FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[skunks_sidekick]

I for one have been happy that the tailgating has increased (started?) at the Mount games over the last few years.  It wasn't too long ago that tailgating was "illegal" in the city of Alliance, and the law was enforced (open container and some such).  I think there was a concerted effort by the college, certain influential alumnae, and just the overwhelming success of Purple Raider football that made it "ok" to tailgate in the parking lot.  

The people that are going to drink to excess, will do so whether it's in the parking lot, the local bar, the frat house, wherever.  I viewed the parking lot before the JCU/Mount semi-final game a few years ago, and it was packed.  There seemed to be quite a bit of loud, obnoxious horseplay going on, but Alliance's finest were in force, and on hand to make sure things didn't get out of control.  

Here's to a spirited, fun, and enthusiastic crowd for this Saturday's game.  Skunk and I will be at our usual pregame spot.  Margaritas in the morning, it's a beautiful thing.   

[theaprof]

I don't think we are saying don't tailgate--I myself have participated in some pre-game "warming beverages".  The point is the behavior. 

A couple of beers (or more) doesn't excuse rude behavior.  Have fun, enjoy yourself, scream like a mad person for your team--just don't be a jerk.

It is only a game--it has nothing to do with the other team's mother--or their relationships--it only has to do with the game and how it is played on the field.

Good luck to both teams and their coaches--the best team on any given saturday will come out on top--

Of course we all know who the best team will be--

GO RAIDERS

[seventiesraider]

 BTW-My humble apoligies to all you lurking here who know that thirty years ago the drunken obnoxious fan was probably me.

[JK]

My internert at the house was out when I returned home from Crawfordsville this past weekend, so I have had to wait until now at work to post my thoughts.

Here goes...

The game was every bit as good as predicted.  Both really good defenses.  I think Wabash was as fast sideline to sideline as Cap is.  Cap REALLY gets after the QB.  SEVEN sacks on Saturday.  It is nice to see Matt Evans back in the mix at DE.  With him, Cox, and Floyd, plus #59 (I forget his name and don't have my roster in front of me), they get enough pressure off the corners that they don't have to bring a lot of heat from the LBs and they are more effective when they do.  I noticed this at the JCU game, but it was really on display this weekend.

We needed all the pressure we could get on Harbaugh because there were WRs running free deep all day.  Wabash hits on a couple of those and it's a much different ballgame (obviously).  A couple were overthrown because of pressure, but a couple were just plain dropped.  MUC is going to be salivating seeing that on film this week, especially if Garcon is healthy.  That is how they beat Cap during the season, with the deep ball, and Cap looked suceptible to that this past weekend.  Wabash missed them, Mount won't miss that many.

Wabash really blew up the stretch play all day.  Cap couldn't run except for a couple of times for 5-8 yards and the one big Mulkey run.  But Wabash had no backside contain all day.   The backside DE was just crashing down the LOS.  A couple of naked bootlegs or reverses would have, in my opinion, opened it up a bit more.  The other thing that helped was Capital leaking the back out into pass routes on the backside in the second half.  Although that did backfire on the INT that got WAB within 3.

Great goalline stand forcing the fumble in the first half.  No doubt about that turnover.  I don't know about the INT.  I know all of us on the purple side of the stadium were holding our breaths.  I saw two guys go up for the ball and I thought it was broken up.  Then I saw the ref signal touchback.  Tough break, but IMO, it never should have come down to that.  Capital played so well for 50 minutes.  I honestly thought for a while they might pitch a shutout.  I feel that the better team won.

After the game, I was a bit shocked to hear the Wabash fans booing.  I had always heard about their being very classy.  It was a hard fought game, no one deserved to be booed, refs included.  All in all, it was a fairly well officiated game, IMO.  The only "bad" call was when they didn't call an obvious Pass Interference when Rankin got mugged just as he was getting ready to lay out on a deep ball in the 2nd qtr.  The INT would be "questionable."

