Brinkley and his band of merry men

OK, I have waxed rhapsodic about how fun and amazing this football season has been thus far ... and the scary part is that there are still SEVEN MORE GAMES LEFT!!!

The Bulldogs have taken us - well, at least me - on a fun ride. And one of the problems at the helm of this thrilling ride is quarterback Mike Brinkley.

As with any new season, there are a number of question marks facing a team. For the Bulldogs, one of the big one was how to fill the void left by Joey Waters. He only threw for more than 3,200 yards and had 27 passing TDs last season. Not easy numbers to replace.

Yet, Brinkley has stepped in nicely.

The 6-foot-1 quarterback has not been flashy, has not racked up huge yardage, but more importantly he has held his composure and guided the team with limited mistakes. Through the first four games, Mike has thrown for 814 yards and 9 TDs and completed just under 61 percent of his passes. Against Georgetown, Mike managed the game very well as he threw for a season-high 253 yards and completed 77.3 percent of his passes.

And Brinkley has spread the wealth as well, hitting eight different receivers this season with only three registering double-digit catches. Ben Kelly leads the team with 19, while Kyle Callahan has 16 and Chris Thomas 13.

Additionally, there's been a different leading receiver each week. Callahan and Thomas led the team in week one with 7, then Kelly led the way against Malone and Faulkner with 6 and 4, respectively. Against Georgetown, the show belonged to Rolando Dyer, who hauled in a 6 catches for 98 yards and 2 TDs. Heading into the game, Dyer only had 2 catches for 32 yards.

Chew on this thought: Brinkley is just a freshman. With the maturity and composure he's showing in the pocket now, it gets me kind of jazzed to think about what's to come.

Here are some other random football tidbits:

• The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 34-0 in the third quarter this season.


• In addition to being on a 6-game win streak, Union has won its last 3 in a row on road, its last 3 in a row at Burch/Nau Field and its last 3 in a row versus ranked opponents.


• Union is 4-0 for the first time in program history. Other first-time 4-0 teams this season include the Tennessee Titans, who've never reached that mark even during the franchise's heyday as the Houston Oilers.

Riding to the Top

Another weekend and another successful run for the Union cycling team. This time it was up at the University of Michigan.

Rachel Millsop is making an impact with a pair of wins Sunday. She has five wins so far this year and could contend for the MWCCC Rider of the Year honor. She would be the third Union rider to ever win the award and it would be back-to-back years a Bulldog wins it.

Zach Winn is the defending MWCCC Rider of the Year and is not doing bad himself. He picked up a time trial win Sunday to lead a pack of Bulldogs in the event. What does that say about the Union team when the Bulldogs have four of the Top-5 finishers?

Grant it, the cycling travels north for most of the races, but if you get a chance, the NCCA National Championship is in Banner Elk, N.C. from Oct. 24-26. It should be an exciting event all weekend. Could Union capture the national championship to go with the 2002 title? Only time will tell, but first thing is first, reclaim the MWCCC Championship. That will be determined Oct. 11-12 at Purdue (Ind.) University.

Not the same ol' Bulldogs

In case you've been hiding under a rock, the Bulldog football team is off to one of its better seasons in years. Union is 3-0 for the eighth time in program history and the first time since 1994!

And as they go for its first-ever 4-0 start, the Bulldogs will square off against Georgetown in a battle of NAIA Top 20 teams - and Union is the higher ranked team at No. 16 with the Tigers coming in at No. 18.

Can the Union-Georgetown game be any bigger? It's the Mid-South Conference East opener for both. The Bulldogs snapped a 23-game losing streak against Georgetown with a 28-21 decision on the Tigers home field to end the 2007 season. (Oh, and by the way, that loss kept Georgetown out of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years and snapped the Tigers' streak of winning and/or sharing the conference championship at 11 years.) So, revenge will be on Georgetown's mind come Saturday.

These are certainly fun times. Don't know about you, but I can't wait until game time.

