FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Is Vrable going to be the Rocky Pentello of Marietta?

[kcreds]

reality check, now I am very curious. Why do you think there will be very little info out of the Pio camp. I remember seeing and responding to your posts on the NCAC board and if you don't know how frequently I posted about OWU I would understand. I love football and my son playing makes me even more excited for him and the team he is playing on. Do you think I will receive word from the Marietta staff to not post? That will be the only way I will stop posting on Marietta even if they are lousy. One thing I really try to do is be very vague on my posting so as not to disrupt anything the coaching staff may be trying to do. I don't want to let out any hush hush inside info. I thought I was pretty good at that when I reported on OWU. Again I am very interested in knowing why there won't be much info in the future. I guess it could be that there really isn't that many Marietta posters on here by choice or not by choice.

Small but Slow, I agree with you but even players from small very successful programs like Williamstown could give a team that positive winning attitude that it may be lacking. Don't forget that Parkersburg South won a state championship just a few years ago.

[KennethK]

A few months back you guys debated the fine QB's in your conference..won't there be quite a turn-over of quarterbacks in the OAC in 2007...other than the lefty from Mount Union.

[Small but Slow]

kcreds -  I agree some talent does exist in that area, but it's not the same as the other regions of the state.  Ohio U. has the same issue in D-1.  OU signs a local boy every few years to maintain community support, but it's been over twenty years since one of those kids played much.  The Marietta staff could scour the region and build relationships with the local coaches to build a pipeline if local talent that does exist.  When I coached in that area in the early to mid 90's we had to practically recruit Marietta to look at a kid we had.  Mount, ONU, and several West Virginia Conference D-2 schools were interested in him, but he wanted to stay closer to home and wanted a school with a chemical engineering program.  He ended up going to school at Marietta, didn't play football, and could have helped the team.

[HScoach]

reality check, now I am very curious. Why do you think there will be very little info out of the Pio camp.

Other than Pios and Vrable's dad, there haven't been any Marietta fans on here.   And the Vrable lovefest could hardly be classified as "information".   Hence the comment about newfound data on the Pioneers.

Welcome aboard and try not to let us Radier fans run you off without a fight

[section13raiderfan]

Isnt it curious how the student athletes flock to certain schools for some sports and not others? Case in point..Marietta baseball. There is no D3 stigma about playing baseball for Marietta. Im no expert on Marietta sports, but do they even have another dominant sports program? MUC is not too bad at track either and that is one indicator of talent for football also. What other OAC teams have dominant sports programs in other sports? If Marietta could have a couple of good years in football also as well as baseball, then they might build their own dynasty. A pleasant but scary thought.

[kcreds]

hscoach, thanks to you and the others for the insight. Wabash couldn't run me off the NCAC board and I'm sure the Raiders won't run me off here either, even though the Raider fans are scarier. 

[seventiesraider]

My high school kids ran an indoor track meet at Marietta last weekend and I was amazed at the faciilties that they now have; new basketball and track facilties in the fieldhouse. That considering Marietta only reinstated track as a sport three years ago. With the upgrades to Don Drumm and ther new fieldhouse Etta is on the way back.

PS The last time I looked there were still some awfully good football programs along the river like Steubenville and Shadyside. And wasn't Jorris from Woodsfield, just up I77?

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

How far is Marietta from Stubenville?  Seems there used to be some pretty good football played there...

[reality check]

kcreds

HSCoach said it as well as I could.  I did chuckle though at your puzzlement over me expecting little to no inciteful info from Pio-land and then a couple lines later you explained how you purposely report things in as vague a manner as possible.  I expect you to stick around and throw in your $.02 when it comes to Etta but you didn't exactly help me to believe we're going to hear or read much worthwhile info from down on the river with that comment about keeping things on the down-low.  I welcome you too and hope that you can keep us posted on the goings-on in Marietta nonetheless.

section13

Not claiming to be an expert on other schools' cross-sport dominance but the OAC is probably stronger from top to bottom in men's basketball than they are in football.  ONU, JCU, CAP, BW and OTT have (or had in my years at ONU) very good programs.  

