FB: Northwest Conference

[Tuxguy]

O.K.
I know this has been brought up many times , but I just looked at the brackets
and wanted to put in my own 2 cents.

The East, and I guess it's the North all played as a real bracket should.
1vs8 2vs7 3vs6  4vs.5  and the west 1vs 2?  the South 2 vs.3?

If I were an outsider, Id say the playoffs were set up for the east or the north to win!
Now, I realize how good Mount Union is, but do they need the NCAA to help them out? I know $$$ but some day, some team is going to call them on this, you can't have a bracket system that goes by different rules for each bracket and call it fair.

Maybe we could just put all the teams in a hat and draw........oops the $$$ thing.
Seems like the same thing we dealt with many years ago and now call title 9!

Should be a fair playing field no matter the cost,..................heard that before?

[criswyly]

+1....right here on this post for Tuxguy

[criswyly]

If Pat Coleman had his karma vending machine up and running I'd have given you the real deal.

[janesvilleflash]

tux...you're right on all counts. Problem.....d3 playoffs cost money. Until they make money,or break even, we have to take the scraps thrown our way. The present system, flawed as it is, beats the hell out of nothing. Maybe we should ask for a d3 bailout.

[Bearcat Press]

As we say about playoff appearances here in Salem, better late than never.  This week's article (raw and not copy-edited) is below.  I'm going to be taking a bit of a posting hiatus over the next couple of days, to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday and my 21st birthday with the family on Friday.  Also, as I said before the Linfield game, I learned a while ago not to say things before the game that could give me trouble after the game.  So I'll make just one prediction before turning the banter over to everyone else:

Willamette will be ready to play.

BEARCATS CRUSH TIGERS, FACE DEFENDING CHAMPS
Tim Walsh
Staff Writer

In 2004, a bruised, battered bunch of Bearcats stumbled into their first-round NCAA playoff game against Occidental, falling 28-14 to the Tigers on a dusty field in Southern California.

"We had a little history with Oxy," said Bearcats head coach Mark Speckman.

In 2008, on a gorgeous day at a packed McCulloch Stadium, #6 Willamette made sure history didn't repeat itself, recovering from a slow start to top the #11 Tigers 48-33.  Merben Woo had eight carries for 104 yards and a touchdown while catching five passes for 169 yards and two more TDs to lead the Bearcats (11-0, 6-0 NWC), who now face fourth-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater.

"It's just a great day to be a Bearcat," said Speckman.  "We had a great crowd, a great atmosphere, and we played a pretty good game too."

The start was not auspicious though, as Occidental (9-1, 6-0 SCIAC), playoff participants four of the last five years, marched 83 yards in 16 plays to open the scoring with a touchdown.  The Bearcats' offense, out of sorts early against a well-prepared Tiger defense, compounded the team's problems by failing on a fourth-down conversion to give Oxy the ball back on the Willamette 37.

But the Bearcat defense, able all season to make big plays in crunch time, held on four downs to get the ball back.  This time, Willamette turned to the arm of Grant Leslie, who went 4-5 for 65 yards on the drive, including a pretty four-yard touchdown pass to Scott Schoettgen to pull the Bearcats within one.  An unusual sequence saw Mitchell Rowan's extra point blocked and returned all the way by Occidental, putting the score at 9-6 early in the second quarter.

Momentum, however, stayed with the 'Cats, as Arlin Taylor picked off a Tiger pass deep in Willamette territory.  Just two plays later, Deon Horne was off to the end zone for 79 of his 125 rushing yards behind excellent downfield blocking, and the Bearcats had their first lead.

A three-and-out forced an Oxy punt, and after two incomplete passes to Woo, the third time was the charm, as Leslie hooked up with the star flanker on a 71-yard touchdown strike.  Senior cornerback Ryan Bettancourt then corralled the Bearcats' second interception of the day, setting Willamette up deep in Tiger territory.  Horne punched in his second touchdown of the day two plays later, and the Bearcats had a 27-9 lead at halftime.

"Points are the best statistic in football," said Speckman.  "You make your opponent one-dimensional and easier to defend."

An ever-patient Occidental offense mounted another long drive at the start of the third quarter, but the Bearcats mounted a stand at their own six yard line to end the threat. Shortly into the fourth, the Tigers kicked a field goal to pull within 15, but Woo hauled in a nearly-intercepted Leslie pass for a 56-yard touchdown.  From there on out, the teams would trade scores, with a 51-yard Woo sweep and a one-yard Jose Green run sandwiched between three touchdowns from the never-say-die Tigers.

