FB: Empire 8

[rams1102]

First RR have been released - no real surprises.  Del Val, Hobart, and Widener are the top 3.  Fisher comes in at #4 and the highest ranked of the 1 loss teams.  Ithaca rounds out the top 10 and is the other E8 representative amongst the bunch. 

Little surprised with Fram @ #5 and Montclair at #8. Montclair has a higher SOS and a win against a common opponent Fram. lost to. Should be interesting how it all shakes out especially with the Widener v. Del Val and Fisher v Ithaca auto bid games coming up.

What about Montclair vs M-Ville for the NJAC?

[fisheralum91]

Somebody help me....
Why do I not believe that Mvlle is even in this discussion.
Im not sold.
With all respect if Mville is in the hunt the league has had a tough row to hoe........
Mville guys would get that joke...

[boobyhasgameyo]

Yeah, it's strange, but I think there's only two of us Ithaca guys, and I've honestly tried to tone down a lot of the back-and-forth sniping that I displayed in my younger days and tried to be more objective.

Which makes it hard to pump up a game like this because objectively, it's really hard to see Ithaca winning it. Think about the absurd combination of turnovers and kick returns that were required for Ithaca to win by three points at home last season.

Ironically, the E8 has surpassed the LL in pages but what once was a lively, fun board is Dullsville. Pep never had so much fun on these boards as when a certain AU player got all exited about traveling up to Butterfield Stadium on Saterday to see how tough those Bomber boys really are. (Turned out they were tougher than the Saxons that day).

Pep recalls the prevailing topic at the time was whether Fisher had arrived and was a "rival" or was just having a random flash of success. Then year after year, the Cardinals got the best of the Bombers and one by one, the First Down Club, with its "men in orange/yellow hats" disappeared from the scene. Pep often wonders whether they once in a great while visit the boards just to see what they're missing, which ain't much.

Time marches....On Saxon Warriors!

Those were the days.  I remember Jose was fairly arrogant after Fisher finally beat IC in 2004.  He said it was nowhere near a rivalry (even though I think it was a 1 point Ithaca win the year before) because Fisher had yet to win at Butterfield. 

Shoot, one day I came home from work and there were probably 8 pages worth of back and forth leading up to the game.  And that was in a matter of 8 hours.  It's changed a lot since then, but I'm happy for all the ones who have stuck around.  That means you Pep, Upstate, Bombers and crew.  Maybe one day it will be active again.  Peaks and valleys. 

[boobyhasgameyo]

Actually, Jose probably made the comments after the '06 game, since Fisher still hadn't won at Butterfield in 2005.  But from 2003-2005 and the first half of 2006...they were all really close games. 

[sjfcards]

Actually, Jose probably made the comments after the '06 game, since Fisher still hadn't won at Butterfield in 2005.  But from 2003-2005 and the first half of 2006...they were all really close games.

That 2003 game was a heartbreaker for Fisher. They dominated the first half, and we're up 19- I believe. Only to lose it all in the second half and lose by one. I was at Butterfield that day and it was a tough one. My next Fisher/IC game was 2005 which was an even tougher way to lose. Those were awesome years in the conference and particularly in this rivalry.

[fisheralum91]

Jeez boob...where is the love?

[bomber23]

Really looking forward to seeing what happens between IC and Fisher this weekend... For the Fisher faithful... how will we know if Fisher is playing well? Heres some things I think are key to the Bombers success...

1.) Get off to a fast start... Score on the first drive or stop Fisher from scoring. Taking an early lead on the road in a game like this is really important for IC. I think they are built to play with a lead.  When they have to play catch up, I think they find themselves doing things they arent comfortable doing. "You cant win the game in the 1st Q, but you certainly can lose it"

2.) Win first down and establish the run... They dont need to win the game on the ground but they need to be able to run it successfully to get in 2nd and 3-6 and get in 3rd and 1-2. If they are consistently doing this they will move the ball. Inventive play calling will be important also. IC's OC is very good at trying to be more unpredictable (which was a problem in the past) Taking shots down the field and calculated aggresiveness will be important.

3.) Special teams.  I dont think this is a surprise here but IC's ST unit is usually outstanding.  If IC can win the field position battle and make some big plays on ST (big punt returns, block a kick), they have a good shot.

4.) Turnovers. I honestly think IC has to win the TO margin by 2 to win this game.  If IC turns it over once, they have to create 3. If IC has 2,3,4+ TO's, its not gonna be a game. I think this is the most important of all of the previous mentioned points.

