FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[zed07]

I agree with Bash-Dad's assessment.  Our #1's looked good for the most part.  The punting game was a bit spotty, but it did afford the defense a couple of opportunities to make a stand, which it did.  The plethora of bad snaps made it very difficult for the offense to establish any rhythm early in the game, but things did pick up later, with several very nice throws and catches.  Defense looked fast.   I thought the scoring drive they gave up late in the first half was due in large part to over-pursuit and cutback lanes opening up.  Much of what was 'less than good'today is very correctable.

As a side note, Wheaton will once again be very good.  They're a good program to work with-very well-coached and very classy.   After the beat down they gave us last year, it would have been easy for them to crow.

[bashbrother]

Recap of the days NCAC action.

NCAC -   3-5 against Non-conference opponents.

Witt - Took care of business - Corey Weber 26 rushes for 152 yards rushing and 3 tds.  Huffman 16 of 26, 265 2 Tds.  The real story was the Witt D.  Allowed Olivet only 117 yards total offense & registered 4 sacks.

Gheny -  Seemed to struggle a little bit on offense against Juniata, but in the first week of the season, a win is a win.   Defense allowed the visiting Eagles offense only 7 first downs.

Dension -  The Big Red put up almost 500 yards of total offense on visiting Hornets.   The defense delivered a 64 yard int return for a TD.  Good opening for Denison.

Earlham - Got manhandled by the boys from Terre Haute.  Rose set a school record racking up 565 yards of total offense.  Going to be a long year for the Quakers.

Oberlin -  About what I expected from this game.  Oberlin actually played them pretty close for 3 quarters before giving up 21 points in the 4th qtr.  Oberlin is still trying to replace a bunch of offense lost to graduation.

OWU - Nice defensive effort for the Bishops today in the loss to CM.  Frosh running back Nick Krempasky was a bright spot with 25 carries for 140 yards. Turnovers seem to hurt the OWU offense today.

Kenyon - Great game for the Lords today.  Even though they came up short, they had plenty of positives to take away from the game in Cleveland.  Harry von Kann  had 14 catches for 142 yards while Mike Hermanson was 30-48-2  240  for Kenyon. 

Wooster - First of all, this was a great game that featured little defense for either side.       54 first downs, 1000 + yards of offense, Kickoff return for a TD, 84 yard fumble recovery, tons of lead changes....down to the final buzzer type game.  Holter was great as usual but the offense and special teams can only score so many points.....the defense has to stop someone.   Tough loss for the '09 Scots.

[Mugsy]

I agree with Bash-Dad's assessment.  Our #1's looked good for the most part.  The punting game was a bit spotty, but it did afford the defense a couple of opportunities to make a stand, which it did.  The plethora of bad snaps made it very difficult for the offense to establish any rhythm early in the game, but things did pick up later, with several very nice throws and catches.  Defense looked fast.   I thought the scoring drive they gave up late in the first half was due in large part to over-pursuit and cutback lanes opening up.  Much of what was 'less than good'today is very correctable.

As a side note, Wheaton will once again be very good.  They're a good program to work with-very well-coached and very classy.   After the beat down they gave us last year, it would have been easy for them to crow.

Bash-Dad & Zed, thanks for the assessment of the scrimmage.  I was unable to attend yesterday.

Best of luck to Wabash in 09' and hopefully we'll see a rematch in the playoffs if we can both take care of business during the regular season.

[wally_wabash]

Interesting first weekend of action in the NCAC. 

The good:
- Denison...convincing win shows me that Denison might actually have some traction in the positive direction.  I'm really glad to see it. 
- Wittenberg...well played Tigers.  I've been saying it for weeks...nobody is playing with a bigger chip than the Tigers.  These guys are good and they did what good teams are supposed to do to lesser teams in week 1. 
- Kenyon...hey, the Lords weren't going to win this game, but they hardly embarrassed themselves which was definitely an option.  Spartan loyalists should have some cause for concern though.  Top level teams don't find themselves with scores like that against the Kenyon's of the world.  But really good job Lords. 

