Clark named Dave Hauck Award winner

Mike Ludwig (via St. Olaf website)
May 14, 2012

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - Football and track and field athlete Leon Clark was named the St. Olaf Dave Hauck Award honoree at a senior athlete banquet on Monday night.

The honor is awarded annually to a senior in his or her final year of eligibility in recognition of athletic excellence, distinguished service and leadership and academic achievement. Clark is the third honoree, joining John Schantzen '10 (football, track and field) and Abigail Ho '11 (tennis).

Clark was a three-time All-MIAC running back for the Ole football team, which compiled a 25-15 record in his four seasons at St. Olaf. He rushed for his third straight 1,000-yard season this fall on the way to becoming the school's second-leading rusher all-time. He finished the year with 11 rushing touchdowns on 208 carries and 1,008 yards. He also caught 31 passes, which was third on the team. He finished his career with 3,240 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, which is third all-time.

Off the field, Clark volunteered with a number of organizations including Project Friendship, Goodwill/Easter Seals, Special Olympics and the Mayo Clinic. He was also a part of the Mayo Innovation Scholars Program and interned with the Masonic Cancer Center Program.

Clark will graduate later this month with majors in mathematics and chemistry.

2012 Recruiting Class Taking Shape for bright Ole Future

Greetings Ole Fans!  As we move closer to final decisions for prospective recruits with the May 1 deadline for deposits thoughts move to the 2012 Oles.  I am very proud of my staff as we continue to assemble the newest class of Oles.  With 24 deposits already in and many more decisions coming in the next three weeks I am pleased with the young men that will represent the Black and Gold for the next four years. Our goal is to have 40 new players on the roster to meet our needs of those lost to graduation.

I also wanted to encourage you to go to the St. Olaf website to see our 2012 schedule as the rotation of MIAC play changes this year highlighted by the last two games of the year.  Nov 3 vs Bethel and Nov 10 at UST.  We will again play Luther in our opener on Sept 1 at Decorah and add a new opponent as we travel to Greencastle, IN to face DePauw University on Sept 8th.  Yes, we will be the road warriors this year with 6 road games at SJU, Hamline, Carleton, and UST as well as our two non-conference games in IA and IN.

We have many spots that we be challenged this year and should make for incredible competition as we push to continue to improve on our 8-2 record last season.  This JOURNEY begins with our spring practices that begin April 24 on Tue and Thur's at 4 PM.  Please feel free to stop by THE HILL when in town.  Again thank you for your endless support and pride in our program.  Lastly, don't forget about our TD CLUB Golf Outing on July 16th, would love to see you all.

God bless and Go Oles!

Coach O

Um Ya Ya

Special Thank you to Wendy Lundgren

Hey Oles, I'd like to bring special attention to Wendy Lundgren and say a HUGE thank you to her from this years senior class for the work that Wendy put into the senior memory books for this past season. Hundreds of pictures specialized for each senior on the team in their own personal memory book is no small task.  So on behalf of the seniors, Thank you Wendy!!!!!

Daine #73

Scottie Hazelton joins USC Staff

Congratulations go out to former St. Olaf assistant coach Scottie Hazelton.  Yesterday it was announced that Coach Hazelton will be leaving his post as Defensive Coordinator at NDSU to join Lane Kiffin's staff at USC, where he will coach linebackers.  As coach Haze would always say, "good fits".

See the full press release from USC here: http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/021612aaa.html

2011 Banquet Wrap-Up

On Sunday February 12^th, the 2012 St. Olaf Football Team gathered for their annual banquet. About 180 were in attendance. Special guests included Coach Tom Porter Coach & Mary Danielson-Gates, and all the usual attendees (players/parents/managers/trainers/coaches).

During dinner, the 2011 Highlight Video was shown. This year the football program hired a professional videographer to document every aspect of game-day. Watching the game by game highlights, testimonials by players, and behind the scenes footage reminded everyone that the 2011 Oles lived by their FAMILY motto

Immediately after the season, the players voted on several awards. Coach OJ announced the recipients of these awards during the banquet. There were as follows:

Offensive MVP: Dan Dobsen

Junior QB Dan Dobson had a great statistical season....again. He led the MIAC in touchdown passes [18] for the second straight season bringing his career total to 42, which ties him for 3^rd on St. Olaf’s all-time list. Matt Penz (’07) threw 51 in his career, best all-time. Dan only needs 9 in his senior campaign to break that mark and with the weapons coming back at receiver that could happen in the first two games (stay tuned). Dan also threw for 2,063 yards this season which was 2^nd best in the MIAC and 6^th most in Olaf history. For his career, Dan now has thrown for 4,114 yards which puts him at 5^th on the all-time list. Over the past two seasons, Dan has completed 62% of his passes --- the best in recent history. Dan was selected to the All-MIAC 2nd team for his efforts. With a strong senior campaign, Dan will continue to shatter records.

Defensive MVP: Wes Lynch

Wes Lynch (Apple Valley) had a phenomenal season. His 58 solo tackles led the MIAC and is most since Chad Thomas (’03). His 97 total tackles was 3^rd best in the MIAC and most since Matt Lafferty (’03). Wes also had 10 tackles-for-loss which was 5^th best in the MIAC. Wes was also selected to the All-MIAC second team defense. Despite those accolades, the highlight of Wes' senior campaign was a single play; a 4th & 1 collision with Carleton's running back. That hit won't be forgotten quickly by Ole faithful and is one of the most memorable tackles by an Ole in recent memory.

The Tom Porter Team MVP Award: Leon Clark

Leon accepting the award from Tom PorterCoach Tom Porter was in attendance and able to announce Leon as the recipient. Leon also received this award the last two year as well, and he is now the only Ole to be selected as Team MVP three times (as if he needed to further establish his legacy as one of the all-time greatest Oles). Leon ended the 2011 season with 1,008 yards on the ground, his third straight 1,000 yard season. His effort in 2011 was the 9th best rushing performance in Ole history. For his career, Leon ended with 3,240 yards rushing. That puts him at 2^nd on the all-time rushing list behind Ole Gunderson. Potentially more impressive is Leon’s total All-Purpose yards. For his career Leon ended with 5,909 all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, kick returns). Thanks for the memories Leon. 

The Danielson Award: Kevin Foss

The Danielson Award is given to a player for their inspiration and leadership. (Click HERE to learn more about the history of the award) Kevin Foss fits that bill. As described in the blog entry below, Kevin was a clear inspiration to the 2011 squad. He was selected as a captain for his senior campaign, despite being sidelined his whole junior season with a knee injury. Then during the first week of this past season, Kevin was diagnosed with a condition in his back that sidelined him for good. Through this experience Kevin never thought of himself and always put the team first. After the diagnosis, he spoke to the team ( and as Coach OJ described) " he delivered the best motivational talk by a player I've ever witnessed." Kevin Foss truly inspired and lead the 2011 Oles day in and day out, despite never putting on a pair of shoulder pads.

After the awards were distributed and the 22 seniors were honored, the Oles appropriately ended the banquet by singing Um Ya Ya! Thanks to all the parents, coaches, and players who make the banquet possible!