Wow, what a day of football. And the day ended for us a lot like the Miracle in the Mud day ended. In this case, it was with both Pat Cummings and Keith McMillan driving home glued to their cellphones as I had two phones, one to each of them, sitting on the speakers of my laptop.
That’s how it came down in 2000: Keith and I were driving back from a game at Widener and my wife set up a phone next to the computer speaker, allowing me to listen and relay the play by play to Keith.
I hope this wasn’t the de facto national championship game in McMinnville, today. I have to believe Mount Union is going to have something to say about it. But kudos to UW-Whitewater for carrying the WIAC flag into the semifinals and not just phoning it in.
Kudos also to Wesley, for taking its Cinderella run to the semis as well. I don’t know if they’ve got much of a chance at Whitewater, but not sure how many gave them a chance at UMHB either. This is a great run for that program.
Capital put on a good show as well in falling short. Lewis Howes, who set a Division III single-game receiving record a few years back at Principia, wanted to see what he could do at a higher level. Today we found out (12 catches, 245 yards, four TDs).
What’s left of Rowan makes the trip to Alliance, Ohio. The two haven’t met since Dec. 11, 1999, when Rowan upset Mount Union and ended the Purple Raiders’ then-record win streak.
Should be an interesting week.
Dutchman,
I was referring to the NWC getting no love yet having the second highest winning % in the playoffs during their brief time in the NCAA (joined in ’98).
Pat
Aren’t there two games this week? Geesh these people act as if they should just go to Salem this week. You people better hope your teams aren’t looking ahead!
I guarantee you that the Warhawks and their superb coaching staff isn’t looking ahead and that is all that matters!! Wesley looks like a very formidable team!
I say… we all get through this week… then let the S##T FLY…. out of all the people trash talkin…. two of these team have to lose… so at least it will hopefully shut up half of the crowd…
By the way GO RAIDERS!!! Monkey Stomp Rowan…..!!
crusader26 i simply meant that it seems like in pressure situations he seems to make mistakes. I agree that you couldn’t blame it on anyone though. I regret making my statement. I just wish we could get a team like the 1970 team that won the National Championship, of which my father was apart of.
You’ve posted this before, caprules70. There is no 1970 national championship. The Stagg Bowl was a west regional championship. There was no national title game until 1973.
Dutchman89
To answer your question. If you took MUC’s rcord completely out, the OAC would have a 9-5 record. Which is a .643 winning percentage. That would make them the second best conference overall. Again, that’s if you took MUC out all-together.
Mt. Union Football Players are not looking past The Rowan Profs. THE FANS ARE! The players for the first time is quite some time don’t have to win to keep this streak or that streak alive. They got beat this year and are playing to win for themselves, not the fans. All four of these teams deserve to be here because they beat every team that was in front of them. It was settled on the field. Just like it will be this weekend. And by the way. The forcast for Ohio this weekend is 6-8 inches of snow. This will be a good test for both teams. Good Luck to all four teams!
It wasn’t Capitals fault the east & west didn’t play then. So they called themselves the National Champs. Michigan & Nebraska did too once because there wasn’t a playoff, So did LSU & USC. Just a comment!
Regarding previous posts on the lack of attendance at the Stagg Bowl in Salem: In 2001 there was an exception to that rule. That was when Bridgewater played Mount Union. There was a capacity crowd at that game (nearly 8,000!). Oh, it was quite an event! As I drove through the parking lot at Salem Stadium, a Mount Union fan came up to my window and handed me a beer. I knew that I would be in for quite an evening. I met up with my old hallmates, there was great food, and there was a good band playing in the parking lot. I even got friendly with a Mount Union sophomore. (not bad for a BC alum pushing 40!) It was a great experience even though we had to sit on the Mount Union side and we lost 30-27. After the game, a Mount Union fan complimented us for being good guys unlike the Rowan fans. I think that the following were factors in the large attendance at that game: 1) there was a Virginia team involved 2)Mount Union travelled well 3) the game started at 8pm instead at the ungodly hour of 11am, ergo 4) there was quite a lot more time for tailgating. That was a great time and the Mount Union fans we met were great. Looking forward to experiencing this again in 2006! GO EAGLES!!
thebigmp,
Forget 2006. You should head on down to the Stagg this year. From what I’ve read on the ODAC board, there’s a Bwater turnout for the Stagg and some tailgating each year since ’01.
This blog really is turning into a message board…
Keep in mind. Most of the time it’s a small group of people who are to blame when it comes to pointing fingers at a schools fan base. For Example. When Rowan finally beat us at our own Stadium. There were about 10-15 students who had way too much tailgating that was very rude. Those students caused that year for the Rowan Fans to be marked as bad fans. Most of them were excited, as they should have been. For the most part they were giving congrats to The Mt. Union fans for a great run. I don’t care where you go there is always a bad group at all games. So it’s not fair to blame the fan in general. Just defending the Rowan fans as I would for My Mt. Union fans who were embarrased by their Drunk and stupid fans.
mizzou_mofia, I do know about the Stone Station crew. I just checked my work schedule and unfortunately, I won’t be able to catch them at the Stagg Bowl. Ah well, there’s always next year. GO EAGLES!!
Where does the lack of Attendance come from at the Stagg Bowl. Compare the numbers since it moved to Salem, Va. In the years Mt.Union has been there. They avg. 5640 fans and years Mt. Union isn’t there the Avg. is 4853. These still aren’t bad numbers compared to the last 5-6 years it was played in Alabama. I know for a fact that Mt. Union fans travel there in bunches and were once put on the side where the camera points so it looks like there were lots of fans at the game. I forget who they were playing, but the team they played had very few people. Another fact to consider. Most of your D3 schools are east of the Mississippi River and for the west coast fans to travel east makes it very hard for their loyal fans.
Then we shall see this year since all remaining four teams are east of the Mississippi River.
Ajwassup
What kind of Numbers are you wanting there? And how many games have you been to?
easy jim- looks like he’s just making a general comment.
Wesley 35 UWW 21
What’s the weather forecast at UWW this weekend? snow?
jimjearsa,
i was just saying that u made a statement about it hard for west coast schools (west of the Miss River) to make it to the Stagg Bowl since they are so far away. I am saying since now all four remaining teams are east of the Mississippi River, then this year stagg bowl should have a good attendance. Im not looking for any numbers or anything, so dont jump to conclusions. And if MUC wins on Saturday, then i will be there at the Stagg Bowl.
Ajwassup
I will be also. I am a big Mt.Union fan and season ticket holder. Meant nothing by it. Raider fans represent their team very well when they do make it. It just wasn’t fair for schools like Linfield & Pacific Luth. when they made it. I’m sure there would of been nore for those schools if it was closer.
The City of Salem does a super job with the Stagg Bowl as well as many other events that they host. In my opinion 4-5 thousand is a pretty good turnout when you consider what you are up against. Unless of course you have a “local” team involved like in 2001. In most cases, the fans involved are going to have to travel a pretty good ways to get there, it is the Christmas season, the game is on TV, most D3 schools are pretty small and don’t have tens of thousand of fans, and it can be pretty cold in western VA in December. Pretty tough sell unless your team is playing. Of course all the northern teams in it this year may think December VA weather is shorts and tee shirts! 🙂 I confess the last few years I have watched on TV despite the fact I live only a little over an hour from Salem. Regardless of who wins this weekend I think it could be a heck of a final. May have to get off my gluteus and head over to Salem this time around.