FB: Empire 8

[Jonny Utah]

Yes there were 2 deep ball that were dropped by Brockport but there was also a missed chip shot fg

I wouldn't consider a 39 yd fg a chip shot at the d3 level.

Have to agree with bports here. A 39-yard kick is tough at this level, and Ithaca was just 5-of-12 on FG attempts last season. At this point, we have to consider IC's kicking issues a feature, not a bug.

Honestly, neither team looked sharp. Port had pre-snap penalties, and Ithaca had to burn multiple timeouts in the first half to avoid them. Both teams missed scoring opportunities.

At the end of the day, if you're Ithaca, you hope that the offensive struggles were a function of two things that won't be an issue going forward: The caliber of the defense they played, and Will Gladney's absence. If that turns out to be the case, the Bombers are going to be a very, very tough out in the LL

Yea I agree as well.  Ithaca has had trouble for a long time now running the ball with an inside zone or any scheme vs great defenses. 

The TD they scored on seemed to be the most open pass all day and I imagine a good adjustment by the coaches or the new QB?  I'm guessing Nabi fits the mold in the system IC wants to run on offense (RPO/running/option), but when you need to drive the ball and pass the ball down field, the Sr. QB might have been the better downfield passer who could read the defense better than Nabi.

[D3viewer]

Official Empire 8 Players of the week. Cortland nabs 2nd straight Special Teams Player of the Week.

Football Offensive Player – Hartwick
Ronald Ballard, Junior-Deposit, NY/Deposit RB 6-1 204
Ballard registered 151 yards rushing to go along with his four touchdowns Saturday in a 49-24 win over Alfred State. He also caught four passes for 59 yards to pace the Hawks.

Football Defensive Player – Brockport
Alex West, Junior - Dansville, N.Y./Dansville LB 5-10 222
West played a big role in Brockport's stifling defense that held Ithaca scoreless for 58 minutes in a 13-7 road victory. West put constant pressure on the opposing quarterback, recording two sacks and three quarterback hits as well as a forced fumble. The junior recorded five tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss of 10-yards and also got his hand on a pass breakup.

Football Special Teams Player - Cortland
Cole Burgess, Freshman – Greenwich, NY/Greenwich KR/WR 6-0 175
Burgess returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD to give Cortland the lead for good in a 57-19 win over visiting Framingham State. The Rams had just scored with 5:08 left in the third quarter to take a 19-14 lead before Burgess broke free for the seventh-longest kickoff return in school history and a 22-19 Cortland advantage. He finished with 187 kick return yards on four attempts (46.8 yds./return), including returns of 41 and 36 yards in addition to his TD.

[dlippiel]

Great write up/article on Cortland QB Brett Segala. Has gone from a D2 transfer, to a fifth string scout team QB, to a ****ing machine of a starting QB, and a team leader. Great read and dlip loves these hard working never give up success stories. This artcile could probably be written about many D3 athletes. One of the reasons why dlip loves D3 football so much! Great job Jason Bowen!

[@d3jason]

Thanks Dlip!

That's why I enjoy writing for d3football.com. I get to meet and talk to great and interesting kids/coaches all the time.

[FranElia]

My thanks to Jason Bowen, Pat Coleman and the D3football.com staff for the great story on Brett. Great job!!

[D3viewer]

E 8 Week 3.  The bye-y-est of bye weeks.

12PM. #21 RPI 2-0 @ Utica 2-0. Game of the week. Calling for the Utica upset at home. They've looked better on both sides of the ball so far. Chicken Riggi time.
1PM     SLU 1-1   @  #4 Brockport 2-0. Golden Eagles defense leads the way to another victory (facing another pass happy LL offense) as offense has some issues.
                                                   Former top RB Justin Morrison is out (who knows how long) 2 freshman try and replace
                                                    his production. Expect the Larries to put up some fight as their D is solid.

1PM    Team Boltus 2-0  @ Kings (PA) 0-1. The 'onorable 'awks of Oneonta take ye ole King's Highway ( I-81) to victory. I don't know much about Moravian but they stomped Kings
                                                                pretty good in the first game. And as we discussed last week, Team Boltus remains in the Cinderella period of their season . Soon the clock will
                                                              strike  midnight   however.
1PM   Ithaca 1-1 @ Alfred 1-0.        Despite my/our fawning over IC and their D last week, there was concern over their offense as well. AU is most likely equally strong in defense, and their offense may be
                                                    better. The double intangibles of AU coming off a bye week after beating a poor team and IC coming off an intense battle with Brockport, this game is tough to read. My tea
                                                    leaves say take Alfred the butler at home ( do they have a bat cave ?). Can the Pep band provide the needed energy to push the home team to victory ?

Lotsa byes: Buff St 0-2, Cortland 2-0, Morrisville 1-1, and last but least in games SJF 0-1. Nothing like 3 straight weeks of practice between games. If you're supposed to improve a lot in one
                                                                         week between game 1 and game 2, imagine how much Fisher has improved in 3 weeks between game 1 and game 2.

