2025 Small College Football Season Preview: Peru State

The Heart of America is one of the NAIA's premier conferences for all sports. Football is no exception, and Nebraska's lone school in that league, Peru State, knows that firsthand.

But over the past three seasons under head coach Phil Ockinga, a Nebraska native and former FBS assistant, the Bobcats have steadily built themselves into a team to contend with in the Heart.

"Being a Nebraska boy, Peru was always a place I had watched from afar and knew it was kind of the diamond in the rough, it was the place where I’m like, I could see me being highly successful there, recruit really high level student-athletes," Ockinga said at the Small College Football Media Day hosted by Doane earlier this summer. "Being a state school, having the resources necessary, they won back in the 90s, I believed that you could do it again. Getting the right people around you, the right staff, I really though we could win it. I don’t know if we’re there, but we’re getting there, so I’m really excited for the present day and into the future."

And now that they've experienced a taste of winning, Peru State's more experienced players say that's given the team the collective confidence that they can continue to win games in a challenging conference.

"I feel like we built a new standard now. The standard is now we’re going to win games. We may not get the ones that really want, but we’ve turned the program around where you know we’re going to have a winning season now," said junior defensive lineman Zahir Washington. "You know we’re going to give everyone a run for their money now, who used to walk all over everyone in the conference. It’s a tough conference, and now we’re one of the teams that everyone has to think ‘it’s going to be a tough game’ now – so I think we finally set a standard at Peru to be one of the teams to look out for."

"I think the hardest thing about it is staying consistent, staying above average," junior running back Stacian Livingston echoed. "It’s real easy for teams to go back to what they used to be, but I think at Peru we’re staying above average and excelling every year. As you can tell, we get better every single year, and I think this year is the peak of our team."

Livingston and Washington have a few things in common: both are upperclassmen, education majors from out of state. Both graduated during "the peak of COVID" and weathered a coaching change at PSC to become Second Team All-HAAC honorees a season ago. Both said they're grateful for their experiences at Peru so far, and both believe that all the work the team has put in will help lead Peru State to "its peak" this fall.

"It’s been a bumpy road in general, but that’s just how football is," Livingston said of adjusting to his new school. "It’s ups and downs, but I think it made us great, trying to stay consistent. And it took a little while to get used to the new culture, of course, it was something new, something different – but I think what makes us great is everyone embracing the culture, being one team. Once we figured out that we’re all together, that made us a lot better, made us into the powerhouse that we are now."

"I think everyone’s eager to win. Going into this past spring, I think that was the best spring we’ve had since I’ve been here. Competition was at 100 percent, energy was there every day," said Washington. "I think we only had two practices where the coaches had to get after us because we were just going through the motions, but I think everyone is going to come in ready to do something this season. I think everyone’s mentality is: it’s either playoffs, or we had a bad year."

The Bobcats have built themselves into a legitimate team to contend with were picked to finish second in the Heart North Division this year behind only perennial powerhouse Grand View, the reigning NAIA national champions. 

"We love to play the best. It really shows you where you stand," said Ockinga. "If you’re able to compete with those teams or beat those teams, you know that moving forward into the playoffs that you’re going to be in really good shape. If you win our conference, you’ve probably got a really good chance of winning the national championship. We have our hands full, but it makes it exciting – really good football for our players and for the conference."

The Bobcats begin the 2025 season this Saturday, August 30, at 1 PM, welcoming in Oklahoma Panhandle State for Peru's annual Thunder in the Oaks showcase.