FB: American Rivers Conference

[Ash Park]

Usually no I have something else better to do but I saw how close I was to that 300th post and I had to get to it

Congrtats on 300 post.

Thanks!

[Thunderbolt]

 I'm having trouble coming up with the right word for the Dutch. Congratulations doesn't sound right, and condolences doesn't seem right, I don't think your 28 game regular season streak gets the appreciation it deserves. It will be a long time before we see one like that again. The longest regular season streak, in the IIAC, is now one. Meaning if one of the five teams, which are now on a one game streak, win out this year, go undefeated in 2009 and 2010, they would be in a position to surpass it early in 2011. Don't hold your breath.

[Thunderbolt]

 Congrats to the Knights for snapping the streak on the road. Also to Coe, BV and the Norse on their victories. It was a beautiful day to watch, but probably a little on the warm side for the players.


OldNorse, it was a pleasure to meet you and your son today. And what better circumstances?

[davedevine]

SK,
I ended up staying glued to my computer until the end.
My wife couldn't drag me away an hour after we were supposed to leave.   It's pretty sweet being able to watch these on-line now. The only problem is that my computer would freeze up too often.  especially after they would come to line of scrimmage and then by the time it was running, the play was over.  I guess my computer isn't quite fast enough to handle it w/out interruptions. talk about driving you nuts though.   I didn't even see Herzberg make the field goal.     

Speaking of which, I really tip my hat to the kid for making that at the end with the game on the line. ( for the record, I'm not real fond of kickers.) 
With missing the extra point I'm not sure if that was in his head or not.  I compare making an extra point to making a 2 foot putt.  you make it 95% of the time, but after you miss one it's in the back of your mind the next time you are standing over one. 

I know he struggled a bit last week @ Augsburg so hopefully with making the game winner on the road this will give him a ton of confidence and have a great season.  It definitely sounds like the Knights will need him to be clutch here on out. 

[DutchFan2004]

Excellent contest in Pella today.  Neither team had enough running game to be considered a lock to run the table, especially after some topsy turvy IIAC games (to me, 1-3 in the pick'ems).   16 of 40 passing won't get much done against anyone,but after the poor start it seemed Bandow got it together.  It would be awesome if the Dutch could get Lackey on offense every play, but with the loss of Baethke at corner, defensive depth took a major hit.  

Congrats to Luther and BV on the wins.  

I think that Bandow did a good job for his first IIAC start.  Lackey runs the ball hard but did not see him throw the ball all that much.  This game has similar makings to the Coe game of 2005.  First IIAC game for a conference MVP a three point loss and not the best showing and then from there came 28 wins in a row.  Still can turn it around and have a great season. 

[Klompen]

Congrats to the Knights!   That Augsburg loss has to hurt though.   What is it with Willis?  

I think Willis was out coached yesterday.  I'm not taking anything away from Wartburg's win.  They did what they had to do and came away with a victory at Central, not something that happens very often.  But on the coaching, I give it to Coach Mac, I know I have red glasses, but here's why.

Willis had 15 returning starters from a team that only had one conference loss, that being by a last second field goal by the team that went 3 games into the playoffs.  Central had 6 returning starters, one of whom has a blown out knee.  The QB spot was up for grabs and it looked like Snead might have been on the way to winning it when he was injured.  Central was only playing their second game of the season and the first game was two weeks ago against a team that is not going to have a successful season. 

The first half, Central had some scoring opportunities that we could not convert on.  Not unusual for so many new players in their second game of the season.  The third quarter we went down 16-3.  Willis, with his more experienced team, playing their third game of the season, should have been able to put us away at that point.  But Central showed that they have the same spirit as last year, never give up, never stop believing.  The coaching adjustments were put in place and we came back to take the lead.  We gave WB a gift when we intercepted a pass on 4th down instead of just knocking it down, since we would have gotten the ball further upfield.  WB's FG barely wobbled over the posts, had that been another 10-15 yards out, Central wins.  Even when WB went ahead with 41 seconds left, Central made a valient effort, assisted by WB finally getting called for the interference penalties.

In my eyes, Coach Mac was again the better coach.  Coach Willis just had the more experienced players and they managed to get it done.  Barely.

[Airborne Dutch]

Wow, this board is so much more civil than the Hawkeye Nation right now. Central loses a tough game with a young QB and the Dutch supporters here applaud the team for great effort and look forward to next week. Over on the Rivals.com and Scout.com websites you would think that the sky is falling. As a matter of fact, from my view in North Carolina, I think I can see the fires from the lynch mobs advancing on the Ferentz and O'Keefe houses now. Not saying that I blame them, however.....

[Thunderbolt]

 And somewhere around LaPorte City, a lawm mower spent the night outside, after much verbal abuse.

  It was a very competitive and exciting game, even with all the mistakes. The short answer is, you can't turn the ball over six times and win. It could have been 8 or 9 if it wasn't for "foot like hands" on the part of a couple Luther DBs.
  Dubuque needs to find a running game, if they are going to make a run at the top half of the standings. And it won't come from the QB position. Defensively they are pretty sound, but either a little light or a little soft on the D-line. Good experienced backs might have turned that game into a rout in the second half, as the Norse O-line seemed to be able to sustain their blocks for as long as they wanted. I'm not sure  if it is a reflection on Dubuque or St Olaf or on the Norse improvement in two weeks time, but the difference in how the D and special teams flew to the ball and the play of the O-line was night and day.

