FB: Empire 8

[sjfcards]

Great conversation this last weekend/Monday. Feels like the middle of the season on the E8 board. +K all around!

[sjfcards]

Wow, is it because Pep hasn't seen an AU defense sans Nick Clark in the past four years that AU's top career tackler has not yet been mentioned? Four-year starter...just a stellar competitor and hard hitter. His absence on the 2012 roster severely diminishes Pep's expectations for the coming season.

On Saxon Warriors!

Keeping with the current conversation, how about the hardest hitter in the E8 (last ten yars)?

[AlfredSaxon8]

Wow, is it because Pep hasn't seen an AU defense sans Nick Clark in the past four years that AU's top career tackler has not yet been mentioned? Four-year starter...just a stellar competitor and hard hitter. His absence on the 2012 roster severely diminishes Pep's expectations for the coming season.

On Saxon Warriors!

Keeping with the current conversation, how about the hardest hitter in the E8 (last ten yars)?

Definitely going to go with Brady on this one. He was an explosive hitter.  Ask Schuyna or however its spelled.   

Fox is up there.  Scalise (spelling?) was impressive but his lack of lateral movement made him only a north/south player.  Still plugged holes and hit hard.  A lot of people forget Aaron Meyer our SS from 03-05. He could do some damage. 

As far as from a D-Line perspective, All American Donnie Miller.  I don't know a lot of people that can get double teamed and still be an unstoppable force in the middle. 

Obviously I have an AU bias but I can't remember a ton of others.  I vaguely remember a giant from Fisher that came out of nowhere towards the end of the season I want to say in like 07 maybe?  I think his number was like 98 and he was like 6'8.  I dont remember him doing a ton throughout the season but performed well against us. 

That FB from Springfield was a hard hitter.  The president.  His name was like Andrew Jackson or something haha.  He ran people over. 

Personally, I've never been hit harder than when I played Gronkowski in high school.  I was a senior 5'10, 165. He was 15 years old and was 6'3, 230. Man, he was a a$$ on the football field though.  One of those guys that gave extra shots on the bottom of the pile then used your head to help himself up.  Transferred out of WNY because he threatened some teacher's life at Willie North...     

[Bombers798891]

1. The 2004 Bombers blew a winnable Brockport game that they led 20-7 and largely were in control of. Cost them an NCAA berth. I believe that was the best team Mike Welch ever had and would have won at least 2 NCAA games. I also believe that, ironically, those two classic IC-Fisher games were won by the weaker team both year. In 2004, IC killed everyone except the two teams they lost to, and Fisher had a lot of close ones. In 2005, the roles were reversed

2. Norwich over Fisher in 2004 for biggest shocker. I know they had Garcon that year, but Ithaca had destroyed them the weak before, and basically shut down Garcon. I will never understand how they put up 39 on Fisher.

3. Best game? Fisher/Mount in 2006. Even though it didn't go the way I hoped, being able to legitimately hope Mount would lose (and to an E8 team no less) was awesome. Many of team Boltus' games were outstanding because they were a legit threat to have a 80-77 game

[Upstate]

RE: 2004 Norwich

That game still gets my goat, almost as much as the Delaware Valley game in the NCAAs that year.  There was 1:23 and Norwich has the ball at their own 23 down by one.  They get a first down on the first play but two plays later Stepnick picks a pass off with 1:16 left.  You would figure with an All American RB they'd be able to ice it.  Nope.  Robby gets 0 and 3 yards the first two carries and NU calls time outs after each carry, then a false start puts them at 3rd and 12 on NU's 41.  Then another brilliant decision by then OC Foster, NU has ZERO time outs yet he calls for a pass play that's subsequently picked off.  NU gets the ball back w/ 58 seconds and then gets in position to throw up a hail mary w/ no time left.

[AUPepBand]

Probably one of Pep's favorite games of all time was AU's 31-28 win at Growney Stadium in 2009. Fisher, despite losses to Mount Union and Salisbury, after having beaten Ithaca, with a win over AU, would likely finish as the E8 champ and grab the AQ. The Saxons were rolling along at 5-0 and had a huge crowd at the game but when Secky went down with a knee injury on a first-half bootleg TD run, it looked like the home team would prevail. Especially with the Tim Bailey-to-Paul Deckard combo clicking all day.

Pep remembers thinking to himself, "With Secky out, these Fisher fans (Pep was with the band on the Fisher side) are probably thinking the Cardinals will roll...but they don't know what we've got in T.J. Kilcarr."

