FB: American Rivers Conference

doolittledog · September 01, 2011, 10:54:38 PM

Well, with that out of the way I can enjoy my weekend by trying to take in as many IIAC games as I can over the internet. This should be fun.

Go IIAC, lets get some road wins this weekend!!!

Willie University · September 01, 2011, 10:54:46 PM

Congrats to the Spartans on the victory at Augustana!!! WOW, what an exciting game to watch!! Thanks Warthog for letting the royal blue and white blood flow for an evening and supporting the spartans at the game

My take on the game...... the offense will be dangerous and tough to defend. I was happy with the contributions of the entire offensive unit in this victory. But, I was really impressed with the defense. Auggie doesn't have a slouch (sp?) at QB and can score points and they did their job on numerous occasions. A great first test for the Spartan team and even better to go on the road and beat an Auggie team with all that excitement of the opening night game and new uniforms and new coach, I think that is equally impressive. I will give our kicker "opening game" jitters for the misses and forgive him by making that last punt as good as it could possibly be.

Thanks for making my night Spartans!! Let's keep it rolling..

Willie U

warthog · September 02, 2011, 01:27:06 AM

Early season prediction. This season the UD Spartans will beat some team from what is currently called the big three. I don't know if they will beat all three, but some team will take a whipping from the Spartans.

I was impressed they were more multidimentional on offence than I expected. Opponents won't be able to simply stop #1. Augie tried to triple team him a couple times and that opened up others across the field. The running game was a positive tonight.

The defense came up big with an interception in the end zone at the end of the first half. They also sealed the deal with two fumble recoveries in the second half as Augie was working on a comeback. They are a physical bunch. They come at you from all directions.

It is tough to kick an extra popint when the ball doesn't get more than 7 feet off the ground. I expect there will be some practice time devoted to the field goal/extra point situation. Perhaps someone from the soccer team would like to step forward. The punt game was more than OK. Kickoff coverage shouldn't be a problem.

All in all a good game for the Spartans against what is a tradition rich football program.

I was glad to get to spend a few moments with coaches Kyte and Olsen after the game. They seem enthusiastic concerning Spartan Football. Coach Z. has a couple former Knights here that are good additions to the UD football family. I was honored that Coach Olsen introduced me to Coach Z. after the game. Coach Z. seems like a personable fellow. He will do great things for UD.

Willie U, were you there? I would have tried to figure out who you were had I known. I was the guy who spoke to your AD on the sidelines at halftime. Talk about a guy who sees the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to Spartan Athletics, it is this guy. You can just tell he thinks the Spartans are on the cusp of something big.

Purple Heys · September 02, 2011, 01:30:00 AM

A good win for the DBQ...Augie is a team with big tradition and plays in a very good conference. I checked my pick 'ems cuz I thought I went with Augie

That first stop to open the game followed by an impressive TD drive was a good tone setter.

Congrats to the DBQ!

DBQ1965 · September 02, 2011, 07:55:33 AM

I was able to watch the tail-end of the 1st half and all of the 2nd half on the computer. Saw some flashes of good Spartan football ... thought Augustana made some good adjustments at the half ... was happy about UD's defense for the most part but wondered about their 2nd half offense. They obviously need to work on PATs.

I saw a lot of blue in the Visitor's stands ... and assume one of them was warthog All in all, a win on the road, especially in the opener, is a good thing to have.

GO SPARTANS!

Bird Dog · September 02, 2011, 07:58:49 AM

Those of you that missed the exciting University of Dubuque Vs. Augustana game please note it will rerun on Mediacom tonight at 7:00 p.m.

There were two other reruns but I didn't catch the time and date.

doolittledog · September 02, 2011, 08:00:01 AM

Warthog, great to hear you had a good time at the game. Also great to see the former Knights on the UD staff introduce you to Coach Z. Were they able to score you a hat???

Bird Dog, I never thought I would say I wished I had Mediacom...but I wish I had Mediacom

footballfan413 · September 02, 2011, 09:22:52 AM

A HUGE congrats to Coach Z and the UD Spartans on a terrific showing in their season opener. Reading the game summary, a few things caught my eye. Looks like he now has his balanced offense this season, rushing for 205 yards and passing for only 168 of their 373 total yards of total offense and they won without a TD from their star WR. Seems that the DEFENSE did their part so it looks like they are balanced on both sides of the ball as well. Gotta admit, reading all the names from Wiscy put a smile on my face!!

The building process appears to be right on track and I couldn't be happier for the Spartan program, players and their coaching staff! Best of luck this season!

badgerwarhawk · September 02, 2011, 09:36:26 AM

Great start for the Spartans. I tried to watch but I couldn't get the internet feed to load. It would have been a tad chaotic though with the PACKERS on one tv, the BADGERS on another and the Spartans on the internet.

AZDutchman · September 02, 2011, 09:47:02 AM

Quote from: warthog on September 02, 2011, 01:27:06 AM
Early season prediction. This season the UD Spartans will beat some team from what is currently called the big three. I don't know if they will beat all three, but some team will take a whipping from the Spartans.

I agree that UD will pull out some impressive wins this season.
I also think Luther is going to be a surprise to some.

hazzben · September 02, 2011, 10:52:46 AM

Congrats UD. Nice start to the season.

And a nice win for the IIAC over a solid CCIW program. This could prove significant come playoff time and Pool C discussion. Anything done in Non-con play to improve the standing of your conference, especially against a conference as highly regarded as the CCIW, is only going to help you get two teams in the dance.

wartknight · September 02, 2011, 11:24:11 AM

Reading the game notes for the Coe H-S game on Saturday I realized all these years I was wrong in what the IIAC stood for: "Leading the way is two-time Iowa Illinois Athletic Conference player of the year Brad Boyle."

Great start for the IIIAC with the UD win!! Keep it going Sat. Looking forward to a good one in Monmouth, naturally with the KNIGHTS getting the W.

Fannosaurus Rex · September 02, 2011, 11:24:52 AM

I believe this may be a new record for early mention of the play-offs. I had the over/under at Sunday after everyone had played a game.

warthog · September 02, 2011, 11:28:13 AM

Quote from: doolittledog on September 02, 2011, 08:00:01 AM
Warthog, great to hear you had a good time at the game. Also great to see the former Knights on the UD staff introduce you to Coach Z. Were they able to score you a hat???

Doolittle:

I didn't get the hat last night, but I now have a higher authority working on it. Apparently Coach Z. has heard about my ongoing hat conversation. He told Coach Olsen they needed to get it taken care of. (Apparently Grandma Warthog's University of Dubuque diploma is paying dividends) If the hat arrives I'll wear it October 8th. Black & Orange Wartburg Football shirt with a Blue & White UD Football "TEAM" hat. I could be making quite a fashion statement at Chalmers Field that day.

To an untrained eye, I thought the Spartans played some good football last night. The UD faithful have good reason to be optimistic. There was a decent contingent of blue clad fans in Rock Island. I believe there is a direct relationship between the make up of your roster and the number of family and friends that are able to travel to the games. There was also a good group of students in the stands.

Speaking of students, I would point out to any young man looking for a college to attend, based on the coeds I saw last night, the University of Dubuque has become a "target rich" environment.

Willie University · September 02, 2011, 11:47:55 AM

Warthog,

I was not there.....but watched every down on the laptop as I carried it from room to room feeding kids, giving baths, brushing teeth, snacks, etc..

Thanks for the great game summary and support!

Good luck to the rest of the IIAC teams this weekend! WOW, I am SO happy football is finally here.

Willie U