FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[gryfalia]

I call North Central 'the school where I used to sled' often, since my Great Aunt lived one block away and they used to put up a very cool sledding ramp on the south hill.  Was tons of fun..;-)

[usee]

USee, you know these Titans a lot better than I do - I am (as usual) impressed!

Just one quibble - having seen Ladd at Hope (and reading the boards), if Elmhurst counts on 'rattling' him, they're in for a long day.  They may get to him, they may even knock him out (God forbid!), but I'm not sure even an NFL team could rattle him.  He reminds me of Steve Laub (my freshman year, his senior - 1966).  A series that I will never forget: 1st and 10, sack.  2nd and 16 (exact yardages subject to memory distortion!), sack.  3rd and 23, sack.  4th and 29, touchdown.

I agree "rattled" isn't a great description but the fact remains Ladd has not been effective this year. I took a look at the 5 possessions IWU had against Carthage with the score 21-20 in the 2nd half (in favor of IWU). In 5 possession they turned it over on downs 3x (all Ladd incompletions--2 on 4th and 6 or less) and punted 2x. In those possessions Ladd was 8-20 for 70 yds, 2 sacks and an intentional grounding penalty. 2 of those possessions were in the Carthage red zone. 4 of those possessions started for IWU off defensive stops (2 fumbles, an INT and a blocked FG). IWU's last possession he fininshed with 4 incompletions at midfield in the last 2 minutes down by 5.

Those are not good stats for a home game in front of a homecoming crowd for an offense that was supposed to be the strength of this team. Now you must credit Carthage for some of that but if you look through stretches of the Aurora and Hope games you will find similar situations. Something is not right with Ladd in my opinion.

[usee]

Awesome ATN article by Keith McMillian on the front page. I think his article is one of the best things going if you are a D3 fan.

[Mugsy]

51-36-3. 

This was a very close series until the late 80's, 90's and early this decade.  Obviously it has become an all out fight over the past 5 years.

I block it all out except 1987!! 

ARRGGHH...  My eyes!!!  It burns!

Wheaton loses 10-6 on Mugsy's mistake!

You're way too hard on yourself!   The sun was in your eyes, there was a flood, an earthquake, your suit didn't come back from the cleaners.   

Jake:

I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.

Actually I know it is only a game, but this is one of the more memorable low points I have experienced.  Not because I made a critical error, but because I feel I let my teammates down.  I know I wasn't the only reason we lost the game.  But if I executed my assignment, NCC does not score on the play in question.  That doesn't mean they wouldn't have scored on the next play or next series, but it was a brutal day for both offenses.  It was clearly a blown assignment on my part that led to a 30+ yard TD run where the RB was virtually untouched.  By far the longest gain on the day by NCC.  I don't think NCC had more than 150-175 yards of offense on the day. It was my junior year and it was not one of Wheaton's stellar teams.  3-6 if my memory is correct, though I often repress much of that year.

I learned a very, very valuable lesson that day and was driven home by Coach Swider.  You can't make excuses for mistakes.  You need to own up to them, learn from them and take steps not to repeat them.  In fact I'm pretty sure he uses this game and my making excuses initially as a teaching example from time to time (though without naming me).

[usee]

keep in mind anyone who can't attend this weeks epic battle for the Little Brass Bell in Wheaton can watch it live on the internet at www.wetn.org

The video stream is pretty good and the announcers typical for D3. Also has live stats.

[CardinalAlum]

Jake:
I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.

There it is!  I knew you would get it.  I couldn't find the exact line! 

[robertgoulet]

Jake:
I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.

There it is!  I knew you would get it.  I couldn't find the exact line! 

Oh we got both kinds. We got country AND western.



Dr. Tom's new weather update:
A thick overcast delivers sporadic drizzle or brief showers. Cool, damp -- though drying begins, especially late in the day as precipitation winds down. High of 56, low of 37.

Hopefully that bolded section means the rain is cleared out by gametime!

[Comet 14]

USee, I agree completely, Elmhurst has to get pressure on Ladd ( or who ever is at QB) to have a chance in this game. I fully expect that to happen Sat. Who is the Titans main running back? The reason I ask is that Elmhurst tends to give up big plays on draws and delays trying to get up field to the QB.

[Wags]

Dr. Tom's new weather update:
A thick overcast delivers sporadic drizzle or brief showers. Cool, damp -- though drying begins, especially late in the day as precipitation winds down. High of 56, low of 37.

Hopefully that bolded section means the rain is cleared out by gametime!

WHO CARES, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT "THUNDERING"!

[wheels81]

keep in mind anyone who can't attend this weeks epic battle for the Little Brass Bell in Wheaton can watch it live on the internet at www.wetn.org

The video stream is pretty good and the announcers typical for D3. Also has live stats.

Play by play has improved although a little excitleable at times but jury is still out on the color guy.  I guess that all goes to say "typical for D3"

[79jaybird]

Again it's football and one thing football has over all the outdoor sports is that they play in everything except lightning.  Regardless of the weather, both teams competing have to endure the elements and be able to perservere past mother nature.

[79jaybird]

My weekly F.Y.I  the Elmhurst/IWU game can be heard via conventional radio on 88.7 FM (local) or on the Internet at http://www.wrse.com 

We are working on some commercials and (timeout) PSA's so hopefully we can incorporate some of those soon.

[lakeshore]

Looking at the game notes for Saturday's Millikin @ NPU tilt is downright depressing. Millikin leads the all-time series, 44-4, and the last time that North Park managed to beat the Big Blue was back in 1971 (20-17). Richard Nixon was in the White House; Marcus Welby, M.D. was the top-rated show on television; "Go Away, Little Girl" by Donnie Osmond was the number-one hit on the charts; and Barack Obama was in fifth grade. Oddly, the other three Vikings wins over Millikin (1965, 1967, and 1968) have all been shutouts.

It gets worse. Over the course of that 36-year winning streak Millikin has shut out the Vikings 14 times, including three straight seasons (2001-03) in which the Big Blue outscored NPU by a total of 195 to 0. Only nine times during that 36-year streak has North Park managed to reach double digits on the scoreboard, and over the course of the 48 years that the series has been played North Park has only scored in double digits 16 times. Only four times since that magical year of 1971 have the Vikings broken 20 against the Big Blue; three years ago, in an uncharacteristically tight game, Millikin came out on top, 31-24, and that '05 nailbiter was the only contest between the two schools over the past quarter-century in which Millikin won by fewer than three touchdowns.

Overall, the Big Blue has scored 1,702 points in this series (35.46 per game), while NPU has scored 419 (8.73 per game). During Millikin's 36-season streak over North Park the Big Blue have scored 1,408 points (39.39 per game), while the Vikings have only managed to tally 254 points (7.06 per game).

Why have I posted all of these dreary numbers? To present you all with a sense of just how much history is weighing against the Vikings when they take the field on Saturday. If they are somehow able to pull off a win over Millikin, regardless of where the two teams stand this year it will be an event of epic proportions.

yikes vikes

[robertgoulet]

WHO CARES, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT "THUNDERING"!

You betcha!

Again it's football and one thing football has over all the outdoor sports is that they play in everything except lightning.  Regardless of the weather, both teams competing have to endure the elements and be able to perservere past mother nature.

I'm more worried about MY comfort level during the game than how the teams deal with it. Color me selfish!

[Wags]

Jaybird,

Did you not get my meaning of "thundering"