FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

All of the talk about how he has improved the culture and his investment in his student athletes is what impresses me.  The wins are a product of this brand of holistic coaching and mentoring.  The accolades are a product of the wins.

There are examples of this positive coaching throughout the conference (and region).  Thank you, Greg, for sharing Park's experience with coach Rooker.

Yep. And it really does stem from the positive and affirming culture he's building and the buy-in he's getting from his players, because that is affecting recruiting. CCIW-level prospects are coming in on visits, and they're liking what they see in terms of how Kyle and his staff go about their business and how they treat people, as well as the upbeat atmosphere among the players, which counts for a lot in terms of first impressions. It's still an uphill battle to get suburban Chicagoland kids to commit to a city school (Kyle and I talked about that in our halftime interview last week), but that hill might not be quite as steep as it used to be. I feel good about where the program is and where it's going.

[USee]

Here's the list of all CCIW All Region awards, Congrats to all the student-athletes (and Coach):

OPOY: Luke Lehnen, QB North Central
Coach of the Year: Kyle Rooker, North Park


Wheaton:
1st Team All Region:
Gio Weeks
Ben Bonga

2nd Team All Region:
Trevor Gabriele, C
Paul Fay, G
Elijah Nitz, T
Max Wilson, CB
Third Team All Region:
Peter Johanik, DE

NCC:
1st Team All Region:
Luke Lehnen, QB
DeAngelo Hardy, WR
Jeske Maples, T
Sam Pryor, G
Jarod Thornton, C
Martin Egbo, DE
BJ Adamchik, LB
Antwain Walker, CB
Julian Bell, S

2nd Team All Region
Joe Sacco, RB

Third Team All Region:
Joey Lombardi, RET

Augie:
1st Team All Region:
Nick Harper, S

Third Team All Region:
Braydon Macdonald, G
Cain Johnson, T

IWU
1st Team All Region:
Jahari Scott, ST

Carroll:
1st Team All Region:
Noah Streveler, P

2nd Team All Region:
Jacob Laurent, K

3rd Team All Region:
Nick Mantas, DE

North Park:
2nd Team All Region:
Jaydin Miller, LB

Many of these will be up for AA honors announced next week as well!

[CarollFan]

Carroll's punter Noah Streveler was 1st team All Region.  Apparently one thing we did well was kick.

[USee]

Noted. Fixed.

[cardinaldad]

Congrats to Luke Lehnan of NCC for making it to be a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy! I am absolutely shocked and disappointed that Gio Weeks is not a finalist!

[CuriousCCIWfan]

thank you cardinaldad for the props for Gio Weeks', I am his father, and I must say it is a disappointment not to make it, but Luke Lehnan is tremendously deserving of the honor and a sure bet to win! Facing him as a Wheaton fan for the last three seasons was not fun, defending him is a daunting task. He is a great quarterback and NCC is a tremendous program. Rooting for them to go all the way, and I love how they represent the CCIW with pride.

[cardinaldad]

thank you cardinaldad for the props for Gio Weeks', I am his father, and I must say it is a disappointment not to make it, but Luke Lehnan is tremendously deserving of the honor and a sure bet to win! Facing him as a Wheaton fan for the last three seasons was not fun, defending him is a daunting task. He is a great quarterback and NCC is a tremendous program. Rooting for them to go all the way, and I love how they represent the CCIW with pride.

CuriousCCIWfan, I can only imagine your disappointment. In my 2 decades, or so, of following DIII and CCIW football, your son is right in the group of the best backs that I have seen. And from what I hear, he is a wonderful young man. I nervously enjoyed watching him play! Do you have any younger sons that might play for Wheaton? I also can imagine how you feel with the Wheaton football (playing) chapter being over. I remember that feeling very, very well. But, I make up for it some by continuing to follow the Cardinals. Thanks for the kind words and support for the Cards. The game on Saturday should be a good one!

[CruFrenzy]

My lines for the semis

North Central (-13) at Wartburg - total 70.5

Cortland State at Randolph Macon (-17.5) total 56

Two pretty big favorites imo for Saturday. Do we break the all time attendance record in Salem if we get a North Central v Randolph Macon Stagg?

Looks like about a 3 hour drive to Salem from RMC. Not sure how many fans NCC will ship out, 10 hour drive or jump on a plane.

[cardinaldad]

My lines for the semis

North Central (-13) at Wartburg - total 70.5

Cortland State at Randolph Macon (-17.5) total 56

Two pretty big favorites imo for Saturday. Do we break the all time attendance record in Salem if we get a North Central v Randolph Macon Stagg?

Looks like about a 3 hour drive to Salem from RMC. Not sure how many fans NCC will ship out, 10 hour drive or jump on a plane.

We have traveled really well for the past 3. Hopefully we make it there. If we do, I'm pretty confident we will travel well again.

[robertgoulet]

Interesting that 2 of the d3f guys picked Wartburg to prevail this weekend. I am generally a worrier, but have a feeling this game is going to be a lot like last year's UMHB semi. Everyone thought it would be close and ultimately it wasn't.

[NCC2010]

Interesting that 2 of the d3f guys picked Wartburg to prevail this weekend. I am generally a worrier, but have a feeling this game is going to be a lot like last year's UMHB semi. Everyone thought it would be close and ultimately it wasn't.

i just looked up last year's picks.  They were 5-2 in favor of Mount over Wartburg and 5-2 in favor of NCC over UMHB. 

This year, 5-2 in favor of NCC over Wartburg and 4-3 in favor of R-MC over Cortland.

[robertgoulet]

Interesting that 2 of the d3f guys picked Wartburg to prevail this weekend. I am generally a worrier, but have a feeling this game is going to be a lot like last year's UMHB semi. Everyone thought it would be close and ultimately it wasn't.

i just looked up last year's picks.  They were 5-2 in favor of Mount over Wartburg and 5-2 in favor of NCC over UMHB. 

This year, 5-2 in favor of NCC over Wartburg and 4-3 in favor of R-MC over Cortland.

I get Wartburg has a very good defense, but so did Trinity. I don't think Wartburg has the size in the D line to consistently win against NCC. UWL had some big boys up front, Wartburg skews a bit more to the Trinity size of things. I understand that size isn't everything ( ) but I think over the course of the game you'll see NCC pull away and win comfortably.

[Cardinal773]

Are there any watch parties in Chicago tomorrow? Anyone know? How well attended was the one in River North last week?


RE: Last year.  Yeah.  Kyle King and Jordan and that RB for UMHB were a tough assignment.  Wartburg doesn't have Kyle King.  If Wart puts up points it's because of a bunch of broken plays.

[robertgoulet]

Are there any watch parties in Chicago tomorrow? Anyone know? How well attended was the one in River North last week?


RE: Last year.  Yeah.  Kyle King and Jordan and that RB for UMHB were a tough assignment.  Wartburg doesn't have Kyle King.  If Wart puts up points it's because of a bunch of broken plays.

Theory on W. Hubbard. Doors at 11.

[CuriousCCIWfan]

My humble opinion seeing my sons team play North Central for the last three years, to beat North Central your offense needs to have explosive power. LaCrosse had a little of it, but I see Wartburg as a defensive-heavy team, yes they have a good offense, but it is not explosive -  it cant just pile on the points like NCC can. I think NCC wins 42-17.