The bad:
- Earlham...not unsurprising.  A lot of people like RHIT this year, so it wasn't surprising to see them walk all over the Quake. 
- OWU...I can't imagine how frustrating it has to be to see the same thing every single year.  Fine, fine defense coupled with an offense that avoids the end zone like Mark McGwire avoids talking about the past.  Signs of life from this freshman though...maybe the offense will figure something out as time passes this year. 

The ugly:
Wooster...sorry guys, no other way to put this one.  Giving it up to Waynesburg on your own turf just isn't an acceptable outcome from a team that is supposed to be loaded for bear this year.  Now, the fact of the matter is that Wooster is in a must win situation every time they get on the field and that is not a pleasant situation to be in on September 6.  One year ago, Wooster was the team that impressed me most after week 1...this year, it's the exact opposite.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Wally,

You are correct.  Our inability to blow Kenyon out is indeed a cause of concern.

That said, two fumbles in the red zone had a bit to do with that.  We doubled them in total offense, and Whalen had over 400 yds passing and 4 TDs, so we obviously got that better part of that matchup, even though the score was closer than expected.

In order to get the results that we should against teams like Kenyon, we will need to eliminate stupid mental mistakes like fumbles and penalties.  Hopefully, our coaches will earn their money and work on that this week in practice.

[bashbrother]

Major -

Yes.... the coaches will have plenty to talk about this week.   Once again I must say that the Case game production is the best in D3 and am still waiting for something similar in C-Ville. 

Having watched the entire game, Case was definitely the better team, but in sports execution is everything.   Fumbles in the redzone and other mistakes will get you a mark in the loss column against more formidable teams .  Good luck to Case in their next game.

[smedindy]

All of the pundits say that if D-1 gets a playoff then the regular season 'has no meaning'.

Well, every game right now for Wooster has meaning. One NCAC loss and they must hope for a 3-way tie and luck to get to the playoffs. Two NCAC losses, and they may as well go fishing.

[seinfeld]

Belated, and long-winded, thoughts on the Wooster-Waynesburg game:

The offensive was explosive, looking just as good in the pass game as it did running the ball. Holter was in command of the offense the entire game. Passing wise, he made all the throws and rarely threw into traffic. But he once again fumbled the ball with little to no contact from the defense, and that resulted in a huge touchdown return in the first half. Flagg might be the most versatile player in the conference, and Murdock looks like a solid runner as well. The offensive line opened up huge holes, and Holter had all the time he needed to throw the ball.

Despite racking up 500 yards of offense and 39 points, Wooster's offense could of performed even better. Their top receiver, Francescangelli, missed the last three quarters with an injury, and their other top receiver (McCann) didn't have a catch, and was targeted only a few times. The Scots also crossed midfield with every possession (excluding those where the half ended). But they failed to capitalize on a number of these occasions. Three trips into the red zone resulted in a fumble and two field goals, including a first-and-goal situation from the 7-yard line to start the second half. They also had a drive stall at the 24-yard line (missed FG) and the 38-yard line (punt). Add to that two failed two-point conversion attempts, and a number of points were left on the field.

Defensively, it starts and ends with the defensive line. While I'm sure mistakes were made at the linebacker and secondary level, the problems land squarely on the front four. I knew the Scots would miss Luke Drake, who may have been the top defensive end in the NCAC had he returned to school, but I didn't figure they'd miss him that much. Throw in the fact that the other starting end from last year, Chris Wade, barely played because he is still recovering from an off-season injury, and you are left with a group of defensive lineman that have barely played in their career.

