4,017
November 12	1:00 pm	at Washburn	No. 9	Yager Stadium at Moore Bowl • Topeka, KS (Turnpike Tussle)		W 30–3	6,789
NCAA Division II Playoffs
November 19	1:00 p.m.	No. 13 Minnesota–Duluth	No. 9	Francis G. Welch Stadium • Emporia, KS		W 59–26	5,014
November 26	1:00 p.m.	No. 1 Northwest Missouri State	No. 9	Bearcat Stadium • Maryville, MO		L 13–44	5,119
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central.

Source:^[14]

Game notes, regular season

Northwest Missouri

Northwest Missouri at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total • #1 Northwest Missouri 3 17 14 7 41 #24 Emporia State 7 0 0 7 14 Date: September 1 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 7:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:59 Game attendance: 6,821 Game weather: Sunny, 75°F Referee: Craig Helser

Nebraska–Kearney

Emporia State at Nebraska–Kearney

1 2 3 4 Total • Emporia State 3 14 10 7 34 Nebraska–Kearney 0 0 0 7 7 Date: September 8 Location: Cope Stadium, Kearney, NE Game start: 7:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 4,663 Game weather: Breezy, 79°F Referee: Lonnie Brickman

Missouri Southern

Missouri Southern at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri Southern 0 7 7 7 21 • Emporia State 28 14 7 0 49 Date: September 17 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 5,304 Game weather: Sunny, 77°F Referee: John Adams

Central Missouri

Emporia State at Central Missouri

1 2 3 4 OT 2OT Total • Emporia State 7 3 7 7 7 6 37 #13 Central Missouri 0 7 0 17 7 0 31 Date: September 24 Location: Walton Stadium, Warrensburg, MO Game start: 1:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:40 Game attendance: 7,995 Game weather: Sunny, 80°F Referee: John Steiger

Central Oklahoma

Central Oklahoma at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total Central Oklahoma 0 0 10 11 21 • #23 Emporia State 7 14 7 7 35 Date: October 1 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:05 Game attendance: 4,987 Game weather: Sunny, 72°F Referee: Craig Helser

Northeastern State

Emporia State at Northeastern State

1 2 3 4 Total • #18 Emporia State 16 14 10 7 47 Northeastern State 13 7 0 7 27 Date: October 8 Location: Wadley Stadium, Tahlequah, OK Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:13 Game attendance: 1,503 Game weather: Sunny, 73°F Referee: John Adams

Lindenwood

Lindenwood at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total Lindenwood 0 7 7 14 28 • #12 Emporia State 0 0 14 21 35 Date: October 15 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:12 Game attendance: 6,014 Game weather: Overcast, 72°F Referee: Danny Harris

Pittsburg State

Emporia State at Pittsburg State

1 2 3 4 Total • #12 Emporia State 14 17 0 10 41 Pittsburg State 17 7 0 12 36 Date: October 22 Location: Carnie Smith Stadium, Pittsburg, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:29 Game attendance: 8,763 Game weather: Clear, 73°F Referee: Craig Helser

Fort Hays State

Fort Hays State at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total Fort Hays State 3 0 0 13 16 • #10 Emporia State 7 0 7 10 24 Date: October 29 Location: Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:54 Game attendance: 6,103 Game weather: Mostly sunny, 81°F Referee: Dwight Neibling

Missouri Western

Emporia State at Missouri Western

1 2 3 4 Total • #9 Emporia State 3 7 0 17 27 Missouri Western 7 7 0 0 14 Date: November 5 Location: Spratt Stadium, St. Joseph, MO Game start: 1:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:48 Game attendance: 4,017 Game weather: Slight overcast, 70°F Referee: Sean Johnston

Washburn

Emporia State at Washburn

1 2 3 4 Total • #9 Emporia State 0 17 7 6 30 Washburn 0 3 0 0 3 Date: November 12 Location: Yager Stadium, Topeka, KS Game start: 1:00 pm CST Elapsed time: 2:53 Game attendance: 6,789 Game weather: Clear and sunny, 58°F Referee: Craig Helser

Game notes, post-season

Minnesota–Duluth

Minnesota–Duluth at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total #13 Minnesota–Duluth 13 7 6 0 26 • #9 Emporia State 14 14 14 17 59 Date: November 19 Location: Francis G. Welch Stadium, Emporia, KS Game start: 1:00 pm CST Elapsed time: 3:01 Game attendance: 5,014 Game weather: Sunny and cool, 46°F Referee: Abram Anaya

For the first time in school history, Emporia State was selected to host an NCAA postseason football game.^[15]

Northwest Missouri

Northwest Missouri at Emporia State

1 2 3 4 Total #9 Emporia State 0 13 0 0 13 • #1 Northwest Missouri State 17 14 3 10 44 Date: November 26 Location: Bearcat Stadium, Maryville, MO Game start: 1:00 pm CST Elapsed time: 2:50 Game attendance: 5,119 Game weather: Sunny and clear, 51°F Referee: Craig Hesler

References

1. Weast, Donald (2016-02-18). "New Turf Project Underway at Welch Stadium" (Press release). Emporia State University Athletics. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
2. "Emporia State University Athletics - Facilities - Welch Stadium". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
3. Weast, Donald (2016-08-29). "#24 Emporia State Football Opens Up Against #1 Northwest Missouri" (Press release). Emporia State University Athletics. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
4. "Higgins, Garin". Retrieved 2016-05-17.
5. "MIAA". Retrieved 2016-05-17.
6. "Emporia State Football Slated for Third In MIAA Coaches Poll". Retrieved 2016-08-05.
7. "NWMSU Tops Football Polls". Retrieved 2016-08-05.
8. "Emporia State Football is in Sporting News Preseason Top 25". Retrieved 2015-08-04.
9. "Emporia State University Athletics - Emporia State Football Ranked #12 in Lindy's Preseason Rankings". 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2016-08-05.
10. "Northwest Missouri State No. 1 in Preseason AFCA Poll". 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
11. Weast, Donald (2016-08-15). "Emporia State Football Ranked in AFCA Top 25 to Start Season" (Press release). Retrieved 2016-08-19.
12. "Top 25 Poll". D2football.com. 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
13. "Coaching Staff". Emporia State Athletics. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
14. "Emporia State University Athletics - 2016 Football Schedule". Retrieved 2016-05-17.
15. "Emporia State University Athletics - #9 Emporia State Football to Host NCAA Playoff Game". Esuhornets.com. 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2016-11-13.

External links

• Official website