Here are some more random football notes:

• One player to watch for - because opposing defenses will be - is No. 26 Terence Pollock. All Mr. Pollock did last week was ripped of a 198-yard, 2-touchdown performance, earning him the MSC Offensive Player of the Week nod. On the season, he's rushed for 400 yards and is on pace to become just the third player in program history to rush for a 1,000 yards in a season. Also, he is only 223 yards away from becoming the third player to run for 2,000 yards in a career!!! Currently, Terence is ranked third in the NAIA in rushing yards per game at 133.3.
• Willie Williams is certainly making his presence felt as he ranks fourth, fifth and 13th in the NAIA in tackles for a loss, sacks and total tackles.
• Jacob Appleby has played just 3 games in his collegiate career, but he's already making an impact. Currently, he ranks third in the NAIA in Kicking Scoring with an 8.3 points-per-game average. At Faulkner last week, Jacob booted three field goals to tie the school record and scored 11 of the team's 23 points as he was named the MSC Special Teams Player of the Week.
• The Bulldogs have rushed for 608 yards and passed for only 561. The last time Union finished the season with more yards rushing than passing was in 2003 when it ran for 1838 and passed for 1370.
• In the previous seven seasons Union started the year 3-0, the team finished no worse than .500 (5-5 in 1993). The Bulldogs posted a winning record in the other six seasons.

Renata just helping out her friends

Union College has had its share of great women's soccer players.

The Lady Bulldogs have had on their roster the all-time leading goal scorer in collegiate HISTORY!!! And Union is the only school in NAIA history to boast of having TWO women's soccer players to score 100 goals during their careers.

But what Renata Peixoto is doing is on a whole other level.

Yesterday, the sophomore midfielder dished out five assists in the 6-0 win over Bluefield, narrowly missing tying the school record of six helpers in a game.

However, dishing out assists is what Renata has been doing all season. Through only nine games this season, she has scored eight goals and had 17 assists - one shy of tying the school record. At this clip, Renate could make a serious run at the NAIA record which stands at 29.

There is some history possibly in the making at Union. But if you're not careful, you could miss.

Just some random thoughts ...

It's kind of a quiet week here in the SID Office, so here are just some random thoughts and interesting tidbits - at least they're interesting to me, but I'm a stats geek so what do I know.

First, our women's soccer team lost 5-3 at Asbury. At first glance, it seems the Lady Bulldog defense had some issues. Well, they did but not the kind you might be thinking about. Asbury scored 3 of its 5 goals on penalty kicks!!!

I've been covering soccer for 15 years now, and this is the first time I've ever seen 3 PKs in one game let alone by one team. Brittany Puryear made 6 saves, but stopping a PK is not an easy chore.

On a side note, Ashley Hall is really burning up the back of the net!!! After yesterday's 2-goal performance, the sophomore now has 8 tallies on the season to tie her for second on the squad. Ashley had just 9 goals in 15 games last season.

Don't worry, the Lady Bulldogs will rebound from this.

Next, how 'bout the roll the Bulldog soccer team has begun the season on???

Union is 5-1-2 after yesterday's 3-1 victory over Berea. Had to do some digging for this tidbit, but the last time the Bulldogs began the year 5-1-2 was in 2001 when they ended the year 16-4-2, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA and missed advancing to the national tournament by ONE GAME - but we won't talk about that.

The thing I'm enjoying most about the Bulldogs is their balanced-scoring attack. There are literally 4 or 5 guys that can score at any moment with a number of other players able to chip a crucial goal when the need arises.

Watch out Appalachian Athletic Conference! Here comes the Bulldogs!

The Lady Bulldog volleyballers have a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde season early on. The start out the year going 3-1 against NCAA Division II schools, but open AAC play 1-2.

However, Union's turned things around with three straight AAC victories and sit third in the standing with a 4-2 league mark.

Scanning the Lady Bulldog stats, it's amazing how balanced it is. There are number of players leading the charge at the net, Monica Moreland and Christina Prindle are handling the assists and digs just fine, but two players really stand out to me.

First, junior Brooke Vinovich currently has nearly as many digs (92) as she does kills (94). I don't know why, but that's impressive to me. To be able to dominate the net like she does as well as get back and play defense just shows what kind of athlete Brooke is.

Also, freshman Amelia Cantrell is proving to be a valuable asset in her first season with the Lady Bulldogs. She's helped out with 41 kills thus far and is second on the team in blocks with 25 total blocks. All I can say is keep up the good work!!!

Lastly, the Bulldog cyclists are rolling, rolling, rolling. In their first two weekends of races, they have proven to be very strong unit and appear to be getting things in order for another NCCA National Championship run.

We're just four weeks into the fall sports season, and it's been a fun one thus far. Don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what the rest of the year will bring.

How 'bout them Bulldogs!!!

WOW!!!

What else is there to say after the amazing football game this weekend?

The Bulldogs defeated the then-No. 24 team in the nation. They did it in an impressive manner, dominating ball control in the second half and just wore down Malone. It was a true team effort. The defense did all it could to keep the team in it in the first half, while the offense seized control of things in the second half.

Malone might've had more yardage and more first downs, but Union led in the category that matters most - the FINAL SCORE!!! 35-28.

