FB: Middle Atlantic Conference

[gordonmann]

Great start for Coach Clark at Lycoming. 

During the drive back from King's, we pulled off at the rest stop near Allentown on I-476.  There were parents from Lycoming (coming back from Chester), Lebanon Valley (coming back from Wilkes) and us from Del Val.  We should've waited to see if anyone from FDU-Florham (coming back from Albright) showed up.

[PA_wesleyfan]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

[G-manWU]

Well PBR, you win on this one In 5 seasons of me either working with or just following Wilkes football, this was quite possibly the worst performance the team put in. Anytime a team gives away five fumbles in one game- including one on what would have been a touchdown on the opening drive- the outcome is pretty much decided already.

I promised all of you guys a look at Leb Val, so here's what I came up with. The LVC defense is a solid group overall, with the linebacking corps being the strongest unit. The secondary isn't star-studded but dose cover very well- most of the Wilkes receptions came on jump-ball type catches. The offense is still the same base system as previous seasons, but relies far less on the pass than when Kelly was flicking it to Brossman and Vinju on the outside over the past few years. The key to the offense is Charlie Parker- he's durable and very shifty, and is a threat anytime he runs outside. Up front I was impressed with the Dutchmen O-line, they have good size and were blowing open holes all game long for Parker. While they played very well today, I'd be curious to see how they stack up agaisnt some of the veteran defensive fronts around the league.

As for Wilkes, truly a day to forget. I really never buy into homecoming as a reason for a team getting extra motivation- you should want to bust it every time on the field IMHO- but the current group of Colonels stunk up the complex in front of many former players, not just from recent years but also a huge number who had come for a special reunion of the teams from the late 60's that had strung together several unbeaten seasons in the pre-playoff years. The defensive line got pushed around all day and rarely did anything against either Fick or the run game, but the big story was the fumbles, including one each on a punt return and kick return. On offense, the passing game was solid but the running attack struggled again, with no clear-cut back to step up in the manner Parker dose for LVC. Sean Madden caught a bunch of passes out of the backfield, but that was about the only positive for the running backs in this week's action.

Looking ahead, if the Colonels don't hang onto the ball and get after somebody on the defensive front, they aren't gong to beat anyone anytime soon. The road ahead dosen't get any easier, and it may be very tough sledding from here on out in Wilkes-Barre. 

[old ends]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

[PA_wesleyfan]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

That's because (No One) in the E 8 will!!!!, The NJAC doesn't have any open dates and the USA south team all were soundly thrashed by them when they were in the ACFC    Wesley  only has 5 games against D 3 schools this year. Though they do have CNU again next year barring an another Hurricane

[rams1102]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

That's because (No One) in the E 8 will!!!!, The NJAC doesn't have any open dates and the USA south team all were soundly thrashed by them when they were in the ACFC    Wesley  only has 5 games against D 3 schools this year. Though they do have CNU again next year barring an another Hurricane

You guys belong in the MAC or NJAC. Pick a conference for Football and get-r-done. No excuses. !!!

[maAggie]

Aggies, Congrats on the King's win! You went out and did what you needed to do, and the game was never really in doubt from the opening kick-off.

GMan, I feel your pain, it's tough to watch your favorite team lose, and it stings even more when it's in the conference. It sounds as if WU still hasn't gotten up to speed with the new players, sometimes it takes a while to find that chemistry. It was hard for DVC when they lost all those seniors two years ago, and their head coach as well. I'm sure there were many who thought the winning ways at DVC were over, after all Coach Clements and his guys are a young bunch. But, given some time, they've re-established the Aggies program and they've done it with character guys, guys that are like the coaches themselves. The kids they have on the field may not always be the most talented on the field, but they certainly leave it all out there and there aren't any primadonnas. Every guy is a bluecollar guy that plays their heart out on every play and the results have been positive to this point. I do feel, there was a little let-down from the past two games, but when it mattered guys stepped up and got the job done against Kings. I think it's going to take a bit more intensity against LVC and hopefully, the home(coming)crowd can help, though I agree that each player should find that within themselves. After all, a college football player only has about 40 games over their career. Once it's over, the majority never get to play the game again. For that reason, a guy needs to play every play as if it's his last.

Let's get amped up this week Aggies! The defense needs to make a statement against Parker and the LebVal running game, and the offense needs to continue to put the points on the board.

[PA_wesleyfan]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

rams1102

  Wesley can't go into a roster restrictive conference i.e. NJAC. I don't know if the MAC has a roster limit or not. But there are some posters here who say that Wesley will never get asked to the MAC.




