11-7 Mel.jpg

Northwest Missouri State is still stinging a bit from their 21-14 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the Division II football national title game this past Saturday in Florence, Alabama.  Head football coach Mel Tjeersdma gives us a look inside the game and what’s next for Bearcat football.

There is no time to slow down.  The Bearcats need to catch up to the rest of the division II schools in the area and get a start on their recruiting.  Before I talked with coach Tjeersdma he was getting ready to study numerous game tapes of possible recruits.  The national signing day is just over a month away.

In our interview, we look back at the missed opportunities and mistakes that came back to haunt the Bearcats in their loss.  They were nearing the end of a scoreless half that was anything but perfect, but had a chance at a field goal and missed.  UMD drove the down the field and scored at the end of the half and the wheels came off as the Bearcats were down 21-0 before trying to rally back. A failed onside kick with less than two minutes gave UMD the ball and they ran out the clock on the Bearcats who have now loss four straight years in the title game.

I just want to say thank you to head coach Mel Tjeerdsma for taking time out his busy schedule to talk football with me all season.  I’ll continue to bring you coverage of Northwest Missouri State and all of our state schools who play on the D-II level.

Enjoy my final visit of the season with coach Tjeersdma

Download/listen to Me Tjeersdma (10:00 mp3)