FB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[thewaterboy]

First take on the Wesley QBs: They both played pretty well today. Difficult to see any separation HOWEVER, I thought Mullin had the better arm. Marrocco's throws were a bit loopy. Lacked zip. You also saw Mullin force a few throws. He tried to hit the TE Hess in double coverage in the 2nd quarter, and there were a couple more examples.

Special teams had a few miscues, especially on punt return.

Just got done watching the Wesley game.  69-0.....  Yeah, we aren't going to get that really good first look until next week against Del Val.  That said, I really liked what I saw.  It is obvious that Coach Knapp hasn't finalized the QB situation.  Marrocco looked shaky at the start while Mullen looked more comfortable from the get-go.  That said Marrocco ended up with 4 TD's in the end, so not too shabby.  I truly think both will succeed.  No stupid passes by either which is a good thing.   The defense was just all over the place only allowing a whopping 26 yards of total offense.  I can't recall the last time Wesley allowed that little.  It's been a while.  E.J. Lee was cutting up the grid before getting pulled averaging over 6 yards a run in the first half.   Peele is the go-to receiver at the moment.   I am definitely seeing depth in this year's team which I haven't seen in quite a while.  Next week will be the litmus test of just how good this team is going to be this year.  A playoff game in September.  Not too common these days.

-Ski

I like the depth too. RB and WR both look pretty deep. Defensive line looked solid too.

The NJAC went 2-6 this weekend.

Wesley 69, Franklin Pierce 0
Salisbury 63, Albright 28
Del Val 37, Kean 7
North Central 43, CNU 13
Muhlenberg 45, TCNJ 26
So Va 34, Montclair 21 (This was the most surprising result to me)
Widener 38, Rowan 28

[jmcozenlaw]

GAME DAY!!! Wesley flying blind into New Hampshire today. No film against a newly formed team in a division above them.... and a new QB. Should be a decent test early on.

You should have listened to me a couple of months ago on this board. "A good test against a team a division above them". Say what? This team was akin to an intramural sprint team last year. Wesley would have been better off playing Salisbury twice which was the fallback plan for both teams. That Franklin Pierce team would lose to Archbishop Wood, LaSalle and St. Joe Prep.................and get murdered by Dom Bosco (for those familiar with high level PA and NJ high school football pwerhouses).

[RowanPhan]

Widener 38, Rowan 28

The Profs suffered a season opening loss to cross-river rival, Widener. The atmosphere was great - over 5000 in attendance.

Kudos to the Pride, they were one step ahead of Rowan all game. 

The Profs showed up with their same-old conservative "RPO" offense and were flat in the first quarter. Widener's QB found the gaps in the Prof defense and it was the difference in the game (their WR1 had around 13 receptions!).

The Husni era began for the Profs, and he played well.  He made a couple of great passes, but also lost a fumble which Widener  picked up for a TD.  One guy to keep an eye on is Mike Reed who was added to the roster late. He joined from the JUCO ranks and has incredible speed.

One thing that peaves me about D3 football is the spotty officiating - the human element is a great part of this level of the game.  I feel like they miss obvious calls or are inconsistent in some cases 

[ITH radio]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

[thewaterboy]

Wesley jumps into the Top 25 at #22. Big test this weekend vs. Delaware Valley! This is one where I'm more certain of the capabilities of the opponent. 

[Teamski]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

That was quite the surprise.  Either one got better, the other worse or both. 

-Ski

[CNU85]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

[MRMIKESMITH]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

I'm not that all surprised (still shocked) by Montclair State loss. SoVA facing the top 3 teams (Not including Frostburg) from the NJAC in the prior year only gave up an avg of 28 points per game, not great, but they always played tough considering the recruiting trail they work with. I really thought if they could get points on the board in previous years, they'd be a tough team. Turnovers are the story of the game. If Montclair wants to win the NJAC, QB play has to improve, that was the issue last year against us.

[rams1102]

I was out of town and did not get back home until Sat night. I thought I was reading something wrong but I wasn't. I looked at the stats and was scratching my head saying how did we lose until I got to the bottom and thetre were 3 picks. Thats unacceptable. We need to put the hammer to Salve and start fresh. Time to re-group. Put this behind us and go 9-0 for the rest of the year. Should be interesting.

