Congratulations, Eagles, on your excellent play and advancing the Bridgewater (and ODAC) banner to yet another round of the playoffs.  Good job ... and good luck against Wesley!   

I accidentally hit the post button after quoting Yellow Jacket without making any comment ... sorry 'bout that.  Anyway, I just wanted to say I've been to every game the Jackets have played this year and I must say that overall the improvement has been remarkable over the course of the season.  We hit a speed bump last weekend at Bridgewater, but the Eagles have been a speed bump for everybody else in the league so although the Yellowjackets got beat, they didn't just roll over and play dead and continuously played hard the entire game and kept trying to put points on the board and prevent additional points from being scored against them.  If the bulk of this year's young team stays together I see good things happening in the next couple of years.  It will be tough to see some of the seniors go after the season is over though ... they've provided a touch of stability to a very young team and should be proud of their efforts this year.  One other thing ... BEAT THE TIGERS!!!!

Quote from: yellow jacket on November 08, 2005, 11:47:11 AM
I'm a new poster, just wanted to see I've played all the ODAC teams so far (except H-SC) and wanted to say that no matter what the records are, all the teams are looking up.  BC not only has athletes, they are a tough football team.  W&L, for only having so few football players, is a great team that beat us up physically and mentally.  CUA is a good team, and hung tough against us.  They came back, and that shows alot for their character.  GC is a damn good team, just needs to work on their defense and they'll be right in the hunt next year.  And E&H, a good team, Coach Montgomery just needs to weed out the bad influencess.  It may take a few years, but they will be very good, as they have promising talent. 

Just wondering what people's perceptions on R-MC and their football program were.

I just read Hasanova's recap of the Guilford-RMC contest yesterday and I think he pretty well summed the game up nicely.  Yes, definitely the Jackets came to play and aside from a couple of miscues that led to Quaker scores in the second quarter we were right there matching Guilford score for score.  Ball (RMC's QB) put on a show definitely, but I was also impressed by Guilford's QB Vogelbach.  He lays the ball right where it needs to be and his receivers caught almost everything.  Both teams played pretty good defense, but the defensive backs got stung several times on both sides.  It was an exciting game and both teams fought hard to win.  That punt at the end of the game really handicapped us and tenacious defense by the Quakers got them a safety to put the game essentially out of reach with very little time remaining although I kept my fingers crossed for a miracle until the clock ticked down to zero.  Congratulations Quakers ...  I think both of these teams will be much better teams for the next couple or three years than this year's records reflect.  Lots of freshmen on both teams, but there's a lot of football talent at both schools.  (On a side note I have to say I thought the officiating was really atrocious ... they were really flag-happy against both teams.  Some of the calls appeared to be ludicrous in my opinion ...)   

I know GC-Q has a really good passer and they're playing better ball and the game is in Greensboro BUT I have seen a vast improvement the last couple of weeks in the Yellowjackets and they have begun to mature and gel into a Team.  If the Jackets play the way they have the past couple of weeks I see them winning a close one 31 - 28.  C'mon Yellowjackets lay it on Guilford!!  You can do it!!

The Yellowjacket football team was definitely "on fire" for their Homecoming game yesterday.   They were able to totally dominate the Green Terror for most of the game.  That is definitely the best I've seen the Jackets look the entire season.  I think the win against Emory & Henry gave them a tremendous boost of confidence and it carried over for this game.  The offense featured imaginative play-calling being led by both Tyler Ball and Steve Ahonen; we were able to run for first downs when we needed them and the passing was crisp and on-target.  The defense was very good yesterday shutting down McDaniel's pass attack and not allowing much on the ground.  I thought the D line looked tenacious the entire game and the linebackers and defensive backs made big plays for the duration.  Our kicking game was very good with deep punts and Reggie Moore splitting the uprights for field goals at crucial times.  RM-C was well prepared for this game and we came away with a win.  And the great thing was the Jackets controlled the ball so much that defensive fatigue was never a factor and a lot of guys that see limited playing time got to play in the fourth quarter.  In a season that started with multiple disappointments this game was truly a great win for the team, the fans and Head Coach Arruza and his staff.  It appears that this Yellowjacket football team is beginning to mature and come together.  GOOD JOB JACKETS!!!!!!!!!!

