Quote from: Uncle Rico on September 15, 2013, 10:10:34 PM
Nice to see some non-conference wins for the MIAA!

Hey Rico, it's been a while. I went to the game last weekend. The Thunder defense was great! The offense found it's way in the second half and started clicking. The offensive line has alot of size and I think wore down Elmhurst. I'm going to try and get down there this weekend too.

Quote from: DBQ1965 on October 28, 2012, 04:37:13 PM

Quote from: formerd3db on October 28, 2012, 09:36:49 AM
sac (and all):

Yes, "yikes" regarding the Albion game.  I'm not sure what is going on with Albion.  They barely beat Kalamazoo and now Olivet.  With Hope smashing Kalamazoo last weekend and then the rather depressing loss against Trine yesterday, I don't know what to make about the Albion/Hope game in two weeks, other than to say we never play well down there at Albion. 

Speaking of the Hope game yesterday (and perhaps DBQ1965 might add his perspective for us), as I mentioned, it was a very disappointing loss, perhaps the most disappointing of the year.  Hope and Trine traded scores quite freely throughout the first half.  Trine taking a very bold chance with an onsides kick to start the game and with 6-7 minutes into the game and the score already 7-3, I knew it was going to be a potential scoring fest. However, Hope fell apart in the second half.  I think the momentum changer was obviously the horrible wrong call by the officials of the TD that was scored by our QB on the 1 yard line.  While I give Trine credit for a great goal line stand, Hope actually had scored twice i.e. on those last two plays.  He was clearly in the endzone without question -absolutely- and it was simply a very poor performance by the officiating crew. 

Now before anyone accuses me of saying that the officials cost Hope the game, I will make it perfectly clear that I am not saying that.  It was just a momentum changer and Hope did not execute thereafter like they should have.  Again, mistakes are costly as we all know and the Trine 93 yard TD on the fly pass on a 3rd and 4 in their own redzone is inexcusable - DB's simply cannot have a receiver run right by you.  After those plays, Hope's enthusiasm faded away and you could see that they were just going through the motions.

One last comment about the officiating - not a very good crew.  For veteran officials, they did a very poor job.  The Head Referree even at one time wasn't even blowing his whistle to stop plays but rather running to the pile and screaming..."it's over, it's over, it's over"- what's with that?  Some of them were, shall I say combative to staff on the sidelines as well and for no legit reason.  But...I'll stop as this is not "sour grapes", but rather simply an observation.  I thought the officiating had improved a bit last year and the first part of this year after very poor officiating for 4 years prior to that, however, I have now changed my mind.  Officiating is a tough, tough job, however, those who choose to do it need to know the rules and be consistent.  Enough said.

Also, for the Trine fans here, Trine is a much better team than many people have been saying.  Obviously, I have not seen them play earlier this season, however, even though they alternated scores with Hope yesterday in the first half, they steadily eventually manhandled Hope.  They are very fast and their line is huge.  Their #77 was bigger than any of our own linemen alone and #71 was even bigger than #77!  Those guys are DI size linemen and very good.  Anyway, I think that Trine will only continue to improve for next year and will be back as among the main contenders for the MIAA title.

Had Hope won yesterday's game, assuming Albion might beat Adrian next week, that would have meant the championship would be on the line at the Hope/Albion game Nov. 10th - a somewhat strange thought until yesterday evening.  However, it was not to be.  Hope has to regroup now and play for a final win for the seniors, although as I said, now.   

Finally, I will only say...

1) The Detroit Tigers are done.  Very disappointing performance in the World Series and it is sad to see them lose a second World Series in 6 years.

2) Michigan needs a new offensive coordinator/offensive staff.  Their play calling is horrid - simply horrid - for a second game in a row.

3) Michigan State, while a great win for them yesterday, was very, very lucky to win that game.  They have a great defense, however, the offense is mediocre still and while it was a great old fashioned Big Ten "smash mouth" game, Wisconsin blew the win for themselves.

