FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[RowanPhan]

Widener's defense is a bit over-rated! Poor tackling, Wr's got behind the secondary consistently. RB's ripped off several big runs. Rowan ran the same 5 or 6 plays all night Widener struggled stopping them.

Offensively #2 was impressive

In a recap article, Widener's coach sounded a bit salty. 

"We beat them offensively and we beat them defensively and our special teams completely folded up," Kelly said. "I can't explain until I see the tape what the heck happened on those kickoff returns. If you take the kickoff returns away, we're celebrating a half-hour ago."

Widener was without All-America defensive tackle Vince Char.

"That hurt us because their running backs are very patient," Kelly said. "They wait and wait and find that crease and hit it. With Vince in there they don't have that time to wait."


https://www.delcotimes.com/sports/rowan-tops-widener-in-double-overtime/article_e50235c6-aca8-11e8-84f1-5f27fb8b10ef.html

[wesleydad]

Widener's defense is a bit over-rated! Poor tackling, Wr's got behind the secondary consistently. RB's ripped off several big runs. Rowan ran the same 5 or 6 plays all night Widener struggled stopping them.

Offensively #2 was impressive

In a recap article, Widener's coach sounded a bit salty. 

"We beat them offensively and we beat them defensively and our special teams completely folded up," Kelly said. "I can't explain until I see the tape what the heck happened on those kickoff returns. If you take the kickoff returns away, we're celebrating a half-hour ago."

Widener was without All-America defensive tackle Vince Char.

"That hurt us because their running backs are very patient," Kelly said. "They wait and wait and find that crease and hit it. With Vince in there they don't have that time to wait."


https://www.delcotimes.com/sports/rowan-tops-widener-in-double-overtime/article_e50235c6-aca8-11e8-84f1-5f27fb8b10ef.html

Rowan Phan, he is correct on all points, except in the end they lost.  And as the coach he should accept that and take the blame since it is his job to get the team ready to play and the special teams were atrocious.  Hard to argue his points if they hit the field goal at the end of the game they win.

[LineCat]

Widener's defense is a bit over-rated! Poor tackling, Wr's got behind the secondary consistently. RB's ripped off several big runs. Rowan ran the same 5 or 6 plays all night Widener struggled stopping them.

Offensively #2 was impressive

In a recap article, Widener's coach sounded a bit salty. 

"We beat them offensively and we beat them defensively and our special teams completely folded up," Kelly said. "I can't explain until I see the tape what the heck happened on those kickoff returns. If you take the kickoff returns away, we're celebrating a half-hour ago."

Widener was without All-America defensive tackle Vince Char.

"That hurt us because their running backs are very patient," Kelly said. "They wait and wait and find that crease and hit it. With Vince in there they don't have that time to wait."


https://www.delcotimes.com/sports/rowan-tops-widener-in-double-overtime/article_e50235c6-aca8-11e8-84f1-5f27fb8b10ef.html

Rowan Phan, he is correct on all points, except in the end they lost.  And as the coach he should accept that and take the blame since it is his job to get the team ready to play and the special teams were atrocious.  Hard to argue his points if they hit the field goal at the end of the game they win.

It pains me to say this but I can't agree with Coach Kelly on this game. Wesleydad you are right in that he is not only the HC but the OC and Special Teams Coach too and it is his job to put the right people in the right positions and own it. Total offense was 449 to 416 yards– thats pretty even, and mistakes were costly for both teams. Yes Wideners kickoff team allowed 2 runbacks for TDs and a blocked punt led to another Rowan TD for 21 pts for Rowan. But Rowan was flat the first half and committed way too many penalties. That allowed Widener to keep their drives going capitalizing on 2 personal fouls and a fumble in the first half for 3 TDs, 21 pts, for Widener too. Widener's run offense seemed better and more promising than last season but the Widener passing game was overall very spotty with just 43% completions. Not good. Widener was forcing the passing game and was unable to score any points in the air twice coming away with 0 pts going in. Not good play calling. Widener's defense played ok against a strong Rowan run, except the one long busted TD, but Rowan also had a non existent pass game the first half so its hard to judge the "overall" Widener D yet. Rowans QB was better the second half which is where Widener was outscored 10 - 3. I still say it will be a great season for Widener but there are some fixes and improvements on the field and from the sideline needed to make the run all the way. 

