FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[DBQ1965]

Big win for Trine tonight ... tough loss for Hope.  Could be an interesting MIAA conference battle before it's all over. TUAngola tracked me down at half-time and it was cool to connect with a D3.com follower.  Also great to sit with knowledgeable and passionate Trine fans.  And while not MIAA,  with Dubuque's wild, literally last second 49-42 win over Loras, there is nothing like D3 football.  Pat ...thanks for all you and your crew do for us.

[formerd3db]

TUAngola and DBQ1965:

Sorry I missed you seeing both of you (I was a little busy, I guess).  I hope you did not have to park too far away.  For sure, as was discussed in your prior posts, parking is always an issue at Smith Stadium if you don't get there early, although the walk from the DeVos lot is not that long.

As to the game, as mentioned, a tough and disappointing loss for Hope, but a momentum gainer for Hope.  In all honesty, and not taking away anything from Trine, Hope should have won the game.  Three botched TD passes (one overthrown, one dropped in the endzone after our QB rifled it in between 3 Trine defenders-it was a perfect "thru the eye of a needle" throw, and the other negated by an offensive receiver holding call, although the latter was controversial). That said, we had our chances and simply blew it.  Trine is a very good team and I was extremely impressed with their RB who was so quick and fast, our defensive people had difficult time stopping him, even after making initial contact, he was hard to tackle.  Hope's defensive secondary did not have a great game, too many open spots, soft coverage, IMO.   

Overall, while the league race is by no means over, I believe Trine is in a great position, although Olivet and Albion will be a challenge I'm sure.  Certainly, we'll have a chance to assess that more after this upcoming weekend when we play at Albion. I am anxious to see how they really are.  They are obviously better than they have been the past 2 years, although I am skeptical they are as good as some people are saying-yet admittedly, that is my saying that without having seen them play.  Our Hope is a good team and they have spurts of real greatness, however, they have to find a way to put it all together, sustain that momentum for an entire game, as DBQ1965 has already mentioned.  We could have easily been 4-0 right now, but let that slip away.

With regard to the twilight games, those are nice and I'm sure the College wants to take advantage of the lights at the stadium more than once per season.  However, with all this crazy rainy weather, we were lucky to get the game in before the downpour started about an hour later.  Holding the games later in the day seems to have hit the pattern of losing the nice weather in the usual "regular" game time slots of 1 PM the past two years, although that is obviously an unpredictable situation.

One last comment...how about those Kalamazoo Hornets 4-0 so far and likely to be 5-0.  But then, they have the last half of the season, although I think they may have a good chance at winning at least one, possibly two of those games.  The only disappointment so far is that they just can't seem to get more than 700 fans to a game.  A shame.  And speaking of attendance, I was quite disappointed that only 2600 showed up Saturday at Hope for what had title implications for the MIAA.  I expected much more than that, especially after 3600 at the first home game and Hope now having two winning seasons in a row with better records.

[TUAngola]

Nice trip to Holland this weekend ending in a Trine "W".  It was good to chat a bit at halftime with DBQ1965, thanks for sitting on the "good guys" side, 

It wasn't always pretty but I'll take the W.  Hope is a talented team, their defense can really swarm.  The stretch running plays to Carswell, which is a staple of Trine's offense, was ineffective for the most part because of Hope's athleticism.  I get frustrated with that play, I mean I realize Trine wants to get Carswell in space, but it's also one that can end with big losses or holding penalties on the OLine when a defender tries to break free from a block.  I think we're a better run between the tackles type team this year. 

Other observations:

Way too many penalties, I think one drive Hope didn't even need their offense to move the football, it was like 3 or 4 personal foul type penalties all in a row.  Fortunately the defense held with a big goal line stand, but ending up with a safety for Hope when Winters was tackled in the end zone on a pass play call.

Speaking of Brandon Winters, I think he is the better option at QB right now, just seems he throws a better, tighter ball than Duckett.  But, he also had a few costly mistakes too, the safety and a fumble.  His older brother Marcus Winters also had an uncharacteristic fumble on a punt return.   

Even though we gave up 25 pts I thought our defense played pretty well for the most part.  Gave up a couple long passes, and could have had a couple more as Hope just missed on some big passes down the field with our defenders beaten on the plays.  Opple runs pretty well for a big QB, he's a load.  I remember him from the game last year in Angola that he was going to be a nice player for Hope.