4) Oklahoma also blew their chance at beating Notre Dame.  I still don't think ND is as good as some people say/think they are, but...they said that about Michigan last year and who can argue with an undefeated record so far?  Neat to see Florida lose yesterday and...how about that Northwestern?  7-2 (and they really should be at least 8-1).  "Go 'U Northwestern, march right down that field..." 

Later friends, I'm off to church!  Everyone have a blessed and great day.

If you like offense, the Hope-Trine game gave you plenty ... some great pass receptions on both sides and some terrific running by backs on both teams.  I thought Hope's fortunes turned on several plays ... (1) the Hope back on the return team not handling the opening kick-off and giving Trine an early opportunity, which the Thunder used.  (2) Hope throwing an interception after getting great field position following a Trine kick-off from the 20 thanks to a "celebration" penalty. (3) Hope's failure to score on  the Thunder's goal line stand ... I was standing even with the goal line (up on the visitor's side) and from my vantage point it didn't appear the ball got across the goal line.

As far as the officiating was concerned, it was spotty at best.  During pre-game warm-ups, the two die-hard Trine fans I was sitting next to groaned audibly when the officials came out on the field.  One fan complained about the Referee who he said had screwed Trine in an earlier game and had it in for the Thunder.  I too noticed the absence of consistent whistles.  Plus I thought the celebration call against Trine was "bush."

All in all, as a D3 fan, I got my money's worth.  Still, I felt bad for Hope ... though somewhere in the 3rd quarter they did seem to lose enthusiasm for the game.

By the way, the brats with peppers and onions were great!

I don't think you were sitting next to me but I too groaned when I saw the officials come out on to the field. That crew is simply not good and should not be doing High School varsity football let alone college games.

Am I wrong in assuming that Adrian has wrapped up the automatic qualifier for the MIAA, They are undefeated in league play and with one game left against Albion the worst they do is end up with one league loss, which would tie them with Trine and Albion if either or both of them win out. I believe the tie breaker is the team that hasn't gone to the playoffs the longest, which would be Adrian. Again, I am assuming here and I know what that can do.

You definitely missed out, the brats were awesome!

Quote from: sflzman on July 27, 2012, 10:07:31 AM

Quote from: newcardfan on July 26, 2012, 01:45:35 PM

Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on July 26, 2012, 01:23:05 PM
Bricklin1132 - welcome to the board!!  I agree it's a bit frustrating to not have something coming from the other schools - maybe it's just our eagerness to get to the season.

I haven't seen many schools do what you and Wheaton do. I guess the rest of us will have to wait until the D3 kick-off comes out. Looking forward to seeing your new field in person this season.

I know in the past that Alma has put one out when players report

Trine does the same thing - their outlook is posted after the players report, which I believe is just over two weeks a way. I for one am ready for some football!

Quote from: formerd3db on January 16, 2012, 05:46:53 PM
adidas28:

So, are we then to assume that you and your other Trine colleagues who were not so enthralled with the former OC at Trine (and, as such, as much as you and the others have indicated) are saying that Olivet will not do as well either because of his now being there and the system he runs?  Just curious.

No, that's not at all what I was saying at all. I never had an issue with any of the coaches at Trine. I'm glad both of my sons were able to play for them.  I defended every one of them. Pifer will do fine once he gets his kind of kids in their to run the system. What I was saying was the other coaches had 5 years of film on Trine and the offense and therfore probably were able to find some tendencies that helped them on defense. New system or not the new OC will likely have different tendencies.

Quote from: wisd3fan2 on January 15, 2012, 01:37:47 PM

Quote from: Raider 68 on January 13, 2012, 04:23:29 PM
While it is only January, the 2012 MIAA conference title is up for grabs for the fall, IMHO! Not sure which team really as the inside track and which team may the abillity to make a playoff statement?

