Erik Johnson joins the Griffon football staff as defensive coordinator for the 2023 season, after spending the previous three seasons alongside coach Tyler Fenwick at Southeastern Oklahoma.

In 2022, Southeastern Oklahoma boasted the third-stingiest defensive unit in the Great American Conference, allowing just 367.0 yards per game. Maalik Hall continued to be one of the most disruptive players in the GAC, finishing atop the league in sacks with eight en route to AFCA All-America honors.

In 2021, his defensive unit helped Southeastern put together one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in DII history, improving by 7.5 games to post a 9-3 record. That squad was also led by Hall, who earned GAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in addition to honorable mention all-American honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Hall led a grouping of five Savage Storm players on the defensive side of the ball to earn all-GAC laurels. That 2021 defense allowed 24.3 points per game and kept offenses to 367.8 yards per game of total offense and just 210.1 yards per game through the air.

Johnson has almost 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, with a five year-stint as defensive backs coach at Claremont College in California, and a long tenure at Occidental College, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2002-2012.

While at CMS he coached six defensive back who earned All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors, including three first team selections. Those teams tallied 54 interceptions over five seasons and a total of 80 takeaways in that span.
 
Prior to CMS, Johnson was the defensive coordinator for Occidental College from 2002-2012, where he was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012 season. During his time at Occidental, the team won four SCIAC titles and the defense led the SCIAC in fewest points allowed and rushing defense in 2003 and 2004.
 
Over 20 of his players at Occidental earned All-SCIAC honors, including Mike Bryant, the SCIAC's first three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Prior to his arrival to Occidental, he coached at Crescenta Valley High School (Defensive Coordinator, 2001), John Muir High School (Assistant Coach, 1993-1994; Head Coach, 1994-2000) and Blair High School (Assistant Coach 1991-1993).
 
While at John Muir High School, Johnson coached over 40 athletes who went on to play Div. I FBS or FCS football.  The Mustangs' offense broke several school records, including total yardage and points scored in a season.  Defensively, John Muir ranked in the top five in points allowed in the CIF Southern Section in 1999 and 2000.  Johnson's teams won four league titles and made the CIF playoffs every year, advancing to the semifinals twice, and the quarterfinals three times.  He was named Pacific League Coach of the Year twice (1997 and 1998) and San Gabriel Valley Coach of the Year once (1997). He won four Pacific League titles at Muir and one at Crescenta Valley.
 
Johnson played quarterback at Citrus College (1986-1987) before transferring to St. Mary's College for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. He graduated from Cal State LA with a Bachelor of Arts in social science.
 
Johnson and his wife Gina have a daughter, Amber, and one grandson, Tyler.

Todd Throckmorton begins his fourth stint at Missouri Western with the 2023 football season, returning to his alma mater as offensive coordinator. 
 
Throckmorton coached a variety of positions for the Griffons from 1990-96, serving as assistant head coach during the 1996 season. He returned for a stint as offensive line coach in 2004-2005, and then became the tight ends coach in 2009, taking over the offensive line from 2009-2012, and then served as offensive coordinator from 2013-17.
 
Throckmorton rejoined Griffon head coach Tyler Fenwick in 2019 at Southeastern Oklahoma, serving as the program’s offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. His offensive line was a big part of Southeastern’s posting one of the best turnarounds in the history of Division II football, moving from a 1-10 record in his first season to 9-3 in his second.
 
The 2021 Savage Storm offense racked up 5,067 yards of total offense, averaging 422.3 yards per game behind Throckmorton’s offensive line, with 1,845 of those yards coming on the ground and 3,222 coming in the air. Throckmorton’s offense saw Braxton Kincade take home honorable mention All-Great American Conference honors, while SE finished the year averaging 375.9 yards per game on offense.
 
That team also had 11 players pick up Academic All-GAC honors, seven of them on the offensive side of the ball.
 
Prior to his time at Southeastern, Throckmorton spent two seasons as the offensive line coach and assistant head coach at Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he also coordinated the team’s recruiting efforts.
 
Throckmorton also spent three years as a tight ends coach at New Mexico and four years as the head coach at Fort Lewis College. 
 
 At Fort Lewis, seven of his 11 wins came in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) games. During his tenure at FLC, he coached 30 All-RMAC players, 14 academic All-RMAC picks, and two RMAC Freshman of the Year honorees. In 2002, the Skyhawks led the nation in passing offense with an average of 373.5 passing yards per game.
 
He spent three seasons at San Jose State after his first stint at Missouri Western. Throckmorton graduated from Missouri Western in 1987 with his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and earned a Master of Arts in Physical Education from the University of South Dakota in 1989.

