Rants & Raves: Duquesne

After every game I will have a "Rants and Raves" that captures the good and bad from the game.

Rants & Raves

Rave: How about that student section?  4,251 showed up to lend their voice to the Jacks.  It was an impressive showing for an unknown opponent.  There were certainly more students in attendance than the typical Labor Day Saturday opener.

Rave: The Jackrabbit run defense for holding AJ Hines to only to 34 yards on 13 carries for a 2.6 ypc average.  The Dukes got down quickly and weren't able to stay as balanced as they wanted, but in Hines' early runs, the Jackrabbit defense was up to the task.  There were a lot of nerves about the front 7 which features so many new players.  They seemed up to the challenge.

Rant: I feel I jinxed the offensive line as I was commenting to a friend that I thought it was weird that Evan Greeneway was the only offensive line sub for that drive.  The next play, Weir goes down with an apparent leg injury.  Hindsight is 20/20, but the starting offensive line should not have been out there for that series.  The backups from left to right are a converted tight end, a converted defensive tackle, freshman, freshman, and freshman.  They need all the seasoning they can get before conference play anyways. Luckily the second string offensive line performed pretty well.

Rave: How about the freshmen? Daniel Callender made an impact early racing off the edge on a third down to force an incomplete.  Skyler Cavanaugh made a nice 16 yard catch.  Seven Wilson and Noah Urbanek saw time on special teams and defense and both made plays.  Later in the game Xavier Ward did a nice job of plugging up the middle.  On the offensive side of the ball, the young linemen did a really nice job.  Jack Domandle seemed to do a good job of getting the snaps back to the quarterback.  Eagan Lickiss and Eddie Miller did a great job keeping a clean pocket for Douglass and picked up a stunt between the defensive end and tackle like old pros.  I'm sure the coaches will find things during film that they can all improve on, but overall it was a very good start to their collegiate careers.

Rant: In the first half, Taryn Christion was bailed out a few times by his wide receivers on under-thrown passes.  Not sure what was going on, but that will have to be fixed before the meat of the schedule.  Against better competition those passes may be incomplete or intercepted.  However, it's hard to fault a guy who passes for 254 yards and 5 touchdowns.  It's scary to think what "better" might lead to.

Rave: How about Kane Louscher's first career touchdown?  Many fans have been begging for him to get a goal line carry for a few years so he could  just get that first touchdown.  Who knew that it would come on a swing pass out of the backfield?  Good stuff from the senior fullback.

Rant: One thing that was frustrating throughout the game was the cornerbacks not getting their head's around to play the ball.  They were in great coverage most of the night; exactly where they needed to be.  But if they could just get their heads around and make a play, then they either have an interception or a pass broken up.  I'm sure it's easier said then done.

Rave: How about Jake Wieneke?  Savor this season with him and Goedert; you never know when this type of talent will come back around.

Rave: The running backs put on a show when called upon.  Mengarelli finished with a 6.8 ypc average, Wallace with a 6.6 ypc average, and Mikey Daniel finished with 83 yards rushing.  Blair Mulholland even busted off a nice 14 yard run showing off the Jackrabbit depth at the position.

Rave: Speaking of depth, the Jacks had 10 different receivers catch a pass in the game with Adam Anderson leading the way in yardage with 81 yards.

Rant: Great job to the students for showing up but please stick around for the school song and the players at the end of it all!  I know its a school night, but I'm guess not everyone was going back to hit the books.

Rant: One of my "3 match-up's to watch" was Spencer Hildahl vs. the Duquesne All-American Ben Huss.  Hildahl was inactive for the game so I learned my lesson that I need to confirm who is playing before creating that list.  In his place, Austin Barrett did a great job in his first collegiate action.  Thomas Stacker was also effective during his time on the field.

Rave: Cade Johnson really showed why the coaches love him, showcasing his talents on those explosive kick-off returns.  He reaches top-end speed pretty quickly and is elusive.  Certainly a nice weapon to have in the return game.

Rave: The defense struggled on third down in 2016 but are off to a great start in 2017 allowing the Dukes to only convert 2/11 opportunities last night for a conversion rate of just 18%.

Game Balls

Offense: Jake Wienekee:  6 receptions, 75 yards, and 4 touchdowns.  Again, we are lucky that he is a Jackrabbit and that we have been able to enjoy his talents for four years.  He passed Josh Davis for all time receptions in Jackrabbit history and now holds every major receiving record for the Jacks.

Defensive: Logan Backhaus: 3 tackles, 1 interception.  What a start for the redshirt freshman!  There was a reason he was at the top of my list for breakout performers.  The coaches have raved about his play since spring ball.  They felt incredibly comfortable that he would be in the right spot and make the right plays.  So far they are right.  Early in the game he made a beautiful open field tackle on third down for a short gain.  Later he made the diving interception right along the sidelines.

What were your thoughts on the game?  What rants and raves did I miss?

Go Jacks!
Matt