In amongst the great team effort were some spectacular individual performances.

Kyle Callahan had just four catches all day, but he hauled in three TD passes - all three of which were SportsCenter worthy.

After a rough first half, running back Terence Pollock, Darrell Taylor, Tim Coffey and Ben Kelly did what they needed to do to eat up the clock and keep Malone's offense off the field. Quarterback Mike Brinkley did a commendable job of managing the clock and guiding the team to victory. And just think, Brinkley's just a freshman.

On defense, the line did a tremendous job getting pressure on the quarterback while the linebackers and secondary just did their thing.

The Bulldogs are now 2-0!!! It's been since 1994 that Union has been able to say that.

And now, the Bulldogs are ranked in the NAIA Top 25!!!

Union is currently tied for No. 18 in the latest NAIA Football Coaches' Poll. The last time Union was ranked the year was 1996 - and the ranking did not last long. The Bulldogs finished the 1995 season 7-2-1 and ranked 16th, just missing the NAIA playoffs. So, coming off the stellar, Union entered the 1996 season with high hopes and expectations and were ranked in the Top 25.

But things didn't go so well for Union in 1996. The Bulldogs finished the year 1-9 - with the only win being an 24-23 overtime victory over Cumberland (Ky.) College. (So, the year wasn't a total loss :-D )

The 1996 began a long, dry spell for the Bulldogs. Union has not had a winning season since 1995.

Twelve seasons and counting ...

Hopefully, the counting stops in 2008.

There's something special going on with this year's Bulldogs. The offense is relatively young yet overflowing with talent. The defense has strong senior leadership, especially in the linebacking corps. And it just seems everything is aligning just so, giving at least this old SID the hopes that a winning football season is just over the horizon.

I've been at Union since 1999, but I remember the winning seasons in the early 1990s. I was working at the local newspapers at the time, and football Saturday in Barbourville was an event - and it still is. The fans have always come out and supported the Bulldogs. Union football fans are among the most loyal and faithful. Yet, there was a certain buzz around Burch/Nau Field during those winning seasons.

And now, that buzz is starting to come back. Don't believe me? Then join me at Burch/Nau Field on Sept. 27 to see for yourself.

And the honors start rolling in ...

I must admit it. I tend to be a 'Proud Papa', if you will, when it comes to the student-athletes at Union. And when my student-athletes are honored, my chest swells.

Well ... today my chest nearly exploded.

This was the first week for conference player of the week awards and today was the first week for the NAIA Football Player of the Week honors. And Union College was very well represented.

In the Appalachian Athletic Conference, Christina Prindle was named the Volleyball Libero of the Week, Aaron Miller is the Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, Marcela Salum the Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and Brittany Puryear the Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week.

In the Mid-South Conference, Union took two of the three Player-of-the-Week awards with Terence Pollock earning the offensive honors and Willie Williams taking home the defensive honors.

Willie took things a step further in picking the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week nod. (Here's a neat fact for all you Bulldog fans: Union has had the last two NAIA Defensive Players of the Week. Patrick O'Neal received the honor in the final week of the regular-season in 2007 after Union defeated Georgetown for the first time since 1938 - and no I don't get tired of writing/saying that last sentence.)

A total of seven honors (and six student-athletes honored) in ONE DAY!!!

Yes, Monday was a good day.

Does a 'Papa' proud ... :-D

Now, I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

Busy weekend comes to an end

Well, the wild and crazy weekend just finished up a matter of minutes ago. The Lady Bulldogs' soccer team won two games Saturday for the Union College Bulldog Soccer Classic crown. Finally someone scored on the Union defense. Through five games, Union has only allowed one goal, yes ONE goal! The team has one more non-conference meeting before the AAC season starts next Saturday.

It took penalty kicks, but the Bulldogs' soccer team kicked to the Golden Corral Bulldog Classic title over Cumberland (Tenn.) University. Congrats to the Bulldogs on the win! Jonathan Shaw was named the classic's MVP. Congrats to the tall Englishman!

The volleyball team had mixed results on Saturday. The shining light is that Union got a conference win over Covenant, but Shawnee State only needed three games for the win over Union. Tuesday will be an important contest for Union when King visits... The Lady Bulldogs needed the two wins over King to win the conference last year and it looks like the matches will be key this season as well.

Oh yeah... the football team kicked off the season in grand style with a 27-21 win today at Lambuth. Check out the story for more information and don't forget to come out for the home opener next Saturday against Malone.

Not to forget, the cross country teams went to Ohio on Friday. Two Bulldogs had Top-30 runs and newcomer Bethany Bowlin posted a great time in her first race.

