Also, big shout out to calvin. Looks like big improvement, knocking off Concordia.

Watched Adrian today. Thiel doesn't appear to be a very good program, but Adrian looks strong. Lots of guys on the field that look much better than guys last year, tough run game behind a strong OL and some good receiving weapons with a QB who can make the throws, and has some wheels. Don't think they've let him loose much in the run game yet, but that's in the bag if they need to.

Olivet losing to Madonna is a shocker. That is the first win in Madonna program history, that wasn't a covid forfeit. Perhaps the new coach proves the grass not always being greener.

I feel like we used to have an MIAA team playing one of those non scholarship 1AA every year back when I was playing/coaching. Maybe its fallen out of favor since then, cant say Ive paid the same level of attention I did then!

Always good to get a win, even better to get a win playing "up" as it were.

Quote from: The Third Division on July 14, 2025, 06:35:55 PMHaving to wait until your 3rd year as a varsity program to play on your own football turf is wild.

When Wisconsin Lutheran joined up they waited even longer than that iirc. I recall playing on Marquettes Intramural field, off a canal in Milwaukee, and then at a HS stadium at least once.

Adrian College Officially Opens the Sweebe Family Indoor Athletic Center as Football Holds First Practice

Gotta be honest, outside looking in, the Hope offense is terrifying at present.

Up to 26-0 now. Good for Calvin.

Adrian up 27-20 after going down 20-0 to Elmhurst with two turnover based TDs early.

It feels like theres no chance that Calvin is going to half ass this football program thing now that they have entered the fray. Id expect year one to be a bit bumpy for them, its just how it usually goes, but I imagine they will come in and have competitive showings more often than not. Theyve shown the willingness to invest in this to get it off the ground, and the amount of kids they have brought in for a program that is in year 1 (not counting last season) is really impressive.

Unrelated to Calvin, but as an Adrian guy I am super pleased to see what the new coaching staff is all about. Joe Palka coached the LB my junior year at Adrian and was a great coach for that and his resume at the HS level is impressive aong . I played with several guys who worked with him (at EMU and Saline HS) and who are currently on his staff and all have great things to say. Was able to get up and watch a practice the other week and things seemed very well organized and high intensity. His staff has also done a great job trying to bring the alumni together, starting an alumni club (long time coming honestly) and bringing Jim Lyall back into the fold as well. All great positive signs and Im looking forward to a much improved season this year for Adrian. Could be the type of step up season that was seen from 01 to 02, hopping in the way back machine!

This Alma game is wild. 34-34 at the half. Hopefully Alma can make some defensive adjustments at half time.

Quote from: Raider 68 on November 21, 2023, 09:10:49 PM
Mount Union  (Kehres) is the oldest stadium in Ohio (1913) with a great atmosphere

We played them when I was coaching at Adrian in 2014 its a really cool facility. I was taking pictures like a tourist pre game, got to meet Larry Kehres too which was awesome. Did it used to be a race track before it was a football stadium? The stands opposite the press box give a race track kind of vibe.

Huge shout out to Alma knocking off Mount Union. A great win for Alma and the conference as far as credibility going forward. That Alma defense really shows what you can do when you retain your kids and get a whole unit along as Seniors.

I havent popped in since Adrian made their coaching hire either so Ill do that here. I think that Joe Palka hire was a great move, hes got an awesome track record with the HS and can build programs up as he did at Toledo Whitmer and Saline which is a plus. Should be brining in a good staff as well and he has some quality collegiate experience as well so hes not a novice in that regard. He was actually the LB coach at Adrian my junior year in 2002, could tell he was a great coach who cared about the kids when he was there. Cant wait until he gets settles in so I can head up and make introductions as I cant imagine he remembers me from 20 years ago when he coached the opposite side of the ball. Expectations for him are gonna be quick improvement and hopefully we see a boost to recruiting and retention as well as Alumni outreach.

I second the hire of Joe Palka being a great move. He was on staff at Adrian in 02-03 when I was a junior and while he wasn't my position coach you could tell he was a good one. Since then I've had friends that worked with him at EMU and at Saline. Hell hit the ground running and should have things turned around there quickly I hope. I look forward to having a chance to meet him once he gets settled in, can't imagined he remembers me from Adam from one season at Adrian 20 years ago!

Quote from: sac on December 16, 2022, 10:41:28 AM
It appears Albion will be looking for a new head coach.

https://twitter.com/FootballScoop/status/1603746984447426562

While thats not great news for Albion, Im absolutely thrilled to see Coach Beurer (or Dusty as I know him!) get a crack higher up the chain. I think hell do great things there, just like he did at Albion and wish he and his family the best with the move and the new challenge!

Whoever Albion finds is going to be hard pressed to match the success of Coach Beurer and Coach Rundle, big shoes to step into.

Quote from: formerd3db on November 17, 2019, 06:05:28 PM
Hope is chosen to host the playoff game as expected, however, it will be against Wartburg (IA) instead of our "sister" school Central (IA). This will still be a very tough game.  The preliminary weather report so far is similar to the nice sunny, calmer weather we had yesterday, only a little colder.

A week to prepare!  Can we get the MIAA past the first round, since Trine last did it? I think we have a very good chance! Congratulations to the Hope team, Coach Stuursma and his coaching staff!

Hats off to hope on the 9-1 season and the home playoff game! Based on the lack of respect given to the MIAA nationally it always is a big honor in my opinion to see one of our teams host. Hopefully they have better luck than the only home playoff game I was associated with (Adrian in 2012). If Hope wasnt so far away from everything Id have been tempted to make a trip up and catch the game this weekend. Have they hosted a playoff game before?

Im a virtual ghost here, but that said some thoughts on the 2019 season, the small bit I saw! I didn't see Adrian as much as Id have liked, compared to last year (no longer living 2 blocks from the college didnt help). But when I did I came away impressed with that they are able to do offensively with Wurzer at QB. Hes a pleasure to watch and despite having some deficiencies on that offense as a whole they are able to really spin some solid offense up with what they do have. Hopefully next year has a better record in store and a return to contention that we saw from 2011-15, as they have some good young skill players and Wurzer back for a 3rd season as a starter.

Before I forget, another hats off as well, to Head Coach Dustin Beurer at Albion. 8-2 in his first year at the helm while taking over in the shadows of Rundles successes. A great season to put his own mark on the team and program. I was able to take in a couple of his games this year and was impressed with what I saw and Id bet dollars to donuts hes going to do big things there.  It was an interesting story in the final week of the season with the Albion vs Olivet match-up, both Coach Beurer and Coach Musielewicz are former teammates for the Briton-Deerfield football program. Pretty cool to see both of them make it to head coaching positions from those humble beginnings!

Hats off to Trine (theyll always be Tri State to me) on finishing the year without a loss. Having had the chance to watch them in person their offense is every bit as talented and explosive as it seemed on paper. If the defense can climb to that same level in the playoffs they can be a very dangerous team.

The 10-0 record was very beneficial in getting them out of taking a trip to Alliance for the first round (our fate in 2014) and got them a good draw in the first as well. As the last MIAA team to win a playoff game, hopefully they can repeat the task and improve the league perception. Best of luck next weekend against Monmouth and hopefully they have to suffer the misfortune of spending Thanksgiving prepping for round 2!

On another note, ill be curious to see how the All MIAA teams shake out on Monday. Trine and Hope will be certainly be well represented but Ill be looking for two of my Adrian favorites in Emmanuel Stewart and Jerron "Champ" McGraw to crack that first team! Its tough sledding for the RB for first team all league as all three of the top guys (Carswell, Stewart and Campbell) are more than deserving.