This one will be tough. Not Dayton's best team but they will be coming off a bye. A big achievement for the Crusaders if they can pull it off and win it but it will be a tall task.
This one, I think, is on ESPN3
Quote from: JD24 on November 11, 2017, 07:42:04 PM
This one will be tough. Not Dayton's best team but they will be coming off a bye. A big achievement for the Crusaders if they can pull it off and win it but it will be a tall task.
This one, I think, is on ESPN3
Agreed, but so was the Butler game on the road. Valpo has been very tough at home and hopefully the fans will show. Could be an historic turn of events.
The next variable -- how healthy did we emerge from the Butler win? Aches and pains have an unusual way of masking themselves in the euphoria of an emotional win -- then reality sets in. Hope everyone is healthy for Saturday. I am scheduled to work at Lambeau Field on Saturday, but I have asked for someone to cover my shift so that I can drive down to watch in person. I hope the weather cooperates and gives us good game conditions that allows lots of fans to show up and cheer the Crusaders to their first winning season in 14 years.
When was the last time in recorded memory when you could look with pride at the PFL standings with 1 game left to play in the season? CLICK ATTACHMENT TO ENLARGE.
..... and to just think. If only we didn't throw that pick vs. Jacksonville, we'd probably be 5-2 right now. Water over the dam. :'(
Too bad Valpo can't move up in the standings. Campbell is done and they beat Valpo so they win a tiebreaker. Drake and Jacksonville play on Saturday so the winner will be 6-2 and the loser will have defeated Valpo as well. However a 5-3 league record would look fantastic. A loss to Dayton puts Valpo behind Dayton but ahead of Stetson and Butler even if they all finish 4-4 because Valpo beat them both.
Alright Offense
Senior: Blue
Junior: Green
Sophomore: Purple
Freshman: Red
Quarterback
#9 Jimmy Seewald SO. (10/10)
#14 Chris Duncan RSFR. (0/9)
#4 Joe Mullen RSSO. (0/1)
#11 Trey Bilinski FR. (RS) #13 Ryan Markoff FR. (RS)
Running back
#10 Jarrett Morgan SR. (8/8)
#44 Kyle Cartales SO. (2/10)
#32 Cody Boxrucker SO. (0/9)
#21 Elias Earley RSSO. (0/8)
#15 Doug Haugh FR. (RS)
Full back/ H Back
#40 Brannen Martin RSFR. (0/9)
Split End
#30 Frank Catrine SR. (10/10)
#2 Griffin Norberg JR. (0/9)
#82 Deuce Larose FR. (0/9)
#85 TJ Weinzimmer FR. (RS)
Wide Out
#3 Parker Fox RSSO. (10/10)
#12 JD Koehler RSSO. (0/10)
#19 Trey Stablein FR. (RS) #86 Kevin Wright FR. (RS)
Slot
#1 Jean Rene JR. (8/8)
#26 Donny Navarro FR. (2/10)
#23 Bailey Gessinger SO. (0/10)
#33 Connor Beer FR. (RS)
Tight End
#84 Mason Sutter JR. (10/10)
#16 Ryan Clarke SR. (0/10)
#87 Martin Petruff SO. (0/10)
#31 Alex Kluck FR. (RS) #80 Brett Bittner FR. (RS)
Left Tackle
#77 Terrence Roberts RSSO. (8/8)
#76 Alex Cotton RSSO. (3/8)
#74 James Zajac RSFR. (0/2)
Left Guard
#67 Eric Rentschler JR. (10/10)
#66 Sam Vas FR. (0/7)
#50 John Horan RSSO. (0/0)
Center
#65 Jack Jarnigan RSSO. (9/9)
#70 Brady Sullivan RSSO. (1/8)
#69 Alex Helander RSSO. (0/1)
#51 Nick Antonacci FR. (RS)
Right Guard
#73 Tom Schofield JR. (10/10)
#72 Solomon Kamara RSFR. (0/7)
#61 Sean Pierce SO. (RS)(INJ) #64 Sean Stephens RSFR. (0/0)
Right Tackle
#60 Andrew Lundberg RSSO. (9/9)
#75 Shannon Taliaferro JR. (1/8)
#71 Bryce Biggs RSFR. (0/3)
#79 Thomas Walsh FR. (RS)
Was Sutter hurt at some point yesterday? He was in for the onside kick at the end but the drives prior to that it was Petruf who was the only TE I saw in the game.
When was the last time we beat Dayton?
Should be a close game. Will everyone be ready for a Dayton team coming off a bye week, and ready to have a winning season?
