FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[tcheadhunter]

Methodist played well but CNU's defense was terrible in the frst half. Methodist moved the ball at will and I don't believe that they are as good as the 1st half stats indicate. I don't believe that any school has scored 35 pts on CNU in a half. Once CNU tightened up they were able to battle back. I really thought CNU was poised to make a big 4th qtr comeback. CNU failed to convert 3 times in the red zone and also had a FG blocked. Philip Jones was also sacked twice on a key possession late in the game. I am curious to see the total stats. It seemed like Philip Jones had a huge game probably 350 yds and 4td's. Methodist deserves some respect.

[narch]

great game today at mc - both offenses started fast and it was 14-14 at the end of the first quarter - then the passing game really got going for mc - cnu simply COULD NOT stop the rocket and the recievers - mularski, doleman, sands and howard made some great plays today, and the cnu db's just couldn't cover the mc recievers in the 2nd quarter - the o-line did a great job, and didn't give up a sack the entire game - rocket probably had 250+ yards in the first half as mc scored 21 unanswered in the 2nd quarter - the monarchs couldn't do anything wrong in the passing game, but the run game didn't really get going at all - hill played, but he isn't 100% (probably 75%), but mcswain ran HARD in the first half - cnu just abandoned the run, which i think played right into mc's hand - at 1/2 time the cnu crowd seemed dumbfounded, and so did the mc crowd - i don't think ANYONE saw that onslaught coming...but i told the person beside me that cnu was too good to not play hard in the second half

cnu coaches made great adjustments in the second half, especially defensively - they blitzed more, and mc wasn't able to get as many big plays as they did in the first half - #9 for cnu played a great second half - there was a reverse that he single handedly blew up that would have been big - i thought mularski had the corner, but that kid can fly - wood played a solid game, but wasn't spectacular - offensively cnu got a little more balanced in the second half and had some nice runs - the officials made some very questionable calls and i started to think that it just wasn't in the cards for the monarchs to win - then with 5 minutes to play, cnu called their last time out and went for it on 4 and 7 from their own 38...i didn't understand why, but i was glad they did and didn't make it - the way their defense was playing they CLEARLY should have punted - this seemed to turn the momentum a bit, and mc moved the ball - although larkin missed a very makeable field goal (he would later miss another chip shot), mc was able to take some time off the clock and get the defense rested - cnu is a classy program, despite some bitter fans , and this is probably the biggest win in mc football history - as much as tcheadhunter would like you to believe that the first half was a fluke, i think it was great play by the best qb in the conference, a very underrated o-line, a group of recievers that made some big plays, and an offensive coordinator that pushed all of the right buttons - the cnu defense finally faced a good offensive team in the conference, and they were exposed - cnu has not played well against ANY of the good offensive teams they have played

[narch]

having said all that, i am now officially a cnu fan (and a pride fan and a bishop fan...at least when they play ferrum) - i really think cnu will match up well with ferrum - their weakness is clearly in the defensive secondary, and they are difficult to run on - pitts will have to make some plays with his arm to give ferrum a chance, and that's tough for them to do - go pride!, go capts!, GO MONARCHS!

[cnufan]

PJones was 24-of-47 4TDs 2INT for 321 yards, a new school record. Nathan Davis had five catches for 102 yards and 3TDs.

Roncketti was a stud going 20-of-29 with 2 TDs and 1 INT for 323 yards.

Congrats to the Monarchs, they didnt break in the second half and did what they needed to do to win. Penalties killed CNU, and so did failing to score three times in the endzone, but what killed them the most was the Monarchs efficient offensive game plan. They moved the ball at will in the first half, hats off to Methodist. Narch et all, congrats, enjoy it, sounded like a good crowd and a great game at that.

