FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Dr. Acula]

This might be a "sky is falling" reaction but...

They had to replace two of the best ever last year at RB and QB.  Now they have to replace those two positions again and have plenty of other holes to plug too.  One good thing that came from yesterday???  Perhaps it guarantees CSIII's return as I'm sure he doesn't want to go out like that.  Looking at MUC's seniors (and there might be some extra eligibility we don't know about...) but they stand to lose a lot of big guys: Carpenter, Petru, Morring, Millings, Herbert, Budzinski, Rocco, Stewart, Panchik, Harrold, Lamolinara, McClain, Lutz, Williamson, Nitz, Guerrero, Crowl, Miller, Liggett and more.  Those aren't just a lot of SR's, those are a lot of SR's that mean a ton to this Raiders team.  

Based on this list, the defensive line and defensive backfield are going to have a lot of holes to fill in addition to TE, QB and RB.

I'm kind of excited to see the secondary next year.  With Jordan and Ferarra back as starters and Driskill, West and Alwardt looking ready to step in I think they have a lot of playmakers back there.  I think the lines are question marks, but I've thought that countless times and LK et al always churn out great lines on both sides of the ball.

[skunks_sidekick]

Phewww!!!  It's really nice to get back to  NE Ohio where it's warm and dry.   

Great game yesterday, and Jr. and I had a great time bonding hanging out watching the game. 

STONE STATION!  Thanks for the tickets, and all the amazing grub.  You guys make the trip so much more than a game. 

Men of Wesley - as always, great time and we will see you next year. 

Ryan - great meeting you......thanks for the opportunity to "tell my travel story".  I am just very happy that no one died out there on those roads.  It was THAT bad. 

I feel bad for Terrance......I wish he would have went out a winner.  He will have a hard time living down that fumble.  (In his mind...not from the fans). 

Whoever asked.....Urbania had an emergency appendectomy right before the season which put him out for the year. 

Was our battery-operated blender sweet or WHAT?   

Mt. Fan - thanks for all the great grub.  Those BBQ'd sausage were totally awesome. 

Keith - I TOLD you........

Thank goodness I can go to work tomorrow and get some rest. 

OUT!

[Dr. Acula]

Second thoughts;

It may take me a bit longer to further move on from the Stagg Bowl this year, but for now it is  all about what is next in 2010.

Of the Mount 2 deep roster for 2010- who returns?

What will be the biggest gaps?

What will be the upsides?

Other than Claycomb, who will be catching the ball?

Will Zac Lemmon be the next great runner (per RC, comment)

I guess we have a lot of time for those answers, but I hope the returning players have a goal in front of them now like the players did for 2008.

I think Collins and Mathie will be the other WR.  Collins seems to be the most apt to be the deep threat of the 3, but this is based purely on the limited times I saw him on STO so by no means an in depth analysis.  I think Mathie will be good.  He's one of the best HS WR I've ever seen so I'm hoping that translates to college!

[Olinemom]

 wrote a long message here but some kind of error messed it up.  Sorry about that!  Thanks to mountfan for taking me and the brownies down to the stadium!!  Thanks to Skunk, I think, for the marguerita from Pancho's.  It was great but made me forget to take the plate of goodies up to Keith and Pat!  Sorry, guys!  thanks to Wesleydad for driving me bad to the hotel where I am still ensconsed.  I'll try to get home tomorrow.  The land of no computers has many roads full of snow as yet.  Ugh!!  I'm so tired of white, yellow, brown andother colors of snow and it isn't even christmas.  What a great game to showcase d3football to everyone!!  It's a shame that one had to lose, but that's the fway football works. the team with the fewer mistakes generally wins.  What I didn't like seeing was Cecil on crutches after the game.  Sure hope that was precautionary because he is such a great athlete.  Hope to see him back in salem next year.  Lete's all make a date next year for here is Salem and do this again!!  The STAGG Bowl is the greatest week in d3football, at least it is for me!!  Merry Christmas and Happy Year to all!!  I sure missed you and Kevin, Seventies, but you absolutely made the right call!!  Next year, hopefully, will be better

[TooForRaider]

Enjoyed watching the game Satruday (to an extent!).  No need to analyze the entire game, I guess. Same as the other Stagg loss to WWW....fumbles.

WWW was a solid team and came with everything they had. Congrats to them on an amazing season.

