September 13, 2011
Three HAAC Teams Slated in NAIA Top 15
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri Valley, MidAmerica Nazarene and Benedictine all found themselves ranked in the Top 15 when the latest NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll was released on Monday evening.
With its 26-21 victory over MNU on Saturday, Missouri Valley jumped up to the #7 spot in the polls, marking its first appearance in the Top 10 since the January 11, 2010 postseason poll that had the Vikings at #10. The team had climbed as high as #9 in the 2009 campaign after finishing with a 8-2 record.
Its first defeat in 16 regular season games saw MNU slide from #3 down to #9 in the first regular season poll. The Pioneers still hold the 4th-longest streak of consecutive poll appearances with 57 and have been ranked in the Top 10 each week since the October 26, 2009 rankings.
Benedictine made one of the biggest leaps of the week, jumping eight spots despite not playing over the weekend. The Ravens have been impressive in their first two games, posting a combined 59-0 score in wins over Concordia (Neb.) and Sterling (Kan.).
Two other schools also received votes this week and are threatening to join the top tier of NAIA football. Baker slipped to the first spot out of the poll after falling to Evangel last week while the Crusaders are the 4th team among those also receiving votes.
Click here for the entire poll.