FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

wally_wabash · November 27, 2005, 12:05:57 AM

Glad to see all MUC fans aren't in the same boat of pretention.

Here's hoping we can close the deal next November and get a rematch with the Raiders. I'm with smeds....I think Wabash has enough in reserve to challenge for the NCAC bid next year.

I think Wabash can recoop the losses at LB on D. Wabash has tremendous depth there. I think the biggest replacement question marks will be first on the o-line....we're losing some very good players there and you never know how good the rising upperclassmen will play and at QB. Make no mistake about it. Harbaugh had the best season at QB that any Wabash QB has ever had. Next year's signal caller, be it Huff or Neighbors has big shoes to fill. But I think Wabash has the talent in the wings to reload. Witt, OWU, Allegheny, and Wooster (sorry Kenyon) might have something to say about that, but next year should be a good one for the NCAC.

smedindy · November 27, 2005, 12:08:32 AM

Wally -

Kenyon has Coombs and Sanchez back next year, plus they have the same schedule as this season (missing Wabash and Witt), so I can't count them out.

wally_wabash · November 27, 2005, 12:24:59 AM

True smeds, but history says that the NCAC champ runs the table and I can't see Kenyon running the Allegheny, Wooster, OWU gauntlet next year...with two of those on the road. As usual, I think one team will emerge as clearly better than the rest and will run the table.

usee · November 27, 2005, 12:53:58 AM

congrats again wabash on a great year. great game today in a contest that easily could have gone either way. sounded eerily similar to last week in naperville. coach creighton and crew have done a tremendous job and its nice to see the fruits of that work. (i was very dissappointed in the OAC poster who inappropriately attacked him)

I also happen to agree that wabash was a much deserving #1 seed. I think wheaton has another scrimmage scheduled next year in cville. we will see you guys then. well done.

usee · November 27, 2005, 01:27:35 AM

unfortunately it appears you did have a cciw officiating crew in cville today. that's too bad because this year the officiating was atrocious in the cciw. i looked and many of this group was the crew who called the wheaton carthage game this year. I don't remember anything overly egregious in that contest but many of us on the cciw board noted the poor level of officiating for our conf this year. the good news is none of these guys were on the crew that called north central offsides at augustana that gave augie a 2nd chance at a game winning field goal with no time left that was originally blocked. that single play gave wabash the #1 seed.

herald79 · November 27, 2005, 07:43:23 AM

Congrats to Bash,I"m sure they will reload for 06 and be a tough win for anybody on there schedule.Creighton was a class act at Kenyon in his day,and will continue to shoot for that national championship at Wabash.I agree with most of what I read on this sight about Kenyon,they are in the building process, and 6-1 will be hard to duplicate. But with sanchez,coombs and shoemaker returning on O the future is bright.And remember winning , helps with recruits,not to mention a 260 thousand square foot athletic facility that will rival any in Ohio let alone the northcoast. Coach Stanley deserved coach of the year, with a 6-1 record in the Northcoast with 45 players he more than deserved the nod. My guess is a few upper teir coaches let there personal feelings get in the way of making the proper choice. However Coach Creighton has built a progam since his arrival in crawfordsville and also deserved mention. GO LORDS

BashBacker#16 · November 27, 2005, 10:10:50 AM

What a great game at Hollett yesterday! It was most certainly a classic that many of us will be talking about for many years down the road. Man, it is tough to swallow knowing we were on the 10 with 3rd and 5 - you figure the worse case scenario is a FG to force OT. Tough call on the INT and I don't see any way they could have ruled EITHER player in bounds. That took some major BALLS for the ref to call that too. That was the same official that ruled an incomplete pass earlier on a Ray Green reception & fumble when Schirack recovered - he waved against the other official (who was on top of it & marked the spot)? As Summers stated after the game, you have to live with it.

3 huge plays: Bash fumble with 1st and Goal on the 5 in the 2nd quarter!!! Dropped TD pass off the WRs chest in the end zone! And, the INT at the end of the game.

Congrats to Cap and good luck next week!

On the Bash squad next year:
First the O - Bash WRs Walker, Russell, & Green all return with the addition of Banach & Guererro...LOADED. OL returns both OTs (scary) and Certain at OG. Hopefully a healthy Don Juan at RB with Huff at QB. Both TEs return in Schirack and Nelson. Keffer is a beast at J-back and could be the best all around that we have had in awhile.
On D - Bubba Lange (11 tackles yesterday!) and TJ at DTs, and Reggie Foley should be back (starter in '04). LB crew will return Pynenberg & Keffer & Deig with some very talented young guys like Matt Craft, Brent Banach, & Greisl all competing. D-backs all return...King, Jackson, Bell (anyone see him track Mulkey down from the other side of the field on his 65 yard run!!!), Peterman, Roomes...

