Special
PIGSKIN 2021 43
SOUTHERN ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Brock Skinner and the Berry defense celebrate an interception return for a touchdown during the spring season.
Berry goes for sixth conference championship in a row
By Michael Baron
mbaron@npco.com
The Berry Vikings know a thing or
two about winning. They’ve done their
fair share of it since 2016, as the team
has gone 43-6 overall, including 33-3
in the NCAA Division III’s Southern
Athletic Association.
But that i s i n the p a s t , and a s
another season dawns, every team
i s 0-0 and w i l l be looking t o be
the first to knock off the reigning
champions.
The Hendrix Warriors, runner up
during the COVID-19 shortened spring
season, will once again contend for
the SAA title.
Hendrix senior running back Kip
VanHoose finished the year with 250
rushing yards and four touchdowns,
averaging 62.5 yards per game.
The Warriors lost by one point to
Berry in the SAA championship game
back in March, so expect them to have
revenge on the mind.
Trinity (TX) also had a strong spring
season, finishing the year at 3-1.
Its only loss came to Hendrix 13-3.
The Tigers last defeated the Vikings
during the 2018 regular season.
During the spring season, the Tigers
featured the No. 1 defense in points
allowed per game, surrendering an
average of 14.8. Trinity’s Campbell
Miller finished the shortened year
tied for the most sacks registered
with three.
Offensively, senior running back
Michael Edmonson ranked second
in conference backs in average yards
per game (73.5) and third in rushing
yards (294) on 54 carries.
Berry will open conference play up
against Trinity at Valhalla on Saturday,
Oct. 2.
A bright spot for Berry throughout
the spring was undoubtedly the play
of quarterback Gavin Gray. Gray, a
junior out of Calhoun High School,
led al l SAA quarterbacks in average
passing yards per game (235.0),
yards and touchdowns (9).
The Bi rmingham-Southern Coll
ege Panther s f i n i s h ed t h e y ear
with a 2-2 record, but completed
the Spring 2021 season with the No.
1 scoring o ffense with 132 points
for an average of 33 points scored
per game. Birmingham Southern’s
roster, though, has two big names
missing as senior quarterback Trevor
Oakes and senior running back
Robert Shufford, who was the SAA’s
leading rusher i n the spring, are
not on the 2021 roster.
Centre finished with an identical
record to Birmingham-Southern at
2-2, Austin and Millspas both were
1-3 and Rhoades completed the spring
season without a victory.
The only football program that will
not return to the SAA for 2021 is Austin
College. Last August, the college
announced it would move to the American
Southwest Conference as a football
affiliate beginning with the fall
2021 season. The ‘Roos had been a
part of the SAA as a football-only affiliate
since 2017.
Due to the NCAA’s granted extra
year of eligibility from COVID-19,
the Class of 2021 seniors can elect to
return for another year of football.
link