FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CardinalAlum]

Carroll took the opening kickoff down the field and took a 7-0 lead on the Cards.  NCC reeled off 62 straight for a 62-7 final. Luke Lehnen had a very productive day with his arm and his legs and is really settling in nicely under center for the Cards as his speed gives an added dimension to an already potent offense.

Lehnen: 18/22 239 yards, 2 TD's, 1 Int. 107 yards rushing.
Greenfield 10 carries 92 yards, 2 TD's
Kamienski 5 catches 53 yards
Hardy 4 catches 102 yards

[Next Man Up]

Carroll took the opening kickoff down the field and took a 7-0 lead on the Cards.  NCC reeled off 62 straight for a 62-7 final. Luke Lehnen had a very productive day with his arm and his legs and is really settling in nicely under center for the Cards as his speed gives an added dimension to an already potent offense.

Good to see Lehnen's legs working well today. They were certainly needed as using his arm resulted in only 18 of his 22 passes being completed. 😉
Well, 19 if you count the one Carroll caught! 

[Augie6]

Augustana 17
North Park 14

I didn't get to watch more than a handful of first-quarter plays because I had a volleyball match to call in NPU Gym, but from what I was told, this was a defensive struggle that was largely settled by a long punt return that set up Augie's winning touchdown in the Quad Cities.

Good to see the Park making strides!

Thanks, but in all honesty, this seemed to be more of a grab-bag kinda game between two bottom-tier teams than anything. The person watching the NPU @ AC game on his scorer's table laptop between points here in the NPU Gym went out of his way to stress that he was not at all impressed by Augustana. (It sounded like Augie's starting QB suffered an injury on an NPU sack that took him out of this game, which might affect Augie's fortunes going forward as well.)

Still, it's good for the young Vikings to play well enough to be in a competitive game for sixty minutes after getting their lunch handed to them by Bethel and Wheaton, and by Wash U for a half as well.

The only good thing that can be said about that game from Augie's perspective, is that they won.  This is not a good team.  A play late in this game was emblematic to me where this program is at under the current coaching staff.  With about 2:40 left in the game and holding a 17-14 lead, Augie faced a 4th and 1 on the NPU 29 yard line.  They took a time out to, I assumed, make sure everyone was on the same page on the play call to get the first down and seal the game.  Instead, they came out and punted the ball straight into the end zone, 8 yards deep, to gain 9 yards of field position.  WHO DOES THIS?!?  Instead of showing some confidence in your offense to close out the game (and having confidence in your defense to stop them from driving down the field and scoring in case they don't) you make a decision that, to me, says you don't have confidence in either unit. 

At 2-2, Augie has a chance to win 1 or 2 more games this season, but I think it would take a miracle for them to win more than that.  If that's the way they finish, it would mark the 6th time in 7 seasons since Coach Bell took over that Augie will finish with a losing record (including the shortened 1-2 2021 Spring season).  The futility of the Augie program over the past decade+ is really disheartening, particularly when you look at how strong the program was for decades prior to the current administration putting their "stamp" on the program.

Starting in 1959 when Ray Loescher took over the program and running through 2010 when Coach Barnes left, Augie had a program record of 366-135-6, for a winning percentage of .722.  During that time, they finished in 1st place in the CCIW 20 times and in 2nd place 12 times.  The worst winning percentage for a single coach during that period was .591 and that was for Coach Loescher from 1959-63.  No other coach had a winning percentage less than .610 during that period. 
Since 2011, Augie is 38-59 for a .392 winning percentage, with only 1 winning season.

I'm not sure what the current administration considers when they assess the success of the football program (or other athletic programs for that matter), but it clearly has nothing to do with being competitive and winning games.  As long as they bring in enough new students each year to pay tuition, I guess that is their definition of success.   

[matblake]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything. 

[CardinalAlum]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything.

Still feeling like Wheaton doesn’t run the ball as much as they could.  They seem to be getting 5-8 yards at a clip and then stop.

[shepherd]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything.

