Monthly Archives: August 2011

Coste: ‘Seeing if I can make players better is one of my big curiosities’

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Chris Coste receiving his World Series ring

Concordia head baseball coach Bucky Burgau said he had a conversation with former player Chris Coste about a year ago and Burgau asked Coste about his future goals.

Coste pointed at Burgau and said: “I want your job.”

“He didn’t mean it in a bad way; when I’m done,” Burgau said.

Coste has taken the first step in that direction as he’s been hired as associate head baseball coach for the Cobbers. Coste is returning to the college program where he had great success as a player. He was a three-time All-American for the Cobbers from 1993-95.

Burgau thinks Coste will make a good coach. Burgau can see Coste being the Cobbers head coach one day.

“When he played for me, he was kind of like a coach on the field,” Burgau said. “He was very good. He was a student of the game that way.”

Coste, who won a World Series championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, said he felt his time at Concordia helped put him on a path to the Major Leagues. Coste played one year at a junior college before joining the Cobbers.

“That was one of my big steps to the big leagues,” said Coste, who told The Forum Monday he was retiring from professional baseball. “Once I got to Concordia, at that point, the dream kind of resuscitated again.”

Coste said his plan was to always get into coaching after his professional playing career was over. Coste started his pro career in 1995, playing for two independent league teams. He played with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks from 1996-99, a stint that helped him break into organized baseball.

Coste played in the big leagues from 2006-09 with the Phillies and Houston Astros.

“We’ll see how much my experience turns me into a good coach,” Coste said. “Seeing if I can make players better is one of my big curiosities.”

Bump and run: Notes and quotes from Cobbers football media day

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Cobbers head football coach Terry Horan

Concordia held its media day Thursday at Jake Christiansen Stadium. Here are notes and quotes from the annual event.

  • Cobbers head coach Terry Horan feels his team has one of its deepest group of receivers, including senior Bronson Shepherd, junior Mike Starke and sophomore Mark Whiting.
  • Horan is hoping the Cobbers defense can play better than it did last year, especially against the pass. The Cobbers ranked No. 8 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference a season ago, allowing nearly 250 pass yards per game.
  • The Cobbers have a new interim defensive coordinator this season. Kyle Bakken has takes over for Scott Lucier. Concordia is in the second year of its transition to a 3-4 defensive system. “We really want to do things better,” Bakken said. “Do what we did last year, but execute it much better. … We are a little bit ahead of last year, which we should be. It’s our second year with it.”
  • Concordia was 5-5 overall last fall, but Horan like the way the team finished the season. The Cobbers won four of their last five games. “Our kids were playing great football at the end of the year, they really were,” Horan said. “We got better as the season went on and now you can see it.”

Where’s the beef? Dragons offensive line coming into focus

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MSUM senior offensive tackle Zack Tournangeau

The Minnesota State Moorhead offensive line is starting to come into focus as fall camp progresses.

MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said sophomore guard Nic Pfeifer, who transferred from Valley City State, has been one of the surprises of fall camp.

“It’s nice that Nic was able to rise to the top really quick,” Laqua said.

Senior Zack Tournangeau and junior Zane Ziebell are both slated to start at the offensive tackle spots. Redshirt freshman Logan Romines is taking snaps at both guard and center spots, while junior Drew Frohling is seeing time at center. Freshman Kyle Morrow is also in the mix at a guard spot. Laqua said he also expects junior Taylor Jahn, who has been slowed by injury, to be a contributor on the offensive line.

“Those are our top eight guys,” Laqua said. “That’s looking like it right now.”

NOTES: Laqua said true freshman quarterback Myles Montplaisir (who played for Laqua at Fargo Shanley last season) is taking all the second-team snaps to this point of fall camp with senior Kyle Hall and true freshman Ryan Toelle sidelined. Senior QB Kevin Koch is the starter. … Laqua said Montplaisir along with safety Stefan Webber and linebacker Andrew Pittman could all see the field as true freshmen. … Laqua said senior Kendall Hendon is emerging as the team’s top playmaker at wide receiver.

Cobbers open football camp, plus a cool video

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The Concordia Cobbers opened football camp over the weekend and had 132 players report, including 45 freshmen. The Cobbers return key players at the skill positions, including senior quarterback Mike Dunham. Dunham completed 193 of 304 passes last season for 2,027 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Concordia also returns sophomore Trent Johnson, who led the teams in rushing last season. Johnson rushed for 411 yards and 3 TDs on 57 attempts, averaging a stellar 7.2 yards per carry.

The Cobbers also return their top receiving threat. Senior Bronson Shepherd caught 61 passes for 715 yards and 7 TDs last season.

The Cobbers have their annual media day later this week. The below video is courtesy of the Concordia sports information department.

Three things to watch during Valley City State fall football camp

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Valley City State head coach Dennis McCulloch

Valley City State is scheduled to have its football players report fall camp next Wednesday with practice starting the next day. The Vikings were 4-6 overall last season and 3-5 in the Dakota Athletic Conference.

VCSU head coach Dennis McCulloch, who is entering his 18th season, said the offensive and defensive lines, linebackers and quarterback are three positions areas that are important to solidify during fall camp.

