FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Knightstalker]

Tom Arth was in the NFL

Couple of years on the practice squad.  I could go either way though.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.   

Couldn't resist, Happy New Year.

[reality check]

There are so many great players.  Many of the guys on the HM list below were two and even three time All-OAC performers.  I think you could easily make arguments for all three QBs (Arth, Micheli, Pentello) but I ultimately chose Pentello because before he arrived in Bexley CAP was an afterthought.  Arth took a mediocre JCU team deep in the playoffs but JCU was respectable before he showed up.  When you look at Pentello's career numbers, it's mind-boggling; 12,569 career passing yards, over 1000 career completions, 111 career passing TDs.  Jeff Gibbs can't be overlooked as a TE.  He caught 29 TD passes in his four years and was only the second ever TE to win the Ed Sherman award.  Kraft had one monster year but that was it.  Some of my HM guys are only there because they played just one year (2000) in this decade - Marino is an example.

All-Decade Honorable Mentions

QB: Tom Arth - JCU             DL: Andree Mock - OTT
QB: Dan Larlham - BW          DL: Jeff Tibbs - MUSK
QB: Rob Adamson - MUC       DL: Brian Christopher - ONU
RB: RJ Meadows - ONU         DL: Antoine Dillard - MUC
RB: Brandon Oing - JCU        DL: Antoine Dillard - MUC
RB: Rashaun Gales - CAP      DL: Buddy Cox - CAP
RB: Brandon Hedges - BW     DL: Joe Millings - MUC
RB: Colton Coy - OTT          DL: Johnny Josef - MUC
RB: Josh Braden - OTT         DL: Nick Bucci - CAP
WR: Adam Marino - MUC       LB: Chris Cubero - JCU
WR: Greg Evilsizor - ONU       LB: Mike Gibbons - MUC
WR: Dawond Roddy - HEID    LB: Tony DeRiggi - MUC
WR: Marque Jones - WILM     LB: Mike Davis - HEID
WR: Lewis Howes - CAP        LB: Justin Princehorn - BW
WR: Ryan Rowley - OTT        LB: Kieran Johnson - OTT
WR: Antione Dunklin - JCU     LB: Joel Sickmeier - CAP
TE: Kive Kraft - CAP             LB: Paul Burger - BW
TE: Drew Hanley - MUC        DB: Rusty Midlam - ONU
C: Eric Safran - MUC           DB: Pete Gordon - HEID
C: Cory Dutcher - CAP         DB: Greg Koch - BW
C: Ed Malone - MUC            DB: Ross Watson - MUC
OL: Rick Ingold - ONU          DB: Chad Otte - WILM
OL: Jake Pence - WILM        DB: Anthony Fanelli - JCU
OL: Andy Fries - OTT           DB: Steve Gunter - ONU
OL: Victor DeBoer - JCU
K: Rodney Chenos - MUC
K: JR Cipra - ONU

[Small but Slow]

Comparing Micheli, Pentello, and Arth is unfair to all three young men.  Micheli played on four teams that played in the Stagg Bowl with the game's all time leading rusher, great line, and an outstanding receiving corps.  Pentello and Arth both led their teams deep into the playoffs without the luxury of great talent surrounding them.  The question that can never be answered is; could Micheli have led his team as far without Kmic, Garcon, Shorts, & company?  I believe he could have carried a team as far as Arth & Pentello without them, but with them he won two national titles, played in three, and won the Gagliardi .

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Live isn't fair! 

So who is your pick for the All Decade-OAC QB then?

[HURFMUC]

Kirasdad see what kind of banter you started. Muc fans can't look out side the box and know good talent from other oac teams. If these Muc players played at these other colleges they would be watching the stag at home

[raiderpa]

Arth may have won three titles at MUC... hands down best passer of the decade  
Larlham carried BW and may have won titles at ONU or MUC
Irgang makes arguably the greatest (most timely) catch in MUC history..or Arth beats Mount once and if no injury maybe twice..
Chuck Moore, not sharing with Pugh and having opportunities that Kmic had, is IMO all-around better than Nate, also Moore got screwed not having NCAA playoff numbers count in his stats...
I think Blanchard was a better lineman than Kinnard, however Kinnard had NFL size
Mount LB's through out the decade were amazing, I liked the kid from Dover. #26..was undersized and overhearted...
Sofelkanics is the best OAC punter I have ever seen since Vagedes at ONU
The Sickmeier kid that was so good at Cap was a MUC transfer
Hauslers were a couple of the gutsiest players around
Pentello commanded respect with his grit and play
Trusnik was a killer
RJ was a special RB
I also thought a great deal of the lefty QB at Northern...