The new ratings are out and again they show the MIAA as gaining ground Nationally. Albion is rated on top and is climbing in the National D3 ratings. Adrian and Hope are also moving up. Alma is next and it is thought that with their coaching changes good things will happen there. They will have a stronger recruiting class this year. Kalamazoo stayed where they were in the ratings but are however bringing in some strong recruits this year. Next is Trine which from 2010 til now has fallen more than any team in D3. Going from as high as 8 in D3 (2010) to out of the top 100 and still falling. It seems that their problems are with the offensive coaching staff and with their OC going to HC at Olivet the ratings are showing these two teams will be the bottom dwellers.
As a whole the MIAA should be more competitive Nationally. Watch for Albion, Adrian, Hope, but do not count out Alma.

Trine will not be a bottom dweller in the MIAA next year. They will be improved, and in my opinion the OC leaving will help the offense as changes will be made and tendencies will be erased. Regardless if they use a similar system or make a change the new guy calling the plays will put his spin on the old system or his mark on the team with a new system. Haven't heard much on recruiting yet, but then again we usually don't until fall camp starts.

Quote from: Raider 68 on December 29, 2011, 02:03:13 PM
So after 2011, how would the MIAA posters evaluate each team vs. pre-season predictions?

In my opinion the only team that exceeded expectations was Albion, I think most posters had them predicted to finish 2nd or 3rd in the conference and then they went out and swept the conference.

Hope would be the other team that may have exceeded pre-season predictions. I always expect them to play well and give Trine a tough game whenever they play, and they do.

Like Rico said 7-3 for Trine 5 years ago would have been a great season but coming off three straight MIAA championships and a great showing against Whitewater the bar was set very high. I go back to the "beat down" they took against St. Francis in the pre-season scrimmage and looking back I think that really effected the confidence of a young team and took some of their swaggar away. It will be interesting to see who they hire for the OC position. Do they keep a similar system, or change it up?

Adrian surprised me - I thought they would be the team to beat the way they looked against Trine. In a way it wasn;t much different then previous years, always right there with the chance to win the conference but can't win the big game.

Alma, Olivet, Kzoo - not a whole lot to talk about. Do coaching changes help Alma and Olivet? Probably. It depends on how quick the attitude and atmosphere can be changed. It sounds like they are tow very tough place to recruit to. Kzoo - I expected more this year, seemed liek the same old Kzoo team though.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Any rumors on who the Offensive Coordinator will be?

Great idea for a topic since MIAA is out and we all know it comes down to Whitewater and Mt. Union again. By the way I am picking Whitewater by 14 in the Championship, with Coppage as the MVP.

But, how about greatest football movie of time? Mine is Rememberthe Titans. True story (for the most part), life lessons, history, football, tolerance, and uch more.

Good luck today to the Brits fof Albion College! Tall task beating the defending National Champions on the their home field. But, the good news is it has happened before. Here is part of the news release from one of the more famous upsets:

David hurls a stone from his sling with all his might, and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead. The Philistine falls on his face to the ground.

Congrats to Albion - they played lights out yesterday. They ranthe ball, threw the ball, played good defense and special teams. They are the best team I saw inthe MIAA all year. Clinton Orr is the real deal. I was especially impressed with the play of the middle backers and corners for the Brits. Good luck in the playoffs!

