FB: Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference

[DeanCooper]

Concordia University River Forest is currently looking for a new Head Football Coach as well as a new Ahtletic Director as of November 8, 2005.  

The former Head Coach Robert Conwell was the Head coach for the past two seasons, under his reigns the Cougars finished 0-20 (the last game against Benedictine was probably the best game, but again the Cougars fell in OT). It should be noted that prior to his position as Head Coach he served as the Defensive Coordinator under Head Coach Jeffrey Hynes for the 2003 season and the Cougar Defense finished 3rd in the conference.  Before the 2003 season Coach Jeff Hynes had been the head coach for the Lakeland Muskies.  CURF had offered the head coach position to Hynes atleast two times before he finally accepted the the postion in January of 2003.  The Cougars finished 2-8 under Hynes and snapped another long losing streak. So since the Cougars were so wonderful by winning two games the school promoted Hynes to Dean of Students July 7, 2004.  

Meanwhile CURF had hired Timothy Betustak to serve as the Athletic Director.  Betustak came from Aurora where he also coached football but previously coordinated the Cougars offense under Head Coach Brian Baker-Watson (predicessor to Hynes and currently the offensive coordinator at Benedictine who ironically defeated the Cougars in Conwell's last game). More irony precedes in Cougar history... Under Betustak's direction the Cougar Gridder offense was not very productive (resulting in zero wins in 2002) but CURF believed Mr. Betustak would be capable to coordinate the entire Athletic Department in the right direction.  

So Conwell was promoted to Head Coach in mid July but retained the Offensive Coordinator Theodore Smith.  What a great job CURF did to give Conwell ample time to hire assistants since there was none hired.  To say the least the Conwell and Smith did not see eye to eye.  Following the 2004 season (Cougars 0-10) Smith was released.  During the winter months Conwell developed cancer and the two coordinator positions were still open.  Thanks and praise to God the Conwell has overcome his battle with cancer and is healthy again.  When he recovered he tried to hire a few new coaches at which the school did not approve.  The process was long and drawn out but eventually new coordinators were not hired until mid-spring football practice and much was in disarray.  Coach Todd Black a former Cougar All-American was made co-offensive coordinator but he resigned after the Eureka game in 2005 in which the Cougs lost.  

Now the Cougars finished 2005 0-10 without many players due to ineligibility and other factors. The Cougars are again coachless and some might wonder who made the decisions to release Mr. Betustak and Coach Conwell.....Dean Jeffrey Hynes.  Look for another exciting off-season for the Concordia Cougars where the music can't be played loud and the players should stay in the dark.

[baseman201]

Sad day to be a Cougar.

We are looking at getting our 4th head coach in as many years, we can't have lights because of the yippy neighborhood, and the music cannot be played because of the disruption it would cause.  What in the hell is happening over here?? 

I can see why CURF hasn't had a successful program in like 20 years.  All hell is breaking loose over here.  We can't keep a head coach for more than 1 season, we can't keep players for more than 1 season, we can't recruit because there are no coaches placed in time to do so.  It's looking horrible.

Hopefully the new head coach has something up his sleeve, because he is going to have to work his ASS off to get this program back to the way it was in the mid 1980's.  Recruiting was a problem this year since Conwell was in the hospital for a majority of it, plus coaching positions were unfilled to help out.

Hopefully the next coach will stick around for more than a year and bring in some talent.  It doesn't have to be right away, maybe get a few more recruits for 2006, a few more for 2007.  And step by step we can have a respectable program, but it won't happen overnight, it will take some time. 

And GROVER, what affiliation do you have with CURF???  Just wondering since you pertained to CURF as "WE" in one post.

[aufb05]

On the bright side BASEMAN it could be a great opportunity for someone who has goals, can stay focused and wants to spend the time at developing a creditable college football program.

CUR biggest challege won't be finding a coach, rather convinving players to be part of their FB program as well as convincing the Administration to support it.

[uamusme]

CUR biggest challege won't be finding a coach, rather convinving players to be part of their FB program as well as convincing the Administration to support it.