Randolph-Macon's Yellowjackets finally tasted the sweet nectar of victory yesterday in stinging the Emory & Henry Wasps 27-3 in a really hard-fought game.  RM-C scored first but missed the extra point (barely) and it was 6-0 for a while but then E & H came back and kicked a 46 yard (I think) FG to make it 6-3 into the fourth quarter.  RMC came back and scored to make it 13-3 but there was still time enough for E & H to come back and make it 13-10.  But two late turnovers (fumble recovery came deep in E & H territory and RM-C scored and the interception was run back for a TD) killed E & H's chances thus ensuring that RM-C would get its first victory of the season.  I have to give credit to the fighting spirit of Emory & Henry.  RM-C couldn't breathe easily until that interception return for a TD late in the game provided a comfortable margin too big for E & H to overcome.  It was a hard fought football game and although both teams seemed loaded with freshman and there was a lot of yellow flags being thrown, I think that in a year or two both of these teams will be much, much better than the two currently occupying the bottom rungs of the ODAC ladder.  I was really pleased the Jackets hung there and played tough for the entire game.  The coaches showed some imaginative play-calling on offense and kept fresh legs in on defense for most of the game and we finally came away with a win.  That's what I'm talking about ...
The offensive line and defensive line both played an outstanding game yesterday against a tough opponent.  I also thought the E & H lines played a good game. 

I was a little miffed at RM-C's sports information department for crediting a linebacker with that fumble recovery late in the game when it was two defensive lineman that made the play -- #75 Thomas Rhone caused the fumble and #91 Nate Shook recovered the ball.  I have it on video tape and that linebacker isn't even in the picture.  C'mon sports information guys -- these players aren't playing for the big bucks or a scholarship, just the recognition of doing their job.  You sports information people (at all ODAC and other D-III schools) need to check your facts and get it right.   

After reading Kid's analysis re: EH v. RMC I can easily see that the Jackets aren't feeling the love this week.  I thought the Jackets played a pretty good first half against the Generals until the wheels suddenly came off right before halftime and even at that we were on the W&L 2 yd line when time expired in the 1st half.  I know this is a very young team (over 1/2 the team frosh), but I think the Jackets are hungry for a win from a pride standpoint and the game is at RMC and as bad a 'tail whuppin' as the Jackets received from the Generals I still saw some positives in that game.  Happily, the defensive rotation was much better and the offensive line play looked pretty good at times.  We just got beat by a better team on quick strikes ... (that Martin is some kind of receiver with 3 catches for 109 yds and 1 of the TDs).  I don't know that much about E & H, but I still have faith that RMC will put together a good game and, hopefully, it will be this week.  I don't think either team will break 30 ... My guess:

Randolph-Macon 28 Emory & Henry 21

I hate to digress from all the hoopla chatter regarding the big HSC-BC clash this coming weekend but about another game being played ...

I know conventional wisdom has it that Washington & Lee is going to blow poor Randolph-Macon College off the field.  That may very well happen; however ...

R-MC has shown that it can at times play good offensive football in the Chowan, Shenandoah and Catholic games.  They put together sustained drives against Shenandoah and moved the ball convincingly against both Chowan and Catholic in those games.  The defense has played well most of the year.  A key element in using a speedy, aggressive defense, though, is keeping "fresh legs" in the game and R-MC hasn't done that much this year.  If the defensive coaches rethink that and shuttle people in and out more I think we've got a chance as long as the offense moves the ball consistently.  We have a roster of talented defensive players who could step in and give the starters a break.  We played tough football against a very good Johns Hopkins team and also against Shenandoah and Catholic.  We gave the Chowan game away which we should have won.  R-MC could easily be 2-2 instead of 0-4, but, hey, the Jackets are a young team and I chalk their record up to everybody being in the process of learning from their mistakes.  If the Yellowjacket players and coaches show up to play some good hardnosed football I think we've definitely got a chance to prove we belong on the same field as W&L.  The Generals are a very good team, I know, but as a loyal fan I'm going with my guys to win this one:

R-MC 28 W & L 27

My unsolicited prediction for the Bridgewater v. H-SC game:

Bridgewater 42 H-SC 41

... based on neither team having enough defense to stop the other from scoring.  However, usually these kinds of games are decided on something like a mixed extra point or having to settle for a couple of field goals instead of TDs.  BC just seems to have H-SC's number and I don't think this year will be any different.  Opening with a weaker team definitely didn't help the Tigers either.  This is the first real test for them I think ...   

Congratulations to Catholic on their big come-from-behind win.  You guys really hung in there.  Good job ...

That said, I think this game was more about the R-MC Yellowjacket football team finding a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again.  The 'Jackets played some really opportunistic football in the first half and converted those CUA miscues into points early.  The offense looked really good in the first half.  In the second half R-MC started getting way too conservative and became very predictable apparently trying to sit on the 21 point lead they had. And, as I'm getting really disgusted with saying, once again the 'Jackets defensive coaches didn't think it necessary to spend much time rotating players in and out of the defensive line and by the end of the game it was obvious.  Rhone, Marshburn and Johnson on the defensive line and Farmer in the defensive backfield all left everything on the field and played really well.  The freshman defensive tackle was totally ineffective though with the exception of a couple of plays, getting blocked out of most plays.  I know there are others in reserve just as good if not better that should have been out there.  In my opinion and that of several others, the failure to rotate players much, especially on the line, cost the Jackets the game.  The conservative play-calling on offense in the second half hurt them too.   With the exception of maybe 10 plays, the starting D-line played the entire game.  And of those 10 plays, it was a couple of plays here, a couple of plays there for about 2 guys.  Fatigue causes stupid mistakes and there were plenty.  We had the game in our pocket and gave it away basically.  We could have, and should have, won this one.  This loss shouldn't be blamed primarily on the players.  This is going to be one heck of a long season ...  Again, congratulations to CUA for coming back for the big win. You hung in there and deserved it.