One of the things I thought we had the edge was the kicking and special teams play.  Yes we missed a chip shot field goal and Hope's kicker was accurate with his attempts, but our punting/kickoffs were better and our kickoff coverage was solid too.  Not sure why Hope always tried the pooch kickoffs, and he also kicked a couple out of bounds.  It gave us short fields to start drives whereas Hope rarely started a drive past the 20-25 yd line.

Smith Stadium...my first time there.  Parked on one of the side streets, wasn't too bad of a walk.  Without any college band it felt more like a high school type atmosphere.  With the size of Hope College I was surprised they didn't have a marching band, or at least a pep band playing in the stands.  Hope stands looked full across the way, except for the far north part of the stands.  The visiting stands had plenty of seating, almost too much.  I thought it was a decent crowd for the "coolish" weather.  If they had played the game at 1pm, then there would have been plenty of sunshine, at least to start the game.

Speaking of fans, I am not sure if any of you at the game noticed the ongoing "trash talk" between some Hope fans sitting on the wall in the SE end zone and some Trine players.  Not sure it they were Hope students or high school kids, couldn't tell.  I was disappointed in that, the Trine coaches should have done something to get the players back to the bench, maybe the coaches were unaware.  But the players gotta be smarter than that, just let it go.

[TUAngola]

Trine 52 Alma 24

Don't be deceived by the score, it was a ballgame for almost 3 quarters.  Check out this stat:  time of possession, Alma 46 minutes, Trine 14 minutes, and Alma did not win the game!!.  Folks, that is not a typo.  Has there ever been a bigger disparity in time of possession in a game before, no less be on the losing end with that big of an advantage?  I was very impressed by how Alma's offense could move the ball on our defense, which has been the strength of our team...well other than Lamar Carswell.  Alma is very methodical, they huddle every play, use the whole play clock, and execute their run game.  They were very good at converting 3rd downs too.  We just couldn't get their offense off the field.  It didn't make matters any better for our defense in that our offense didn't waste much time to score when we got the ball, so the defense didn't get to rest much.  In that first half our defense was gassed.  But give credit to some adjustments made at halftime as our defense played much better.  When Alma had to start trying to throw then we could be a little more aggressive in getting to the QB and came up with a couple sacks and a couple turnovers in the second half with getting more pressure on their offense.  But whoo boy they had us on the ropes for a while, and took the fans out of the game.

Speaking of fans, announced attendance 6175 for Homecoming.  Not sure but that might be an all time high?  There were a lot of people that's for sure, we were packed in on the home side, lots of overflow standing around the field, plus we used the visitors stands for additional Trine crowd too.  Alma did have a nice crowd as well.     

Lastly, Lamar had another terrific game, 19 carries for 293 and 5 TDs, his career high.  Once he gets by the Dline into open space he is virtually impossible to bring down because of his speed and change of direction skill.  We've been very fortunate to have a guy of his skill set here at Trine.  I'm sure the rest of the conference will be glad to see him graduate this year. 

[waxx]

Thanks for the updates TUAngola. I didn't watch it but Adrian on Homecoming, oof. Nice to see Kalamazoo get another win, even if it was Findlandia. They have a tough rest of their schedule, I will be genuinely curious if they can win these games against the top half of the MIAA.

[formerd3db]

Thanks for the updates TUAngola. I didn't watch it but Adrian on Homecoming, oof. Nice to see Kalamazoo get another win, even if it was Findlandia. They have a tough rest of their schedule, I will be genuinely curious if they can win these games against the top half of the MIAA.

Indeed, it had been a great start/first half of the season for Coach Zorbo and his Kazoo charges.As you mention, it will be a tough second half of the season and, the odds are that they will end up 5-5. Hiwever, I do not believe they can be totally counted it for that as you should recall that in the lady 3-4 years (not counting lady year) they have come up with some upset wins against Hope, Albion and even beat Alma one year. I think they mAy have a chance at beating at least one team, perhaps Alma, Adrian or even Albion. One more win and 6-4 season would be a fantastic achievement for Zorbo and his staff and players, given the challenges they have faced fir that program. I hope that happens

A tough situation is that they just can't seem to get more attendance to their home games- under 1,000 is a shame. I hope they can get past that at some point in the future. They did have over 4,000 for Homecoming a few years ago. If they start winning more consistently, that might happen (increased attendance). Kazoo has a great history for football, and they will never drop the program, but it would be nice to see them rise in the areas I've mentioned. If Olivet can do it, so can Kazoo. I wish them luck the rest of the way this season, except against us, if course!😀

[RuleBritannia]

Game notes from the last two weeks.

