JU’s quest for another Pioneer Football League title came to a tired end on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the hands of the University of San Diego. The Dolphins trip to sunny California was anything but a magical California vacation.

In a game that was going to decide the Co-PFL champion, the Dolphins saw themselves in an early hole. JU spotted San Diego a controversial 14 point lead. San Diego scored their second TD after what was ruled a fumble by JU QB Josh McGregor.

“It was the key play of the first half,” Head Coach Kerwin Bell said.

Bell contested the call and was handed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“You could see he was down, but the officials didn’t like that I was challenging it. They said they couldn’t overrule it,” said Bell.

San Diego scored 17 first half points and never looked back. JU got it to 17-14 but couldn’t get out of the hole they dug themselves. The Dolphins eventually fell 23-14 to San Diego in the end.

The offense was not their usual explosive selves and couldn’t seem to get anything going on the day. They were held to just 33 yards rushing.

McGregor yet again etched his name into the record books as he completed 22 of 36 passes for 214 yards and 1 TD. He broke the PFL mark for completions and stepped up to 6th on the all-time Football Championship Series TD pass list with 116.

Although the day did not end how they may have wanted it, there is plenty of things to build off of for next season. Not only do they have a good foundation, but they have a great leader to look up to in Coach Bell, who summed up this game with true sportsmanship.

“Its a very disappointing day, but the better team won,” said Bell. “They got us in a one dimensional game and that was the difference.”

The Dolphins have now concluded yet another good season, but coach Bell was still not satisfied. He expects a title out of his teams. If they plan to do so next year, they have some holes to fill before doing so.

JU’s track to another Pioneer Football League Championship suffered a slight set back on a last minute road loss at Drake. With 21 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Drake punched in for a 31-24 lead.

Saturday’s loss snapped the Dolphins 16 game PFL win streak. JU (6-3,5-1) is now 0-9 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

JU overcame a 17-10 halftime deficit to pull ahead 24-17 on a Josh Philpart touchdown catch from Josh McGregor. Drake came back to tie the game at 24 with 3:49 to play.

A short kickoff by Drake left a short field for McGregor and the offense who took over close to midfield. All they needed to do was put one last drive together and muster any points they could. This would have killed the clock and sealed the game.

McGregor was picked off, giving Drake the ball at their own 42 yard line. McGregor was intercepted four times on the day, three coming in the 1st half but this most pivotal pick coming late in the 4th quarter.

Drake then drove down the field and with 21 seconds to play scored the game winning touchdown.

“It was a great back and forth game and you have to give Drake credit,” JU coach Kerwin Bell said. “They played a whale of a game. Were still in it (league title chase).”

JU is now in a 3-team race for the PFL title. One of the teams in the chase is San Diego who JU travels to face in two weeks. The team now controls their destiny and needs a good showing the last two weeks of the season.

Before traveling to San Diego next week the Dolphins return home for Senior Day this Saturday to take on Butler, Nov. 12th at noon.

If the Dolphins have any hope of winning another conference title and potentially receiving a post season bid they not only need to win out, they need some help from other teams as well. This sets up for what should be an exciting finish to another season.

Photo courtesy of Brett Durda

In a splash of events, Homecoming came and went and none bigger than the JU football team’s 56-13 win over Davidson.

A record setting, event filled day concluded with JU at the top of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) standings.

The Dolphins sixteenth consecutive PFL victory gives them sole possession of first place in the PFL and the PFL record for consecutive conference wins. They also hold a Football Championship Series best 13 game home winning streak. JU has now cracked the FCS polls for the first time this season.

Quarterback Josh McGregor and Wide Receiver Larry Thompson led the offense. McGregor finished the day 20-27 for 295 yards with four touchdown passes and 104 yards running. This accomplishment marks the first time he rushed for over 100 yards. Thompson ended with five catches for 100 yards grabbing three of McGregor’s four TD passes.

“I was just doing what I was supposed to be doing and kept getting open,” Thompson said.

The defense held strong all day, led by Safety Lacy McDougald who had two interceptions, returning one of them 59 yards for a touchdown.

Despite struggling early on, JU scored on the fourth play of the game and held the lead from that point on. Davidson hung around throughout the first half but ended up falling behind once the second half started.

“That was my fault,” coach Kerwin Bell said. “I had some bad play calling, but we got out of this with a win.”

McGregor’s back-to-back big games have put him in the record books yet again. His four TD’s against Davidson put him at 109 for his career. McGregor is now tied for seventh all time with Marcus Brady of Cal State Northridge (1998-2001).

