FB: Southern Athletic Association

[BerryCollegeFan]

St Thomas is on a whole different level than any team Berry has faced in its young history - a consistent top 5 squad that loves to beat the c**p out of lesser opponents (cumulative score in last five games including the 47-8 victory in round 1:  344-28).   That and the cold will present stiff challenges this weekend.     From the Tommies' web site:

St. Thomas improved to 17-2 at home in eight NCAA playoff appearances under Caruso. The last nine Tommie teams have reached the Stagg Bowl championship game twice; the national semifinals one other time; the quarterfinal round three other times; and had one first-round road loss in 2014 at Wartburg, 37-31.

The Toms' only home loss in their last 24 on-campus games was 34-31 to UW-Oshkosh last December in the Division III quarterfinals.

No doubt.  We will be underdogs and have a tall task ahead.  I am ok with being the underdog. We might lose by 40, but I believe the coaches will have the guys ready.

Wishing the Vikings all the best this week.

I agree, this will be a new challenge and a huge opportunity.  I expect Berry to keep building their program with a good showing in the second round.  BV92 is right, may lose by 40, but if they play to their potential I think St Thomas might leave the game knowing this was the best team they have faced in the last month or so.

[wm4]

Looking forward to the game and seeing a team from a completely different region of the country.  Congrats on a great season and really developing the program in such a short period of time.  D3 overall needs more games like this; teams going head to head from different regions. 

UST got out of the gates really slow on Saturday, just seemed out of synch on offense.  Their defense is as good as the numbers suggest, and that'll keep them in games for 60 minutes.  Should be a great second round match up. 

[Hawks88]

Hats off to Huntington.  You don't win nine games in a row nor win your conference three (I think ) years in a row without being well coached, have lots a talent and be an all around strong program.  I was also impressed with the crowd they brought to Rome, and by their band.  Class act all the way around.

I am a proud Berry alum.  The game was not always pretty (defense bailed out special teams and the offense in the 2nd half), but we looked really good at times (4th quarter defense, 2nd quarter offense).  But 11-0 is very, very impressive and special.  Can't make the journey to up north, but will be listening online.  Hoping the Vikings get it some good practice in the meantime, and clean up a few things.

Disregarding the outcome it was a fun little trip. It's really nice to have an easily drivable playoff game. It goes without saying you have an absolutely beautiful campus and terrific facilities. I even got to see an old friend. Your baseball coach and I were teammates at Huntingdon back in the day.
Hopefully we can get another shot at you guys next year and maybe we can do well enough to get the home game.

[BerryCollegeFan]

Berry fans...

The St Thomas fans have made several food and drink recommendation on the MIAC thread in the West Region Forum.  They are a few pages back now, but I am going to try to consolidate them into one post when I have a few moments.

[jamtod]

Berry fans...

The St Thomas fans have made several food and drink recommendation on the MIAC thread in the West Region Forum.  They are a few pages back now, but I am going to try to consolidate them into one post when I have a few moments.

Happy to answer any other questions to the best of my ability here also. Unfortunately, I won't be at the game this Saturday but safe travels to y'all!

[nkwest]

Berry fans...

The St Thomas fans have made several food and drink recommendation on the MIAC thread in the West Region Forum.  They are a few pages back now, but I am going to try to consolidate them into one post when I have a few moments.

I'm happy to filter those or recommend additional options based on personal preferences, and, like jamtoTommie, answer any other questions here. Unlike Jam, however, I will be in attendance on Saturday. I'm excited to see a new program in the round of sixteen and on our campus!

[tommiegun]

Wow, Berry's campus is absolutely gorgeous.  As to St. Paul restaurants, I'd highly recommend the Nook for casual fare (excellent burgers, fries, etc.) - and it has a retro bowling alley in the basement.  If you are looking for something a little fancier and are willing to travel to Minneapolis, Jax Café is a fun steak/chops/lobster spot in the "Nordeast" section of the city, which is also where most of the best micro breweries are located.  It's also near a pretty fun German bar if you are looking to really get after it (Gasthof's), which comes with all the usual German fare and drink, a polka band, das Boot, and snuff shooters. 

[BerryCollegeFan]

So here's the list of recommendations.  Thanks to everyone who made a suggestion...

