The Northern State football team has received its third known verbal commitment for the 2013 class.
Matt Harding of Mounds View high school in Arden Hills, Minn., has verbally committed to the NSU football team. Harding is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound inside linebacker. He was a three-year starter for the Mustangs. Harding was an honorable mention all-conference selection as a junior and was an all-conference selection this past season. He had 89 tackles as a senior. Harding racked up 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception as a junior. As a sophomore, he recorded 30 tackles.
“He has been one of our hardest workers in the program and has turned himself into a very good football player,” Mounds View coach Jim Galvin said.

Harding was also considering Division I Drake, University of Sioux Falls and Winona State. Harding went on his official visit to NSU’s campus this past weekend.
“I came down and visited last weekend and fell in love with it,” Harding said. “I loved everything about it. The coaching staff and all the players. The guys were awesome. They have a really good thing going. They are building a winning program. They have gotten better each year and I think they are going to continue to. I wanted to be a part of that.”
Harding said the NSU coaching staff projects him as a middle linebacker in the Wolves’ 3-4 base defense.

“He really loved his trip to Northern,” Galvin said. “It wasn’t one of the schools he was considering, I don’t think early on. Then he made his visit out there and he fell in love with the place.”
Here is a highlight video of Harding.
Verbal commitments are not binding until prospects sign their national letters of intent on Feb. 6.

By Ryan Deal

Watch these games LIVE on American News Live Sports this week:

12/18 Game of the Week: Aberdeen Christian vs. Warner boys, 7:45PM

12/21 Area Spotlight: Britton-Hecla vs. Roncalli girls,  8PM

Other games available on American News Live Sports:

12/17: Lemmon vs. Mobridge-Pollock girls

12/18: Ethan vs. James Valley Christian girls and boys

12/18: Sturgis Brown vs. Lead-Deadwood girls and boys

12/18: Mitchell vs. Watertown boys

12/18: Sully Buttes vs. Mobridge-Pollock boys

Another Aberdeen Central standout will play for Northern State.
Central senior multi-sport athlete Josh Hilgemann verbally committed to the NSU football team this past Thursday. He went on his official visit last Saturday. Hilgemann’s senior teammate Schyler Kumpf also recently committed to the Wolves. They are the first two known verbal commitments for coach Tom Dosch and the Wolves’ 2013 recruiting class.
“I think he is excited to have a couple of local guys on the team,” Aberdeen Central coach Mike Flakus said. “I think it is great a fit for (Hilgemann).”
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Hilgemann mentioned Southwest Minnesota State and Black Hills State as other suitors. However, the chance to play in his hometown was too hard to pass up.
“They have got a great program,” Hilgemann said. “They have really turned it around in the last years. They just have a really great attitude.”
Hilgemann was an All-Eastern South Dakota Conference selection and an honorable mention all-state selection. He was also a member of the Aberdeen American News All-Area team this season. Hilgemann had more than 1,000 yards of total offense, had 54 receptions for 700 yards and led Central in rushing yards. He was also defensive back for the Golden Eagles.
“He is really versatile,” Flakus said. “He runs the ball well. He catches the ball well. He is a very versatile athlete, both offensively and defensively.”
Hilgemann said the NSU coaching staff envision him being a slot wide receiver.
“That is my favorite spot to play,” said Hilgemann, who plans on redshirting his first year and will major in biology.

Watch a highlight video of Hilgemann right here.

Verbal commitments are not binding until prospects sign their national letters of intent on Feb. 6.

By Ryan Deal

Northern State’s first known verbal commitment is one of Aberdeen’s own.
Aberdeen Central senior offensive lineman/linebacker Schyler Kumpf has verbally committed to the NSU football team. He is the first known verbal commitment for head coach Tom Dosch and the 2013 recruiting class.
“That football program has really taken big strides,” Kumpf said about committing to NSU. “You can really see that they are improving and they are together as a team. That was one of the biggest things that I wanted to go to Northern for was the team and I wanted to be a Wolf.”
Kumpf mentioned Black Hills State and Southwest Minnesota State as other suitors. However, I really got the feeling that NSU was the clear cut favorite and he had his heart set on the Wolves for a long time. He plans on majoring in art at NSU. His preferred major was another factor in his decision. He projects as a linebacker in the Wolves’ 3-4 base defense and will probably redshirt his first year.
“Coach Dosch is a great coach and it is going to be a great time playing there,” said Kumpf, who also played hockey for the Aberdeen Cougars.
Kumpf recently sustained a knee injury playing hockey and his status for the rest of the hockey season is uncertain. The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Kumpf was an All-Eastern South Dakota Conference selection and an All-State linebacker after this past season. He was also a member of the Aberdeen American News All-Area team this season. Kumpf led the Golden Eagles in tackles the past two years.
“He was key both offensively and defensively, and special teams,” Aberdeen Central coach Mike Flakus recently told the American News. “He was very good at pulling and finishing off blocks down field. Defensively, he was our middle linebacker and that spot anchors your defense. On special teams he was the long snapper and very good.”