2006 could be another great run. No question the Seniors will be missed but their impact will make these younger guys that much better.

formerd3db · November 27, 2005, 08:49:32 PM

usee:
I would add that the officiating in the MIAA was atrocious this year as well, unfortunately. It just seems to be getting worse each year, especially the last three. We all realize officials are human beings and like all of us, especially in a competitive atmosphere as such make mistakes. However, blatant disregard for the rules, vindictive officiating, and just plain not making the right calls is ridiculous (that's putting it nicely

). Too bad. I hope it improves in the next couple of years for all the conferences. However, with the officials we've seen coming into the college ranks, I don't see that happening any time soon. Many just don't have the experience. Just MO.

reality check · November 28, 2005, 09:03:30 AM

Bash fans

Congrats on a good run this season. It was a helluva game in C'Ville Saturday. You guys represented the NCAC well both during the season and in the playoffs. I obviously wanted to see my fellow OAC team win but I could have lived with the Little Giants moving on as well.

Harbaugh had a heck of a year and the Wabash D was very good. In fact, you and CAP both had very similar strengths across the board to the extent that its almost scary. This was a cointoss type game on paper and lived up to that billing come kickoff. I had a feeling going in that this game would be around a 3-6 point spread and the over/under would be around 30.

Again, great season by the Lil Giants this year. You guys should hold your heads high. You were a good representative this year and didn't disappoint as the #1 seed. Great season.

firstdown · November 28, 2005, 10:12:00 AM

First, congrats to CAP for a great win on Saturday

. It was quite an exciting ball game with both defenses going toe to toe. I was particularly impressed with CAP going for it on 3rd down with a pass play near the end of the game to get a first down and run out the clock.
Next, congrats to Wabash on a great season

. This group of seniors played in 45 game (46 if you include the exhibition with the Vienna Vikings), which is more than any other class in Wabash history, and won the Monon Bell 3 of 4 years. To the seniors and the whole team - you're some Little Giants!!
Finally, to the NCAA

, the quality of the officiating crew was just plain awful. They got calls wrong both ways, stopped the clock at times for no apparent reason, and ran the clock when plays went out of bounds. This group wasn't quailifed to officiate at a dog fight, let alone a play off game. Both CAP and 'Bash deserved better. The game was a classic battle between 2 very evenly matched teams. It is a shame that it was marred by such an incompent group of zebras. It was an insult to both teams to have had to play with the keystone cops for an officiating crew.

big_bash · November 28, 2005, 10:17:40 AM

Absolutely!!!
Not to take ANYTHING away from CAP. Wabash didn't make plays, and had we made plays it wouldn't have come down to the Ref's. But regardless... The REF's absolutely were HORRIBLE!!

Quote from: firstdown on November 28, 2005, 10:12:00 AM
Finally, to the NCAA , the quality of the officiating crew was just plain awful. They got calls wrong both ways, stopped the clock at times for no apparent reason, and ran the clock when plays went out of bounds. This group wasn't quailifed to officiate at a dog fight, let alone a play off game. Both CAP and 'Bash deserved better. The game was a classic battle between 2 very evenly matched teams. It is a shame that it was marred by such an incompent group of zebras. It was an insult to both teams to have had to play with the keystone cops for an officiating crew.

BashBacker#16 · November 28, 2005, 10:49:20 AM

Why did the clock run after the incompleted shovel pass? Ready for this one...apparently the refs called it a completed pass and then a fumble??? Thus the clock continued to run.

Was it Green that caught the pass and went out of bounds to stop the clock? Does anyone know why that did not stop it, the ref clearly signaled for the clock to run...?

There were several periods in the game where it appeared the officiating crew were kind of lost...i.e. long conferences, questionable spots (both ways) - it was just frustrating to see a great game like this scarred with this kind of discussion.

Here is an interesting piece (Commentary) from C-ville's The Paper by Barry Lewis... http://www.thepaper24-7.com/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=23&ArticleID=3116&TM=38504.96

bashbrother · November 28, 2005, 11:05:33 AM

BB16 -

As we've talked about recently, there is no excuse for bad officiating. Especially in a big game or playoff situation. You would think the best of the best would be hired for this game. But the fact is, we didn't make enough plays to win.

I wonder......Could the Thanksgiving holiday have had anything to do with which crew was available? Maybe the good refs were at home drinking spiced or spiked cider and eating leftovers.

Next year when we get to the second round. Lets you and I volunteer to be refs. We will not miss that call. Wally, we could use you on the field as well...interested? Bashdad, you can keep track of the clock.

Amindon's article on the website is about as good as it gets.......

Well... I guess I need to get a job now.....What a great season!

gobash · November 28, 2005, 11:07:02 AM

I sent a polite but hopefully poignant e-mail to the chairman of the CCIW about the officiating. They really should take a look at a tape of the game, as it'd be a big benefit to their conference to have some decent refs.

bashbrother · November 28, 2005, 11:15:23 AM

Oh yeah..... I forgot to mention one thing.

I made my first post on this board back in 2003. It caused a bunch of chaos and I think I was banished for the better part of two years. The prediction I made in that post didn't come true, but what a season they did have.

The 1st post went something like this: "This Sophmore Class (this years Senior class) will win a National Championship before they leave Wabash"

I've learned a couple of things since making that post. A National Championship in any sport is very hard to accomplish and at the end of the 2002 season, we saw first hand (Mount) where we needed to take the program to make a championship run. This year, we didn't make it there. But the program is getting closer.

2006 seems so far away.