FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[devildog29]

Titans hang on to win 42-35.  Great game by Checchin and solid first start at QB for Warner.  Franklin D adjusted a bit at haltime and kept the Titan offense in check for the most part in the second half, though the Titans didn't do themselves many favors with the amount of penalties.  IWU defense made some big plays to close out the game, but I'm sure they're not very satisfied with the overall showing.  Plenty of positives and plenty of things to clean up as well. 

[Naperick]

Loras 39
Elmhurst 17
-final from Dubuque

[Naperick]

Wheaton 36
Coe 28
-final from Wheaton

[gbpuckfan]

SNC scores 25 unanswered points to win at Carthage 25-13

[USee]

1st trip to North Park Vikings stadium tonight...what a turnaround...as always...it's always about the coaching...always

I think it's actually always about the recruiting.

Getting off the bus with the best players most often results in your team posting a "W"
However, quality coaching cannot be discounted as top recruits don't automatically turn into top players on their own.
Additionally, top "recruits" sometimes recruit themselves with little coach involvement on the front end.
But, yes, good recruiting is usually where the winning process begins.

Why do so many people who should know better separate coaching from recruiting? Newsflash, folks: It's the coaches who do the recruiting. Mark's right that sometimes players direct themselves to a particular school without any prompting from that school's coaching staff, but in terms of top players those kinds of individuals are far and few between in most sports. The overwhelming majority of good players in any program are brought in by the coaches, if not all of them. Recruiting is not something that exists apart from coaching at the college level. It is the most important aspect of college coaching itself. Period.

DadofBashWarrior is 100% correct. It is always about the coaching, because recruiting is part of coaching.

I understand I may not have been clear, but in case you were referring to me,  this was exactly my point.  Recruiting is the most important part of coaching.   Better plays make plays better. 

[USee]

I think it could be a rough day for the CCIW today.  Only Elmhurst over Loras is a lock in my view.

Two other CCIW teams, Wheaton and Millikin, are blowing out their opponents at halftime by 31 and 35 points, respectively. Looks like the day might not be as rough overall as you'd anticipated -- although I think that the two late games (Augie @ MSJ and CUW @ NPU) could definitely be difficult.

Boy was I wrong.

[iwu70]

Yes, great start for the Titans.  Warner is the real deal, had a great first game as a freshman.  Very poised after the first two shaky series.  Impressive after that.  Cechin was awesome,   He and Warner a great partnership.  Other Titan receivers also had pretty good games.  Titan D gave up way too many yards, many passes over the middle, and had way too many penalties, some of them very dubious.  Penalties against the Titans 13-4.  Gotta improve on that.  Special teams gotta improve too.  IWU had a punt blocked for a touchdown.  Key plays on D my Worley, esp. the last hit resulting in a fumble and recovery.  Another key play the 68 yard punt by IWU 's kicker, pinning Franklin back on the last series with about 2 minutes to go.  Both teams of high quality, so a great opening day win for the Titans.  Franklin's QB very elusive running and passing, had a great day, big numbers.  IWU D will have to improve to challenge for the CCIW crown.  Still, a good start and a big win overall, to start, at home. 

IWU's RB had a solid game, very elusive and quick -- gaining about 140+ yards on 26 carries.  Warner added about 60+ years as well, scrambled well when he had to and was only sacked once. 

Good fan support, crowd turnout and, as always, the best Pep Band in all of D3.  Absolutely perfect day, lovely clouds and temps in the low 70s.  A great day to be a TITAN.

IWU70

[Gotberg]

North Park's game this evening at 6 pm against Concordia (WI) will carry both live audio and video, as will all Vikings home games. Road games will be audio only. As usual, I'll be on the call. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this NPU team has to offer this season.

http://athletics.northpark.edu/index.aspx?path=football&tab=football

Greg,

Not sure if it is just me, but the NPU broadcast has a 1 second pause about every 3 - 7 seconds.  Makes it difficult to watch and have a similar problem with the soccer broadcasts too.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park's game this evening at 6 pm against Concordia (WI) will carry both live audio and video, as will all Vikings home games. Road games will be audio only. As usual, I'll be on the call. I'm really looking forward to seeing what this NPU team has to offer this season.

http://athletics.northpark.edu/index.aspx?path=football&tab=football

Greg,

Not sure if it is just me, but the NPU broadcast has a 1 second pause about every 3 - 7 seconds.  Makes it difficult to watch and have a similar problem with the soccer broadcasts too.

