FB: American Rivers Conference

[TheOne89.1]

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

Looks like we agree on something!

[DutchFan2004]

Walston,

This is a new punter this year.  He is a freshman from Clinton IA if memory serves correctly.  I can not say enough on how DR Roe and Coach Brands work with the kickers and punters.  To have an extra weapon in a punter is really overlooked and under rated at times IMHO.  The credit for the punts inside the 1 have to go to the gunner/reciever Cody Huisman as he is the one that grabbed the one punt and pitched it back to the other gunner and the other punt as mentioned in ATR was downed in the air.  IMHO it was the punting that won the game for the Dutch last year against Wartburg.  

[TheOne89.1]

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.

I only found one 300 game for Central last year and Reed only threw for 300+ four times for Wartburg...none for the Knights in '06 and none for Jake Olson  (Wheeler was in a class of his own that 2000 season).  I guess it just seemed like Central (and Wartburg) passed more than I thought...with Connell and Huisman for the Dutch and guys like Winter, Kelley, etc. getting passes from Hoskins, just seemed like more of an air game then numbers really showed.

Good thing I have nothing better to do at work than look up stats on IIAC websites.  Good luck to all the teams (except Luther) this weekend.

[Purple Heys]

Wow, I really hit a nerve.  Not really you just made an ignorant statement which deserved an equally ignorant response in kind

I'll be the first to admit that I am at a slight disadvantage since I'm not able to watch any games in person so the only way I can draw conclusions is on what I read.  I'm slightly confused as to how you thought I projected a holier than thou attitude.

Actually you did:  "...This is too funny though, listening to two lower tier team supporters argue back and forth about who is better. Its kind of like, "my deadbeat dad can beat up your deadbeat dad"."

Not once did I say that Central is the god kind almighty of the IIAC. I don't think that anybody on here will claim that about their respective teams. I think its great that Cornell is becoming a better team. Coach Dillion had some really stellar teams at Dowling and its an encouraging sign that he is starting to take it to the next level. However, until Cornell knocks off Central, Wartburg, or Coe and becomes a legit year in, year out contender, I have trouble placing them at the top of the conference just because they have some potential.

Find somewhere...anywhere...where I claim Cornell to be at the top of the conference.

I also think you misinterpreted what I said about firing and forgetting. In the Army, we use that term to describe engaging targets. We engage, kill the target, and then move to the next one. We don't dwell on what we just did. Afterwards, we analyze, see what we did right and see what we can improve, and then move onto the next thing smoking. Very rarely will you hear Central coaches bring up successes or failures from previous weeks. Now, is Central firing on all cylinders. Hell no. Unless you are USC, teams really don't start hitting their stride until week 5. In two weeks, when Vance is healthy, I think we'll be able to gauge how the season is going to go. The great thing about the group of seniors that Central has is that all of them are compeititors that don't assume anything and will not rollover and die if the chips are down.

Is this to suggest that Cornell players, on this team this year, are going roll over when the chips are down?  If so that's like me saying Schuring needs to suck it up and play.

And by the way, the crack at the end, wtf?  See above deadbeat dad quote...both my mayor joke and your deadbeat dad joke are unnecessary

I guess you somehow felt a need to categorize the discussion as beyond your dignity and throw a little snobbish snear out there then act like "what'd I do, what'd I do?"

Try applying your fire and forget reference to the St. John's game last.  Link below...

http://www.central.edu/athletics/story.cfm?StoryID=871

Seems Central knows some of the same words to the song, "We Had Our Opportunities..."

Hey, Central doesn't lose a lot of games; Cornell presently does.  But when Central loses, and it's a given they will lose this year, they reflect on the loss, think of what might have been had things gone a different way, here or there.  Just like everyone else.  That's football, that's the nature of the game.  The closer the game gets the more those eutectic points, where things can go either way, stand out.  They then get discussed and comisserated by the side it went against.

In your terms, just like when an OP goes wrong, and don't insult everyone by saying they don't go wrong, you look at what went wrong and what you can do to fix it the next time.  Funny thing is, if you miss bombing a bridge, you may get an opportunity to go bomb it again tomorrow.

In football you get one crack at each win this year.  I do hope Cornell gets to the point where regular season wins become as meaningless as you make them seem to be for Central...I doubt Central's coaching staff agrees with you .

[Walston Hoover]

.  I do hope Cornell gets to the point where regular season wins become as meaningless as you make them seem to be for Central...I doubt Central's coaching staff agrees with you .

When you win regularily, regular season wins really do almost become meaningless, as sad as it sounds.
Some wins you remember, but when you win almost every week, it just becomes habit. I feel very fortunate to be able to name every loss at every level that I've ever been a part of as a player or a coach, all the way back to junior high. As much as I'd like to take credit for those, I can't because I've been around some VERY good people, but once that winning becomes habit, its tough to break.
Wartburg's losses in the last 8 years.
PLU, Central, Cornell, Coe, Coe, Linfield, Linfield, Loras, Concordia, Millikin, Luther, Central, Central, Dubuque.
A-P Freshmen losses in '95-Iowa Falls
Sophomore losses in '96-Jesup
Varsity losses in '97-Starmont, Iowa Falls, Denver
'98-Iowa Falls, Dike, Iowa Falls
A-P 7th Grade losses in '93-Dike
'94-Dike

Am I obsessed much?

