Briar Cliff gears up for first varsity football season
Building a college football program from scratch is certainly no easy task.
In fact, not many coaches have actually faced the challenge Dick Strittmatter undertook two years ago, signing on as the first head football coach at Briar Cliff University.
For a 32-year veteran, though, the process has been enjoyable. And, it starts getting even more fun on Saturday, Sept. 6, when Briar Cliff plays its first official game, hosting Northwestern College at Memorial Field.
"The first year, what I did was start recruiting for the next year (fall of 2002), our club year," he said. "When I didn't have anything here, no team, I was really lost."
Last year, he said, was better. Briar Cliff played a nine-game "club" or junior varsity schedule. And, after losing their first two games, the Chargers won six of the remaining seven.
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"Last year was better and this year, getting back on a varsity schedule, will be good," said Strittmatter.
That's not to say a coach accustomed to winning, which Strittmatter is, will relish the kind of season that lies ahead.
With an all-freshman lineup, at least eligibility-wise, Briar Cliff dives headfirst into an inaugural schedule of 10 games against teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Aside from crosstown rival Morningside, playing its second varsity season in the GPAC, these are all established programs in a league that may be the strongest in NAIA Division II football.
"We are preparing like we've had football for several years," said Strittmatter, who spent 23 seasons as a high school coach, posting a 153-112 record before moving to the college ranks. "Of course, we know that we haven't. So, that's going to be hard for our guys to go out on the field and go up against guys 21 and 22 years old."
Most of the Chargers' projected starters were around for last year's JV campaign. Strittmatter had a squad of 53 last fall and 34 of them have stuck around to face live ammunition. They're a capable group.
"I would say my first recruiting class (last season's newcomers) was as good or better than any group I ever recruited at Peru," said Strittmatter, who went 31-26-1 in six seasons as the head coach at Peru (Neb.) State. "My second recruiting class, I haven't had the time to evaluate yet. I've had a whole year to evaluate the first group."
Program goals were to have from 45 to 50 players the first year and from 65 to 70 the second year.
With a current squad of about 70, Briar Cliff is right on target.
This won't be football on par with the NCAA Division II programs in the North Central Conference, the commitment to 35 full scholarships which Morningside left after nearly eight decades. Still, Strittmatter points out that NAIA teams won 62 percent of their games with NCAA Division II opponents two years ago.
"Can NAIA schools beat a UNO or a North Dakota State? No," he said. "Those are the elite schools. But NAIA football is a very good brand of football. We beat two Division II schools one year when I was at Peru State (Wayne State and Panhandle State of Oklahoma)."
GPAC rules limit member schools to nothing beyond full tuition scholarships, academic aid included.
Naturally, Sioux City has become a key recruiting target for the Chargers. The probable lineup for BC's first game includes four former Heelan gridders. Scott Wetz (5-9, 255) is the center and Rhett Ruehle (6-3, 220) the right guard on offense. On defense, David Hegarty is one end and his brother, John, is the weakside linebacker.
Another former Crusader, true freshman Mike Maxey, should see lots of playing time at running back and wide receiver.
John Borer, who prepped at Wahoo (Neb.) Neumann, will likely open at quarterback in the inaugural game while Marc Smith of Atlantic, Iowa, will be the running back and Chad Maas of Palmer, Iowa, will be the fullback.
Chuck Kudej, a 6-5, 315-pound tackle from Madrid, Iowa, is the big man in a line that also includes Shawn Morris from Terril, Iowa, and Tim Jensen from Council Bluffs St. Albert. Nick Sinnott (Omaha Gross) and Bryce Roberts (Whiting) are the starting wide receivers and Tony Rice (Henderson, Neb.) is the tight end.
Opposite David Hegarty at defensive end is another St. Albert product, Josh Ryan. The defensive tackles are Cory Gormally from West and Kyle Held from Heelan.
Kellen Conroy (Pender, Neb.) and Anthony Sobotka (O'Neill, Neb.) are projected starters at linebacker while the secondary could include Blake Gould (Beatrice, Neb.), Stuart Smith (Missouri Valley), Matt Mueller (Crofton, Neb.) and true freshman Alex Pick (Remsen).
"I think we got a lot of (recruits) because they wanted to come and play right away," said Strittmatter. "With us starting a program, naturally they're going to come and play right away."
The club football season last fall helped create some cohesiveness.
"It was good to see how we improved during the year, how we became a team and got to know each other," he said.
The motto, meanwhile, is "Step By Step."
"You can pretty much take off from that anywhere you want," he said.
Scott Miller, an assistant coach at Woodbury Central last year, is the BC offensive coordinator and Todd Rice, head coach the last five years at Heartland High School in Henderson, Neb., is the defensive coordinator.
