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Messages - Jim Matson

#841
I'm watching the White Sox rally (yes, I can enjoy it even as a Twins fan) and am thinking that Bob has a strong chance of celebrating 2 championships this year!

Greg, North Park soccer is here to stay and I'm glad you are on board.  They are a strong team that should make the playoffs this year if they just win a few more in the CCIW Tourney.  But I'll admit that in the 4.5 years that we've been posting here, I have never seen but 1 positive comment from regarding my favorite sport!  I'm pleased with the change!
#842
Congrats to Illinois Wesleyan for their win over the Thunder.  Wheaton really needed this one, but clearly couldn't stop the Titan offense when it counted.  That said, the offense is why the Thunder lost this one.

I haven't seen seen good play on Wheaton's part since the first half of the North Central game.  Chupp just doesn't make good passing decisions and Wheaton's line can't open it up for the running backs.  Wheaton is a respectable team this year, but will have trouble winning out against Carthage and Augie.

I continue to be impressed with Augustana.  Every year they seem to "sneek" up on the CCIW title and just miss it.  Augie may be the team that knocks off North Central and wins the conference this year.  If that's the only loss coming up for North Central, we may see 2 teams in the playoffs this year - and that I'd love to see.
#843
Hmmm.  I haven't been on in a while but now I know who YOU are Mr. Ypsi!  Why the name change?

I am proud to say that I was with you as you witnessed your new found CCIW home court in Wheaton.  But alas, I fear that you'll have very little reason to come again anytime in the near future...

I haven't seen Q around lately but I did sit with his parents at the Wheaton/North Central football game.  And I wanted to hear his reaction to his Titans knocking off Wheaton men's soccer for the 1st time in history!
#844
The new AFCA is reflecting more accurately the status of the CCIW (when compared with the Top 25 on this site).  We lead the poll in conference teams represented with 3, North Central at 12, Wheaton at 23 and Augie at 24.  The moves make more sense to me than do the ones reflected in Sunday's Top 25.

But then again, polls tend to be rather meaningless at the end of the season...
#845
I think the CCIW got beat up in the latest Top 25 poll. 

North Central deserves a higher rating as they are 6-0, having played and defeated 2 top 25 teams.  I would agree with Augie being in the top 25, but I'd also have to say that Wheaton belongs there as well.  A number of teams have 1 loss that are ranked higher than all 3 of these teams...and I don't think it is a strength of schedule issue (at least by my research).

#846
After seeing today's scores, I get the feeling that North Central can and will win this conference.  If the Cards bring their A-game to the Augie battle, they will win based on their ability to score quicky and force Augie into a catch-up game.  The Wheaton/Carthage game will make this thing a lot clearer.  If Wheaton can get a consistent offense developed, I think they take Carthage and Augie out of the picture - if they don't, they may beat Carthage, but they won't beat Augie.

It would be meaningful to get a 2nd team into the NCAAs this year (for the second year in a row).
#847
The Wheaton/Elmhurst game was a good one to watch as it was close into the 4th quarter.  The Elmhurst defense impressed me - they stopped Wheaton's offensive many times and took away any consistency Wheaton was trying to establish.  Elmhurst also caused 2 Wheaton fumbles that were clearly the work of aggressive tackling.  But Elmhurst also had a problem with turnovers themselves, giving up a few fumbles and a few tips for interceptions.

While this was fun to watch as a generic football fan, it was not great as a Wheaton fan.  Our failure to move the ball on offense concerns me.  I know Elmhurst's defensive line is good, but I felt like Chup should have had more in the way of completions.  As the guy next to me pointed out, the Wheaton offensive scheme this year looks different from 04 and doesn't seem to be as effective, especially in setting up for a pass play.

I will say that Wheaton's defensive line was yet again impressive.  Passes were batted down a couple of times and Dema was on the run quite a few times as well.

Overall it was a fun afternoon in Elmhurst.  Good game and a nice 24-7 Wheaton victory.  Elmhurst has a good team this year and they should be proud of their 5-1 record.
#848
The CCIW continues to change and not just in football - North Park beat Wheaton in men's soccer tonight 1-0.  North Park had defeated Wheaton last year as well so that's 2 years in a row against Wheaton, which a CCIW first.
#849
During the lightening delay at the Wheaton/Hope game, I was commenting to someone that I hadn't experienced a delay this long since the Wheaton/Wesleyan game from 96 when "that guy" from the Titans got seriously injured.  One of you mentioned his name a few pages back - Deon Hornsby.  The delay was at least 40 minutes and required on field medical attention.

The play had him sweeping around the right end - he was pulled down as he tried to turn the corner.  It had looked like a face mask call, but was in fact a tackle by the collar of his shoulder pads.  When he didn't get up and a lot of the players were motioning for help, we knew there was an injury and it was a serious one.

We were all quite nervous because Deon wasn't moving at first, but thankfully it wasn't what we had all feared.  Nonetheless a dislocated hip has to be as painful an experience as there is.  He was obvioulsy in incredible pain.  After he was taken from the field, the Titans lost any momentum they had, and in fact the entire game seemed unimportant from that point on.  I believe that Deon missed the rest of the reason due to that most unfortunate accident.  What I can't remember is if we saw him again the following year?
#850
I think the on-side kick decision reflected the coaching staff's thoughts on the ability of Wheaton to stop North Central.  It probably wasn't going to happen.
#851
Usee had it right on the summary - 2 completely different halves.  Wheaton had (I think) 3 sacks and numerous hurries in the first half.  I didn't see much from them in the 2nd half - the NCC coaches made some adjustments and had a few guys back to block more often.  And even though the NCC wide outs are small, they have great hands.  

I thought the Wheaton play calling was a bit suspect in the 2nd half.  Too many attempts up the middle and too many long throws.  The passes across the middle always seemed to work and yet those weren't called often enough.  "Chupp on the keeper" was also effective and could have been a nice counter to the over-pursuing tendencies of the Cardinal D line.

North Central is tough.  They are fast and disciplined.  And the QB reminds me of Brylka - but with better receivers.  Yes, it seemed to me that Wheaton gave it away tonight, but North Central stayed around and made their plays when it counted.

Great crowd tonight and a great facility at North Central.  It was good to see Pat as well!
#852
Based on my view of the game on Saturday (and it was a lofty one), I know that Wheaton will be bringing a strong defense into Cardinal Stadium this weekend.  The speed of the line is quite impressive and I would agree with my fellow posters that it will be a battle between the O-line of the Cards and D-line of Wheaton.

The outcome may be decided by the ability of Wheaton to continue to rack up the yards, both through the air and on the ground.

I like Wheaton's chances and will be at that game - the first football related visit to Naperville in 8 years.
#853
Another amusing fact from today's game: the Greenville punter was their leading rusher at the half.
#854
I think of the Illinois Wesleyan football player's death earlier this year, and now a young Wheaton grad loses his life as well.  It is a sad thing.

Prayers and thoughts to Will's folks and his family and friends.

Will was a follower of Christ and so I am confident in his place in Heaven, but whenever a young man with all of the giftedness that has been mentioned above passes away, it is really tough to deal with...
#855
Just to pile on, the admissions standards at Wesleyan have indeed increased over the past 10 years.  What's interesting is that at roughly a 50% admission rate, the student body is still almost 90% Illinois kids.  Wheaton isn't the only school that has carved out a niche!

Nice win by Wheaton on Saturday.  Obviously the quality of play was low by last year's standards, but the ability to keep plugging away and finally win on the road was impressive.