FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[iwu70]

WC 7 EC 0 = Final!  Is that really possible?  Either EC played their hearts out or WC layed an egg -- perhaps both.  A strange, unexpected outcome.  Must be WC really looking ahead to next week with the Titans, and not taking care of business very well at all. 

Titan play @CC later -- 6 p.m. start.

IWU70

[Mr. Ypsi]

WC 7 EC 0 = Final!  Is that really possible?  Either EC played their hearts out or WC layed an egg -- perhaps both.  A strange, unexpected outcome.  Must be WC really looking ahead to next week with the Titans, and not taking care of business very well at all. 

Titan play @CC later -- 6 p.m. start.

IWU70

According to the scoreboard, Wheaton won 28-3.

[iwu70]

I got the score off of the CCIW site.  Says 7 - 0.  I went to the live stats and it says, ("after further review") 28-3.  Thanks for the correction, Ypsi.  That sounds more like what was expected, what I expected too.

IWU70 

[Naperick]

Augustana 47
Millikin 19


North Central 42
North Park 0

[iwu70]

Those other scores about true to form.  Augie is getting stronger.  Not an easy game in RI. 

Hope the Titans take care of business tonight in Kenosha.

IWU70

[USee]

Wheaton 28
Elmhurst 3

Roberts 21-29 263 yds (72%)
11 rushes 62 yds, 3 TD's
Geary 12 rush 45 yds

Wheaton 413 yds offense (150 rush, 263 pass)

Elmhurst 249 yds total offense
Camilere 8-24 99 yds
Williams 17 rush 52 yds

Wheaton led 7-0 at half and scored on 3 straight possessions in the second half to put this one away. The Wheaton D had a few bend moments but in the end yielded only a FG and the 1st unit has not given up a TD since the  Benedictine game.

Elmhurst clearly came into this game ready to stop the Thunder rushing attack and did so effectively in the first half as Wheaton receivers dropped balls in the opening stanza leading to 4 first half punts. In the second half the Thunder running game got untracked led by Roberts who ran for 62 yds and 3 TD's off the zone option offense.

Elmhurst has some talent but not enough to hang with the top 3 teams this year. They are certainly better than their 1-5 record and may surprise some teams down the stretch.

A solid win for the Thunder as they now rest and begin to prepare for the battle in Bloomington next Saturday afternoon.

[USee]

great game up in Arden Hills, MN today with Bethel knocking off #9 St Thomas. I thought the pass interference call against St Thomas with under a minute to play on 3rd and 9 was very questionable. The Royals got a 1st and goal at the 2 and punched it in, adding the 2 pt conversion, with 35 seconds left to win 28-21. Tough call to make in that situation.

[Gregory Sager]

The game at Hedstrand Field pretty much went according to form today. North Central did what it wanted, when it wanted. The Vikings didn't quit, in spite of the fact that they were down 35-0 and out of the game at halftime, as they took the ball away three times from the Cardinals in the second half on fumbles. But they could not crack the scoreboard. NPU got to the NCC 2-yard line on one occasion and to the NCC 4-yard line on another, and came away with nothing to show for it either time -- lost fumble the first time, stopped by the Cardinals D and then muffed a FG attempt snap the second time.

The Cardinals are an extremely impressive football team ... but everybody already knows that.

North Park had four starters out with injuries today, and lost a fifth in the first quarter. They really wouldn't have made any difference in today's game, but the Vikings had to think of more than just the short term today. The three-game stretch coming up for NPU -- @ Augustana, Elmhurst, and @ Millikin -- promises to be much more competitive for the Vikings than the past two weeks have been, and it's imperative that the Vikings get as healthy as possible for their trip to Rock Island. NPU simply doesn't have the depth to afford injuries of any sort.

[AndOne]

North Central 42
North Park      0

Greg Sager's synopsis is above. As indicated, and likely generally expected by most, the game was over by halftime if not before. I had not realized NPU was missing so many starters. As Greg said, they would not have made a difference in the final outcome, but things could have been a little more positive on the NPU side should they have ben available. With the improvement Augie has shown, I don't see a win for the eastern Vikings against their western counterparts. However, with the return of the injured starters, there well could be hope for a W against EC and/or MU.

