Morningside coach Steve Ryan
Top ranked Morningside will battle an experienced foe and the weather on Saturday when the Mustangs host St. Xavier of Illinois in the opening round of the NAIA playoffs. Morningside is 10-1 after winning the Great Plains Conference championship and hosts a St. Xavier team that has played in the national semifinals in five of the last six years.
The weather could play a major factor as Sioux City is expected to get hit with several inches of snow and Morningside coach Steve Ryan says ball security will be emphasized.
“We have got to make sure that we take care of the football and we do what we are capable of doing”, said Ryan “Our coaches and players know that we need to be able to execute.”
Ryan says while teams can prepare for rain by practicing with wet footballs there really is no way to prepare for snow.
“I don’t know how you prepare for that type of weather. With field turf a lot of it is how well you can prepare your field and how fast you can get the snow off.”