FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[K-Mack]

Looking through the ODAC record book (which still needs lots of updating), here are some offensive names from other schools that keep popping up:

H-SC: JD Ricca (QB - 2002-05)
R-MC: Remon Smith (RB - 1984-87)
E&H: Oliver Jordan (RB - 1996-99)
CUA: Nick Bublavi (WR - 2001-05)
GC: Chris McKinney (WR/PR - 1998-2002)
W&L: Christian Batcheller (QB - 1996-99)

Chris McKinney was a great receiver and kick-off return man!  When the ball was in his hands, watch out!  I think he still has an NCAA record for five punt return TDs in a 10-game season.  When you look at his years (1998-2002), that looks like five seasons. Chris tried to walk-on at NCSU one season and didn't make the team.  He then returned to Guilford and finished his eligibility ... and we were so glad he did!

I also watched Christian B. with great interest.  He graduated from Patrick County, VA HS (where I was raised) and I know his mother, sister and step-father.  His step-father, Rick, is a physician in Patrick County and attended public school with me.  We were also in the Scouts together.  I think Christian got drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in their minor league system, but got injured before his baseball career was too far along.

     I'll have to give some thought to this. Most of the great Tiger D players that I recall were pre ODAC. I'll plug the 70's Tigers since I'm sure the younger posterswill take care of the others.  8)

H-S - Jimmy Ferguson (offense)
Maryville  Paul Anagnostis (RIP) (defense)  Remember, MC used to be an ODAC team. I have to plug Paul because he was a great player on an average team.
Maryville - Pat Moyer (offense) Again, a great D3 player on an average D3 team.

     I'm sure no one will plug these MC guys because they have been gone from the ODAC for so long.

Well,
I'm not even going to attempt to get into specifics right now, but I will say that a lot of the best guys I played against didn't necessairly put up great numbers. Offenses changed a lot in the late 90s and early 00s.

I cover about 93-99, playing 94-97 and knowing some of the previous guys and covering the ODAC for 2 years. Having been a defensive guy, these are the top guys I went against or can remember:

CUA
Not a league member the whole time, but Kevin Ricca was as good as they come. 4 year starter. Here ...

QB Kevin Ricca, Derek McGee ... both had a lot of experience. Kevin hit like a ton of bricks, but you'll find me (not that big then) saying that about a lot of guys.
RB Notarfranceso & Matt Taylor ... beasts.
WR Jeff Clay, Mike Hunter ... pretty good pair of WRs. Could elaborate later.

E&H
RB Oliver Jordan was the man, fast and tough, but J.D. Davis packed a punch. Running into him, frankly, sucked. But I was a man, I could take it
Nothing great at QB that I remember, Aaron Fuller pretty good WR.

Guilford
WR Junior Lord, hands down the best offensive player I went against, and it wasn't even that he was all that crafty or anything, just big, strong, went after the ball and was consistent.
WR William Rochelle was a nice little sidekick, jitterbug type. They made a heck of a combo, him and Lord, as far as receiving styles.
RB David Heggie was pretty good when healthy, and QB Santes Beatty had a good year or two. I didn't like Strelkauskas that much but he put up some numbers.

R-MC
Went against these dudes in practice.
The 93 ODAC champs were devastating on offense. A pair of receivers that were tall, fast and sure-handed in Garry Carter and David Hughes. I need another opinion, because even though R-MC guys afterward put up better receiving numbers, not sure if any of them were better. Francel Smith had a well-rounded game, could block and would always keep himself between the ball and defender. Michael Becker had four years in the Boone spread, he put up some numbers that are hard to ignore. And Sean Eaton was smooth and productive.
RBs Dexter Hurt, Kerrell Bryant, Michael Hurt, Neal Ferguson, Clint Sullivan ... all those dudes had talent.

W&L
Batcheller was very good. He threw for 362 on us one day, and he had less to work with than a lot of other teams.
Generals had a couple other good skill kids in my time, but I forget their names.

H-SC
Really didn't have much when I played against them. Jeff Woody maybe? JD Ricca, Conrad Singh, CW Clemmons would have a pretty good chance to rep the Tigers on any team we assembled.

Bridgewater
98 and on would produce most of their stars. They had the best kicker I've ever seen in the ODAC in Michael Padgett (R-MC's Cherwa was pretty good for 4 years too, but Padgett had the leg and the accuracy) and Von Lewis, a WR, I remembered.

Lutz, Cruz, Young, Washington and all those guys would make a mean bunch of nominees.

Davidson ... practically a conference team in those days :0

When we start doing defense:
DT Chuck Davis, R-MC
DE Robert Hull, W&L
LB Tim Armoska, R-MC
LB Jermaine Taylor, Bwater

CBs Avery Farmer, Dwayne Elmore, Dusty Beekman from R-MC ... Thomas Nelson from E&H (maybe Gerald Jones?) ... Richard ... drawing a blank on the Bridgewater safety. Chris Scott? H-SC ...

Probably a ton more you guys can come up with. We've barely covered 15 years here

[Llamaguy]

Your standings don't come to even -- this conference is 22-20.