[Thunderbolt]

 The great part about the video streaming is, we will be able to share great plays and questionable calls with other posters. I know, I can't wait to see Dubuques second TD again. It appeared from my vantage point (60 yards and half the width of the field away) that the reciever left the ground about the one or two yard line, caught the ball and crossed the goal line in the air, but was hit and lost the ball before he hit the ground. I know its a TD if the ball breaks the goal line, if the player has posession, but does not his feet or a foot need to touch the ground for there to be posession?

[5 Words or Less]

The great part about the video streaming is, we will be able to share great plays and questionable calls with other posters. I know, I can't wait to see Dubuques second TD again. It appeared from my vantage point (60 yards and half the width of the field away) that the reciever left the ground about the one or two yard line, caught the ball and crossed the goal line in the air, but was hit and lost the ball before he hit the ground. I know its a TD if the ball breaks the goal line, if the player has posession, but does not his feet or a foot need to touch the ground for there to be posession?

Where are the videos archived?

[du-sz]

What a crazy weekend in the IIAC. Central's streak comes to an end, Luther takes out UD, and BV upends Simpson.  

Are all of our pre-season picks going to pot already?
Wartburg and Central both look a little susceptible...could another team crack the top two?
Will Cornell really win a game like we all thought they would this season?
Or will it be another week or two before we can make any real assumptions?

[LCNorse]

The great part about the video streaming is, we will be able to share great plays and questionable calls with other posters. I know, I can't wait to see Dubuques second TD again. It appeared from my vantage point (60 yards and half the width of the field away) that the reciever left the ground about the one or two yard line, caught the ball and crossed the goal line in the air, but was hit and lost the ball before he hit the ground. I know its a TD if the ball breaks the goal line, if the player has posession, but does not his feet or a foot need to touch the ground for there to be posession?

That will be interesting to see...from where I was at he never had possession of the ball and was bobbling it the whole way. I would say from both sides of the ball that the refs had an off day. I'm just glad to see the norse get a W...kinda scared about the injury to bass...we will have to wait and see what the injury is. RB depth is something the Norse do not have...UD is not the team they were in the last few years. Don't have the players at the skilled positions they have had in the past(WR,RB,CB,S)

[Old Dutch]

Excellent contest in Pella today.  Neither team had enough running game to be considered a lock to run the table, especially after some topsy turvy IIAC games (to me, 1-3 in the pick'ems).   16 of 40 passing won't get much done against anyone,but after the poor start it seemed Bandow got it together.  It would be awesome if the Dutch could get Lackey on offense every play, but with the loss of Baethke at corner, defensive depth took a major hit.  

Congrats to Luther and BV on the wins.  

I think that Bandow did a good job for his first IIAC start.  Lackey runs the ball hard but did not see him throw the ball all that much.  This game has similar makings to the Coe game of 2005.  First IIAC game for a conference MVP a three point loss and not the best showing and then from there came 28 wins in a row.  Still can turn it around and have a great season. 

I would agree 2k4, if I include kickers and the nickel back, I counted 11 Sophs playing key roles and others getting good experience.  Not sure what happened to the JR class, but it seems were mostly SRs and Sophs.  As far as seeing Lackey on O, I'm wondering what he'd look like in the RB spot,showed signs of excellent instincts there yesterday.   I also enjoyed watching Brondyke catch balls, he's too good an athlete to "just" be kicking.

[Old Dutch]

In my eyes, Coach Mac was again the better coach.  Coach Willis just had the more experienced players and they managed to get it done.  Barely.

Lets wait till the end of the year for this discussion.  The off season work by McMartin and his staff definitely shows me an edge, excellent re-loading after huge graduation losses, but there's lots of season to go.  With any luck and some further confusion from other West teams I'm wishing for a rematch in round two of the playoffs! 

[davedevine]

I think Willis was out coached yesterday.  I'm not taking anything away from Wartburg's win.  They did what they had to do and came away with a victory at Central, not something that happens very often.  But on the coaching, I give it to Coach Mac, I know I have red glasses, but here's why.
We gave WB a gift when we intercepted a pass on 4th down instead of just knocking it down, since we would have gotten the ball further upfield.  WB's FG barely wobbled over the posts, had that been another 10-15 yards out, Central wins.  Even when WB went ahead with 41 seconds left, Central made a valient effort, assisted by WB finally getting called for the interference penalties.
In my eyes, Coach Mac was again the better coach.  Coach Willis just had the more experienced players and they managed to get it done.  Barely.

Old man Klomp,
For being a superior coached team,  why did the kid intercept  the ball rather than purposely knock  it to the ground on 4th down if the field position was that much better? 
     
Also, it sounds like your bitching about the officials not calling PI on WB.   What plays are you specifically referring to? My guess is that you don't appreciate agressive/physical play by a secondary. (which WB typically is) 
Any offense gets more than enough calls on PI during a game/season.  Frankly, people compain about that call way too much.  If it's a close call (which happens often) I don't see why it should favor the offense.