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[Colonels12]

You should have no issue with Morehead.  Their entire program is a joke.

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[bbtds]

QUOTE valpochgo: I don't think EKU punted at all in the second and third quarters you can quote me on that.

The Republican response.

[VULB#62]

You should have no issue with Morehead.  Their entire program is a joke.

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Last year we lost to them in a track meet 48-47 on a last minute TD after leading for 59 minutes.  It was  Cecchini's first year. That was a breakthrough game for us and we won two of the last four losing to USD (the eventual league champion) on the last play of that game on a Hail Mary kind of play. That's why I was so interested in a comparison: did we seem better prepared, did our kids execute with speed, did we seem better coached, how did we compare athletically --- stuff like that.  Thanks.

[VU2624]

You should have no issue with Morehead.  Their entire program is a joke.

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Last year welost to them in a track meet 48-47 on a last minute TD after leading for 59 minutes.  It was  Cecchini's first year. That was a breakthrough game for us and we won two of the last four losing to USD (the eventual league champion) on the last play of that game on a Hail Mary kind of play. That's why I was so interested in a comparison: did we seem better prepared, did our kids execute with speed, did we seem better coached, how did we compare athletically --- stuff like that.  Thanks.

I thought both of those games demonstrated that the coaching staff, as much as the players, had to learn how to close out games which should have resulted in wins.

[VULB#62]

From our perspective that is spot on 2624.  That's something to watch for in year 2.  I do think with the veteran defense we have, it'll be tougher for opponents to duplicate that sort of thing.

We get MSU at home this year and I have that as a win.  I'm looking for a little confirmation from our EKU friends. 

By the way I'd like to thank the EKU posters for their participation.  Great spirit in the interchange and no trolling. 

[FGColonel]

Thanks 12.  Still interested in EKU  observers' assessments of how Valpo compared to Morehead over the past three years. Please see my post about two or three back.

It is a little hard to compare. Morehead was once a heated and hated rivalry. Although it has been a while and now and all of the players and most of the staff have no recollection, they usually come into Kidd with a big chip on their shoulders. They play really emotional until we kick the crap out of them then they quit. Valpo never quit. I saw a better disciplined and fundamentally stronger team than I remember in Morehead. Talent level was comparable. The big difference, in my humble opinion is that Valpo seems to be a team on the rise while Morehead, at best, is treading water. Again, just my opinion. Good luck the rest of the season

[VULB#62]

Thanks 12.  Still interested in EKU  observers' assessments of how Valpo compared to Morehead over the past three years. Please see my post about two or three back.

It is a little hard to compare. Morehead was once a heated and hated rivalry. Although it has been a while and now and all of the players and most of the staff have no recollection, they usually come into Kidd with a big chip on their shoulders. They play really emotional until we kick the crap out of them then they quit. Valpo never quit. I saw a better disciplined and fundamentally stronger team than I remember in Morehead. Talent level was comparable. The big difference, in my humble opinion is that Valpo seems to be a team on the rise while Morehead, at best, is treading water. Again, just my opinion. Good luck the rest of the season

Colonel, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear.  I, personally, have a lot of faith in the current HFBC and his staff.  They know how to motivate the kind of kid we recruit to a private, non-scholarship program.  Heck, some of our best players are pushing 4.0s in engineering and are studying on the bus to wherever and then transform into the kids you saw on Thursday night.  The previous coach never got it - plus he had no use for defense nor could he spell the word. 

It's been great hanging out with you guys.  Thank you for initiating the dialog. I will be cheering for EKU all season and wish you guys the best. And the best starts with NC State.

[Colonels12]

Don't forget you can visit us at Maroon-Nation anytime

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[VULB#62]

To wrap up the week, here is Paul's coverage of the game.  I have a real problem with the headline. Can you get any more negative than that?  Yeah, it is a fact, but jeez. There could have been a lot of other things the headline writer (I assume Paul has no control over the headline that's chosen) could have zeroed in on like simply "Crusasers drop opener to #17 Eastern Kentucky."  But this headline makes Valpo sound like as bad as we were under the previous regime.  And that ain't true.  We need at least neutral headlines that will not damage our attempts to recruit locally.  Not saying that the NWI Times should be our cheerleader, but at least don't skewer us.

Crusaders lose eighth straight season opener
September 03, 2015 9:30 pm  •  Paul Oren Times Correspondent

Valparaiso kicked off its 95th season of football competition on Thursday night and the result wasn't much different from what the program has experienced in the last decade.

