FB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Gregory Sager]

....IWU coach Norm Eash termed the Vikings "probably the most improved North Park team I've seen in many, many years."

I think/thought so too, but they still can't win a game in the CCIW.

The only thing that proves, BP, is what a massive gulf existed between NPU and the rest of the league before this season's improved Vikings took the field.

Even if NPU has improved x amount in 2007, it isn't going to show up on the record if the team started out x + y +z behind the rest of the CCIW. That's why I've cautioned all season long against measuring NPU's progress by the Park's W-L record.

[washdupcard]

RE:  more traveling trophies... We touched base on this during one of our broadcasts a few years ago.
Elmhurst vs. North Central- "The Bird Bowl"  This was my idea to have a crystal bowl in the shape of a bird bath with 1 blue bird on 1 perch and 1 red bird on the other perch.

Is this the trophy where the blue bird keeps trying to get to the top half of the perch, but doesn't quite get there?     Sorry, couldn't resist!

Best post I've read all year.

[washdupcard]

I am just a young whipper-snapper ( when it comes to ths CCIW ) but it appears to me that other than North Park all the road games are pretty tough. Maybe some IWU posters can help me out. I made my first trip to there stadium Sat and the Stadium was great.  I was just surprised that they did not have field-turf yet. Any plans in the near future for this?

I've always liked IWU's football stadium...

http://titan.iwu.edu:82/sports/FootballStadium.shtml

In use since 1893, it is the fifth oldest in the nation, behind Williams (1875), Wesleyan  (1881), Sewanee (1888), and Amherst (1891).

I have not heard about any plans to install field turf.

The field used to be horrible before they remodeled it...

[Titan Q]

IWU 7
NPU 0

Early in 2nd Q

IWU has had the ball twice, with two long drives -- one ended in a missed 30-yard FG.  The other resulted in a 1-yard TD run by freshman Bo Lanter.  Lanter missed last week's game, and most of the game before, with a deep thigh bruise.  His presence helps as it allows Marcus Dunlop to rest every 2-3 series.

NPU has had the ball twice and punted both times.

A Viking player had to be taken off on a stretcher...didn't sound like a head/neck injury.  Sounded like a leg injury?  Hope he is OK.

[Titan Q]

Halftime:

IWU 7
NPU 0

IWU had a nice, long drive going late in the half, but QB Kraid Ladd fumbled on a keeper at about NPU's 30 with about 2:00 to play.

The Titans have only had to punt once so far, and I'll bet the 1st half stats indicate that IWU is dominating the game, but they only have 7 on the board. 

IWU gets the ball to start the 2nd half. 

[Bullrush97]

Carthage 10

Millikin 21 halftime

DeBouf 3 ints, 2 of them thrown inside Millikin's 25 yd line leading to easy Millikin TD's

Denny kicks 49 yd field goal tying Carthage Record.

[Mugsy]

Wheaton 38
Elmhurst 7

At the end of the 3rd quarter.  Wheaton scoring virtually every way possible.  Rushing, passing, INT for TD, special teams...

[Mugsy]

Wheaton 32 yard FG... now 41-7.

3 and out for Elmhurst.  Wheaton driving inside the Elmhurst 30 yard line.

[Mugsy]

TD Wheaton... drive predominately Rocky Gingg rushing.

48-7 Wheaton over Elmhurst with 8:19 left to play.

[Mugsy]

Final:
Wheaton 48
Elmhurst 7

Very dominate display of football for Wheaton in every phase of the game.

4 straight losses for the Bluejays... ouch!

[Titan Q]

IWU's defense holds and gets the ball on downs near mid-field.  NPU has one T.O. left but the Titans should be able to run it out after that.  

Wow - that got scary.   At 20-0, the Titans had the game in hand, but turnovers let the Vikings right back into it.

It sounded like North Park played very, very hard.

Now final:

IWU 20
NPU 14

[Titan Q]

NCC 31
Augie 15

2:00 left

[Titan Q]

A few stats from the IWU/North Park game...

