FB: Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference

[SaintsFAN]

So see you tomorrow, 70.

[SaintsFAN]

Adam,

are you going to have your old lady's cellphone tomorrow?

I got the Thomas More gear you requested. . .

[Most Known, Unknown.]

Good luck to MSJ tomorrow, should be a great and intense game. MSJ haS a good defense, and should be ready to go. Its great to see that MSJ is leading the Conf again IN Defense, should help them in the Play-off's. Whats up coach Hubbie and Coach Hillvert! I wish I could make this game, should be a pack house? How are the crowds at MSJ these days?? Facing Wheaton in the first round will be brutal for FC or MSJ. They have a great balance! The OAC is the best Conf in the nation. I know it would be hard to get one of those teams to play an HCAC team, but with Dean being up there you never know. ITHERE IS alot of good teams around the country. Maybe \
MSJ could get a Cali team to play, travel down here on the West Coast(lol) I know it will never happen. They could play my JR College Squad, would be great for the resume.lol na, good luck though MSJ!!!! 

[Most Known, Unknown.]

Mr. Ypsi, I agree with you as far, as the SOS concerns. The HCAC is noted for not having a tough SOS, but I think having 2 good teams from the same Conf going to the Play-off's would be a great lift for both schools, and maybe push them to playing better teams in the future! The HCAC is not the OAC; they don't have the same talent level, and Mount U, should be a D-2 program, or higher, because what they do to teams is un-real. I would like to see Mount U Play the top Jr. College teams here in cali, to see where they really stand. Great team over at Mount U, overall great defense, shuting people down, my brand of football!! Wish it could rub off on the Bengals!!!

[SaintsFAN]

if MSJ wants to start scheduling tougher opponents they can do it.  There's a precedent there.  When Vic Clark was coaching Thomas More, we had to be really creative with the scheduling.  The result was playing games against teams like Butler, Evansville (no more football), Morehead State and Dayton in the D1-AA (non scholly)...Northwood (MI), Gannon U (PA) in D2.....Malone, KY Wesleyan, Mt Scenario (WI), Campbellsville (KY), Urbana in NAIA, and Wis-Osh Kosh, Howard Payne (TX), Alfred (NY), Knoxville College, Albion, Adrian, Alma, Wisc-Stevens Point, Chapman College(CA), US Merchant Marine Academy (NY), Illinois Wesleyan, Wesley (DE) and others in Division 3.   We were team's "Homecoming Opponent" more times than I care to remember.  I do recall against Morehead State in 1998, playing in front of 8,000 people for their homecoming game.  Their QB, David Dinkens ended up playing for Buffalo Bills after he graduated.  The game was back and forth in the first half.  On the first play, Dinkens went 65 yards on a keeper and ended up with 4 TD's.  We fought back though and pulled to within 37-26 at HALFTIME.  We fought into the 2nd half also until they pulled away late...we were down on #'s of players that year.  Had 2 QBs (we both had seperated shoulders from the week before), 5 WR's, 7 OL etc.  That year we played a TOUGH, TOUGH schedule with 60 players.  We ended up 3-7 but we fought the whole year.  It showed the younger guys who stuck around how to compete with high level competition even while the cards were stacked against you.  I still think its kind of funny that MSJ decided after this 3-7 season (on paper) that they wanted to get a piece of the Saints while we were supposedly down (got a scrimmage set up in 1999 and 2000 before playing in 2001).  Dean Paul took that what was left after 17 seniors graduated in 1998, added a couple freshman recruits...believe me, not many since he took the job on February 1st, and produced a 7-3 season in 1999...the guy could flat-out coach.

All these were scheduled with the same budget MSJ has and TMC had to do that with no league games.   Most of these games were GREAT, GREAT tests that we wouldn't have gotten had we just played teams within a 200 mile radius of Thomas More.  Granted we didn't really have a choice, most teams just chose to not play us...reasoning that they didn't like our coach (uh huh)

I'm rooting for MSJ to step up and schedule some quality competition so they can be better prepared for both the HCAC and NCAA Playoffs.  The games are out there....they just have to schedule the "home and home" with teams. 

**Our record is NEVER indicative of how talented our teams are..

Even in 2001 when TMC made the playoffs with some said was a weak schedule, we still won a home playoff game that year.  That senior-laden team was toughened by the travel and the games from their years together.

Disclaimer....I'm not saying anything about MSJ's schedule when they went from 0-10 to 10-0.   Your teams had it tough and needed to learn how to win.  You did that against teams that were previously better than you.  I just think (along with many of your alums) that its probably time to make the step up that Thomas More eventually did when our program "got going". 

[SaintsFAN]

Now that I've lost all this weight, had you egged me, I would have surely moved. They don't call me White Lightening for nothing.