His arm is not the same it was.  Shoulder soreness throwing into the ground the first 2 games also.  Overall team speed is slower.  This is probable from too much lifting especially on the legs which a a former power lifter who lifted in drug free competition it will make you slower.  Defensive line has forgotten how to hand fight aka use hands to pass rush.  HB's cant catch the ball out of the backfield.  Coaches should know whats going on with the team and make corrections.  There should be no surprises on game day.  I didn't know this or that is the coaches fault.  Once you learn in life to use your time wisely practice work school you will be very successful in all aspects of your life.  I got great grades in college later in life paying attention and knowing exactly what was going to be on a test.  My Tinley Park hs football coaches worked 10 times harder than any other coaches I saw at any level.  Everybody pays attention during practice or the leave if they want to talk.  The coaches always new what to expect when you a successful wishbone option team.  Every mistake is magnified. It can be done.  Work hard work smart.

[matblake]

worriesome special teams play for Wheaton

[Mr. Ypsi]

It looks like I may have gotten a bit carried away in my IWU having an historically bad season, worrying that IWU might finish last and lose to NPU and Elmhurst.  IWU 52, Elmhurst 3.

Going ONLY by NPU vs. Augie, it appears that IWU will either win both or lose both (yeah, I know it comes down to matchups against individual teams, and comparative scores can be a loser's game).  IF IWU loses both those game then YIKES! - Elmhurst this season may be worse than NPU (NPC) EVER was!

[izzy stradlin]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything.

Still feeling like Wheaton doesn't run the ball as much as they could.  They seem to be getting 5-8 yards at a clip and then stop.

Agree.  It would open the passing game too. 

Side note: Weeks had 191 yds tonight.
Washu boxscore is incorrect his TD run from the Washu26 was actually from the Wheaton26 (74 yds not 26). 

[Gregory Sager]

Wheaton registers a ho-hum 40-10 win over Wash U in the Gateway City.

[USee]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything.

Still feeling like Wheaton doesn't run the ball as much as they could.  They seem to be getting 5-8 yards at a clip and then stop.

Agree.  It would open the passing game too. 

Side note: Weeks had 191 yds tonight.
Washu boxscore is incorrect his TD run from the Washu26 was actually from the Wheaton26 (74 yds not 26).

I thought Weeks' totals were off. I remember his long TD run in the 3rd and when I looked at the stats his long run was listed as 26 yds. Even the Wheaton story online has the totals wrong. I hope it doesn't keep him from consideration for POW.   Weeks has quickly become Wheaton's best offensive weapon. He is fast and not afraid to run it between the tackles.

I agree something seems off with Luke Anthony. He is not completing passes at a high rate (12-26 yesterday) and misses wide open receivers several times a game. I hope he is not hurt. Jeremiah Tucker continues to impress as a QB though.

Wheaton's bigger issue, which will manifest itself in the playoffs, is they really miss Philip Nichols. Terrini is good but other than him they don't have any WR that can shake man coverage consistently.

[izzy stradlin]

A little disturbed that Anthony seems to keep missing high. Wheaton also seems to lack that wideout that catches everything.

Still feeling like Wheaton doesn't run the ball as much as they could.  They seem to be getting 5-8 yards at a clip and then stop.

Agree.  It would open the passing game too. 

Side note: Weeks had 191 yds tonight.
Washu boxscore is incorrect his TD run from the Washu26 was actually from the Wheaton26 (74 yds not 26).

I thought Weeks' totals were off. I remember his long TD run in the 3rd and when I looked at the stats his long run was listed as 26 yds. Even the Wheaton story online has the totals wrong. I hope it doesn't keep him from consideration for POW.   Weeks has quickly become Wheaton's best offensive weapon. He is fast and not afraid to run it between the tackles.

I agree something seems off with Luke Anthony. He is not completing passes at a high rate (12-26 yesterday) and misses wide open receivers several times a game. I hope he is not hurt. Jeremiah Tucker continues to impress as a QB though.

Wheaton's bigger issue, which will manifest itself in the playoffs, is they really miss Philip Nichols. Terrini is good but other than him they don't have any WR that can shake man coverage consistently.

