FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[rscl70]

Mount Union brought in a "regional opera singer" to do the Star Spangled Banner for today'
s game. It was the best I have ever heard in the stadium or anywhere else. He was magnificent.

Agree.

[bleedpurple]

I watched the www game on the internet from the middle of 3rd quarter to the end.  www did not pass on offense and ran right then left then up the gut.  Runners were of size and sure handed but slow and the pioneers held them most of the time.  Turn overs killed the pioneers or they would have won that game.  www were big and well coached but slow on offense.  I saw no passes during the time I watched this game from www.  On the other hand, the pioneers passed on every down or the Qb ran it on a scramble.  they should have tied the game as www did not show the explosive offense they have had in the past.  They have a good defense but the pioneers moved the ball even with their 3rd Qb.  HS coach was right, the better team did not win this game from what i saw.  Too bad the pioneers Qb got hurt.  But thats football.

I feel badly for Kelly.  He played against UW-W last year, too.  He is a good QB.  I will say the danger of injury to a QB against a team like UW-W is greatly increased when you run their spread offense, run the ball 13 times all game, and 5 of those runs are by their QB's.  Their top 2 QB's are two of the best QB's in the WIAC.  Nick Anderson has gotten hurt each of the last two years and now Kelly has a reported broken collarbone. 

[Raider 68]

Mount Union brought in a "regional opera singer" to do the Star Spangled Banner for today'
s game. It was the best I have ever heard in the stadium or anywhere else. He was magnificent.

Agree.

This was not his first appearance at a Mount game, but he again was fantastic!

[Raider 68]

This Raider team looks better every week.  Speed everywhere, a QB that can take advantage of it, an O Line that's playing very well, and a D that is even better than last year.  Overall I think the most improvement has been at the QB position and the Offensive Line play.

Conference play is very interesting with the Berg clearly putting it all together and Otterbein a bit of a surprise.

Agree,

The other QB aspect that the Raiders now have is a real leader who has a great sense
of knowing what to do and when. The move of Dieseul to LB just gives him the ability
to cover all the field. Let's just keep it going!

[Dr. Acula]

Oh, BW....doing those vintage BW things.  Ott absolutely shut down BW's running game.  The Cards appear to be for real defensively.  At the very least they're better than I gave them credit for.  Oddly when I quickly thought about it the current pecking order seemed very clear cut to me.  Here's how I'd rank em:

1. UMU
2. Berg   
3. Ott
4. BW
5. JCU
6. ONU
7. Cap
8. Etta
9. Musky
10. Wilm

 

[mr_mom]

The results of this week's OAC Pick-Em are up.  Congratulations to Bobert6296 for a perfect score of 17 ... the highest weekly score since I took this over from HSCoach.

So the big question for this week ... how many points do I have to give Wilmington so that someone will pick them? 

[HScoach]

64

[section13raiderfan]

OMG!!!???  They scored 56 pts, rushed for an avg of 5.1 yards per play, had a third down efficiency of 40% and a fourth down efficiency of 67%, and were penalized 11 times for 103 yards. And they are NOT UMU!  Oh Yeah.... and they are undefeated.   Is the world spinning backwards too? Cant believe Im saying this, GO HEIDELBERG!  Also cant believe Im saying this....I cant wait for the Mount/Heidelberg game   Way to go Coach Hallett. Hard not to vote him COY, certainly a frontrunner.......I know its early.....still......OMG!  Keep er going guys. Whodathunkit?  Heidi has an attitude...a winning attitude!

[Dr. Acula]

Few thoughts from yesterday:

Consistency seems to be the name of the game.  Burke had another ho hum 16/22, 238 yds and a TD on a perfectly thrown deep ball to Collins.  Then Namdar relieves him and looks great as always in his time.  With Burke running the ball a handful of times per game I like the safety net Namdar seems to provide now.

Also consistent is Denton making plays in the return game.  Yet another punt return TD.  Is that 4 now?  What a luxury that is.  And Skilliter added a 95 yd KO return and a long punt return that was a shoe string tackle away from his 2nd special teams TD of the day. 

But most consistent?  The D.  As always.  Just dominant again.  ONU didn't cross the 50 until there were around 90 sec to go in the game when Rue completed a 79 yd pass.  The stats are gross.  ONU didn't have a guy hit double digits in rushing yds.  Humphrey averaged 4 yds per completion.  Not per attempt, per completion.