  • Offensive/defensive line: The Vikings return three strong players on the offensive line in center Kevin Murphy and tackles Major Hopp and Charlie Wellman. “Those guys are solid guys who we know are going to be a core for us and the other guys are all competing,” McCulloch said. McCulloch said Jordan Maher and Garrett Jackson are two players who are expected to anchor the defensive line.
  • Linebackers: The Vikings lost two stalwarts at this spot with Kevin Strang and Coty Beck as they both completed their football eligibility last fall. McCulloch expects Devin Aedo, Alex Hooey and Josh Hooey to make up for the loss of Strang and Beck. The Hooey brothers played at Fargo South.
  • Quarterback: Junior Tommy Zinke is holding down the No. 1 spot heading into fall camp. “It’s really his job to lose right now,” said McCulloch, who said junior transfer Logan McAllister could also figure into the quarterback mix.

Hot reads: The Vikings return their top receiving threat in LeTheo Proctor, who caught 36 passes for 478 yards and two touchdowns last season. … VCSU is scheduled to play its first game on its newly installed artificial turf field on Sept. 1 when the Vikings host Morningside College. The football field has been named after Shelly Ellig, the founder of Fargo-based Stop-N-Go stores, in recognition of Ellig’s major contribution to the project. Ellig died in October 2010 at the age of 81. “I think everybody is excited,” McCulloch said of the new artificial turf. “It’s like getting a new toy for Christmas.”

Dragons add a two-time state champion to wrestling program

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Wahpeton's Eric Lehmann, top, has signed to wrestle at Minnesota State Moorhead

Minnesota State Moorhead has added a two-time North Dakota Class A state wrestling champion to its program, signing former Wahpeton (N.D.) High School standout Eric Lehmann.

Lehmann had a 145-46 career record in high school and was also a high school All-American. Lehmann is projected to wrestled at 184 or 197 pounds for the Dragons.

“He is one of the better recruits we brought in and we brought him in late,” said MSUM head coach Kris Nelson. “He could challenge for a starting spot at 184 or 197.”

The Dragons have also added Jesse Puncochar, who wrestled for Annandale-Maple Lake (Minn.) in high school. In his senior season, Puncochar had a 40-6 record and placed fourth in Class 2A at 152 pounds at the Minnesota state tournament. He is expected to wrestle at 157 or 165 pounds for the Dragons.

With the additions of Lehmann and Puncochar, the Dragons recruiting class has grown to nine wrestlers. Matt Doom (Paynesville, Minn.), Deven Loepp (Oakes, N.D.), Lucas Moderow (Fargo South), Jesse Munos (St. Paul, Minn.),  Zach Odden-Lemar (Central Cass), Raymond Orwig (Ellendale, N.D.) and Mario Tuccitto (St. Paul, Minn.) were added to the program last spring.

“I’m pretty happy with the recruiting class that we got,” Nelson said.

Three things to watch for as the Cobbers prepare to open fall football camp

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Cobbers head football coach Terry Horan

Concordia football players are scheduled to report to camp on Aug. 13 and practice starts the next day. The Cobbers were 5-5 overall last season and 4-4 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, winning four of their last five games to end the regular season.

Cobbers coach Terry Horan said finding a solid No. 2 quarterback, solidifying the defensive line depth chart and running back rotation are three areas that need to be sorted out through fall camp.

  • Quarterback: The Cobbers are set at the starting spot, returning senior Michael Dunham, who passed for 2,027 yards and 15 touchdowns last fall. The No. 2 spot is up for grabs. Sophomores Mark Dunham (Michael’s brother) and Josh Mayo and freshmen Griffin Neal, Mitch Tauer and Tyson Gibson are all expected to compete for spots on the depth chart. “Finding that backup is one of our most crucial spots,” Horan said.

  • Defensive line: The Cobbers shifted to a 3-4 scheme last season and finding a rotation of players will be important a the three D-line positions. Junior defensive end Reed Hefta is one of the few returning proven commodities on the front. Senior defensive end Robin Wisner, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, and sophomore nose tackle Mark Wychor are players to watch through fall camp. “It’s probably one of those areas where we’re going to need guys step up,” Horan said. “We need to solidify that depth chart. We can’t afford any injuries at that position because we don’t have the horses, per se, like we’ve had in the past.”

  • Running back: The Cobbers lost some depth at the position when Ben SaariBovre decided not to return to the team after offseason hip surgery, Horan said. The Cobbers return sophomore back Trent Johnson, who led the team with 411 rushing yards last fall. Senior Chris Gilson is also returning to the mix after suffering a season-ended injury early into last season. Senior Tyler Kolness is also expected to challenge for carries. Horan likes the promise junior fullback Brett Baune showed at the end of last fall. “The fullback will make us tick and we’ve struggled in that position the last few years,” Horan said.

Hot reads: Kyle Bakken is taking over as interim defensive coordinator this fall. Former defensive coordinator Scott Lucier stepped away from coaching in the offseason to pursue other career opportunities, Horan said. … Horan said he expects to have 134 players at the start of fall camp, including 50 freshmen. … The Concordia football alumni and friends gold tournament is scheduled for Friday at the Moorhead Country Club.