Of the 48 times Waynesburg threw the ball, they were sacked only once (by a linebacker) and hurried only three times. I bet Wooster did not touch the quarterbacks on passing plays more than four or five of times, and most of the time they stood there for what seemed like an eternity. And when Waynesburg ran the ball, the backs consistently got through the line of scrimmage without being touched, meaning when linebackers or defensive backs were making tackles, the runners already had a full head of steam. But the biggest indication that the Waynesburg offensive line was winning the day came on short yardage plays. Several times Wooster stopped Waynesburg running backs near the line of scrimmage, only to see the back, helped by the push of the offensive line, move the pile two yards forward. Throw in that Wooster's defense couldn't get off the field (Waynesburg was 11-of-19 on 3rd Down and 2-of-3 on 4th Down), and you end up surrendering 89 plays.

I guess the only thing that can be said about the defensive line is that Wade should be back at full strength in two weeks, and a number of guys that are playing now are freshmen and sophomores, who can only get better. It also wouldn't surprise me to see some different guys in the rotation next game.

The special teams effort of Wooster was a pleasant surprise. Palm looked real strong kicking (his 41-yard field goal hit the upright, and would have been good from close to 50 yards), and the freshmen Miner has a great leg. Take away the squib kick at the end of the game, and Miner averaged 63 yards per kickoff, including three kicks to the 1-yard line and another to the 3-yard line. Throw in an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD from Albani and limiting pre-season All-American kick returner Cree from Waynesburg to just over 22 yards a return, and this looks to be an area of real strength.

If you are going to lose a game, I guess a non-conference opener is the best one to lose. An at-large playoff bid is now a moot point, and the Case game becomes a contest more of pride than playoff possibilities, but the path is pretty clear from here on out -- win out and you are in the playoffs. Lose one conference game and you are almost guaranteed to be out (Wooster probably loses most tiebreakers).

[short]

Seinfeld,

Don't give up on this Wooster team just yet.  The Yellow Jackets have a very nice team and Wooster almost won even with all the bad things going on around them.  The D-line will look much better with two more weeks of practice and Wade back in the line up full time.  I still think this Wooster team can beat the likes of Wabash and Case and finish 9-1.  This only makes the game on October 24th that much bigger. Win that one and your likely in the playoffs, lose and your a long shot.  However, a win over Case and Waynesburg winning the PAC and you have an outside chance at an at-large bid.

[Li'l Giant]

Their top receiver, Francescangelli, missed the last three quarters with an injury

What happened to Francescangelli?

[smedindy]

Their top receiver, Francescangelli, missed the last three quarters with an injury

What happened to Francescangelli?

Sprained tongue tripping over his last name?

[bashbrother]

Their top receiver, Francescangelli, missed the last three quarters with an injury

What happened to Francescangelli?

Sprained tongue tripping over his last name?

+1K Smeds..... now that was funny.  (Hope is ok..too)

[Black n Gold]

Hopefully Franciscangeli can get that knee healed back up in the next 2 weeks, as he is a great matchup over a LB or safety with his size and speed. Before he left the game in the 1st he had snagged 2 balls and looked to be headed for a great day. The offense looked sharp and you are right Seinfield, Robert Flagg is a special player. I think if he were about a foot taller, haha... we wouldn't be seeing him in D3. I don't think any of the Scot faithful or the players have given up. This was just an eye opener to the team that they do have to show up week in and week out, no matter how good the paper says they are. The season is most definitely not over. With the offense and special teams show they put on Saturday.....I think they can hang in EVERY game. If the defense can get a stop here and there  Wooster will be fine. Although it still seems like a horrible dream, it is reality and the team needs to respond!

[bashbrother]

Wooster will be fine.   They have great coaching and a talented team, they will move on from that game and be hopefully better for the tough experience.

[wally_wabash]

A couple of links...

If you haven't checked it out yet, make some time to read the Great Lakes Around the Region piece this week.  Great feature on Oberlin LB John Cook...and very timely. 

Also, the NCAC week 1 recap is available.  I am a big, big fan of this new format the NCAC is using.  Very clean, love the links to boxscores....excellent work by the league office.