The game got underway a little differently against Davidson this past Saturday. Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown conducted coin toss and was also honored at halftime with the 2011 JU distinguished alumni award.

“I am very proud of the team and how they are achieving on and off the field,” Brown said. “The teams continued success is good for JU, the community and the city as a whole.”

Brown went on to say that he is proud to see how the entire Athletic department has grown. He believes that Athletic director Allen Verlander and the coaches here at JU are doing an excellent job and providing great leadership for their athletes.

“Not only do college sports teach discipline, football teaches these guys the game of life,” Brown said.

JU, (6-2, 5-0) has a bye this week as they prepare for a trip to take on Drake the following week. With only three games left, it is crucial for the team to remain focused on their goal. After the trip to confront Drake, the Dolphins are home against Butler and conclude with a trip out to face San Diego in what assures to be the deciding factor of the outcome of the JU season. The team will look to take full advantage of the week off and prepare for the final stretch of the season.

Photo by Grace Singer

The Dolphins came out on fire on a hot Saturday afternoon, torching Morehead State University in a 50-14 win. Once again the team was lead by senior quarterback Josh McGregor and a stellar defensive attack.

On just their third play of the game, McGregor found his target to give JU the immediate lead. Just as it had been the past few weeks, their opponent struck back and it appeared they were in for another tough battle.

The defense had other plans. They held Morehead St., the number one passing team in the FCS this year, to only one touchdown after that initial score. Defensive back Leonard Smith set the direction of the team with seven tackles. Mike Mayoral, a defensive tackle, had three sacks and an interception. DB Lacy McDougald also joined the party with an interception of his own. That number one passing attack had no chance against this defense as they were held in check all day.

“We went back and forth at the beginning but the heat started getting to them a little, I think,” said JU Head Coach Kerwin Bell.

This big victory came on yet another milestone day for McGregor. On top of getting his one hundredth career TD last week, he reached the 10,000 yard career passing mark this past Saturday to add to his excellent career numbers against Morehead.

After going 19 for 30 for 346 yards and five touchdowns, McGregor has now passed for 10,050 yards and 105 TDs in his career. That’s not too bad for a guy fifth on the depth chart upon arriving at JU.

“I have been surrounded by very good receivers and a very good offensive line since I’ve been here,” McGregor said.

One of those receivers is Larry Thompson who led the team with four catches for 107 yards. This brings his number of consecutive-games-with-a-catch streak up to 27. RB Keith Dawson led the rushing attack with 13 carries for 104 yards. Dawson ripped off a 48 yard TD run in the second half to assure a Dolphin victory.

JU now holds a 12 game home winning streak, which is the largest active streak in the FCS. The Dolphins also hold another streak, this one with more prominence. They have tied the record for consecutive wins in the Pioneer Football League at 15. JU is now tied with the University of San Diego 2005-2007 squad. They were coached by San Francisco, Forty-Niners Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

Morehead State (2-5, 1-3) ran into the Dolphins at an unfortunate time. JU put together their most complete game of the season this past Saturday and it showed on the scoreboard. After a slow, hesitant start, JU has now climbed to a 5-2 record and an undefeated mark of 4-0 in conference.

This weekend, Davidson comes to town for JU’s homecoming game. The crowd will be pumped up for this one as it serves as an enthralling prequel for the last, hardest stretch of PFL play. Davidson is coming off a tough loss 28-0 against Dayton so they will come up tough to try and spoil homecoming here at JU. McGregor, this offense and this defense are all coming full speed at the right time. This gives promise of an exciting finish.

Photo by Grace Singer

The Dolphins (4-2, 3-0) capped off yet another last minute victory for a record setting day. Aside from picking up their 4^th win of the year, Quarterback Josh McGregor stole the show with his star-studded performance.

The senior QB led his team to a 4^th consecutive victory bringing them to a 4-2 record on the season and an impressive 3-0 in conference. In doing so, McGregor threw for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns. These numbers propelled him to 1^st on the all-time PFL passing list with a career total thus far of 9,704 yards. Three TD’s put him at 100 passing TD’s, which is the 10th all-time in Football Championship Series history.

The 34-26 JU win did not come easily for McGregor and the Dolphins, however. The Fins were stunned early on when Dayton struck first with a 29-yard TD run from Taylor Harris. This was the first opening quarter score the allowed by the Fins all season. The Dolphins fought back quick and often against the Flyers, the team they shared last year’s PFL title with.