Valpo 27
Dayton 24
efense
Nose Tackle
#56 Tristan De La Rosa SR. (5/8)
#93 James Reed SO. (3/5)
#92 Drew Gedrys FR. (3/10)
#78 Ronald Williams RSFR. (0/0) #90 Isaac Velasco FR. (RS) #58 David Mason FR. (RS)
Defensive Tackle
#99 Jakob Trumpower RSSO. (9/10)
#97 Jeremiah Olojo FR. (0/6) #62 Nathan Orlandini FR. (0/6)
#96 Cameron Germain FR. (0/3)
#94 Humza Razzak RSFR. (0/1)
#42 Jake Iery JR. (INJ)(RS)
Defensive End
#34 Jay Slone RSSR. (9/10) #54 Jesse Studyvin JR. (INJ)(1/2)
#91 Jordan Goebel RSFR. (0/10)
#44 Connor Sperling RSFR. (0/1)
#95 Murphy Osmond SO. (INJ) (RS)
Outside Linebacker
#18 Mike Wheeler JR. (10/10)
#33 Gowan Baldwin JR. (0/9)
#38 Joey Poloskey FR. (0/6)
#46 Josh Baker FR. (RS) #89 Cade Bishop FR. (RS)
Inside Linebacker
#24 Drew Snouffer JR. (10/10)
#6 Logan Pfizenmayer FR. (0/9)
#39 Jack Buckey SO. (INJ)(RS)
Inside Linebacker
#49 Nick Turner JR. (10/10)
#47 Matthew Messler RSSO. (0/8)
#43 John Regan SR. (0/7)
Outside Linebacker
#36 Austin Petrie SO. (7/8)
#37 Laddie Skarecky FR. (3/10)
#35 Gavin Twigg FR. (0/10)
#30 Cole VanSetters FR. (RS)
Cornerback
#5 Jalin Leandre JR. (10/10)
#14 Cam Kelly FR. (2/10)
#2 Stacey Jones FR. (RS)
Safety
#4 JJ Nunes RSSR. (9/9)
#20 Jamari Booker SO. (1/10)
#45 David Hebda FR. (0/1)
#15 Isaac Lane RSSO. (INJ)
Safety
#28 Joey Diaz-Martinez JR. (10/10)
#22 Tamone Duncan FR. (0/8)
#7 Brent Brimmage FR. (0/7)
#19 Bryce Leach FR. (RS)
Cornerback
#17 Brandon Riley SR. (INJ) (1/1) #25 Dilan Scargle FR. (7/9)
#41 Henry Hebda FR. (0/6)
#31 Corey Shannon FR. (RS)
The PFL Fan Board has a separate thread on the Valpo/Dayton game. One comment was that if Valpo wins, Cecchini should be the unanimous choice for Coach of the Year. In the same post was speculation that openings on the east coast might mean that he might not be back here next year. I think MLB will do whatever is needed within reason to keep him here.
http://pflfan.proboards.com/thread/3081/dayton-valparaiso-nov-18th
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 14, 2017, 01:10:13 PM
The PFL Fan Board has a separate thread on the Valpo/Dayton game. One comment was that if Valpo wins, Cecchini should be the unanimous choice for Coach of the Year. In the same post was speculation that openings on the east coast might mean that he might not be back here next year. I think MLB will do whatever is needed within reason to keep him here.
http://pflfan.proboards.com/thread/3081/dayton-valparaiso-nov-18th
He's not going anywhere! His wife has a good job in Valpo!
I believe this is his contact year. It will be interesting to see how Valpo handles it.
Under the radar with nothing mentioned <-----------------------------0----------------------------> Big Splash
Quote from: vu72 on November 14, 2017, 01:26:37 PM
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 14, 2017, 01:10:13 PM
The PFL Fan Board has a separate thread on the Valpo/Dayton game. One comment was that if Valpo wins, Cecchini should be the unanimous choice for Coach of the Year. In the same post was speculation that openings on the east coast might mean that he might not be back here next year. I think MLB will do whatever is needed within reason to keep him here.
http://pflfan.proboards.com/thread/3081/dayton-valparaiso-nov-18th
He's not going anywhere! His wife has a good job in Valpo!
I think until his wife rebuilds the VUWT program he won't leave. She has to have a resume' to take back east to another program so they can sell themselves as a package coaching duo. Dave certainly has bought into the Valpo/Butler Helmet rivalry.
I predict that he leaves after next year, and takes an FBS job in the Midwest, similar to what happened for Jim Harbaugh after San Diego. If the majority of the team returns, we will be very good.