   Well, R-MC played hard against Shenandoah last night and it was a pleasant surprise to see the Yellowjackets put two good sustained drives together of quite a few yards and come away with some points plus they had an opportunity to pull within a TD with 10 minutes left in the game when they were 4th and 7 and chose to go for it and didn't make it instead of kicking what appeared to be a relatively makeable field goal.  A concern of mine is that, as in the Chowan game,  the coaches opted for very little rotation of defensive linemen back and forth to give the starters a rest and late in the game it showed in their body language getting ready for the next play and they struggled.  I'm not the coach but a very limited rotation policy on the defensive line doesn't appear to be very good tactics.  We have some talent on the bench, why not use it to give the starters a breather for a series or two?  This week the offense looked better and the defense had some nice series, but essentially wound up outgunned and overmatched.  It would be nice to watch a game with both offense and defense looking good.  It was heartening to watch such a heroic effort on the part of the Yellowjackets but the Hornets proved to be the better team.  The young  'Jackets are getting there, but they have more work to do.  In my humble opinion, this was the best of the three contests I've seen so far this year.  We actually stayed in the game until late.  I think this R-MC team might actually be pretty good when they mature more.  Better luck next week for the  R-MC Yellowjackets against Catholic .  Keep that focus and play hard and hopefully you'll come away with a win ...      

RMC got beat Saturday afternoon by a good Johns Hopkins team 24-0.  It was 10-0 at the half and we were still in the game, but our lack of a sustained offense drive kept the defense on the field an awfully long time and Johns Hopkins scored a couple of more TD's in the second half.  At least the Jackets showed up and gave a good effort, but they've got a fairly young team and they were playing a team with experience, discipline and skill and just wound up getting spanked.  I noticed the defensive line shuttled in and out fairly often and looked much fresher this week and I thought they played better -- although the defense occasionally managed to make some really good plays and then follow it up with some bad ones.  Overall, I'd have to say the defense is getting there.  If we'd had enough offensive output for some points,  this one would have been much closer.   Our young offense needs to really buckle down and learn quickly so they can contribute more to the game.  It takes time, but I would like to see them be able to put together some sustained drives and get points on the board.  I see bright spots and I'm sure they'll get 'er done eventually.  On to Winchester and the awesome Shenandoah Hornets ... YIKES!!!

My two cents worth ... I agree that when you put in reserves late in the game they should not be asked to just "lay down".  It's their moment in the sun (lights?...) and they should take advantage of their opportunity to play their best and try to score even if it looks like they're "running up the score".   If their opponent's first team can't prevent a score by 2d and 3d teamers then it just underscores the need to work on fundamentals more.  I would say Bridgewater came to play some football and maybe Shenandoah got caught a little flat perhaps.  

I am a new user so I haven't quite got my act together yet as far as customizing my messages.  However, I would like to comment on the disappointing game between Randolph-Macon and Chowan this afternoon which Chowan unfortunately won 16-13.  The Yellowjackets offense started off in a reasonably efficient manner, but I have noticed that they have great trouble scoring when they are inside the 10 yd line of their opponent.  We squandered at least three opportunities to put points on the board today when we were inside the 10 -- once from the 3 yd. line.  We need to work on that I think in addition to wiser clock management.  The defense played well enough for most of the game to produce a win had the offense been able to score.  However, another trend that I noticed in the two scrimmages and then again in their first game is the almost total lack of rotation of personnel into and out of the offensive and defense lines.  I feel like had the coaches done more of this it would have kept their players fresher and more effective late in the game.  The RMC defense looked beaten late in the game even when they were still ahead and I attribute that in part to fatigue.  I'm not taking anything away from the Chowan effort -- indeed they played inspired football in the second half, but I have the gut feeling that RMC could have easily won this contest had things been managed a little more adroitly.  It's only one loss but I think the team and the coaches both have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks or this will definitely turn out to be a very, very long season if ya'll catch my drift.  I just think if you have some depth to your team you should utilize the talent and not play the starters/first stringers until they're to the point of exhaustion.  That said, I think the potential is there for the Yellowjackets it just needs to be developed.  Good effort overall but they came up short.  Better luck in the future games, 'Jackets.