FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[wabco]

Also at the game.  At first was shocked by second half turn.  EXCEPT upon reflection:  The 2 D backs who were out were a hit to Wabash flow.  RB out after first series was a hit to flow.  THEN freak stuff in a row:  A blocked punt turned into a TD ... should not happen at Wabash and WILL be fixed.  7 points.  Interception ... same thing ... senior passing QB.  First game ... 7 more points. Finally a well defended pass gets knocked away into another Albion player's hands who is running another pattern down field (WOW ... look at what I got) ... 7 more points.   21 of the 34.  All ... will not happen again in the same quarter and did both make Albion think they WERE THE MAN and did test Wabash resolve.

I am not trying to take anything from Albion or their coaches.  Believe Wabash game plan had anticipated and controlled them the first half.  Albion adjusted well at half with the result of a long drive then aided by above goof ups which Wabash should not have incurred (self inflicted) ... allowed Albion confidence and another drive.  Then (at least I think so) Wabash coaches got team adjusted and righted the ship.  I know ... we shall see.  But then again we did not get smoked by 58 points as some did down south.

My come away was ... GREAT GUTSY QUALITY WAF comeback by Wabash when they needed to "git down" most.  Also a benefit ... being tested like this both gives confidence in tense situations AND teaches:  you don't just win because you are Wabash ... you have to earn that win each time. 

AND GREAT WABASH TAILGATE AND GREAT WABASH CROWD.  (The Albion security folks kept coming up and complimenting the Wabash tailgate fans as the nicest they have had in a long time.  Both College Presidents attended.)  Our Wabash Pres was cheering Wabash so enthusiastically along with the fans in the stands that I thought he might go down and ask Morel to "put me in coach".  Great job Pres!!!  All Wabash fans loved it and your leadership.


"That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger."  You go Coach Morel et.al.

[aueagle]

A total dismantling of the Bishops last Saturday night. It was tough to watch the feed; MHB showed
why they have the ranking they have. I didn't think the Bishops would win, going into Texas, but,
I did feel they would compete for 4 quarters. With a solid group of 4th year players and T. Watts
going into his 5th year, why not? I've always felt OWU should play "up" in the non-conference,
Mount Union, St. Johns, etc...To be the best, play the best mentality. It will also show you where
your program is and where it has to go. 2001 was a great season for the Red & Black, the only thing
missing was a playoff. It's time to see a Bishop program compete with the LG's and Tigers of the
NCAC world...on a consistent basis. I believe that is where the OWU faithful want this thing to go,
and why Watts was the man to hire. I think we can get there...2016 has plenty of football to be
played...we just started, and the goal is a NCAC crown. The Bishops got exposed by a great program
& team last week. Lick our wounds...rest up...get ready for Witt and start to STEP-UP !!!
GO BISHOPS

[Sir Battlescars]

Shoutout to wally_wabash! Nice work on Quick Hits this week!

[wally_wabash]

Thank you, Sir B!  Was fun to be a part of the piece this week.  Might be less fun if I'm way wrong on too many hits.   

[wally_wabash]

Quick recap of MSJ's first quarter at DePauw:

[1837Tigers]

Halftime - DePauw 27, Mount St Joe 6 . DePauw 368 yds total offense to 64 for MSJ. Matt Hunt 20-29 for 211 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT.   DePauw ran 62 plays, 22 first downs.

[Joe Wally]

The Little Giant football team and the entire Wabash community are mourning the loss of junior, Austin Weirich today. 

Rest In Peace, young man.

http://www.wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=10879

[aueagle]

Thoughts & prayers to all the LG's on your loss....
20 is too young...may God Bless his family

[Bishopleftiesdad]

My thoughtsband prayers to his family and friends.

[formerd3db]

Very sorry to hear that and I will pray for the family and the LG nation during this difficult time.  Not that it matters, but was his unfortunate death from an illness or accident? (my apologies if I missed that info somewhere in reading about this) Regardless, again, my thoughts and prayers go out to all involved and may God provide all with hope and comfort in the coming days and weeks.

[wally_wabash]

Interesting Allegheny stat of the day- The Gators have scored 24 3rd quarter points so far this year.  They scored 7 3rd quarter points in 2015. 

It's probably going to be tough sledding for Allegheny this weekend, but no doubt there's a pulse in Meadville again.  I think the instant offensive improvement has exceeded expectations.  The defense is going to come around...they'll get better as the year moves along, next year I think they'll be a lot better, and beyond that they're going to be tough to score on. 

Looking around the league at some other games...

Witt @ OWU - I'm interested to see if OWU makes a move at QB.  Coach Watts said that QB was open before the season started, and a zero- even against UMHB- had to be disappointing for them.  Do you make a move for this game or stick with Orsini?  Tough call.  For Witt, I still don't know what they are.  I don't think we learned much from their walk through against Capital. 

Kenyon @ Hiram - Kenyon has exceeded my expectation so far.  They've won the games I thought they'd win, but they really steeled up after a rocky start vs. Sewanee (who nearly beat defending ODAC champion W&L last week), and they flat out beat up Oberlin in Week 2.  Merkle is off to a good start at QB for the Lords.  Hiram's veteran offense sputtered vs. Westminster- they'll need to be ready on Saturday. 

DePauw @ Wooster - Hmmm.  I don't have much for this one.  DePauw is going to score as much as they want, if we're being honest.  They were crisp in their opener on Saturday.  Wooster probably isn't getting 49 again this week, and I think they'll need at least that to win. 

Denison @ Oberlin - The Big Red went a little under the radar in Week 1, but they're a solid favorite this week.  The Yeomen will need to shore up that defense to have a shot this weekend. 

[Fear the Poet]

Coach Hammer coming home to meet Wabash this weekend. That must be a weird feeling for him.

Best of luck to Coach Hammer and his Gators.

also, we send our prayers to the Austin Weirich family and the entire Wabash community

[wabco]

I think it will be a fun "reunion".  Of course Wabash must win ... but against a friend ... you play hard and have fun.  You do not expect nor do you do some of the things/games such as is part of the basic karma of teams like Witt.

[bashbrother]

As many of you know,  Coach Hammer will not be the only Gator coach coming back to C-Ville....   One of my favorite Wabash linebackers ever, AJ Akinribade, will be back too.... Gators Linebackers Coach.

Hammer will get that program back to competitive......   A positive trend is already showing...  In 2015 the Gators scored 89 Points in 10 games....  Already in the first 2 games of 2016,  they have 61.

[HCAlum86]

Coming to the realization that Kenyon has a very competitive team this year. Interested to see how our offensive line adjusts this week. Imo, our o-line was dominated by the Westminster front 7. Kenyon does not have their size and athleticism, but they are still competitive, strong, ad well coached.

I would like to see a little more aggressive play calling this week, but I know Stanford will have them ready to go. Excited for a good matchup.