[wesleydad]

Overall bad weekend for the MAC when your only 2 wins come from first year Alvernia and FDU-Florham.  Putting my fan poll together and I am having a hard time justifying any MAC in it.  Now I know that someone in the MAC is top 10 worthy as the year progresses, but just cant see it now.

[bman]

Overall bad weekend for the MAC when your only 2 wins come from first year Alvernia and FDU-Florham.  Putting my fan poll together and I am having a hard time justifying any MAC in it.  Now I know that someone in the MAC is top 10 worthy as the year progresses, but just cant see it now.

Couldn't agree more....I will not have a MAC team in my vote this week

[wesleydad]

If you want to vote on the East Region Fan Poll message me with your votes.  I will do the collection and post it, hopefully by Tuesday.

[umhb2001]

Any Albright posters in here?

[@d3jason]

I saw them scrimmage Wesley in the preseason, they were a little banged up injury-wise. Looks like they were in the game for a half against a Salisbury team that has a veteran defense and oline but is breaking in new people at every skill position.

[umhb2001]

Thanks, D3Jason. I appreciate it. Yeah, I saw the first quarter of the game against Salisbury. Looks like they were doing well for the first few series.

BTW, can you give us a sense as to the emotion and general tone of Saturday's Wesley game? I'm sure emotions were high.

[@d3jason]

It was a crazy and long day. There was a t-storm cell that parked over Dover and dropped torrential rains from 4 to 5:30. There was flash flooding on most of the streets and the field had 6-8 inches on the home side of the field that took a while to drain. The field actually bubbled up at the 50-yard line. Kickoff was pushed back until 7:45.

We went on air at 6:30. I spent 45 minutes pulling former players out of the stands to talk to about Coach on air. That was cathartic. It always amazes me how one person can impact so many. As a teacher, It inspires me.

Started our normal pregame at 7:15. The scheduled ceremony was pushed back a couple of weeks until the next home game.

I think it hit me most during the moment of silence and national anthem. I got choked up as did many I watched in the crowd.

There was a lightning delay after the first series, so we filled for another 40 minutes. After that it was a football game. Both teams made their share of first game mistakes. I think Del Val should be just fine despite the number of losses from last season. They have Darden back at QB and he is among the best in the east imo. They have nice mix of backs to replace Ellis. Nelson at wide out and 6'5 TE Allen are good targets. The defense causes confusion with a 3-4 that stunts a lot. They had a chance to take the lead early in the 3rd but fumbled it away. Then they lost track of Kemp and Peele and paid the price on a couple long TD passes.

The game ended around 11:15, did the post game. Gave Coach's parents a hug and a couple of beers in the parking lot with former players and coaches. Swapped a lot of great stories about Coach, including the time he offered Coach Fred (he did a great Coach Fred impersonation) his resume on the opening night of the Cruthedral 

Got home around 2 am. All in all it ended up being a pretty good day. He would have loved it.

[umhb2001]

It was a crazy and long day. There was a t-storm cell that parked over Dover and dropped torrential rains from 4 to 5:30. There was flash flooding on most of the streets and the field had 6-8 inches on the home side of the field that took a while to drain. The field actually bubbled up at the 50-yard line. Kickoff was pushed back until 7:45.

We went on air at 6:30. I spent 45 minutes pulling former players out of the stands to talk to about Coach on air. That was cathartic. It always amazes me how one person can impact so many. As a teacher, It inspires me.

Started our normal pregame at 7:15. The scheduled ceremony was pushed back a couple of weeks until the next home game.

I think it hit me most during the moment of silence and national anthem. I got choked up as did many I watched in the crowd.

There was a lightning delay after the first series, so we filled for another 40 minutes. After that it was a football game. Both teams made their share of first game mistakes. I think Del Val should be just fine despite the number of losses from last season. They have Darden back at QB and he is among the best in the east imo. They have nice mix of backs to replace Ellis. Nelson at wide out and 6'5 TE Allen are good targets. The defense causes confusion with a 3-4 that stunts a lot. They had a chance to take the lead early in the 3rd but fumbled it away. Then they lost track of Kemp and Peele and paid the price on a couple long TD passes.

The game ended around 11:15, did the post game. Gave Coach's parents a hug and a couple of beers in the parking lot with former players and coaches. Swapped a lot of great stories about Coach, including the time he offered Coach Fred (he did a great Coach Fred impersonation) his resume on the opening night of the Cruthedral 

Got home around 2 am. All in all it ended up being a pretty good day. He would have loved it.