[Raider 68]

Kirasdad see what kind of banter you started. Muc fans can't look out side the box and know good talent from other oac teams. If these Muc players played at these other colleges they would be watching the stag at home

I think it is great by everyone on the OAC board to get engaged in this discussion so soon after the playoffs are over. It tells me that everyone is anxious for 2010 and that there remains some unfinished business in the OAC.

Great posts to all and all the best for a Great and Healthy 2010!

[HSCTiger74]

Happy New Year to all the OAC posters! Party hard but travel safe.

[reality check]

The fun part about putting together my list was three-fold.  I am amazed when I looked at the All-OAC accolades, the stats and the individual awards how many absolute studs MUC has regardless of the talent surrounding each guy.  You could easily have an MUC player at every position on the first team without much argument (aside from all-decade punter because....really.... how would we know how good a Mount Union punter really was???)  I mean look at the guys I settled on as HM's: Millings, Dillard, Josef, Gibbons, DeRiggi, Ross Watson... that's a helluva defensive unit and I put them BEHIND lots of talented guys as HM's.

The second thing that was fun was recalling some of the guys that played for lesser schools or after other big names that had great careers and are often overlooked.  I loved guys like Zach Weber, Clay Ream, Joseph Konrad and Rusty Midlam for example.  They had huge impacts on their respective teams and put up monster numbers over their careers. 

Thirdly, it is an amazing thing to see how so many had incredible seasons either as a Senior that came outta nowhere or as underclassmen that kinda just disappeared.  Guys like RJ Meadows and Kieran Johnson were studs as underclassmen but ended on a skid due to injuries or disappearing altogether.  Kive Kraft did indeed have a monster All-American season but his career numbers were not outstanding by comparison.  Sickmeier was a beast that one year he led the Crusaders defense.  Wilma had some serious talent when it first came over and guys like Jonathan Cain and Jake Pence are indications of that time period. 

As always, I'm sure I left off a number of deserving names.  I'd love to have thrown a few more Polar Bears on my lists but ran out of room.  Curt Hartman, Jace Metzner, Brad Lohr, Jeff Soliday and Brent Donley were squeezed off my list and could all be on it without flinching.

[JK]

RC-

Like the list.  Hard to argue with any of it, but you are right... there are a lot of talented guys you left off the list. 

I am thinking about doing it for Capital guys only, just for my own amusement. 

[Dr. Acula]

Arth may have won three titles at MUC... hands down best passer of the decade  
Larlham carried BW and may have won titles at ONU or MUC
Irgang makes arguably the greatest (most timely) catch in MUC history..or Arth beats Mount once and if no injury maybe twice..
Chuck Moore, not sharing with Pugh and having opportunities that Kmic had, is IMO all-around better than Nate, also Moore got screwed not having NCAA playoff numbers count in his stats...
I think Blanchard was a better lineman than Kinnard, however Kinnard had NFL size
Mount LB's through out the decade were amazing, I liked the kid from Dover. #26..was undersized and overhearted...
Sofelkanics is the best OAC punter I have ever seen since Vagedes at ONU
The Sickmeier kid that was so good at Cap was a MUC transfer
Hauslers were a couple of the gutsiest players around
Pentello commanded respect with his grit and play
Trusnik was a killer
RJ was a special RB
I also thought a great deal of the lefty QB at Northern...

Not positive which catch you were referring to, but if it was the game saving 4th down catch that was tipped at Bedford Stadium on the final drive that was actually Josh Liddell in 01.       

[Raider 68]

GO BUCKS, WIN THIS ROSE BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[reality check]

I know Soflkanics was a talented punter but I had the fortune to snap to Vagedes in practice my freshman year.  He was an absolute talent and goofy as could be.  He'd do all sorts of stuff that made me laugh or just shake my head but he had a leg like I've never seen before or since.

I remember seeing his 88 yard punt in 1999 against CAP.  We rarely ran a true punt team on the field.  Usually Steve would just line up wide, Franzer would step up to be the personal protector and Steve would step back to punting depth and the offensive line stayed on as the cover team.  In this particular instance, we were backed up on our 12 so the safe punt team subbed in.  Steve was three yards deep in our end zone and put a ball in the air about 75 yards.  Two bounces later it was out of the BACK of the endzone.  88 yards officially but 70+ was on the fly.  If he was kicking that same ball from the 1 and not the 12, he'd have a 99 yard punt which is insane to even say or think.  Who in the world would believe a touchback kicked out of your own endzone??? 

[raiderpa]

Dr. A
you are correct it was Lidell and I stand corrected...

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Dr. A
you are correct it was Lidell and I stand corrected...

That's ok.  You can sit down.  Dr. A Ain't no Mike Leach.