In all on Saturday, Union went 5-1 and the cycling team up in Illinois. Tune back in for more information on Chuck Coffey's squad. Shew... it's been a busy day in Barbourville!

Don't forget to visit www.ucbulldogs.com for all the news and happenings from this past weekend!

Ahhh ... the maddness truly begins

It's now official. Summer's over and the fall sports season is now here ... IN FULL FORCE!!!

This weekend is going to be hopping with Bulldog and Lady Bulldog athletics.

Today, the men's soccer, volleyball and the men's and women's cross country teams are in action, while on Saturday, both men's and women's soccer, volleyball and cycling teams will be competing. Oh yeah, the football team kicks off the season Saturday as well.

I'm excited to see how each and every team will do this weekend. The volleyballers open up conference play against Bryan College tonight at 7 pm in Robsion Arena. This is a HUGE MATCH, especially since it's the Appalachian Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Although Union won the AAC regular-season championship last year in going 16-2 in league play, the Lady Bulldogs went 0-4 versus Bryan in 2007 - dropping both regular-season matches and losing to the Lady Lions in both the conference and region tournaments. Methinks, it's payback time.

The Bulldog soccer team is hosting the Golden Corrall Bulldog Classic and faces off against Johnson Bible College at 1 pm today. Should it win, Union will take on the winner of the Cumberland University-Emmanuel College game Saturday at 3:15 pm. (The losers will play at 1 pm)

Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldog soccer squad will look to extend its shutout streak Saturday with matches against Emmanuae College at 11 am and then Cumberland University at 5:30 pm, marking the first time Union has played TWO matches in the same day - truly a unique feat. Through the first three games of the season, Union has outscored its opponents 21-0. Marcela Salum has netted a team-high seven goals and has 17 total points, while Renata Peixoto boasts six goals, seven assists and 19 total points. Ashley Hall has chipped in four goals as well. And with those three being sophomores and younger, the future looks bright right now for Lady Bulldog soccer.

The men's and women's cross country teams will be opening their seasons Friday at the Shawnee State Invitational in Portsmouth, Ohio. It'll be interesting to see if the Bulldogs build on last year's success and excel as a team this year. Last year, Brandon Kibert qualified for nationals but has since graduated.

And the cycling team will look to improve on last week's strong showing. If it weren't for mechanical issues, the Bulldogs could've had four of the Top 5 riders in the cross-country race. Could be very exciting season the Ridin' Bulldogs!!!

Which brings us to football. Yes, the Bulldogs lost quarterback Joey Waters and middle linebacker Patrick O'Neal. They were great players and will be hard to replace. But I've got a good feeling about this year's team. However, the Bulldogs return a lot of talented players. There's just so much I could say, but I don't where to begin or when to end. I'm just really eager to see how the Bulldogs do at Lambuth this weekend.

Man, it's going to be a busy weekend, but it's going to be a fun one.

The quiet warriors

Seeing Autumn Combs break the career blocks record did my heart good. Finally, she can begin getting some of the recognition she has so long deserved.

Since her freshman season, Autumn has been a force to be reckon with at the net for the Lady Bulldogs. She's posted 200-plus blocks per season, been a constant pain in the side of the opponents, and yet has never really gotten the credit she has deserved for the Lady Bulldogs' success the past couple of seasons.

Part of that's been due to the fact others on the volleyball team has put up bigger numbers in other categories - the ones the majority of people pay attention to like kills, assists and digs. Another reason is that Autumn has just quietly gone about her business, never really seeking the spotlight.

But now, at the beginning of her junior campaign, Autumn is the career blocks leader in program history.

And if she continues what she's done her first two seasons, that number might be hard to reach. I wouldn't be surprised if she finishes with over 900 career blocks.

Autumn is someone I like to call a "quiet warrior" - a person who's a fierce competitor and just goes about their business without much fanfare. And every successful team has one or more quiet warriors.

For example, the 2008 Union baseball team had David Fairbanks. A fifth-year senior, he was generally overshadowed on the field by others putting up large numbers. But David was a model of consistency, playing every day. So much so, he set the program record for most games played. And on a team that averaged hitting .331, David batted a "quiet" .348 and had 31 RBIs, 54 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.

And there is no doubt that David was a key part the Bulldogs' NAIA World Series run. Sure he batted toward the bottom of the lineup, but he kept the innings going so bring the top of the lineup back up to the plate.

I realized I opened a can of worms by mentioning only two people here, but I could go on and on. My point in writing all this is point out the unsung heroes on the teams, the quiet warriors if you will.

They are out there. Just pay attention and you'll find them.