Watch a highlight video of Kumpf here.
Verbal commitments are not binding until prospects sign their national letters of intent on Feb. 6.

By Ryan Deal

Watch these games LIVE on American News Live Sports this week:

12/11 Game of the Week: Watertown vs. Aberdeen Central boys, 7:15PM

12/10 Area Spotlight: Mobridge-Pollock vs. Roncalli boys,  8PM

Other games available on American News Live Sports:

12/11: Roncalli vs. Mobridge-Pollock girls, 6:30PM

12/11: Aberdeen Central vs. Watertown girls, 7:30PM

12/11: Newell at Lee-Deadwood boys and girls

12/15: Potter County vs. Mobridge-Pollock boys, 6:30PM

Watch these games LIVE on American News Live Sports this week:

12/4 Game of the Week: Northwestern vs. Roncalli girl’s, 7:45PM

12/6 Area Spotlight: Brookings vs. Aberdeen Central girl’s,  7:30PM

Other games available on American News Live Sports:

Yankton vs. Watertown girl’s, 7:30PM

Northern State (5-4, 5-4) will host Minnesota-Crookston (1-8, 1-8) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Swisher Field in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference college football game. The Wolves are currently 4-1 in North Division play and share the NSIC North Division lead with Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State. The Wolves are coming off a record-setting 65-17 win over the University of Mary last Saturday. The 65 points broke the school record of 64, which was set twice and most recently against Crookston in 2005 — the last winning season for the Wolves.
Here are some random thoughts/notes on Saturday’s game between NSU and Crookston:
— I will have a full preview in Saturday’s paper of the game.
— NSU leads the all-time series 12-1. The Wolves won last year’s meeting 45-21 in Aberdeen.
— Saturday’s forecast calls for mild conditions with highs in the mid 50s. Mostly cloudy skies with winds out of the south/southeast at 5-15 m.p.h.
— NSU QB Jared Jacobson is the only quarterback in the league with over 2,000 passing yards and 400 rushing yards. The sophomore has passed for 2,157 yards and rushed for 467 rushing yards.
— It appears the Wolves are healthy for the most part leading up to the game. NSU senior Rob Neisen is listed as the starting left guard after being banged up the last few weeks and was cleared to play earlier in the week.
— Jacobson passed for 422 yards and three TDs last week. Senior Chris Morton had his best game of the season last week with six catches for 148-yards and three TD receptions. He was one of three NSU receivers to get 100 receiving yards or more. Mark Hanley hauled in 10 passes for 140 yards and Jordan Piatz added eight catches for an even 100 yards. “For a couple of weeks now we have been talking about finishing the entire game and that was really fun to finally put it together as a team,” Morton said. “When you put that many points up it is pretty fun, as an offense that is what you try to do every week.”
— Crookston RB Richard Haley is the second leading rusher in the NSIC with 922 yards. The senior was held to just 15 rushing yards last week against Minnesota-Duluth. The Wolves will definitely be paying attention to where No. 7 is on Saturday.
“He is really as a good of a back as we will see in awhile,” Dosch said.
— Last season, Haley entered the game against the Wolves as the leading rusher in Division II. However, NSU held Haley to 40 yards below his season average en route to a 45-21 win over the Golden Eagles. NSU coach Tom Dosch said the Golden Eagles are more balanced this season and will also rely heavily quarterback A.J. Barge.
— The Wolves will honor their 10 seniors as it will be their last home game at Swisher Field. “With it being Senior Day and my last game at Swisher Field,” Morton said, “I know myself and the other seniors are going to lay it all down on the line and try to give everybody there a good show and try to keep rolling like we are.”
— Here is a video interview that I shot with Morton from earlier in the week:

By Ryan Deal

Nebraska men’s basketball coach Tim Miles, a Doland native and former Northern State assistant, was a hit at the recent Big Ten media day in Chicago.
Miles received several laughs from the various media members in attendance. He even took a picture of the media with his camera phone from the podium and put it on his twitter account.
Miles also mentioned his home state and NSU, where he got his start in the coaching profession. Miles began his coaching career in 1989 as an assistant at Northern State, where he served from 1989-95. He was asked what was his view of the Big Ten before he got into the conference. Miles replied: “It’s a great league. My view watching Big Ten when I was a little boy, when you grow up in South Dakota and get two channels, you pay attention to what happens on the one that carries basketball so the Big Ten was always one of those leagues we would see Tom Davis and his press for Iowa, the Golden Gophers from Minnesota.”
He was then asked what are the challenges of coaching at an athletic program that is dominated by football and trying to make basketball something that people get excited about. Miles answered: “When I started coaching at Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota I was the assistant and I got $3,000 a year, and the next year I was the assistant at $2,500. All the same I was excited and I remember doing an interview and my mom asked me ‘Tim, what did you want to coach for?’ And I said ‘I want to turn Notre Dame into a real basketball school.’ I thought I would like a real challenge, so I took the Nebraska job. It’s a school with remarkable fan support, administrative support, and at the end of the day when you look at things, I don’t care peel back the onion. Volleyball is great, wrestling is in the top 10, track and field is good, women’s gymnastics won the Big Ten last year. You don’t have to go far to see our athletic department through-and-through is outstanding. Women’s basketball has been terrific. We need to get men’s basketball up and running where it should be. It’s been since 1988 since we made the NCAA.”

By Ryan Deal

Northern State (4-4) will play at the University of Mary (4-4) on Saturday in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference college football game. The Wolves are coming off a dramatic 28-27 win over St. Cloud State last Saturday at Swisher Field. NSU won the game on a Hail Mary as time expired (see video below).
Here are some random thoughts/notes on this week’s game:
— I will have a full preview on the NSU/Mary game in Saturday’s paper.
— NSU coach Tom Dosch said that backup running back Chris Nguyen is out with an ankle injury he sustained last week against the Huskies.
— NSU running back John Hughes has been hampered with injuries recently, but played last week and is expected to play this week too.
— Starting left tackle Jon Caspers has been slowed by an injury too and is listed as the backup left tackle this week. He is a game-time decision. Hayden Gowan is slated at the starting left tackle spot.
— The Wolves are one of four teams sitting atop the North Division standings at 3-1. St. Cloud, Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State also sport 3-1 records in the North.
— Saturday’s forecast calls for chilly conditions with overcast skies and highs around 32 degrees. Winds out of the north 5-10 m.p.h.
— The Marauders won the first five meetings between the two teams before NSU’s dramatic victory last season. Mary leads 5-1 in the all-time series. NSU defeated Mary 39-36 last season on a field goal as time expired by Felipe Alfaia in Aberdeen.
— Mary QB Craig Bagnell played last week after missing the three previous games. “As good of a throwing quarterback we will see this year,” NSU coach Tom Dosch said about Bagnell. “Not only arm strength, but his accuracy and where he throws, timing and all that stuff.”
— The Marauders are 1-3 in North play after defeating Minnesota State-Moorhead 23-7 last week. The win snapped a four game losing streak for the Marauders. The four losses were against Winona State, Minot State, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State. “We know every week is going to be a battle and going up to Mary is definitely going to be a big challenge for us,” NSU safety Logan Dosch said. “Every year they have a good team.”
— There were several NSU related items brought up in my weekly live chat.
— Below is a video interview that I shot with Logan Dosch and of course last week’s Hail Mary against St. Cloud State.

By Ryan Deal

Dan Becken, whose sister Emily Becken played for Northern State, has verbally committed to the NSU men’s basketball team. Becken said the fact his sister played at NSU did not necessarily impact his decision to join the Wolves.
“I would come and watch games and just the atmosphere at games is unbelievable and the new weight room and all the additions with the locker room,” he said for reasons why he picked NSU. “I like the coaches and guys. It just all worked out well.”
The 6-foot-6 Becken is a senior this year in Lino Lakes, Minn. He averaged 9.7 points per game last season and had a season-high 25 points in a game last season for Centennial high school. Becken scored at least 15 points or more in seven games last season, including three 20-point games. He played his AAU basketball for the Minnesota Heat.
Becken said that NSU coach Paul Sather and the staff plan on playing him at the power forward spot. The staff also told Becken he could possibly play small forward as well, Becken said. He picked the Wolves over St. Cloud State, Jamestown College and Mayville State.
Becken came on an unofficial visit to Northern this past June and came on an official visit last Friday. He verbally committed to the Wolves on Thursday.
Emily Becken played for the Wolves from 2008-12 and was an all-conference selection for NSU. The point guard finished her career with 1,318 points, which is 14th most in NSU women’s basketball history.
“She really loved it there and she thought it would be a good fit for me too,” Becken said.
Dan’s other sister Kahla is currently a sophomore for the North Dakota State women’s basketball team.
“It is pretty cool,” Dan said. “I think all of us knew we wanted to play (college basketball) ever since we were little kids.”
The Becken’s parents — Jill and Pete Becken — played college basketball at Minnesota-Morris. Becken is the second known verbal commitment for the Wolves 2013-14 class. D.J. Pollard of St. Louis Park, Minn., also recently verbally committed to the Wolves. Verbal commitments are not binding until prospects sign their national letters of intent on Nov. 14.

By Ryan Deal