“These guys just keep fighting for each other,” JU Coach Kerwin Bell said. “I’m really proud of how they kept coming back. We are getting the best from our opponents each week.”

JU RB J.J. Laster also carried the offense with 78 yards and 3 touchdowns, including McGregor’s 100^th TD pass. Senior WR Larry Thompson recorded 4 catches for 43 yards extending his consecutive game with a catch streak to 26. WR Josh Philpart, also a senior, continued a consecutive multi-game catch streak extending to 15 vs. Dayton.

The teams traded the lead back and forth until the late stages of the game. With 4:11 left to play, Laster scored to put the Fins up 27-26. The next drive, the defense held Dayton and stopped them on 4^th down. McGregor, with the ball back in hand, had a chance to run out the time and let the clock expire. Instead he went for the end zone, as any true competitor would. He found Laster for a 35-yard TD strike to extend the JU lead to 34-26.

As if that was not enough, as Dayton was driving, threatening to move into scoring position, the defense stepped up yet again and forced a turnover. Freshman Blythe Weaver came up with the game sealing interception, the knockout blow to the Flyers.

“It was a dog fight,” McGregor said. “As we expected, Dayton came after us with everything.”

Along with the Weaver interception, sophomore Defensive End Luidji Michel and senior Defensive Tackle Rolando Fines both had 10 tackles and 2 sacks each. The defensive came up big when needed and made sure they got the win.

The Dolphins are proud owners of a 14 game PFL winning streak, an 11 game home winning streak, and bragging rights over the team they shared the PFL crown with just a season ago.

This Saturday, the Fins look to continue the home dominance as they take on division foe Morehead State at 1p.m. at D.B. Milne Field.

Photo by Grace Singer

JU Football travels to the Empire State and scores big.

The Dolphins held off a late surge to defeat the Marist Red Foxes 21-9, grasping proudly their third win of the season Saturday, Oct. 1. Sealing the deal for Jacksonville University’s win was a powerful interception by Schon Thomas, snagged with only 3:21 left in the game.

On their trip to Poughkeepsie, New York, Saturday, JU (3-2, 2-0) braved damp and breezy conditions. The elements negatively impacted the Dolphins passing game, which is usually an above average attack, led by QB Josh McGregor.

McGregor, who had five touchdowns the previous week, was held to just 11 of 19 passing for 112 yards, 29 coming in the first half. Though he tallied no touchdowns, he led the team to a pivotal victory. WR Larry Thompson nabbed McGregor’s three completions for 40 yards, thus extending his consecutive game with a catch streak to 25 games.

The offensive game ball deservedly goes to senior RB J.J Laster. Laster tallied three touchdowns, the most important one coming with 11:07 remaining to play in the fourth and final quarter.

The second half surge put on by the Red Foxes swiftly found itself at a screeching halt. The Dolphins cut them in their tracks, opening the fourth quarter with a 15 play 89-yard drive capped off by the third TD of the day for Laster. This late score extended the Dolphin lead to 21-9.

Senior Running back Keith Dawson dominated the offense, with 69 yards rushing on 11 carries. The backfield tandem combined for 113 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns.

The biggest story of the day was the JU defense. Leonard Smith led the team with 10 tackles. All together, the defense forced five turnovers, including the game sealing interception late in the fourth quarter.

“Our defense played extremely well and our special teams made some good plays,” said Coach Kerwin Bell. “We didn’t perform well on offense and that’s my fault. I game planned on what they did last year when they dropped eight back and that was my fault.”

Although their early season play was lacking, the Fins turned it around and are looking toward the future. Saturday’s win against Marist marked JU’s 13^th straight Pioneer Football League win dating back to 2009.

After the (2-0) conference start the Dolphins boast a (3-2) record overall. They’re looking to continue the quality conference play and potentially earn a playoff bid. The team aspires to obtain their third PFL championship in the last four years.

This Saturday the Dolphins welcome another challenge in the form of a division rival University of Dayton to D.B. Milne Field. Dayton and JU were last year’s Co-PFL champs, all signs point to a big game. The ‘Fins will push forward to continue their winning ways of late by defeating the Flyers, on the way to a fourth win. In doing so, JU would remain undefeated in conference play and put them in an opportune spot for the remainder of the season. Be sure to head out and watch your JU Dolphins take on the division rival Dayton Flyers this Saturday. This match up promises to be an action packed PFL battle.