FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[aueagle]

Congrats LG's...Great games happen when Top 10
teams meet. Keep on truckin'

[BashBacker#16]

Highlights from NCC's site:  http://www.northcentralcardinals.com/index.aspx?tab=football&path=football

[WashUDad]

Congrats!!!  Little Giants!!   Keep Rollin'!!

[wabco]

Thoughts: 

1.  I think NCC came in "entitled".  Why, hadn't they just "rolled" their opponents for 70-80 points etc?  Wasn't this the year to just get your hotel for the finals?  Didn't they recruit enough Div I and Div II transfers to do the job?

2.  And what is it with all the "transfers"?  Only thing I think missed was JUCO stuff.  Did these guys even know or care about the tradition of the school, what NCC is all about?  If you go on their website ... you even find a major recruiting night dedicated to transfer students.  What does this do for team cohesion?  Really; coming here ... or just renting because unhappy with PT at "whatever U"?

3.  In times of stress ... you need the call back on tradition.  At Wabash the sense of the long BLOOD RED line.  "Did Wabash Win?"  "Wabash Always Fights"  There for your brothers ... Supported by alums of all ages ... families from all over .... your brothers.  MORE than just the football team rise to power is "supported by the administration".  The administration simply is a reflection of "Wabash" and what it IS ... it doesn't decide "now we will have a football team to beat the 'purples'".  (In fact we may never beat the "purples" ... but it is not about that result ... it is about the effort, the belief in oneself, the support for each other both in school and beyond.  It is about discovering oneself and what CAN be accomplished with a few good and focused men, the formation of and implimentation of the belief to the depth of our soul ... we WILL beat the "purples" and we will succede over all other adversity we will face throughout life ... encapsulated in the pureness of belief: "Did Wabash Win?"  with the sureness that good will prevail in the fourth turn if we "know" and work work work:  "Wabash Always Fights".

3. This - what I believe is a Wabash uniqueness - is not easy to understand or know by those who have not gone through the awakening ... and an easy subject to be jeered or dismissed.  This is what was on display in capital letters yesterday.  This is what was present at 'Gheny and Wittenberg.  Not entitlement ... but optomisitc, pure, inner belief and spirit.  This will also be on display at MU ... win or lose.  You will see that Wabash does Always Fight and hopefully ... yes ... Wabash did win.  But, you know,  we are already a winner, regardless what happens.

4.  This same spirit is on display in cross, in basketball, in our debate and moot court teams ... in our graduates and their successes - in the fields they choose.  So ... if you want to join Wabash, come on down.  Whether transfer or Sabra.  We are inclusionary ... just be ready to undergo the transformation into Little Giants.

Now on to MUC ... a great football tradition, a great coach, fans who (similar to UWW whom we have alao experienced) have been there in football and win or lose will welcome us ... and the fun of our players trying as hard as we can and our fans supporting those out there as ardently, completely, and sincerely as we can.  Now where do we meet on Friday night in Alliance to "get pumped up"? (And I am sure "Purples" who want to positively particpiate and interact are welcome to the fun.)

[raiderpa]

This Raider would be interested to know how, under what circumstances and when the "Wabash Always Fights" motto began...
Looking forward to seeing the red striped pants in the stands next week and we are proud of Coach Raeburn.  He will be welcomed back as a favorite son....looking forward to a spirited crowd and a great game...

[wally_wabash]

North Central had Wabash on the edge of knocked out today and had three distinct chances to make the knockout blow...each time Wabash avoided the kill shot:

1- Opening drive of the second half.  If Wabash doesn't go the length of the field and score there, I'm not sure they ever get back into it.  That drive breathed life back into the sideline and the home crowd...enough so that the Cardinal answer on the next drive didn't really squash the rally.  The energy was there to stay. 

2- Right after the Burke fumble at the start of the 4th quarter.  NCC took over up 28-7 and just inside Wabash territory.  Even a field goal off that turnover forces Wabash to score three TDs (which they did anyway) and get 3 deuces to tie.  Tall, tall order.  Instead, the Wabash defense held North Central to 6 yards in three plays and forced a punt. 

3- The drive after Wabash cut it to 28-14.  LGs kick short, NCC rips off 29 yards in two plays and are nearing FG range.  Then Buresh pops the ball loose from Tassio and Najaar falls on it.  Any points on that drive and it was going to be over.  Heck, even if NCC got deep into the red zone and didn't score but took another 2-3 minutes off the clock it probably would have been done.  Wabash had to have the turnover at right that moment and they got it.

