FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Mugsy]

some stats from the game:

Carthage:

Oboyle 29-45 268 yds 1 INT; 78 yds rushing for carthage. 346 total yards.

wheaton:

norris 26-54 374 yds 2 INT; 41 yds rushing

4 turnovers for wheaton to 2 for carthage.

Fake punt for a TD and the 70+ yard interception for a TD (while 3/4 of the Wheaton offense watch the return), along at least 4 dropped passes by Fossum and Pokorny and a few other turnovers (first play of the 2nd half) did Wheaton in.  2 of Fossum's drops would have been 50+ yard gains, if not TD's.  He was beyond the Carthage secondary and just dropped the pass.

Congrats to Carthage on a huge win.  I thought they had a great offensive game plan and executed very well.  They deserved to win.  Wheaton did finally show some heart, though it was too little, too late.

Wheaton is getting healthier each week.  Studebaker off crutches, DE Almanza back in the lineup after at least 3 weeks off.  Still weird to see 4 of 5 team captains out of uniform due to injuries at the coin flip. 

Hopefully next week they can put this game behind them and get it done against the Titans.

[AndOne]

Final from Naperville: NCC 23, IWU 7.

Well, since IWU was picked for 7th and will still play for (at least) a share of the title next week, I guess I can't be too disappointed!  But it still hurts after coming so close.

Next week determines the AQ, with only Wheaton having control over their fate.  If they win, they are AQ.  If IWU wins and so does NCC, NCC is AQ.  If IWU wins and Carthage wins, IWU is AQ (and solo champ).  Go RedMen!!

Go Cardinals!
AND--Go Titans

[Tailgater]

Great win for Red Men! Outstanding win for the Red Men! Shocking win for the Red Men! The Coaches told me after the game that they don't know how they keep doing it (winning) with all the health issues they have and are suffering from. Coach Rucks said to me after the game "what did you think about that?" and he actually had a surprised expression on his face as well as smile that looked like a kid in a candy store. I'm going to step up right now and nominate Tim as the CCIW Coach of the year.....along with his entire staff. What an outstanding job they have been doing all season piecing together personnel packages and inspiring players to step up and make their opportunities count.

The Red Men lost their RB (Andy Bures) after his first touch. He hit a wall of Thunder and suffered a slight concussion. After that the running game was virtually non-existent. Unfortunately for Wheaton they were just as incapable of running the ball. Hats off to Wheaton for digging in after trailing by 25 to make a game of it down the stretch. Another 5 minutes of game clock and they may have pulled off a big come-back. On several occasions throughout the game it looked as if Wheaton was going to connect on home-run passes, but receivers either dropped balls or the passes sailed too deep. Fossum (I assume #2?) out-sized every defender we put on him by what seemed like a foot. How tall is he? 6'7" or so? I'm not sure why Wheaton didn't take more advantage of this situation (not that Fossum wasn't thrown to). I would have kept throwing his way until the Red Men found a solution to cover him.. I feared he would get a long score before this game ended, but it never happened.

Ya gotta love the CCIW! With one week remaining in the season there are 4 teams that still have a say in who gets crowned Champion for 2007.

[Tailgater]

Some of the Carthage Coaching staff told me they feel they may have a shot at a pool C bid at this point. if Carthage beats NCC and if IWU beats Wheaton next week, IWU would get the AQ and that would place Carthage at 8-2 ahead of Wheaton 8-2 due to head-to-head results favoring Carthage. NCC would be out at 7-3. I'll let usee help with this analysis as I still think an 8-2 team which has been off the ranking radar has only a sliver of a chance of getting a bid. Can you help me think this through usee?

[Mugsy]

Great win for Red Men! Outstanding win for the Red Men! Shocking win for the Red Men! The Coaches told me after the game that they don't know how they keep doing it (winning) with all the health issues they have and are suffering from. Coach Rucks said to me after the game "what did you think about that?" and he actually had a surprised expression on his face as well as smile that looked like a kid in a candy store. I'm going to step up right now and nominate Tim as the CCIW Coach of the year.....along with his entire staff. What an outstanding job they have been doing all season piecing together personnel packages and inspiring players to step up and make their opportunities count.

