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PITTSBURG —
The fourth annual Citizens Bank Bowl — slated for 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2 at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium — will pit No. 9-ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M against No. 15 College of DuPage.
“We are incredibly excited about the matchup for our bowl game,” Dean Mann, owner and chairman of Citizens Bank, said in a media release. “NEO and the College of DuPage are high-caliber teams, and we are proud to bring such a great event to Pittsburg and Southeast Kansas. The bowl game provides a tremendous opportunity for area football fans to see the best of what junior college football has to offer, and this year will follow that tradition.”
The Golden Norsemen of NEO (Miami, Okla.) enter with a 9-2 overall record, 5-1 in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. NEO won the SWJCFC regular season title but lost in the postseason Championship Game 62-24 to Navarro last Saturday.
“The more we discussed it and the more we talked to J.D. (Citizens Bank Bowl game director J.D. Ettore) about the opportunity at Pittsburg State, the more clear it became to us that what a great option this was going to be for (us),” Jeff Hale, NEO president, said during a Tuesday press conference. “It will be a great chance to get our band, our cheer squads, our fans and families right up the highway to Pittsburg. . . . It made great sense.”
Regular season statistical leaders for the Norsemen include quarterback Clayton Mitchem with 1,591 yards and 16 TDs on 112-172 passing, running back Gerald Howse with 696 yards rushing and 11 TDs on 147 carries, receiver Kameroon Doolittle with 34 catches for 481 yards and six TDs, defensive back Devron Moore with six interceptions (returned for 159 yards), and Jaiari Dunaway with 9.5 quarterback sacks.
“It’s nice to get away from playing someone from Texas or wherever,” NEO head coach Dale Patterson said. “It’s a great matchup for the bowl and a great matchup for us.”
This is the first bowl appearance for the Norsemen in seven years.
Past NFL players who attended NEO include Marion Butts (5,185 yards rushing in 7-year NFL career), Ernest Givins (571 receptions in 10-year NFL career), Jeremy Shockey (547 receptions in 10-year NFL career), Ronnie West (1991 Harlon Hill winner at Pittsburg State) and James Wilder (6,008 rushing yards and 431 catches for 3,500 yards in the NFL).
The Chaparrals of DuPage are based in Glen Ellyn, Ill., and play in the Midwest Football Conference along with Iowa Central, Iowa Western, North Dakota Science and Ellsworth (Iowa). DuPage owns a 8-2 record.
The fourth annual Citizens Bank Bowl — slated for 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2 at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium — will pit No. 9-ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M against No. 15 College of DuPage.
“We are incredibly excited about the matchup for our bowl game,” Dean Mann, owner and chairman of Citizens Bank, said in a media release. “NEO and the College of DuPage are high-caliber teams, and we are proud to bring such a great event to Pittsburg and Southeast Kansas. The bowl game provides a tremendous opportunity for area football fans to see the best of what junior college football has to offer, and this year will follow that tradition.”
The Golden Norsemen of NEO (Miami, Okla.) enter with a 9-2 overall record, 5-1 in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. NEO won the SWJCFC regular season title but lost in the postseason Championship Game 62-24 to Navarro last Saturday.
“The more we discussed it and the more we talked to J.D. (Citizens Bank Bowl game director J.D. Ettore) about the opportunity at Pittsburg State, the more clear it became to us that what a great option this was going to be for (us),” Jeff Hale, NEO president, said during a Tuesday press conference. “It will be a great chance to get our band, our cheer squads, our fans and families right up the highway to Pittsburg. . . . It made great sense.”
Regular season statistical leaders for the Norsemen include quarterback Clayton Mitchem with 1,591 yards and 16 TDs on 112-172 passing, running back Gerald Howse with 696 yards rushing and 11 TDs on 147 carries, receiver Kameroon Doolittle with 34 catches for 481 yards and six TDs, defensive back Devron Moore with six interceptions (returned for 159 yards), and Jaiari Dunaway with 9.5 quarterback sacks.
“It’s nice to get away from playing someone from Texas or wherever,” NEO head coach Dale Patterson said. “It’s a great matchup for the bowl and a great matchup for us.”
This is the first bowl appearance for the Norsemen in seven years.
Past NFL players who attended NEO include Marion Butts (5,185 yards rushing in 7-year NFL career), Ernest Givins (571 receptions in 10-year NFL career), Jeremy Shockey (547 receptions in 10-year NFL career), Ronnie West (1991 Harlon Hill winner at Pittsburg State) and James Wilder (6,008 rushing yards and 431 catches for 3,500 yards in the NFL).
The Chaparrals of DuPage are based in Glen Ellyn, Ill., and play in the Midwest Football Conference along with Iowa Central, Iowa Western, North Dakota Science and Ellsworth (Iowa). DuPage owns a 8-2 record.
“We are excited that this invitation has been made available to us,” DuPage head coach Gary Thomas said on Tuesday. “Our kids have worked hard to put themselves in a position to be successful both on and off the field. It’s nice that people around the country have taken notice of their hard work and for us to be invited to such a prestigious bowl game with a short but pretty impressive history, it’s an honor for us.”
Offensive leaders include quarterback Byron Dawkins (1,252 yards and 13 TDs on 88-152), running back Tyreis Thomas (568 yards and seven TDs on 76 carries) and wide receiver Johnny Holton (23 receptions, 548 yards, eight TDs). Marcus Lee leads the defense with 64 tackles, linebacker Logan Orso and defensive end Tracey Key each have 4.0 sacks, and Orso proves a versatile defender with 49 tackles and two interceptions.
The Village of Glen Ellyn has a population of 27,450 in northeastern Illinois. The movies “Lucas” (Winona Ryder’s first movie) and “Witless Protection” (Larry the Cable Guy’s magnum opus) have been filmed in Glen Ellyn and notable people with Glen Ellyn ties include performance artist-musician Laurie Anderson, actor Bill Pullman and race car driver Bobby Rahal. Famous DuPage alums include the late John Belushi and his younger brother, James Belushi.
There’s a travel disparity in the Citizens Bank Bowl: approximately 586 miles one-way from Glen Ellyn to Pittsburg and approximately 87 miles round trip from Miami to Pittsburg.
The first two editions of the Citizens Bank Bowl decided the National Junior College Athletic Championship. Cam Newton, LaVonte David and Zach Mettenberger have played in the game.