Great to hear. I'm sure it was great to just get that first game under the belt of the new regime. Obviously, I didn't know Coach D like all of you did, but having the opportunities to watch him from the stands here in Belton and once in Dover, I could see his passion for his players, the school, and the game.

Prayers and blessings to you all as you keep his legacy alive and move forward with the season.

[tweisman5]

Below are my week 2 predictions and rankings. The spread (-#) is provided by Massey Ratings and the top 25 rankings are from the Hansen Ratings composite. Good luck to everyone this week!

Week 2 Predictions

Lycoming @ Widener (-7.5): Widener wins by 3

Stevenson @ Bridgewater (-2.5): Stevenson wins by 3

#25 Del Val (-23.5) @ Mass-Dartmouth: Del Val wins by 21

Wilkes @ Leb Val (-18.5): Leb Val wins by 14

FDU (-2.5) @ William Paterson: FDU wins by 7

#2 UMHB (-35.5) @ Albright: UMHB wins by 31

Week 2 Rankings
1. Del Val (0-1, 0-0)
2. Stevenson (0-1, 0-0)
3. Widener (0-1, 0-0)
4. Albright (0-1, 0-0)
5. Lycoming (0-1, 0-0)
6. Leb Val (0-1, 0-0)
7. FDU (1-0, 0-0)
8. King's (0-1, 0-0)
9. Wilkes (0-1, 0-0)
10. Alvernia (1-0, 0-0)
11. Misericordia (0-1, 0-0)

Prediction Record
Last Week: 8-3 (.727)
Career: 51-21 (.708)

[LineCat]

Below are my week 2 predictions and rankings. The spread (-#) is provided by Massey Ratings and the top 25 rankings are from the Hansen Ratings composite. Good luck to everyone this week!

Week 2 Predictions

Lycoming @ Widener (-7.5): Widener wins by 3

Stevenson @ Bridgewater (-2.5): Stevenson wins by 3

#25 Del Val (-23.5) @ Mass-Dartmouth: Del Val wins by 21

Wilkes @ Leb Val (-18.5): Leb Val wins by 14

FDU (-2.5) @ William Paterson: FDU wins by 7

#2 UMHB (-35.5) @ Albright: UMHB wins by 31

Week 2 Rankings
1. Del Val (0-1, 0-0)
2. Stevenson (0-1, 0-0)
3. Widener (0-1, 0-0)
4. Albright (0-1, 0-0)
5. Lycoming (0-1, 0-0)
6. Leb Val (0-1, 0-0)
7. FDU (1-0, 0-0)
8. King's (0-1, 0-0)
9. Wilkes (0-1, 0-0)
10. Alvernia (1-0, 0-0)
11. Misericordia (0-1, 0-0)

Prediction Record
Last Week: 8-3 (.727)
Career: 51-21 (.708)

Widener will have it all together:

Widener 27 - Lycoming 13

[bman]

Week 2 Predictions

Lycoming @ Widener (-7.5): Widener 31 Lyco 17   - Lyco not there yet
Stevenson @ Bridgewater (-2.5): Stevenson wins by 3

#25 Del Val (-23.5) @ Mass-Dartmouth: Del Val 42 Mass Dartmouth 20   Mass Dartmouth will struggle with Darden...

Wilkes @ Leb Val (-18.5):  Leb Val 35 Wilkes 31   Wilkes will be competitive

FDU (-2.5) @ William Paterson: FDU 42  William Patterson 14  just a hunch

#2 UMHB (-35.5) @ Albright: UMHB 72   Albright 21   Way Way Way too much for Albright this year



Bman's Week 2 Rankings   - AKA this whole conference is wide open

1. Del Val (0-1, 0-0)
2. Widener (0-1, 0-0)           Just think their loss was less worse than Stevenson's
3. Stevenson (0-1, 0-0)
4. Albright (0-1, 0-0)           Not sure why I have Albright here...probably just a default position for now 
5. Leb Val (0-1, 0-0)
6. FDU (1-0, 0-0)                They looked good week 1.  Let's see if its a result of an easy first 2 weeks
7. Lycoming (0-1, 0-0)
8. King's (0-1, 0-0)
9. Wilkes (0-1, 0-0)
10. Alvernia (1-0, 0-0)
11. Misericordia (0-1, 0-0)

[gordonmann]

It was likely UMHB. They were looking for games in this region.