Peaked at final box score again and whoever did the stats has the 3rd post safety washu kick going backwards followed by a negative return.  Weeks official stats should be 188 yds 2tds.  I'm sure there are minor errors in every box score but this one should be fixed.

[D3FLETCH]

It looks like I may have gotten a bit carried away in my IWU having an historically bad season, worrying that IWU might finish last and lose to NPU and Elmhurst.  IWU 52, Elmhurst 3.

Going ONLY by NPU vs. Augie, it appears that IWU will either win both or lose both (yeah, I know it comes down to matchups against individual teams, and comparative scores can be a loser's game).  IF IWU loses both those game then YIKES! - Elmhurst this season may be worse than NPU (NPC) EVER was!

It would be tough to catch the 2002 North Park Team.

[kiko]

It looks like I may have gotten a bit carried away in my IWU having an historically bad season, worrying that IWU might finish last and lose to NPU and Elmhurst.  IWU 52, Elmhurst 3.

Going ONLY by NPU vs. Augie, it appears that IWU will either win both or lose both (yeah, I know it comes down to matchups against individual teams, and comparative scores can be a loser's game).  IF IWU loses both those game then YIKES! - Elmhurst this season may be worse than NPU (NPC) EVER was!

I will let someone from NPU weigh in with specifics if they choose, but NPU went two days shy of thirteen calendar years without a conference victory during the darkest of its dark days.  The Jays are clearly going to struggle this year, but in that context, a month of poor results likely doesn't get you past the velvet rope and into that conversation just yet.

[Gregory Sager]

It looks like I may have gotten a bit carried away in my IWU having an historically bad season, worrying that IWU might finish last and lose to NPU and Elmhurst.  IWU 52, Elmhurst 3.

Going ONLY by NPU vs. Augie, it appears that IWU will either win both or lose both (yeah, I know it comes down to matchups against individual teams, and comparative scores can be a loser's game).

I have no idea what you're going on about here, Chuck. Neither Augie nor NPU have had any common opponents with IWU to date.

It looks like I may have gotten a bit carried away in my IWU having an historically bad season, worrying that IWU might finish last and lose to NPU and Elmhurst.  IWU 52, Elmhurst 3.

Going ONLY by NPU vs. Augie, it appears that IWU will either win both or lose both (yeah, I know it comes down to matchups against individual teams, and comparative scores can be a loser's game).  IF IWU loses both those game then YIKES! - Elmhurst this season may be worse than NPU (NPC) EVER was!

I will let someone from NPU weigh in with specifics if they choose, but NPU went two days shy of thirteen calendar years without a conference victory during the darkest of its dark days.  The Jays are clearly going to struggle this year, but in that context, a month of poor results likely doesn't get you past the velvet rope and into that conversation just yet.

Those were only "the darkest of its dark days" in terms of how NPU performed in league play, not overall. I've been around long enough to vouch for the fact that, talentwise, North Park's worst teams didn't come during that thirteen-year period. NPU was always able to step out of league play during that sad CCIW streak and win games in September against competition from inferior leagues. In fact, on a couple of occasions the Vikings were even able to win all three non-conference games, which goes to show just how superior CCIW teams generally are to everybody else in this neck of the woods, WIAC aside. I think that we lose sight of that on this board when we talk about this sort of thing. If we studied what goes on in other D3 leagues more closely, we could find plenty of teams this season that the Bluejays could beat.

You have to go back to the nine-game era of D3 football to find what I consider the worst Vikings teams, such as the '96 and '97 teams, teams that couldn't even win when stepping outside the league to play non-con foes in September. While those older than me might point to some of the bad teams of the '70s, for me the bottom of the barrel were the winless '86 and '87 teams. That was when NPC football was in the throes of having four different head coaches in a five-year period; recruiting thus nosedived, the roster barely scraped forty players, and talent at any position was hard to come by. Once Tim Rucks was hired after the end of the 1989 season and his first recruiting class matured, the situation improved dramatically for North Park football. If his alma mater's job hadn't come open when Mike Larry moved to the administrative side of Carthage, who knows what would've ensued for the Vikings under Rucks.