College of Idaho Football Set to Travel to Face No. 2 Grand View in NAIA Quarterfinals

Football | 12/1/2023 12:00:00 PM

RETURNING TO THE HAWKEYE STATE: Saturday's matchup is a rematch of the quarterfinals in 2019 with the Vikings edging College of Idaho, 14-6. Only two Yotes remain from that contest in offensive guard Ryan Halford and offensive tackle Garrett Rehberg. Rehberg and offensive line coach Braden Bale started and played alongside each other at right tackle and guard, respectively.

SCHOFIELD FINDS END ZONE: Senior wide receiver Jon Schofield has scored 13 touchdowns on the ground and 11 through the air for a school record 24 touchdowns. His 24 touchdowns leads the Frontier Conference and is third in the NAIA (26 - 1st: Rontavious Farmer - St. Thomas; 25 - 2nd: K'Vonte Baker - Friends). 

PETERS - A DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK: Quarterback Andy Peters has moved ino the top 10 all-time in pass attempts (547, third) and pass completions (347, second) and passing TDs (36, second). 

Earlier this season, against Montana Tech, Peters completed 28 passes (4th) on 42 attempts (3rd) for 354 yards (6th) among the best single-game efforts in program history. Against Eastern Oregon, he threw for a career-high five passing touchdowns. He tied the program's single-game record with Darius-James Peterson, who threw five TD passes against Southern Oregon on October 26, 2019. Peters earned Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week five times in 2023 en route to second team all-conference recognition. Furthermore, he has had a touchdown pass in 18 of his 19 games as a Yote.

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK ALERT: 
Andy Peters 
- 1st in TD passes (29)
- 1st in passing yards/game (266.3)
- 1st in total offense yards (3,663)
- 1st in attempts (367)
- 1st in completions (207) 
- 1st in yards (2,933)

Caden Cobb
- 1st in kick return yards (688)

Jacob DeMott
- 1st in PAT kicks made (61)

GRINDING IT ON THE GROUND: College of Idaho holds a 5.5 to 3.4 advantage in average yards per rush, 173.5 to 107.2 in average yards per game rushing and 27 to 14 in rushing touchdowns. 

END ZONE VARIETY: To complement the 24 touchdowns by Jon Schofield, 13 other Yotes have found the end zone - eight of which have scored multiple touchdowns - in 2023.

POTENT OFFENSE: College of Idaho has scored a school record 63 TDs (5th nationally) and 453 points (43.2 ppg / 8th nationally). 

RED ZONE ALERT: College of Idaho has reached the red zone on 54 occasions and scored 44 times - 40 touchdowns (26 rushing; 14 receiving) and four field goals for an 81.5% conversion clip. The 80% conversion percentage is the highest since the 2019 team converted 86.8% (46 of 53 opportunites). 

Opponents have reached the red zone on 28 occasions and scored 22 times - 16 touchdowns (10 rushing, 6 receiving) and six field goals for an 78.6% conversion clip.

THIRD QUARTER SUCCESS: College of Idaho has outscored its opponents, 140-41 in the third quarter. Every year since 2015, College of Idaho has outscored its opponents in the third quarter - 685 to 377. 

TRICK OR TREAT: With four returning starters and the strong play of junior center Liam Coppinger, the College of Idaho has allowed only nine sacks and 24 tackles for loss. The Yotes defense has racked up 27 sacks on the season (6th most in program history) on its way to 64 tackles for loss (6th most in program history.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS: 
• The College of Idaho offense has had passing plays of: 20-29 yards - 19; 30-39 yards - 10; 40-49 yards - 9; 50-59 yards - 1 and 60+ yards - 3. 
• The College of Idaho offense has had rushing plays of: 20-29 yards - 12; 30-39 yards - 6; 50-59 yards - 2.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SEASON:
• Outscoring opponents, 453 to 272
• FIRST DOWNS: 8 of 11 games; 108 by rush; 131 by pass
• RUSHING: 9 of 11 games; season high: 237 at Arizona Christian
 - three games over 200 yards
• PASSING: 8 of 11 games; season-high 420 at Montana Western
- four games over 300 yards
• TOTAL OFFENSE: 9 of 11 games; season-high 621 at Montana Western

KICKOFF CHATTER: Caden Cobb returned a pair of kickoffs in back to back weeks against MSU-Northern and Arizona Christian for a touchdown in 2023. The last Yote to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in a season was Ted Martin (1953) and John Finlay (1974). Cobb holds the school record for kickoff returns (56) and kickoff return yards (1569).

SPECIAL SIMONS: Kickoff specialist Cameron Simons has recorded 18 touchbacks on the season. Based on information available, this is the most in a season in program history. 

PUNTING BOMBS: Punter Andrew McKague is averaging 38.1 yards per punt. The 38.1 average is the sixth best in program history. He tied a career-high with a 54-yard punt against Arizona Christian. McKague and the Yotes did not punt in the game against Montana Tech. Based on information available, this is the first time that College of Idaho not have a punt in a game.