"It was frustrating to give up those scores," said Speckman.  "But we played a lot of kids, and they got great experience."

Another source of frustration was a series of bizarre officiating decisions that led to three Occidental onside kick attempts with 43.9 seconds left in the game.  On their third try, the Tigers finally recovered the kick despite vehement protests from the Willamette sideline.  Eventually, the clock ran out, and the Bearcats were able to celebrate their first-ever Division III playoff victory.

"The officials and I had different interpretations of the kicking rules.  Other than that, I can't really comment," said a visibly irked Speckman.

As with much of the season, Willamette's road now gets tougher, not easier.  Awaiting the Bearcats this Saturday is defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater (10-1, 6-1 WIAC), co-champions of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  No stranger to the Pacific Northwest, the Warhawks traveled to Tacoma earlier in the season, demolishing Puget Sound 60-7.  Their presence as a potential second-round opponent caught Speckman's eye immediately: "It jumped off the page like a sledgehammer."

Coming off a 37-7 rout of MIAC champion St. John's, Whitewater relies on a devastating, physical ground game and a controlled aerial attack.  In order to defeat the Warhawks, "we'll have to stop the run and play better on special teams," says the head coach.  "They're better than just about anybody we've faced this year."

"It just shows how tough it is to win in the playoffs.  You have to tip your hat to [previous national champions] Linfield and PLU at times like this."

"But we're excited for the opportunity to play.  We haven't seen them, they haven't seen us – it should be a great game."

[bleedpurple]

 No stranger to the Pacific Northwest, the Warhawks traveled to Tacoma earlier in the season, demolishing Puget Sound 60-7.  Their presence as a potential second-round opponent caught Speckman's eye immediately: "It jumped off the page like a sledgehammer."

I love this quote! Lot's of jumping sledgehammers out in Salem, are there? 

If there are, apparently they don't play defense for the Bearcats!

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

[bleedpurple]

Hey, just ran across another classic athletic quote from today's Milwaukee Journal:

"There's not a guy in here who doesn't believe we can't win every game."  -Ryan Pickett, DT Green Bay Packers

I have enough trouble with DOUBLE negatives, but the triple just throws me over the edge! 

[KitchenSink]

KitchenSink
When I was in highschool many years ago I was praticing my drop kicks....never could convince anyone to let me try it in a game....Question...when a drop kick is attempted...when dropped, does the ball have to touch the ground before being kicked?  Also, in theory, the drop kick can occur at anytime as long as it occurs behind the line of scrimmage...correct?

Not sure about college (or pro, for that matter), but (as I am a high school football official) it's legal in high school - defined as legal if it's on or behind the line of scrimmage and kicked as it touches the ground, or as it is rising back up after touching the ground.

I just have to laugh when Ray Nitschke (a big favorite around here, back in the day) slams his helmet down after Burt fills him in.   

[RedandPurple]

KitchenSink
When I was in highschool many years ago I was praticing my drop kicks....never could convince anyone to let me try it in a game....Question...when a drop kick is attempted...when dropped, does the ball have to touch the ground before being kicked?  Also, in theory, the drop kick can occur at anytime as long as it occurs behind the line of scrimmage...correct?

Not sure about college (or pro, for that matter), but (as I am a high school football official) it's legal in high school - defined as legal if it's on or behind the line of scrimmage and kicked as it touches the ground, or as it is rising back up after touching the ground.

I just have to laugh when Ray Nitschke (a big favorite around here, back in the day) slams his helmet down after Burt fills him in.   

Ray Nitschke was the man.

"That's what you work all season for, to get into the playoff games, and you don't want to blow it."
Ray Nitschke

[footballfan413]

What some of you UWW fans don't seem to get is the following:

You're playing the NWC Champ...not a CoChamp...not a good pool B or C team....We here at the NWC can see that Willamette is a special team this year....even if some of us don't want to admit that....Oh wait...it's the mighty WIAC Co-Chump...I mean Co-Champ were playing this weekend....the could of, should of team...who could of...oh wait it's the mighty WIAC....   Some of you WarHawk fans don't seem to take it serious to realize that the NWC is the only conference to have two legitimate National Champs since 1999 during the MUC reign of terror.  When has the "mighty" WIAC accomplished that...when will they accomplish that?   The NWC could be on the verge of making it three National Champs since 99....Many of us here are excited about that.

Now if Willamette loses Saturday...I'll forget this comment was ever posted....In fact I'll delete it.

