Category Archives: General

Looking ahead to Saturday

Posted on by

We media members like drama. Photo finishes. Log jams at the top of the standings. Season finales with conference titles on the line. These are a few of our favorite things.

For several Division III teams, this weekend is about avoiding drama. “Leave no doubt,” as the Linfield fans used to say.

This is your chance, Ithaca. Beat Alfred and you’re in.

Mount St. Joseph, you got a second chance after slipping against Hanover. Take care of Anderson and take your place in the postseason.

UW-Whitewater, being “wacky in the WIAC” is overrated. Stuff Stout and stay out of trouble.

Del Val and Occidental can avoid some Week 11 drama by winning their game, their conference and their AQ this Saturday. Hobart can relegate the Union-RPI “Dutch Shoes” rivalry to the Pool C closet with a win tomorrow. As we wait to see who punches their playoff ticket, here are my two-cents worth (plink, plink)…

Wish you were here: If I had my way, I’d be listening to Rock Lobster, eating rock candy and heading to Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana and North Central will meet for the CCIW title. It’s tough to beat No. 17 versus No. 11 with playoff implications. Though I will say, I’m intrigued by Monmouth-Knox. Any game that involves a trophy like this has to be fun.

Don’t sleep on this one: Teams like Washington & Jefferson and Salisbury have more than a passing interest in the battle between Willamette and Whitworth. The Bearcats and Pirates will fight for their playoff lives as the former still has to play Linfield and the later already lost to the defending champs.

Most Likely Top 25 Team to Lose: No. 22 Central who travels to defending IIAC champ and current contender Wartburg.

Super Ridiculous Pick of the Day: All good things come to an end. Amherst 20 Trinity (Conn.) 17. I’m picking against the Clamorin’ Clucks, my alma mater, here. Especially if that means they are less likely to send me pledge drive solicitations.

Saturday night’s alright: …For doing something else. The only night broadcast is Chapman against non-D3 San Diego (Go Toreros) on www.usdtoreros.com. And that’s only interesting if SD’s coach Jim Harbaugh decides to suit up.

New week, cast a vote for Elliott

Posted on by

Brett ElliottDon’t forget to unite behind Linfield quarterback Brett Elliott for Heisman. Every week you are allowed to cast a new vote. Click here to vote

Hopefully the combined power of Division III fans can lift Elliott into the top three. The top three vote-getters in the online voting receive the equivalent of a first-place, second-place and third-place vote in the official ballot tally. Now, we’re coming to this late in the game, so we need to get cracking. Thanks to correspondent Ron Boerger, who got the process started a little over a week ago.

Each vote must be confirmed — they send you a link via e-mail to click on to confirm your vote before it will be counted.

And if you doubt Division III in the Heisman race, don’t forget Plymouth State running back Joe Dudek finished ninth in the balloting in 1985. Some guy named Bo Jackson won the thing that year.

Please note, voteforheisman.com appears to be frequently culling what it considers fraudulent votes. I reminded them that many colleges run behind proxy servers, which means all users on campus look like they are coming from the same IP address. They promised me they are not excluding votes based solely on IP addresses.

No need to stuff the ballot box. Let’s do it fair and square.

Insider: Whatever it takes

Posted on by

Being a running back I get the privilege of seeing a side of the offensive linemen that many never get to. Granted it may not be the prettiest side, but I love these guys and I tell them they look good doing their job. The relationship between offensive linemen and running backs is a unique bond and I am fortunate to have been apart of such a brotherhood for years.

I can assure you that no unit on our team works harder than our line. These guys do nothing but bang shoulder pads from the first whistle of practice to the last. They are the heart and soul of our offense and do the majority of the dirty work, but they won’t find their name in the paper on Sunday morning (unless your name is Mike Ziefert).

In regards to running backs, offensive linemen love to assume the big brother role and take their back(s) under their wing. As if sacrificing their body so we can find our way to the end zone is not enough, they find gratification in seeing that we are well taken care of. For example, starting left tackle Andy Quain and his parents fixed the offense 80 lbs. of barbeque chicken a few Fridays ago at a campsite 15 miles from campus. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

Last Saturday we took on an up and coming Elmhurst College squad who presented our team with quite a challenge. Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the score was 22-13 and the Bluejays were not about to lie down. They battled all the way to the end, but thanks to a strong running game fueled by the big boys up front and key plays when we needed it by the defense, we improved to 7-1 with a 64-42 victory.

This Saturday we take on North Central College who is 8-0 and 11th in the nation. The winner of this game will be granted the CCIW championship and an automatic bid to the playoffs, something this senior class has sniffed several times, but never brought home.

The bitter feeling of leaving Naperville, Illinois last year after a 31-10 defeat has been burning in the back of our minds going out to every practice this year. Whether it be a 7-0 victory in Kenosha over Carthage College or a 64-42 shoot out over Elmhurst, this Augustana team has found a way to put ourselves in position to play for the conference championship. Since we got on the bus after the North Central game last year we have been working towards earning this opportunity, and we are taking our ‘whatever it takes’ attitude with us as we step onto our field at 1:00 on November 5th.