FB: Centennial Conference

[mandfense]

Gettysburg 20  Dickinson 17
Ursinus 24 Franklin & Marshall 17
Hampden-Sydney 31  Johns Hopkins 27
Muhlenberg 13  McDaniel 10

[CBE]

McDaniel's up 13-6 with about 10 mins to go in the game.

[mandfense]

Bittersweet day for Hopkins fans.  Despite the blowout in Virginia, congratulations on securing their first ever NCAA appearance in school history.

Hopefully they'll be able to right the ship in the next 2 weeks and represent the Centennial Conference well in the playoffs.

[Amish Allstar]

F&M 19 Ursinus 17:

Four second half field goals by freshmen Brandon Kline.  One of the most exciting games of the year.

[BearTracker]

Wow - Ursinus v. F&M was an real slugfest with lots of penalties and turnovers (unfortunately for Ursinus). It's too bad that Gallagher got hurt in the first half and did not play at all in the second half. The Bears defense gave a valiant effort but the offense just couldn't get the job done. Congrats to F&M for hanging tough and winning this one 19-17.

[Amish Allstar]

yes it was unfortunate that gallagher got hurt.  he the most talented QB in the conference.  But what a game by the F&M "D." Forced TO's and stood tough when it counted.  They are the reason why F&M won today. 

Hopkins needs to lose vs mcdaniel and F&M needs to win to share its consecutive conference championship. 

Interesting week.

[norton]

Mandfense...don't know if HSC was over-rated or not, but I sure wish they were in the CC...they averaged 57 points a game (and 43 points in the first halves) in their wins over Gettysburg, Dickinson and Hopkins...guess the ODAC is stronger this year.

[badbadman]

norton,

You might be right about the ODAC, although McDaniel did beat your champion - BC.  Conference games are typically closer since everyone generally knows what to expect.  Knowing what to expect is probably why the BC vs McDaniel games have been so close.  They have been playing each other for quite a while.

This year, HSC played an excellent game and JHU just didn't show up - they were terrible.  Last year it was the other way around, but HSC didn't have your son on the field.  He is an excellent player.  IF JHU can turn it around and win in the playoffs, they should thank HSC for the wakeup call.  Good luck with pool C.

[norton]

badbadman...you are right about it being better for the defense if they're more familiar with the offense...the ODAC teams have a better idea of how to defend HSC...last year JHU dominated HSC (partly because of JD's absence, partly because it was in Baltimore on that horrible turf but mostly because Hopkins played better and HSC couldn't stop them or score on them)... I do think that the CC is down this year (McDaniels healthy might have been a different story)...last years Hopkin's team would have dominated this year...not trying to gloat, but Mandefense and others were tough on HSC last year and questioning them after this years Gettyburg game, so I couldn't resist posting those numbers...Good luck in the playoffs...Coach Margraff is a class act and I'll be rooting for JHU.

[badbadman]

norton,

Thanks, we'll need all the support we can get.

[mandfense]

In all fairness, although I questioned H-SC after the Gettysburg game (as did many others), I had similar question marks about JHU.  You'll even notice below that I picked H-SC to win the game this past week.

It was a thorough butt whipping, and it appears a tale of two seasons where only one of the teams showed up last year and this year.

I'll eat my crow this year and move on.   

[d3fbalumn]

I am a "south region playoff watcher" and am curious to the cause of JHU's 2 game slide thus far. Have they lost guys due to injury or have they lost focus? With the AQ locked up can they rebound in the playoffs? Any input appreciated.

[mandfense]

I'd have to go with loss of focus, and it started at halftime of the Ursinus game.  Depending on the matchup, they may be able to make some noise in the playoffs.

Despite what H-SC did to them, the defense is still pretty good.

[TerrorFan]

Hopkins sitting their starters this weekend? Should they?

[badbadman]

Probably not unless they are injured since: 

1. They have never won an outright CC championship.
2. They need to improve their play before the NCAA's.
3. McDaniel is their rivalry game.