Former Tigers gearing up for Fall Classic

Thursday, November 4, 2004
Nevada High School graduates and current Pittsburg State University football players Kellan Foster (8) and Ryan Renwick (69) pose with Nevada resident and PSU graduate Chris Wilkerson and his son Anthony. Wilkerson was an assistant coach for Nevada High School when Foster and Renwick played, and he also was on the last Division II National Championship team from PSU in 1991. This season PSU is 10-0 and ranked number one in the NCAA Division II polls. They play rival and second-ranked Northwest Missouri State in the Fall Classic at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City this Saturday to decide the champion of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

When 2003 Nevada High School graduates Kellan Foster and Ryan Renwick take the field each Saturday, it's not just to play football. They are stepping on the turf representing the best that NCAA Division II has to offer.

At least that is what the pollsters say, as the Pittsburg State Gorillas, from Pittsburg, Kan., sit atop the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll and the D2Football.com poll.

Being on top certainly makes the two players feel good about playing college football.

"It feels great," the 6-foot, 4-inch, 330-pound Renwick said.

Foster, a 5-8, 160-pound wide receiver, agrees.

"It's definitely a good feeling to go to practice everyday. It makes you want to participate," Foster said.

The two players are living a dream, even if they took different paths to Pittsburg, Kan.

Foster went to PSU out of high school, walking on and redshirting last season. He is hoping that through hard work and dedication he can squeeze his way into the Gorillas' long-term plans as a wideout.

Renwick started his college career at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kan. Renwick also redshirted his first season, allowing him to keep all four years of playing eligibility when he transferred to PSU before this season.

This year has been a good one for the Gorillas. They started out by dominating lesser foes. Through their first eight games, PSU beat opponents by an average score of 67-12.

Four times this season the Gorillas have put up over 70 points against an opponent, including an absurd 91-27 win over Missouri-Rolla on Sept. 25.

The going has gotten tougher the past two weeks, but not too tough as they have still won convincingly over both Missouri Western (48-21) and Central Missouri (47-27).

That leaves the Gorillas at 10-0 this season, 8-0 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association action.

This week PSU faces their toughest test of the season, a battle against second-ranked Northwest Missouri State with the MIAA title and home-field advantage in the NCAA Division II playoffs on the line.

As if that were not enough, the annual game between the Gorillas and the NMSU Bearcats also has developed into one of the biggest rivalries in Division II.

The game has become so big that for the third consecutive year it will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, with the title of "Fall Classic."

The Bearcats have won seven consecutive games between the two schools, but the total margin of victory in six of the seven contests is 24 points.

Only once in the past seven years has the game been decided by more than a touchdown, and twice it was a one-point margin of victory for the Bearcats.

The history of the game has the two Nevada players pumped up.

"It's definitely a big rivalry game," Renwick said. "There's a lot of emotion, wanting to win. I think everybody's ready."

"We're definitely very confident," Foster said. "There's a sense of needing to win, being that we've lost the last seven in a row to them."

Despite being redshirt freshman, both players have seen the field this season. Part of that can be attributed to their hard work, along with playing on a team that has dominated so many of its opponents.

Foster has played in four games this season. He does not usually get to travel with the team since there are an abundance of receivers currently on the roster, including four seniors.

Renwick has developed into a solid offensive lineman for the Gorillas early in his career.

The strong tackle is currently second on the depth chart, backing up starter Nathan Baker, a senior All-America candidate.

Renwick has seen quite a bit of the field this season, playing in nine of the team's 10 games. Renwick is likely to earn a letter for his performance this season.

Both players are finding the game to be much different than in high school. The biggest difference each player mentioned was the increased speed of both the game and the players involved.

"Everybody is a lot faster," Foster said. "There's quite a difference."

"Everybody at this level is good," Renwick said.

Renwick also mentioned that the sport takes up so much of his time that it took some getting used to.

But not too much time to keep him from his studies. Renwick is a Secondary Education major while pursuing a minor in Business. He wants to teach History.

Foster also wants to teach, majoring in Physical Education.

"I want to teach and coach,' Foster said.

The two former Nevada Tigers have kept up with their old squad, even attending some games this season.

"I'm good friends with a lot of the guys that played this year and last year," Foster said.

Renwick noted that the Tigers were struggling, but put the onus on the players to change that.

"It's just going to take time and dedication from the players," he said. "If they want to win they'll have to do it themselves."

The two Gorillas both had advice for the current Tiger players.

"The only advice I can think of is to keep their heads up and enjoy it," Foster said. "It will be over before you know it."

"After a loss or a bad season. you can only do one thing," Renwick said. "Try harder and keep going for your goals. It just takes time to build it."

This comes from players who are in the middle of building a possible national championship.

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