Dave's a marketable commodity right now. He's got some cred as an OC and now HC. He could move to an OC position at a FBS school and perhaps be in a better position...whether financially or just in a postion to move up from....than he is at Valpo. There also should be some HC spots available. I don't think marketing themselves as a coaching duo would be in either's best interest. He also has to move when the opportunity is there not in any attempt to time it just so.
Quote from: valpotx on November 14, 2017, 10:34:29 PM
I predict that he leaves after next year, and takes an FBS job in the Midwest, similar to what happened for Jim Harbaugh after San Diego. If the majority of the team returns, we will be very good.
Only one small difference betwen Coach C and Harbaugh at San Diego. Before leaving for Stanford, San Diego was a combined 22-2 his final two years and 27-2 his final 29 games. They won the PFL both of his final two years. With a win on Saturday, Coach C will be 11-18 in his last 29. At this point Coach C would be looking at another FCS team, probably in need of a rebuilder. I would expect that after a title he might be pursued by a FBS school but hopefully he and his wife will be happy at Valpo. Have no idea how well he is compensated. A raise is certainly called for at this point.
Quote from: vu72 on November 15, 2017, 08:35:54 AM
Quote from: valpotx on November 14, 2017, 10:34:29 PM
I predict that he leaves after next year, and takes an FBS job in the Midwest, similar to what happened for Jim Harbaugh after San Diego. If the majority of the team returns, we will be very good.
Only one small difference betwen Coach C and Harbaugh at San Diego. Before leaving for Stanford, San Diego was a combined 22-2 his final two years and 27-2 his final 29 games. They won the PFL both of his final two years. With a win on Saturday, Coach C will be 11-18 in his last 29. At this point Coach C would be looking at another FCS team, probably in need of a rebuilder. I would expect that after a title he might be pursued by a FBS school but hopefully he and his wife will be happy at Valpo. Have no idea how well he is compensated. A raise is certainly called for at this point.
I don't see any opportunity for Dave at the FBS HC level at this point in his career. FBS OC? Absolutely. He has demonstrated that capacity on at least 4 different occasions (Lehigh, Harvard, The Citadel, Valpo). But any scholarship FCS program, unless they were a conference bottom feeder, would wait until he tilts his overall W-L record above .500 to offer him a HC job. And I think Dave woulkd not just jump at the first opportunity offered. He is a thoughtful guy and is long on planning. Any offer would have to be one that puts him in a good position with some guarrantees before he makes a move. I don't see that happening just yet. If we win the PFL next year, however, all bets are off.
Other than the aforementioned Harbaugh, who I think was in a completely different situation in terms of name recognition, school placement and expected future than a guy such as Dave Cecchini or any other current PFL HC, when was the last time a PFL HC moved to an FBS or even higher FCS program as HC?
Dave has already done the "step back to move forward" thing in moving from a bit higher FCS plane as an OC to the lowest plane as HC. The right opportunity could be there for a program who has done their research and wants to grab a young coach on the way up rather than wait until there is significant competition from other programs. It's all about opportunity. He's also been in non scholarship land for quite a while (I think Lehigh was NS when he was there) and maybe he enjoys it but, then again, maybe he'd like an opportunity for more cream of the crop style football.....relatively speaking of course.
There was another PFL-to-scholarship-FCS jump that I vaguely recall. I believe the long time, successful HC at Drake went to Montana State a number of years back. Again, a lengthy period of winning before the move upward. Rob Ash coached MSU from 2007 to 2015 and had a overall winning record there. Before being hired at MSU he was Drake's HC for 18 years.
Harbaugh was also at a school that was used to winning, whereas Coach C completely turned around a losing culture. I could see him getting a shot at an FCS HC job, or a low level FBS, if he has another successful season next year.
Could be a real mess on Saturday. Glad we are not playing on grass. Forecast calls for high of 53 but 100% chance of rain and 20+ wind. I was thinking snow but looks to be too warm.
Well, I found someone to take my shift at Lambeau so I'm making the trek. I will pack lots of foul weather gear. The downside is that the weather will keep away a bunch of people who normally would have shown up on a decent day. That's too bad for our boys. It would have been great to have 2-3 thousand there for support.
The students head home for Thanksgiving break on Friday.
Quote from: talksalot on November 16, 2017, 10:47:37 AM
The students head home for Thanksgiving break on Friday.
:(
That will also have a bearing on 2 key Volleyball matches and our first 2 Savannah Invitational home games.