It was a cat and mouse game:

1st     08:48     ALFRED      Vinson Hendrix 1 yd run (Eric Rockwood kick)
                  12 plays, 71 yards, TOP 6:12     7 - 0
     04:40     FISHER      Paul Deckard 27 yd pass from Tim Bailey (Cullen Bradley kick)
                  12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:02     7 - 7
2nd     08:34     ALFRED      Tom Secky 5 yd run (Eric Rockwood kick)
                  10 plays, 56 yards, TOP 5:40     14 - 7
     04:44     FISHER      Paul Deckard 4 yd pass from Tim Bailey (Cullen Bradley kick)
                  11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:44     14 - 14
     01:05     ALFRED      Ryan Thon 36 yd pass from TJ Kilcarr (Eric Rockwood kick)
                  7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:33     21 - 14
4th     09:07     FISHER      Brad Carlton 3 yd run (Cullen Bradley kick)
                  9 plays, 49 yards, TOP 2:22     21 - 21
     05:17     ALFRED      Roland O'Brien 2 yd fumble recovery (Eric Rockwood kick)
                       28 - 21
     02:13     FISHER      Paul Deckard 7 yd pass from Tim Bailey (Cullen Bradley kick)
                  8 plays, 50 yards, TOP 2:56     28 - 28
     00:07     ALFRED      Eric Rockwood 31 yd field goal
                  11 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:58     31 - 28

Rolly O'Brien's strip of a Fisher freshman punt returner for a TD with 5:17 to go was just an unbelievable play and Pep remembers jumping up and down, screaming, "I don't believe it!" as the band struck up the fight song.

And even after Rockwood's field goal, Fisher used its final 7 seconds to the max, completing one pass and having a potential game-winning pass fall incomplete at the goal line as time expired. What's nice, is Cardinal Television captured the key plays, including the early fourth quarter goal line stand by the AU defense:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVk1KA_MX0M
(The commentator got confused at the end, thinking Fisher had over two minutes "in which they ran only two plays.")

Well worth the price of admission!

[Bombers798891]

RE: 2004 Norwich

That game still gets my goat, almost as much as the Delaware Valley game in the NCAAs that year.  There was 1:23 and Norwich has the ball at their own 23 down by one.  They get a first down on the first play but two plays later Stepnick picks a pass off with 1:16 left.  You would figure with an All American RB they'd be able to ice it.  Nope.  Robby gets 0 and 3 yards the first two carries and NU calls time outs after each carry, then a false start puts them at 3rd and 12 on NU's 41.  Then another brilliant decision by then OC Foster, NU has ZERO time outs yet he calls for a pass play that's subsequently picked off.  NU gets the ball back w/ 58 seconds and then gets in position to throw up a hail mary w/ no time left.

Wow. I don't even know how a play call could be that that bad. Stunning. If you just take a knee, you can take a DOG penalty with like what, 15 seconds? Insane way to lose (But that's still a game Fisher should have won by 20 points. Every other good E8 team waxed them. And, hey, you still made the NCAA's, right?)

[Bombers798891]

I also really liked the IC-Mount game in 2007, just because we heard how that team was so unstoppable, and Ithaca gave them a decent game for a half. Even though they lost by 24, considering all the crap the East region got for being so horrible, it was awesome that IC had more touchdowns in that game than the nine OAC teams Mount played that year put together (and they didn't wait until the game was already a joke to reach the end zone)

[AUKaz00]

There's been plenty of great games from a Saxon perspective these past 10 years, but the wackiest I remember was at Willy P shortly after 9/11 when scoring occurred in just about every possible way - punt return, INT return, even a PAT blocked and returned for 2 points.  Highly entertaing and disfunctional football!

Most unwatchable was probably that triple monkey stomp last year.  Everything conspired toward that being miserable starting with a cold front that brought in nasty wind and rain at kick-off, missed opportunities early and then visual capitulation at about 21-0.  I don't leave games early, but I was all set to when Kilcarr finally was put in.

And to follow up on the Secky conversation from a few days ago, I'm of the opinion that it all came down to protection.  Without Zach Morgan protecting his blindside, Secky was getting hit and the result was the same as the Mount Union game.  He clearly had the size and talent to excel at this level, but I don't think he ever got to where he could step up and make the throw knowing he was gonna get hit.  The Mount fans were particularly incredulous about this after gushing over his size and arm.  I don't particularly like it when my 4 year old jumps on me, so I can understand that apprehension.

