Bethel picked third in division as Stokes speaks at football media day
Bethel picked third in division as Stokes speaks at football media day
The Threshers look to reload and compete for postseason action.
On Wednesday morning, the KCAC held its annual virtual football media day ahead of the upcoming season.
The media day featured coaches from all 12 football-playing schools speaking and answering questions about their upcoming season as well as KCAC commissioner, Dr. Scott Crawford (who will be soon departing for the Frontier Conference), speaking about changes to the sport in 2023.
The new divisional format in KCAC football was announced earlier this year. There will be two divisions, the Kessinger and the Bissell, named respectively after KCAC all-time great football coaches.
The Bissell Division consists of: Avila, Kansas Wesleyan, Ottawa, Sterling, Tabor, and Saint Mary.
The Kessinger Division consists of: Bethany, Bethel, Evangel, Friends, McPherson, and Southwestern.
These divisions will be realigned every two years to “maintain a competitive edge” using a snaking method from the team’s conference wins from the previous two seasons. This structure also guarantees two automatic NAIA playoff qualifying bids.
The new format will have cross-divisional play beginning Aug. 26 and divisional play starting Oct. 14 after a full conference bye week.
“I’m eager to see how the new divisions go,” Bethel head coach A.B. Stokes said, entering his second season at the helm. “Having them split and a break before the second start gives you a minute to refocus.”
The coaches then got to talk a bit about their teams and how they feel about their respective fall seasons. The Threshers have eight returning offensive starters as well as eight returning defensive starters, with ten of those returners being All-KCAC honorees last year as Bethel finished 9-1 in 2022.
“The biggest difference between our team last year and our team this year is we have more confidence,” Stokes said. “We are more confident in doing what we do with what we have. The leadership is different, we lost 30 seniors last year. The guys that were here, they are stepping up.”
The Threshers were picked third in the Kessinger Division in both the preseason coaches’ and media polls.
Some of the key impact offensive returners that Stokes mentioned during his time were quarterback DJ Ciers, running backs KJ Christiansen, Kash McCray, and Scott Grider, wide receivers Tucker Smith, Mario Quintero, and Trevon Madison, as well as some of the offensive line anchors in Ryan Junkermeier and Ethan Entz.
Stokes also mentioned a transfer at the running back position as well as a few new quarterbacks to look out for. He didn’t hesitate to share that his staff is still looking to fill a number of spots, namely at cornerback following the transfer of Trey Palmer to Friends.
Some of the key impact defensive returners he mentioned were Brenden Sanders — who was an All-American last year — as well as Doug Grider, Jairo Castillo Jr., Grant Godsey, Kade Miller, and Tate Seabolt.
Bethel will open its season in Thresher Stadium on Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. when they host Sterling to begin cross-divisional play.