Well, you should be able to get lots of turkey today with that long reach, Criswyly!  Really, you want to pull history out as far back as 1999 to throw at us?  And we get hit for referring to the Warhawks 3 Stagg Bowl appearances and their ring!   We've had history thown at us but at least the Johnnies and the Cat's fans stuck to this millenium.  So, if 1999 is relevant, then I think a case can be made for going back a few more years to 1992 and 1995 when UW-LaCrosse, a WIAC school, won the National Championship both years.  So, by my count, that means that the "mighty WIAC," is the only conference to have 3 legitimate National Champions, besides MUC, since 1992 and since MUC's reign began in 1993, the logic works but who really gives a crap what happened in the 90's.  (Can't believe I have been reduced to bragging about LAX..........our biggest rival.............the two programs hate each other!) 
  Safe travels and a Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Hope your day is filled with great food, great football and lots of time spent with loved ones! 

Thanks, Coco. I think you are awesome, too!!
     

[KitchenSink]

I'll be heading out to the airport at the crack o' dawn tomorrow to go over to Oregon for the game. Looking forward to it.  Anything about McCulloch I need to know?  Walk-up for tickets okay?  Do they body cavity search you on the way in?

What about local flavor?  I do have a friend who is hosting me (lives in Silverton), and I'm told we're going to Burgerville.  I remember going to In-and-Out Burger when I was in SoCal a while back based upon an internet recommend (that was a good call, too).

Win or lose, it'll be fun seeing the Warhawks play there.  Willamette looks very potent, so it should be a great game.

Playoff football.  You gotta love it.

[BearcatFan]

O.K.
I know this has been brought up many times , but I just looked at the brackets
and wanted to put in my own 2 cents.

The East, and I guess it's the North all played as a real bracket should.
1vs8 2vs7 3vs6  4vs.5  and the west 1vs 2?  the South 2 vs.3?

If I were an outsider, Id say the playoffs were set up for the east or the north to win!
Now, I realize how good Mount Union is, but do they need the NCAA to help them out? I know $$$ but some day, some team is going to call them on this, you can't have a bracket system that goes by different rules for each bracket and call it fair.

Maybe we could just put all the teams in a hat and draw........oops the $$$ thing.
Seems like the same thing we dealt with many years ago and now call title 9!

Should be a fair playing field no matter the cost,..................heard that before?

Speckman "Half the bracket is seeded, half isn't. Half the bracket is about money, half isn't"

[BearcatFan]

I'll be heading out to the airport at the crack o' dawn tomorrow to go over to Oregon for the game. Looking forward to it.  Anything about McCulloch I need to know?  Walk-up for tickets okay?  Do they body cavity search you on the way in?

What about local flavor?  I do have a friend who is hosting me (lives in Silverton), and I'm told we're going to Burgerville.  I remember going to In-and-Out Burger when I was in SoCal a while back based upon an internet recommend (that was a good call, too).

Win or lose, it'll be fun seeing the Warhawks play there.  Willamette looks very potent, so it should be a great game.

Playoff football.  You gotta love it.

Walk-up tickets  go on sale at (I believe) 9:30 at the main gate.

Local flavor: probably the favorite student hang-out is "The Ram" (corner of 12th & Bellevue, right across the street from campus). Decent food, (not great and a bit overpriced IMHO) and they brew their own beers, most of which are pretty darn good).

[Gig Harbor Cat]

Hey Tux,
  Just dropped of a note at your shop on my AM latte run from Wildcat11's house.  Just read it and obey, dude.  Just kidding of course  I know you and Blue are 100% Cat Fans.  Wildcat 11 and I watched some tape on the Cat  bearkittie game last night. 
   Their run will be one and done unless they happen to pull something huge out of their arse.   UWW might just grind them up.  But then we will have to see, thats why we play the game and not just pick a score and

PHONE IT IN

Not sure on the score, but if UWW controls the clock by grinding it out it will be a long day for the bearkitties in their own back yard. 

Gotta run, we got some football to watch and turkey to take care of.

Peace Out

GHC

[Gig Harbor Cat]

Note to my tailgate brothers...Re the post PLU game festivities.  OK I know I dropped you off in Parkland at one of their finest establishments.  Since I didn't get a distress call during the night I have to assume that you boys had an exceptional time, made several new friends, and found your way home.  I'm sure I will hear the complete unedited version at our first Cat tailgate next year.  I can hardly wait ( for the  story)

Happy turkey day

Gig Harbor Cat