FB: Liberty League

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear says congratulations to Union on a big win over a very, very tough Hobart team. Ice Bear has some thoughts.

-Union's offense began to run time off the clock from their first snap to their last snap in regulation...not the way to reach your potential IIBHO
-both teams played very hard
-Pumpkinhead D is no joke, they are athletic, physical, and very well coached
-Pumpkinheads deserved to win the game
-Krewson outplayed Bellamy ten fold
-Ross is a beast and while he made 7 catches he, Tolbert, Finn, and Turton should have seen the ball more...much more
-U run D is really tough and played great, Krewson exploited U's poor deep pass D
-Irabor showed a lot of toughness today
-Hobart won the line of scrimmage today
-St.Pierre is a ****ing hitting machine...kid goes 110% on every snap

Overall, a very exciting game between two good football teams. Ice just has a ton of respect for the Hobart program. A fourth down measurement in OT is a tough way to lose a rivalry game. Again, both teams battled but U's game plan played right into Hobart's strengths today and Hobart, to their credit, took advantage of this and IIBHO, deserved a better fate. With that said good teams find ways to win games and Union has done this 21 times in a row. Ice Bear couldn't be more proud of this program. Another HUGE ****ing game next week in the jungle. Watch out for ticks!

[UfanBill]

21

[Jonny Utah]

Well all sorts of LL possibilities for the pool a.  Union and RPI control their own destiny.  Ithaca needs Union to beat RPI if IC wins next week.......I think.

If RPI does win out and makes it, Ithaca still would have a good pool B shot I assume if they beat an undefeated Cortland (and beat Union).

Good football all around though. Maybe the LL will move the Ithaca/Hobart game to the 2nd to last game in the future to switch it up.

(I also don't see RPI beating Union or even at Lawrence if their QB doesn't come back.  Their offense is anemic)

[Machiavelli]

Obviously I want RPI to win out and take the crown for all of the reasons everyone suspects. But I also want them to win out and get awarded a 'home' seed where they can't host a game because of Dr. Dopey. I know it's beating a dead horse, but this RPI team is having a phenomenal year and it's jaded by their pompous a-hole president.

Godspeed to the residents of Troy over the next few weeks. The 34 attendees at the game today will single handedly hospitalize 3/4 of the city. Stay strong Troylets! Stay strong!

[Jonny Utah]

Now I wonder if Union beats Ithaca but loses to RPI and Ithaca smokes undefeated cortland.  Does Union get a pool b then?

[Machiavelli]

Now I wonder if Union beats Ithaca but loses to RPI and Ithaca smokes undefeated cortland.  Does Union get a pool b then?

Biggest issue about going there this soon is RPI/SLU next week. Trap game for RPI.

[IC798891]

Tough loss for IC, but once again, RPI makes the plays in the 4th quarter to pull out the win against the Bombers.

Ithaca still has two paths to the NCAAs. A win over Union and a Union win over RPI gets them the Pool A, and I still think a 9-1 IC is a strong Pool C candidate should RPI beat Union.

[Bartman]

Ice Bear says congratulations to Union on a big win over a very, very tough Hobart team. Ice Bear has some thoughts.

-Union's offense began to run time off the clock from their first snap to their last snap in regulation...not the way to reach your potential IIBHO
-both teams played very hard
-Pumpkinhead D is no joke, they are athletic, physical, and very well coached
-Pumpkinheads deserved to win the game
-Krewson outplayed Bellamy ten fold
-Ross is a beast and while he made 7 catches he, Tolbert, Finn, and Turton should have seen the ball more...much more
-U run D is really tough and played great, Krewson exploited U's poor deep pass D
-Irabor showed a lot of toughness today
-Hobart won the line of scrimmage today
-St.Pierre is a ****ing hitting machine...kid goes 110% on every snap

Overall, a very exciting game between two good football teams. Ice just has a ton of respect for the Hobart program. A fourth down measurement in OT is a tough way to lose a rivalry game. Again, both teams battled but U's game plan played right into Hobart's strengths today and Hobart, to their credit, took advantage of this and IIBHO, deserved a better fate. With that said good teams find ways to win games and Union has done this 21 times in a row. Ice Bear couldn't be more proud of this program. Another HUGE ****ing game next week in the jungle. Watch out for ticks!

