Tom Compton No. 12 Offensive Tackle

Tom Compton, a former offensive tackle for the University of South Dakota football team, is listed at No. 12 in this YouTube video of the best offensive tackles for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Fast forward to 3:22 to see Compton…….by the way, he’s listed as “South Dakota state”

Lancer Men Fight to the Finish

While covering Wednesday night’s lopsided content between Mount Marty and Northwestern, I was struck by something. Even though the deficit was never less than 10 points during the final 30 minutes of the game, I had never witnessed a team play so hard and put forth so much effort in a defeat.

Even with the halftime score being an ugly 47-25 Red Raider advantage (and the final being 85-56 in favor of the Raiders), the Mount Marty Lancers played with a fire that one would expect to see from a team on the brink of elimination. Except, when the deficit grows to 30 points, usually the trailing team sees the writing on the wall and eventually coasts in to the finish. Not these Lancer men however.

Led by the spirited play of guards Mitch Ackelson and Joe Hieb, the Lancers created an atmosphere of unease, at least for the Northwestern fans sitting behind me at the scorer’s table. If the scoreboard were hidden, the second half would appear to have been a hard-fought back and forth battle for control of the game.

Considering Northwestern used a pair of big first half runs (7-0 & 12-0) to jump out to their large advantage, Mount Marty hung right with the Red Raiders for the remainder of the game.

Senior Will Eddie, seen shooting earlier this season in a game vs. Hastings (James Cimburek, Yankton P&D)

Consider this, in the final 23 minutes of the game, only once did either team score more than five straight points. That one instance was a quick 90-second 7-0 Northwestern run keyed by a technical foul called against the Lancers on what was already a three-point play halfway through the second period. Otherwise, both teams played extremely gritty down low and moved the ball all over the court on each offensive set.

Moral victories are hard to get excited about, especially in elimination tournament basketball. Regardless, I mentioned to Lancer coach Jim Thorson during a post-game interview that I was struck by the effort of his team despite the substantial deficit. Thorson, obviously disappointed to see his team “one and done” in the GPAC Tourney had this to say about his team’s play:

“They kept going at it. …all year long they worked hard. They know how to hustle and work hard.”

Those words might not mean to lot right now to a team feeling the sting of blowout loss, but they should. Coach Thorson has been at this game for a long time… over 30 years as a head coach, and for him to point out the hustle and work ethic of his team, that is a true compliment.

Mitch Ackelson summed up the effort on behalf of his fellow seniors (Will Eddie, Tom Kahler & Spencer Yackley) also playing what will be the final game of their careers: “Our mentality was to never give up.”

They never did give up; and for that they should hold their heads high.

Louie Krogman: On A Mission

(Dave Lias/Vermillion Plain Talk)

BY JEREMY HOECK
jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net

As hard as it is to believe, Louie Krogman’s basketball career is down to two games.

A familiar name on the South Dakota hoops scene for the past 8-9 years, Krogman is sure doing his part to leave fans with one final thrill.

Krogman, a senior guard on a struggling USD men’s basketball team this season, has stepped up his already-prolific game to a whole other stratosphere in the waning moments of his career.

Try these numbers on for size — Over his last five games, Krogman is shooting 51 percent and averaging 26 points. He tied a career high with 37 points in Saturday night’s BracketBusters loss to Texas State, though his desperation heave at the buzzer nearly went in.

There’s something intense — and at the same time, admirable — about the way Krogman is finishing his career; almost like he senses the end is near.

With nothing left to play for other than pride, why not do as much as you can? He signed to play for Dave Boots and USD knowing full well he would never have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, though the program would later earn a Division I post-season berth.

Still, Krogman did sign and elevated his game.

Owner of more than 5,000 points between high school and college, Krogman’s name has been synonymous with scoring.

The state’s all-time leading prep scorer, Krogman finished with 3,521 points in high school at White River — where he led the Tigers to the 2008 state title.

When he signed with USD in the fall of 2007 as a senior, some questioned whether his talents would translate to the Division I level. Would he be able to score against that level of competition?

The answer, especially right away, was an emphatic yes.

As a freshman for the Coyotes in 2008-09, Krogman started all 29 games and averaged 12.8 points. USD was a D-I independent that season, playing a variety of teams in a variety of locations.

Strangely, his “worst” (if you go by stats) season coincided with the best season for the Coyotes — 2009-10, when Krogman was a sophomore. Primarily a reserve off the bench, Krogman saw his scoring dip to 9.8 points a game. However, the Coyotes won the Great West Conference title and later qualified for the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).

Krogman returned to a starting role for the 2010-11 season as a junior and finished second on the team in scoring (14.8). The Coyotes, in their final year in the Great West, finished second in the post-season tournament

This season? Whole other territory for Krogman and USD.

It’s been a struggle for everyone involved. Ensured of their first losing season under Boots, the Coyotes sit 9-17 overall heading into Thursday night’s home game with IPFW.

Frustration has been a frequent visitor, though USD coaches and players continue to look to the future — quotes about development and recruiting have come consistently.

For Krogman, however, there is no future.

His basketball career (pending any options behind Vermillion) has two games remaining. Two games from a career that took off when he began starting for White River as an eighth-grader.

Since then, Krogman has scored 5,128 points.

No stranger to putting the ball in the hoop, he has done so in dramatic fashion over his last five games — 130 total.

With home games Thursday and Saturday, DakotaDome fans are assured of seeing one thing: A kid on a mission.

Lancers qualify two more athletes for NAIA Indoor Nationals

The Mount Marty indoor track & field team qualified two more athletes for the NAIA indoor nationals this past Saturday at the BVU Open in Storm Lake, Iowa. Sam Lopez (800) and Trevor Lopour (high jump) will join Katie Breuer (pole vault) at the indoor championships to be held March 1-3 in Geneva, Ohio.

Head coach Randy Fischer called Saturday’s effort by the Lancers the “best meet of the year” for the team as a whole. “I was very pleased with the performances and am still hopeful that we can get a few more national qualifiers at conference this coming weekend,” Fischer said.

Highlights of the meet for the Lancers: BVU Open; Storm Lake, IA – Saturday, February 11, 2012

RESULTS

-Trevor Lopour – 2nd in high jump (6-6.75 – meets national qualifying standard)

-Daniel Filsinger – 3rd in pole vault (13-5.25)

-Abby Vandenberg – 1st place in triple jump (35-9.5)

-Dane Hansen – 7th in 600 meter run (1:26.8)

-Samuel Lopez – 1st in 800 meter run (1:56.9)

-Kaylee Fly – 2nd in 3000 meter run (10:44)

-Jordan Pater – 3rd in 3000 meter run (9:08)

-Katie Breuer – 1st in pole vault (10-10)

* The Lancers travel to Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend to compete in the GPAC Indoor Championships at the Devaney Center on February 17 & 18.

Beth Uthe (center) and Beth Finnegan (right), a pair of freshman

Lancer mid-distance runners, will be counted on in the 3200 meter

relay this weekend at the GPAC Indoor Championships in Lincoln

VIDEO: USD-NDSU men

The one prevailing thought I kept having in the second half of Saturday’s USD vs. North Dakota State men’s basketball game?

Deja vu.

As in, the Bison put together another dominating start to the second half. In the first meeting a month ago in Fargo, it was a 24-8 run by NDSU that buried the Coyotes. Saturday in Vermillion it was a 21-5 run that put the game out of reach.

Here are some videos for you.

First half highlights

Press conference with coach Dave Boots

Press conference with players Steve Tecker & Charlie Westbrook