Those were the three moments where I think North Central had a chance to finish it Mortal Kombat style.  All three times, Wabash wasn't letting it happen.  Wabash won today with supreme effort and supreme heart.  And some really good players.  It was kind of cool to remember how crazy good Horn and Chamblee can be when Wabash decides to spread it out and sling it 50 times.  That hasn't been the modus operandi this year, but it's nice to know it's there when they need it.

Wally,

These are all key moments I agree. But there are no less than 4 key moments on the last Wabash drive alone that would have ended the LG's hopes. 4th and 17 Burke runs for first down, 4th and 15 Burke to Chamlee through 6 NCC defenders (3 killing Burke and 3 on Chamblee), the almost interception about 4 plays later, the tipped 2pt conversion. Any of those go the other way and its a sad day in C'ville. Legendary I say. Statue's and Statutes. The temporary holder of the little brass bell loses to the holder of the Monon Bell. Classic.

There has been a pretty strong sentiment from North Central's fans that the Cardinals straight up gave this game away/choked/blew it in the fourth quarter.  There's a lot of anger about why and how North Central didn't finish the job.  None of which I agree with, btw...it's not always the case that one team wins or loses on its own accord.  Sometimes, the guys on the other side of the ball have good players and make good plays too and not always just because one side screwed up.  This equality happens with more frequency as you get into the tournament.  I digress...

What I was going for with my three critical points where Wabash avoided the kill shot was that those were the points where had Wabash not reached down and made the plays that they did in exactly those moments, the final drive is moot.  After the Tassio fumble (who "never" fumbles according to coach Thorne), Wabash was going to win the game.  Yes, they were still down by 14 at that time, but the writing was on the wall that Wabash wasn't going to be turned away.  Wabash had solved North Central's defense and those points were going to get scored. 

Side note- it's really disappointing to see so many people bang on North Central's defense for letting up or being complacent or whatever other negative descriptor you want to use.  None of those things are true.  The defense played their guts out.  Wabash changed things up at halftime...partially because they had to chase three scores and partially because they weren't going to be able to go run-run-pass and have a prayer of scoring at all. 

[BashBacker#16]

Maybe Wally/Wabco etc. can shed more light on the history.  Here is what I found:

The motto, "Wabash Always Fights" was coined by newspaper columnist Ed Zeigner '10 (identified in Mark Rutherford's book). Rome "Ike" Williams '06, a member of the original Little Giant Football team of 1904, referenced the phrase in 1919 at an alumni association meeting.

The article I found this in:  http://stage.lambdachi.org/candc/brotherly-love-at-wabash

[BashBacker#16]

Regarding the 2nd half, I was really surprised NCC never made adjustments in the secondary.  Horn and his out routes were there time and time again.  Obviously Burke delivered the ball but Horn and Chamblee stepped up and made play after play and showed why they are big time/big play receivers.  Did anyone think (before the game) that those two guys would combine for 22 catches, 299 yards, and 3 TD's!!!

[skunks_sidekick]

Every year, we older, more geezered Mount fans usually get together the night before the semi-final for a D3 board bullcrap, beer drinking, and wing eating session.  We started talking last week about doing before the quarterfinal game, and I think we will keep to that schedule.  Quite honestly, this is the first time in a long while that I truly do not know if Mount will make it to the semi-finals. 

Once plans are in place, I will post over here to let any Wabash fans who will be in town where to come and hang out with some fellow D3 football brethren.

[USee]

North Central had Wabash on the edge of knocked out today and had three distinct chances to make the knockout blow...each time Wabash avoided the kill shot:

1- Opening drive of the second half.  If Wabash doesn't go the length of the field and score there, I'm not sure they ever get back into it.  That drive breathed life back into the sideline and the home crowd...enough so that the Cardinal answer on the next drive didn't really squash the rally.  The energy was there to stay. 

2- Right after the Burke fumble at the start of the 4th quarter.  NCC took over up 28-7 and just inside Wabash territory.  Even a field goal off that turnover forces Wabash to score three TDs (which they did anyway) and get 3 deuces to tie.  Tall, tall order.  Instead, the Wabash defense held North Central to 6 yards in three plays and forced a punt. 

3- The drive after Wabash cut it to 28-14.  LGs kick short, NCC rips off 29 yards in two plays and are nearing FG range.  Then Buresh pops the ball loose from Tassio and Najaar falls on it.  Any points on that drive and it was going to be over.  Heck, even if NCC got deep into the red zone and didn't score but took another 2-3 minutes off the clock it probably would have been done.  Wabash had to have the turnover at right that moment and they got it.