NCC--> 543 yards offense (328 run, 214 pass)
NPU--> 200 yards

* Spencer Stanek---> 12 of 15 for a meager 80% for 203 yards and 2 TDs. Also 3 carries for 39 yards and a TD
* RB by committee--> Oshayne Brown 65 yds (2TDs), Zach Pattat 58 yds, Ryan Kent 55 yds, Matt Randolph 44 yds (TD), Anthony Rada 34 yds, Denzel Thompson 13 yds.
* Chad O'Kane 4 catches for 47 yds, Ryne Rezac 3 catches 88 yds, A.J. Thomas 43 yds (TD), Peter Sorenson 1 catch for 24 yds, and a TD.
* On defense Nick Slezak, headed for possible All-American status, had 10 tackles and now has 56 for the year (36/20).
* The Cardinals had 4 sacks and recovered 3 fumbles

* On the negative side NCC had 10 1st half penalties. None in the 2nd, but 10 penalties can be deadly against a top notch opponent. Bet the Cards got an ear full about the mental side of the game during halftime.
* Nick Dace who was so good last year is in a daze. While he converted all 6 of his PATs yesterday, he has missed 4 so far this year. 2 more field goal tries were wide, and he is now only 1 of 8 on the year with none coming from as far as 30 yards out. The Cards will certainly need increased accuracy in the near future as tough conference and possible playoff games could easily be decided by a margin of 3 points or less.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Final in Kenosha: IWU 31, Carthage 10.

It is conference win on the road, but the Titans will have to play much better the next two weeks to avoid losses.

[Gregory Sager]

While he converted all 6 of his PATs yesterday, he has missed 4 so far this year. 2 more field goal tries were wide

You're being unfair to Dace. Those field goal tries (only the first was wide; the second was on target but short by three yards or so) were from 49 and 50 yards out. No kicker on the D3 level should be blamed for missing FG attempts from those distances.

Also, for what it's worth (which isn't much), the Vikings only lost two fumbles today. North Central lost three.

[AndOne]

While he converted all 6 of his PATs yesterday, he has missed 4 so far this year. 2 more field goal tries were wide

You're being unfair to Dace. Those field goal tries (only the first was wide; the second was on target but short by three yards or so) were from 49 and 50 yards out. No kicker on the D3 level should be blamed for missing FG attempts from those distances.

Also, for what it's worth (which isn't much), the Vikings only lost two fumbles today. North Central lost three.

I guess he just spoiled me last year, Greg, when he made 2 FGs over 50 yards, and one of 49. I know successful kicks of that distance are basically a bonus, but I worry a kick of such distance might be necessary against WC, IWU, or in the playoffs. Additionally, if we subtract today's misses, he was 1/6. He has also missed 4 PATs. Not a great number, but last season he was a perfect 58/58. It just seems this year's numbers are uncharacteristic for a kicker of Nick's ability level and past accomplishments, both of which lead me to believe he will come through if/when the chips are really down.

Pls excuse the extra fumble I credited your team with. 

[hazzben]

great game up in Arden Hills, MN today with Bethel knocking off #9 St Thomas. I thought the pass interference call against St Thomas with under a minute to play on 3rd and 9 was very questionable. The Royals got a 1st and goal at the 2 and punched it in, adding the 2 pt conversion, with 35 seconds left to win 28-21. Tough call to make in that situation.

No one on the MIAC board seems to agree with this assessment. Cobber, Royal, Tommie or Johnnie. There were two plays that could have been flagged, one right after the other. Same DB on the same receiver, out of position both times. 

To quote a Johnnie who watched it live and after USee's comments went back and rewatched it:

I went back and watched both plays again. Ikuenobe was pushing Hilbrands off his route on both plays. I believe both plays were pass interference. Ikuenobe was using his arm to impede the receiver's progress both times.

Perhaps it's a good no-call if the contact is hip-to-hip and he is making a play on the ball--at least the contact in that hypothetical looks more like incidental contact. When you're riding the receiver out of bounds using your arms, it's a completely different story.

That, and no UST fans have said a thing about the call. miacmaniac, about as level headed a poster as you'll find (and UST backer) simply noted it was a great game between two excellent teams.

I was impressed by the continued fight of both teams. At different points they were each down and had their backs to the wall. Each time they clawed back into it. Good game all around.

[matblake]

Check out the discussion between usee and others re: pass interference in the Bethel win on the MIAC board.  Pretty good stuff.  usee is good to have around.  I missed him when he took his sabbatical.

[NCF]

Check out the discussion between usee and others re: pass interference in the Bethel win on the MIAC board.  Pretty good stuff.  usee is good to have around.  I missed him when he took his sabbatical.

That was a good discussion, seems the call was a good one. I followed that game until I had to pick-up my daughter from work. Bethel will be play-off ready. Is there a possibility that either a MIAC or WIAC team gets put in the North Region? The West will be stacked.