I was also happy to see that Lattimore's entire rushing performance was in the 1st half.  13 carries, 79 yds, 2 TD is a good game, but it's an excellent half.  And no fumbles.  Really good effort from TJ.

[purpled]

Kevin Burke is D 3's top rated passer! Things are shaping up nicely!

[HScoach]

It's nice to watch Mount again where they're winning because of the QB, instead of in spite of the QB!  Makes heading to the stadium a lot more fun.

I know it's way too early to be looking towards 2013 when we're not even 24 hours removed from Week 4, but the Raiders are going to be extremely young next year.    Burke is the only non-senior on the entire offense and only 3 D-lineman (DE Thomas, DT Fechko and DE Rosalva) return for defense.    Better win it in '12 because the '13 roster is going to look a lot like 1994 or 1998.

[Desertraider]

I thought Mount looked good yesterday. I was pleased with the offense and special teams - but was overjoyed that my neices ex is one of ONUs male cheerleaders and was silent for the entire game. I made sure to do a few trips that way and make sure he saw me and my mount gear. Thanks Raiders!
However a few things bothered me. First - sometimes you just gotta run north/south. I know Denton can break one anytime but I worry about ball security when he is dancing around running side to side looking for a gap. Also, he didnt catch any of the punts clean which my friend at the game pointed out - because he was looking downfield. Second, if the ball hits the ground, and the opponent is within 10 yards on the punts - get the heck away. A couple of those were way to close to making contact. Third, if Skilliter could get out of the doghouse (as some have mentioned he is in) he could do some damage. That kid has some speed and moves that were displayed on the kick return. As a side note - I watched Prendergast when he got in and he looked OK but he dances too much and tries to make too many cuts. He didn't look slow or anything just unsure of where to go. Saw one play where the hole opened (big and wide) and he cut into the hole then tried to make 2 cuts inside of it. If he just goes he has 10+, instead he gets pulled down with a 2 or 3 yard gain.  Mount doesn't have a RB that can take over a game like Kmic, Pugh, or Moore - but they have 3 solid RBs that can get 200+ a game combined which will help come playoff time.

On the positive side I liked the passing of Burke. More of a 15-20 yard approach and letting the WR get YAC. Keeps him accurate and the WRs have great hands and can fly. But one question: why did a few of the Raiders have white socks and cleats? Just curious - but it looked very odd. One thing to keep in mind for next year is that though they will be young the 2nd team o-line is getting a ton of experience and they also have a Senior RB (Woods) coming in next year that will be a real nice compliment to Burke. However - this has to be the year!! Roll Raiders!

[Ric]

Woods will be a junior next year and Skilliter is not in the dog house.

[Desertraider]

Woods will be a junior next year and Skilliter is not in the dog house.

I thought Woods was a Soph last year and was sitting out Junior year due to transfer. But if he has 2 more years then great. On the Skilliter comment I had heard that he had fumble issues and that's why he wasnt getting more playing time - couple people were actually talking about it the stands at the game.

Also - I really have to know why ONU didnt pull the starting QB for the 2nd half? The backup came in for one play when the starter had to leave and he completes a pass (first down I think) then goes back to the bench. Thats all well and good but when you come out for the 3rd qtr down 27pts and the starter has done NOTHING - why not take a gamble? Especially when the kickoff gets taken to the house and you are down 34 before the offense hits the field. I thought the backup looked ok - he certainly didnt look as frustrated as the starter did. Granted he was getting the 2nd defensive unit but still.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Woods will be a junior next year and Skilliter is not in the dog house.

I thought Woods was a Soph last year and was sitting out Junior year due to transfer. But if he has 2 more years then great. On the Skilliter comment I had heard that he had fumble issues and that's why he wasnt getting more playing time - couple people were actually talking about it the stands at the game.

Also - I really have to know why ONU didnt pull the starting QB for the 2nd half? The backup came in for one play when the starter had to leave and he completes a pass (first down I think) then goes back to the bench. Thats all well and good but when you come out for the 3rd qtr down 27pts and the starter has done NOTHING - why not take a gamble? Especially when the kickoff gets taken to the house and you are down 34 before the offense hits the field. I thought the backup looked ok - he certainly didnt look as frustrated as the starter did. Granted he was getting the 2nd defensive unit but still.

TJ Lattimore was having issues holding onto the ball in the first few games.  I think yesterday was his first game without a fumble.