FB: American Rivers Conference

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Cochuck,

All you guys down at mediacom need to chill out, nothing wrong with a little conjecture to keep the chat room going. 

Dutchfan,

I don't know where anyone is going,  I was just trying to draw the answer I wanted from dessert1

[Lance Harbor]

All righty, it's great day for football.

My Picks:

Coe - Cornell always plays tough, but the Kohawks stay on top
Loras - Upset Special, Luther is down, Duhawks are due
BV - The Beavers have the hot hand right now
Central - The Spartans will keep it closer than expected
Wartburg - A date with the acclaimed University of B.Y.E. is just what the doctor ordered.  The Knights will get healed up and ready to play the Dutch.

[warthog]

My prediction for today's games: Wartburg will gain ground on half the IIAC and lose ground to half the IIAC.

[Cochuck]

CooCoo,

Now we can focus on the Duhawks! 

[DutchFan2004]

Wow what a game.  Dow Jones you may be right.  Your Spartans played very well.  A few mistakes were very very costly.  A high snap over your QB's head and give up a TD and a blocked punt taken back 50 yards.  Those are two costly plays.  Your O came to play they moved the ball very well.  Your D did a very nice job stopping Schuring.  Only the second time he didn't hit 100.  Dubuque is the best 1-7 team I have seen they truly are.  Glad to get out of Dubuque with that one. 

[Charlie Kohawk]

My what a lovely day it was at Clark Field when the Kohawks hammered the rival Cornell Rams for their sixth straight win in the historic series. What a great way to honor co-captain Jase Jensen on Just For Jase day at Coe.

It was a breakout game for Neil Suckow, who tied a school record with four TD receptions plus one rushing. With a conference leading 16 TDs and 1,243 all-purpose yards, I'm liking my pre-season pick as conference MVP.

His biggest competitor may have emerged in Coe QB Andy Tekippe. The kid plays with a lot of heart and he was throwing darts today. His six TD passes, all in the first half, set a school record.

How they'll do against a tough Loras D remains to be seen, but the Coe defense is solid as well. On to the Key City with an ear turned to Waverly (go Central!).

[DutchFan2004]

Coo Coo and Charlie,

Thanks for the support for the Wartburg game.  Will be a wild one I am sure.  With all the talk on the playoffs.  Doesn't  sound good for my Dutch no matter if we win or lose, but that is only talk.  If we do lose it doesn't sound good for you guys either.  I don't think the IIAC is getting much love at all for a second team even if you get the automatic and we would tie you guys with one loss.  I don't understand the love for Withworth.  Is that conference they play in a really tuff one?  Linfield makes it tuff, but I am talking about the other teams or is it a two good team conference?  Does any one know much about that conference.  All this is can go up in smoke if the Dutch can't beat Wartburg anyway.   

[coocooforcoekohawk]

It was a great day yesterday.  I enjoyed having my fellow fraternity brother at the game Saturday.  Also got to talk to A.D. John for a while,  who in my opinion is the best A.D. Coe has had since 1988 when I first walked onto campus. 

Congratulations to the Kohawk players and good luck next weekend at the Rock Bowl.

[sportsknight]

Charlie,
Gotta disagree with you about Suckow being a front-runner for MVP.  Seems to me, Suckow is a guy that has huge games against the Cornells and Westminsters of the world, but doesn't do quite the same when he faces a better team (ex. 100 total yards rush/rec/return and 1 TD against Central, 83 yards and a TD in loss to Wartburg).  Hell, he isn't even in the top 10 for total offense in conference games.

If I had to pick somebody right now, I'd think that Central sweeps the postseason awards.  Schuring has come out of nowhere to lead the conference in rushing on what has been a largely one-dimensional Central team.  At the same time, I think that for McMartin to have such a young team in the spot they're in, in just his second year in Pella is pretty damn good.

I'm sure there are a lot of Coe fans pretty happy with themselves this morning, given all the ink that the Kohawks got in the Gazette.  But ask yourself this:  If Suckow and TeKippe put up the same numbers on a Saturday when the Hawkeyes are in action, is it still front-page material?  I think no.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

"Get it while you can"

I believe Ms. Joplin was correct when saying this.  Of course we would not have gotten the front page, but we would of at least had that first article in the Gazzette on page four.  I don't think the second article would have even been written, but since the Hawks were off and we had our rivalry game we will.....

GET IT WHILE WE CAN!

