FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wally_wabash]

As far as football games go, at any level, yesterday's game in Bloomington was about as good as they get.  The teams were very evenly matched, both sides made huge plays when they had to (IWU on fourth down a couple of times, Hudson's two fourth down runs, and on and on), and after the third quarter I was left feeling that it was going to be a shame for either of those two teams to lose.  Unfortunately for Wabash, IWU made the last big play and will advance to the second round.  Congrats to the Titans and good luck next weekend. 

2009 was definitely one of the more unique seasons of Wabash football that I've seen.  For the first time since 1997 Wabash suffered and had to endure a significant injury at the quarterback position.  As ill timed as that injury was, I think Wabash responded extremely well to the adversity.  For the first time, Wabash had to do the Pool C dance and answered the call by running the table and defeating DePauw on the road to not only reclaim the Monon Bell, but to play themselves into the tournament for a third consecutive year.  As with the end of every year, we say goodbye to numerous key seniors, but looking forward to 2010 I think there is plenty of reason for Wabash fans to remain as positive and optimistic as ever.  We've seen the future at quarterback, all of Wabash's very capable receivers return, and Wabash seems to be able to plug and play at defense quite well.  Replacing key seniors on the offensive line will be the major concern going to 2010. 

All told, it was an exciting year for Wabash football...we got yet another Wabash/Witt classic, a Bell win, and an instant classic in the first round of the playoffs.  It's hard to complain about too much from this season. 

On to 2010...Wabash Always Fights! 

[maripp2002]

wally_wabash, correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Dustin Huff (an all-american the previous season) break a foot in like the second game of the season on an onside kick in 2007?! Coach Creighton always did play starters on special teams. I would think that would be a significant injury to a QB.  Other than that, great post, totally agree! Go get 'em Lil Giants!

[wally_wabash]

wally_wabash, correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Dustin Huff (an all-american the previous season) break a foot in like the second game of the season on an onside kick in 2007?! Coach Creighton always did play starters on special teams. I would think that would be a significant injury to a QB.  Other than that, great post, totally agree! Go get 'em Lil Giants!

You're absolutely right.  I have no idea how I forgot about that.  I'm still decompressing from the 11 week marathon that is football season.   

[Raider 68]

As far as football games go, at any level, yesterday's game in Bloomington was about as good as they get.  The teams were very evenly matched, both sides made huge plays when they had to (IWU on fourth down a couple of times, Hudson's two fourth down runs, and on and on), and after the third quarter I was left feeling that it was going to be a shame for either of those two teams to lose.  Unfortunately for Wabash, IWU made the last big play and will advance to the second round.  Congrats to the Titans and good luck next weekend. 

2009 was definitely one of the more unique seasons of Wabash football that I've seen.  For the first time since 1997 Wabash suffered and had to endure a significant injury at the quarterback position.  As ill timed as that injury was, I think Wabash responded extremely well to the adversity.  For the first time, Wabash had to do the Pool C dance and answered the call by running the table and defeating DePauw on the road to not only reclaim the Monon Bell, but to play themselves into the tournament for a third consecutive year.  As with the end of every year, we say goodbye to numerous key seniors, but looking forward to 2010 I think there is plenty of reason for Wabash fans to remain as positive and optimistic as ever.  We've seen the future at quarterback, all of Wabash's very capable receivers return, and Wabash seems to be able to plug and play at defense quite well.  Replacing key seniors on the offensive line will be the major concern going to 2010. 

All told, it was an exciting year for Wabash football...we got yet another Wabash/Witt classic, a Bell win, and an instant classic in the first round of the playoffs.  It's hard to complain about too much from this season. 

On to 2010...Wabash Always Fights!

Wally,

Hats off to Wabash, great game that no one should lose. Great season!

Now come over on the OAC board and cheer for the Raiders! 

[maripp2002]

I don't know if I was the only one, but I watched the Trine v. Case game while listening to the audio from the Wab v. IWU game.

My initial thought was that Witt should win pretty easily. Trine did look good against CWRU, but CWRU is not Wittenberg. I think Trine might be able to keep it close for a half, but I just see Wittenberg being too much in the end. I think this one has the potential to mirror Witt's first round game.

If one uses the classic "matrix approach" to the game, it could get ugly. Trine's only loss was to Franklin(30-29), who lost to MSJ(26-16), who was destroyed by Witt(42-14). Good luck to the Tigers! Show the country what NCAC football is all about. And let's just hope for some more exciting action in the second round.

[bashbrother]

maripp -

I watched the game as well.   Although I believe that Witt will win this game, Witt will need to play well to win.  Trine, after the first quarter, looked very good.  a ton of team speed and Huffman will have to definately need to take care of the ball and let his defense win the field position battle.

If Witt comes into the game over confident (because of who played and beat who by what score) They could find themselves in trouble.

We don't have to look very far to see that this Trine program lost to Wheaton last year by a score of 14-0, a week before they crushed us 59-28.

GO WITT....Play Tiger football on Saturday..... carry the NCAC flag proudly!

