Week 6
Cue fancy-ish intro music (use your imagination here)
There is a lot of action to recap this week and we are cut a little short this week due to the darts sectional qualifiers in Nova Scotia running a bit long.
Stonehill (5-0)
Long Island (5-0)
Long Island came into this game as a big favorite (I had them by 14 points) and a favorite to make a 5th consecutive trip to the championship game, while Stonehill was looking for the upset after several seasons of steady improvement.
Long Island only managed a field goal in the 1st quarter and Stonehill answered a Long Island score in the 2nd with a field goal and TD of their own to tie the game at 10-10. But Edward Boyd snapped off a 50 yard run right up the middle for a Long Island TD and it looked like they were going to start to pull away, leading 24-10 at half.
Stonehill was up to the challenge defensively by shutting out Long Island in the 3rd quarter, but their offense could never get going to try to get back in the game. Ultimately, Long Island is too tough and they win with a final of 34-17.
Overall, it was just about how we expected it to go down, but it was certainly a statement by Stonehill that they are ready to compete at the next level. With their QB and featured RB returning next season, they could be ready to make some noise.
Indianapolis (5-0)
Ferris State (5-0)
This game to me was a featured matchup of a couple of up and coming teams that are looking to make the playoffs and try to establish themselves as a top tier program in D2. We thought Ferris State would have the edge, but their suspect non-conference slate had us wondering if it was more the level of competition than having a quality squad. Indianapolis had put up some gaudy offensive stats coming into the game, but like Ferris State, they had not truly been tested.
Ferris State jumped out to a 21-0 lead early before Indianapolis could answer with a score of their own. As the game wore on, Ferris State continued to pull further and further away. In the end, a punt return touchdown and two interceptions by Ferris State were too much for Indianapolis to overcome.
#7 Edinboro (4-1)
#9 Bloomburg (6-0)
Bloomburg was expected to win this game, but coach vhoward415 is a quality foe and I have learned never to underestimate his squad.
Unfortunately for Edinboro, they just didn't have the talent to really challenge Bloomsburg. Bloomsburg was on a roll from the start and entered the 4th quarter leading 45-6. Edinboro added two late touchdown passes to make it a little more respectable, but Bloomsburg was too much. Edinboro's 17% 3rd down conversion percentage was too much too overcome, despite the final stats not looking too much different for the two teams.
Week 7 Preview
As mentioned before, we are short on time this week so we won't have a chance to go in depth about this week's featured matchups, but here is the short and sweet version.
#9 Shepherd
#25 Tusculum
We can't let a Top 25 matchup go by without featuring it. These two coaches have met 61 times (not at these schools of course) with Tusculum's clememp holding a commanding 37-24 lead over Shepherd's dawgnuts. I think dawgnuts is going to make up a tiny bit of ground in that series, as Shepherd is playing at a very high level right now.
In other news, North Dakota State's GM is rumored to be in a power struggle with the football coach due to their OOC thrashing by Shepherd and the coach's desire to only schedule sims in the future.
West Alabama (6-0)
Valdosta State (4-2)
West Alabama has been beating up the little sisters of the poor, but coach mjacques has seen his squad improve every year so far. Omcs1981's squad at Valdosta State has had a couple of tough losses so far, but they are still in a good position to make some noise this season and have a very talented team. I think Valdosta will roll in this game, but West Alabama has a lot of underclassmen who are playing a lot of minutes and could help them develop into a tough squad in a couple of seasons.
That's all for now...see you next week (tomorrow).