+k to Ice for this post which is a good and fair recap of the game.First, congrats to the Dutchmen for their 21st consecutive LL win. Bartman made a last minute decision to make another trip to Bailey Field despite the risk of  disappointment that past Hobart teams and fans have endured at Bailey. I thought the rain would help our running game as I felt our defense would stop the U ground attack, but I knew Ross would be Ross no matter what we did unless the weather cooperated. As it turned out the weather was no factor, the Hobart D stopped Irabor except when it counted , Bellamy was not on his game as he hurried throws and heard the steps of our LBs, but Ross was clearly the difference in the game when Bellamy got the ball to him. Krewson exceeded expectations and played his heart out ( the Union DBs will be sliced up next week against Ithaca, IMO),our dual backs were well contained by the U line and LBs but the play calls to free up Boswell were lacking, the game was so close the yardage was 370 for each team, Hobart took a punch in the mouth and punched back, and Bartman keeps thinking we lost because we didn't convert the Boswell opening 70 yard runback  into points.
    At the end of the day Bartman blames the pandemic LL schedule for our loses at Butterfield and Bailey this year, because if these games were played at Boswell, the outcome would likely have been different and if the 2020 season were played we were in great shape following the crushing of Cortland at the end of the 2019 season. The 5 year seniors played their hearts out yesterday as shown  by Emmet Ford who has been playing with one shoulder for most of the season. While I feel the pain of the loss for the boys, I'm incredibly proud the way they fought all day and almost shocked the Homecoming Bailey crowd. Hip HOBART Forever !

[UfanBill]

Union safety Austin St. Pierre has a reputation in the LL for his aggressive play and vicious hits. Early in his career he was rightfully flagged for a couple of targeting penalties that caught everyone's attention. His toughness and willingness to come up to make stops is still as strong as ever but now he leads with his shoulder not his head. One such hit happened Saturday when St. Pierre left a Hobart receiver laid out after a pass breakup. The Hobart fans and coaching staff were looking for a flag but none came.   St. Pierre also made the hit on Krewson on the game deciding 4th down stop in overtime. He's been HUGE.... It was not his defense that was his biggest play however. St. Pierre is the up man on the Dutchmen punting team. Late in the 1st quarter with the Dutchmen offense struggling. St. Pierre took the direct snap from punt formation on 4th and 7 from their own 41 yard line and ran 35 yards for a first down. That gutsy fake punt call lead to Union scoring the first touchdown of the game. Here's hoping St.Pierre gets recognized this week by D3football for Team of the Week.

[MRMIKESMITH]

Union safety Austin St. Pierre has a reputation in the LL for his aggressive play and vicious hits. Early in his career he was rightfully flagged for a couple of targeting penalties that caught everyone's attention. His toughness and willingness to come up to make stops is still as strong as ever but now he leads with his shoulder not his head. One such hit happened Saturday when St. Pierre left a Hobart receiver laid out after a pass breakup. The Hobart fans and coaching staff were looking for a flag but none came.   St. Pierre also made the hit on Krewson on the game deciding 4th down stop in overtime. He's been HUGE.... It was not his defense that was his biggest play however. St. Pierre is the up man on the Dutchmen punting team. Late in the 1st quarter with the Dutchmen offense struggling. St. Pierre took the direct snap from punt formation on 4th and 7 from their own 41 yard line and ran 35 yards for a first down. That gutsy fake punt call lead to Union scoring the first touchdown of the game. Here's hoping St.Pierre gets recognized this week by D3football for Team of the Week.

I remember him from a couple years ago...very aggressive player, definitely caught my attention on some extracurricular stuff. Very good player though.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear enjoyed the ATN podcast and felt the fellas were quite accurate in their descriptions of the top 4 LL teams. They are very close together. With that being said, will there be more than a two score win between Union and IC or Union and RPI (going either way) or will the remaining two games between the top four teams be as close as the games thus far? What is the extent of George M's injury (Ice Bear hopes he is ok)?

Ice Bear says let's get one thing straight, he loves Bellamy and appreciates his talent and achievements with the U. However, being the QB of a top 25 team you are open for constructive criticism. Ice feels this year has not been his best regarding his accuracy (maybe he has been playing with an undisclosed injury, etc)? Ice certainly doesn't question his heart and effort. Will battles. Yet looking forward, Ice Bear agrees that Union will need to get more from the senior QB against both the Bombers and Engineers for Union to win these two games. Ice does believe that the U has the highest potential of any of the LL's top dogs. However to meet that potential Ice believes the U's passing game MUST be incorporated more into the offensive game plan. Even with Bellamy struggling with his accuracy on Saturday there simply were not enough passing plays (just IBHO) called. Many of us geezers in front of the frat house just kept shaking our heads at how the Dutch just kept running the ball straight at Hobart or unsuccessfully trying to get to the outside on Saturday. It worked, in parts, but Ice thinks we all kept waiting for that "big play" air attack and we really didn't see all that much of it. Obviously Ice credit's the Hobart D here but he is really referring to the play calling coming from U (which again, could have been impacted by what the U coaching staff was seeing from Bart's D).

We shall see come Saturday...

