FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

All Region teams announced.  Congrats to all players from CCIW teams.  Good representation.  Not too surprisingly led by Wheaton and NCC with 9 & 6 players respectively.  Elmhurst had 2 players on the all region teams and IWU had 1.

Another indication of the teams Wheaton & NCC have coming back next year, both have 5 All Region players returning, including one FR each.

http://d3football.com/awards/all-region/2016/d3football-all-north-region-2016

[izzy stradlin]

All Region teams announced.  Congrats to all players from CCIW teams.  Good representation.  Not too surprisingly led by Wheaton and NCC with 9 & 6 players respectively.  Elmhurst had 2 players on the all region teams and IWU had 1.

Another indication of the teams Wheaton & NCC have coming back next year, both have 5 All Region players returning, including one FR each.

http://d3football.com/awards/all-region/2016/d3football-all-north-region-2016

Wheaton has 6 coming back and NCC 4.   

[Mugsy]

All Region teams announced.  Congrats to all players from CCIW teams.  Good representation.  Not too surprisingly led by Wheaton and NCC with 9 & 6 players respectively.  Elmhurst had 2 players on the all region teams and IWU had 1.

Another indication of the teams Wheaton & NCC have coming back next year, both have 5 All Region players returning, including one FR each.

http://d3football.com/awards/all-region/2016/d3football-all-north-region-2016

Wheaton has 6 coming back and NCC 4.

Thanks for catching this.  Was reading it too fast.  But the point is still valid.  Both teams will be loaded once again.

[izzy stradlin]

All Region teams announced.  Congrats to all players from CCIW teams.  Good representation.  Not too surprisingly led by Wheaton and NCC with 9 & 6 players respectively.  Elmhurst had 2 players on the all region teams and IWU had 1.

Another indication of the teams Wheaton & NCC have coming back next year, both have 5 All Region players returning, including one FR each.

http://d3football.com/awards/all-region/2016/d3football-all-north-region-2016

Wheaton has 6 coming back and NCC 4.

Thanks for catching this.  Was reading it too fast.  But the point is still valid.  Both teams will be loaded once again.

For sure.   

[Mr. Ypsi]

Good to see Shoemaker-Gilmore get a well-deserved award.  Disappointed (and dismayed) that a very fine Titan defense received NO awards.  Sean Garvey and Kyle Venhulzen certainly seemed deserving of recognition.

[USee]

Good to see Shoemaker-Gilmore get a well-deserved award.  Disappointed (and dismayed) that a very fine Titan defense received NO awards.  Sean Garvey and Kyle Venhulzen certainly seemed deserving of recognition.

Those guys are good but who would you remove to add them?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Good to see Shoemaker-Gilmore get a well-deserved award.  Disappointed (and dismayed) that a very fine Titan defense received NO awards.  Sean Garvey and Kyle Venhulzen certainly seemed deserving of recognition.

Those guys are good but who would you remove to add them?

I just don't know the other players well enough to answer that.  I was just speaking more abstractly.

[thunderdog]

I'm a little late to the WC @ UMHB post-game analysis, but here are some of my thoughts:

Before getting to the nitty-grity, I tip my cap to a phenomenal Crusaders squad. I knew about the great offense... while I knew the defense was good... the defense proved it was great. I'm looking forward to watching this UMHB squad take on the machine this Saturday. It should be a great game. Best of luck to the Crusaders.

As for the game...

What tremendous defense yet again by the Thunder. Take away the punt block TD and pick-6, the Thunder D only gave up 24 points to, IMO, the best offense in the nation.  UMHB's first 5 possessions went: Punt, Punt, Punt, INT, Punt. Wow! How many times has that offense gone 5 straight possessions with zilch? (Yes, that's a rhetorical question... not really looking for an answer... I just know it can't be often). It wasn't until UMHB had a short field (after the Baylor Mullins INT) that they found pay-dirt after a 34 yard drive. Then how about this... trailing 3-7, after JP11 threw a 2nd INT, picked by Tevin Jones, UMHB once again had a short field, starting at the WC 44. They drive 42 yards. They have 1st-and-Goal from the 2. On 1st down, Miller loses 2 yards. On 2nd down, he gets those 2 yards back. On 3rd down, Jackson throws an INC pass.  There's only 38 seconds left in the half, in a tight 3-7 game... THAT IS A HUGE GOALLINE "STAND" ... to hold UMHB to just a FG there. WC trailed 3-10 at half. Given the Thunder's penchant for halftime adjustments and better overall play in the 2nd half, I really thought WC was positioned nicely...