Quote from: wisd3fan2 on November 13, 2011, 02:06:08 PM
Trine Football caught my interest last year after seeing the good game they played against UW Whitewater and the fact that one of our best high school QB's had decided to attend there. I posted and found myself arguing with Thunderhead about the QB he liked and our guy from Wi. Now that the season is over, I see how silly that arguement was. Both of these guys probably figured out the situation with-in days of arriving. In stead of being mentored they were most likely given the plays and thrown out to the lions. This shows them that they chose to play for very lazy coaching. Can you imagine the Badgers treating Wilson in this fashion?? I have not posted much since but have been reading your board. I now see that thunderhead is a very smart guy that really knows his stuff.
I read his posts and saw how critical he was about the coaching staff at Trine and now see that his statements were under statements. In my opinion this coaching staff walked in on a great bunch of players in the class of 2010 and took the credit for their success.
I read posters saying that the players on the sidelines were not cheering for the players on the field. This alone shows the failure of the coaching staff. Moral is one of the primary jobs of a coaching staff and after seeing one of their games was shocked, for this is what we noticed too.
People on this board need to listen to Thunderhead for he tells it as it is, even when  it is painful.
The class of 2010 not only won championships but created a strong recruiting envirnment. I think that the coaching staff not only lost games with probably the best team but also destroyed that edge in recruiting.
I think that the defensive coaches did ok, being very stiff especially in the red zone all year. However the offensive coordinator, O-line coach, and QB coaches are very bad. The calls often times made us laugh. They play like teams of the '50's and '60's. Its 2011!!!
The players were the bright spot, I think they did real well despite poor coaching.
We also feel that the best coach on the team was Ryan Hargraves. This kid did a great job this year. We thought he played scared but now feel that it is not the opponent he feared but was his own coaches.
D3 football is so pure because the players play for the love of the game, however it is very evident that this coaching staff steals that love, shooting themselves in the foot. Changes need to be made!
One  another note, the MIAA champs scored only 3 points against an average WIAC team this year.
Congrats to Albion but play-offs will be a very steep slope.
JUST MY OPINION!!!!

You do realize that the class that just graduated with 3 straight MIAA champiuonships in the spring was actually the class of 2011 (because they graduated in the year 2011). Yes their last football season was in 2010, but that is not how graduating classes are determined - well maybe in Wisconsin it is, I don't know, but in the rest of the world it is determined by the year you graduate. Also, the class of 2011 (2010 in Wisconsin) was actually this staffs 3rd recruiting class - so they didn't walk in on anything.

I agree, the 7-3 record is a travesty - you are right this staff has got to go how does a D3 school put up with ****? (insert sarcasm font) When Trine lost to Adrian everyone was praising Adrian and sure they were going tot the playoffs, Albion is going to the playoffs, and was undefeated in conference play. On paper and on the field both teams were better than Trine this year. I didn't like the Hope loss - but sometimes with a young team you get those kinds of games. This group now has a year of experience under it's belt as well a JV team that played well all year from what I heard. Mix in the next recruiting class that just walks in(sarcasm font)  and who knows what happens. Regardless if they win the championship in 2012 (graduating class of 2013) or not this program is in a much better place than the 0-30 or what ever they were before this staff turned it around. I believe they are 46 - 17 since this staff arrived - and 36 - 7 in the last four years.

Just my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions.

Quote from: sac on November 10, 2011, 07:40:16 PM
think some of  you missed the point.......both Tressel and Paterno apparently lacked the moral character to do what was right, instead of what protected them (along with the AD's and President's of both schools.  OSU's is a real clown show).

You think Paterno holds his job in 2002 if it goes public then? 

dismissing what Tressel did just because what Paterno did may be worse doesn't fly.

Let's not forget the dog and pony show that OSU put on in the weeks prior to the Sugar Bowl when they flat out lied to the NCAA about what they knew and when so their ineligible players could still play.  They went as far as making players sign documents stating they wouldn't go pro if they played in the Sugar Bowl.

Not to mention the farce OSU almost pulled off in the spring......bottom line is the men who most people expect to be held to high standards were out to protect themselves.  They both dropped the ball.

You miss the point as well - I don't dismiss what either one of them did. I'm glad that Tre$$el is gone he got what he desrved, and yes the O$U president is a clown. He came across as holier than though just as paterno did. My post simply says that if the O$U thing came out now it would seem miniscule compared to the PSU scandal. As far anyone saying the the two case are similar, comparable, or the same in the eyes of the lord - I have one question for you. Tell me how you would feel if that was your child or grandchild. Don't say anything else just tell me that you would still see the two situations or sins as the equal.