Soccer: I know Wilmington has a very good program but it's soccer so who the hell cares?
Baseball: Etta, of course and ONU has had a very strong program until the passing of Coach Strayer
Wrestling: Looking back just about every school has had a nice run.  Hiram in the early 60's, BW in the late 60's and early 70's, ONU in the mid to late 70's and early 80's, Mount in the late 80's and part of the 90's, and JCU for the rest of the 90's and to current date.
Golf: Otterbein has been dominant and JCU is a strong second
Track and Field: Mount Union has dominated OAC outdoors and indoors with OTT and ONU being very solid indoor programs lately
Swimming: Kenyon took their domination to the NCAC while JCU owns the pool

The only thing I take from that is that just about all the programs are very good or have been dominant in some sport or another.  I don't think being dominant in one sport plus football is going to be building any dynasties.  Good athletic departments willing to put the money into facilities and staff are what builds great programs in the OAC.  You don't see many of these successful programs playing in sub-standard facilities.

[SaintsFAN]

reality,

In your opinoin does the flirtation of Curt Wiese with UW-WW job hurt his recruiting for this year? 

I mean who's to say this guy is going to continue looking in the classifieds?  Change is a very unsettling thought to 18 year olds committing to a school and football program.

[seventiesraider]

reality,

In your opinoin does the flirtation of Curt Wiese with UW-WW job hurt his recruiting for this year? 

I mean who's to say this guy is going to continue looking in the classifieds?  Change is a very unsettling thought to 18 year olds committing to a school and football program.

And now the UW-Stout job is open........

[reality check]

Saintsfan

It has to hurt recruiting.  I have no idea and there's probably no way to measure to what degree it hurts but if you have your name floating around in another school's vacancy, then it has to have a negative impact on recruiting in some way, shape or form.  Marietta was the only other OAC school I visited.  This was prior to the new athletic renovations and during Epley's tenure.  If Epley was considering or being considered for a position elsewhere at the time of my recruitment, I would have never even gone down on the river for my visit.  I have to think that would be true for many young men in the same position. 

Perhaps it has an even bigger impact on a school like Marietta, Wilmington, Otterbein, Muskingum, etc. because programs like MUC, BW, ONU, CAP, etc. are likely to pick up or carry on in their winning ways while a middle of the pack school has enough to worry about when it comes to recruiting blue-chippers under the best of circumstances; let alone under the haze and confusion of a potential vacating coach or a coach that is entertaining the idea of moving to bigger and better things. 

[D3 Poster]

I thought Wiese's interest in UWW was actually a secret attempt to jump start the running game and get Beaver to come to Etta.  The chance to open at St John's and finish at Mt Union in '07 is certainly a unique opportunity.

One of the candidates on the roster to replace Vrable next year is a 6'6" QB from Jorris' high school.  He threw three passes at the varsity level in '06, so the jury is definitely out on whether he can develop like Mr Jorris. 

A couple other Mount-Marietta connections...the Pios' star linebacker is from the same High School as Micheli.  Former Purple Raider Rb, Ciccone was a grad assistant with the Pios in '06.  Marietta hasn't defeated MU since 1977.  The closest they've come other than the 41-37 loss in '95 (Dante Brown years) was beating Montgomery's Emory & Henry team two years in a row   

[kcreds]

I feel pretty good about distracting all the Raider posts to posting on Marietta. Seriously, I do appreciate the insight. I'm going to put in my .02 worth on Marietta's situation. I'm somewhat torn on the Coach W situation. If he was honest and advised the AD that it will only be short term then he should not have been hired. Every program needs stability and I agree with Saintsfan, it has to hurt recruiting. When I read he was up for the W-WH job on here and asked some people close to the program about it, they were surprised. Coach W must have kept it hush hush, as much as he realisticly could, unlike Coach Mora. If the understanding was that he would be around long enough to build the program up and move on, I would be okay with that. I am sure the stability of the program has a lot to do with recruiting. I also am sure that no matter the coach, some good players will play at Marietta just because of their academics. I am selfish, I want all the good players. As far as facilities, Marietta has come a long way.