Colin McQuillan - Assistant - Outside Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator

Colin McQuillan enters his third season at Missouri Western as the special teams coordinator and working with the outside linebackers. He also oversees the Griffon Football social media presence and team camps.

In his first two seasons as special teams coordinator, McQuillan has coached multiple specialists to All-MIAA honors. Following the 2024 season kicker Cody Watson was honored as a Unanimous Selection 1st Team kicker, while punter Spencer Sprenger was a 3rd Team honoree and returner Javerious McGuinn was an Honorable Mention selection. Cody Watson earned 2nd Team All-Super Region 3, Honorable Mention Don Hansen All-American, and was the first MWSU player since 2019 selected as a 1st Team Academic All-American. Cody was also the first kicker named to All-American First Team since NFL kicker Greg Zuerlein in 2011. In 2023, kicker Cody Watson earned 1st Team honors while punter Evan Williams was a 3rd Team honoree and returner Jalen Lampley was an Honorable Mention selection. During these first two seasons McQuillan has also mentored success in the classroom as players under his supervision have earned five CSC Academic All- District honors as well as 2nd Team and 1st Team All-American CSC Academic honors.

Missouri Western's special team units have excelled at both the MIAA and NCAA Division II level during the past two seasons. In 2023 MWSU led the MIAA in blocked kicks (8), blocked punts (5), blocked punts allowed (0), and punt return yards (14.56 per return). These units ranked No. 6 (blocked kicks), No. 3 (blocked punts), and No. 13 (punt return) in NCAA Division II. During the 2024 season MWSU led the MIAA in kickoff returns, averaging 24.06 per return which was No. 24 in NCAA Division II.

Prior to returning to Missouri Western, McQuillan spent all of 2022 and the spring of 2023 at NAIA, Graceland University in Lamoni, IA. There he was the special teams and run game coordinator while working with the defensive line.

In McQuillan’s lone season at Graceland, he helped guide a defense that improved from one of the worst in the nation to being ranked in multiple categories. He had two defensive linemen earn All-Heart honors, Second-Team and Honorable Mention respectively. The Graceland defense was No. 1 in the Heart Conference in both Touchdowns Scored and Interceptions. Upfront the Graceland defense improved from allowing 271 yards rushing a game in 2021 to only 145 yards rushing a game in 2022.

As the Graceland special teams coordinator, McQuillan’s Relentless Squads improved dramatically from the 2021 season. The top group being the kickoff return team that was ranked No. 7 in the Nation in kickoff return yards, as well as No. 2 in the Heart Conference with 992 return yards. McQuillan’s punt block group managed to block 5 opponents punts, a stat that is not tracked nationally in the NAIA. McQuillan’s special teams also garnered a Second-Team All-Conference Returner.

During the 2018 to 2021 seasons, McQuillan coached at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he was the defensive coordinator for four seasons. In his four seasons at SWOSU, McQuillan guided a defense which had two individuals selected to play in postseason All-Star games, First-Team Academic All-American, All-Conference DB (Led Great American Conference in INT/PBU), Pre-Season D2 All-American DB, two Academic All-District, and 12 Academic All-GAC.
 
Prior to SWOSU, McQuillan coached for six seasons at Missouri Western State University, over two different stints. Most recent, he served as the Griffons’ running backs coach in 2017, to lead the second-best rushing attack in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Three Griffons under McQuillan earned Honorable Mention All-MIAA honors, Shamar Griffith and Jonathan Owens at returner and Ian McIntosh at fullback. In addition to his coaching duties, he served as the Recruiting Coordinator and Social Media Coordinator for Missouri Western Football.

From 2015-16, McQuillan served as a graduate assistant at Missouri Western, coaching the linebackers and defensive backs. He had two linebackers earn All-MIAA honorable mention during the 2016 season and all four starters in the Griffon secondary garnered All-MIAA honors in 2015, led by All-American cornerback Mike Jordan, who was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams. Two other players McQuillan coached received pro-opportunities with cornerback Sam Brown signing as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens and Elroy Douglas getting drafted by Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League. Elroy Douglas most recently was on roster with the Ottawa Redblacks.
 
McQuillan started his college coaching career as an assistant at Missouri Western from 2010-12 before coaching in the high school ranks for three seasons. He spent two years at Riverside High School in Wathena, Kansas, as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach before moving to KC Wyandotte High School as the head strength and conditioning coach and offensive coordinator for the 2014-15 school year. During his undergraduate years, McQuillan was the assistant football and basketball coach at Union Star High School from 2008-10.
 