TANNER TERROR: The College of Idaho features three individuals with the first name, Tanner. Tanner Leaf (#39) has made 66 tackles including 6.5 TFLs; Tanner Sackman (#82) has been involved in 19 tackles - including eight against Montana Western to go along with a pair of tackles for loss and a forced fumble; Tanner Steele (#31) has made 40 tackles with a sack and 1.5 TFLs to go along with 7 PBUs. 

PICKING UP THE FUN: Boise State transfer Chip Mitchell picked off leads the team with four interceptions. His 34-yard interception return for a touchdown against Arizona Christian was the Yotes second of the season. In his first action since October 14 against MSU-Northern,  defensive back Keegan Croteau made an immediate impact in the secondary with his fourth career interception against Montana Western, last Saturday. He is one of 21 players in program history to record five career interceptions.

HONORS START TO ROLL IN: Selected to the first team all-Frontier Conference were offensive lineman Garrett Rehberg, who picked up his second all-conference selection. Joining Rehberg were linebacker Willie Nelson and defensive back Chip Mitchell. The trio was joined by kickoff return specialist Caden Cobb. College of Idaho was well represented with seven selections on the second team. Among those receiving recognition were offensive lineman Brett Gydesen and Ryan Halford, quarterback Andy Peters, wide receiver Jon Schofield, running back Allamar Alexander, tight end Ben Hruby and defensive back Brady Frame. On the honorable mention team were defensive ends Tanner Leaf, Kobe Roberts and wide receiver Brock Richardson.

POLL TALK: In the announcement of the latest 2023 NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Coaches' Top 25 Rating, College of Idaho is ranked at No. 10 along with Morningside and Saint Xavier (Ill.). College of Idaho has been ranked 48 times since 1999. 

NEARLY PERFECT: Place kicker Jacob DeMott has made his last 59 point-after attempts on the season. He missed his only PAT on the fourth touchdown of the season in the season-opening win over Lincoln. For the season, he has made a school record 60 PATs which ranks fifth in the NAIA.

FOURTH DOWN: College of Idaho has gone for it on fourth down on 25 occasions for a 60% conversion rate. Based on information available, the 25 fourth down attempts match the third most with the 2016 team in program history since they went for it 38 times in 2014 in the return of the gridiron to the Caldwell campus. The four field goals by the Yotes are the fewest among active teams in the NAIA playoffs. 

CHAMPION OF CHARACTER: Linebacker Joey Calzaretta (Larkspur, Calif.) was the C of I recipient of the NAIA Champions of Character Award. Off the field, Calzaretta is involved with the Campus Programming Council and co-producer of the Steel Show with teammate and long snapper Devon Long.

YOTES SIBLINGS: Defensive lineman Ryan Seth - brother: Vince; linebacker Joey Calzaretta - brother: Nick and wide receiver Brock Richardson - brother: Connor were all teammates on the last Yotes team that played in the postseason in 2019. 

YOTES SIBLINGS II: There are four sets of brothers on the College of Idaho roster including twin brothers: Cooper and Tanner Leaf; brothers: Ryan and Tyler Halford; brothers: Jayce and Tucker French; brothers Jonah and Jovan Sowell.  

BRONCOS turned YOTES: Three members of the College of Idaho football team - Allamar Alexander, Chip Mitchell and Andy Peters - started their college careers at Boise State University before transferring to College of Idaho.  

UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS: All six College of Idaho fall sports teams (men's and women's cross country; men's and women's soccer; football and volleyball) secured spots in the postseason to go along with the 2022-23 NAIA Men's Basketball national champion team that started the season at No. 1 for the first two polls. The only other team in the NAIA with this similar feat is Indiana Wesleyan. Most recently, the College of Idaho women's cross country team became the fourth team in school history to win a national title. 

AERIAL ASSAULT: In all 11 games, College of Idaho has had multiple passing touchdowns with a six-touchdown game against Eastern Oregon on October 28. The Yotes rank third in the NAIA with 32 passing touchdowns (first: 36 - Bethel [Tenn.]; second: 33 - Grand View [Iowa]. The 32 passing touchdowns shattered the previous school record of 23 from 2019. 

PROUD ALUMNI: On the Yotes coaching staff are five former Yotes including linebackers coach/special teams and recruiting coordinator Austin Nelson, offensive line coach, Braden Bale, defensive backs coach James Silva and defensive line coach Carlos Murana. Also on the College of Idaho roster are six members of the team - Hayden Dondero, Cade Flint, Ryan Halford, Ben Hruby, Chip Mitchell and Garrett Rehberg - who are all working on a graduate certificate in sports administration.

TWO-SPORT STARS: Keegan Croteau, Hunter Gilbert, Liam Hays, Ryan Halford and Tanner Sackman are also members of the College of Idaho football team; Matthew Iwamizu has seen time on the Yotes baseball team and Gavin Ozuna is also a member of the lacrosse team. 

IOWA NATIVES: 1,384 miles separate the two institutions and there is just one tie to the Hawkeye State for the Yotes - Director of Athletic Communications Danny Kambel is from Eldridge, Iowa.

CAPTAINS: The Yotes have been represented by quarterback Andy Peters, offensive lineman Garrett Rehberg, linebacker Willie Nelson and defensive back Jacob Arms as captains for the coin toss.