Those were the three moments where I think North Central had a chance to finish it Mortal Kombat style.  All three times, Wabash wasn't letting it happen.  Wabash won today with supreme effort and supreme heart.  And some really good players.  It was kind of cool to remember how crazy good Horn and Chamblee can be when Wabash decides to spread it out and sling it 50 times.  That hasn't been the modus operandi this year, but it's nice to know it's there when they need it.

Wally,

These are all key moments I agree. But there are no less than 4 key moments on the last Wabash drive alone that would have ended the LG's hopes. 4th and 17 Burke runs for first down, 4th and 15 Burke to Chamlee through 6 NCC defenders (3 killing Burke and 3 on Chamblee), the almost interception about 4 plays later, the tipped 2pt conversion. Any of those go the other way and its a sad day in C'ville. Legendary I say. Statue's and Statutes. The temporary holder of the little brass bell loses to the holder of the Monon Bell. Classic.

Classic will be north central's fifth straight victory over wheaton hopefully denying them a play-off birth for the 2nd year in a row.

Or, another classic may be NCC's purchasing another CCIW title followed by Wheaton once again going farther in the playoffs including a win over whomever NCC couldn't beat.

WAF!

[ncc58]

2.  And what is it with all the "transfers"?  Only thing I think missed was JUCO stuff.  Did these guys even know or care about the tradition of the school, what NCC is all about?  If you go on their website ... you even find a major recruiting night dedicated to transfer students.  What does this do for team cohesion?  Really; coming here ... or just renting because unhappy with PT at "whatever U"?

That's a cheap shot. Each of those kids who transferred has a personal story and you don't know any of them.

For some of them, they went to larger universities and they weren't playing football. During their first year, they decided they missed football. They went back to schools they knew about or had recruited them in high school. A couple went to larger schools to play other sports. They decided that football was their preferred sport and transferred to a smaller school which happens to be NCC. A few may have had dreams of walking on at larger schools and when that didn't work out, they wanted to attend their first D3 choice. However, they couldn't complete the admission process in time so they attended a local junior college in the interim. At least one of them attended a junior college about 10 miles from NCC.

The "major recruiting night" at NCC is not just for athletes. In fact, it services mostly non-athletes.  North Central College attempts to service the community in its diversity of students. North Central sits in a thriving suburb, close to Chicago. There are the traditional 18-22 year old full time students. There are the students who transfer because they prefer a small college environment. There are part time students, older students, military veterans, and graduate students that make up the NCC student body.

Perhaps you should check how many transfers attend Mount Union or the WIAC schools (UWW in particular).


Congrats to Wabash, they won the game on the field. I hope we have a chance to play again in the future, next time in Naperville.

[NCF]

North Central had Wabash on the edge of knocked out today and had three distinct chances to make the knockout blow...each time Wabash avoided the kill shot:

1- Opening drive of the second half.  If Wabash doesn't go the length of the field and score there, I'm not sure they ever get back into it.  That drive breathed life back into the sideline and the home crowd...enough so that the Cardinal answer on the next drive didn't really squash the rally.  The energy was there to stay. 

2- Right after the Burke fumble at the start of the 4th quarter.  NCC took over up 28-7 and just inside Wabash territory.  Even a field goal off that turnover forces Wabash to score three TDs (which they did anyway) and get 3 deuces to tie.  Tall, tall order.  Instead, the Wabash defense held North Central to 6 yards in three plays and forced a punt. 

3- The drive after Wabash cut it to 28-14.  LGs kick short, NCC rips off 29 yards in two plays and are nearing FG range.  Then Buresh pops the ball loose from Tassio and Najaar falls on it.  Any points on that drive and it was going to be over.  Heck, even if NCC got deep into the red zone and didn't score but took another 2-3 minutes off the clock it probably would have been done.  Wabash had to have the turnover at right that moment and they got it.

Those were the three moments where I think North Central had a chance to finish it Mortal Kombat style.  All three times, Wabash wasn't letting it happen.  Wabash won today with supreme effort and supreme heart.  And some really good players.  It was kind of cool to remember how crazy good Horn and Chamblee can be when Wabash decides to spread it out and sling it 50 times.  That hasn't been the modus operandi this year, but it's nice to know it's there when they need it.

Wally,

These are all key moments I agree. But there are no less than 4 key moments on the last Wabash drive alone that would have ended the LG's hopes. 4th and 17 Burke runs for first down, 4th and 15 Burke to Chamlee through 6 NCC defenders (3 killing Burke and 3 on Chamblee), the almost interception about 4 plays later, the tipped 2pt conversion. Any of those go the other way and its a sad day in C'ville. Legendary I say. Statue's and Statutes. The temporary holder of the little brass bell loses to the holder of the Monon Bell. Classic.

