FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[aueagle]

Espo threw for 424 yds against a porous Kenyon defense...not a NCAC record.

[smedindy]

Well, you can also blame Wabash's schedule for not scheduling a bye week except on week one.

Again, you can lay the blame at Earlham for making the schedule go catty-whompus. Next year, only Wash. U will have a bye week before they play Wabash. And in 2013, there won't be any bye weeks to worry about.

[wally world]

Oh, man.....I'm so conflicted. The last two years I just haven't been able to get down to C-ville. I had it all planned out to return to the Chop house with some fellow brothers for the Witt game, and then....my 10 and 12-year olds' basketball schedules came out. We are playing the the basketball-o-rama for our CYO league. I'm the head coach of my 12 year-old's team.

What to do? Bail on my team's first game of the season? Or spend the only weekend I have open until late February catching my favorite team, seeing the new field turf for the first time, on a "date" with my wife away from our five kids for one day? I need the sage advice of fellow Wabash alumni to make the right decision. What say you?

[smedindy]

Make it up to your kids and your team, somehow, and get to the game. Ice cream and pizza are good make-up food for a hoops team.

[smedindy]

Wooster takes care of Hiram 35-14.

Obviously, the big enchilada is Wabash / Witt. However, third place is very much in doubt. Denison just has to beat Kenyon in Week 11 to finish 4-2. Gheny can get to 4-2 by beating Hiram and Oberlin. Wooster can also get to 4-2 as they face Kenyon, but Witt is also in their way to get to four wins.

[seinfeld]

Can't take much away from the Wooster-Hiram game tonight, but one thing was confirmed in my eyes, while another question has been reasonably answered. The confirmation is that Wooster's coaching staff certainly isn't doing something right at halftime of games. After getting outscored 14-0 tonight in the 3rd quarter, Wooster has now been outscored 52-7 in the 3rd quarter this year. That is just a staggering figure. The one touchdown they did score against OWU was a 17-yard drive that came after a muffed punt by the Bishops. For the season the Scots have been outscored 140-120, but take away the 3rd quarter, and they've outscored their opponents 113-88.

The question that I think has been answered is that Frongillo is a better QB for Wooster right now than Barnes. The difference is small, but there is a difference. I bet almost no one on this Board has seen Frongillo play, so it might be hard to picture what he does. But he is a better passer. You wouldn't tell from his stats tonight, but I don't think there is much argument with this. The main reason is he has better mechanics, which allows him to more consistently hit his target. He also takes better care of the ball, although that area needs to improve as well (see Case game last week). The interesting thing is that Barnes took better care of the ball last year than Holter and Schafer before him. But if you start with his interception late in the Wittenberg game last year up until his injury this year, he had thrown seven interceptions and fumbled twice in about three games without scoring a single touchdown. You also have to keep in mind that Barnes had Mike Redick last year, an all-conference receiver who set a school record for receptions in a season (69).

As for running, Frongillo's 207 yards on 20 carries and 2 touchdowns tonight should open up some eyes. They have different running styles. Barnes is more of a physical runner (ala Tebow), and he can definitely shed tacklers better than Frongillo, especially getting out of sacks. But Frongillo is quicker through the line of scrimmage, allowing him to get through small openings quicker than Barnes. He is also very deceptive with the fake handoff. That's how he scored on the long TD against Case last week. I also think he is a faster straight-ahead runner, allowing him to break longer runs.

Wooster doesn't have much depth (less than Hiram amazingly enough), but this is one position where they have it. Will be interesting to see how they handle this position during the spring and training camp next year.

[bishopowu]

Anyone that was at the Hiram-Wooster game today...I know you guys took care of Hiram but how good or how bad are they? OWU ends their season with Hiram in two weeks from today at Hiram. OWU has taken care of Hiram in years past but I am just curious to see how bad/good they are.

[Schwami]

Fun game today at The Swamp --- 4 lead changes, and the biggest lead was 7 points on Wabash's opening score.  Allegheny executed its game plan exceptionally well.  Wabash had just enough big plays to win the game.

I would have liked to have seen at least one kick off to Chamblee, but oh well . . .

GatorsFan8, glad to have you around, +K 

[nike]

I have seen Frongillo play and the only thing that can be said with certainty is that Barnes is hurt and that Frongillo is playing decently.  Could Wooster have a better record with Barnes playing. Possibly.
I saw Barnes throw the interception against Witt last year.  It was Witt.  And he was a freshman.  Would he have gotten better this year as the season progressed?  Of course.  Today was Hiram.  Next week is Kenyon.  Frongillo has beaten OWU and Hiram as a starter.
Let's see how things go against Witt this year.  I hope the Scots win out.  But I also expect Barnes to be the starting QB next year, too.   

[seinfeld]

Nike,

I gave very specific reasons why I think Frongillo is better than Barnes. I'd be interested in hearing your specific reasons why Barnes is better. And if you aren't sure, then I'm not sure why you speak with such certainty when I and FightingScot (a former Wooster player) say we think Frongillo is better.

[smedindy]

As BashDad said, if you don't want Barnes, Wabash will take him gladly. And win.

[seinfeld]

SmedIndy,

Please quote where either I or FightingScot said we didn't want him. The answer will be that you won't. Also find where we say Barnes isn't any good. Again, you won't find it. And how many times have you seen Frongillo play? I think the answer to that will be zero.

And by the way, it is Schmitz himself who has stated that the two quarterbacks are almost equal. So why this is coming as a surprise to anyone who is supposedly following Wooster I don't know:

All that said, Schmitz stresses that there will be competition for the starting position again this training camp. Barnes missed spring practice due to ankle surgery, while fellow sophomore Brett Frongillo, who entered four varsity games, ran the offense very well. This came as no surprise to those closest to the program.

"Last year ... there was a very slight difference between Richard and Brett," explained Schmitz. "We're going to put the best guy out there ... the guy who proves himself again. I don't know how it's going to work out, but we have a bit of a luxury in that we have multiple guys who are very capable of playing the position."

http://www.woosterathletics.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/20110715o0flba

[smedindy]

Ahem....just quoting this fine scribe:

Dear Richard Barnes,

If, upon rehabilitation, you still find the football community of Wooster, Ohio to be comprised of complete and utter morons, please: bring those remaining three years of eligibilty to Crawfordsville and win a couple rings. We may still cry "wide receiver!" or "running back!" any time you lose a game, though that's likely to happen much less often.

Seriously. You should think about it.

Signed,
Bashdad

Many Dallas fans wanted Steve Walsh to play instead of Troy Aikman back in the early days of the Johnson era, too.

Here's the issue. Barnes was a known quantity. Teams schemed against him, specifically to stop him. As far as Frongillo, he's an unknown, or at least was an unknown.

Barnes also played against the two toughest opponents on the schedule: B-W and Wabash. You're going to look better playing against Hiram and Denison.

Not to say than Frongillo doesn't have talent. He does. But after seeing Barnes play, he's got the talent to be really good.

And I think BashDad knows a thing or three about QBs. I'd take his very much unbiased view on it.

PS - As far as the Schmitz quote. I know coach-speak when I see it.

[BashDad]

I'd be interested in hearing your specific reasons why Barnes is better.

I mean, one reason would be that Barnes missed spring-ball and then entered camp and won the starting job even with Schmitz "stressing" that it was an open competition, right?

Barnes also played against the two toughest opponents on the schedule: B-W and Wabash. You're going to look better playing against Hiram and Denison.

This.

[BashDad]

Also, and not at all with snark, why is dude's game tonight off-limits for swipes at HIS passing ability?

I didn't watch, so I don't know, but those are some gross numbers against gross competition.