The Crusaders fell behind by two touchdowns early and could never recover against Eastern Kentucky, falling 52-10 at Roy Kidd Stadium.Thursday's loss marked the eighth straight year the Crusaders have lost their season opener. Valparaiso has given up an average of 43.5 points in those contests.

"There were a number of positives but I'm disappointed we didn't make a better showing," Valparaiso coach Dave Cecchini said. "I thought we could've. We left a lot of plays out on the field against a very good football team. It's experience, for good or for bad, and it's something we can't coach on the practice field."

The Colonels (1-0) entered the game ranked in the Top 20 in several national polls and are the third straight FCS-scholarship program Valparaiso has opened the season against. Eastern Kentucky had little trouble marching down the field in its first drive, scoring on an Ethan Thomas 4-yard touchdown run in a drive that lasted nine plays and went 72 yards.

Valparaiso starting quarterback Dalton Stokes had some success moving the offense down the field on his first possession, but the drive ended when Stanley Absanon returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead for the Colonels.

"I was really happy with our first-team defense against the run, but my only complaint was our veteran secondary, which had done a good job with our younger players, failed to play the ball in the air," Cecchini said.

Jarrett Morgan gave the Crusaders their best starting field position two possessions later when the sophomore returned a punt 27 yards to inside the Eastern Kentucky 40-yard line. Jacob Newman got Valparaiso on the board with a 25-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

The Colonels answered with 17 more points before half to take a 31-3 lead into the locker room and then Eastern Kentucky started the second half with 21 unanswered points. Valparaiso quarterback Scott Staal took over signal-calling duties in the second half and threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jake Hutson late in the fourth quarter to cap off the scoring.

Stokes finished 11-of-19 for 84 yards while Staal was 15-of-25 for 98 yards and a touchdown. Both quarterbacks threw an interception, and Staal also lost a fumble.

"We really hadn't decided on a starting quarterback until two days ago," Cecchini said. "We didn't guarantee Scott would play, but we thought he'd get in there. We didn't have a plan to split them for each a half. I'm a fan of playing multiple quarterbacks early on, particularly in non-league games. We'll continue to do this over the next two games and hope that by San Diego we find that guy."

Several freshmen took the field for the Crusaders in their first collegiate game Thursday and highly-touted defensive back Joey Diaz-Martinez had a night to remember with two interceptions. Freshman receiver Ryan Moore had five catches for 31 yards while defensive back Jalin LeAndre had five total tackles.

"We had an awful lot of freshmen who played and I think when we turn on the film and grade it tomorrow that we'll see some good things from some guys that will be making plays here for a long time to come," Cecchini said.

[historyman]

not so fast my friend!!  at least when Sark was in his inebriated state, he did not consistently ramble on with Osteen quotes...

You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events.


I believe most people were positive Sark was inebriated.

[usc4valpo]

Here is a quote we can learn from as we enter the political season:

"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used."

A quote from a great philosopher that the Biblical cash monger should follow.

[VULB#62]

Kind of closing the books on EKU -- they went to NC State Saturday and lost 35-0.  They did make a game of it for two quarters keeping the Wolfpack out of the end zone until 12:54 of the 2nd quarter.  They went into the locker room at the half down only 14-0.  At the end of the day, however, the stats told the story:  Time of Possession - EKU 20 minutes, NCSU 40; Total Yards - EKU 112, NCSU 443.  Noticed on their Twitter page the scouts from the NE Patriots visited.  If Noah Spence gets drafted or signed as a FA, our kids can say they went head-to-head against a future NFL player.

[Colonels12]

Every NFL team will come and look at Spence and maybe even Derricott and Mobley.

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[VU2624]

Kind of closing the books on EKU -- they went to NC State Saturday and lost 35-0.  They did make a game of it for two quarters keeping the Wolfpack out of the end zone until 12:54 of the 2nd quarter.  They went into the locker room at the half down only 14-0.  At the end of the day, however, the stats told the story:  Time of Possession - EKU 20 minutes, NCSU 40; Total Yards - EKU 112, NCSU 443.  Noticed on their Twitter page the scouts from the NE Patriots visited.  If Noah Spence gets drafted or signed as a FA, our kids can say they went head-to-head against a future NFL player.

Interesting point. Not sure anyone from the PFL went to the NFL last year or from any of the OOC schools but Terrance Fede was drafted out of Marist the year prior.

[vu72]

Every NFL team will come and look at Spence and maybe even Derricott and Mobley.

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As a kid who was ranked #4 in his class by ESPN, and, was a 1st team all Big Ten selection, I think the chances of him not being drafted are zero unless he hasn't cleaned up his behavior issues.

[bbtds]

You should have no issue with Morehead.  Their entire program is a joke.

