Pound That Rock

To the untrained eye Thursday nights 23-6 win by CSU-P over Mines might not have been a thing of beauty. To a football coach there is no such thing as winning ugly. All that matters is one more to the good side of the ledger. The Thunderwolves dont run the spread offense that is so much in vogue these days in college football. However they do something that very few college programs do these days and that is line up and pound the rock. Mines came into the game rated 6th versus the run nationally allowing less than 60 yards per game. 243 yards later and the Pack had laid waste to that lofty ranking. Perhaps what is more impressive right now is the balance the Thunderwolves show on offense. QB Ross Dausin bounced back after his "benching" a week ago vs Fort Lewis. His gorgeous little touch pass to J.B. Mathews was nothing short of sensational hitting the freshman in stride up the near sideline for a critical first half touchdown. As for Mathews it was just another day at the office for the budding superstar finishing with 116 yards on just 1o carries as well as hauling in three passes for 110 yards. And oh by the way Jesse Lewis rushed for 123 yards on 25 carries. Lost but by no means forgotten was another incredible night on defense for the 11th ranked Thunderwolves. All this sets up the big showdown Saturday on the road in Kearney Nebraska for most likely the RMAC crown and probable 1st round home game in the NCAA playoffs in November. The Lopers struggled mightily vs Chadron State before coming from behind to register a 20-13 win.
. --------RANKINGS-------CSU-P will most likely remain 11th in the AFCA poll coming out Monday. Every team in the top 10 won this week. In the D2.com poll the Thunderwolves will most likely move to number 14 up two spots from last week. Number 11 Albany State and number 14 Central Missouri both lost.
. --------BULLDOGS-------Centennial Bulldogs continue to impress me more and more each time I see them play. And now with the addition of Luis Ramirez this team is a definite threat to not only make the postseason but in my mind they have the makeup to go deep in 3A. As the weather gets colder teams that pound the rock get hotter. Quarterback Ben Tillman runs the triple option very well with tailback Brian Niccoli on the edge. Tillman is a bruiser listed at 5-10 215 but is probably closer to 230. But dont let that size fool you. He has quick feet and deceptive straight ahead speed and recently has shown a decent passing touch. For the Bulldogs to contend for what would be their fourth state title (1946,1987,1992) they will have to continue to get better defensively. Two games loom large on the schedule. In week eight the 'dogs travel to face one-loss Palmer Ridge. Should they win that game then the week ten matchup at Canon City could be for the league title.
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-------CANNON GAME-------Friday night the big gun will be up for grabs as South will look to make it 15 straight over East in front of an expected sellout crowd at Dutch Clark Stadium. Now all things point toward this finally being the year. Head coach Paul Andrada has instilled a borderline cockiness in this group who currently sit at 5-1 overall and 3-1 in second place in the South-Central League standings. A 27-7 loss on the road to Lewis Palmer is the only blemish to this point. Since that loss they have bounced back to win two straight. East still has very legitimate shot at a league title with a game looming in two weeks vs Canon City. South on the other hand is reeling following another tough loss at Cheyenne Mountain. Injuries have decimated them but slowly but surely they are starting to get a few missing links back. South's schedule has been a back breaker to this point with their only win coming against 5A Doherty in the final 30 seconds. There will be no post season for South so this will pretty much define their season. Everyone loves an underdog but I think in this case three fourths of this city will be pulling for the boys in "gold."
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---------TEBOW TIME--------Before this season began I was on record thinking Tim Tebow's time would begin in early December once the Broncos fell out of playoff contention. But thanks to a couple tough early losses and a leaky defense coupled with an absolute horrible first half by Kyle Orton vs the Chargers the Tebow experiment starts now. Trailing 26-10 to public enemy number one Phillip Rivers the former Florida Gator went to work with his legs. It is painfully obvious Tebow cannot hit the broadside of a barn with his throwing arm. But it is even more painfully obvious that Kyle Orton is terminally mediocre at best. I have often joked about the former Iowa Hawkeye's choice of vehicles he drives. You know its nice and warm and fuzzy that drives a fuel efficient hybrid. But to be great in football you want a quarterback that drives a Ferrari. Now sometimes you have spectacular crashes but it beats watching a Toyota Prius putzing around the gridiron. I have a feeling even if you gave Orton the keys to such a machine he would be that guy driving 65 in the fast lane down I-25 with all of fans passing him on the right telling him he is number one.
--------WALLBANGERS--------It was 1982 when the Milwaukee Brewers were last in the postseason losing to the Cardinals in the World Series. That team mashed the baseball and featured a slugger who was little paunchy to put it nicely. Gorman Thomas was to that team what Prince Fielder is to this group of Brewers. Fielder will be gone after this season due to the Brewers "small market" status in todays top heavy world of major league baseball. But this guy is special. He still says his dream is to win the World Series and sign a 10 year deal with the Brew Crew. But when he leaves after this season to play for the Angels, Cubs, Cardinals or Dodgers dont hold it against him. I for one hope these guys win it if for no other reason than to see Bernie Brewer slide into that cold one out behind the wall as well as seeing those highly entertaining sausages race in late October.
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-------PROGRAM REMINDERS--------Cannon Game will be broadcast live Friday night on Comcast 19. Pregame show gets underway at 630pm followed by kickoff at 700pm. CSU-Pueblo's game with Nebraska-Kearney will kickoff at 12 noon MST. Pregame show at 11:30am on 590KCSJ-AM and www.590kcsj.com . If you aren't near a radio or computer but own a smart phone you are still in luck. Download the free app at www.iheartradio.com .