Classic will be north central's fifth straight victory over wheaton hopefully denying them a play-off birth for the 2nd year in a row.

Or, another classic may be NCC's purchasing another CCIW title followed by Wheaton once again going farther in the playoffs including a win over whomever NCC couldn't beat.

WAF!

touche. however you wheaton guys showed that you are not true cciw "homers" by coming out and saying how "happy" you would be if nc lost. that's fine with me. however if you'r gonna dish it out be prepared to get it back. i know you guys are sick of nc winning and not being your doormat anymore-but get used to it we're not going back down any time soon. let the war continue...on the cciw page.

[Duster72]

touche. however you wheaton guys showed that you are not true cciw "homers" by coming out and saying how "happy" you would be if nc lost. that's fine with me. however if you'r gonna dish it out be prepared to get it back. i know you guys are sick of nc winning and not being your doormat anymore-but get used to it we're not going back down any time soon. let the war continue...on the cciw page.

I would suggest getting your own thread in the general football section.  You can discuss each other's proclivities towards farm animals, co-eds of ill repute, fashion editions of student newspapers, whose underclassmen have the most European cars, and who drinks more Cosmos.  That's usually good for about 30 pages before it gets "out of hand."

[USee]

North Central had Wabash on the edge of knocked out today and had three distinct chances to make the knockout blow...each time Wabash avoided the kill shot:

1- Opening drive of the second half.  If Wabash doesn't go the length of the field and score there, I'm not sure they ever get back into it.  That drive breathed life back into the sideline and the home crowd...enough so that the Cardinal answer on the next drive didn't really squash the rally.  The energy was there to stay. 

2- Right after the Burke fumble at the start of the 4th quarter.  NCC took over up 28-7 and just inside Wabash territory.  Even a field goal off that turnover forces Wabash to score three TDs (which they did anyway) and get 3 deuces to tie.  Tall, tall order.  Instead, the Wabash defense held North Central to 6 yards in three plays and forced a punt. 

3- The drive after Wabash cut it to 28-14.  LGs kick short, NCC rips off 29 yards in two plays and are nearing FG range.  Then Buresh pops the ball loose from Tassio and Najaar falls on it.  Any points on that drive and it was going to be over.  Heck, even if NCC got deep into the red zone and didn't score but took another 2-3 minutes off the clock it probably would have been done.  Wabash had to have the turnover at right that moment and they got it.

Those were the three moments where I think North Central had a chance to finish it Mortal Kombat style.  All three times, Wabash wasn't letting it happen.  Wabash won today with supreme effort and supreme heart.  And some really good players.  It was kind of cool to remember how crazy good Horn and Chamblee can be when Wabash decides to spread it out and sling it 50 times.  That hasn't been the modus operandi this year, but it's nice to know it's there when they need it.

Wally,

These are all key moments I agree. But there are no less than 4 key moments on the last Wabash drive alone that would have ended the LG's hopes. 4th and 17 Burke runs for first down, 4th and 15 Burke to Chamlee through 6 NCC defenders (3 killing Burke and 3 on Chamblee), the almost interception about 4 plays later, the tipped 2pt conversion. Any of those go the other way and its a sad day in C'ville. Legendary I say. Statue's and Statutes. The temporary holder of the little brass bell loses to the holder of the Monon Bell. Classic.

Classic will be north central's fifth straight victory over wheaton hopefully denying them a play-off birth for the 2nd year in a row.

Or, another classic may be NCC's purchasing another CCIW title followed by Wheaton once again going farther in the playoffs including a win over whomever NCC couldn't beat.

WAF!

touche. however you wheaton guys showed that you are not true cciw "homers" by coming out and saying how "happy" you would be if nc lost. that's fine with me. however if you'r gonna dish it out be prepared to get it back. i know you guys are sick of nc winning and not being your doormat anymore-but get used to it we're not going back down any time soon. let the war continue...on the cciw page.

We can continue this on our home page. To be clear, I said "selfishly" I would like Wabash to win. That means I think it helps Wheaton to see the LG's beat NCC. I am still a CCIW guy and support our conference. Yesterday was a win/win for Wheaton fans! Sorry (sort of) it came at your expense.

Wes and the Wabash guys understand I'm sure.

[bashbrother]

per Weather Underground....


Saturday
Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain showers until midday... then rain showers likely in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 50s. Chance of showers 60 percent. 

How will the weather affect things?

North Central will fumble the ball four times.    Wabash will convert these turnovers into 21 points.

What?!  Even in your dreams you can't make it 28 points?

You were right.....I meant to say 27 and then 29      jeesh....28...what in the heck was I thinking?