Hey guys, listen I meant no respect to Whitewater. We all know they are a good team. Zebrowski is a good coach but I am not a huge fan of him after he left Lakeland with only a couple months before the season. They have a crazy run game and play action pass that'll be hard to deal with and congrats to the guy and the team on their awards.

These guys from Lakeland have a lot of heart and it's been great seeing these guys grow as people. The guys are embracing the fact of being the underdog. They are going to fight every play until the end and that should be respected. At Lakeland that's what these guys pride themselves on. May not have the nicest stuff but they are willing to work hard to progress.

I never said we were the classiest in the conference. I meant it by guys were more classy than the AU players swearing and giving inappropiate gestures to our fans last year. Coach D is a great guy and we are glad to have him at LC.  I'm sure whatever offense was taken from him was not deliberate. He has turned this program into the right direction with some quality guys he has brought in. Things are different as far as a respect standpoint toward the opponents.

Good luck to both teams this weekend. Much respect to all.

My picks in August 14th
1. Lakeland
2. Aurora
3. CUW
4. CUC
5. Benedictine
6. WLC
7. Rockford
8 Marantha

Final  Standings
1. LC
2. CUC
3. Benedictine
4. CUW
5. WLC
6. Aurora
7. Rockford
8. MBBC

After playing in this Conference four four years and CUC proved a lot of people wrong. OLD 40 and the rest of you AU followers. I don't know what happened from this year to last, but they were a dissapointment to say the least.

Can't say I was glad to see AU get shut out after celebrating the championship last year. Mind you players spit and gave inappropiate gestures to the Lakeland fans last year. Glad to know dispite not having the nicest stadium, we're at least humble, well-mannered, classier, and quite frankly the better team this year. Can you see us now Aurora posters. Best of luck getting your program back together.

Think LC owes Benedictine some gratitude after pulling out that victory vs CUC. The celebration when that was announced after the dominanting victory vs AU was terrific.

Proud of Lakeland for their accomplishments this year. This team puts in the morning lifts, extra time after practice doing sprints, and reviews film on their own among doing hours of homework. Here at Lakeland we don't celebrate the nicest stadium or facilities, we celebrate the work eithic, and dedication our teams have.

These guys are hungry and everyone can say what they want but they are going to come after Whitewater. There's some guys on the offense that can make some plays, got some hustlers on special teams, and if the Defense can show up and come full force we will be in good shape. Make a miarcle happen. Stranger things have happened. Zebrowski's offense is predictable anyway.

I got a chance to see Lakeland's scrimmage this past Saturday. I was pretty impressed with the speed of the WRs. They made some really great catches to move the chains and to get into the endzone. Dworak, QB, will have the most passing yards in the conference this year.

The running game seems like it will back with a vengeance. Jermey Williams is a tank and still moves well his bigger frame, he'll make people pay for coming to tackle him. They better have their mouth guard in.

Defensively, it seems things need to be ironed out but nothing that isn't fixable. Just guys getting more comfortable with schemes and coverages. The D flies around yet and they have been getting after it. With the D doin extra conditioning everyday after team conditioning, it will be hard to wear the Darkside down.

The Dline look like the fire off and get off blocks well. LB's are forming into strong run stoppers and are getting better at covering. DB's and Safety's lock down and make the QB have to make passes in some tight windows.

Aaron Kraemer is the OL and Keith Woodson is the DB. Both should be 1st team again this year considering their work ethic and abilities. Perhaps even All-Region. Here's a link.
http://lakeland.edu/athletics/muskienews.asp?article=5733

What I'm wondering is why is Benedictine and Concordia Wisconsin are getting picked above Lakeland when they beat both those teams last year by a good margain. I think Concordia Chicago potential to upset Bendictine and WLC as well.

With camp starting this weekend, the rust will be shook off and we'll see who puts it together the best. I'm going to root for the Muskies but keep an eye on some good players around the conference. I'll keep an eye on Muskie camp and report back on hopefully how well the team is doing. Hope you guys trained hard in the offseason because that's going to have the biggest affect on this season's outcome. Good Luck NAC. Win a playoff game!!!

