Happy Halloween!

Scout Players this week

Nice work to Ezra VanDenEinde (top) and Tanner Landin (bottom) for their work on the scout teams this week. Ezra is a red-shirt freshmen offensive lineman from Bejou, MN while Tanner came to us from Warroad, MN and is also a red-shirt freshmen. Tanner plays linebacker.

Dragon Tailgating in St. Cloud

Bring that leftover Halloween candy, we are getting together on Saturday for Sloppy Joe's and Hot Chocolate. . .and another Dragon Win Please bring a side dish to share! As usual, we will have a free will offering with all profits going to Dragon Fire! Speaking of Dragon Fire . . . it's not too late to sign up. Every little bit helps!

Hope to see you all at the big game on Saturday. SCSU gets big crowds, so we need everyone at the game to cheer on the guys! Look for the Dragon Flag!

Go Dragons. . .see you in St. Cloud!!!

Feedback, update

For those of you wondering. . .this blog has had almost 8,000 hits since its creation!

Feedback from Readers

Have spoken with several people about this blog and I am curious to know the number of people that visit. So I ask you, leave a "comment"... and let me know who is out there following the Dragons!

Pictures from Northern State

Thanks again to Jon Lambert for the images. . .

Dragons win over Northern St

Big win for the Dragon Family today as we won in the 4th quarter 29-26. Offense moved up and down the field today, kicking game was on as we made all three field goals we attempted today.

Working their comeback, Northern recovered an onsides kick with 46 remaining in the 4th quarter and had no timeouts. Our defense rose to the occasion and finished the game with a big play by Senior Eric Schaumburg on the Hail Mary pass as time expired. Go Dragons!!!

Game Day Today

Dragons Game Day today vs. Northern St Wolves, game start at 1pm. You can catch the game live on www.northersun.tv or in the FM Area ESPN Radion AM 1660.

Go Dragons!!!

Scout Players of the week vs. Northern St

Great job this week to Tyler Hewson, a freshmen linebacker from West Fargo, ND, and Wes Chatterton, a freshmen offensive lineman from Kenosha, WI, for their work in preparing the team to play Northern St on Saturday.

Football Banquet Scheduled

Mark your calendars now for our Football Banquet to celebrate our 9 seniors and the 2008 Football Team. Saturday November 22nd, 7-9pm, Comestock Memorial Union located on the MSUM campus.

More information to follow.

Go Dragons!!!

Northern St this weekend, Tailgating starts at 11am

11:00 am Tailgating on Saturday. Chili-dogs, cornbread, and root-beer floats. The usual free will offering will take place with all profits going to DRAGON FIRE. Don't forget to become a member today and support Dragon Athletics!

Pictures from Mankato

Thanks to Jon Lambert for the images. . .Go Dragons!!!

Intense Focus

Eric Peterson, The Forum
Published Friday, October 17, 2008

Growing up on a family farm near Goodridge, Minn., Jon Miller dreaded days when he had to shovel grain. "A day of shoveling grain, it was a tough day," said the Minnesota State Moorhead linebacker. While manually moving grain was among the jobs he disliked most, those types of chores prepared him well. "I knew I had to do my work and that kind of helped me in college," Miller said.

Using that workmanlike approach, Miller has become a fixture on MSUM’s defense for four years. The 6-foot, 205-pound senior leads the Dragons in tackles, heading into Saturday’s home game against Minnesota State Mankato, which re-joined the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this season. Miller also led the team in tackles as a junior and sophomore and ranked fourth as a freshman.

"He plays with great intensity," Dragons head coach Damon Tomeo said. "He’s a great example for any young player on the team. He wants to be the best. He is very competitive. … It promotes that consistency that is so important." Miller has been a constant even when things have been inconsistent around him.

In his time at MSUM, he has played for three different head coaches, endured multiple losing seasons and rebounded from a number of heartbreaking defeats. Like his upbringing on his family farm taught him, Miller continues to show up ready for work. "Losing is not fun for me, but a challenge is," said Miller, who is a finance and accounting major. "I don’t regret it at all. I think it’s made all of us better people to go through this."

Dragons senior linebacker Dennis Oswald has been Miller’s roommate for the last four years. Oswald has witnessed Miller’s commitment, which he says is constant whether Miller is on the football field, in the weight room or classroom. "He probably studies more than anyone you know," said Oswald, who is out for the year hurting his back earlier this season. "He’s always in his room reading books. … He’s a pretty focused kid."

The one thing lacking from Miller’s career is more wins. The Dragons are 12-27 in his 39 varsity games. The most frustrating thing for Miller is how close the Dragons have come to being a winning program in the last two seasons. Last fall, MSUM went 4-7, but lost five games by a combined 13 points. The Dragons (1-6, 1-5 NSIC) have lost four games by a total of 16 points this fall, including a 24-17 overtime defeat against the University of Mary last Saturday.
"People just see your record and they don’t know how your games went," said Miller, a Minnesota Vikings fan. "It’s really disappointing to be 1-6, but we all feel that we are better than that."

Leggins named semi-finalist for national Draddy Trophy

Bryce Leggins, a senior linebacker at Minnesota State University Moorhead, has been named a semi-finalist for the 2008 Draddy Trophy, presented annually by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Candidates must be a senior or graduate student, maintain a grade point average of at least 3.2 (4.0 scale), have outstanding football ability and demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship. Fifteen finalists will be selected October 29, and the winner will be announced December 9 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. A native of West Liberty, IA, Leggins is a two-year starter for the Dragons.