Really looking forward to this one... Unfortunately I wont be in attendance but will be watching from my phone... Best of luck Bombers! #Beatfisher

As for a prediction- I'll do it. 27-21 Bombers. IC has a "Interception" at the end that may or may not hit the ground and the football gods even things out

P.S.  That interception happened before my time so its not that touchy of a subject but seems to be a major topic on this boards

GO BOMBERS!

[Bombers798891]

Actually, Jose probably made the comments after the '06 game, since Fisher still hadn't won at Butterfield in 2005.  But from 2003-2005 and the first half of 2006...they were all really close games.

That 2003 game was a heartbreaker for Fisher. They dominated the first half, and we're up 19- I believe. Only to lose it all in the second half and lose by one. I was at Butterfield that day and it was a tough one. My next Fisher/IC game was 2005 which was an even tougher way to lose. Those were awesome years in the conference and particularly in this rivalry.

I would say the 2004 and 2005 games might have been the best games in E8 history. Nothing but great players on great teams making great plays. In both games, the winning team looked dead in the water in the 4th quarter. The only think that would have made them better, IMO, would be if you flipped the results, because I believe the better team lost both games.

[AUPepBand]

So one of those reader polls asked which game Pep would like to attend and Pep, looking at the local and national scene of this vast expanse of pure collegiate pigskin competition also known as Division III Football, this morning asked himself, were Pep the time and the resources, what football game would Pep attend tomorrow?

1) Ithaca (6-2, 5-2 Empire 8) will play at St. John Fisher (7-1, 6-1 Empire 8) for the Empire 8 championship at 1 p.m. in Pittsford, NY

2) Pep's Alfred Saxons (5-3, 3-3 E8) will play at Utica College (5-3, 3-3 E8) at 6 p.m. in a game time changed by the fact that Utica is hosting the Empire 8 Field Hockey Championships...a night game in the Northeast in November after we've already had snowfall and turned our clocks back?

3) Hobart (8-0, 5-0 LL) at St. Lawrence (7-1, 5-0 LL) for the Liberty League championship at 1 p.m. in Canton, NY

4) Pep's alma mater Morrisville State (7-2, 5-1 NJAC) at Montclair State (7-1, 5-0 NJAC) for the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship at 1 p.m. in Montclair, NJ

5) Wabash (8-0, 7-0) at Wittenberg (7-1, 7-0) for the NCAC championship at 1 p.m. at Springfield, OH

6) Bethel (7-1, 6-0 MIAC) at St. John's (7-1, 5-1 MIAC) for the MIAC championship at 2 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, MN

Now Pep could likely see the Bombers and Cardinals in Rochester and have time to make the two-hour drive to Utica to see his Saxons.
But Pep has always wanted to see the Johnnies at home in Clemens Stadium and experience first hand a D3 game day at its finest.

Pep's personal preference, present position pondered, predicates Pep precariously performing pre-'puter preponderance.

On Saxon Warriors!

[boobyhasgameyo]

Jeez boob...where is the love?

Meant to throw in a FA91 as well!  But that's why I wrote the catch all of "and crew"   

[fisheralum91]

+k boob!

[Jonny Utah]

http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2014/11/scott_shafer_damn_shame_high_school_football.html

Probably doesn't effect d3 schools so much, but is an interesting story related to NY High School football

[82 cardinals]

Is the Fisher Ithaca game at noon or 1:00pm

[Pat Coleman]

On May 18, when I put the game in our system, it was listed as noon. Sometime after it was changed to 1 p.m. and we don't usually hear about changed game times.

[sjfcards]

Actually, Jose probably made the comments after the '06 game, since Fisher still hadn't won at Butterfield in 2005.  But from 2003-2005 and the first half of 2006...they were all really close games.

That 2003 game was a heartbreaker for Fisher. They dominated the first half, and we're up 19- I believe. Only to lose it all in the second half and lose by one. I was at Butterfield that day and it was a tough one. My next Fisher/IC game was 2005 which was an even tougher way to lose. Those were awesome years in the conference and particularly in this rivalry.

I would say the 2004 and 2005 games might have been the best games in E8 history. Nothing but great players on great teams making great plays. In both games, the winning team looked dead in the water in the 4th quarter. The only think that would have made them better, IMO, would be if you flipped the results, because I believe the better team lost both games.

I can't argue with that. Both games were classics, and really entertaining. Would love a repeat of some of those 2006, 2007, 2008 games tomorrow however.