Scrolling through the thread, I see a lot of comments about the job Coach C has done. Rightfully so--he's turned this ship around! However, as we head into Thanksgiving week, I am particularly grateful for the upperclassmen on this team who have had to endure many, many losses on the way to the opportunity to have a 6 win season. They have been instrumental in the turnaround. Thanks, guys--I sincerely hope you guys beat Dayton!
Great lead-in article to The Finale by Jim Peters.
http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/columnists/jim-peters/jim-peters-vu-football-eyes-one-more-milestone-in-a/article_2d31757e-9841-5bd3-a020-d12e3b5b29bc.html
From that article: The Flyers stand in the way of a Valpo's season exclamation point. A deceptive 5-5, they lost three games minus quarterback Alex Jeske and are 4-1 since his return.
That lone loss w/Jeske was to Campbell at home. Here are the Flyer scores:
@ Robert Morris (NEC) LOSS - 10-13
SE Missouri (OVC) WIN 25-23
Duquesne (NEC) LOSS 23-28
@ Morehead State LOSS 28-34
USD LOSS 7-23
@ Drake WIN 20-10
Campbell LOSS 7-17
@ Davidson WIN 48-22
Butler WIN 27-22
Marist WIN 36-17
Novemebr 11 BYE
@ Valpo ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Gonna be a close one -- the team that makes the fewest mistakes and wants it more will squeak by. Can't help but believe that our kids will play as if possessed. They will leave nothing on the field by the end of this game -- there is no next one. GO VALPO!
Game Day! Wear your rain gear. It's gonna be a wet one all game. GO VALPO!
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 18, 2017, 07:46:24 AM
Game Day! Wear your rain gear. It's gonna be a wet one all game. GO VALPO!
Looks like some snow too!! Stay warm and dry!
Nifty 2pt conversion for the win. Congrats to Coach C and the seniors for achieving the first winning season in quite some time! This team was 2 TD's away from 8-3 this year (Next year goals ;))!
VALPO WINS!! vALPO WINS!! 8-7!!! FIRST WINNING SEASON SINCE 2003!!! HOPEFULLY 62 STAYED WARM AND DRY!!!
wHAT A DAY AND WHAT A WIN!! :thewave: :thewave: :thewave: :cheers: :thewave: :thewave: :thewave:
Ryan Clark just became legendary.
Give that man a contract extension!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A great win!
https://twitter.com/ValpoAD/status/932013208042434560
https://twitter.com/DaytonFootball/status/932012226466209792
Quote from: VU75 on November 18, 2017, 04:10:00 PMRyan Clark just became legendary.
That he did. Hopefully Ryan Clarke's name will be spelled correctly when the legend is written. ;D
Fantastic win. Hopefully Dave is locked up either by current or extended contract. Lots of guys back, perhaps most importantly the QB is back. Should be a big year, perhaps bigger next season. The schedule should be interesting as to which team replaces Campbell on our schedule. San Diego or Davidson. Couldn't be more polar opposites in possibilities and it could be potentially the difference between a league championship and 2nd place. That's not just a Valpo issue.
One complaint which has been mentioned by at least one other poster. Lose the Jet sweep near the goal line. Could have cost them today.
On my way home drenched. hypothermic. ecstatic. I'll share more tomorrow when I defrost. But MLB told me Dave was already signed going forward. Words cannot describe how resilient our D was today. Time and again they had to shoulder the burden and they never gave in.
I wonder when was the last time a head coach in Div. 1 put the game on the line with a 2 point conversion going for the win instead of going for the tie. I know the weather was terrible for kicking FGs and extra points but how could Cecchini be certain the two pointer would be successful. Dave sure had a lot of confidence in his offense.
Quote from: bbtds on November 18, 2017, 08:31:10 PMI wonder when was the last time a head coach in Div. 1 put the game on the line with a 2 point conversion going for the win instead of going for the tie. I know the weather was terrible for kicking FGs and extra points but how could Cecchini be certain the two pointer would be successful. Dave sure had a lot of confidence in his offense.
I don't know the answer to the question about the "last time" but, if there was any lack of confidence in the kicking game....and the way things looked there should have been....then the logic of "I'd rather lose trying to win than trying to tie" makes a lot of sense.
https://twitter.com/BrandonVickrey/status/932097411643793414
Late touchdown, two-point conversion give Valpo a win and a winning season
Jim Peters jim.peters@nwi.com
Nov 18, 2017
VALPARAISO — If it had been pitched as an ending to a movie, the script would have been panned as too cheesy.
Except that it really happened.