What CURF needs is a coach to make the players buy in and believe that they will make a difference. A great coach can change the perceptions of his team around the school by making the students proud to be a part of the team and the school.

That's made all the difference at Lakeland, under Hynes the team was losing support all around the school. I'm not saying it's his fault, however once Zebrowski came in, he brought a different attitude to the program which in turn reflected extremely positively upon the team.

The players were encouraged but not forced to volunteer in the community, through the Boys and Girls clubs acting as lunch buddies or many like myself when I played would read to K-3 students on friday afternoons.

Though things like that the faculty and staff started to buy into the program, started showing up to the home games, and now I would have to say other than with the exception of the Greenville away games we probably travel best in the conference. (I could be overstating, but not too many fans other than CUW seem to travel much unless they are parents.)

[Gomer Pyle]

 Dean Cooper... baseman201:
  Awhile back i said something to the effect that some schools have a football team(for show) while others (with the backing of the school admin) put forth the effort in selecting a coaching staff that
 can recruit, field a competitive team and challenge
for the conference title.
 Look at Mount union, Wash U just to name a couple.
 My point is, no admin backing...you`ve got a CUR.
 It looks like until the "suits" get on board CUR will field a team just for show.
 I`m not raggin on CUR just giving my opinion.
 

 

[Big_Uns]

I agree completely with uamusme's statements. While Hynes was at Lakeland, you could hear the grumbling throughout the campus. With Zebrowski there, you don't hear it. You hear positive things about the program. It's not as if Lakeland needed rebuilding talent-wise when Hynes left, it's that they needed some charisma, and Zebrowski brought that to the program.

If I were the new coach at CURF, I'd seriously go door to door around the neighborhood promoting my program and the school. This is a hell of an undertaking but seriously, when there's so much community backlash, there's not much else you can do.

At Lakeland it seems easy to do because your community is a stalk of corn, but even so the community outreach has been incredible. Give your program a good name despite its futility, and people will recognize you not as a laughing stock anymore. The least they could do is give it a shot. It seems as if this situation is so far against CURF, that they need to start from square one.

I don't exactly know what CURF does around the community, but it seems like they've got a bad name for themselves. There's a lot more to having a good school and fielding a successful football program than just what you do on the field, and I think everything is working against CURF right now.

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As for nominations for the All-Maddog Team, here are mine:

QB - Ryan Maiuri, LC; Andrew Hornung, AU, Shaun Manning, EC
RB - Immanuel Mills, CUW; Peter Ereg, MAC
WR/TE - Joe Sergo, BU; Terry Martin, MAC; MacArthur White, LC
OL - Pick any from LC or CUW

DL - David Benton, LC; Russell Reece, GC; Bobby Langston, CUW; Wilbur Allen, CUW
LB - Ryan Van De Loo, LC; J.R. Harriel, GC; John Wagner, LC; Larry Pirollo, MAC
DB - Rick Hutchins, CUW; Jerral Davidson, GC

K - Kyle Sanniec, GC
P - Reggie Anthony, GC


Offensive POY - Ryan Maiuri, LC. I gotta hand it to your son Maddog, he's the only player in the IBC who can beat you with his arm or his feet at any moment.

Defensive POY - David Benton, LC. This guy is an animal. I remember the one game where he outran his own cornerback to tackle the runner. Outrageous strength, speed, and ability. Not to mention he's smart on the field, noted by him staying home on a screen play to intercept the pass and return it for a touchdown.


Gotta give props to Greenville, though. They've got the defense and special teams to compete for sure.

It was a great year in the IBC. Best of luck especially to CURF and to our playoff representative Lakeland.

[d3ftball1]

big uns,

For your DB's   Jerral Davidson is not from GV.  I'm not sure who he plays for but its not Greenville.

[Gomer Pyle]

big uns,

For your DB's   Jerral Davidson is not from GV.  I'm not sure who he plays for but its not Greenville.

