By Christian Hirschboeck ’25
Staff Writer
What a season it has been for our football program! At the end of the season, the Foresters found themselves being crowned MWC champions after a 10-0 Conference run, with their only loss coming from their first game of the NCAA Division III tournament against number five ranked St. John’s University.
Building on the foundations set over the past several seasons, the Foresters broke several team records and earned a plethora of team and individual awards. In terms of school records during this 2021 season, the record for most victories in a season was set at 10, most points per game was improved over the previous record by 2.9, and the record for most points scored in a game was set with 84 points versus Beloit College. The football program had just broken the record for most points scored in a game about two weeks earlier, with the Foresters scoring 79 against Grinnell. Along with those records, the fourth-highest win percentage was established at .909 for their 10-1 record, and the second least points allowed per game since 1975 was set at 11.5.
Throughout the Midwest Conference, the Foresters also ranked second in offense and first in defense, contending with notably strong programs such as the University of Chicago and Monmouth College. When facing up against those competitors, the Foresters won on the road at Monmouth 24-10 and beat UChicago 28-6 on Farwell Field to clinch the MWC Conference Championship.
Breaking and setting new school records is not exactly easy, but this program managed to do it several times which was truly commendable. It is even more impressive when recognizing the fact that many students of every class on the team are still dealing with settling into college or other COVID-related issues.
Despite the presence of COVID-19 on campus, the atmosphere created at football games was exciting and a huge mood booster for those preoccupied with school and life in general. Going to a game to watch this team win by large margins and generally just play great football behind a cheerful and supporting student section aligned with the common conception of college football.
Overall, this season was close to perfect for the Foresters, and it will be very hard to top these results come next season, but there are no doubts in the mind of any fan or labeled fanatic that these boys can do just as well or even better. Again, congratulations to the entire program—you set a very high example for yourselves and the rest of the MWC in proper fashion.
