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.

Wabash 35 Albion 14 final.

Albion offense proves its for real, moved the ball pretty much at will all game against an elite defense. I think Wabash was allowing 7.6 pts per game and something like 1.6 yards per carry on the year. Parks 6.5 ypc, Czarneki 7.3 ypc, Bona 5.6 ypc. The story for Albion today was turnovers. 2 fumbles in the first half in nasty conditions and 2 second half INT by Bona really killed the point production, the first INT coming in the redzone. Albion definitely had a chance in that game and Coach Beurers offense, despite the turnovers was very impressive.

The RB, Zurek, from Wabash was a one man band today. 38 carries for 312 yards, 4 TD with a long of 70. HE dropped a TD pass too in the game (Wabash scored anyways).

Congrats to Albion on a fine season. A win for the MIAA would have been good for everyone but just wasnt in the cards today with the way the game played out.

Quote from: Old Pal Wes on November 21, 2015, 02:42:32 PM
Zurek at 235 with a full quarter to go.

Watching him today is very impressive. Could have an even better stat line if he hadnt dropped the TD pass earlier. WAbash scored anyway but it wouldve given him all their points.

Score doesnt show it, but the stats do. Wabash defense really doesnt have a good answer for Albion O to this point. Albion moving ball very well but turnovers have hurt. Clear field so far for second half and both offenses look good.

Wabash running game is strong, the Zurek kid is impressive.

Weather looks absolutely nasty at Wabash. Snow accumulating on field, yard lines shoveled off and its still coming down.

Adrian was able to take on debt, solely because its amount of operating debt was a fraction of most schools of its like and size. This was part of the reason for the decline, no upgrades to anything, no money spent on anything. I was there during the lean years  2000-2004 and have been associated with the College since then and the turn around is remarkable.

The upgrades that have recently been applied to academic facilities are not as widely acknowledged but none the less impressive with all facilities on campus getting major upgrades with the addition of  specialty programs and several masters degree programs as well (Athletic Training, Accounting, Industrial Chemistry, Criminal Justice, Teacher Education and Sports Administration and Leadership). There have also been some major private donations, including off hand a $20 million dollar gift in 2011 and there was major private money for the baseball stadium, ice arena and tennis courts. The endowment is up as well which is another net positive and donations have been much more forthcoming overall since improvements have been made. The commitment to the College from the Administration has driven positive developments across the board.

The reality is before Docking came aboard with a plan, the College was dying. The 2nd semester numbers hovered around 800 and the admission criteria were such that the school suffered a lack of regard and the football team played in a shared HS stadium with no locker room (we sat on a tire under a tree at halftime, true story). This is the same strategy which was partially implemented at Washington and Jefferson when Docking was there as well.

Since that time enrollment is now up to around 1600, the academic requirements are far more stringent and the College is far healthier and more robust across the board than at any point in its history. It was actually just announced this week that there will be a further development of an on campus medical clinic that is a joint venture with Promedica that will provide high quality on campus health care as well as added experience in the athletic training and health studies programs.

Re: The ice arena they still do rent ice time, community skates, an over 30 hockey league and junior programs as well as skating lessons. The facility is well used.