Thanks, but I'm not sure what that's about. I haven't heard that complaint before.

[USee]

Wheaton 36
Coe 28

Reece Butler 28-41 (68%) 321 yds 2 TD's, O INT
Jesse Geary 143 all purpose yds (19 rush 70 yds, 6 rec 73 yds)
Keegan Kemp 7 rec 101
Luke Thorson 5 rec 51 yds 2 TD's

Wheaton led this game 31-0 at half and completely dominated the game in every facet in the first stanza. They sat 3 starters on defense to start the second half and Josh Rekers, the Coe QB, was horrific in the first half going 5-14 while Coe was held to just 72 yds. The story changed dramatcially after halftime. As bad as Coe was in the first half they were firing on all cylinders in the second period. Rekers went 26-41 for 281 yds in the second half with 3 TD passes and Wheaton somehow recovered an onsides kick after batting it around and finding it under the pile with under a minute to play to preserve the win.

Wheaton's Oline was spectacular and Reece Butler proved me wrong. He was the real deal all day making play after play as the Thunder converted 70% of their 3rd down plays, 2 of which came at the end of the game that ran 4+ minutes off the clock when the Thunder defense was reeling.

If Wheaton plays like they did in the first half, they will beat everybody. If they play like they did in the 2nd, they won't win another game. The truth likely lies somewhere in between.

@ Kalamazoo next week and then home against Wisconsin Eau-Claire on the 20th.

[USee]

Jack Warner for IWU had quite the debut. 21-30 for 292 and 3 TD's against a top 25 team is very impressive. Although if you are the first freshman QB in Eash's tenure, I would have expected something special. Kudos for the debut and looks like the rest of the CCIW will have 4 years of worrying ahead of us.

[Gregory Sager]

NPU lost a heartbreaker at home to Concordia (WI), 31-28. After reigning NACC OPOY Austin Damaschke wreaked havoc on the North Park defense with both his arm and his feet in the first half, the Vikings made some halftime adjustments and really settled in. The Vikings came back from a 28-13 halftime deficit to tie the ballgame at 28 with four and a half minutes remaining, but the Falcons had one more drive left in them. They took the ball down the field, aided by a crucial facemask penalty on NPU, and kicked a go-ahead field goal with 40 seconds left. The Vikings actually got into position to win the game on the last play by driving to the CUW 38, as T.D. Conway's shot at the end zone on the final play was just beyond the outstretched arms of freshman WR Devin Childress.

I had to go into motormouth mode, as the hurry-up offenses of both teams left me no time to catch my breath on the air. NPU ran 99 offensive plays, CUW ran 85. Both teams really piled up the real estate, with North Park gaining 501 total yards to CUW's 485. The problem was that the Falcons took advantage of all but one of the six shots that they had deep in Vikings territory, scoring four TDs and a FG in the red zone, while NPU squandered far too many opportunities in CUW's end of the field. The kicking game cost the Park seven points, as Noah Moore missed a pair of field goals -- one bounced off the upright -- and a muffed snap or hold (couldn't tell which) erased an XP attempt. Plus, T.D. Conway threw passes that were picked off at the CUW 2 and the CUW 11, while D.J. Jones left one on the turf late in the game that was recovered by the Falcons at their own 12. When you gain 501 yards of offense, you should come away with a lot more than 28 points. NPU's inability to finish drives cost the Vikings the ballgame.

T.D. Conway was 35-62 for 397 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. As his dad said on the postgame show, he made some bad reads and overthrew a couple of passes that came back to bite him. But, heck, that's still not a bad day of quarterbacking. And he's got some nice big targets this year to help him out -- the freshman Childress (7-122) and graduate student Dan Anderson (12-111 with a touchdown) are 6'4, 190 and 6'3, 220, respectively. Both had fine college football debuts today; Anderson was a North Park baseball player who's used up his eligibility in that sport and is now playing a year of football while he attends grad school at North Park, which sort of makes him Shelby Wood in reverse.