And, if I am not mistaken, Claycomb is back next year....he will be a stud.

[Raider 68]

Second thoughts;

It may take me a bit longer to further move on from the Stagg Bowl this year, but for now it is  all about what is next in 2010.

Of the Mount 2 deep roster for 2010- who returns?

What will be the biggest gaps?

What will be the upsides?

Other than Claycomb, who will be catching the ball?

Will Zac Lemmon be the next great runner (per RC, comment)

I guess we have a lot of time for those answers, but I hope the returning players have a goal in front of them now like the players did for 2008.

I think Collins and Mathie will be the other WR.  Collins seems to be the most apt to be the deep threat of the 3, but this is based purely on the limited times I saw him on STO so by no means an in depth analysis.  I think Mathie will be good.  He's one of the best HS WR I've ever seen so I'm hoping that translates to college!

At this point for 2010, this maybe what we know for the Raiders:

At QB- Not sure if Seaman has the real arm strength as more recent
           Mount QB's, not real info on QB from  Florida

RB's - Lemmon, Harris and Ryder

Tight End- Who is going to replace Miller/Harrold

Receivers- Claycomb, Collins, Mathie at this point

O-Line- Holes to fill

Defense- Kershaw, Ferra  lead the way, but many slots to fill

[Cleveland Cartel]

Ferra,

I was impressed with Ferra when I saw him live. The secondary seemed to be primarily a group of seniors who I didn't see get beat very often or out of position. Ferra I felt was just as strong, quick, and made quick reads on the QB. As for only being a Sophmore today the sky is the limit and he should be a leader in the secondary in 2010.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Mt. Union's Starting Defense in Stagg:
8 Seniors (Herbert, Budzinski, Stewart, Renbarger, McClain, Lutz, Williamson, Liggett) - Also lose Millings
2 Juniors (Jordan, Kershaw)
1 Sophomore (Ferrara)

Mt. Union's Backup Defense for Stagg:
4 Seniors (Coppeler, Lamolinara, Dyke, Saum) - Saum was backup for both DT so only 10 on Two-Deep Roster
1 Junior (Herzick)
3 Sophomores (Alwardt, Sith, West)
2 Freshmen (Driskill, Dieuseul)

Mt. Union's Starting Offense in Stagg:
9 Seniors (Morring, Petruziello, Shorts, Rocco, Harrold, Nitz, Guerrero, Bird, Crowl) - Shorts can petition for 5th year
1 Junior (Nicolozakes)
1 Sophomore (Ryder II)

Mt. Union's Backup Offense for Stagg:
3 Seniors (Coan, Purnell, Miller) - Coan was backup LG and RT
1 Junior (Claycomb)
3 Sophomores (Lemmon, Harris, Ekkens)
3 Freshmen (Seaman, Tate, Collins)

Returning 3/11 Defensive Starters and 6/11 backups.
Returning 2/11 (3/11 if Shorts comes back) Offensive Starters and 7/11 (8/11 if Miller comes back) backups.

Should be an interesting year.

[pradierguy]

I know the sophomore WR Warner (#2B on varsity rosters I think) has performed very well in JV games and looks to be in the mix next year as well.

[Blutarsky]

.........and, to sum up the Stagg experience for the Raiders--the offensive team bus breaks down on the way back to Alliance, doubling the travel time for the team

Good Job, Raiders.  I told a lot of folks that I felt this team had the ability to go 10-0, but maybe not 15-0.  They showed a great deal of grit and desire....a sign of good senior leadership.  Oh, the fumbles.......

[Raider 68]

Mt. Union's Starting Defense in Stagg:
8 Seniors (Herbert, Budzinski, Stewart, Renbarger, McClain, Lutz, Williamson, Liggett) - Also lose Millings
2 Juniors (Jordan, Kershaw)
1 Sophomore (Ferrara)

Mt. Union's Backup Defense for Stagg:
4 Seniors (Coppeler, Lamolinara, Dyke, Saum) - Saum was backup for both DT so only 10 on Two-Deep Roster
1 Junior (Herzick)
3 Sophomores (Alwardt, Sith, West)
2 Freshmen (Driskill, Dieuseul)

Mt. Union's Starting Offense in Stagg:
9 Seniors (Morring, Petruziello, Shorts, Rocco, Harrold, Nitz, Guerrero, Bird, Crowl) - Shorts can petition for 5th year
1 Junior (Nicolozakes)
1 Sophomore (Ryder II)

Mt. Union's Backup Offense for Stagg:
3 Seniors (Coan, Purnell, Miller) - Coan was backup LG and RT
1 Junior (Claycomb)
3 Sophomores (Lemmon, Harris, Ekkens)
3 Freshmen (Seaman, Tate, Collins)

Returning 3/11 Defensive Starters and 6/11 backups.
Returning 2/11 (3/11 if Shorts comes back) Offensive Starters and 7/11 (8/11 if Miller comes back) backups.

