KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Josh Koerkenmeier’s goal for the Emporia State football team is to be exactly like last year’s men’s basketball team.
The Hornets were picked eighth out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll, receiving 29 points and putting them ahead of only Fort Hays State (16 votes) and Southwest Baptist (10 votes).
Koerkenmeier said the numbers meant little.
“The men’s basketball team got predicted to finish near last in the conference last year, and I think they came out third. They came out on top,” the senior offensive lineman said. “It kind of shows that it doesn’t matter what others say — that doesn’t affect what you can do.”
Northwest Missouri State was the unanimous choice to repeat as conference champion, receiving nine first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for their own teams in the poll.
Pittsburg State was second, followed by Washburn and Central Missouri.
Low expectations were somewhat expected for ESU. The team finished 3-8 last season, lost its last seven games and, from an outsider’s perspective, would be viewed as a team in a rebuilding year under first-year coach Garin Higgins.
“It’s definitely one of those things you don’t want to dwell on too much,” ESU safety Jake Richter said. “It would be nice here, a few games into the season, if you look back on that and you think to yourself, ‘That doesn’t mean anything.’”
Higgins said he hadn’t thought too much about what the Hornets’ rating would be.
“I really didn’t know, to be quite honest with you,” Higgins said. “Our concern is not necessarily where we start, but where we finish.”
Northwest coach
happy for Gordon
New Emporia State defensive coordinator Ken Gordon already has a supporter in the MIAA — Northwest Missouri State coach Mel Tjeerdsma, who brought Gordon to NWMSU as a linebacker in the mid-’90s.
“He’ll do extremely well,” Tjeerdsma said. “He’s a very good coach. He knows football and I think he’s a great motivator. He just does a great job of getting his kids to play, and to play the way he wants them to play.”
Tjeerdsma credited Gordon with being one of the players who helped turn around the Bearcat program. NWMSU was 0-11 in 1994 before Gordon came in as a junior-college transfer in 1995.
The Bearcats went 6-5 and 11-2 the next two seasons.
Gordon later was an assistant under Tjeerdsma in 1998 and 1999, helping the Bearcats to back-to-back National Championships.
“He means a lot to us,” Tjeerdsma said. “He’s a great person.”
Higgins: MIAA impressive
At his first MIAA Media Days, ESU coach Garin Higgins said he was impressed with the conference and its setup on Monday.
“Not only is it, I think, the toughest conference in Division II,” Higgins said, “I think it’s also a first-class organization.”