Tazon de Estrellas approaching

The Tazon de Estrellas, this year’s senior All-Star game in Mexico, is approaching on Dec. 19, like the culmination of the Division III football season. While the game is still a little over two weeks away, the roster is being finalized as teams get eliminated from the playoffs. We’ll have more blog coverage of the event as game day approaches, as the game’s organizers at Global Football will be having coaches and players blog on D3football.com.

Like all collegiate All-Star games, this is limited to seniors (or, I guess, to anyone who is willing to sacrifice their remaining eligibility in order to play).

The D-III team will practice at the Tec Monterrey (CEM) facility in Atizapan de Zaragoza near Mexico City, from December 14-18 and will also visit the Aztec Pyramids and the nation’s capital before facing their Mexican opponents. Tec Monterrey is the premier private university system in Mexico, with campuses in numerous locations around the country. Tec teams have captured eight of the past ten Liga Major football national championships.

Here’s the full roster, not including any player on a team still in the playoffs.

Pos. Name School Ht Wt Hometown
RB Steve Austin Fitchburg State 5-7 195 Jupiter, Fla.
DE Marcus Ball UW-Stout 6-1 225 Austin, Minn.
WR Joey Beehler Adrian 5-7 155 Wakarusa, Ind.
OL Andrew Benchic Ohio Northern 6-4 280 Englewood, Ohio
DE Ken Bevington John Carroll 6-0 225 Mentor, Ohio
DB Bryan Blum UW-Stevens Point 6-0 215 Baraboo, Wis.
DT Gerard Bryant St. Lawrence 6-0 240 White Plains, N.Y.
DB Tim Cornish Bethel 5-11 195 Plymouth, Minn.
WR Riley Curry Trinity (Texas) 6-0 197 Sugar Land, Texas
DE Paul Cynewski Salisbury 6-3 245 Moorestown, N.J.
OL Jared Daiber Washington U. 6-4 330 St. Louis, Mo.
OL Josh Delancy North Central 5-11 302 Stuart, Fla.
QB Aaron Fanthorpe North Central 5-10 185 Naperville, Ill.
OL Tim Glodowski Hiram 5-10 245 Eastlake, Ohio
C Scott Hirschberger Willamette 6-0 283 Beaverton, Ore.
DE Josh Horn Ohio Northern 6-2 230 Franklin, Ohio
QB Mike Isgro Delaware Valley 5-11 185 Galloway, N.J.
DL Darryl Jackson Kean 6-2 330 Red Bank, N.J.
DL Tim Janecek North Central 6-2 262 Bridgeview, Ill.
LB Eric Kahl Utica 5-10 210 Spencer-Van Etten, N.Y.
OL Andy Kneib Central 5-11 275 Overland Park, KS
LB Ryan Leis UW-Eau Claire 6-3 232 Alma Center, Wis.
DB Barry Lovett Franklin & Marshall 6-1 185 Brooklyn, N.Y.
DE Cory Lowe Willamette 6-4 235 Beaverton, Ore.
NG Jared Lyle Bethel 6-3 265 Elgin, Ill.
TE Alex Macey Cornell 6-6 253 Oceanside, Calif.
DB Tim Machan Washington U. 6-2 195 Wauwatosa, Wis.
WR Jared Manzer Alfred 5-11 190 Johnson City, N.Y.
DB Kyle McAllister Bates 5-10 180 Exeter, N.H.
WR Patrick O’Connor Dickinson 6-0 195 Exton, Pa.
LB Richard Okpani LaGrange 5-7 205 Smyrna, Ga.
DT Gino Panza Adrian 5-11 257 Monroe, Mich.
RB Jake Parke Augustana 6-0 205 St. Joseph, Ill.
RB Charlie Parker Lebanon Valley 5-10 190 Landisville, Pa.
QB Kyle Paulson UW-Eau Claire 6-5 219 Amery, Wis.
RB David Paveletz Susquehanna 5-9 225 Warrior Run, Pa.
DE Alex Sapp LaGrange 5-11 270 Cumming, Ga.
RB Cory Sartorelli UW-Eau Claire 6-1 204 Appleton, Wis.
TE Brett Schreiner UW-Eau Claire 6-4 245 Somerset, Wis.
LB Aaron Setchell Augustana 6-2 215 Amboy, Ill.
DB Charles Squitiere Delaware Valley 5-11 200 Philadelphia, Pa.
LB Brad Steinmetz Thomas More 6-4 224 West Harrison, Ind.
DB Corry Stewart Hanover 5-9 156 Nashville, Tenn.
OL Sean Tetreault Lebanon Valley 6-3 295 Hughesville, Pa.
LB Zach Van Arkel Central 6-0 215 Malcom, Iowa
DB Kendall Wade UW-Stout 6-0 175 Milwaukee, Wis.
TE Lance Walkup Menlo 6-3 215 Santa Cruz, Calif.
WR Orlando Webb N.C. Wesleyan 6-0 180 Snow Hill, N.C.
DB Travis Wenrich McDaniel 6-0 200 Wernersville, Pa.
OL Blaine Westemeyer Augustana 6-5 285 Overland Park, Kan.
DT Mark Worrilow Ursinus 6-3 230 Wilmington, Del.

Coaching staff: Head Coach/Special Teams, Bill Manlove (formerly of Widener and Delaware Valley); Offensive Coordinator, Dean Paul (Ohio Northern); Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, Don DeWaard (Central); Defensive Line, Todd Glaser (UW-Eau Claire); Offensive Line, Jim Lyall (formerly of Adrian); Running Backs, Richard Ponx (North Central); Wide Receivers, Brad Spencer (North Central); Defensive Backs, Regis Scafe (John Carroll); Director of Player Personnel, John Roslien (Central); General Manager, Patrick Steenberge (Notre Dame), Athletic Trainer, Ron Blom (Central); Physician, Dan Vande Lune (Iowa), Equipment Manager, Nate Dorpinghaus (Central).

We’ve been waiting on a final roster for the D-III Senior Classic, being played this weekend in Salem, Va., but haven’t heard back. We will have coverage of that game as well, as Ryan Tipps will be on-site in Salem.

ATN Podcast: Do their runs end?

Johns Hopkins and Albright are the surprises of the bracket, without a doubt.

One problem. Albright’s run takes it to Mount Union next week, while Johns Hopkins’ road may be shorter but its odds nearly as long, taking on Wesley at Wesley.

Johns Hopkins win.

That doesn’t mean we can’t revel in their accomplishments, though, and theirs were great this past week, with Johns Hopkins winning at Thomas More and Albright getting its vengeance on Delaware Valley. (Photo by Scott Michels)

Keith McMillan and Pat Coleman break down all eight games and take a look forward to the four quarterfinals in this week’s Around the Nation Podcast.

Click the play button below to listen.

You can load the podcast page in iTunes or can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?feed=podcast

[display_podcast]

Game Day: Will we have turkeys?

The second week of the playoffs is always a different animal … or an odd bird, perhaps.

I just talked to Kevin Niehus, one of our broadcasters at the Johns Hopkins-Thomas More game and he said Johns Hopkins looked pretty good getting off the bus. And that’s what we’re left with here in the second week of the playoffs — the teams that might not look good in that instance have been eliminated.

This is also an odd week because of Thanksgiving. The holiday changes everyone’s travel plans, it keeps students away from the game because they’re at home or otherwise away from campus, and the games just have a different feel. The stadium might be a little more empty. The day might be a little colder. But the games are even more important.

That’s what we’re looking at today.

All aboard.