JORDAN FOX
STAFF WRITER
12/5/2022
The Alma College football team wrapped up a historic season on Nov. 26, ending 11-1 after a loss to Aurora University in round two of the NCAA Playoffs.
Despite losing 48- 26, it was still a record- breaking season that will not be forgotten any time soon. The team won its first MIAA Championship since 2004, earned its first ever NCAA Playoff win and made it to the second round of playoffs for the first time in program history.
“I’m thrilled with our 11 wins but certainly sad over the result of our last game,” said Jason Couch, head coach for the Scots. “I’m so proud of our players and coaches. They worked extremely hard and I’m happy they saw the hard work pay off.”
Couch believes that the success of this season can be attributed to “player buy-in and senior leadership. We had 28 seniors determined to make this season special.”
This season was different from years past by the “large senior class and… underclass willing to follow those leaders,” said Couch.
“We were Coach Couch’s first recruiting class,” said one senior and linebacker, Odin Soffredine (‘23). “He had the motto [of] ‘Kiltstyle,’ and it took us four years to build everyone up to follow that same motto.”
This year, Soffredine was named to the First Team All-MIAA and awarded MIAA Defensive Player of the Week. “Those awards are always nice to get, but winning is always the goal for me,” he said. “I would rather [have] the season we had this year than win any of those awards. Winning is everything.”
Although the season was largely driven by the leadership of the seniors, it would not have been possible without this year’s incoming freshmen. The freshmen brought both determination and talent to the Scots.
“Coming into the season, my goal was to get 1000+ yards rushing and 10+ touchdowns… being able to accomplish both my goals and put my name in the record book is just pretty great,” said Eddie Williams (‘26), a running back for the Scots.
Just a freshman, Williams broke the Alma College record for rushing yards in a season. “Doing this during my freshman year just means that I have to keep getting better and better from here because the work is never done… I always have to keep moving forward,” said Williams.
Williams said this record would not have been made possible without “my o-line and my coaches.” Williams was also one of two freshmen to be named to the First Team All-MIAA, alongside the quarterback for the Scots, Carter St. John (‘26).
“It’s a great accomplishment to have, but the best one is being an MIAA champion,” said St. John, who w as also named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row. “No player is able to be recognized for such great achievements if their team doesn’t play well together.”
“It is hard to be anything but excited. While ending the season on a loss is not what anyone ever wants, that doesn’t take away from the incredible season we were able to put together. Being able to win 11 games in a row is a very challenging task and it sets the program up for future seasons,” said St. John.
The Scots also had several players nominated to the Second Team All-MIAA, including kicker Josh Hernandez (‘25) who broke the MIAA record for the longest field goal.
“It felt amazing [to break the record],” said Hernandez. “The field goal unit as a whole was ready to do something special like that… and it just felt like another field goal.”
“[I am] proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish… [Even though] there were a lot of ups and downs, our coach told us to ‘Just keep climbing,’” said Hernandez.
Prior to the season, predictions were not in favor of the Scots’ success. However, they quickly proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with. Coaches and players alike are looking forward to continuing to break records and make history in the years to come.
For more information about Alma College football, visit the Alma Scots webpage.
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