BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - The FootballScoop announced today, January 2nd, that E.J. Peterson, recently appointed as Head Coach, has been recognized as the 2024 FootballScoop NAIA Coordinator of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by the previous winners. 

Grand View capped off a dominant run to the NAIA National Championship by dethroning defending champion Keiser with a 35-7 victory on December 21, securing the school's second national title. This championship season ranks among the best in NAIA history. The Vikings not only finished with a perfect 14-0 record, but also defeated the last three NAIA champions on their path to the title.

Throughout the season, Grand View's defense was exceptional, leading the nation by allowing only 8.4 points per game. Four opponents were shut out, including 2022 national champion Northwestern College in the NAIA quarterfinals. Nine of Grand View's 14 opponents were held to single-digit scores, including five consecutive shutouts in October and November.

Grand View also led the nation in total defense, ranking second in rushing defense and fourth in passing defense. Opponents averaged just 219.9 yards per game, with 73 on the ground and 146.9 through the air.

During the playoff run, the Vikings held Friends (Kan.), a top-20 offense, to just 17 points and 273 yards in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, Northwestern, which averaged 28 points and 355 yards per game, was limited to 218 yards and shut out. In the semifinals, Morningside, the second-ranked team in total offense, was held to 266 yards and a season-low 13 points. In the championship game, defending champion Keiser was restricted to its lowest scoring performance since facing an FCS team in September 2022.

Linebacker John Argo earned AFCA First Team All-American honors, while defensive end Jackson Filer and defensive back Daviere Jones were named Second Team All-Americans. Argo was also named the Heart of America Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Argo, Filer, and Jones were joined on the All-HOA First Team by linebacker Cade Sheedy, defensive lineman Aaron Brown, and defensive back Prince Brown. Defensive back Krishawn Butler was a Second Team All-HOA selection, and defensive back Skylar James earned honorable mention.

A Grand View graduate, Peterson was named Conference Player of the Year in 2010 and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. After playing in the Arena Football League for the Iowa Barnstormers, Peterson began his coaching career in 2012 as linebackers coach and strength and conditioning coordinator at McPherson College. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2014 and returned to Grand View in the same role in 2018.

The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Fran Johnson [Texas Wesleyan], Eric Kelly [Friends], Austin Taylor [Indiana Wesleyan] and Peterson) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.

Previous winners of the NAIA Coordinator of the Year award are Joe Woodley (Grand View [Iowa], 2013), Ken Fasnacht (Southern Oregon, 2014), Scott Power (Marian [Ind.], 2015), Joey Didier and Eric Wagoner (Saint Francis [Ind.], 2016), Patrick Donley and Trevor Miller (Saint Francis [Ind.], 2017), Lucas Lueders (Morningside [Iowa], 2018), Casey Jacobsen and Nathan Turner (Morningside [Iowa], 2019), Phil Kleckler (Lindsey Wilson [Ky.], 2020), Andrew Rode (Morningside [Iowa], 2021), Billy Kirch (Northwestern [Iowa]), 2022), and Robbie Owens (Keiser [Fla.], 2023).

Created in 1999, FootballScoop.com is the premier source for coaching job information and has long been the most widely viewed website by coaches, athletic directors, strength & conditioning coaches, operations and equipment staff across America. As the leading coaching job information venue, FootballScoop.com serves our viewers' needs by providing first hand, timely & accurate information for our audience. FootballScoop.com is the premier provider of official job postings.

NAIAScoop full release, here. 

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