[Bombers798891]

1PM   Ithaca 1-1 @ Alfred 1-0.      AU is most likely equally strong in defense

Given the quality of competition faced this year, I think the Bombers deserve the benefit of the doubt

[bports]

The Brockport coaching staff better get the penalty problem cleaned up with the bye week. 17-for 241 is absolutely ridiculous !!! Yeah they are talented enough to still win that game by 50 playing the starters only 30 minutes but its just not acceptable. They also have to have Joe Benedict's coming out party soon. He needs to get some carries with the 1's he is a stud!! Put him in with the spread offense and the safeties will have to come up to help.

[fisheralum91]

So here we are with week 2 for Fisher's murderers row portion of the schedule.
Week one W&J-no.13
Week two - IC no.25
Week Three Bport no.4
Week four UC- much improved and beating solid teams and nearly knocked off RPI

We can easily be looking at an 0-4 start to the season.

[D3viewer]

E 8 Players of the Week. AU's Cole Reed nabs his 2nd def player of the week award.

Football Offensive Player – Brockport
Eamon Gillespie, Senior - Middletown, NY/Middletown 5-11 182 WR (converted DB)
Eamon Gillespie had a stellar performance for the No. 4 Golden Eagles in a lopsided 65-12 Homecoming win on Saturday over Saint Lawrence. The senior set the tone in the contest, catching a seven-yard touchdown to open the game. His second score of the matchup came early in the second quarter, this time taking a 16-yard catch to the house to push to a 33-0 lead. The Middletown, N.Y. native turned in seven catches on the day for 161 total yards, including a 70-yard catch that would lead to a Brockport TD.

Football Defensive Player – Alfred
Cole Reed, Senior – Gratz, PA/Upper Dauphin Area 6-1 215 LB
Alfred's Cole Reed had 17 tackles (seven solo; 10 assisted) and an interception that he returned 34 yards. Reeds performance with 17 tackles is tied for 10th all-time for most tackles in a single game.

Football Special Teams Player - Hartwick
Kevin Roberts, Freshman - Montgomery, NY/Valley Central K 5-10 167
Roberts made six extra points as the Hawks traveled to King's College on Saturday.  He also averaged 55.0 yards in seven kickoffs to pace the Hartwick special teams unit.

[D3viewer]

E8 conf play begins .

Fri 7PM   SLU 1-2 @ Morrisville 1-2. Both have been blown out. I'll pick Mooville at home.

Sat
     12PM  Buff St 0-2 @ RPI 3-0.  Going with RPI. Buff St will sling it around, but their D has been poor.
     1PM    Cortland 2-0 @ Alfred 1-1. Game of the week. 2 evenly matched teams. Picking C ST. They seem a bit more balanced so far with better QB play
      2PM   Ithaca  2-1 @ SJF 0-1.  Going with Ithaca, more battle tested and that D is proven.

    Byes. Team Boltus (they lost in the Boltiest way possible last week, 65-48). Utica (tough 2 weeks to get over that loss to RPI). Brockport. (2 weeks to prepare for the Courage Bowl. They'll take it)

[ITH radio]

SLU - SUNY M game is actually a 6pm kickoff bc of severe weather concerns later in the evening

[fisheralum91]

I didnt go to homecoming this weekend and watch the game- but caught some online.
What were some takeaways that you all saw from the IC Fisher game?
I saw positives and negatives, but the one thing that was encouraging was that Fisher didnt quit.
They were in the game- hell should have tied it near the end.
IC is a quality squad.
So first W&J- not such a great measuring stick as we had no idea who this Fisher team was.
IC- better pulse of the team, but still question marks.
Bport at the Courage Bowl could tell a lot (even if they lose) about where the program is headed.
That said- what is going on at QB- I didnt watch enough to find out why Jake was on the bench

[boobyhasgameyo]

I didnt go to homecoming this weekend and watch the game- but caught some online.
What were some takeaways that you all saw from the IC Fisher game?
I saw positives and negatives, but the one thing that was encouraging was that Fisher didnt quit.
They were in the game- hell should have tied it near the end.
IC is a quality squad.
So first W&J- not such a great measuring stick as we had no idea who this Fisher team was.
IC- better pulse of the team, but still question marks.
Bport at the Courage Bowl could tell a lot (even if they lose) about where the program is headed.
That said- what is going on at QB- I didnt watch enough to find out why Jake was on the bench

I wasn't able to watch from the beginning but I don't think it was due to injury.  Possibly ineffectiveness?  Either way Michels had a great second half.  Fisher had more than just a chance to tie the game.  Dropped pass in the end zone right before the end of the 1st half (Fisher ultimately had to attempt a field goal and missed badly) as well as a fumble at the one yard line in the second half. 

I was excited by the offensive spark in the second half.  They didn't have a running game but they were moving the ball through the air so it didn't matter as much.  I also liked the performance by the defense but that might speak more to Ithaca's offense than Fisher's defense.  Either way i'm encouraged and there looks to be some momentum heading into the Brockport game. 

[bports]

Fisher will have to try and run the ball even if its not working. Michals threw 43 passes in 3 qtrs of work. If they do that at Brockport they are looking to get him killed. After a bye and a very sloppy game of penalties 17-241yds against st Lawrence I will go with 41-13 Brockport in a much cleaner game. The coaches better have got that crap cleaned up on the bye week.