FB: American Rivers Conference

[DriftlessDuhawk]

Ha things were getting salty in Cedar Rapids this weekend.

Duahawks spotted Coe 28 points in the first 17 minutes and then played them very close the rest of the way with the score at one point being 28-14 in the fourth quarter. Loras went 1-4 in the redzone and the afternoon turned into some woulda/shoulda/couldas.

I can't say I was impressed with Brady Kelly all that much. He was in and out of the game, not sure if he was injured or what, but the backup QB Coe played seemed just as good as Kelly did.

The Duhawks play with a little stink to them which I really don't mind and the Kohawks returned in kind when they got the opportunity. Hopefully Loras can open a bit quicker this weekend for homecoming against Simpson.

[doolittledog]

Ha things were getting salty in Cedar Rapids this weekend.

Duahawks spotted Coe 28 points in the first 17 minutes and then played them very close the rest of the way with the score at one point being 28-14 in the fourth quarter. Loras went 1-4 in the redzone and the afternoon turned into some woulda/shoulda/couldas.

I can't say I was impressed with Brady Kelly all that much. He was in and out of the game, not sure if he was injured or what, but the backup QB Coe played seemed just as good as Kelly did.

The Duhawks play with a little stink to them which I really don't mind and the Kohawks returned in kind when they got the opportunity. Hopefully Loras can open a bit quicker this weekend for homecoming against Simpson.

That 3rd quarter stop on the Coe 1 yard line I thought really messed things up for Loras.  If it had been 28-21 with quite a bit of time left, the Duhawks had a lot more options on offense. 

Of course you could also argue Coe might have opened up their offence if the the score had been closer.  Who knows.

[DriftlessDuhawk]

The play calling did change by Coe after they mounted a 28 point lead, but Loras also switched from a 3 man defensive front to a 4 man front. After this happened the Duhawks limited Coe to 115 yards and zero points on Coe's next 8 drives. You can make the argument that Coe may not have been trying hard to score but the Loras defense also got up off the mat after taking a pretty hefty punch.

Granted Coe also put the final nail in the coffin after the Loras offense got turned away in the redzone for the last time of the day with 1:42 remaining. And proceeded to rip off a 63 yard TD run to end things.

I wonder how much of the 3 man front we will see for the rest of the year.

[doolittledog]

The four 1-0 teams, all got wins against the four 0-1 teams. 

Dubuque gets a homecoming win against Nebraska Wesleyan 44-22.  Big game next week in Indianola between Simpson and UD.

[doolittledog]

Looks like Loras had technical difficulties and there is no video of the Loras/Simpson game.  I'm curious how Driftless compares Coe and Simpson.  Especially since UD plays @ Simpson this week 

[DriftlessDuhawk]

Duhawks played the worst they have so far this season which is tough in front of a pretty large homecoming crowd. While the Duhawks spotted Coe 28 first quarter points last week they ONLY spotted Simpson 21 first quarter points this weekend before battling back to 21-14 before the half.

They could just never get the offense going all day and the OL injuries are starting to add up. I also don't think Helminiak looks right in the pocket and can't help but wonder if he is fighting through some injuries. His throws did not look as crisp as they have earlier in the year.

As much as a homer as it may sound I was not blown away by Simpson. Young is a stud and runs hard. Man is he slippery and will just bounce off defenders if they do not wrap up (starting to be a large point of concern for the Loras defense). Cracraft is a very good WR. He is crafty and catches anything that is thrown at him. What he isn't is a burner or a player I would build a defensive game plan around. Not taking anything away from him as he is a great football player, but he isn't going to wow you with his athleticism or speed. This was evident as he broke free with a catch late in the first half and ran for 50 yards before being caught from behind by Loras' starting middle linebacker. Loras went on to get a pick a few plays later and prevented any points from being scored.

I feel that Coe is much more physically talented than Simpson at just about every position outside of RB.

[doolittledog]

Football today...
I was confident of a UD victory.  I did not expect a 56-27 win for the Spartans in Indianola.  Sets up a big game next week in Dubuque between the Spartans and Knights.

Wartburg beats Loras 68-7.  The Knights have scored 69, 72, 68 points in their 3 conference games.  This team appears to be adequately competent at the game of football.

Coe beat BVU 42-9.  About how I expected. 

Central beat NWU 44-11.  About how I expected. 

[DriftlessDuhawk]

ARC posts on instagram and X are hinting that a bowl game will be announced later today. We will see if that will happen this year or the next.

https://www.instagram.com/americanriversconference/?hl=en

https://x.com/AmerRiversConf/status/2112876561422807348

[The Third Division]

Reminder that the MIAC abolished their constitutional ban on d3 football bowl games so that's my most likely partner

schools have relatively recently been able to schedule interesting games so I wouldn't be surprised if it started this year.

[DriftlessDuhawk]

Not one but TWO ARC bowl games en route.

https://rollrivers.com/news/2026/10/19/football-inaugural-riverbend-bowl-series-announced.aspx

Will start this year.

No other conference mentioned as having tie ins.

"Participating teams, selection criteria, ticket info, and broadcast details to be announced at a later date".

[Patrick Coleman]

Does not seem like the MIAC is involved:
https://d3football.com/notables/2026/10/arc-led-bowl-series-coming-together

The MIAC presidents may have repealed the ban in their constitution but that doesn't mean they are ready to do this. It took the MIAC presidents 20 years to recognize redshirts from outside Division III, and it has taken them two years so far to approve replay review for football. I'm not sure how proactive they are.

[doolittledog]

Seems odd to make the announcement and not mention who the other conferences would be.

[Patrick Coleman]

Seems odd to make the announcement and not mention who the other conferences would be.

Agreed. It seems one or maybe more of the partners are slowing the process down. With the games one month away today, it seems like you have to announce.