Playing in his final college game, Valparaiso senior Jarrett Morgan scored on a 1-yard run with 1:20 left, then flipped a jump pass to classmate Ryan Clarke for the two-point conversion that accounted for an improbable 8-7 Pioneer League victory over Dayton on a miserable afternoon of wind, rain and cold at Brown Field.
Oh, the win is the Crusaders' first over the Flyers since 2003, which is also the last time Valpo had a winning season.
.............. http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/football/college/late-touchdown-two-point-conversion-give-valpo-a-win-and/article_122fd540-d869-579b-a6e1-1f3d7cd2eb98.html
These guys should be very proud to have restored the program to respectability. The 2 PFL championships while I was in school were very fun to witness, but this year's team definitely proved that they should be thought of in a very similar way. They proved again that you can win at Valpo, and we have the right staff in place to advance us next year!
A great great win for the football team and a wonderful season that certainly exceeded expectations. Congrats to the seniors for their grit and success. Think about what this football program has had to overcome and where they are in four years. Fantastic job guys.
Some additional random observations from Brown Field during and after the Dayton game:
:) The crowd was pegged at 1,238. Not bad at all considering the terrible weather and the fact that students were gone. The campus was dead. I wanted to stop at the book store for a knit cap at 12:15 prior to the game -- closed!
:) Dayton fans travel well. Quite a few Dayton followers on the visitors' side
:) No cheerleaders. No pep band. No blow-up arch (largely because of the wind I suspect). The guy with the cannon set up in the garage door of the utility shed.
:) Loudspeaker played pump-up music on defensive 3rd downs that stopped just befor the snap. It added to the excitement. In past seasons fans dreaded opponent 3rd downs (what are we gonna do to screw this up???). Now there is an air on confidence on the field, on the sidelines and also in the stands as well. PA announcer helps with his 3rd down call as well.
:) It was a rather ironic give-away promotion -- the first 1000 got a free SUN VISOR!
:) Despite the small crowd, I believe it was the most sustained (game long) amount of cheering by our fans that I have heard in any game I've attended. They were into it.
:) Said it earlier (and Dave said the same thing in his interviews) the defense played a 60 minute game and took it to Dayton all afternoon.
:) Unlike other games we were not as consistent in moving the ball on long drives. The wind had a lot to do with that. Into the wind some of Jimmy's balls just hung up and fluttered; with the wind, balls sailed out of reach. On Baily's punt muff you could see the ball move (almost like a knuckleball) just before he tried to catch it. On the one that he let hit and roll, the wind kept blowing the rolling ball until the Dayton player downed it inside the one. We, BTW, did a great job of getting the ball out there on the ensuing 3 downs -- in the long ago and well as the not too distant past, we probably would have coughed it up and gave up a score. Not this game.
:) It seemed all of the 3rd quarter that when we were punting, their safety lined up on or inside the 50. Talk about handing them field position. But they only got one score! That occurred in the Q4! And punt coverage was great throughout -- he had to either fair catch it or let it hit. Kudos to Alex Ng -- he drove his punts low and into the wind which enabled them to go the 30 or so yards needed. When the Drake punter punted into the wind it hung up forever. His average was higher than Alex's because he got that one roller for 68 yards and many of his punts were with the wind I believe.
:) I think most fans in the stands were surprised Dave went for 2. I think most thought we'd go for an almost certain tie (although the wind was a factor) and try to win it in OT. Brilliant play call however. Dayton bit 100% on it and Ryan was WIDE open.
:) A lot of smiling faces around the Victory Bell. That's where I talked to MLB and Dave. Dave had this deer-in-the-headlights grin on his face the whole time - it never came off as long as I was there. As mentioned earlier, MLB has already tied up Dave's new contract. Of course, we'll never know the specifics, but as long as it's for 2 more years (Seewald's senior season) we'll be OK.
:) I don't know if this is accurate, but it felt like our kids were quicker than I've ever seen them before. Maybe some of that was due to a lack of hesitancy. Hesitancy is a product of insufficient confidence. I guess we've moved past that finally.
:) One more thing about the gawd-awful wind. The American flag was straight flat out all game and generally in a NW to SE or a W to E direction. The smaller flags on the visitor side were also straight out but often blowing N to S. It was crazy out there.
CONGRATULATIONS VALPO FOOTBALL 2017!!
On the wind....the Dayton side had tents set up in the flat area of the stands early in the game. They were gone in the 2nd half as the wind picked up.
I counted close to 20 broken umbrellas in trash cans on the Valpo side. ;D I had one with me but decided against even bringing it to the stadium.