FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[formerwu]

FormerWu was at the game this past Friday sitting under an umbrella.  Here are my observations:

As bad as the weather was, both teams looked very good.  A good number of fumbles due to the wet ball.  If WU hadn't lost the ball so many times in the second half, the score would not have been close.  WU dominated on both sides of the ball in the second half.  First half was played evenly.

DVC's big play came on a 7 yard out that was misplayed by the corner.  He missed the tackle and the receiver took it up the sideline to set up the first FG.  The other big DVC play was made by Isgro who caught the D napping with a great pump fake.  There was no DB's within 20 yds of the receiver for the lone DVC TD.

WU had the more impressive O.  They had more sustained drives, and did more with the offense.  Nice play calling all day.  WU D was tough all day.

WU got lucky on a couple of their own fumbles that they were able to recover.

Hot dog wasn't that good, but the nachos were nice and hot.  Salsa would have been a nice add on.

[gordonmann]

I have a little different take, but thought the better team won.

If WU hadn't lost the ball so many times in the second half, the score would not have been close.

Widener had two turnovers in the second half, one on a pick and another on a fumble.  The second was a gift in that Decker just seemed to drop the ball, but the other wasn't.  Campbell made a bad decision and the defense took it away.

You could say if Del Val hadn't turned the ball over so many times (once), they would've won.  It was the fumble that set up the game winning drive.  But neither team looked like it was capable of blowing the other one out because the defenses were so good. 

WU had the more impressive O.  They had more sustained drives, and did more with the offense

Widener's offense was better balanced, particularly in running the ball.  Decker had a 100 yard game while Del Val did close to zero on the ground.

But neither offense was impressive.  Both teams were helped greatly by special teams play, turnovers or penalties on their scant scoring opportunities.

Widener's scores came on a field goal (7 plays - 14 yards), another field goal (10 plays - 28 yards) and a touchdown (2 plays - 14 yards).  Del Val's drives were 59 yards (mostly one big play) and 80 yards (penalty aided).  The teams had the same amount of first downs (12) and nearly the same amount of yards (Del Val had 16 more).

The real stars were the defenses for both teams, but particularly Widener.  The Pride line did an outstanding job stuffing the run and the linebackers, particularly Favinger, are very good.  On a night where rain negated most speed, Widener's defense was quick to the ball and quick to the quarterback.

[WUDLINE]

gordon -
I agree with your points. I think that both defenses would have kept either team from blowing the other out. I was impressed with the speed and physical play of the WU D because at times (Rowan) they have not played this way. I think that the D line played extremely well and has continued to improve with Woodley getting more dominate each week. Favinger is going to be really good, and Wilson and McDonald look like they did last year. I also thought that Woody and the D coaches had an excellent game plan.

I was suprised at the WU online play. They were not able to run the ball most of the season. Maybe the changes in personel have allowed this group to finally turn the corner.

[formerwu]

Gordon,

We both had the same perception of the game.  Either team had the ability to win the game, but WU came out on top.  I guess we both feel that WU was the better team that night.  If they play again, outcome could be different.  I agree with you that both defenses played well.

Looking forward to Saturday.  Wish I could be there.  Go WU.

[formerwu]

Gordon,

Offenses rarely look impressive when playing in the conditions like we saw Friday night.

[PBR...]

pbr is back in town and senses a little hostility on the board...quite nice for a change to see people posting...mac is still wide open imho after this weeks game it will be much much more clear who the front runner will be. its a shame such a meaningful game had to be played in those conditions but even pushing the game back to saturday probably wouldnt have helped as it rained hard most of the day until early afternoon. seems we have 3 evenly matched teams in the mac this year funny how the season plays out as everyone thought wilkes would be by far the front runner
this year

[gordonmann]

Formerwu:

Fair point.

[bman]

DVCback

Actually I am impressed you came back....and of course, the first time I call someone out for "Grammar", I flub it (albeit with distraction) and ruin my dig...
Please stay with the board , as we need all the diversity we can get here, as this is one of the slower boards...

Booby...FormerWU is the only "Made" man on here...at least in the Joe Peschi sense

Sadly I had to miss the game, as bad weather eliminates the possibility I can go (due to children issues)...

WUDLine, your comment on the speed thing intrigues me....I have seen 2 games this year, but missed the Wesley game...my impression from that game (and certainly what I saw at Rowan...Can you comment (either here or by personal message) as to why you feel differently...

Besides the fact that WU is in the running and controls it's own destiny, It is exciting (for the rest of us) at least to see this come down to other teams, not just the Wilkes vs DV showdown of the last few years...

[WUDLINE]

B man-
I was not as concerned with the speed element because of the way that WU played NC Weslyan the first week of the season. That week the D went toe to toe with one of the fastest D3 football teams that I had seen in years. I felt that the NC team was equal if not faster than Wesley. Also in the game against Rowan many of the WU defensive players either did not play or played sparingly because of injuries.Not that I am making any excuses because anyone that was at the game will tell you that WU was not ready to play and was clearly out matched that evening.  Since the Rowan game WU has seen the healthy return of  Woodley (92), McDonald (41) and Wilson (48) who have all returned from leg injuries suffered during or before the Wesley game. These players along with the increased play of Favinger at ILB along with other freshman, in rotating roles, has picked up the Ds speed and depth.

[WUGridiron]

New to the board. Lots of decent insight here. My observations of the WU football team is that they have a strong D, but inconsistent O. The later, I believe, is due to some suspect play calling (other than the NC Weslyan game and parts of the DVC game). The more glaring area seems to be the play calling within the redzone. Seems they move the ball between the 20s fairly well, but struggle inside the 20. 6 redzone possessions Friday and only 13 points. Seems to be a theme all year.

The run game is weak, averaging only 2.2 yards/carry. They have speed in he backfield (numbers 2 and 20), but don't use it. Not sure if the rain or lack of run success overall was the culprit, but they seemd to go to a pass offense the last 2 weeks and even a 2 FB backfield. They need to ramp up the run game and get some skill backs involved. You're not going to be successful against the better teams simply using a run game that involves 1 or 2 FBs most of the time.  You have skill backs that can run and catch the ball - use them. It will compliment the passing game.

[formerwu]

Sounds like sombody's son is getting playing time.

[formerwu]

Sounds like sombody's son is getting playing time.

Meant "isn't"

[WUGridiron]

Nice try former...my nephew actually starts on the D line. Just an observation from someone who has played and coached in college. Definitely takes the pressure off twh D when your team can score more consistently. Just offering up some more options to do suc. Dive right/dive left doesn't always get it done. Good try though. Give ya one for effort. 

[gordonmann]

WUGridiron picked up on something I, too, found unusual.  For a lot of the second half, they used a two full back set with Ian Decker and Jesse Jayne (great name).  But it worked more than okay with Decker gaining 100+ yards.

But I agree that unbalanced offenses generally don't fare well in the playoffs.  Just ask the Springfield team that Widener dismantled in 2000.

[bman]

WUGridiron

Welcome to the board...

WUDline

Thanks for the insight...