Scout Players of the week vs. Mankato

Zane Ziebell, a freshmen defensive lineman from Lewiston Altura High School, MN.

Matt Birr, a freshmen wide receiver from Columbia Heights High School, MN.

Tailgating this weekend

Tailgating this weekend
MSU Moorhead vs. MSU Mankato
October 18 2008

Tailgating begins at 11 AM in front of Nemzek:

At Saturday's tailgating we will be featuring the first ever Moorhead Spud Tailgating Special in honor of our Moorhead Spud Dragon FB Players.

Now, we know that some of you are thinking, "what is a Moorhead Spud?"

Well the locally famous Moorhead Spuds are the Moorhead High School Spuds. And yes, we are talking about the potato!

So, pack the cars, bring your warm clothes and get a hot spud with all the fixings to warm your tummy before the game.

As usual we will be taking a free will offering with all profits going to Dragon Fire...
Speaking of DRAGON FIRE
Get cracking and get signed up!

GO DRAGONS!!

Other Sports in Dragonville:

The Dragon Swimming/Diving
Open this weekend at home with a meet against Northern Michigan on Friday Oct 17 at 6:00 pm and St. Cloud State on Saturday at noon.

The Dragon Soccer and Volleyball teams travel to Crookston this weekend. Game times 1:00 and 4:00

For more information on athletics visit: http://www.mnstate.edu/athletic/

Tailgating this weekend vs. Mankato

At Saturday's tailgating we will be featuring the first ever Moorhead Spud Tailgating Special in honor of our Moorhead Spud Dragon FB Players. Now, we know that some of you are thinking, "what is a Moorhead Spud?" Well the locally famous Moorhead Spuds are the Moorhead High School Spuds. And yes, we do are talking about the potato!

So, pack the cars, bring your warm clothes and get a hot spud with all the fixins to warm your tummy before the game. Tailgating begins at 11am out front! As usual we will be taking a free will offering with all profits going to Dragon Fire . . . SPEAKING OF DRAGON FIRE . . . Get cracking and get signed up! Go Dragons!!!

Pictures from Overtime loss in Bismack

Dragon D bringing down Mary running back.

Nick Scharpf's 55 yard TD reception on the "Annexation of Puerto Rico" play right before half.

Another big stop by the Dragons Defense! Dragons allowed just 62 net yards rushing.

Bruce Green is not going down easy, he had catches for 80 yards.

Joe Johnson get yards on one of his 3 catches on the day.

Greetings from Bismarck, ND

We have arrived in Bismarck safe and relatively dry after a 3 hour trip on the bus. The team enjoyed the Golden Corral buffet dinner (I think that I ate too much as well), just about to have a team meeting before bed checks.

We look forward to seeing you all at the Bismarck Community Bowl tomorrow for a 1pm kickoff vs. the University of Mary. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the precipitation stays away, we are looking at mid 40's for game time temperatures.

If you can't make the trip, you can catch us on the web through www.northernsuntv.tv or on ESPN Radio 1660 starting at 12:40.

Go Dragons!!!

Scout Players of the Week vs. Mary

Congrats to Elliot Shannon and Matt Birr for their efforts preparing the team for Saturday's game vs. the University of Mary. Elliot is a true freshmen linebacker from Lakeville, MN while Matt is a true freshmen running back from Columbia Heights, MN.

2 for 2. . .Dragons prep for Marauders

Wednesday's practice complete, the football team has put together two spirited practices in preparation for U of Mary this weekend. It is great to see our senior leadership at practice, tough to get excited about practice everyday as fall slowly closes in and the leaves change in preparation for winter. This leadership will be key down the stretch.

My experiences with U Mary and Coach Schultz, Mary will come ready to play a very physical game and we are going to have to match their style for 60 minutes. Without divulging too much information, I am figuring the Battle for the Paddle (version 3) will be a great contest to see. . .just bring your warm clothes and rain gear.

Go Dragons!!!

Duluth, Revisited

Senior wide receiver Bruce Green on one of his three catches of the day.

A host of Dragon Defenders making a stop. . .#25 Tyler Hagen, #47 Zach Cahill,
#3 Jon Swart, and #15 Jeff Schuette

Freshmen Quarterback #13 Tyler Wegner making a Bulldog pay to get a tackle.

Runningback, Tim Hanson, on one of his carries of the day.

Sophomore linebacker Jake Larsen tallying one of his 4 tackles from the game.

Go Dragons!!!

Dragons head to the Lanes

In preparation for Saturday's homecoming game vs. Duluth, the football team spent Friday night together at Sunset Lanes in Moorhead. There were some good laughs and smiles as the team competed for the 2008 bowling title. The high score of the evening was 190 by former Moorhead Spud Alex Pearson. It is great for the team to be able to spend time together away from campus.

Go Dragons!!!

Scout Players of the Week vs Duluth

Tyler Brody, freshmen defensive back from John Marshall HS, MN was chosen as the defensive scout player of the week for his work against the starting offense. Tyler unselfishly jumped in to play linebacker all week. He did quite well! Great work Tyler!

Tim Zander, a redshirt freshmen wide receiver recovering from a back injury this season was selected as offensive scout player of the week. In Tim's first year, he was picked as offensive scout player of the year. He is back up to his hard work for the team. Great work Tim, glad to have you back!