FB: American Rivers Conference

[sc_stormchaser]

The high school lines aren't that big of a deal. The only thing different are the hash marks and most fields just use regular field paint for those. Well, you do need the adjustable goal posts. God forbid you let high school teams play on your new field. There won't be anymore wear and tear...those fields are built to take on multiple games in a week. I can certainly see why a college with a grass field wouldn't want high schools playing on it, but field turf? Why not? I think schools would be crazy not to. Let's see, you get at least 5-6 thousand people on your campus, many of which are high school students and families. Is there a downside?

[dutchfan1]

Pretty cool DF1.  I was unaware that your beloved alma mater was getting turf.  What type is it gonna be? Did they announce the costs? Is a donor paying for it or how is Central funding this?  OAS and I would like to make the trip to see the new field sometime.  Maybe the Johnnies will meet the Dutch in the playoffs for the West Region title.  I hope speed beats power as surely this new turf would favor the Js.

TT -- how's the man in pink doing? Are you still in FL? Yeah, Central made the decision a few years ago to install Field Turf. Central is funding the project, although I know there have been several substantial alumni donations. I believe this is one of many projects that Coach Schipper was involved in before he died this spring.

No soccer lines on our football field -- Central has separate soccer facilities. I agree with Stormchaser in the idea of letting HS teams play on the field for obvious recruiting benefits. Anyone familiar with Pella knows that their high schools have top notch facilities as well. I doubt they will ever request the use of Central's field.

[Walston Hoover]

Wartburg has HS games several Fridays during the Fall and sometimes on Thursdays-No HS lines or adjustable goalposts.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Walston,

I enjoyed your view of the upcoming season a few pages back.  Coe and Wartburg deserve to be pegged as contenders based on recent successes, let alone how they have been able to recruit.  Central also deserves to be there based on last season and the overall youth of the football team last season.

There are a few random questions that I have going into this season:

Who will play QB for Wartburg, and how much will the Knights be one-dimensional against good opponents?  I have not seen any of the Knights JV games the past two years, but someone I know questioned the progress of the Knights passing game and the young QBs in those games.  I liked the "potential" of the kid from Denver when he was in high school, but that was a couple of years ago.

How much will Wartburg miss the six defensive starters they lost from last season (Junge, Pollock, etc.)?  I assume the defense will still be good since new guys will get plugged in, but will it be good enough make up for youth at the QB position?

Outside of Central, does the rest of the league really think that they should be rated at the same level as Coe going into the season?  The Kohawks seem to be experienced and ready for this season, at least as it looks on paper.  Central, Luther, and Wartburg all played very tight games with Coe last season, but outside of those three why should the other teams have optimism about being able to match up with the team from Cedar Rapids?

What will we see from the Luther Defense this fall?  The Norse usually were pretty tough on the DL and at LB even when they stunk in the late 90s, but last season that might have been the overall weakness of the football team when everyone was healthy as the DL was mediocre.  They return a lot of underclassmen in the trenches, but how salty are they going to be this fall?  Webb, Hendrickson, and Jaeger looked like the type of kids last fall that could really progress this year, but coaches have to worry a bit about going into a season having hope based on potential.

Will the Norse OL play like a bunch of seniors that have playing for 3-4 years?  Besides Sherden getting hurt at midseason when he was putting up all-American numbers and then Lamos getting hurt a couple weeks later, the other main disappointment for Luther's offense had to be the play of the OL.  It is not as if the OL was poor or below average, but it did not play up to the expectations that one would have for several returning starters.  They get another chance this year as the group returns once again.  It is not as if the OL has to carry everything as the Norse Offense returns Pearson and the other top receivers, one of the two main QBs, and Sherden and Lamos at RB.

How much will Simpson miss Kain and Ripke?  The Storm have been better than the 5-5 record that they have recorded each of the past two years, but on the other hand the offense was not that special last year even when they had a talent like Kain.  Can Simpson become more physical on that side of the ball since they lost both Kain and the QB?  The Simpson Defense played really well at times when I watched them, but how much will they miss Ripke since he seemed to be at the heart of how they played defense by applying pressure and penetrating up front?