The Red Men lost their RB (Andy Bures) after his first touch. He hit a wall of Thunder and suffered a slight concussion. After that the running game was virtually non-existent. Unfortunately for Wheaton they were just as incapable of running the ball. Hats off to Wheaton for digging in after trailing by 25 to make a game of it down the stretch. Another 5 minutes of game clock and they may have pulled off a big come-back. On several occasions throughout the game it looked as if Wheaton was going to connect on home-run passes, but receivers either dropped balls or the passes sailed too deep. Fossum (I assume #2?) out-sized every defender we put on him by what seemed like a foot. How tall is he? 6'7" or so? I'm not sure why Wheaton didn't take more advantage of this situation (not that Fossum wasn't thrown to). I would have kept throwing his way until the Red Men found a solution to cover him.. I feared he would get a long score before this game ended, but it never happened.

Ya gotta love the CCIW! With one week remaining in the season there are 4 teams that still have a say in who gets crowned Champion for 2007.

Tailgater... did you tailgate? I noticed an impressive tailgating crew of Carthage faithful and I almost stopped over to see if you were there.

Fossum is listed at 6'5", so he does present match up issues for D3 corners.  I thought Wheaton could have gone to him more, but he was uncharacteristically dropping passes.  He could have had some huge plays if not for the dropped balls.

Bures took quite a shot on that swing pass and I was amazed he got up from that one.  You could really hear it from the stands as the crowd gasped on that hit.

Carthage (like Wheaton with exception to today) has done a great job dealing with injury.  Personally I love the style of offense and defense they play.  They deserve a lot of credit.

The CCIW is a wide conference right now with lots of excitement.  Next week should be crazy.

[Tailgater]

Great win for Red Men! Outstanding win for the Red Men! Shocking win for the Red Men! The Coaches told me after the game that they don't know how they keep doing it (winning) with all the health issues they have and are suffering from. Coach Rucks said to me after the game "what did you think about that?" and he actually had a surprised expression on his face as well as smile that looked like a kid in a candy store. I'm going to step up right now and nominate Tim as the CCIW Coach of the year.....along with his entire staff. What an outstanding job they have been doing all season piecing together personnel packages and inspiring players to step up and make their opportunities count.

The Red Men lost their RB (Andy Bures) after his first touch. He hit a wall of Thunder and suffered a slight concussion. After that the running game was virtually non-existent. Unfortunately for Wheaton they were just as incapable of running the ball. Hats off to Wheaton for digging in after trailing by 25 to make a game of it down the stretch. Another 5 minutes of game clock and they may have pulled off a big come-back. On several occasions throughout the game it looked as if Wheaton was going to connect on home-run passes, but receivers either dropped balls or the passes sailed too deep. Fossum (I assume #2?) out-sized every defender we put on him by what seemed like a foot. How tall is he? 6'7" or so? I'm not sure why Wheaton didn't take more advantage of this situation (not that Fossum wasn't thrown to). I would have kept throwing his way until the Red Men found a solution to cover him.. I feared he would get a long score before this game ended, but it never happened.

Ya gotta love the CCIW! With one week remaining in the season there are 4 teams that still have a say in who gets crowned Champion for 2007.

Tailgater... did you tailgate? I noticed an impressive tailgating crew of Carthage faithful and I almost stopped over to see if you were there.

Fossum is listed at 6'5", so he does present match up issues for D3 corners.  I thought Wheaton could have gone to him more, but he was uncharacteristically dropping passes.  He could have had some huge plays if not for the dropped balls.

Bures took quite a shot on that swing pass and I was amazed he got up from that one.  You could really hear it from the stands as the crowd gasped on that hit.

Carthage (like Wheaton with exception to today) has done a great job dealing with injury.  Personally I love the style of offense and defense they play.  They deserve a lot of credit.

The CCIW is a wide conference right now with lots of excitement.  Next week should be crazy.

