FB: Liberty League

[tony/troy]

One last (grumpy) thought for the day - it appears D3 refs have completely given up accurately spotting the ball - every spot just gets advanced to the nearest yard line.  They do it both ways so it's not "unfair" but I still think it sucks.  These kids work their butt off all year, the least the refs could do is attempt to actually spot the ball and occasional have to measure.  I mean, it's three feet - enough to make a difference.

I have been complaining about this for years.  I can't ever recall seeing a spot that is not directly on the yard line for any LL game I have watched.  Against Union, Hobart received at least one generous spot.  It is painful to watch week after week

Ice knows the officials obviously do their best and he does appreciate their effort. Ice says with that being said, as fans Ice believes we do have a right to appropriately critique their performance. Ice will say the officiating was quite poor yesterday. Ice says the only thing good about it was that is was poor both ways throughout. Ice says consistency is the key.

What would be nice (and Ice says this with no idea how D3 officiating is organized) is if D3 officials were paid decent amounts of money backed by extensive training. As long as it continues to be something that is not a full time job and/or paid enough to inspire real training and high standards, than Ice says it all has to be taken with a grain of salt...like how when IC was backed up on their 2 yard line on their first drive and they completed a ****ing 40 yard pass where the Bomber receiver pushed off of the Dutchmen CB harder than ****ing Hacksaw Jim Duggan pushed his opponent against the ropes to set up a clothesline back in the ****ing late 80's...Ice took that with a grain of salt lol

Liked it even better when the Sawman used to occasionally whack somebody with one of the best pro wrestling props of all time, a 2 by 4.

It probably was no accident that Duggan (real name) choose that particular prop and gimmick since he could easily always have an endless  supply of boards readily available for free and waiting for him whenever he dropped by Glens Falls, NY to visit family. In real life, the family owned and operated a lumber mill!!!

[Pat Coleman]

Officials are organized by conferences. Often multiple conferences will share one assigner and pool of officials. The ECAC used to assign for a wide range of conferences, perhaps still the LL. No idea if they are still doing so.

[UfanBill]

Must Be the SHOES...It's the last week of the regular season in the Liberty League and no one is talking about the Dutchmen's Shoes game. Though this game has no championship relevance it's still an emotional on field war. The Dutchmen and the Engineers have had similar seasons both losing three close games. Union's three losses were by a total of 12 points and RPI's incredibly by only 9! The Dutchman blew halftime leads in all their losses. In fact they led at the half in all nine games this season. Their second half ineptitude against good teams is puzzling... RPI has been behind at the half in all three losses. The don't score much but unlike Union have a recent history of making late game comebacks...like the one to win the Shoes last year.  I expect a similar scenario this year only with a different winner.

Saturday marks the end of the careers of five Dutchmen who have played prominent roles in helping coach Jeff Behrman resurrect the Union program from the depths of 0-10 in 2015.  Since arriving on campus in 2018 RB's Ike Irabor and Joe Ferreira, WR Andre Ross JR., OT Tim Driscoll and LB/DB Austin St.Pierre have led the Dutchmen to a record of 33-8. All five have received All Liberty League honors. They have made their mark and will surely be missed.   

[Bartman]

Good luck to the Bombers tomorrow. The LL has had a disappointing OOC season this year, but a win by the Bombers in a stadium named after them(who knew the Yankees were inspired by the Ithaca Bombers?) would bring honor to our league by our Champions triumph.
In other LL action, the Statesmen must stay focused against a very hungry and scrappy Yellowjacket team ready to sting. The Shoes game will be played for honor this year as the Seniors don't want to walk out shoeless. The Bengals will try to get their first win, but the Saints should end the misery.
   Thanks to all the players ,coaches and fans this year for participating and competing . A special thanks to all of the Seniors/GS that endured the COVID years and ,win or lose, gave it  their all as they walk off the field one last time at the end of the day tomorrow . THANKS FOR JUST PLAYING FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME .....the game will pay you back in life. 
 

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear is quite quiet for a Shoes week which is a rarity. Ice is hoping a for an entertains and injury free game for both teams today. Ice Bear says the questions today are simple:

Can the Union O do enough to put enough points on the board against this excellent RPI D to win?

Can the usually anemic Engineer O score enough points against the average bend but not break Garnet D to win?

Let's ****ing go Union

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear would like to thank his daughter OliviaIceCub for having her 10th Birthday recently and asking for a loft bed for her room. Ice says the construction of this bed is what has allowed Ice to turn off that embarrassing Union team that somehow showed up at RPI for a game today. Ice will put a ****ing RPI sticker on it.

Ice congratulates RPI on what is an excellent defense and program. Ice hopes the Engineers keep their foot on the gas and completely embarrass this team that deserves to be embarrassed for the way they took the field today. Ice says you can lose to a better team (which RPI is) with dignity, heart, and effort. Union has none of that today. Ice is sure the Bethel/SJU game this afternoon will have heart and be competitive so Ice can enjoy some good D3 football from two teams instead of just one.