[DutchFan2004]

Sportsknight,

Thanks for the support for Schuring, but I do wonder what you mean by one dimensional team.  The Dutch have 1114 yards rushing and 945 passing.  (conference only) Over all 1445 rushing and 1161 passing. That may not be perfectly balanced but its not real one-dimenisonal.  At least its not in my book.  The secret to the Dutch I think is that they don't have a "Star".  Schuring running hard with the ball, Connell running or passing the ball.  Connell spreading the ball to as many receivers as he can.  Connell has hit as many as 7 different receivers in one game.  Thats been their success this year.  A team effort.  The D has played well and carrried the load at times too.  Dustyn Baethke on the defensive side has made a huge difference for them.  Andrew Lehn filling the shoes of All american Mark Sanger, Colby Meyers blocking the punt this weekend.  Brett Doud coming up with some INT's when needed.  Cody Huisman and Doud on kickoff and punt returns (and even Barnes)  have helped give great field position when they needed it.  I don't know how they pick MVP but right now I'd pick the whole Dutch team.

[Charlie Kohawk]

With all due respect Sportsknight, your logic is flawed. You're right that Suckow isn't in the top 10 for total offense. He's not among the top 10 passers either. Then again, he's not a quarterback.

Your MVP Schuring is only ninth in total offense. My second choice, TeKippe, is second. But total offense favors quarterbacks because it only counts rushing and passing yards.

In my opinion, all purpose yardage is a better measuring stick. Suckow is #1 in that category by 40+ yards per game. Schuring is fourth.

And then there's scoring...

Of course we were thrilled with the Gazette's coverage of the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi. It only happened because the game fell on Iowa's bye week, but we don't set the schedule. All conference teams, except possibly Cornell, should appreciate the publicity.

[coocooforcoekohawk]

Now that we have gotten on to the front page of the Gazette maybe it will create some interest for the Alumni that still live in the area to pay more attention to the Kohawks.

Cochuck,
you must agree that parental and family support for the Kohawks is at an all time high.  All of the tailgating around K. Ray bleachers is inspiring.  However, there is a huge lack of Alumni support.  So hopefully the articles in the paper may inspire a few old Kohawks out to the Simpson game, and once they see the enthusiasm and the festivities of the parents around K. Ray they might be encouraged to come back more often to cheer on the mighty Kohawks.  So maybe a few of the parents who are tailgating around K. Ray could put up a sign at their parties inviting alumni to join them and create a cohesive fan base.  It also wouldn't be a bad way for parents to help their kids network with alumni from the area, remember it's who you know not what you know.  Also, alumni looking for talented people should know to start at Coe which  produces the best and brightest.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Congrats Luther for finding a way to win when they were once again -3 in the turnover battle and without a true tailback.  They look a lot different without the top three tailbacks.

The Norse did block both a punt and an extra point attempt and returned both for scores for the combined 9 points.  Even though they don't count as Duhawk turnovers on the stat sheet, they were huge plays in the game.

Unlike the B.V. game, much of the Norse Offense was generated from grinding it out on the ground.  Luther started the game with two fullbacks in the game as the fullbacks and one of the QBs had most of the team carries.  A reserve fullback named Jeremy Klein had by far his best day in a Norse uniform.

The Norse passing game struggled as the QBs were like 2-11 with two INTs trying to throw the ball to the TEs. 

The Loras Offense was almost non-existent in the first half, but they really had some momentum in the second half.  One of the QBs really threw some nice passes, but overall the QBs looked younger and erratic.  The Luther DL was whipping the Loras OL in the first half, but the Duhawk OL picked it up in the 2nd.  I really like the Waterloo Columbus WR.

Although the preseason expectations were different in 2004 compared to 2005, it looks like both Luther and Loras have a good chance of finishing with the same won-loss record as last year.  Luther will now be hoping for a third straight season of 6-4 (5-3 in the league for the 2nd straight season), while Loras could be 4-6 (3-5 in the IIAC) again this year since they have Coe and Dubuque to finish the season.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Congrats to both Central and Simpson for getting the job done this past week.  I would guess that the Dutch performance against the Spartans will have no bearing at all on how they play or prepare for the Knights.  It would seem like the game on Saturday should be another tough 14-10-type game.

Simpson deserves some credit for bouncing back the past couple of weeks when some were predicting them to be upset by Cornell.  Although they still may not be playing up to the level predicted by some in the preseason, the Storm have avoided a free fall and now still have an outside chance at finishing 6-4 (or at least 5-5 like they did in 2004).

Both Loras and Simpson are still capable of upsetting Coe if the Kohawks are not playing near their top form.  The Wartburg-Central game is the game of the week, but the Coe-Loras game in Dubuque is worthy of some attention as well.

It looks like B.V. is in similar tailback situation as Luther as the top two guys did not appear to have played on Saturday.  Not being able to run the ball is a tough way to win most weeks in the Iowa Conference.