[thewaterboy]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

I'm not that all surprised (still shocked) by Montclair State loss. SoVA facing the top 3 teams (Not including Frostburg) from the NJAC in the prior year only gave up an avg of 28 points per game, not great, but they always played tough considering the recruiting trail they work with. I really thought if they could get points on the board in previous years, they'd be a tough team. Turnovers are the story of the game. If Montclair wants to win the NJAC, QB play has to improve, that was the issue last year against us.

I've heard that So Va is a sleeping giant... very niche school and they get kids from all over... who knows, could be a matter of time before they start rising. I am glad they are out of the NJAC though.

[CNU85]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

I'm not that all surprised (still shocked) by Montclair State loss. SoVA facing the top 3 teams (Not including Frostburg) from the NJAC in the prior year only gave up an avg of 28 points per game, not great, but they always played tough considering the recruiting trail they work with. I really thought if they could get points on the board in previous years, they'd be a tough team. Turnovers are the story of the game. If Montclair wants to win the NJAC, QB play has to improve, that was the issue last year against us.

I've heard that So Va is a sleeping giant... very niche school and they get kids from all over... who knows, could be a matter of time before they start rising. I am glad they are out of the NJAC though.

and their facilities are slowly ramping up. I was out there a few years ago and they had just put down a new turf field. I'm not sure what they have added since that time but I've heard they are getting serious with their Athletic Dept.

[MRMIKESMITH]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

I'm not that all surprised (still shocked) by Montclair State loss. SoVA facing the top 3 teams (Not including Frostburg) from the NJAC in the prior year only gave up an avg of 28 points per game, not great, but they always played tough considering the recruiting trail they work with. I really thought if they could get points on the board in previous years, they'd be a tough team. Turnovers are the story of the game. If Montclair wants to win the NJAC, QB play has to improve, that was the issue last year against us.

I've heard that So Va is a sleeping giant... very niche school and they get kids from all over... who knows, could be a matter of time before they start rising. I am glad they are out of the NJAC though.

and their facilities are slowly ramping up. I was out there a few years ago and they had just put down a new turf field. I'm not sure what they have added since that time but I've heard they are getting serious with their Athletic Dept.

I think they'll be pretty solid. Some years back, we had a couple of LDS players that were really good that left school to go on their two-year missionary duty. They were local players as well.

CNU85,

What were thoughts this past weekend about the CNU game. I know you were expecting a different result, but how would you gauge NCC compared to other conference opponents?

[Pat Coleman]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

He's in his second year as the head coach, if that makes a difference.

[rams1102]

Pick-Em's  For  Week  #2  Are  Posted  On  The NJAC  Pick-Em  Board.

[CNU85]

Still trying to figure out how Montclair lost to SoVA. Biggest upset of the wkd imo.

I'm thinking their new Super Bowl Champion coach has something to do with it.

I'm not that all surprised (still shocked) by Montclair State loss. SoVA facing the top 3 teams (Not including Frostburg) from the NJAC in the prior year only gave up an avg of 28 points per game, not great, but they always played tough considering the recruiting trail they work with. I really thought if they could get points on the board in previous years, they'd be a tough team. Turnovers are the story of the game. If Montclair wants to win the NJAC, QB play has to improve, that was the issue last year against us.

I've heard that So Va is a sleeping giant... very niche school and they get kids from all over... who knows, could be a matter of time before they start rising. I am glad they are out of the NJAC though.

and their facilities are slowly ramping up. I was out there a few years ago and they had just put down a new turf field. I'm not sure what they have added since that time but I've heard they are getting serious with their Athletic Dept.

I think they'll be pretty solid. Some years back, we had a couple of LDS players that were really good that left school to go on their two-year missionary duty. They were local players as well.

CNU85,

What were thoughts this past weekend about the CNU game. I know you were expecting a different result, but how would you gauge NCC compared to other conference opponents?

Actually....we have a lunch group that gets together Thursday before each game and we predict scores. I predicted CNU would lose 42-7. A 35 point spread. If NCC had a decent kicker they would have won 48-13.....a 35 point spread.  So I was spot on.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good about the team. We will not be playing anyone with 3 All-Americans on offense the rest of the year. We made some mistakes for sure. But I saw some things I liked. We are bigger and faster than in previous years and that will continue every year. I felt more comfortable watching the offense Saturday. We did score 3 times on NCC.  And our D is pretty stout when not playing the #5 team with those All-Americans. But we shall see how the remainder of the year pans out!