Ice says congrats to RPI as they are the better team and program right now without a doubt. Love that D.

[Bartman]

Ice Bear would like to thank his daughter OliviaIceCub for having her 10th Birthday recently and asking for a loft bed for her room. Ice says the construction of this bed is what has allowed Ice to turn off that embarrassing Union team that somehow showed up at RPI for a game today. Ice will put a ****ing RPI sticker on it.

Ice congratulates RPI on what is an excellent defense and program. Ice hopes the Engineers keep their foot on the gas and completely embarrass this team that deserves to be embarrassed for the way they took the field today. Ice says you can lose to a better team (which RPI is) with dignity, heart, and effort. Union has none of that today. Ice is sure the Bethel/SJU game this afternoon will have heart and be competitive so Ice can enjoy some good D3 football from two teams instead of just one.

Ice says congrats to RPI as they are the better team and program right now without a doubt. Love that D.

Condolences to Ice for his Dutchmen coming up short today after coming so close against the Bombers last week.
Congratulations to RPI for a great Defense and an opportunistic offense and a second place finish in the LL.

[unionpalooza]

Ice Bear would like to thank his daughter OliviaIceCub for having her 10th Birthday recently and asking for a loft bed for her room. Ice says the construction of this bed is what has allowed Ice to turn off that embarrassing Union team that somehow showed up at RPI for a game today. Ice will put a ****ing RPI sticker on it.

Ice congratulates RPI on what is an excellent defense and program. Ice hopes the Engineers keep their foot on the gas and completely embarrass this team that deserves to be embarrassed for the way they took the field today. Ice says you can lose to a better team (which RPI is) with dignity, heart, and effort. Union has none of that today. Ice is sure the Bethel/SJU game this afternoon will have heart and be competitive so Ice can enjoy some good D3 football from two teams instead of just one.

Ice says congrats to RPI as they are the better team and program right now without a doubt. Love that D.

Fortunately, the Dutchmen didn't give up as easily as Ice Bear and made a game off it, putting up 400 yards offense but scoring only 13 points thanks to three turnovers and three kicks blocked.  Union came out completely rattled and found themself down 14-0 right off the bat, and the same issues that have plagued them all year prevented a real comeback - a hundred yards of penalties, an abysmal kicking game, and mistakes in big moments.  It just wasn't our year.  Hopefully next year will bring some fresh blood and a renewed focused discipline and poise. 

Hats off to Ithaca.  I thought they were going to get pasted and they took care of business with style.  With a good playoff draw I can see them winning at least one, and maybe two or three, playoff games.

[Bartman]

Congrats to the Statesmen for winning the Centennial Trophy against Rochester today by a score of 27-7. Also congrats to the "finally healthy" running attack of Boswell and Denham with over 300 yards between them. I'm hoping for a healthy and dominating year in 2023 by each of these young men for their Senior years. Thanks to all the Seniors who may have the chance for one more game in an ECAC bowl with a 7-3 record. 8-3 sounds much better. 

[UfanBill]

Some thoughts about RPI/Union today: The Dutchmen played their disappearing act early instead of the 2nd half. Kudos to RPI for jumping on Union and getting out to a 17-0 lead. They looked ready, willing and able while the Dutchmen stumbled. Behind 17-0 after punting to end their first four possessions Union finally got a drive going only to seemingly have it stopped by double penalties, an offensive holding and unsportsmanlike conduct which not only set them back 25 yards but cost them the services of their starting right guard who was ejected. It seemed like all was lost but a completed pass where two RPI defenders bumped into each other trying to make the tackle resulted in a late Union TD. 17-7 at half, Union ball to start the second half.

Coming out of halftime it only took the Dutchmen 3 plays for Ike Irabor to break a 63 yard TD run and...new ball game. The extra point was blocked. Noticeably attempted by the backup kicker.   A quick stop by the Union defense and momentum had definitely swung towards the Dutchmen.  Could Union take the lead and prove Icebear gave up on them too soon?...No...an interception in the endzone followed next possession by a missed field goal(again the back up even tho starting kicker Andrew Lau seemed available since he was making the kickoffs) and the mo was gone for good.  Union moved the ball 4th quarter but it was RPI that tacked on the TD. The Shoes stay in Troylet.   

The difference between the teams seemed to point to the maturity of RPI. Led by a veteran unit...of their 22 starters 11 are 5th years, 8 more seniors and only 3 underclassmen. They're well prepared, play with poise and do not make mistakes. Union, with only 4 5th year players seeing action, often seems confused. Even though they moved the ball for 422 yards against the vaunted RPI defense the 11 penalties and constant formation uncertainty makes it tough to sustain their offense. Today they also had kicking woes. Not only did they miss a short field goal but RPI also blocked 2 punts and 2 extra points.

The rest of the Liberty League will be happy to hear that Ike Irabor and Andre Ross Jr. have taken their last snap for the Garnet. Ike went out with class breaking a long TD run and fighting for every yard 'til the end. For Ross this was a frustrating season. He never really was able to use his physical superiority to dominate like he could.