What is a reasonable expectation for improvement from the Loras Offense given that they were pretty young last year?  How much will they miss a couple of all-conference performers on defense?

[Charlie Kohawk]

This just in! (Ok, he's been on the job a couple weeks, but it's summer.) Coe welcomes the appropriately named Ryan Workman as SID. Ryan inherits an athletics program that is earning respect within the IIAC (as Floyd's post shows), including a football team that has shared 3 of the last 4 championships. The nephew of a Coe football and wrestling Hall of Famer, Ryan has an extensive Coe pedegree.

[Walston Hoover]

Floyd-
Regarding next year for Wartburg-I believe Bauder or Kuennen will be the QB as the coaches were very high on them coming in. However don't rule out a newcomer to take over the reigns. It may not be right at the beginning of the season, but maybe by week 3 or 4 if neither one of those 2 is getting the job done. No doubt it will be a question mark, but the Knights are 20-2 in the last 7 years when using an unproven soph QB. I'm not sure what Wheelers' record was when he stepped in, but I'm sure he did OK.
What whoever is taking snaps will have going for them is finally a HEALTHY Dan Hammes who as long as he stays healthy is among the best if not the best in the conference. He would have been 2nd behind Schuring last year in the conf in ypg, and 4th in total rush yards, but only appeared in 7 games, including Loras and Luther where he played less than a half.
He'll also have an experienced recieving corps in returning starters Vinzant and Duchman and also Jay Breitbach is back after being out last year with a knee injury. Several others caught passes last year as well. The Knights should also be pretty good up front with 3 OL starters back and a few more that played meaningful minutes. TE also returns along with part-time FB Sodoma.
No doubt some unproven talent coming up on Defense. One name to remember for the next 3 years NICO BOTEMBE-This guy should anchor the defense, and at 6'3 230 was a good get for Wartburg. Only played a year or 2 of football before college so has a lot of raw talent. Krause returns as a starter, and Cass Long has played minutes. Personally I look for big things out of Eric Bruhn (6'3 225 of Fenton) as he has been a big contributer on special teams the last 2 years.
The linebacking corps is unproven. Its time for guys like Riley Lehman and Eggleston to step up and make a name for themselves on this years team. They've been able to be role players the last 2 years, but now its time to become playmakers. Kyle Goodchild was excellent as a freshman and looks very promising for 3 more years. The MLB spot should be occupied by Luke Stoffel (older brother Matt was a very good LB 3 years ago) at 6'3, 220. Luke is a much better athlete than my brother was, and hopefully that translates into being a better football player.
DB will be looking for a corner to replace Todd Achenbach. Weber returns as a junior and has started every game since he was a freshman. Noble returns as a starter as well. Guys like Gerardy and Kreman are undersized, but are pretty good football players and like to hit.
We also return both punter and kicker which at this point I'm not sure is a blessing or a curse. Hopefully they got all their jitters out last year and there's nothing but good things to come.
All-in-all I think the starting 22 will be just fine with the most question marks in the d-line. I think the real key will be establishing some depth. This year has the potential to be another special one at Wartburg, but I think 2007 and 2008 could be very nice years. But we'll worry about this one first.
I already addressed the coaching staff changes. I don't look for any drop-off there. Pat Toohey is back coaching after a year at Whitewater. That would be the only weakness in the coaching staff as he is an Irishman.
This turned into a lot longer post than I planned, but some times when I get started typing I just can't stop.

[DutchFan2004]

Walston,


I thought Greg Koenen left the football team last year.  Are you talking about his brother Tommy.  He will be a freshman this year.  Just wondering I hadn't heard that Greg was going back.  From what I understood he even left Wartburg the second semester last year.  I know he didn't play tennis last spring. 

[knightlife06]

First off, I just want to say that I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts on this message board over the past 4 years.  It's always interesting reading other people's insights on the conference race. 
  Now, the way I see it......
Contenders- Central, Coe, Wartburg
  I don't really see how any other of the teams can sneak into this position.  I was very impressed with Central last season and have no doubt they will be taking more steps forward.  Coe is always difficult to prepare for.  Defensively they are solid and offensively they throw so many things at you.  Wartburg had a great offseason and won't be slowed down by the changes at the top.

