FB: American Rivers Conference

[DutchFan2004]

He didn't play the whole game.  I also think that they said in a press release that they were going to use Veldhuizen and Zachery more to take the load off of him so he could last the season. 

[sc_stormchaser]

Suck Fimpson always brings a smile to my face. Although the most creative example of smack was way back in the day when Central was playing for Simpson for homecoming. Some Central students had t-shirts made that showed Bart Simpson talking to Homer and going "Homer, can we change our last name to Central?" Classic.

My favorite was from a few years back. It was simply "Central girls are ugly" followed up the next year with "Central girls are still ugly."

Also, I liked the t-shirts Central girls wore a few years back. It has something like "FTD? You wish you could." I never saw the Bart and Homer shirt, but that's a good one.

[Former Ram]

One thing about Wartburg's defenses over the several years or so, is that it seems like they have changed from a smack you in the mouth big physical unit to a little smaller unit that covers sideline to sideline and can run you down all day.  I can remember in 01, 02, and 03 when the Wartburg D would just murder people out there and then it seems like starting in about 04 they started hurting people more with speed than just their physicality.  Not saying they aren't physical anymore, they just seem to be quicker.  That may have a lot to do with the offenses are run now, but either way they continue to get it done on D year after year.

[Ash Park]

I should know this but who is Wartburgs DC and has he been there for awhile now?

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Would anyone care to say whether or not Schuring was 100% Saturday?  Which leads to the follow-up questions, if so why wasn't he used more, and if not, why did he play as much as he did?  I didn't see the game and I'm certainly not second guessing anybody.  I'm just curious.   Eleven carries seems like a slow day for him even if the defense is keying on him. 

I didn't think he was 100%, but it was hard to tell.  He wasn't effective, but neither was anyone else until the Central passing game started to open up the running game a little bit in the 4th quarter.  The team only averaged 2.5 yards per carry, but more than made up for it in the air.  

I have seen Schuring play twice (vs. Luther last year and against Coe last year) before Saturday and always got to see the extra gears that he has as a runner.  On Saturday he never got a lot of room to show his athletic ability.  In all honesty, the QB has beaten Luther the last three years more than Schuring, but much of that is because the Norse have tried to stop the star RB.

Other teams still need to be concerned about preparing for him.

[DutchHawk]

Last I had hear he rolled his ankle against ST. Thomas when I was watching so I would be doubtful that he is 100 percent, you guys know how ankle injuries go when your biggest asset as a runningback is your ability to make people miss. I would expect Mac is giving him limited work to get him  healthy for the rest of the season. If and when he is 100% watch out:)

[Walston Hoover]

Wartburg's DC is Jim Louis who has been there for I think this is his 3rd year.
Joel Dettwiler coaches LBs and has been there for 4 years
Pat Toohey is in his second year with the DL
Jeff Beck has had DBs since he was a junior at Wartburg.

Before Willis "retired" to become AD, he was the DC and a lot of his defensive influence is still found in the program. The switch to smaller, faster linemen took place between about 2001 and 2002. Vinny King was only about 230, JJ Zearly not much bigger. Noah Junge was good size, but was deceivingly quick. Eric Danielson Didn't go much over 220. The DL haven't been much bigger than that since '02 if memory serves me correctly. It doesn't seem to have affected the Knights too much.

[corkball22]

Hi all, I am new to this post and finally felt compelled to throw my own comments into the ring.
First, I have only watched and had a vested interest in Iowa Conference football the last three years.
Second, I am kinda partial to root for the underdogs, Cornell and DBQ, and any team playing Wartburg this year.
Third, I believe that the IIAC top to bottom is probably in the top 5 conferences in D3.
Finally, as far as Cornell winning 3 or 4 conference games, maybe?, but I think they will be fortunate to get one. Once they get one, then they can build from there.

I think that Cornell has only one way to go, and that is up. They should have won against Loras, but had too many turnovers and didn't put points on the board when they could have at the end of the first half. Their defense will be their achilles heel the whole season, averaging giving up 30pts a game.

Anthony Kobler is doing a great job stepping back into the QB slot when he was expecting to be a RB or slot receiver. He is very versatile and has been the biggest reason that the Rams are doing better offensively.

[Ash Park]

Corkball I agree with you totally. They have no where to go up but up and once they get that first conf. win it will help them going in the right direction in rebuilding the program. I will be the first to say it, Cornell needs depth bad. If they want to compete in this league they need to have 80-90 guys on the roster. This won't solve everything but it will sure help.

[Walston Hoover]

What does anyone have against Wartburg
Welcome aboard corkball.
It will be nice to get some more relatives of players' input.
Nothing like tootin a little horn to get things started.

[TheOne89.1]

Just got done reading the "Around the West" article on the home page.  They made a mention to Central's punter Kurtis Brondyke (SportsKnight commented on this earlier, too) having a big day with 3 punts inside the 5 and 2 on the 1 yard line...that's pretty impressive.  Can anyone else who was at the game comment on how his punting helped the Dutch with the win?

The article also mentioned Connell throwing 300+ yards, first time for the Dutch since 2001.  This surprised me...seems like a long time considering how much Central has been winning the last few years.

[Walston Hoover]

Central has long been a running team. Not surprising that this is the first time in a while to have a QB go over 300. I would venture to guess its only happened 2 or 3 times at Wartburg since Wheeler left in '99
IIRC, Central's punter had a huge hand in them beating Wartburg last year with a lot of punts downed inside the 10? Am I thinking of something else?
Is this the same guy?

[Walston Hoover]

Corkball-you'll have to realize that to those of us who have been around a little longer (not much, but a little) since Cornell joined with the exception of a 6-4? year in '01, they really have been the whipped puppy of the conference. That's the perspective all of us are seeing it from and when we don't see their games ever, and look at the result, so far there's not much reason for us to believe this year will be different.
DBQ on the other hand has got a little bit better every year and with their 6-4 record last year will surprise no one this year.

[Floyd in Iowa City]

Just got done reading the "Around the West" article on the home page.  They made a mention to Central's punter Kurtis Brondyke (SportsKnight commented on this earlier, too) having a big day with 3 punts inside the 5 and 2 on the 1 yard line...that's pretty impressive.  Can anyone else who was at the game comment on how his punting helped the Dutch with the win?

The article also mentioned Connell throwing 300+ yards, first time for the Dutch since 2001.  This surprised me...seems like a long time considering how much Central has been winning the last few years.

On two possessions inside the 10 after those punts (in the 2nd and 3rd quarters), Luther went 3-and-out and had to punt the ball away.  Central took the ball both times and scored TDs.

The other time inside the 10 (4th quarter) Luther also punted away without getting a first down.  However that time Central returned the punt 45 yards for a TD.

A great job by the Central punt team led to 21 points for the Dutch.

[corkball22]

I have nothing against the Knights, I just believe they are the best team in the conference