Union finishes 6-4. A good season which was very close to being an outstanding one. The Dutchmen should be strong again next year.

RPI is 7-3 and will probably play an ECAC bowl game (Utica?) and also were very close to having an undefeated season. They will lose a ton of starters and may have to rebuild next season. 

Great win by Ithaca today. They proved to be the champs of not only the Liberty League but ALL of New York state. Good luck in the tournament. They'll be a tough out.

I'd be remiss to not complement Hobart for a solid 7-3 season. Their season ending four game winning streak should earn them an ECAC game. Bring home a W.         

[Jonny Utah]

Quick end of the season thoughts on the LL:

Union: Seems like this team had some identity issues.  I've watched some, but mostly heard posters here talk about them not coming to play for some games (RPI), giving up in others (Utica) and shooting themselves in the foot with penalties (Ithaca and RPI).  They lose Ike and Ross Jr. but have some studs coming back at QB, RB and that frosh WR.  They may be the favorites next year?  Ithaca has a ton of seniors so IC will need to prove that they can do it with young players.

RPI has maybe the best coaching staff in the league.  Bottom line is defense wins championships.  But I also like how they adjust their offense and seem to keep it going on O when things don't go their way early in the game.  Vs Ithaca I liked how they adjusted their run game and kept up running the ball vs Ithaca down the stretch.  They might need a reload year but they don't seem to ever drop to the bottom of the league so you still gotta watch out for them.

Hobart?  Huh they are a mystery to me.  I think they have had problems on offense trying to get (imo) the best players in the league (Boswell and Denham) the ball.  Ithaca also seems to have their best game if the year against them and my mind may be clouded by that as well.  Anyway they always seem to recruit studs and will be a force to recon with year in and year out.

Ithaca?  What can I say.  They finally did what they haven't been able to do in the LL.  Amazing coaches and senior leadership has led this team to where they are.  I'm fired up to see them in the playoffs.  Good god would love to take a nice ride up to Ithaca to see them play a good team in the playoffs.  i haven't been up in about 15 years so would love to see if my old haunts are still there.  i also used to stop with my mom to some diner in Oneonta that I can't remember the name of.  Greene, Whitney Point, maybe a pint at the Lisle Inn if it's still there??!!  Triangle, Bainbridge, Sidney? Look out upstate, JU might be making a trip next week!

[Ice Bear]

Ice Karen says obviously he overreacted yesterday, which he hasn't done in quite some time, and was quite negative towards his beloved Dutchmen. Ice was proud to see they battled back a bit and made a game of it. Ice was honestly just so frustrated with the start. Ice says that once again we had a listless, almost pulseless, team out there for a portion of the game. Ice says in this case it happened to be at the beginning of the game against an arch rival who happens to have the #6 defense in the nation. Ice says not only is allowing them to start out with a 17-0 lead unacceptable (Ice also says he is not taking credit away from RPI as they earned everything they got), but the lack of focus, execution, and overall energy was so disturbing and to Ice, unacceptable. Ice says the Engineers treated this like the game it is, the most important game of the season for both teams, regardless of situation, and the oldest football rivalry in NYS.  Ice isn't going into the blame game here because he doesn't know who to blame. Ice loves his Garnet players and coaching staff but all he knows is he hopes they see that some things need to be tweaked going forward.

Ice is proud the Dutch had a winning record of 6-4 overall and certainly had some high moments this season. Ice says however it was those high moments that maybe provided some false sense of potential in relation to the postseason. Ice would like to see Union improve the strength of their OOC schedule over the next couple of season. Ice would like to see this team tested from the start. With the talent that Jeff Behrman and co. have been bringing in Ice thinks this would only make the Dutch stronger heading into league play against the RPI's, Hobart's, and Ithaca's.

[Ice Bear]

Ice Bear says again, he couldn't be happier for IC and the Bomber faithful this season. Ice says the Bombers are solid across the board with some excellent athletes and a great coaching staff. Ice hopes to hear about Utah's mighty return to IC for next week's playoff game.

[Jonny Utah]

[quote author =Ice Bear link=topic=4728.msg2061454#msg2061454 date=1668369297]
Ice Bear says again, he couldn't be happier for IC and the Bomber faithful this season. Ice says the Bombers are solid across the board with some excellent athletes and a great coaching staff. Ice hopes to hear about Utah's mighty return to IC for next week's playoff game.
[/quote]

Ha I hope to go THE NEXT THREE WEEKS!! 

Ha anyway good season Icebear.  I coach HS football in the Boston area and Union is always a big name school that kids want to go to. Colin Lama, Dan Giosio and Ike Irabor are all MA players I coached against....the talent here is only getting better and I hope to sway them away from Union to IC but that is no easy task!

[tecmobowler]

That's doesn't appear to be a terrible draw for Ithaca....

Happy for Utica and Faggiano.