Also I had a Wabash student after the game as I was returing to my car with my Father in law say to me "Nice purple, I bet it goes great in San Fransisco, Fag."  Of course my reply was the always witty "Hey, at least I didn't go to an all boys school." Classy indeed.

As mentioned a few years ago by a mount guy, the guys in the red and white striped pants are scary.  What is the deal with the buckets?  Why do they stand on them all game?  And please, we get that your D is nicknamed the "Hard Hat D," we don't need to hear the "HAAAAARDHAAAAATDEEEEEE" chant EVERY SINGLE TIME they come onto the field.

Looking forward to this week's matchup.  Cap needs to find the "O."  I don't think they can keep MUC in a low scoring game.  They succeeded for three QTRS last time, but rematches are tough with MUC, as the past indicates.

I think I will be in Alliance on Friday night.  My mom lives less than a Mile from MUC stadium (a block over and 5 blocks up from the 'hood).  Any of you Cap guys are welcome to drop me a line and I will gladly get together with you.  Need a place to crash or to park, I will see what I can do.  Just to let you know though, my mother will be rooting for Mount... she is the president of their Alumni association.

Unless something significantly changes, I will see you all in A-town this week.

[smedindy]

I didn't hear any boos - but I was in the press box.

Sorry about the idiot on the street. That's an anomaly and I bet it was an idiotic drunken student, which can happen anywhere.

As for the Sphinx Club - they stand on the buckets basically so they can see over the  bench.

Actually - our head coach is the one really pumping up for the Hard Hat D cheer.

As far as the officials go:

They were horrible in spotting the ball. That was quite noticeable in the press box.
They were inconsistent in winding the clock as to when they wound it and even if it was out of bounds or not.
They missed  calls both ways.

The one that is maddening is that they missed an incomplete shovel pass late in the game and called it a reception and a fumble. It was clear that it was an incomplete pass to everyone in the press box.

But the refs never cost Wabash the game - not at all.

I was glad to see a lot of Cap supporters at the game.

[JK]

Smed,

OK.  I didn't know if there was a significance to the buckets or not.

It wasn't like the whole stadium was booing, but I certainly heard some boos right as the "Gun" sounded.

Agreed that drunken fans can be a problem anywhere.  Witness the conversations about some certain MUC fans on this board a few posts back.  I was just really suprised that a Wabash guy tried to bust out a "Gay" blast.

The majority of the Wabash fans offered a "good game" and a "good luck next week."

I did notice a few bad spots, but it didn't seem a major problem from where I was sitting.
Never noticed issues with winding the clock, but wasn't paying attention, either.
They did miss calls both ways.

I agree with you on the shovel pass call.  I forgot that one.

[HScoach]

FYI, the results for Round 2 of the Pick-Em's has finally been posted.

[firstdown]

JK

CAP played a great game and won on the field.  The officiating was terrible, but that hurt both teams pretty evenly.  I for one was booing at the end of the game.  However, I was not booing CAP, nor were the Wabash fans, but the so called "officials".  CAP, Wabash, and all the teams in the playoffs deserve quality officiating, not a bunch of keystone cops that are unfit to ref at a dog fight.  The NCAA should be ashamed of itself for foisting that bunch of incompetents on the field as refs.  The players, the schools, and the fans deserve better.

Congrats to CAP on winning a great game.  That was one of the best defensive struggles I've seen in long time.  CAP's decision to go for a pass on the 3rd down play that resulted in a first down running out the clock was reminescent of Notre Dame's fourth down pass in the Sugar Bowl in 1973 that defeated Alabama.  Good luck this week.

[Augie6]

rscl70,

As dansand stated, the way Barnes has been running the wing-t has been different than how we ran it in the 80's under Reade.  I think it has more to do with personnel than a philosophical difference between Reade and Barnes.  Roe is one of the best running qb's we've had at Augie and mixing in the option gives him a chance to run with the ball more often (he gained 342 yards in a game against Wheaton last season).  The qb's we had in the 80's were decent runners, but would typically end up with 100-200 yards rushing per season.  We ran the option periodically, but relied on counters, dives and quick pitches as our bread and butter.

