FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[CarollFan]

Well NCC got to 21 in the 2nd Q and Wheaton got to 35 early in the 3rd. Looking good so far.

Keep an eye on MU vs. JCU 7-7 in the 4rth Q.

[CarollFan]

MU JCU go to OT 7-7

MU gets a FG blocked.

JCU gets down to MU 1, incomplete pass on 3rd and 1 and then misses the FG

2nd OT
JCU gets ball first and hits 39 yd FG

JCU leads 10-7 2nd OT
MU had a 4rth and 2 at JCU 4 and went for it and got stopped.

JCU with the bracket buster beat MU 10-7.

[CarollFan]

Wheaton 49  DePauw 24 Final

Wheaton with 483 yds total offense. 293 passing and 190 rushing averaging 5.4 yds a carry.

[Crusader92]

What a game for Wheaton! Pretty much speechless. Was hopeful, but did not see such a dominant performance this deep into the playoffs. Couldn't be happier for the entire program!

[CarollFan]

NCC 35 UWL 27 Final

The guys wanted Donovan McNeal back and he was back with 149 yds rushing on 12 attempts and a TD.

Next is Bethel who beat UWP 35-24 but there will be no NCC vs. Mount Union match up as
JCU pulled off the upset and knocked out Mount Union.

[CarollFan]

Wheaton gets UWRF as UWRF beat St. John's 42-14.

[USee]

Wheaton 49
DePauw 24

Wheaton 483 total yards. 190 rushing and 293 passing
Matt Crider 22 carries 120 yds
Mark Forcucci 16-27 293 yds 4 TD's
Peter Johanik 2.5 Sacks (including a strip sack that resulted in scoop and score)

My game ball goes to the Wheaton coaches for a brilliant game plan. The players executed it exceptionally well. Jesse Scott is one of the best offensive minds in the game. DePauws defense was cause for concern as their scheme creates chaos with all their movement and penetration. Jesse came in and lined up in a 2 TE offense (without AA TE Ben Juska who was out due to injury) and just came right at this defense which effectively neutralized their ability to penetrate. The result was just 2 TFL for a team that averaged 7 a game. 1 sack for a team that averaged almost 4 a game. And Wheaton rushed for 190 total yards and had their RB rush for 120 against a DePauw defense that was giving up 13 yds rushing a game and no team had close to 100 yds total this season. And Forcucci did his thing with his WR group with Kortenhoeven leading the way (4 for 106 and 1 TD).

Defensively Wheaton played bump man against OPOY and Gagliardi semifinalist WR Robby Ballentine and had a safety over the top which allowed the cover corner to be very aggressive. They limited #84 to just 4 catches for 52 yds and he was a non factor in this game. The advantage of Wheaton's DE's vs the DPU OT's was evident as the Thunder sacked QB Ballentine 7x and pressured him regularly.

A dominant effort against a really good team.

[wally_wabash]

Wheaton 49
DePauw 24

Wheaton 483 total yards. 190 rushing and 293 passing
Matt Crider 22 carries 120 yds
Mark Forcucci 16-27 293 yds 4 TD's
Peter Johanik 2.5 Sacks (including a strip sack that resulted in scoop and score)

190 on a team that had allowed 143 total in 11 games this year. Bravo.  Outstanding effort everywhere, but especially that side of the ball today for the Thunder. 

This is why I do not coach. 

[USee]

DPU's slanting, penetrating defense was built for the modern spread offense. Very difficult to identify and block 8 different players in a spread offense. Jesse Scott knew this and lined up in an old school 2 TE look (no spread) and ran right at DPU which forces them to defeat blocks (double teams, etc). Effectively eliminates the penetration scheme. Brilliant move but also a testament to the versatility of the Thunder offense as they can go 4 wide or 2 TE. They also ran a veer dive offense in short yardage (ala Navy) which is tough for a 3-4 defense to defend.

I have to think playing Mt Union and NCC on the road early this season helped this team the last two weeks. They are road warriors. Hopefully the music continues next week but this will be the toughest challenge yet.