Ooops.... good point! Back to the drawing board, LOL!

I had Guilford, W&L, and HSC all at 3-3 then changed GC to 4-2. Guess it is GC back to 3-3 with some tiebreaker giving them 3rd.

[hasanova]

Your standings don't come to even -- this conference is 22-20.

Ooops.... good point! Back to the drawing board, LOL!

I had Guilford, W&L, and HSC all at 3-3 then changed GC to 4-2. Guess it is GC back to 3-3 with some tiebreaker giving them 3rd.

Personally, I think Guilford will be at least 4-2, but I don't see E&H at 5-1.

[CNU85]

Your standings don't come to even -- this conference is 22-20.

Ooops.... good point! Back to the drawing board, LOL!

I had Guilford, W&L, and HSC all at 3-3 then changed GC to 4-2. Guess it is GC back to 3-3 with some tiebreaker giving them 3rd.

too much green and orange communion

[Llamaguy]

Your standings don't come to even -- this conference is 22-20.

Ooops.... good point! Back to the drawing board, LOL!

I had Guilford, W&L, and HSC all at 3-3 then changed GC to 4-2. Guess it is GC back to 3-3 with some tiebreaker giving them 3rd.

Personally, I think Guilford will be at least 4-2, but I don't see E&H at 5-1.

I can definitely see Guilford going 4-2 and actually could see E&H losing their second game at Guilford to close the season. I just think that the schedule sets up well for E&H. They play most of the top half of the ODAC at home. (BC,W&L,& HSC). I could be wrong and usually am. 

[bluenote]

I'd like to mention that I think Hampden-Sydney's new grandstand looks fantastic! I love the old school look with the brick structure on top of the stands. That's very impressive and classy. I assume the rest of the campus is very sharp also. Good luck this year to all the teams in the conference from a Linfield Wildcat Fan...way out west.

[allsky7]

I'd like to mention that I think Hampden-Sydney's new grandstand looks fantastic! I love the old school look with the brick structure on top of the stands. That's very impressive and classy. I assume the rest of the campus is very sharp also. Good luck this year to all the teams in the conference from a Linfield Wildcat Fan...way out west.

       I do have a bias here as I lived on the campus at H-S for many years. I have been on the campus of dozens of schools and have yet to find one more beautiful.  8)

[hasanova]

I'd like to mention that I think Hampden-Sydney's new grandstand looks fantastic! I love the old school look with the brick structure on top of the stands. That's very impressive and classy. I assume the rest of the campus is very sharp also. Good luck this year to all the teams in the conference from a Linfield Wildcat Fan...way out west.

I agree, it does look very nice - great job!  Yes, the entire HSC campus is quite picturesque.  Personally, I think W&L also has a very well-kept and photogenic campus.  I haven't seen all the ODAC schools, and I may be accused of being a bit biased, but I think Guilford's campus is nice and getting better all the time.  By the way, for all you tennis fans, a donor just gave Guilford $450,000 to upgrade and beautify the tennis courts (and they needed it!) in honor of his mother, Class of 1937.

[TheEHC52]

allsky -While I'll agree that the campus of H-SC is beautiful, I'm starting law school at Ohio Northern right now and it is just hands down stunning.  It puts anything in the ODAC to shame.

Kmack - I do agree with your pick of Thomas Nelson (T-Nel as we called him) for an All-Time ODAC team.  Having played under him for three years, I can vouch that he can still do stuff in the weight room and intramurals that mere mortals only dream of.   We got to watch film of him one time and he was nasty.  As for Emory reps on the team, what about Doug Reavis and Chris Miller as well?  Nathan Tuck (WR) was also pretty good at Emory.  Hands down though I think that Adam Dowe would also be a good pick on the D side of the ball.

[hasanova]

Your standings don't come to even -- this conference is 22-20.

Ooops.... good point! Back to the drawing board, LOL!

I had Guilford, W&L, and HSC all at 3-3 then changed GC to 4-2. Guess it is GC back to 3-3 with some tiebreaker giving them 3rd.

Personally, I think Guilford will be at least 4-2, but I don't see E&H at 5-1.

I can definitely see Guilford going 4-2 and actually could see E&H losing their second game at Guilford to close the season. I just think that the schedule sets up well for E&H. They play most of the top half of the ODAC at home. (BC,W&L,& HSC). I could be wrong and usually am. 

Bo, good to see you posting with regularity.  Looking forward to some SS fare on Oct. 13 at BC!  I think it bodes well for GC that Vogelbach is so experienced and the Quakers have 4 of 6 ODAC games at home (BC and CUA on the road).  I don't want to be overly optimistic, but I think 8-2 is within reach for Guilford in 2007.  Of course, they could simply play poorly, have some injuries or get a bad break here and there, but I think they have some talent.  Personally, I'm anxious for the games to begin!  Peace    

[hasanova]

allsky -While I'll agree that the campus of H-SC is beautiful, I'm starting law school at Ohio Northern right now and it is just hands down stunning.  It puts anything in the ODAC to shame.

