Hulk Hogan and Griffon Football

I compare the Missouri Western football teams season to a hero of mine growing up. That hero would be professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. It seemed every match the Hulkster had he would get put in a choke hold and his arm would fall to the mat two times. Right before his arm was getting ready to hit the canvas for a sure defeat, he would stop his arm and bust out of the move for a victory.

The Griffons football season could be categorized the same way. After starting 1-4 the Griffons have bounced back to finish the season 6-5 and secure a Mineral Water Bowl berth. Watching the Griffons this season certainly has been interesting. This team could legitimately be 9-2 and just as easy be 4-7. It certainly has been a roller coaster ride of a season.

After the fourth quarter of the Nebraska-Omaha game, the likelihood of the Griffons making the post season was bleak. To the credit of head coach Jerry Partridge and his coaching staff the team did not give up. The players also deserve credit for not giving up, even though the ultimate goal of making the playoffs was shot.

What a difference a year makes, last year making the Mineral Water Bowl was a let down from an otherwise great season. This year it seems like the prize for a hard fought season. It was a hard path, but the Griffons did it in style.

Senior kicker Dustin Strickler kicked two game winning field goals or the Mineral Water Bowl would have never been a possibility for the Griffons. Thomas Hodges has also been a big spark for the Griffons, as he has racked up yards in key situations. Inspired play by the whole team is what has brought the Griffons to the bowl game.

The Mineral Water Bowl means the seniors get one more collegiate game before starting the next phase of their lives. It will be worth the trip to Excelsior Springs to see Roger Allen, Jarrett Morris, Jamie Hanson, Soane Etu, Dustin Strickler, Martin Lane, Zach Walker and the rest of the seniors suit up one last time.

We might as well rename the Mineral Water Bowl the Missouri Western Bowl. We have been to the bowl game six times and five times in the last eight years. I know the Mineral Water Bowl is not what Missouri Western strives to get to each year, that would be a playoff berth. The Griffons can build off this and hopefully next season we will be hosting a playoff game and not heading back to Excelisor Springs.

The group of seniors that have been on the team the last four years will be leaving the Western program as the group with the most all time victories. They were a part of the first playoff apperance and have a chance to capture their third Mineral Water Bowl victory. A bowl victory would be a nice way for these seniors to end their Western careers.

Seniors looking to go out on top

When seniors leave and graduate from a program it’s always hard, but for Missouri Western football fans it may a be little harder watching these seniors leave.

This class of seniors has racked up many accolades. They are going to leave with the most wins in a four-year period with 33 victories. The seniors can add one more to that tally with a third Mineral Water Bowl victory for this group of seniors. Head coach Jerry Partridge knows he is losing a special group.

“There are some guys whose losses will be huge,” Partridge said. “We are not only losing good athletes, but great character guys who do everything the right way.”

This group of seniors has been a key part to many amazing things here at Missouri Western. They were a part of the first Griffon football team to qualify for the Division II playoffs in 2006. They also provided the first victory in “The Jungle” against the Pittsburg State Gorillas since 1984, with the 2007 victory over the Gorillas by a score of 39-32. Senior defensive lineman Martin Lane feels it’s an honor to be a part of this special class.

“It feels amazing to be a part of this special senior class,” Lane said. “I feel like I am home here at Western, and have felt that way, since day one here on campus.”

The seniors on this season’s team are: Zach Walker, Dustin Strickler, Zach Sharp, Jarrett Morris, Anthony Morgan, Cory Elmendorf, Gary Williams, Sylvester Gibson, Justin Richmond, Lance Neal, Roger Allen, Jamie Hanson, Alvaro Prado, Soane Etu and Martin Lane. All of the seniors have different dreams now that their collegiate careers have come to an end. Hanson and Allen have pro-aspirations and others have the abilities to play semi-pro football. For others, organized football is over for them and they will begin their real lives with their Missouri Western degrees.

This proud senior class was worried their legacy might be ruined by a bad season, but the Griffons rallied with a four game winning streak at the end of the season to catapult them into the Mineral Water Bowl. Senior kicker Dustin Strickler couldn’t be more excited to have one more game in his Griffon career.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for the whole team,” Strickler said. “We have now made the post-season all four years and that’s something I will be able to tell my grandchildren someday.”

The last few years have been an incredible journey for the seniors. They have experienced extreme highs and lows on the football field. For Lane it seems just like yesterday he was enrolling to be a Griffon.

“I look at the freshmen on this team and they are incredibly talented and it seems like just yesterday that was me,” Lane said. “It’s amazing how fast time goes, but I wouldn’t change anything.”

Lane echoes the sentiments of many of his fellow seniors; many of them wouldn’t change anything. The decision they made to become a Griffon was one they would make again if they had to do it over. Defensive back Jarrett Morris knows were his heart will always be.

“I am proud to be able to say that I am a Griffon,” Morris said. “I have been here for five years and they have been the best years of my life.”

These seniors certainly have stamped their legacy. The icing on the cake to their brilliant careers would be a Mineral Water Bowl victory over Augustana. The ride has been long and sometimes challenging, but knowing this talented group of athletes, they will go out with a bang.