A native of Wathena, Kansas, McQuillan earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Missouri Western in 2011 before completing a Master’s Degree in Sports and Fitness Management from MWSU in 2016. He and his wife, Kayla, reside in St. Joseph with their daughter, Myer Donn, and two dogs, Indiana and Lexi.
  
The McQuillan File
 
Coaching Career
2023 – Present: Missouri Western (Special Teams Coordinator & OLB)
2022: Graceland (Special Teams & Defensive Run Game Coordinator/DL)
2018 – 2021: SWOSU (Defensive Coordinator)
2017: Missouri Western (Running Backs)
2015 – 16: Missouri Western (Graduate Assistant – LB/DB)
2014: KC Wyandotte HS (Offensive Coordinator / Head Strength & Conditioning)
2012 – 13: Riverside (KS) HS (Head Baseball Coach / Assistant Football Coach)
2010 – 12: Missouri Western (LB)
 
Playing Career:
2007 – 08: Cornell College
 
Education:
Missouri Western State University
   Bachelor’s, Physical Education, 2011
   Master’s, Sports and Fitness Management, 2016

Patrick St. Louis - Assistant - Running Backs / Recruiting Coordinator

On December 16, 2022, Missouri Western State University head football coach Tyler Fenwick announced that St. Louis will serve as the running backs coach. Fenwick expressed his confidence in St. Louis' abilities and respect for him as a former player. 

Previously, St. Louis was named co-offensive coordinator in 2018 after serving as run game coordinator and offensive line coach in 2017. In 2021, he helped lead the team to an impressive scoring average of 34 points per game, while producing excellent numbers for the offensive line, with over 200 yards on the ground per game and breaking the 5 yards per carry mark. Four Griffons from his area received All-MIAA nominations for the 2022 season.
 
St. Louis began his coaching career at Missouri Western as a student assistant, then served as a graduate assistant at Morehead State from 2009-10. He also served as the offensive line coach at Olivet College in 2012. St. Louis earned his Masters of Arts in Education from Morehead State University in 2010. He and his wife, Chastity, have two sons, Aiden and Grey, and they live in St. Joseph, Missouri. Together, they create a warm and nurturing environment for their family to thrive in.

Aaron Bell was announced as the wide receivers coach at Missouri Western in January of 2022.

Bell is in his second stint at Missouri Western. He coached wide receivers from 2006-2014 for the Griffons. 

Since his time at Missouri Western, Bell has spent time at KIPP Legacy High School, Park Hill High School, and North Kansas City High School as an assistant football coach.

During his first tenure at Missouri Western, the Griffons posted a 77-31 combined record and made six postseason appearances, capturing the MIAA title in 2012. During that time, wideouts Jarrett Brooks and Cedric Houston earned first-team All-MIAA honors, with Houston earning an honorable mention all-America honor from D2Football.com after a season in which he caught 57 passes for 1,006 yards and a school record 15 touchdowns. During that 2009 season, Houston's 229 receiving yards against Colorado Mesa (then Mesa State) set a Missouri Western record that stands to this day — while four receivers mentored by Bell — Houston, Andrew Mead, Jarrett Brooks, and Tarrell Downing, remain in the top-ten all-time at Missouri Western in receiving yards.

Prior to his first stint at Missouri Western, Bell coached defensive backs for two years.

His son, Ronnie, was a two-time all-Big Ten honoree, a five-year letter winner, and served as the captain of the Michigan Wolverines football team. A graduate of Pittsburg State University where he earned a pair of letters at wideout, he also played at Missouri State and Fort Scott Community College.

Michael Gallo returns to his alma mater as defensive line coach for the 2023 season.

A two-year letterwinner for the Griffons in 2016 and 2017, Gallo has spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive line at Missouri Southern.

Two of Gallo's mentees on the Lion defensive front earned all-MIAA selections this past season, as Solomona Fetuao and Jamie Tago were named to the third team. Fetuao finished the season with 27 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and three sacks with eight QB hurries and one forced fumble, while Tago notched 21 tackles with team highs in tackles for loss and sacks, with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Fetuao and Nick Kruse were all-MIAA selections in Gallo's first year at MSSU.

Prior to his time in Joplin, Gallo spent two years at Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he helped coach inside linebackers for the Bulldogs.

Gallo started his coaching career in St. Joseph, serving as the freshman offensive coordinator and assistant defensive line coach at Central High School.

A native of Glendora, California, Gallo received his degree in health and physical education in 2018 with a degree in health and physical education, and completed his master's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma in 2021.

