FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RedmenFB44]

What a comeback for the Redmen! Down 28-9 with about 10 min to play in the game. Carthage recovers onside kick, recovers a fumble and gets an INT in the last 10 min of the game. Huge collapse by IWU who dominated 3 and a half quarters of the game. First time Carthage has won back to back games at IWU since the mid-70's! Also first time in Carthage football history that the Redmen have won 3 in a row against IWU!

Final Score:

Carthage - 31
IWU - 28

Great comeback for the Redmen!!!

[redman04]

CARTHAGE WINS!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A COME BACK FOR THE REDMEN!!!!!!!!!!

[Mugsy]

The bell is back!  The bell is back!

Talk about a game of 2 halves.  13-0 NCC at half.  298 to 94 total offense in favor of NCC.  A couple of turnovers for Wheaton.  Not looking good from a Wheaton standpoint. 

Great game plan set by NCC.  Spread offense and no huddle so that Wheaton couldn't substitute they way they normally do.  Not to take anything way from NCC's performance, they executed very well.  But Wheaton looked horribly flat.  Absolutely no fire in the first half and the defense looked gassed - probably because they were on the field all day.  Hard to believe it is one of the biggest games of the year, it's homecoming and Wheaton looked lethargic at first.

The last drive of the half was unbelievable.  60+ yards of QB draws, RB straight up the gut with no LB in sight.  NCC receivers were cutting down Wheaton DB's and LB's with some great down field blocks.  Drive resulted in a FG with virtually no time left.

Kniss is the really deal and I was really impressed with the freshman RB - Sulo.  NCC's o-line did extremely well against Wheaton.  If it weren't for Studebaker (who had another 3 sacks), Wheaton's d-line generated absolutely NO pressure on Kniss.  I was really disappointed.

I couldn't understand why Wheaton was not trying to establish the run.  I was frustrated to say the least.

2nd half was night and day.  Wheaton ran the ball very effectively.  Took the opening drive down for a TD.  The defense held and then another drive for a FG.  I think Wheaton had 3 drives of 70+ yards, including a 91 yarder.  I think NCC only had 1 first down in the 3rd quarter and Studebaker had 2 sacks in the quarter.  31 straight points for Wheaton.

Coach Swider gave credit to the offensive and defensive coordinators for their adjustments at the half and to the team for coming out and playing inspired ball.

Great, clean game overall.

[augiedogie]

Augie wins 28-14 sounds like a good showing by Elmhurst.

I was at the Augie Elmhurst game, and Elmhurst scored the last touchdown with less than a minute left to make it 28-14.  Elmhurst had 2 possessions instead the Augie 5 and came away with no points.  With the score 7-0 Elmhurst got picked off in the endzone. With the score 21-7 later in the game, Elmhurst got stopped on 4th and goal  from inside the 1 yard line.  It was surprising that Elmhurst came out and mostly ran the ball in the 1st half. It wasn't until the 3rd and 4th quaters when Elmhurst was down that they really tried to attack Augie's secondary. 

[augiedogie]

Jaybird,

I would like to hear your thoughts on the game.  I was quite surprised there weren't many flags for holding etc in the game. It seemed everytime Elmhurst looked like they were going do so something, they shot themselves in the foot with costly turnovers, the roughing the kicker pentaly, or the kick-catch interference pentaly that gave Augie even better field position.  Was it their game plan to run as much as they did? I thought they would take the spread offense and pass a lot more than they did. I sat right behind Elmhurst qb's father and he was complaining about the offensive play calling. Just wanted to hear your thoughts.

[mr_b]

Does anyone know the NP Milikin score?

Millikin prevailed, 36-6.  It was 0-0 through the first quarter and the Vikings looked good.  They got the ball on a turnover but could not capitalize when a receiver dropped a pass in the end zone.  Millikin had two interceptions in the first half and went up 14-0, but the Vikes managed a TD just before the break to close to within 8 points.

The second half was a different story as the Big Blue moved the ball very well.  They were up 29-6 in the waning seconds when Millikin intercepted yet another pass and ran it in for the final score.