... It was not to be... the 3rd quarter got off to a horrible start. On WC's first drive of the 2nd half, they go 3 and out. Feddeler's punt gets blocked for a TD... that's BIG PLAY #1 of the 3rd quarter for UMHB. It's now 3-17. Credit the WC offense at this point though, instead of folding, they mount an 8 play, 75 yard drive to cut the score to 9-17 (PAT blocked). On the Crusaders next drive, WC forces a 3-and-out. Big time defense by the Thunder right there! WC to get the ball with a chance to tie, starting from their own 3, after a 52 yard punt by Baylor Mullins. WC gets 1 first down, before JP11 throws a 3rd pick, this one returned 32 yards by Raylon Hickey for the TD... that's BIG PLAY #2 of the 3rd quarter for UMHB. It's now 9-24. Credit the WC offense one more time for answering with another 7 play 68 yard drive, capped off by a 23 yard TD strike from JP11 to #13 Trey Hanley (Trey's 2nd of the game). It's now 16-24. We're still in this thing despite 3 picks, blocked punt, missed PAT, stud DE getting tossed for a targeting call... 3 plays later, Blake Jackson connects with Bryce Wilkerson for an 80 yard bomb... that's BIG PLAY #3 for UMHB and the DAGGER!... It really represents the first break down by the Defense all game long. Here's the thing though, CB #9 Marcus Smith really had great positioning and great coverage on the play, it was just perfectly executed by the Crusaders. Score is now 16-31 and that pretty much sealed the deal.

Some other random thoughts:

1) On the blocked PAT, didn't it look like the WC runner (Adam Sandy, maybe?) got in for the 2 point conversion? Dying to see video replay

2) I didn't like the targeting call on DE Chase Greenlee. Big surprise, I know, but as I said, I'm dying to see a replay of that. Having only seen it once live (and then they replayed it once), it looked to me like a case of momentum that just couldn't be stopped. Also, IMO, targeting shouldn't be called unless INTENT is there. It was clearly a penalty, late hit, but worthy of an ejection? Hardly. Maybe I'll change my mind after seeing the replay, but for now, that call irks me.

3) How about Greenlee's replacement? Soph #55 Jack Bates. Kid responds with 6 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. Jack only had 3 tackles all season coming into the game. That's a heck of an effort Jack. Speaks volumes yet again to the depth of this Thunder roster.

4) Stefan Knoerr with a 42 yard FG to open the scoring... WOW!... that's Big Time #17... keep it goin'

5) MLB #36 Eric Stevenson with another big INT. 3 playoff games. 3 picks! Against 3 high-octane offenses no less.

6) RB #23 Sola Olateju with only 4 yards rushing. He must have had an awful game huh? That's not at all the case. The guy ran hard! He had multiple runs where he broke 3-4 tackles. His breakdown was 29 gained, 25 lost. What? 25 lost? That's crazy for an elite RB like Sola. THERE WAS JUST NOWHERE TO RUN! That UMHB front 7 was just suffocating. Give credit where credit is due.

7) Feel terrible for AB2 for having to sit this one out due to injury. Rumor has it he hurt himself early in the NCC game and played thru the pain. This intel is yet to be confirmed, but what a tough guy.

8) JP11. As a huge JP11 fan, I was glad to see JP11 get a shot...hate that it was because of an injury. I thought Johnny made some big time throws while under tremendous pressure. He also had 3 costly turnovers and looked a bit tentative when presented  with running lanes. That's one heck of an assignment to step in against that beastly defense of UMHB after not playing much since week 2. I echo the thoughts of Wally Wabash when he said:

True.  But feel free to second guess forever whether or not Peltz would have been less rusty had he been playing, you know, all along.  I think that remains fair game.

9) #13 Trey Hanley. Not only did he 8 catches for 103 and 2 TD's, he also had a massive hit to break up a sure INT (I forget when this occurred)

A big THANK YOU to the Wheaton Thunder, Head Coach Mike Swider & the rest of his staff, for a great, entertaining, 11-2 season. To lose the Little Brass Bell game and then come back and beat NCC in round 2 of the playoffs, at their place, is just HUGE... it's just HUGE! To travel to TX and go toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the country for 3 quarters shows just how close the Thunder program is getting... the future looks as bright as ever!

How about the Senior class graduating with an overall record of 41-6 (87%) which I believe is the best 4 year mark in school history.