Mancini's Char House (W. 7th St.) - good steak reasonably priced
The Groveland Tap - A good burger and a beer (Within 6 blocks of campus)
Davanni's (St. Clair Ave.) - A good hoagie (1 block from campus)
Plum's Bar and Grill  (Corner of Randolph & Snelling) - Another good Burger and Beer joint

WA Frost & Company - http://www.wafrost.com/ - Contemporary American good food and good drink, O'Gara's - http://www.ogaras.com/ - Irish Pub - average food and good drink

The Blue Door Pub on Selby Ave - it's tiny and often packed. Really good burgers though.
Tiff's and Plum's - traditional St Thomas bars, if you want to go rub elbows with the enemy

The Nook - 2 miles or so from campus. Little neighborhood option down the road from UST.
Shamrocks - 3-4 miles. Close to downtown St Paul

Red Cow has some fancier burger options that are quite good.
Punch Pizza on Grand.  Excellent Neapolitan-style pizza, and fast.
Surly - 2 miles tops from campus.  It's a taproom & restaurant on steroids. World class brewery and top rated and nationally recognized food as well. An all around cool setup for visitors.
Waldmann (refurbished house from the 1850's with beer and German cuisine)
Bad Weather.  (Newer brewery)
New Bohemia (downtown) will also give you beer and brats, and they have a massive tap list.

Also this comment as well, sounds like a recommendation, but isn't. 
I can't recommend Fulton since it's owned by Johnnies  in all seriousness though a great spot in Mpls by Target Field if you want to head that way.

[jamtod]

So here's the list of recommendations.  Thanks to everyone who made a suggestion...

Mancini's Char House (W. 7th St.) - good steak reasonably priced
The Groveland Tap - A good burger and a beer (Within 6 blocks of campus)
Davanni's (St. Clair Ave.) - A good hoagie (1 block from campus)
Plum's Bar and Grill  (Corner of Randolph & Snelling) - Another good Burger and Beer joint

WA Frost & Company - http://www.wafrost.com/ - Contemporary American good food and good drink, O'Gara's - http://www.ogaras.com/ - Irish Pub - average food and good drink

The Blue Door Pub on Selby Ave - it's tiny and often packed. Really good burgers though.
Tiff's and Plum's - traditional St Thomas bars, if you want to go rub elbows with the enemy

The Nook - 2 miles or so from campus. Little neighborhood option down the road from UST.
Shamrocks - 3-4 miles. Close to downtown St Paul

Red Cow has some fancier burger options that are quite good.
Punch Pizza on Grand.  Excellent Neapolitan-style pizza, and fast.
Surly - 2 miles tops from campus.  It's a taproom & restaurant on steroids. World class brewery and top rated and nationally recognized food as well. An all around cool setup for visitors.
Waldmann (refurbished house from the 1850's with beer and German cuisine)
Bad Weather.  (Newer brewery)
New Bohemia (downtown) will also give you beer and brats, and they have a massive tap list.

Also this comment as well, sounds like a recommendation, but isn't. 
I can't recommend Fulton since it's owned by Johnnies  in all seriousness though a great spot in Mpls by Target Field if you want to head that way.

For the record, The Nook and Shamrock's are under the same ownership and have basically the same menu. The Nook is cozier but closer to St Thomas and has more of a neighborhood dive feel, although the basement bowling alley adds some space. Shamrock's is much larger, a little further away and has more of a restaurant feel.

[BerryCollegeFan]

how is Uber service in and around St Thomas?

[jamtod]

how is Uber service in and around St Thomas?

Should get you everywhere you need to go. I've not used it personally, but I don't imagine you'd have any more issues than any other metro area.

[Pat Coleman]

how is Uber service in and around St Thomas?

Should get you everywhere you need to go. I've not used it personally, but I don't imagine you'd have any more issues than any other metro area.

UST is in a really good neighborhood. You won't have any trouble getting service in or out of that area.

[albatross]

SAA Season Awards announced yesterday. Highlights include:

Offensive Player of the Year - Miles Thompson - Hendrix

Defensive Player of the Year - Mamadou Soumahoro - Berry

Special Teams Player of the Year - Jamal Watkins - Birmingham-Southern

Newcomer of the Year - William Phillips - Sewanee

Coach of the Year - Tony Kunczewski - Berry

congrats to all! Here is the link with the full press release and a PDF of the first, second, and honorable mention teams:

http://saa-sports.com/sports/fball/2017-18/releases/20171120daufv1

[BerryCollegeFan]

Congratulations to all these honorees.

Well deserved each one.

[BerryViking92]

Congratulations to all these honorees.

Well deserved each one.

Seconded