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Beating Morehead State might prove to be as difficult as getting their county clerk to issue a marriage license. They barely lost to VMI. 43-40.

PS--VMI lost their first game to Ball State 48-36 in Muncie.

[VULB#62]

MSU lost their opener @ James Madison of the CAA 56-7.  That would be similar to our going up against EKU with a similar result.  Last Saturday they were tied at 40 all when VMI (FCS scholarship Southern Conference) kicked a 34 yard FG as time expired.  Gahafer, the MSU QB, threw 35 of 62 for 447 yards.  We saw him  last year and almost beat them.  They are and always have been a Jekyll and Hyde kind of team -- you never know what will show up. We have them late in the season so a lot will have happened between now and then.  As of right now, though, there are are no assured wins on our schedule (COF excluded).

[VULB#62]

Sad commentary on our times. EKU shut down campus and moved their FB game away from campus to Georgetown University in central Kentucky due to a "kill them all" graffiti message on campus. 

[FGColonel]

Sad commentary on our times. EKU shut down campus and moved their FB game away from campus to Georgetown University in central Kentucky due to a "kill them all" graffiti message on campus. 

There was also some messages posted on Social Media and a couple other incidents. Apparently after combined local, state and federal investigation, there was enough going on to warrant the cancellation of classes and the game being moved. Or at least NOT enough evidence to positively classify it a some sort of hoax. Its a shame.

[VULB#62]

Feel bad for all you guys - students, families, faculty, fans.  Too many sick people out there.

[VULB#62]

There is a nice article about EKU DE Noah Spence in the latest SI (hardcopy).  BTW, I did a quick search of online SI, but couldn't find the exact article (however, there are a couple of articles that do describe some of what is covered).  The magazine article discusses his drug issues at OSU along with his rehab at EKU, DPOY in the OVC, and Senior Bowl break through.  Nice to know that when we played EKU, although he got 2 tackles for a loss, a sack and 2 QB hits, as I recall he didn't seem to utterly dominate the field like I would assume a future NFL draft choice would.  It was a quietly good performance that I recall the EKU commentators discussing how we were able to "kind of" keep him at bay.  It seems like he's cleaned up his act awhile at EKU.  He was an academic All-conference at OSU so he's not stupid. Hope he makes it. 

As an aside, you might remember that EKU was #17 when we played them and great things were expected in 2015.  They wound up 6-5 losing to FBS NC State and UK among their losses.  Coach Hood was fired and he was replaced by Mark Elder.  Elder hired Kurt Mattix away from Valpo as his Defensive Coordinator.

[Colonels12]

Yeah 2015 was a bad year. It all started falling apart with the death of a player the week before Kentucky. Came out strong and should of beat them but gave away a 14 point lead with less than 5 minutes to play. The wheels feel off after that.

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[VU2624]

There is a nice article about EKU DE Noah Spence in the latest SI (hardcopy).  BTW, I did a quick search of online SI, but couldn't find the exact article (however, there are a couple of articles that do describe some of what is covered).  The magazine article discusses his drug issues at OSU along with his rehab at EKU, DPOY in the OVC, and Senior Bowl break through.  Nice to know that when we played EKU, although he got 2 tackles for a loss, a sack and 2 QB hits, as I recall he didn't seem to utterly dominate the field like I would assume a future NFL draft choice would.  It was a quietly good performance that I recall the EKU commentators discussing how we were able to "kind of" keep him at bay.

Spence was all over the field constantly running around and through the Valpo line. The gameplan was to run away from him and get the ball out quick which the offense was effective at to keep him at bay or, as I prefer to say, prevent him from killing someone. He nearly split Stokes in two on one play which isn't in the stats.

I get what you're saying (or perhaps what the EKU commentators were saying) however maybe the expectation was not met in a statistical sense but he was a major force in that game. IIRC, he beat our lineman more than a few times but didn't quite wrapup the tackle on some running plays. He was the player who made the stop happen. On passing downs he was on the QB nearly every play except when he was triple teamed.

[VULB#62]

Yeah 2015 was a bad year. It all started falling apart with the death of a player the week before Kentucky. Came out strong and should of beat them but gave away a 14 point lead with less than 5 minutes to play. The wheels feel off after that.

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Colonels12, welcome back. Didn't think you'd be monitoring our little board so far after the FB season. I followed EKU most of the season and kinda wondered what was happening, but didn't jump on your board. We were having our problems at the same time you guys were having yours. Good luck in 17.

[Colonels12]

I was still subscribed to this thread and received a notification.

Good luck guys. Wish we could play you again. It'd be better than Pikeville an NAIA team.

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