#1 J Moore, #2 Andrew Bowers, #7 Sean Kennedy, #11 Johnny Peltz (Captain), #16 Justin Miller, #16 Michael Robinson, #20 Jon Furrow, #21 Jackson Fain, #22 Jared Strom, #27 Caleb Hood, #32 Keith Johnson, #42 Levi Hartzler, #48 Ben Shaw, #52 Caleb Ashby (Captain and DPOY!), #53 Luke Sahly, #59 Kody Thornburg, #72 Tyler Leslie, #79 Peter Gibson (Captain), #85 James Van Grinsven, #87 Matt Norton, #89 Zach Lindquist, #99 Daniel Gray (Captain), #99 Parker Fair. Thank you SENIORS!

[D O.C.]

I'm applauding you before I even read your post Thunderdog.
You know I've been watching and waiting...

[thunderdog]

I'm applauding you before I even read your post Thunderdog.
You know I've been watching and waiting...

LOL, D O.C. - I've had an anxiety filled week trying to find time to get my recap in... didn't want to let you down 

[thunder38]

How about the Senior class graduating with an overall record of 41-6 (87%) which I believe is the best 4 year mark in school history.

#1 J Moore, #2 Andrew Bowers, #7 Sean Kennedy, #11 Johnny Peltz (Captain), #16 Justin Miller, #16 Michael Robinson, #20 Jon Furrow, #21 Jackson Fain, #22 Jared Strom, #27 Caleb Hood, #32 Keith Johnson, #42 Levi Hartzler, #48 Ben Shaw, #52 Caleb Ashby (Captain and DPOY!), #53 Luke Sahly, #59 Kody Thornburg, #72 Tyler Leslie, #79 Peter Gibson (Captain), #85 James Van Grinsven, #87 Matt Norton, #89 Zach Lindquist, #99 Daniel Gray (Captain), #99 Parker Fair. Thank you SENIORS!

It's worth noting that out of that group Moore, Sahly, Norton, Lindquist and Gray all have a year of eligibility remaining. There's an outside chance that Wheaton returns 19 of 22 starters next year including 10 of 11 on defense.

[DFWCrufan]

Thunderdog that was a great analysis, from the UMHB side, Lindquist was an absolute machine and difficult to bring down once he started rolling. You can see the game again at the UMHB site, go to the athletics and then the Fan Zone, game Broadcasts.. on demand...The Cru pass defense was much stronger than I had realized watching the game live, after a second and third time, the pass defense was strong, Of course Trey Hanley performed what would appear to be magic, great hands and positioning, very deceptive in his routes.
Wheaton did very well and were indeed an program worthy of going this deep into the tournament, Ya'll have something there. What ya didn't see was my friend and your school chaplain Tim Blackmon and I were trading friendly jabs back n forth during the game.

[SaintsFAN]

Thunderdog that was a great analysis, from the UMHB side, Lindquist was an absolute machine and difficult to bring down once he started rolling. You can see the game again at the UMHB site, go to the athletics and then the Fan Zone, game Broadcasts.. on demand...The Cru pass defense was much stronger than I had realized watching the game live, after a second and third time, the pass defense was strong, Of course Trey Hanley performed what would appear to be magic, great hands and positioning, very deceptive in his routes.
Wheaton did very well and were indeed an program worthy of going this deep into the tournament, Ya'll have something there. What ya didn't see was my friend and your school chaplain Tim Blackmon and I were trading friendly jabs back n forth during the game.

Wheaton has been excellent for years under Mike Swider; the only issue was getting past Mount Union when they were loaded with studs like Nate Kmic, Steve Micheli, Cecil Shorts and Pierre Garcon. 

[thunderdog]

You can see the game again at the UMHB site, go to the athletics and then the Fan Zone, game Broadcasts.. on demand...

Thank you! Will definitely check it out later tonight... Games have been making their way onto YouTube usually... not sure who to thank for that, but I hope it continues.

[USee]

You can see the game again at the UMHB site, go to the athletics and then the Fan Zone, game Broadcasts.. on demand...

Thank you! Will definitely check it out later tonight... Games have been making their way onto YouTube usually... not sure who to thank for that, but I hope it continues.

I watched the replay of Greenlee's hit. I don't think it was at all intentional and I do think he was diving in desperation to get to Blake Jackson but from the video I can see why the officials made the call they did. Based on the rules I think they made a call that wasn't wrong and then they reviewed it at halftime and upheld it. It was unfortunate for the Thunder. It is the equivalent of MHB losing Teidrick Smith for most of the game.