Welcome to today's football game between the Hope College Flying Dutchmen and Concordia, Wisconsin Falcons. Today is Senior Day and the season finale. for the Flying Dutchmen. We will have 12 senior members of the football team and three senior cheerleaders during a pre-game ceremony. Click here to read more about each senior.
Hope enters today's nonleague game on a five-game win streak that is the team's longest since the 2007 season. At 6-3 overall, the Flying Dutchmen can record their greatest single-season turnaround with a win today.
MIAA Standings | MIAA Statistical Leaders
Concordia (3-6) is from the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference. The Falcons lost to Hope 48-13 in the school's only other meeting last season.
Hope also remains in contention for a share of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title. An Olivet loss to Trine today would make the Flying Dutchmen co-champs.
Linebacker Aaron O'Meara has earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America for the 2016 season. The senior from Wyandotte, Michigan (Theodore Roosevelt) is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America voting. He was one of three linebackers chosen for recognition in the Division 6 district that includes Minnesota and Wisconsin. O'Meara is a biology major who carries a 3.80 grade point average and is Hope's leading tackler. He plans to attend Physician assistant school after graduation.
Darren Ford's record-setting day for the Flying Dutchmen during last week's 16-13 win at Albion earned him MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. The junior from Howell, Michigan (Howell HS) set a Flying Dutchmen record for the longest field goal with two 46-yarders during a 16-13 victory at Albion on Saturday. Ford equaled the Flying Dutchmen record by reaching 13 field goals for the entire season. Ford also tied the MIAA record with 11 field goals in league games. He matched the mark set in 2010 by Kalamazoo's Travis Braun.
This season, the Hope College football team is inviting active military, US Military Veterans and Wounded Warrior Soldiers to be special guests at each home game. Today, the Flying Dutchmen honor Navy pilot Ryan Duffy of Grandville. Ryan flew in the Navy for nine years from 2000-2009 after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and received a Navy commendation for his support of U.S. Special Forces. He served in the Mediterranean and the Pacific, including assisting in the recovery efforts after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. A Cooley Law School graduate, Ryan now works as an attorney for Miller & Johnson in Grand Rapids. He is joined on the field today by his wife, Jenny, and their three children: Sullivan, Santana and Cecelia.
The 2017 season opener for the Flying Dutchmen is Saturday, Sept. 2 at Monmouth, Illinois. Hope's home opener is Saturday, Sept. 9 against Defiance, Ohio at Smith Stadium.
Hope fans are invited to the H Club Coaches Winter Sports Preview on Monday, Nov. 14 at Maas Auditorium. Hear from men's basketball coach Greg Mitchell, women's basketball coach Brian Morehouse, men's and women's swimming & diving coach John Patnott and women's tennis coach Adam Ford. Cost is $10 per person and includes buffet lunch.
