Jake Litman
(KWMN)- The Winona State Warrior football team avoided the dreaded trap-game with ease last Saturday as they coasted to a comfortable victory over the Upper Iowa Peacocks, 45-7.
The Warriors started hot, and didn’t slow down, as they built a first half lead of 28-7 and continued to beat down the Peacocks in the second half.
Sam Santiago-Lloyd was again the lead back for the offense as he matched a conference single game high in touchdowns with SSL surpassing the goal line four times against Upper Iowa. Joe Sikma added a receiving touchdown to his name with a beautiful 36-yard touchdown catch from Kyle Haas. To no surprise, the defense continued to dominate, like they have all season long.
As a whole, the defense earned 10 tackles for a loss, three sacks and added an INT from Vernon Porte, his first of the season. Darius Manuel continued his stellar season with seven total tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks. Which was good enough to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors from the NSIC.
“It’s a real honor. I’ve worked hard for a long time and to see some of it start to pay off is great, for real. It’s kind of cheesy but it does start during the week. I started taking everything a lot more serious and investing into the program and the new culture of the team. our stats and record speak for itself if you look at them. From the scout team up we all earned that,” Manuel told the Winona Sports Network when asked about the award.
That quote really embodies the whole team and shows why they are as good as they are only one season into the Brian Bergstrom regime, players buying in–more importantly, believing.
With large amounts of outside noise on playoffs, rankings and Mankato the week following, Bergstrom knew they had to focus on the task at hand,
“I thought we did what we were supposed to do. Felt like we were a better football team as a coaching staff. Really proud of the guys for their ability to focus on the task at hand and not look ahead…I think the whole world was telling them to look ahead. Now this week the emphasis is beat Mankato and win the south,” Bergstrom told the Winona Sports Network.
On the surface, it’s a rivalry game against the Warriors most-hated foe in Mankato. But peel back one layer, then the next, and this game holds a plethora of possible repercussions.
For starters, the Warriors slipped into the AFCA Coaches poll for the first time this season, earning the 25th spot in the poll. Mankato falls two spots ahead at #23. Loser of this outcome can expect to be dropped from those rankings. More importantly, if the Warriors win, they’ll win sole possession of the NSIC south title (First since 2012), and a share of the whole NSIC title at the very least. A loss from the Warriors will still give them at least a share of the NISC South title (With Mankato), but that’s not nearly as appealing. Most importantly, the winner of this matchup will be rewarded with a much higher seeding in the impending playoff selection show come Sunday. As it stands right now, the Warriors rank 5th in the region, while Mankato sits at 3rd. The victor on Saturday will most likely earn a home playoff game in round one. Bergstrom, however, is keeping an even keel,
“The things that are in our control are beating Mankato and winning the South…What happens in the north part of the league we don’t have control over and certainly what happens with playoff seedings we don’t have control,” Bergstrom said.
Bergstrom continued to touch on the idea of added pressure when so many question marks will be answered after the outcome of the game,
“I think you let the situation do all of the pumping up of the guys. We’ll have no issues of getting up for the game so to speak. So, we just need to do things in the way we talk to them, in the way we practice, and keep the routine that just shows we want to make sure we are still playing football. That the stage and excitement doesn’t get bigger than the fact that it’s still a game…We’ve had success throughout the year of focusing one game at a time one series at a time one play at a time…Once you get into the game, its more before the game with the nerves, once you get into it, you’re just playing ball.”
The focus will remain with the task at hand for Bergstrom and company. Ignoring the rivalry, ignoring rankings and playoff seedings and just playing football, like they have all season long. This Warrior football team has been preparing each day throughout the season to reap the rewards that come their way if they get the victory on Saturday. Now they just have to get out on the field and take this opportunity by the horns, if you will. As for on the field, Bergstrom thinks the focus in practice this week will lineup with the keys for a victory on Saturday,
“As a team we are focusing on finishing, finishing everything that we do. It’s symbolic of finishing at the end of the regular season certainly and propelling ourselves into the playoffs…Offensively we need to stay on the attack, we are not going to let the stage change the way we play. Defensively we got to fight for more consistency, that’s going to be our focus. And then physical, fundamental execution on special teams,” said Bergstrom.
It is setting up to be one killer dogfight between two heavyweights in the NSIC. The Warriors have somewhat been labeled as the ‘younger brother’ to Mankato over the years. Of course, Mankato has had postseason success unlike any other NSIC team over the last 10 years, but it goes beyond that. Mankato has a comfortable all-time record against the Warriors, holding a 38-19-4 record dating all the way back to their first matchup in 1923. In the last 11 years Mankato has held the bragging rights, going 6-4 against the Warriors. The Warriors won the matchup last season on Maxwell Field and look to become only the second Warrior team since 2010 to beat Mankato in consecutive years. A lot easier said than done.
All eyes will be on the Mavericks and Warriors come this Saturday with massive post-season implications on the line. Kickoff set for 12:00 p.m. from Blakeslee Field in Mankato, Minn.
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