I was a QB, dude.  I would have "led" you with those eggs... 


The SAINTS are COMING...

Pass The Reefer

[Adam Sayer]

The day is here. As I told Coach Hilvert in an email, I believe he has done a heck of a job with the hand he was delt. He had some major injury problems early, and some say (they've only beaten 'bad' teams), but to be 5-4, with a "shot" at 6-4, says a lot about him and his 'young' coaches. Remember, he has many guys coaching who were players 2-3 years ago. He has a young staff. Regardless, he's done a great job in my opinion.

Going back to the injuries, I think MSJ has more talent and is overall the better team. Again, the better team doesn't always win, but in this case, with the "2nd chance" MSJ has been given at the playoffs, the better team WILL win. They have no chance but to be focused. Word around is they wern't taking TMC seriously....I doubt that. If they are, that's their loss, but I believe with the situation of this game, everyone's taking it seriously.

My prediction is a 27 - 17 MSJ victory. I'm heading off to get a work out in and I will back around 10:00. Kevin, the Ol Lady should be with me, just give us a call either on her cell 614.314.4573 or at home 793.3541. See ya later.

PTR

[70_dc_alum]

the only thing that is saving Hanover today is Franklin will call of the dogs eventually to keep from risking injury before next week.  when i say saving Hanover i mean from getting 70pts hung on them.  rivalry or not, last game for the coach this one is already over. 

I predict a blowout for DC today too to finish up strong.

[nittanybacker]

Lets say MSJ wins today and makes it into the playoffs.  The HCAC will have two teams in the playoffs probably for the first time.  Maybe people from the outside will question the NCAA for having two teams in the playoffs because of the history in the playoffs for the HCAC.  So once we have two teams in you can have three things happen, one of which is one team wins and one teams loses.  So my question is:

How will the HCAC be perceived  if both teams lose?  Now if they are close games then maybe you can argue that they both deserve to be in and it was a few bounces here that changed the game.  What happens if they both get blown out?  Will that be the end of two HCAC schools?

Now if both teams win then it is a great boost for the conference.  Then that might open the door so that in the future two teams for the HCAC will make it into the playoffs.  The HCAC will need to be consistent  in the playoffs so that they can establish themselves as a conference with perennial  powers.

[SaintsFAN]

in honor of Wayne Perry Day:

With Hilvert sharing the note Adam sent with the team....(not a true story), what do you think the moral of the story was for the team?

Don't talk **** to an opposing coach and you could be 1st team All American...er conference!

[victorybell_57]

we will all miss wayne parry, great coach. great program (until the school messed it up), great teacher and mentor to many. i would only like him more if he was a franklin coach.

go grizzlies.

[FCAlum06]

Franklin up 49-7 10  mins to go in 3rd. Its crazy how fast FC can score. The score was only 27-7 at half and within first 5 mins of 3rd quarter they have put up 28 to push the lead to 49-7.

I dont think starters will stay in much longer if they do things could get really ugly!

GO GRIZZ!!!!

[Ralph Turner]

if MSJ wants to start scheduling tougher opponents they can do it.  There's a precedent there.
...

All these were scheduled with the same budget MSJ has and TMC had to do that with no league games.   Most of these games were GREAT, GREAT tests that we wouldn't have gotten had we just played teams within a 200 mile radius of Thomas More. 

The change in NCAA guidelines now allows TMC to schedule any opponent in Administrative Region #3 (MI, IN, OH, WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TN and KY) and have it count as in-region.  As a member of the South Region Presidents AC, you can play all South Region teams.

...

**Our record is NEVER indicative of how talented our teams are..

Even in 2001 when TMC made the playoffs with some said was a weak schedule, we still won a home playoff game that year.  That senior-laden team was toughened by the travel and the games from their years together.
...

Concerning the 2001 Thomas More team that went 10-0 and was seeded #2, TMC got the privilege to play the #7 seeded IBC Pool A bid (MacMurray IL) and edged them 34-30.  In the second round, you hosted the #6 seeded Wittenberg at-large (Pool C) team and lost 41-0.  The seeding prompted the Championship Committee to change the criteria for seeding in 2002.  Let's just call it the "Thomas More rule".  

[dc_has_been]

OUCH! Ralph

Franklin is a dangerous team & they will be truely tested in the playoffs to see how dangerous they really are. 

Anyone have an update on the DC game?  last I saw it was 14-3 I believe at the Half.  Plus the MSJ game too?

[dc_has_been]

Currently 21-16 DC in the 4th
48-7 Franklin in the 4th
10-7 Anderson 4th
28-7 MSJ 4th
Plus CWRU won 20-17 making them 10-0.  They still shouldn't be higher than a 5 seed if there were a "Thomas More Rule," but we'll see.