Dominic Anderson officially became a member of the Griffon football coaching staff in April 2025, where he will serve as the defensive backs coach.
 
Prior to joining Missouri Western, Anderson was an assistant at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. From 2021 to 2024, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Broncos, where he helped lead them to a CIAA Conference Championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
 
In 2021, Anderson was selected for the NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Chicago Bears, where he worked closely with Matt Eberflus’ coaching staff during mini-camp and training camp.
 
Anderson brings a wealth of coaching experience, having spent three years as the defensive coordinator for the University of Pikeville. He has also held positions as a graduate assistant coach at Wake Forest University and worked for three years as the defensive backs coach at Illinois State University. Furthermore, Anderson coached the defensive backs at St. Francis College for one year and served as the head coach at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida.
 
The native of Hollywood, Florida, earned his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in 2005, where he played both running back and a defensive back for the Demon Deacons. Anderson also earned a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in sociology and a master’s degree in athletic coaching at West Virginia University. He is currently working toward a Master’s in Business Administration at the University of Pikeville.
 
Anderson and his wife, Stephanie, are proud parents of three children: Charlie (4), Emory (2) and Isaiah (1).

Ace Ventura started his MWSU career in 2022 and is now coaching the quarterback room for the 2023 season. During his first season, he served as a graduate assistant coach for the running backs.

OUTSIDE OF MWSU
Ventura played college ball at East Central University, playing from 2017-21. During the 2018 season, he made the ECU Falls Dean’s List and Spring President’s List. Ventura also earned a spot on the 2020 ECU Fall and Spring President’s Lists.

Before then, he played at Denton High School in Denton, Texas. Ventura Helped the Broncos to two bi-district championships and a district title as a senior

As a Bronco, Ventura was a first team all-district and earned all-area honors as a junior and senior.

The 2023 season will be Brandon Sanders' first with Griffon Football, following Head Coach Tyler Fenwick, Defensive Coordinator Erik Johnson and Offensive Coordinator Todd Throckmorton over from Southeastern Oklahoma.

BEFORE MWSU
Sanders, who is a 2022 Southeastern Oklahoma Storm alum, is no stranger to working with Fenwick and Griffon Football Defensive Coordinator Erik Johnson. In August of 2020, Sanders joined the duo at Southeastern as a defensive undergraduate assistant during the COVID-19 shutdown. Collaborating with both Fenwick and Johnson in 2021, Sanders helped mentor a Storm defense that only gave up 24.3 points and 367.8 yards per game, both the third-least averages allowed in the Great American Conference (GAC) that season. 

In August of 2022 and now a defensive graduate assistant at that point, Sanders saw the Storm's special teams unit put up impressive numbers with 13.2 yards per punt return and 20.3 yards per kickoff return, respectively good enough for second and third best in the GAC. On top of that, Southeastern's defense remained stingy in 2022 with Sanders' assistance, only allotting 367 yards per game to land the Storm as the third-best total defense in the conference. 

From 2018-19, Sanders suited up for East Texas Baptist football in Marshall, Texas, majoring in mathematics before transferring to Southeastern Oklahoma in July of 2020. Sanders earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal and Applied Studies in May of 2022 before beginning his current quest for a master's degree in sports administration. In Sanders' young career as a collegiate coach, he has guided nine All-GAC selections on the defensive side of the ball, including the 2021 GAC Defensive Player of the Year and a Don Hansen and AFCA  All-American in outside linebacker Maalik Hall.

Matthew Winter officially joined the Missouri Western football coach staff in the summer of 2024 as an assistant quarterbacks coach.
 
Prior to this, he worked as a quarterbacks manager at the University of Arizona under head coach Jedd Fisch. During his time with the Wildcats, he pursued a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
 
Before his time at Arizona, he was a quarterback for two years at Western New Mexico. He later transitioned to coaching as a student assistant who helped with practice planning and analyzing film.

Winter is a native of Phoenix, Arizona and graduated from Brophy College Preparatory in 2020. 

Victor Vera officially joined the football coaching staff in August of 2024 as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Griffons.
 
Prior to joining the Griffons, Vera coached at Simpson College during the spring season. There, he was responsible for coaching the cornerbacks. He also handled equipment management, film coordination and recruiting in the Northwest Iowa and Texas regions.
 
Additionally, Victor has experience working as a graduate assistant defensive backs coach at Howard Payne University, where he assisted with recruiting, film coordination, academic support and equipment management.
 
Vera obtained his Bachelors in Science from East Texas Baptist and his Masters in Sport Wellness and Leadership from Howard Payne University.