My picks
1. Lakeland
2. Aurora
3. CUW
4. CUC
5. Benedictine
6. WLC
7. Rockford
8 Marantha

UPDATE:

DAY 2 of the online draft for the United National Gridiron League

Billy Hughes-Lakeland Punter

Mike Renaud-Concordia Punter
http://fans.ungleague.com/article.php?article_id=14

John Wagner- Linebacker
http://fans.ungleague.com/article.php?article_id=15

Former Lakeland Wide Reciever MacArthur White was drafted yesterday by the United National Gridiron League.

http://fans.ungleague.com/article.php?article_id=4

Dear WIAC message board,

I am John Wagner, a linebacker who had the honor to play against Whitewater 3 of the 4 years and Oshkosh 2 of the 4 years I have played at Lakeland. Shout out to Craig Polifka on a great season and for playing well at UW Eau Claire and Tyler Jandrin, a former fullback for Oshkosh, Justin Beaver, Derek Stanley, and anyone else from the UW schools that I may know or have played with.

Congrats to Whitewater and their season. It would be great to see your guys redeme yourselves next season like you did last season. Under my former coach Jim Zebrowski, now Whitewater O-Cord, the team is in good hands. Keep your spirits high and put in effective effort to become even better players and people. Don't set limits and continue to progress humbly.

Please keep an eye on the United National Gridiron League as it could potentially be a feeder for the NFL especially after AFL cancelled the 2009 season. Wide Reciever MacArthur White and I have been invited. I wish you all Happy Holidays and best of luck next year as next season has already started for 2009 D3 football.

Best regards and God Bless

Dear NAC message board,

I am John Wagner. I played for the Lakeland College Muskies this season and I am proud to say I will graduate in May from that fine institution. I want to take this time to say thank you to all who have contributed to the IBFC and this season of the NAC. I feel everything in my life has gone to plan and I want to the thank God for allowing us to have played to this great game and to grow as individuals.

I recently have been invited to the tryout for the United National Gridiron League. It hopes to be a feeder for the NFL and other professional football organizations. Former teammate MacArthur White has also been invited. I will give all my effort, energy, and desire on these days. I will represent my family, my loved ones, my town, my former coaches, players, teams, conferences, and leagues.
Positive thinking and strong beliefs have changed my world and I will continue to progress my life forward. Gratitude and respect have been vital to the development of my abilities and the person that I am. I feel although I came for a small high school and college, I still have the abilities and motivation it takes to excel.

After seeing the Whitewater and Mount Union game, I took an even firmer stance that the players/coaches in those games aren't much different as players and coaches throughout the conferences in D3 or D2 football. The reason those teams and those colleges have had such success is because they put it together. They reached their potential and continued to build, avoiding setting barriers.

What I am saying is we aren't all so different. I smashed Derek Stanley, a wide receiver from Whitewater who is getting a lot of playing time for the Rams. I tackled Justin Beaver, the 2007 Heisman of D3 football, several times in the three times we met. If my 6'2" 195lb self can rack up 397 total tackles in four years from Linebacker and do what I did, most any other player can also have success.

The key is to have dedication, desire, and respect. The work doesn't have to be hard unless it is made that way. Make the workouts an empowering experience. Each day, get better. Have a positive attitude. Make choices that will benefit your well-being. Help those close to you and appreciate them and get them to push as hard as you by giving encouragement and incite. Positively affect the ones around you.

So after my rant, I forgot my intention was to say CONGRATS to this Conference, AU, Matt Meyer and those who helped impact his life. Being an All-American is a great honor. Honestly, I would trade any personal award or recognition for team success, which AU did have this season. All-American seemed more of a goal set by others for me, I apologize for not reaching that goal.

Lakeland needs to get together. The good thing for Lakeland next year is to set a goal to improve and I feel is very attainable for the guys coming back. Not just record wise, but also for individuals to step up and take responsibility. Lakeland has so much potential and heart. In order for the team to improve is to have more commitment for the guys to "get it together", setting the ultimate goal and having each individual put their efforts towards that goal. I know AU, Concordia, and CUC will have their say but that's what's great about competition. LAKELAND HAS WHAT IT TAKES.
Thanks for reading along. I wish you all a Happy Holidays. Good Luck, best wishes, and God Bless.

John Wagner