MUC wasn't too far away from being what they have been for the past 15 years when we played in the 80's.  Without question, they were the best team we played against in those seasons.  If they had managed to beat us, I have no doubt they would have won their first national championship a few seasons sooner.  Good luck the remainder of the playoffs.  I hope MUC can win their 8th title.

[e_lee]

Division III football is alive and well.  There have been a few teachers and coaches that have congratulated me on Capital's performance thus far, without me bringing it up.  Granted they probably don't this site but thats not to be expected.  The other offensive line coach, who I haven't seen much since the season ended wrote me a note on a bracket from d3football.com congratulating me on Capital's success.

Go Cap!

[Cap99Fan]

This is only my 2nd year watching DIII football and I have been impressed to see the support by the fans. With two teams in Columbus I am discusted with the Columbus Dispatch and how little coverage either team gets. I guess thats what you get with that big teams here but I would expect more out of them.

I was proud of the support CAP from the fans for both games.

Go Crusaders!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Did AJ Workman get any PT on MUC JV this year?

I didn't see any rushing stats for the JV Games on Ric's site.

[JK]

Cap99Fan,

The two teams?  In the readership area of the Dispatch, there is Cap and OTT (which I assume are the two you are referring to), but there is also Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio Dominican.  You might even consider Denison as "in the area" the Dispatch covers.  I know for HS football they cover all the way out to Granville.

You wouldn't know it from Sunday's or Monday's paper though.  If you were an outsider you would think that OSU was the only football playing school in town.  Granted, they are the "big boy" and if they want to devote most of Sunday's paper to the latest OSU news and recap, fine.  But at least consistently put in a release from the smaller schools on a later page.  Only occasionally did they have a column devoted to the smaller schools in the area, and usually that was an AP "around Ohio Colleges" type of release.  Perhaps they could run the scores on Sunday and do more in-depth stuff in Monday's edition.

But it is not just the Dispatch.  In Columbus there are also many radio and TV stations as well.  They never usually mention Capital or any of the others either.  At least run through some of the scores.  Maybe one day someone will call into a local sports talk radio show and start talking about Capital being among the final 8 teams in D3.  I bet the hosts wouldn't even know it.  THey might not even know Capital had a football team.

[seventiesraider]

Given the smaller market, Mount Union made the Akron Beacon Journal sports front page Sunday and only had to share space with Akron U's Nationally Ranked Soccer team. (Go figure, it's so very popular here, NOT)

[OU#25]

Ric, MtFan, HURFMUC, Pat Cummings...etc:

Nice seeing you all this past weekend in Alliance!  Thanks for the conversation and good atmosphere.  Sorry about "liquid courage" edging out "singing on key" at the BW3's.  I'm officially retired from the karaoke league. Who knew that Don McClean's "American Pie" was an eight minute song anyhow???

Mount fans can only hope for a repeat performance from this past weekend through the remainder of the playoffs.  Not to sound brash but in my estimation Mount would have beaten any D3 team in the country on Saturday.  Augustana is a very very good team and Mount was able to control the point of contact.  Mount is extremely balanced on both sides of the ball and seems to be peaking at the right moment.  I heard some posters compare Kmic (sp?) to Moore and talk about speed and other intangibles but the thing I was blown away with was his 2nd, 3rd and 4th effort on every run.  People talk about a quick first step but I noticed a calcuated hesitation and then explosive burst to set up his blocking both at the line and downfield.  

This weekend's game should be exciting but I'm sure Capital will be itching their collective heads wondering where this kid came from.  Let me congratulate both Capital and MUC for making it this far and showing the rest of the country just how strong our conference is this year.

btw...Could someone please expain the homefield scenarios for MUC should they beat Capital this weekend.  Just curious to know what needs to happen for Mount to stay home the rest of the way.