While the Big Blue offense looked sharp in the second half, I found the defensive line the big story of the game as they rushed Viking QB Shelby Wood and recorded several sacks.  Another unsung hero for Millikin would be the punter -- he nailed several long spirals in the first half, thereby giving the Blue a definite advantage in what was a battle of field position.

For North Park, Brandon Watts made some nice catcges, as did wide receiver Kenny Davis.  Justin Schwan played several positions -- running back, receiver, and kickoff receiver, but not QB.

[Mugsy]

Mugsy,
Good evaluation of the game.  Hope to shake your hand sometime.
Don't forget Chaz Blacks aprox 190yds rushing. HE should be a shoe in for CCIW player of the week.  I also agree that the adjustments were crucial.  On defense there was safety blitzes and stunts using the LB's.  QB Chupp showed that he could handle pressure in the second half.  Ulrich was pretty good in the second half also.  There were no completions to the three main receivers in the first half according to the radio announcers.  Huge game next week.  I am going to try my best to make the game but I'm not so sure my 93 explorer with 160,000 miles can make it.  Well see.  I met and prayed with some of the parents, who were absolutely great. 
Congratulations to the Wheaton Thunder who showed poise in a come from behind win.  NC played their hearts out and should be proud of the way they played.

Go Thunder, perhaps I'll get the chance to shake your hand at the next Wheaton home game. 

Thanks for the update on rushing yards for Black.  I didn't intend to slight Chaz Black.  I just didn't have the stats in front of me as they hadn't been released yet and I had a very upset 2 year old son in my lap as I typed. The key was Wheaton's ability to run the ball.  Wheaton's running game changed the entire game, which is why I was frustrated in the first half.

Key stats:
NCC held the ball for 21 of 30 minutes in the first half.  Kniss was 16 of 20 for 160 yards.  When he missed, he missed long where Wheaton couldn't intercept.  The Ullrich and Chupp INT's in the first half were underthrown.  But they rebounded nicely in the 2nd half.

Black finished the day with 191 yards on 25 carries (7.6 avg.).

Sulo totaled 110 yards on the ground on 17 attempts in addition to six catches for 54 yards, but 97 of the rushing yards came in the first half.

[Redmen96]

Wow
Carthage game sounds like a great one.  That is, if you are not a Norm fan.

[cardinaldad]

Coach Swider gave credit to the offensive and defensive coordinators for their adjustments at the half and to the team for coming out and playing inspired ball.

Great job by the Wheaton TEAM. It was a TEAM effort. Alot of the credit should go to the coaches. Wheaton was a tatally different TEAM in the 2nd half.

[Mugsy]

Coach Swider gave credit to the offensive and defensive coordinators for their adjustments at the half and to the team for coming out and playing inspired ball.

Great job by the Wheaton TEAM. It was a TEAM effort. Alot of the credit should go to the coaches. Wheaton was a tatally different TEAM in the 2nd half.

He did mention that it required a complete team effort to turn things around and that he was proud of the entire team.  I don't mean to minimize that thought.  From scout team to starters, to coaches, etc... I just thought it was classy to give credit to his staff.

[cardinaldad]

Mugsy,
That reply was not directed at you in any way. I was just emphasizing that Wheaton played as a team. Sorry, if you took it wrong.

[cardinaldad]

I agree, he should give his coaches credit

[Mugsy]

Mugsy,
That reply was not directed at you in any way. I was just emphasizing that Wheaton played as a team. Sorry, if you took it wrong.

No problem at all.  I didn't take it personally or incorrectly.

I was attempting (miserably) to re-iterate your point that it took an entire team effort to turn around a 13-0 deficit and complete domination by a really tough team at half into a 31-19 victory.  It shows the maturity and character of the team and their complete confidence in their coaches and themselves.

I was really impressed by North Central and expect they'll finish the season off strong.  It is hard to lose the incredible players they had last year and continue without missing a beat.  The NCC program is continuing to build and improve.  I look for this game to be a battle year in and year out.  Should be a lot of fun.

[cardinaldad]

As much as I want NCC to beat the heak out of Wheaton, I have always respected the way they respond to their coaches and believe in them and themselves. That's what it takes to continually be a great team.

[cardinaldad]

I can't spell tonight. The heck out of........