This would've been a great win over a 2013 playoff team that has some really strong talent and should win the NACC easily. Instead, it was a near-miss loss. It's all part of the maturation process for this young Vikings team, which really did fight back well in the second half and took it down to the final play.

[Gregory Sager]

Mt. St. Joseph 58, Augustana 25
St. Norbert 25, Carthage 13
Loras 39, Elmhurst 17
Illinois Wesleyan 42, Franklin 35
Millikin 66, Greenville 24
Concordia (WI) 31, North Park 28
Wheaton 36, Coe 28

At about 2 pm, with Wheaton and Millikin steamrollering their opponents, Carthage leading MWC power SNC, and IWU up by a couple of touchdowns, it looked like it was gonna be a great day for the league. By the end of the evening? Not so much.

[Titan Q]

IWU 42
Franklin 35

http://iwusports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=2769&path=football

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/freshman-warner-comes-up-big-in-iwu-s-season-opening/article_f01623b8-2292-5853-ab2c-3a077f13461b.html

* Jack Warner (QB): 21-32, 292 yards, 3 TD; 52 yards rushing, 1 TD
* Artie Checchin (WR): 7 receptions, 161 yards, 1 TD; 100-yard kickoff return TD
* Anfernee Roberts (RB): 26 carries, 140 yards; 1 TD
* Matt Kussmann (P): 5 punts, 45.8 avg

* Luke Roth (LB): 10 tackles
* John Worley (DE): 5 tackels, 3 sacks, 1 INT

* IWU: 489 yards total offense (292 passing/192 rushing)


Heading into yesterday's opener, I was fairly skeptical about the thought of IWU being a Top 25-caliber team again.  I even wondered if this could be the first of a couple pretty rough rebuilding years.  After watching the Titans, I left looking forward to what's ahead for this season.  I believe IWU has enough talent to contend for a top 2 CCIW finish.

Freshman QB Jack Warner had a very nice debut - 4 TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing) and several big plays in big moments.  I was expecting a run-first guy who would struggle in the passing game in college -- that is not the case at all.  Warner is a little guy (listed at 5-10), and he's certainly very fast and a big running threat, but he has a good arm and is accurate.  He made some throws yesterday that really impressed me.  I'm sure Warner will go through ups and down this year, but IWU has found a good QB.

Junior WR Artie Checchin was an all-CCIW 1st teamer last year as a return specialist, and 2nd teamer as a WR.  He'll continue to give the Titans a big-time playmaker in both areas.  I think he'll end up being one of the elite WRs in the CCIW this year.

Junior RB Anfernee Roberts gives the Titans another threat on offense - very quick and fast, and someone who will break some long runs over the course of the season.

John Worley (DE), a returning 1st team all-CCIW player, is a special player on the other side of the ball.  In the final minutes of the game, Franklin had the ball with a chance to drive down the field to tie the game.  IWU sacked Franklin QB Grant Welp on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down -- 2 of those by Worley.  He also had a big INT early in the 4th Q on IWU's 2-yard line with Franklin heading in for a score.  The Titans have a few other "difference makers" on defense (transfer LB Luke Roth stood out yesterday), and I think the defense will get better as the year goes on.

Finally, IWU is good on special teams behind 3 returning 1st team all-CCIW players - Checchin, punter Matt Kussmann, and kicker Michael Kelley.

Overall I'd say solid opener for the Titans and reason for optimism from IWU fans.  The Titans have a lot of weapons in all phases of the game.

[USee]

It's an easy trap to decide how good or bad our teams will be after week one.  The big variable is we just don't know how good our opponents will be.  I am pretty sure Franklin will contend for the HCAC title. But are they a top 25 team? Coe was picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the IIAC and in the first half that looked optimistic.  The second half they looked like title contenders.  I think Mt St Joes will give Franklin a title push this year but Augie giving up 58 at home doesn't bode well.  And NPU impressed me against the likely NACC champ. 

So much can change in the next weeks with key injuries and other factors. Guys like Connor Klein for IWU and Mitch warren for Wheaton can make a big difference in a teams performance.  The only thing we can know for sure is these teams will be very different in week 6-7 than they are now.