I'm definitely not saying the ODAC is the best in this category.  I've seen many of the NESCAC schools, Emory and others.  Lots of money - and pride - at work on those campuses!

[y_jack_lok]

"Pedro came from Wheaton, he knows a good team when he sees it, and he also knows his predecessor apparently left the cupboard rather bare."

Above quote from K-Mack.

Hope you don't mind my jumping in here just to fill in a bit of the detail. I'm an R-MC alum living in St. Louis. Pedro Arruza played at Wheaton, but apparently never coached there. Immediately prior to being named R-MC head coach he was an assistant at Washington U here in St. Louis for about 5 years. Wash U competes well in football in the UAA but it's not really a football conference. So he really came directly from a fairly average conference. If I'm off about that, please correct me. Here's a link to Arruza's bio on the R-MC athletics page.

http://www.rmc.edu/athletics/football/PedroArruza.asp

Having said all that, I agree that it takes time to build a football program and this is certainly a pivotal year for R-MC in that regard.

[allsky7]

allsky -While I'll agree that the campus of H-SC is beautiful, I'm starting law school at Ohio Northern right now and it is just hands down stunning.  It puts anything in the ODAC to shame.

Kmack - I do agree with your pick of Thomas Nelson (T-Nel as we called him) for an All-Time ODAC team.  Having played under him for three years, I can vouch that he can still do stuff in the weight room and intramurals that mere mortals only dream of.   We got to watch film of him one time and he was nasty.  As for Emory reps on the team, what about Doug Reavis and Chris Miller as well?  Nathan Tuck (WR) was also pretty good at Emory.  Hands down though I think that Adam Dowe would also be a good pick on the D side of the ball.

     Never seen ONU. Will have to put them on my list if I am ever in that area. Matter of fact, not sure I have even been on the campus of any school in OH.
     States with campuses I have visited: VA, NC, SC, WV, KY, MS, AL, TN, MD, PA, CA, GA, IN, DE, DC (Hasa, I know DC isn't a state  )
     Hey, that's an idea. How about tailgates in all 50 states?

50 GATES IN 50 STATES
THE STONE STATION US TOUR 

     ...so bring your mates and brother Tate....and dog named Kate... on one of these dates...and don't be late... to fill your plate...with food that's great...because if you wait...you'll scratch your pate...and hate your fate.   

   Sorry folks....this is what insomniacs do at 4:00AM 

Course Llama & Co.....ya'll probably are already off to a good start  already hitting quite a few states.

[Llamaguy]

     Never seen ONU. Will have to put them on my list if I am ever in that area. Matter of fact, not sure I have even been on the campus of any school in OH.
     States with campuses I have visited: VA, NC, SC, WV, KY, MS, AL, TN, MD, PA, CA, GA, IN, DE, DC (Hasa, I know DC isn't a state  )
     Hey, that's an idea. How about tailgates in all 50 states?

50 GATES IN 50 STATES
THE STONE STATION US TOUR 

     ...so bring your mates and brother Tate....and dog named Kate... on one of these dates...and don't be late... to fill your plate...with food that's great...because if you wait...you'll scratch your pate...and hate your fate.   

   Sorry folks....this is what insomniacs do at 4:00AM 

Course Llama & Co.....ya'll probably are already off to a good start  already hitting quite a few states.

Right you are Allsky! to date:
VA, DC (not a state  ), NC, MD, DE, PA, IN, OH, and will add GA this year. Oh, and we cracked a bottle of Boone's Farm at a rest area in WV on the way to a gate, does that count? 

Campuses Stone Station has tailgated at:
ODAC: GC,W&L,HSC,E&H,RMC, and Catholic
USAC: CNU,SU,Ferrem
PAC: W&J, Thiel
HCAC: Hanover
OAC: Mt. Union
CC: McDaniel
MAC:Lycoming, Wilkes
ACFC:Wesley

And of course Salem! Hosted tailgates for:
BC,MUC,Trinity,UWW,Linfield,UMHB

[Jacketlawyer]

I'm not saying pull the plug on rebuilding, and I'm not saying R-MC deserves to be picked to do anything ... you just think after four years under a coach we'd start to see the signs of progress become tangible on the scoreboard.

Thoughts? (basically that just means you Jacket Lawyer)

Hi K-Mack

My thoughts on the R-M football program were just eloquently stated by you.  I thought you bottom-lined it very well.

To be honest, I hold no expectations we will improve this year; though if for some reason we do, I'll be the first one to man-up and admit he was wrong.  

I'd like to say more on the subject, but I go into speculation at this point, and don't really feel comfortable doing it unless over PMs.  I have to constantly remind myself I never played college ball and the last thing these 20-something year old young men need is the grumblings of some 40-something year old fan, albeit a fan who's followed his Yellow Jackets for nearly 25 years now.

However, I should be really good for the whose-campus-is-prettier discussion.  I've always thought the H-S campus was pretty, but have to give the edge to W&L.  You can't beat Lee Chapel. But I don't think many schools can, regardless of their standing in any category.