[Ash Park]

Walston you are correct about that. When you win regularly it becomes habit and is expected. I hope that someday Cornell gets there. I know Purple heys has been around winning programs and so have I. When it comes down to it I think most of us Cornell posters are just like the rest of ya. We are passionate about football and our team.

[Airborne Dutch]

First off, when I said Central seniors, I guess it came out as "unlike the Cornell team that will rollover and die." By that point, I figured it was pretty evident that I had moved on from discussing Cornell and was paying a compliment to a great group of guys. Second, is it really a given that Central will lose a game? Have all of the games been played yet? Have the outcomes been decided? Does Central have a tough road ahead of them? Absolutely. Do I have faith in the Central coaching staff and players that they will be prepared for it? You bet your ass I do. Am I going to pretend to know the outcomes of the games? Nope.

Onto what you think I mean about Central's "meaningless" victories. No victory is meaningless. However, Central does not dwell on things. For instance, one of the best experiences I have had on a football team is when we beat Wartburg in 2005. That was the most exciting locker room atmosphere I have ever been in. We allowed ourselves to enjoy it for the rest of the weekend, but come Monday, it was back to work. We didn't dwell on it or relive it during the next week. We simply looked on to the next opponent. Games over, time to move on. Ask anybody on here and they will tell you that that quality is the sign of a good team. Any coach or player will tell you that while the victory was sweet, the next one will be better.

I understand your passion for the Rams. I do. I share the same passion for the Dutch. I hope Cornell improves because that means the level of compeitition in the conference has been raised.  But, I'm still waiting to see the results. If Coach Dillion's team is as dangerous as you say they are, show me. Knock off a big dog, just not Central  .

[Alfredeneumann]

WH - "Am I obsessed much?"
You for got to mention the FEW losses you had as a coach    

Go Knightsm , beat Luther.

[Walston Hoover]

Valley, Valley, Ankeny, SCEast, Valley

[warthog]

Luther/Wartburg week, it doesn't get any better than this.  Usually the game can be called a toss up since records don't often mean much in a rivalry game.  I just hope it turns out to be a well played exciting game on Saturday, with of course a Knight victory.

As to the "classic" shirts, I don't think any shirt, such as Luck Futher, is all that classic or for that matter clever.  Moving a couple letters around can be done by a second grader.  It sort of falls into the category of those FTD shirts that Simpson fans seem to think are so clever.  I was ashamed a few years ago when some Wartburg students had so little imagination that they decided to copy them.

Walston-Hoover, as I started to read your list of losses, I found my self trying to remember the Wartburg losses starting with PLU and ending with Linfield the second time.  I wasn't on the field, I was just in the stands and was able to list them all in order.  There is no way I could list the victories in order.  I guess you have a point about expecting to win.  Not only the players, but even the fans and parents get into that, "Lets just take care of business." way of thinking.

Damn, I'm getting old.  I'm having a hard time distinguishing the words Cornell and Connell.  I've caught myself a couple times wondering why people were talking up Cornell only to read further and discover they were writing about Connell, (Which makes a whole lot more sense.)

I want Lance to return to writing on a regular basis.  That guy was a statistics miracle man.

[warthog]

Was Cornell any good when they were in the MWC?  It seems Coe has adjusted well to the IIAC competition, while Cornell has struggled.  I sense there is a difference between the MWC way of doing things and the IIAC way.  How did the two schools compare when they were together in the MWC? 

[Walston Hoover]

The best Wartburg/Luther shirts that I remember were a Knight football player "relieving" himself on a Luther football player the year after a bunch of Wartburg students crashed the Luther homecoming parade. The shirt read. "Didn't mean to rain on your parade."
Other ones that got chuckles from me
Homecoming 2003-The Storm Blows
Homecoming 2005-If you can't play for Wartburg go to Coe

Also-My freshmen year we organized our rooms to have everyone put a letter in their window of Clinton 3. (The dorm that runs along the East side of the football field)
The letters spelled out LUTHER SUCKS.
Not inventive I know-but we were only freshmen at the time so thought it was pretty cool.

Other great moments in Wartburg/Luther-
Bo Harris breaking up a pass and Randy Laing knocking a reciever flat in the red zone to preserve a 20-17 victory in 1999
Jake Olsen hitting a layup at the buzzer to win the home basketball game against Luther in 2000 and the crowd storms the court.
Brianne Schoonover hitting a half-court shot at the buzzer after losing control of the ball and throwing it overhand at the hoop to beat Luther in 2001-Made ESPN's plays of the week.

2002-People think Luther has arrived and we head up there for there homecoming and win in a laugher. I sat out the hole second half to nurse a bad ankle and watched a huge ORANGE section on the home sidelines going nuts.

2003 basketball game-Luther fans show up with a sign "Your dads work for our dads" A couple minutes later a Wartburg student comes in with a sign "Your moms work for us"

[MNbeev]

Walston,
Sorry for the sour grapes here, and I truely am, but BV deserves to be mentioned in their win over Wartburg in 04, on that last second FG.  So one of the few losses Wartburg had in the last 8 years. 

[MNbeev]

Mayne Event,
From your question on the Kohawks and BV,
2000 at Coe - BV 28 - Coe 26
2003 at Coe - BV 31 - Coe 21
In the last 10 years, I don't believe BV has beat Coe at home, those wins listed above are the only two I could find, but they were in Cedar Rapids. 

[DutchHawk]

I dont think you can say its a given Central will lose any more than its a given that Cornell will win.