  Jerral Davidson plays for Aurora. On the IFBC
  stat site, it shows him tied for 22nd in tackles.

[Soulsenda]

Im not gonna go position for position bc I dont know everyone's names correctly.   Players who stood out in my mind .  The DE from Conc Wis #92 was a beast.  Very underrated was the corner from Lakeland.  I havent seen much talk of him but he played me the hardest this yr I thought as well as the best out of every team.  Tate from AU is a good ball player.  That Harriel kid from GRNV  has great game speed and gets to the ball.  Offensively I won't say much.  The QB from Lakeland was good and who hasnt gotten any credit was the tall kid from GRNV.  He might not have numbers but he threw a real nice ball.  Mills is hands down one of best RB's.  FB I have to say you have to give some credit to BU's Ben James.  The kid had a nice season and Im sure there are a few safeties who had his footprints on their chest but I wont name anyone.  He also had a few 100 yd games at FB.  QB for BU had a decent yr and will improve alot this off season Id look out for him.  As far as O line, Curf's O line was not terrible, actually effective at times and their QB has always been an athlete.  BU's O line, 4soph and 1Frosh did have a good job moving when the running game was working.  I cant name everyone but this yr was my fav yr as a IBFC football player and I hope next yr it continues.  Im sure I left a few out and as I go on Ill name more.  also, DE Henry Barton from BU was a good playmaker.  The whole BU defense for that matter improved greatly and had it not been for 3 IBFC games to start(Carthage, North Central, and Elmhurst), BU's stats as far as in the IBFC totals for the yr would be alot betta, but thats still no excuse.

[TruCountry95]

 I think this is kinda how it plays out this year in the overall look of things. What you guys think?                     
       
Offensive Overall- #1 Lakeland, #2 CUW, #3-GC, #4-AU
Defensive Overall- #1 Greenville, #2 LC, #3 CUW, #4 MAC

Best O-Line: #1-CUW, #2-LC, #3-GC, #4-AU, #5-BEN
Best D-Line: #1-GC, #2 LC, #CUW, #4 AU,

[uamusme]

I think this is kinda how it plays out this year in the overall look of things. What you guys think?                     
       
Offensive Overall- #1 Lakeland, #2 CUW, #3-GC, #4-AU
Defensive Overall- #1 Greenville, #2 LC, #3 CUW, #4 MAC

Best O-Line: #1-CUW, #2-LC, #3-GC, #4-AU, #5-BEN
Best D-Line: #1-GC, #2 LC, #CUW, #4 AU,

I dunno, I didn't get to see GC this year, but I'd still go with Lakeland's D-line over GC's

Yeah I'm a little biased being from LC... I wish i could have been at the game with greenville... i was only like 2 hours away in meetings all weekend. I would have been able to make a better judgment, so I'm just going from what I saw.

[maddog8]

Everyone you guys are true fans of the game. excellent choices, Big Uns, did you see my sheet you have alot of my picks on this site as do others. Forgive me but the"ALL MADDOG TEAM" HAS TO BE POST PONED FOR A FEW DAYS. Something has come up and will take my time away.  There were so many standout this year from ALL team, I just don't want to leave anyone who is deserving out. Again thanks for your selections, Will make for a good team. Could you fans send me the school addresses on my personal e-mail, I have something for the "ALL MADDOG TEAM" selecties.  Again thanks for an exciting year in the IBFC, you guys are great. 'GO MUSKIES'

[Gomer Pyle]

  Selections for this week-ends games (Nov 12th)
   (1)  Aurora vs Valparaiso....... Valparaiso
    (2) Eureka vs Chicago...........Chicago
    (3) Wash U vs Greenville......  Wash U
    (4) Mac vs Blackburn............ MacMurray

[d3ftball1]

Maddog

Your email is hidden so I don't know how to send you the school address. If you go to www.illinibadger.org under teams they have all the school addresses and web pages. Thats really nice of you to get something for all your selections! Good Luck in the playoffs.

[maddog8]

maiurimartin@yahoo.com  to send info to MADDOG