[NedM]

Finally got to attend my first Union game Saturday. Certainly got my money's worth.

For Union the phrase "We won, but we didn't beat anybody" comes to mind. I was truly surprised to see Irabor (who I just saw was named Offensive Player of The Week by LL) gained 121 yards. I made the comment during the game that I thought he had about 30 carries for 35 yards. That's what it looked like to me. Every yard he got was hard earned.

I agree with the comments about changes needed in the passing attack. Would like to see some involvement of a Tight End in the middle of the field.

I have read "fire the cannon" for years now but have no recollection of hearing one this weekend. Was it actually in use? I attended many Rutgers games when I lived in NJ and they also fired a cannon after scores and I heard that one!

Finally: I always try to buy a program for any game I attend but Union only offers a digital one. Is this the norm now? If I had a son on the team I would very much want a printed version. Ten years or so from now it would be nice to pull out the program and reminisce.

Ned

[UfanBill]

Seeing as how I'm one of "the geezers in front of the frat house" that Ice Bear refers to I feel obligated to comment and respond to both what Ice Bear said and Ned's questions.. Will Bellamy did not have a good day. His throws were off target but was it because of a undisclosed injury or the byproduct of a questionable game plan and play calling. The Hobart defense was playing 7 or 8 in the box to shut down the Dutchmen running game. Linebackers Bryan Aguilar and Emmett Forde were charging hard to the line of scrimmage which was limiting Union RB Ike Irabor to 2 or 3 yards per carry. When faced with passing situations the play call was too often an attempt to hit a big play rather than just move the chains. Union almost never throws to the TE which coupled with a screen, a draw or hitting a back out of the backfield would have been my preferred way to loosen up the Hobart D. Instead the bench sent in an extra offensive lineman and just kept running Irabor. Hey the game was won so what do I know.

As for the cannon. There have been a few instances this season when I haven't heard it. Maybe it's just because I'm getting used to it firing so often or maybe Bartman kidnapped the trigger man or the sacred weapon itself...And the program? It's virtual now! Is it Covid related, a cost cutting move or a I suspect laziness by the "Communications Director"(no more SID)? I'm old school too Ned. I want paper.

[Bartman]

Seeing as how I'm one of "the geezers in front of the frat house" that Ice Bear refers to I feel obligated to comment and respond to both what Ice Bear said and Ned's questions.. Will Bellamy did not have a good day. His throws were off target but was it because of a undisclosed injury or the byproduct of a questionable game plan and play calling. The Hobart defense was playing 7 or 8 in the box to shut down the Dutchmen running game. Linebackers Bryan Aguilar and Emmett Forde were charging hard to the line of scrimmage which was limiting Union RB Ike Irabor to 2 or 3 yards per carry. When faced with passing situations the play call was too often an attempt to hit a big play rather than just move the chains. Union almost never throws to the TE which coupled with a screen, a draw or hitting a back out of the backfield would have been my preferred way to loosen up the Hobart D. Instead the bench sent in an extra offensive lineman and just kept running Irabor. Hey the game was won so what do I know.

As for the cannon. There have been a few instances this season when I haven't heard it. Maybe it's just because I'm getting used to it firing so often or maybe Bartman kidnapped the trigger man or the sacred weapon itself...And the program? It's virtual now! Is it Covid related, a cost cutting move or a I suspect laziness by the "Communications Director"(no more SID)? I'm old school too Ned. I want paper.

UfanBill,
     I took care of the trigger man and that damn cannon, I disguised myself as a CDC inspector and sent him off for a Covid test and then removed the firing mechanism while no one was watching...frankly I was surprised such a highly regarded Engineering and science department couldn't fix it in time for the game.
As far as the program, the good news is when you go to Butterfield they still have a printed program AND a media guide....you might want to pick one up unless it was only printed for homecoming.....and who was the evil scheduling genius that scheduled 2 away games for Hobart at BOTH Ithaca and Union's Homecoming/Reunion Weekends........Cruel very Cruel...Next year we'll have 2 Homecoming weekends to return the favor.....
   Having watched each one of the top four LL teams in person, I have a good sense for what will happen at Butterfield this week, and my old Dutchmen friends will not be happy.....more later in the week

[Oline89]

Agree with Ol' Bartman.  We have now had the pleasure of seeing the top 4 teams in person.  The teams are so equal in talent, that the only factor that comes in to play is Home Field advantage.  Maybe for the Shoes game, the 10 minute trip will not make a difference, but the 4-5 hour ride/possible overnight hotel stay definetly takes its toll. Good season for the Statesmen, razor sharp margin could have made it a great season.  RPI is an absolute set up for an upset this weekend at SLU, the hogs up front for the Larries are big, strong and talented.