[maripp2002]

To clarify, I by no means advocate overlooking Trine. They did look good, on offense for the whole game, and defense for at least a half. I think Witt will need to bring their "A-game" it is the playoffs, you don't get here and win one without being a good, solid, dangerous team.  As for the "matrix approach" it's always just fun to see how unpredictable football is. Any team can win anyday, and at least in D3 they settle it on the field. It isn't merely a matter of A beat B who Lost to C etc. I do expect Witt will play well and be fired up. I am just a little sad it couldn't have been another Wab v. Witt game. They really are becoming epic win or lose. That game has turned into one of D3's best conference rivalries.

[bashbrother]

We have some work to do and some big shoes to fill for the 2010 Little Giants.... but there are plenty of leaders remaining with a ton of talent ready to step in.

Wabash Always Fights!  Thank you to ALL the Seniors....what a class. 

(Play off Game Starters - Seniors in bold)

Offense -

TE      89     Chad Sorenson 
LT      66     Evan Isaacs 
LG      53     Craig Morrison 
C      69     Nick Durm 
RG      75     Skip Tokar
RT      74     Jeremy Morris
WR      1      Kody LeMond 
WR      84     Wes Chamblee 
WR      19     Jonathan Horn 
QB      14     Matt Hudson 
RB      2      Derrick Yoder

Defense -

DE      94     Matt Whyde 
DT      96     JD McClintic 
DT      52     Jake Kolisek 
DE      42     Kenny Coggins 
LB      27     Matt Kraft 
LB      40     Bryan Watson 
LB      29     CJ Gum 
CB      15     Daniel Eddelman
CB      12     Chris Schweigel
S      22     Jake Martin 
S      31     A. Frederick

   

[maripp2002]

Very true, let's hope Wabash can "reload not rebuild" as they say. One of the things I like is that Chase Belton and Josh Miracle both looked good to excellent in their two starts this year. No doubt losing Hudson is a blow, he is a great QB, but I am hopeful for the QB position. What is a little scary is the offensive line. Still, you can't step up unless you get the chance, now let's just hope there are some guys filling those HUGE (no pun intended) shoes.

[bashbrother]

Yep..... big shoes indeed.

If I count correctly, we have 18 offensive lineman that are not seniors on the roster.  Add some possible diamonds from recruiting and I think we'll be just fine.   CC and ER have recruited this roster very deep.  Year after year I am always excited to see who is waiting in the wings ready to step up!

Having our WR's back and some QB's with game experience will help out tremendously.

Mambourg and Yoder will also give us some early stability.   

[smedindy]

Attrition is always a key in D-3. Let's hope the youngsters do the work in the classroom and see that there are opportunities for them in 2010 on the field.

I don't think you can overlook anyone in the playoffs. Mt. Union and Whitewater don't seem to overlook anyone - they just take care of business. I don't know if Johns Hopkins was overlooked, but they're playing and Hampden Sydney is not.

[wally_wabash]

I don't think you'll see Wittenberg overlooking Trine.  The Tigers haven't looked past anybody this year.  I really wasn't terribly surprised by Trine's result at CWRU.  Against the schedule that the Spartans play, you just never know how good they really are.  They weren't exactly dominating at the end of the regular season, so you could see a conference champion coming in there and getting a win.  Witt will be ready for sure. 

[smedindy]

I don't think you'll see Wittenberg overlooking Trine.  The Tigers haven't looked past anybody this year.  I really wasn't terribly surprised by Trine's result at CWRU.  Against the schedule that the Spartans play, you just never know how good they really are.  They weren't exactly dominating at the end of the regular season, so you could see a conference champion coming in there and getting a win.  Witt will be ready for sure. 

Well, CMU and Witt DID share six opponents.

Witt's other opponents were Olivet, Earlham, Wabash, Allegheny. They were 22-18 in the regular season. (Yes, Oliver went 0-10).

CMU's other opponents were Kenyon, Rochester, Oberlin and Chicago. They were 15-24 in the regular season.

So I don't think you can totally blast CMU's schedule. Yes, it was weaker, by virtue of CMU drawing Oberlin and Kenyon in the NCAC / UAA agreement (which makes sense given the geography). But Earlham and Chicago were about even, and Rochester much better than Olivet.

Again, this means Witt needs to play well to beat Trine. I think they will.

[Raider 68]

I don't think you'll see Wittenberg overlooking Trine.  The Tigers haven't looked past anybody this year.  I really wasn't terribly surprised by Trine's result at CWRU.  Against the schedule that the Spartans play, you just never know how good they really are.  They weren't exactly dominating at the end of the regular season, so you could see a conference champion coming in there and getting a win.  Witt will be ready for sure. 

If Wittenberg wins against Trine, I am curious as to how they would match up with UWW at Whitewater. We know Witt has a great defense only giving 67 pts in 11 games, but UWW brings so much to the game!

[maripp2002]

When discussing Witt and CWRU's schedule a few things that win loss numbers don't show are applicable here. First, Witt faced Wab and Gheny both regionally ranked teams at the time. CWRU, before the playoffs, faced one team with a winning record, Chicago. Second, points wise in the first 11 games Witt scored 430 points and surrendered 64. Case scored 466 points and surrendered 207. That means CWRU gave up nearly 4 times as many points as Witt did, without Wab and Gheny on their schedule. And they only scored 36 more points against teams 9 teams without winning records.

I am NOT saying this means ANYTHING when it comes to saturday. That is why they play the games. I just think honestly comparing Witt and CWRU is more about wins and losses and the overlap between NCAC and UAA this year.