Albion 37, Alma 34, 2OT: Alma should have won this game. They converted a 3rd and 8 with less than 2 minutes to go up 4, with, unfortunately as it turned out, a big play that took them down inside the 10. But with a 1st and goal, Albion's D didn't have to worry about anything downfield and stiffened, holding the Scots for three down and using timeouts to preserve the clock. A successful field goal extended the lead to 3 with 1:45 left, just enough time for Albion to march down the field and score a tying touchdown. Overtime 1 featured an Albion 3 and out and a dying duck field goal that was good by less than 4 inches, followed by an Alma possession where they nearly scored twice, but settled for a FG of their own. Overtime featured an Alma 3 and out, followed by a field goal missed by hitting the left upright, and a made winning field goal on Albion's ensuing possession. Overall I was much impressed with the Scots, they are young and rapidly improving under their new coach. I think they will be a threat in the remainder of their games and will probably pull an upset somewhere along the way.

Albion 24, Hope 29: A beautiful homecoming Saturday where the rain held off just long enough to play some football. I should mention that while the city of Albion's reputation has suffered considerably of late, their is some real signs of revitalization going on downtown that were exciting to see. To any other MIAA posters who visit Albion this year, I recommend a cruise down Superior Street to see what's new.

The game itself was a hard fought contest between 2 teams in the upper echelon of the conference. I thought Hope was making a serious tactical error when they put their offense away in the 4th quarter, just trying to run the clock down, I fully expected a patented Albion game winning drive. The Dutch defenders were equal to the task however nabbing three interceptions on Albion's final 3 possessions. While the DBs got all the stats, I was most impressed by the way Hope's front 7 got pressure on Albion's QB Kyle Thomas in a way no other team has managed this year, but were then able to contain Thomas when he attempted to break the pocket, forcing the young QB into some tough spots in which he made some poor decisions. Hopefully for the purple and gold faithful this will be a great learning experience for the young Mr Thomas.

As far as the rest of the league is concerned, Trine is sitting pretty with no losses. I believe their game with Albion will determine whether they sweep the league or whether the title picture will be more muddled. That said Kalamazoo is still 2-0 and will have their say, and Olivet is looking like it might be a contender. I had Olivet and Adrian at about the same level coming into the year, a step behind Albion, Hope, and Trine, but the Comets took it to the Bulldogs, leading 43-6 at halftime. It will be interesting to see what Olivet does against the other top teams, they've got a great chance to make a statement this week.

The leaves are changing color, and the MIAA race is heating up; fall as God intended.

[waxx]

Kalamazoo with the upset in Albion, maybe they are legit. I think their success is great for the league, shake things up a bit.

[DBQ1965]

Trine vs Olivet proved to be a barn-burner with the Thunder prevalent 50 - 49.  But a somber moment came on a PAT when players unlpiled and an Olivet player lay motionless, face down on the turf.  I never saw an movement by the player and canot confirm his identity.   After a wait of about 30 minutes, during which the player was placed.on a Stryker board and ultimately placed in the ambulance for transport to a hospital.   When anyone has any update on the player's condition,  please post here. 

[TUAngola]

Trine vs Olivet proved to be a barn-burner with the Thunder prevalent 50 - 49.  But a somber moment came on a PAT when players unlpiled and an Olivet player lay motionless, face down on the turf.  I never saw an movement by the player and canot confirm his identity.   After a wait of about 30 minutes, during which the player was placed.on a Stryker board and ultimately placed in the ambulance for transport to a hospital.   When anyone has any update on the player's condition,  please post here.

I believe the injured Olivet player was a defensive lineman, I think I got the jersey number when the trainers/EMTs rolled him on his back, but I won't put a name on the board because I'm not 100% sure of who it was.  Did not see any movement from the young man when he was being attended too.  I hope he will be ok.  Just goes to show how dangerous this sport can be, and puts everything in perspective.  This is just a game.