That's because (No One) in the E 8 will!!!!, The NJAC doesn't have any open dates and the USA south team all were soundly thrashed by them when they were in the ACFC    Wesley  only has 5 games against D 3 schools this year. Though they do have CNU again next year barring an another Hurricane

You guys belong in the MAC or NJAC. Pick a conference for Football and get-r-done. No excuses. !!!

[rams1102]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

rams1102

  Wesley can't go into a roster restrictive conference i.e. NJAC. I don't know if the MAC has a roster limit or not. But there are some posters here who say that Wesley will never get asked to the MAC.
That's because (No One) in the E 8 will!!!!, The NJAC doesn't have any open dates and the USA south team all were soundly thrashed by them when they were in the ACFC    Wesley  only has 5 games against D 3 schools this year. Though they do have CNU again next year barring an another Hurricane

You guys belong in the MAC or NJAC. Pick a conference for Football and get-r-done. No excuses. !!!

Wesley must make it's choice, roster limit or not. Whatever the choice, don't complain about who will play you. You know Montclair will.

[PBR...]

another nice win by dvc excellent job. 1 week at a time no looking ahead as he MAC is too tough this year. Lebanon Valley is a solid team and should not be taken lightly. PBR was pretty close on his picks only missed the lyco/widener game by a little, thought widener would be able to eek out a win at home. imho lyco's success is 2 fold...new coach doing very well w/ new systems and teams overlooking lyco based on their last several years. great to see lyco doing well again (unless its against dvc)

[PBR...]

there is a game out there this week that peaks pbr's interest in a big way this week. lots of talk about dvc and their big wins over top10 teams, the resurgence of lyco and is leb val for real and of course widener always being strong. BUT not a whole lot has been spoken about albright? Here they are sitting at 3-1 w/ their only loss coming to salisbury by 2 points. Albright travels to lyco this week and imho this game is going to speak volumes about both teams. is lyco for real? is albright ready to make the next step up and challenge for the mac title? lots of chatter out there about mac teams yet albright has been flying below the radar. well this week they can no longer hide and we find out who the real mac contender is in williamsport...should be a great game to see

[dog]

I think this is going to be a solid year for Albright, there isn't any reason they arent battling for the MAC in November this year.  I'm not so sure they should be flying under the radar.  They only lost a handful of people from a team that was a few mishaps away from winning the mac last year.  The offense seems to be off to a slow start especially for an Albright team, but that is expected with losing the WR they lost to gradutaion.  I can see them picking up as the season goes on, and making a serious run at the MAC this year.

Not sure how anyone feels about this, but this is something I definitely noticed last year at a few MAC games.  It seems to me like the overall talent has had a bit of a drop off.  I am beginning to think that with the major advancements made in recruiting over the last 5 years, D3 schools are starting to miss out on a lot of those guys that fell through the cracks in the years past.  Guys like Carmon (spelling?)  and Marshall from DVC, Cushman from Albright, Trichillo from Wilkes as examples, They all had d2 stud potential, and d1 roster spot potential yet made their career in the MAC.  Does anyone think we will see a drop off in overall talent as a lot of guys similar to this will get more looks at recruiting combines and camps? 

[theoriginalupstate]

the wesley radio crew mentioned a possible home and home with lycoming  starting next year

Wesley should just join the MAC. They are playing them more MAC then thier own conference.

That's because (No One) in the E 8 will!!!!, The NJAC doesn't have any open dates and the USA south team all were soundly thrashed by them when they were in the ACFC    Wesley  only has 5 games against D 3 schools this year. Though they do have CNU again next year barring an another Hurricane

Give me a break, stop crying because your not in a real conference.  Its the E8's fault that you cant fill out your own schedule?  Join a real conference and stop crying...

[gordonmann]

Dog:

I don't know enough to speculate on which MAC players could play at Division II or lower level Division I programs, but there are a handful who started there and transferred to Division III after a year (e.g. Chryst at Albright, a couple kids from Widener, new tight end at FDU-Florham) or chose a Division III program over a Division II or Division I-AA program (Reuter at Del Val).

The players you mentioned were all very good but there's still a lot of talent in this league.  For example, Cushman and Port are gone, but Kelly and Romig are very good.  Some of the change is cyclical across teams that graduate great players and need some time to develop the next Brett Trichilo or Kyle Follweiler.  Some of it is cyclical across programs as Team X gets a higher level of talent than it used to and Team Y gets less.

[PBR...]

also it probably is impossible to put a math to the question but the day of the internet(thx al gore) and email, etc. its much easier than it used to be for players to put together highlight film of themselves and get it in front of div I-A, AA coaches. my thery being that maybe some of the kids who used to fall thru the cracks due to lack of exposure now have a huge recruiting tool at hand to get film of themselves in front of the coaches at all levels. just a thought....