FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[muc-raider]

That was a tough loss to watch.   But I have to admit that UWW was the better team Saturday.   Not to take as an excuse, but did anyone notice that LK looked like maybe he was sick.  Does anyone have any insight on this?

[purple]

 John Utah....Nick Parr deserves a lot of recognition.He has played two solid years on the D line.IMO you are right.

[DutchFan2004]

I think Keith and I both agree -- I know I agree -- that that is a touchdown without the assist. He was definitely moving forward when the assist came.

We'll never know, really. Usually when the ball is snapped and you immediately get knocked backward you don't get it, because by the time you get your momentum back, other guys have shown up. Unless of course, your RB gives you a push to help you regain momentum more quickly.

Tape doesn't tell the tale, IMO, because it doesn't show, and can't show, how fast Jones would have gotten going forward again -- or if he would have gotten going forward again -- after he was knocked backward.

My first look was that he was stopped, then Beaver's push got him going again. I haven't seen a replay, and won't walk a mile to do so. I don't think the replay could tell you much about a situation like that.

I understood why Vince Kehres came unglued. If a player went after a ref like that, I'd say it was totally out of line. But coaches jaw at and yell at officials all game. To me, what he did is the equivalent of a basketball coach getting a technical foul or a baseball coach getting tossed: not good, usually, but not some inexcusably awful thing.

Congrats to Whitewater...wish we could know how it would have turned out if the correct call had been made.

The only basketball coach I can equate this with is Bobby Knight.  I don't think he is a coach to emulate as far as on court/field conduct goes.

[DustySJU]

That was a tough loss to watch.   But I have to admit that UWW was the better team Saturday.   Not to take as an excuse, but did anyone notice that LK looked like maybe he was sick.  Does anyone have any insight on this?

Yeah, it's called shock!

[ScheckDiesel]

You have to understand the WIAC board/fans.  The vast majority are extremely good natured but they have a few accentuated knobs on that board.  I suppose one could find it comparable to a back up WR finally catching a TD pass then then engaging in showmanship in the end zone.  UWW is a good program but they will come crashing down to earth next year with no Beaver, Mrkvicka (sp?), etc.  MUC will continue to be what it has been.  Personally, I hope the Johnnies from SJU can get you again in the Stagg.  With Michali (sp?) and Kmic coming back, MUC will be the team to beat next year, as per usual. 

I don't think its fair that you say that UWW is going to come crashing back to earth. I thought before this year started we were going to be pushed just to win conference... so I will wait until I see the team next year before I make any predictions... However, I can safely say that I believe MUC will be just as strong next year as they have been in the past years, but that goes without saying..

So.....do you suppose Micheli will want to transfer to WW to get a shot at a championship next year???

This is from the WIAC board, those boys seem to be getting a little cocky after 1 national championship.

Yeah, because he is 100% serious... pshh.. give me a break..

[oldhawk]

Just wanted to pop over to see the take on the game from Mount Unions perpective and offer up my congratulations on a great season(decade??).  You guys have been and are the best football program in D3 and I think most people with any football knowledge at all know you're not going away anytime soon.  I would certainly expect to see you guys going after #10 again next year. 

How it is that the success of your teams hasn't prompted a D1 team to try and lure away coach K is beyond me.  Or maybe they have and he's just that loyal??

As for the UWW poster that made the comment about Michelli(sp?) transfering to WW so he can win a national championship, I assure you that it was tongue in cheek, and in reality a reference to Danny Jones transfering to WW.   As many of you may know, the true story is that he told the coaches that he wanted to transfer from California to UWW so that he could play for the Hawks to have a legitimate chance to play for a National championship contender.  Believe me when I tell you that there was no disrespect for Mount Union, it's program or Michelli intended with that post.  Again, congrats to The Purple Raiders on a fantastic season.

[jaypeter]

Since this was the first time seeing Mount Union live this year, I didn't have anything to compare it to, but...

One of my impressions during the course of the game was that UWW seemed to be playing at a higher level of energy.  It seemed to start from the moment the teams ran out of the tunnel.  UWW ran out pumped up, the whole team wooping and hollering, raising up their fans, showing their excitement.  Mount Union had a handful of players doing that, but even their energy seemed a little lower.  As the game continued, each time UWW made a big play, the whole team on the field would be pumped up, 5 or 6 guys running up to the one who just made the play.  Mount would have the guy who just made the play and maybe one or two others.

Now, I don't know how MUC's energy level compared to the rest of the season, but that was my impression right from the start.  It wasn't until they were starting to get close again in the second half that the Mount Union players started asking the fans to again get excited and start cheering.  But fan participation is something that has been poor for Mount Union for a while. 

I'm seriously considering not going to another Mount Union game in person.

[raiderfan1983]

I really think that a lot of MUC fans are so used to winning that they don't really get excited anymore until the game is on the line and then they're not sure how to act.  I suppose that many were expecting Mount to come in and win by 50 like they had been doing the rest of the season, and were more shocked than anything else to see Mount struggle like they did.  There were certainly some very good fans at the game (the purple suits sitting one section from me come to mind), but for the most part, things seemed pretty quiet on the MUC side of the field for most of the game.

[seventiesraider]

OldHawk

   Larry has had his offers, but as both athletic director and head coach and approaching 60 with a daughter playing volleyball for another OAC school, I doubt he'd move now. At some point you start to think about your legacy more than your paycheck and I'm sure there is a stadium or building named for him at Mount in the future. He lives a few blocks off campus and has spent most of his adult life in Alliance. I think Larry's next move is a retirement condo somewhere, but actually I can't picture him retired. Much like Gag's at St Johns, Larry is Mount Union football

[jaypeter]

raiderfan1983,

I wasn't surprised by the fans at the game.  Mount Union's fan participation concerns have been long- and well-documented.  I had intended my post to focus more on the team's energy level which to me, seemed to be somewhat lower than UWW's energy level. 

[raiderfan1983]

I'm not sure what can be said about the team energy level.  I'm sure that the MUC players were pumped up and ready to play in the title game.  It did seem that UWW came out and dominated the line of scrimmage, but I didn't see that much of a difference as far as team energy level goes.  There is a great shot of Mount coming out of the tunnel on ohio.com and those guys looked pretty energized to me.

[raiderfan1983]

By the way, at least we can take one good thing away from this weekend.  The Browns won and the Steelers lost.  Sometimes the football gods work in strange ways.

[Shark]

Back from Salem.

Congrats to the Warhawks. I won't waste any time dissecting the game. They simply were better than us on Saturday.

Thank you the Purple Raiders, LK and staff on another amazing season. This senior class was very special and should be very proud of their accomplishments. Hopefully when the disappointment wears off, they can look back and realize what an amazing run they had @ Mount during their careers. You guys were fantastic.......THANK YOU!!!!!!!.

Merry Christmas!

[Toph]

Congrats to UWW on the big win, enjoy it.  Congrats to Mount Union on another great year, you continue to represent the OAC well.

I have a trivia question for all of you:

Q.  What do John Stockton, Scott Skiles, and Justin Beaver have in common?

A.  They all lead their teams in assists.   

[seventiesraider]

By the way, at least we can take one good thing away from this weekend.  The Browns won and the Steelers lost.  Sometimes the football gods work in strange ways.

Made the drive home Sunday a little easier to take