The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) sprint football team completed a successful inaugural season with a win in the Midwest Sprint Football League (MSFL) Championship game on Saturday night in Whiting, Illinois. The Pomeroys defeated the regular season champion, the Calumet College of St. Joseph (CCSJ) Crimson Wave, 23-7. This was the third meeting for both teams, splitting the first two games with a win each.
The Pomeroys finished the season with a record of 6-1 with their lone defeat of 30-27 to CCSJ on October 22 at home. SMWC led the league in points per game (30.4), yards per game (365.3), passing yards per game (235.3), first downs per game (20), total interceptions (16) and total sacks (23). Additionally, the Pomeroys were second in the league in attendance with an average of 797 fans each game.
Announced in June 2021, SMWC is a founding member of the MSFL, along with five other charter members including Quincy University (Illinois), Fontbonne University (Missouri), Calumet College of St. Joseph (Indiana), Bellarmine University (Kentucky), and Midway University (Kentucky).
Sprint football follows all standard American football rules including an 11-on-11 player format except players are limited in weight to 178 pounds. This allows the teams to emphasize speed and agility at a faster style of play. There are nine colleges and universities that are members of an East Coast league, the CSFL, which was formed in 1934.
Blaine Powell, head sprint football coach, arrived in April and began recruiting players and coaches immediately. He successfully recruited players from 13 different states and quickly assembled a coaching staff. “This staff worked extremely hard. The kids have responded to everything and learned everything so fast. They’re great kids and I’m blessed to be here,” Powell said after the championship game win Saturday night.
Building a sprint football program from the ground up was quite an endeavor. To win the league championship game seemed like a lofty goal at the beginning of the season but the team pulled together and was able to accomplish that in their first season.