Quote from: formerd3db on November 10, 2011, 05:29:58 PM

Quote from: raideralley on November 10, 2011, 04:55:17 PM

Quote from: sac on November 10, 2011, 03:56:18 PM
Let's remember what Tressel did for a second before people start dismissing his little problem as not significant  (by comparison obvious).  He LIED to the NCAA 3 times about players eligibility, he didn't even go to his AD when he learned of a problem, he clearly and flagrantly violated NCAA rules.  He didn't get fired because some dudes were getting free ink.  He was fired (sorry allowed to honorably retire  ) because he lied to his employer and the NCAA.  It took OSU 6 months of doing the happy bear dance around the issue to finally come to the conclusion they do something other than nothing.

Either way, the way the higher ups at these two institutions have handled both situations has been embarrassing for everyone.


In the bad analogies department, a homicide is still a homicide even if the person didn't kill as many as the serial killer down the block. 

Listen what Ohio st did was wrong and it really put a blemish on the university but to try and compare "tatoo gate" and the situation at Penn St is ludicrous!!!

Im not sure I quite understand your analogy, but the penn st situation is like a homicide. The ohio st situation is like petty theft.

raideralley:
In essence, I whole heartedly agree with you.  However, for some, if you consider the "faith based" aspect, in the eyes God, any and all sins are equal.  Of course, in our human society, obviously, there are degrees of this as evidenced by the punishment rendered out for certain mis-deeds compared to others.  The common denominator here is that people egregiously broke the rules, whether man-made and/or morally - and I would argue that in a small sense (yet again certainly not equating it to the degree of the Penn State situation of the actual acts) it was morally wrong for the Ohio State players to ignore the rules.  They knew what was right and wrong and agreed to that when they signed on.  Just my additional thoughts on this.  Yet, you are right in that the Penn State situation is horrifying and very, very sad for everyone, but especially the victims.

I'm sorry but I am going to disagree with the "In the eyes of God any and all sins are equal". I am not an OSU or a Jim Tressel fan. But to compare alowing the rape of a child to lying about a young man getting a free tatoo and saying those two acts are equal has never been brought up in any church that I have ever attended or visited. One scars the lives of many innocent children and their families, the other only negatively effects Tressel and the players involved. sorry just my honest opinion.

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on November 09, 2011, 10:39:17 PM
JoePa has coached his last game.  The University President was also dismissed.

I hope that people will recall both in better overall terms (President Spanier greatly improved PSU's academic profile, and Paterno has done many wonderful things over his career), but this was just too horrendous not to totally clean house.

I believe that "this" is going to be Paterno's legacy. Not with the true blue Penn St. fan that is tipping over vans and rioting on campus - but the tradition, records, and everything else that Paterno built over the last 50 years will forever be a secondary thought to the reasons that he left.

Can you imagine if this had happened 9 months ago? I believe that Tre$$el would still be coaching at O$U, because in comparison a free tattoo, or for that matter a new car seems to pale in comparison to the tragedies that took place on the Penn St. campus over the last decade. in my opinion anybody that knew any part of what had been going on should be gone immediately. Some may have done nothing wrong legally but morally these people failed those kids.

Alright, I 'll step down off my soap box now.

Go Thunder!

Quote from: formerd3db on November 07, 2011, 07:53:03 PM
I realize it is only Monday, however, early predictions for Saturday anyone?  Hope@Olivet, Alma@Adrian, Trine@Albion.  I am going out on a limb and saying that Hope, Adrian and Trine all win, with Trine pulling the upset against Albion and giving us (Hope) at co-championship.

I am going to drink the blue kool-aid again and pick Trine in the upset of Albion by a touchdown, and pick both Hope and Adrian to win by as much as they want to.