Should be an interesting year.

Kirasdad,

Great informative post!

Going into 2008, after the Raiders lost the 2007 Stagg to UWW, they had only 6 returning starters (Of the six, two of them were Kmic and Micheli).

They also had another undefeated JV team coming into 2008. For 2010
they will also have players from an unfeated JV team again and 5-6 starters
returning. A strength of the program is PT for the back-ups who gain
that critical experience.

The coaches will start soon in January the recruiting process for next year. I agree it will be interesting, but I see some great opportunities despite graduation's toll after this season!

[Blutarsky]

I've always felt that one of the "secrets" to MUC's success is the additional 5 weeks of practice that occurs during the playoffs.  The younger kids get more experience and coaching.  A graduating senior for Mount has played through 60 games, which is 50% longer than the typical schedule (40 games).  The extra attention and coaching is invaluable.

[Dr. Acula]

Great point, Blutarsky.  For a kid like Seaman he will have 25 game weeks under his belt going into the playoffs next year including 13-14 weeks of serious 1st team snaps in practice.  That's a big deal.

As for his arm 68, it's always deceptive with lefties.  It looks like they don't have the zip on the ball that a righty does, but that's often not the case.  I think what we'll find is that his arm next year will be very similar to the sophomore version of Micheli.  Hopefully the team's success will be the same as that year too!

[Ryan Tipps]

Ryan - great meeting you......thanks for the opportunity to "tell my travel story".  I am just very happy that no one died out there on those roads.  It was THAT bad. 

Sidekick: Was good to meet you, too! And I appreciate you getting on the air and helping to add a little perspective on how tough the conditions were out there! You got to be a brave soul to tackle the WV Turnpike in that weather 

[TooForRaider]

Mt. Union's Starting Defense in Stagg:
8 Seniors (Herbert, Budzinski, Stewart, Renbarger, McClain, Lutz, Williamson, Liggett) - Also lose Millings
2 Juniors (Jordan, Kershaw)
1 Sophomore (Ferrara)

Mt. Union's Backup Defense for Stagg:
4 Seniors (Coppeler, Lamolinara, Dyke, Saum) - Saum was backup for both DT so only 10 on Two-Deep Roster
1 Junior (Herzick)
3 Sophomores (Alwardt, Sith, West)
2 Freshmen (Driskill, Dieuseul)

Mt. Union's Starting Offense in Stagg:
9 Seniors (Morring, Petruziello, Shorts, Rocco, Harrold, Nitz, Guerrero, Bird, Crowl) - Shorts can petition for 5th year
1 Junior (Nicolozakes)
1 Sophomore (Ryder II)

Mt. Union's Backup Offense for Stagg:
3 Seniors (Coan, Purnell, Miller) - Coan was backup LG and RT
1 Junior (Claycomb)
3 Sophomores (Lemmon, Harris, Ekkens)
3 Freshmen (Seaman, Tate, Collins)

Returning 3/11 Defensive Starters and 6/11 backups.
Returning 2/11 (3/11 if Shorts comes back) Offensive Starters and 7/11 (8/11 if Miller comes back) backups.

Should be an interesting year.

Kirasdad,

Great informative post!

Going into 2008, after the Raiders lost the 2007 Stagg to UWW, they had only 6 returning starters (Of the six, two of them were Kmic and Micheli).

They also had another undefeated JV team coming into 2008. For 2010
they will also have players from an unfeated JV team again and 5-6 starters
returning. A strength of the program is PT for the back-ups who gain
that critical experience.

The coaches will start soon in January the recruiting process for next year. I agree it will be interesting, but I see some great opportunities despite graduation's toll after this season!

If they start in January we can count on losing to Marietta in 2 years.