FB: Liberty League

[dlippiel]

dlip, any idea if Connor Eck is related to Susquehanna's Jason and Ryan Eck? (Jason graduated in '05, Ryan in... '11 I think.)

Where are they from? dlip has heard nothing about it but he will look into it. Connor is from Rye, New York. Hope things are well Grove. How is Sus doing?

[Garnet]

Union's Eck has an older brother (Jordan) playing QB at Hamilton.  No idea if there is any relation to the Sasquatch players.

[Frank Rossi]

We had a great time with our guests last night on "In the HuddLLe" -- Coach Jerry Boyes of Buffalo State was a great interview, admitting that the jury is still out as to who the "real" Buffalo State Bengals team is after the Brockport loss and Whitewater win in back-to-back weeks.  He gave us a lot of insight into how the game came to be and about the history of his program.  We appreciated his candor in the interview.

In addition, we had two excellent and fun player interviews with Hobart senior captain and running back Bobby Dougherty, who had the best rushing day for Hobart since 2006, and Merchant Marine Academy first-time starting QB Luke Stidham, who stepped in for an injured Alex Coviello and led his team to their first defeat of SUNY-Maritime Saturday.

James Baker and I discussed the big upset, the Union College scenario and what it all means to both Union AND Ithaca, the upcoming week's games (with Dlip) and lots more.  To listen to the archive, just go to http://inthehuddlle.com and select the 9/16/12 show.

[TheGrove]

dlip, any idea if Connor Eck is related to Susquehanna's Jason and Ryan Eck? (Jason graduated in '05, Ryan in... '11 I think.)

Where are they from? dlip has heard nothing about it but he will look into it. Connor is from Rye, New York. Hope things are well Grove. How is Sus doing?

D'oh, apparently they are Williamsport kids. Maybe cousins, who knows.

Susquehanna's 1-2 right now, lost a one-pointer to Dickinson Saturday, down to their 4th QB. Can't tell much more than that as I've not been to a game yet. No longer living in the 'grove.  I should be at Homecoming on the 29th, so hopefully that's a good one.

[Touchdown Tommy]

Has anyone seen Holladawg?  Last seen crafting the perfect office setup.  May be on the run with Regulator or Enginegro...

[PBR...]

Has anyone seen Holladawg?  Last seen crafting the perfect office setup.  May be on the run with Regulator or Enginegro...

Got a email from 'gro the other day....he is on the run in a gigantic truck and doing well....no word from holladawg... pbr over and out...

[ITH radio]

Here is this weekend's LL conference line up (all games kick off at 1 pm ET):

WPI vs. RPI @ the ECAV - RPI looks to reclaim the "Transit Trophy" for the first time in two seasons
Union vs. SLU @ Leckonby Stadium - Battle of winless teams, but everyone in the LL is 0-0....
Merchant Marine vs. Hobart @ Boswell Field - Mariners look to upset Statesmen's Homecoming, Hobart "going camo"
Rochester vs. Springfield @ Amos Alonzo Stagg Field - The Pride take on a tough UofR defense in their first LL contest

[mattvsmith]

The Rev would like to see Rochester give Springfield a shocker. 

[mattvsmith]

Although Hobart has handled USMMA easily in the past, The Rev expects the Mariners to give the Statesmen one of the best games of the series. USMNA has made some real mprovements to their game and I hope they give Hobart a good fight that we can all be proud of.

[ITH radio]

Weather could be a factor today.  Rain and 20 mph winds hitting central NY today, with possible thunderstorms....

[dlippiel]

The Rev would like to see Rochester give Springfield a shocker.

Honestly rev, dlip sees this happening today. It may not turn out to be as much as a shocker as we thought before the season began. Dean Kennedy may be just what the Yellowjackets need in 2012. We shall see. This is certainly a big game for Delong and his Pride.

[UfanBill]

Congratulations to Union for their win vs the Larries.  The "bad team" of last week showed some life. It makes a huge difference when your "O" line dominates like today. Nice job!  Connor Eck continues to impress and the revamped receiving corp has made great strides.  I still don't like the 3-4 defense.  I know it's supposed to strengthen the pass defense but the linebackers are passive and seem to never make any plays. They're continually beaten by delayed crossing routes, the one thing they should be there to handle. That being said the 3-4 may be perfect for next weeks opponent, Springfield, as evidenced by the great job "U" did against them last year.  Dlip, I also had trouble with the St. Lawrence broadcast. The video was excellent but the sound, which was sketchy in the 1st half was non existent in the 2nd.  None the less, it sure beats a long expensive drive to Canton so I am appreciative. 

[ITH radio]

Tonight on ITH we'll recap this weekend's four contests, chat with Union QB Connor Eck, talk with a RPI Engineer not named Mike Hermann (here's a hint, he lead RPI in tackles yesterday) about winning the Transit Trophy for the first time in since 2009, a special guest and preview next week's contests including Union-Springfield, Hobart-WPI, UofR-SLU and MMA-RPI.

Tune in tonight at 7:30 PM at www.inthehuddLLe.com

[ITH radio]

Bonus coverage with a double coaches corner - Springflied HC Mike Delong and Hobart DC Scott Yoder!

[Frank Rossi]

Last night's MNF finish reminds me of a moment in a flag football game I reffed last spring here in NYC.  I was the equivalent of the white cap (Referee) in the backfield, and the team behind had one play left from about 20 yards out.  The QB threw the ball toward the front-right corner of the endzone, and the defender and receiver both jumped for it -- there was no visible separation in terms of timing and possession of the ball.  All four feet came in in-bounds, but the players wrestled to the ground and even out of bounds.  Our rulebook suggests that it doesn't belong to who wrestles the ball away -- it automatically goes to the offensive player once they are out of bounds or on the ground (ending the play).

The referee on the play just out of bounds and near the players, called a quick TD.  I ran down the field to confirm the call -- the most important part for me at that point was to show consistency in the refs' call (and I believed wholeheartedly that he was correct).  Insanity ensued, there were insults and suggestions that we were on the take.  However, the call was the right one based on the rules.

That said, this exact situation is NOT what happened last night.  Jennings had separation from Tate.  He began making and taking control of the ball at the apex just before Tate technically pushed off a Packer (pushing the front jumper to the ground without a flag -- front corner official was in place to see this, but opted to allow the scrum).  Indeed, he's the one that brought it to his body because of his position.  Once the players hit the ground, the play is over -- there is some type of possession and knees, butts and everything else are on the ground.  I can't comprehend what the front pylon official is thinking here.  He had a clear view of the ball and the initial jump.  Nothing on the way down or on the ground should have changed that, as Tate even had his arms flailing on the way down (he never had any opportunity to control the ball).  What's worse is that the two officials clearly disagreed and didn't hash it out before making different signals.  The back-side official was making a possession change indication (not a touchdown call) while the front official made a touchdown call.

Listen, mistakes happen.  However, this is the third week for replacement officials after a month of preseason.  I can't figure out how they're still missing blatant situations and messing up baseline mechanics (like discussing differences of opinion before dueling signals).  I know the replay rule prevents an overturn of the call since the call on the field was simultaneous possession (that semantics problem needs to be changed by the NFL immediately), meaning the initial call is magnified and more problematic than normal.  The NFL needs to make some concessions -- and get the standard refs back on the field.  If a flag football ref can interpret the rule correctly, the NFL needs to think about who they have on the field right now.