[Upstate]

RE: 2004 Norwich

That game still gets my goat, almost as much as the Delaware Valley game in the NCAAs that year.  There was 1:23 and Norwich has the ball at their own 23 down by one.  They get a first down on the first play but two plays later Stepnick picks a pass off with 1:16 left.  You would figure with an All American RB they'd be able to ice it.  Nope.  Robby gets 0 and 3 yards the first two carries and NU calls time outs after each carry, then a false start puts them at 3rd and 12 on NU's 41.  Then another brilliant decision by then OC Foster, NU has ZERO time outs yet he calls for a pass play that's subsequently picked off.  NU gets the ball back w/ 58 seconds and then gets in position to throw up a hail mary w/ no time left.

Wow. I don't even know how a play call could be that that bad. Stunning. If you just take a knee, you can take a DOG penalty with like what, 15 seconds? Insane way to lose (But that's still a game Fisher should have won by 20 points. Every other good E8 team waxed them. And, hey, you still made the NCAA's, right?)

The one thing that Fisher has had trouble with over the years that annoys the hell out of me is "situational football".  Seems like when there's a certain situation that involves the clock, field position or time outs they seem to have a brain fart. 

[Bombers798891]

The Norwich games were the worst games. Not only was the team horrible (they still are in my view, regardless of them winning their joke of a conference) but there was nothing interesting about them. They weren't from the area, and outside of Garcon the one year, they didn't even have a player worth watching. Most mediocre/bad teams have at least one guy you can watch (Like Ruffrage this season at IC) but those Norwich teams were bland and uninteresting through and through. The games at IC were always played in such crappy weather too.

I remember the 2005 game being a special kind of disaster. It was rainy and gray all day, Ithaca turned the ball over seven times and *still* won 41-7. (This was the same IC defense that allowed nearly 700 yards to Union in the playoffs). Might as well have been a scrimmage for all IC's sleepwalking.

[AUPepBand]

Most unwatchable was probably that triple monkey stomp last year.  Everything conspired toward that being miserable starting with a cold front that brought in nasty wind and rain at kick-off, missed opportunities early and then visual capitulation at about 21-0.  I don't leave games early, but I was all set to when Kilcarr finally was put in.

And to follow up on the Secky conversation from a few days ago, I'm of the opinion that it all came down to protection.  Without Zach Morgan protecting his blindside, Secky was getting hit and the result was the same as the Mount Union game.  He clearly had the size and talent to excel at this level, but I don't think he ever got to where he could step up and make the throw knowing he was gonna get hit.  The Mount fans were particularly incredulous about this after gushing over his size and arm.  I don't particularly like it when my 4 year old jumps on me, so I can understand that apprehension.

AU's uncharacteristic "unwatchable" game last year was like swimming into a tsunami. Everything that could have gone wrong did. The band's EZ-Up, despite being tied down to the grandstand with bungy cords, was perpetually being lifted, it was Mid-Semester Break so the football team were the only students on campus. AU was punting so often that the Gulls broke through twice to block them. It was bone ugly. Humiliating. It was so bad that the 2011 team highlight tape, if Pep remembers correctly, had zero clips from that particular fiasco.
             fight
Get the right song ready...

[fisheralum91]

Worst game in person was at Hartwick in 07.
Traveled down to watch a "no brainer" with a sloo of Fisher Parents only to not only hate the "cage" but watch a fantastic season and dream dashed.  I couldnt get out of there fast enough.   Tho I stayed and ate dinner with the players and parents- the overwhelming comment---the play that lost the game-----they ran in practice a million times and that was the one time it didnt work...ugh

[Bombers798891]

Worst game in person was at Hartwick in 07.
Traveled down to watch a "no brainer" with a sloo of Fisher Parents only to not only hate the "cage" but watch a fantastic season and dream dashed.  I couldnt get out of there fast enough.   Tho I stayed and ate dinner with the players and parents- the overwhelming comment---the play that lost the game-----they ran in practice a million times and that was the one time it didnt work...ugh

A fantastic season was dashed by that loss? An undefeated season, yeah, but you did make the NCAA's and win two games while there. True, 10-0 and a #1 seed might have changed things a lot—and been awesome, but that was still a great, great season for you guys

[fisheralum91]

It was a great season...
Trust me when I tell you- those players wanted the number one seed.
There was a lot of talent on that team!
They were fun to watch!