Pretenders-Luther, Simpson, Loras
With a healthy Sherden Luther will be tough to beat, but they don't have enough to help him.  Simpson needs to replace a couple studs on defense.  With Kain gone they will need to run the ball more like they attempted to do last year.  I was somewhat impressed with Loras last year.  However, I wasn't impressed with their head coach's hire.  Good athletes, very inconsistent.

Well....maybe next years-B.V., Dubuque, Cornell
  B.V. was on the bubble to be put into the pretenders category.  Dubuque is the best worst team in the league.  I'm not quite sure the wing T will work in this conference, at least not at Cornell.

[Walston Hoover]

I wasn't talking about his brother Tommy who will be a freshman this year at the BUrg. I was talking about Jake Kuennen, who will be a soph QB from Denver, 6'4 205 is a good size kid and a pretty good athlete. Pronounced Kennan as opposed to the Koenen (koonen) brothers. Rumor has it Greg will be back this year, but I can't back that up.

[DutchFan2004]

Thanks Walston,


I didn't know the kid from Denver's name.  I thought you mispelled it.  Sorry, but thanks for the clarification.  I have seen that many people are high on that QB from Denver.  Sounds like he might fit well into your offense. 

[coocooforcoekohawk]

soph QB from Denver, 6'4 205 is a good size kid and a pretty good athlete.

Due to my lack of knowledge of specifics regarding D3 football I must ask, isn't that exceptional size for a quaterback that is only 19/20 years old?  As a swimmer I put on twenty pounds of muscle between sophomore year and the end of my career.  Also, isn't 6'4" very tall for a d3 quarterback?  Sounds huge unless he is made out of pudding.

Wartburg may be great this year, but they may also have an off year.  In my book that is three or four losses for the Wart.  It seems, however,  that Wartburg will be dominant by next year if not this year and for years to come.

[warthog]

Well, I am pleased to see that most IIAC posters see Wartburg as a likely team to be right in the mix this coming season. 
As expected Central & Coe are both regularly mentioned as contenders. 
I have a gut feeling that Luther should be included as a possible top division squad. 

I certainly hope IIAC posters are correct in calling the Knights one of the preseason favorites.  I always want Wartburg to be high in the standings.  I'm not as close to the program as some of the other fans who regularly visit this site, but I have some concerns for the future of Wartburg Football.  In a weak attempt to sound like former Vice Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen; "I knew Coach Willis and sir you are no Coach Willis."   

Coach Willis is unmatched when it comes to team organization and detail planning.  Like it or not Wartburg fans; we have a football team heading into a season with an unproven quarterback, several holes to fill on defense, a temporary weight room, a temporary training room, a temporary locker room, a temporary team room, temporary coaching staff offices and the list goes on.  This is a time when a person like Coach Willis should be in control of these details.  There is no doubt his skills will be well used as Athletic Director during the major building project Wartburg is now involved with.  I just hope the athletic department's gain isn't the football team's loss.  Perhaps Coach Koehler possesses the same skills that made Coach Willis such a positive force for Wartburg's football program.  Hopefully, Coach K. takes the program to levels of success that we have become accustomed.  I just have to see it happen before I become a believer.

[warthog]

Walston Hoover:

I would like to have it noted that Warthog is exceedingly pleased that the Irishman is back coaching at Wartburg.  I knew he had a bright future with the Knights when I saw a Quad City Times picture of him and Zietlow celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in Rock Island.  He became a favorite with the tailgate crowd when that edition of the newspaper hit the streets.  A Mississippi Athletic Conference alum who enjoys green beer makes him OK with me.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Walston,

Thanks for the breakdown on the Knights a few posts above.

[sportsknight]

Walston,
How many times have I told you that making fun of the Irish is not one of your better qualities.  And you know that half of the kids you coach are Irish, so you can't tell me they aren't any good at anything (aside from drinking and fighting).