Another nail biter for the Thunder.  Olivet was impressive, which I knew they would be coming in to the game.  Nice running game, and we didn't cover Jodway very well out of the slot receiver position.  I wish our defensive coaches would have made the adjustment to put either Winters or Hill on Jodway wherever he lined up.  But more often than not we had a safety or nickel guy on him, and it was a big mismatch in favor of Jodway.  He made some big plays that's for sure.  Olivet's coach went for the 2 pt conversion and the win at the end, and it was a gutsy call, but our D stuffed Porter on a QB keeper.  I would have played for the tie and OT myself, especially at home.  Their offense was cruising.  2nd game in a row the T.O.P. was a huge advantage in favor of our opponent.     

We could easily be 0-3 in the MIAA instead of 3-0.  Lots of parity in the league this year.   Any of 7 teams can beat the other on a given night.  Doesn't appear that Finlandia will muster a win however, but you never know.  Kalamazoo with a signature win against Albion, they appear to be for real.  Their defense has especially played very well.

2 individual Trine/Tri-State records broken in this game.  Lamar Carswell is now the all time leader in career rushing yards.  And Jeffery Barnett is now the record holder in career receiving yards.  Congratulations guys!

[formerd3db]

Wow, interesting day on the MIAA. Congratulations to Coach Zorbo and his Kazoo players foe securing a winning season. They just might have a chance at the title. All of the rest if us remaining to play them had better come with their "A" game effort.

Barnburner @ Olivet. I  would have gone fir the tie and OT ad well. Trine is good, but it is okay to have some luck as they have had! The title is theirs to win or lose. BTW, stopped at Trine's campus on the way down to a conference in Georgia today after Hope's game. Really nice campus, blend of old historic buildings and new, even more than the last time I was there with Hope.

Hope as expected against Finlandia today. Finalandia obviously has a long way to go fir improving the program However,   they will eventually get there. I give them credit as their players never gave up and have a positive attitude. I wish them the best. My friend scored their only touchdown today. I also congratulate Coach S and our team for a good game and nit getting up with any over confidence just because we were playing a less talented team. We still have an outside chance at the title.

Finally, some nice weather for football!!!

[waxx]

It's not a big surprise they didn't, but I was hoping to Kzoo get a vote for top 25. I know their schedule to this point hasn't been great, but I thought a win over Adrian and then Albion might raise a few voters eyebrows. They have a winnable game with Alma this week and then a gauntlet to finish; Olivet, Hope, Trine. I'm rooting for them but I think a final record better than 7-3 would be a big surprise.

[Pat Coleman]

It's not a big surprise they didn't, but I was hoping to Kzoo get a vote for top 25. I know their schedule to this point has been great, but I thought a win over Adrian and then Albion might raise a few voters eyebrows. They have a winnable game with Alma this week and then a gauntlet to finish; Olivet, Hope, Trine. I'm rooting for them but I think a final record better than 7-3 would be a big surprise.

Not only hasnt been great, but the third-worst SOS for an unbeaten team in D3.

[formerd3db]

Hope holds on to the victory against Olivet tonight. Great offensive play, running game of our QB and RBs and some key receiver catches helped, although defense was alternatingly "on/off"at times, yet cane up with key plays when needed. Good punting most of the time despite the winds helped as well. Olivet is a good team (QB, RB, some linemen), however, just seemed to not be a me to put it together at the times they needed it. I suspect that has been true for their other losses this season.

Homecoming game for Hope had very disappointing attendance, although I suppose much of that was due to the terrible Mr weather-wise rain, then very cold and extremly windy. It also doesn't help that there are many other events going on at the same time on campus by various groups, but that is the way it has to be.

Kalamazoo continues to amaze me. Wow, they are 7-0 and who would have predicted that at the beginning of this season? I will admit that a couple weeks ago when they reached 5-0, I believed they would likely be 5-6. However, while they probably will end up 7-3 with the tough remaining three games (Olivet, Hope and Trine), none of those teams should take them lightly. Only disappointment for Kazoo, IMO, is they still can't get more people out to their games-a other 750 attendance today and that is a shame.

Alma is up next for us and that is always a special game to me for obvious reasons.☺ A return to that campus will be a trip down memory lane.

Until then, have a great week everyone.

[Pat Coleman]

Regional rankings are out: 
http://www.d3football.com/playoffs/2018/first-regional-ranking