I was indeed tailgating on the grassy knoll across from the west endzone. The Red tent with the Carthage emblems is my base camp. I wish you would have stopped by. I certainly would have liked to meet you and shake your hand and share some stories. Maybe next season? We have certainly built a great tailgating tradition. When we got started with serious tailgating 5 years ago we began with 3 couples, some Jimmy John subs and a cooler of beverages. Year after year the tradition has grown through the Carthage Football Parents Group to become very elaborate with an exceptional offering of foods and libations. Home or away the Carthage family enjoys this time together along with anyone who wishes to join us. When it comes to tailgating there are no opponents

[redman04]

4) The Wheaton/Carthage and Augie/NPU games would have been clean sweeps -  minus redman04's complete break with reality and utter despairation picks. 

Mugsy, do you like salt when you eat crow?

MMMMMM.......Crow!!! 

[New Tradition]

I was indeed tailgating on the grassy knoll.

While you were there, did you see who happened to killed Kennedy? 

[Tailgater]

"Bures took quite a shot on that swing pass and I was amazed he got up from that one.  You could really hear it from the stands as the crowd gasped on that hit."

Mugsy:
I talked with Andy and his dad after the game. They said he went lights out when hit and his brain disconnected from his hands resulting in the fumble that turned into 7 points for the Thunder. Fortunately after the game he appeared to be ok and was smiling even though I was trying to mess around with his ability to focus. Should be good to go again next week.

[Tailgater]

I was indeed tailgating on the grassy knoll.

While you were there, did you see who happened to killed Kennedy? 

As soon as the coolers opened I was a little distracted. All the noise from trains passing by prevented me from hearing conversations let alone a rifle shot

[Tailgater]

Interesting facts I was not aware of. Until today Wheaton had won 18 of the last 19 meetings against the Red Men (losing in 2004 in Kenosha). Carthage had lost the last 12 straight games at McCully field. Carthage's last win on Wheaton turf was a 26-21 victory on Nov. 6, 1982 in what was legendary coach Art Keller's next-to-last game of his coaching career.

[SonsofThunder]

Huge win for the Red Men today...  They did everything, and I mean everything they had to do to beat Wheaton.  The game is about turnovers and special teams and Carthage seemed to capitalize on every single Wheaton miscue.   The turning points of the game both came from Donovan Moore with a punt fake for a TD followed by the slowest INT for a TD in the history of football.  Moore followed his blocks so well, that it seemed like he would never get there.

Wheaton always seems to find a way to rebound from tough losses and make a statment the following week.  This sets up a make or break day for Wheaton at Weslyan next week.  If they win, they're in with the AQ, if they don't, they're out.  

Here we go now men...

Beating Wheaton at home has been no easy task.  Wheaton's home winning ways at McCully field took a hit today, but they remain one of the toughest to beat at home with a 33-2 record since 2002.

[Mr. Ypsi]

IF Carthage holds serve in Kenosha next week (have I mentioned - Go RedMen?! ), they have snuck under the radar into pool C contention.  So far I think there are still too many one-loss C-candidates for ANY two-loss team to have much of a chance, but the carnage may not yet be over.

[Mugsy]

4) The Wheaton/Carthage and Augie/NPU games would have been clean sweeps -  minus redman04's complete break with reality and utter despairation picks. 

Mugsy, do you like salt when you eat crow?

MMMMMM.......Crow!!! 

Can we throw it on Tailgater's grill?

The reference to "utter despairation picks" was not necessarily related to the Wheaton/Carthage game.  Rather the perceived going "oppo" on every single game...

[Mugsy]

"Bures took quite a shot on that swing pass and I was amazed he got up from that one.  You could really hear it from the stands as the crowd gasped on that hit."

Mugsy:
I talked with Andy and his dad after the game. They said he went lights out when hit and his brain disconnected from his hands resulting in the fumble that turned into 7 points for the Thunder. Fortunately after the game he appeared to be ok and was smiling even though I was trying to mess around with his ability to focus. Should be good to go again next week.

Good to hear he is ok... head injuries are not to be taken lightly.

Though I confess having some fun with a teammate when he got knocked out after returning a kickoff our freshman year - oddly enough against Carthage in Kenosha during a sleet storm. What a horrible day... 32 degrees, raining and windy.  I remember walking straight into the showers with our equipment on to warm up. 

Anyway... as he sat on the bench sniffing smelling salts, we said "don't worry... the wife and kids are in the stands and they are fine."  To which he just shook his head... "wife... kids?"