As the Defenders gear up for the second round of the NAIA playoffs, they’ll head into Thanksgiving and onto the road to Indianapolis with full stomachs and plenty of community support behind them.
With Dordt’s dining commons closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, a question emerged: where will 125 hungry football players eat?
When Dave Van Holland heard The Atrium would be closed, he told Head Football Coach Joel Penner not to worry. He and a few friends will roll out five Blackstone griddles behind The Atrium and be ready to serve a hearty Thanksgiving spread of sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs.
“We’ll have 90 dozen eggs to crack,” Van Holland laughs.
The meal is fuel for the team before their noon departure for an 11-hour drive to Indianapolis and the second round of the NAIA playoffs.
Sophomore Zach Quiring typically spends Thanksgiving at home in Bradshaw, Nebraska, enjoying homemade food and playing outdoor games with his family. This year looks a little different, but he’s embracing it.
“The football team is my second family, so it’ll be good to spend Thanksgiving with them and enjoy good food together. I will definitely miss my family, but they will be heading to Indianapolis to the game on Saturday, so I will be able to see them there.”
Van Holland and others have been tailgating at Dordt football games for the past decade—which often includes feeding hungry players after the games have ended. “They’re heavy eaters, and that’s OK,” he says. “We enjoy feeding them.”
Taking on Thanksgiving breakfast felt like a natural extension of that tradition. “The players work hard all year, and for us to make them breakfast is just a small thank-you for all their work,” Van Holland says. “It’s tough to be away from home on a holiday, so to have them leave campus with a good meal in their stomachs is a joy for us.”
The Defenders enter Thanksgiving week carrying the momentum of a standout season. Dordt earned a spot in the NAIA Football Championship Series with a 9–1 record and a share of the GPAC title, securing an at-large berth in the national playoff field. Their second-round matchup sends them to Indianapolis to face Marian University, which finished 10–1 and went undefeated in MSFA Midwest play to earn the division’s automatic bid. After dropping their opener to NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis, the Knights rebounded with 10 straight wins, setting up a high-stakes postseason clash.
Junior Isaac Kacmarynski says the Thanksgiving breakfast is more than just a meal. “It means the world to us that we’re so well taken care of,” he says. He adds that he’s especially grateful for the chance to play alongside Dordt seniors for at least one more week: “They have given me so much, and I want nothing less than to keep playing with them.”
As the team looks ahead to Saturday, senior Joel Akers is savoring every moment. “Being a senior, I’m just looking forward to going out and competing with my teammates for our last guaranteed game,” he says. “I want to soak in every moment and leave it all on the field for this team.”
Van Holland says there is something special about Dordt’s football players, Coach Penner, and Dordt. “I think the environment of Dordt’s football team is great. And Penner—in many ways, he’s more than a coach. And for the Defenders to make it to the second round of the championship—that’s fantastic. It would have been nice to have a home game, but it is what it is,” Van Holland adds with a chuckle.
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.
Dordt University’s Music Department will present "Christmas at Dordt: The Word Became Flesh" on Saturday, December 6, at 7 p.m. in the B.J. Haan Auditorium. This reimagined Service of Lessons and Carols features Christmas choral and orchestral music enhanced by lighting and narration.
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