LIBERTY, Mo. William Jewell opens its 126th season of college football on Thursday night as they host the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University. The Cardinals are coming off a 0-11 season a year ago and are in their third season under head coach Mike McGlinchey.
THE SERIES
The Cardinals and Mavericks meet for the second time this fall, with Colorado Mesa taking the first-ever meeting last season by a final of 40-3. This week's game will be the second half of a home-and-home agreement between the two programs.
2022 RECRUITING CLASS
The Jewell coaching staff searched far and wide for the right student-athletes for the Cardinal program in the offseason, bringing in a class of 48 players, including 10 transfers, with eight coming from the junior college level. Kevin Roberson (Missouri Southern) and Taylor Eggers (Clarion) are the lone NCAA transfers. The newcomers represent 13 states and two countries including Missouri (20), Texas (11), Kansas (3), Mississippi (2), California (2), Colorado (2), Arkansas (1), Tennessee (1), Michigan (1), Virginia (1), Georgia (1), Utah (1), Alabama (1) and The Netherlands (1).
WARD NAMED QB1
CJ Ward has been named the starter at quarterback for week one. The junior is a transfer out of Dodge City Community College where he appeared in seven games, completing more than 52% of passes. Bart Harris will be second on the depth chart after starting eight games last fall and accumulating more than 1,200 yards.
ANDERSON HEADLINES DEFENSIVE RETURNERS
Carson Anderson is back to lead the defensive unit, now in his senior season. A starter since he stepped on campus, he earned Second Team All-GLVC honors in 2021 after leading the team with 68 total tackles and three forced fumbles to go with one interception and five defended passes. The senior will be joined by Kian Betancourt (60 TKL, 11.5 TFL), Adam Callahan (50 TKL), David Gysbers (48 TKL), and Jackson Vest (44 TKL, 3 PBU) among the defensive leaders heading into the 2022 season.
OFFENSIVE SHOES TO FILL
Jewell will be without the services of three-time All-GLVC performer Jalik Jaggwe this fall following his graduation and will lean on a combination of returners and a large crop of newcomers on the outside. Seniors Marquis Whitmire, Jesse Thomas, and Winston Quinn will combine with redshirt junior Grant Latina and sophomore Keavian Long to lead the receivers unit into week one. The returners will be aided by three transfers, Deldrionn Amos, Kavan Johnson and Caleb Forrest.
Along the line, gone is two-time All-GLVC honoree Zach White but the Cardinals will return seniors Cole Hon, Brandon Homan and Carlos Lopez along the offensive line. Newcomers Griff Peatrowsky, Max Abernathy, Joron McCorkle, Andrew Bontrager, Dylan Tighe, and Nash Gagliano will bolster the line in front of CJ Ward.
UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Cardinals are playing their first night game at Greene Stadium since April 3, 2021 when they took on Missouri S&T to open the 2021 spring season. Jewell has played just four night games at home in the last five years.
YEAR THREE UNDER MCGLINCHEY
Jewell is entering their third season under Mike McGlinchey and looking for strides forward after battling through the challenge of recruiting back-to-back classes in a pandemic. The coaching staff brought in a 48-member recruiting class this fall to bolster the roster and add much needed depth across the lines.
SAPLYS NAMED TOP MEN'S STUDENT-ATHLETE
Junior quarterback Karis Saplys was named the Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2021-2022 academic year. The award is presented the William Jewell men's student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among sophomores-seniors. Saplys was also among 19 Jewell athletes to receive the GLVC Bro. James Gaffney Distinguished Scholar Award after posting a 4.0 for the academic year.
NEW COACHES ON THE BLOCK
William Jewell welcomed in three new members of the coaching staff last spring. Alex Kastens took over the offensive line after spending the 2021 season at the University of Mary and a playing career at Carroll College. Timothy Schroer appeared in two NCAA-III national playoffs as a safety and corner at St. John Fisher College (N.Y.) and will coach the outside linebackers, while Jackson Hall will oversee the running backs after completing his playing career at Northern Colorado. Additionally, Louis Cortes was elevated to the role of defensive coordinator while Neil Linhart was promoted to assistant head coach.
THE 2022 SCHEDULE
The Cardinals will make the exact same journey as last season with reverse locations. Jewell will complete two-year agreements with Colorado Mesa, Kentucky Wesleyan, Black Hills State, and Ohio Dominican, traveling to the latter two opponents. The Cardinals will also hit the road to Lindenwood in October, who is no longer a GLVC opponent, having made the transition to Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference but will avoid leaving an open spot on the schedule with the non-conference matchup.
GREENE STADIUM FINALE
Greene Stadium was completed in 1955 and has served as the home of the Cardinals for the past 66 seasons but 2022 will be its last. Following the conclusion of the season construction will begin on The Link Project which will include among its features a new indoor arena, locker room and coaches spaces, athletic training room and student fitness center on the inside of the building along with a new stadium and campus entrance design on the outside. The $20 million campaign was matched this summer and the ceremonial ground breaking will take place on homecoming weekend, on the morning of October 1.