* Marcus Dunlop: 142 yards rushing
* Bo Lanter: 93 yards rushing, 2 TD
* Kraid Ladd: 142 yards passing, 1 TD (run), 2 fumbles
* Martin Ceisel: 4 catches, 61 yards

* Total offense: North Park 145 yards , IWU 370 yards
* IWU: 245 total yards rushing
* North Park: 49 yards rushing
* Time of possession: IWU 36:00 NPU 24:00

[WahooThunder]

Very dominate display of football for Wheaton in every phase of the game.

This was by far the most impressive and most complete performance the Thunder have put together all season.  The O-line was dominant all day, Hershey and Jackson were both great, and the defense was awesome.  Now, if only they could get these injury problems solved.  Not sure what is wrong with Chris Fossum, but he didn't play after the first quarter.  It may have just been precautionary, but is worrisome nevertheless.

[Gregory Sager]

I think that we can put to rest the discussion of whether or not NPU has improved this season.

Even though the Vikings came up short on the scoreboard, the feeling seemed widespread throughout the fourth quarter that the North Park program was making a statement. In spite of being down 20-0 and not really getting much done on offense, the Vikings rose up and played with immense energy and heart. You could feel the energy in the stands, which was a very weird feeling -- we're just not that used to being up on our feet and cheering in the fourth quarter of a tight game at North Park. Meanwhile, the Wesleyan section at the south end of the field was dead silent, as the green-clad visiting fans looked as though they'd all been stricken with a collective IRS audit.

Wesleyan dominated the game statistically, but make no mistake about it: NPU could have won this game. Let me say that again for emphasis: The final score was not a mirage. NPU could have won this game. A play here and a play there -- there were a couple of serious dropped balls by wide-open Vikings receivers in the fourth quarter, and a dropped INT on an ill-advised third-quarter Kraid Ladd throw in the flat that almost certainly would've resulted in an 80-yard TD for the Vikings defense -- and we're talking about the biggest upset in at least the last dozen years of CCIW football rather than a near miss. And NPU didn't even play a mistake-free game by any means; Shelby Wood threw a horrible pass into traffic in the third quarter that led to a Wesleyan interception and a short-field touchdown, and Chris Durr's fumbled punt on the NPU 45 with 4:38 to go was a massive setback. Nevertheless, the Vikings had a shot at winning this one, but just came up short.

The most impressive thing that the Vikings did today was tackle well. I've been bemoaning all season long their tendency to arm-tackle and to not bring down the ballcarrier with the first hit. Today they were not only wrapping up ballcarriers, they were sticking them. The various IWU fumbles weren't drops; they were the result of NPU tacklers putting serious wood on the ballcarriers. There will be plenty of sore Titans tomorrow.

The second-most impressive thing that they did was make in-game adjustments. Wesleyan just chewed up the Vikings on the ground in the third quarter; Marcus Dunlop carried the ball on almost every down on Wesleyan's opening drive in the quarter, and he ran it at about ten yards a clip through gaping holes. I haven't looked at the stats yet, but I'm guessing that this quarter was where the Titans gained the bulk of their yards. But in the fourth quarter the NPU linebackers appeared to get into the gaps much quicker, and those ten-yard gains by Dunlop became two-yard gains.

Wood and Ladd had similar games. Both made some crucial clutch throws, but both also got caught repeatedly hanging onto the ball too long. Today's game was something of a sackfest.

Wesleyan's a steady and workmanlike outfit that made just enough plays to win the game in the second half. And that defense of theirs is certainly tough. But I'm stumped as to how the Titans are undefeated in conference at this point. They've obviously developed a knack for winning by the skin of their teeth, but I'm surprised at how less overmatched NPU seemed against them than the Vikings have against other CCIW teams this season. I'll be absolutely shocked if IWU wins this conference when the smoke clears. But kudos to the Titans, though; the final score is all that counts, and thus far they've been on the fat end of it in every CCIW game. They've put themselves into position to possibly win the title, and that's all you can ask for.

Scott Pethtel will be the first to tell you how disappointed he was in the final result, and all of NPU's players and assistant coaches will be right behind him on that assessment. Losing never feels good, and moral victories are for teams that have already given up on the idea of winning the real kind of victories. Nevertheless, as someone who has sat through years and years of bury-your-face-in-your-hands football games at North Park, I can tell you that today's loss was one of the most encouraging things I've ever witnessed at Hedstrand Field. Before today I had a suspicion that Pethtel was turning the Viking longship in the right direction. Now I'm sure of it.