[cnusfinest54]

Narch Methodist won fair and square but calling the MC o line underated, I would have to disagree. In playing against MC for the last few years Methodist does a lot of 3 step drops, roll outs so their qb won't get touched. Then I would have to say Rocket is a fast kid, so with him getting rid of the ball quick and with him having some wheels I think its more of the system and the speed of the qb that has kept him clean in the past.  As far as the CNU defense being exposed I would say that they played their best. I am as baffled as anyone else that a CNU defense gave up 35 in the first half. No offense but I am speechless about a conference team scoring 35 against our D. Our defense has been built on pride and keeping teams from scoring no matter how good they were. However they did find some balls in the 2nd half and keep MC scoreless but allowing 35 for any team will usually result in a loss. Crazy things have happened this year MUC lost a conference game so the season is not over Captains. 3 way tie ? who will go to the playoffs.

[njlincolnlion]

I saw the Salisbury ,St Peters score on Espn's scoreboard during the Auburn/LSU game.  The benefits of playing a 1AA team (scholarship or not).  Great to see that Salisbury was in 'yellow" indicating a win.

The Gulls get ready for Wesley at Dover next week.  Hope Wesley comes out flat again,

[abnrgr]

Finest
man don't let me piss you off. Damn!

[abnrgr]

They just talked about Mount Union's regular season win streak being snapped on ESPN. D3 lives!

[narch]

finest - i think your points further illustrate that the mc o-line is underrated...mc has been among the league leaders in rushing AND sacks allowed in the conference each of the last few years, yet you continue to downgrade them - you can explain away the sack stats with 3 step drops, but how do you explain the rushing yardage? - today was a prime example...no sacks, 480 yards total offense against the vaunted captains d - if you don't think the mc o-line is underrated, do you think they're overrated?

As far as the CNU defense being exposed I would say that they played their best.

- really??? if that is the best cnu can play defensively, i give them little chance vs. anyone for the rest of the season...the monarchs CARVED that defense up in the first half, and although they didn't score any points, they moved the ball fairly well in the 2nd half as well

[narch]

here is the box score - rocket had a very efficient game

cnu fans - i must say, you football fans aren't quite as good at whining and coming up with excuses after a loss as the hoops fans are...i guess you need more practice...BUT, before you start talking about how penalties, 3 red-zone chances w/o any pts, etc. killed cnu's chances, realize this...the monarchs had more penalties and penalty yardage than the capts, larkin missed 2 fg's which were VERY makeable (unlike the blocked fg by mc, neither miss was caused by cnu...he simply pulled one and pushed the other) and rocket's lone interception was at the cnu 2 yard line when mc was inside the cnu 20, so the monarchs missed some opportunities, as well - bottom line, the monarchs were the better team today and they played with a leading rusher who is not 100%, and the leading tackler (lawrence) and a starting cb (shuford) did not play a down in the 2nd half

[narch]

Are you serious........do you really think MC has a chance against CNU....Rocket is good but he doesn't have the weapons that Jones does - the monarch wr's looked GREAT today....Mc defense is suspect at best - defense still suspect, but they made just enough plays to win and their special teams arent compairable you were right...monarch specials were FAR SUPERIOR today even with 2 missed fg's - mc blocked a cnu fg, and consistently had better field position than the captains because larkin was booming his kicks and the monarchs covered pretty well

Ok that was alow blow about who i was.....so next time leave out the personal stuff and stick to the facts huh?

i don't recall anyone saying anything personal

[GCman82]

Merry Christmas AU, beat ourselves again.  Pathetic.

[narch]

lastly, i read the release of the ncwc/su game - it sounds as though redkite got his wish and the hornets will turn to a new qb, although not by choice as hoffman will likely miss the remainder of the season due to injury - that's really too bad - i thought hoffman was a tough kid and a solid qb - not the way he wanted to end his season or career

[Swish3]

What's happened to our defense?  Congrats, MC.

GO CAPS!

[narch]

i've confirmed that if mc, cnu and ferrum finish in a 3 way tie, a coin flip will determine the aq - i really hope this can be settled on the field with a pride win next week and a captain win in the final week, along with the monarchs winning out - as exciting as this game was, and as big a win as it was, it means NOTHING for the monarchs if they don't take care of business from here on - long trip to m'ville next week, then a roadie against gc who has proven dangerous if unable to win and ending with a su team mc has never beaten...gotta take care of business and hope for ferrum to lose 2 of the last 3