Week 1 Game Thread

[IUPNation]

Nobody on here would have thought out of the three Penn West teams that Mon Valley U would be the winless team.

[CC_BU]

On paper - right now - I'm not sure there's a win sitting on Ship's schedule this year. At the very least, I suspect they are a dog in each remaining game.

That's a serious rebuild taking place.

Considering what Coach Mac is dealing with, wins and losses may be the furthest thing from his mind.

[CU17BAW]

For whatever reasons, and I claim no insider knowledge or understanding here, Ship has reached something of a crossroads in its program. We've gone in a few years from a program with an exciting offense that consistently was one of the better teams in the PSAC East to a program that is coming off huge graduation and portal losses last season and includes only 38 players who were on the fall 2023 roster. The coaches went out over the winter and spring, recruited mightily and brought in a class of 48 players for this season along with 7 transfers. The result, as I pointed out in an earlier post, is a roster which has 32 players with sophomore or higher eligibility, including only four seniors, and 63 players with freshmen eligibility — 43 of them true freshmen.
.

This got me thinking back to the 2009 Clarion team that went 8-3. Lost the first three games and won out the last 8. Almost picked off Cal in game 3 who were in the final 4 that season in the playoffs. . Very similar roster:

Sr.	4
Jr.	13
So.	22
R-Fr.	13
Fr.	33

39 players with soph. or higher eligibility, 46 freshman eligibility with 33 being true freshman. Small team of only 85 guys.


Right now I think the coaching staffs ability to navigate the transfer portal and while retaining talent is a completely different recruiting dynamic than it used to be. I guess it can be good or bad. LHU and Clarion are rebuilding at the same time with new head coaching being in their 3rd year. Seeing how these two teams develop will give a good comparison as they rebuild.

In addition to coaching, the school themselves commitment to sports makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, Clarion has gone through at least one very SCHIT President over the past decade and half. I think that commitment over the past 4 decades has shown for the consistent top teams in the West PSAC. Can't speak for Ship as to their commitment to sports over the years, but welcome to the rebuilding phase! Hope it's quick, because Clarion has been in it a too long. Hopefully, Monica can build it up like Kutztown who is still on a roll.

[Ship69]

Considering what Coach Mac is dealing with, wins and losses may be the furthest thing from his mind.

I'm sure that is the case, and I can't imagine what he is going through. That said, the coaching staff at Ship still has a responsibility to do the best they can for the players they've recruited, and I' imagine they're well aware of that. Coach Mac's other son has continued to quarterback the Shippensburg High football team and so far has led them to a 3-0 record. What a heavy burden for a teenage kid to carry.

[Ship69]

This got me thinking back to the 2009 Clarion team that went 8-3. Lost the first three games and won out the last 8. Almost picked off Cal in game 3 who were in the final 4 that season in the playoffs. . Very similar roster:

Sr.	4
Jr.	13
So.	22
R-Fr.	13
Fr.	33

39 players with soph. or higher eligibility, 46 freshman eligibility with 33 being true freshman. Small team of only 85 guys.


Right now I think the coaching staffs ability to navigate the transfer portal and while retaining talent is a completely different recruiting dynamic than it used to be. I guess it can be good or bad. LHU and Clarion are rebuilding at the same time with new head coaching being in their 3rd year. Seeing how these two teams develop will give a good comparison as they rebuild.

In addition to coaching, the school themselves commitment to sports makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, Clarion has gone through at least one very SCHIT President over the past decade and half. I think that commitment over the past 4 decades has shown for the consistent top teams in the West PSAC. Can't speak for Ship as to their commitment to sports over the years, but welcome to the rebuilding phase! Hope it's quick, because Clarion has been in it a too long. Hopefully, Monica can build it up like Kutztown who is still on a roll.

I'll have to give that year's Clarion coaches credit for going 8-3 with a team with that few a number of seniors. As you say, I think the transfer portal has made a big difference in the recruiting dynamic. Ship still has a couple of talented guys on defense, and I think they've recruited well there and will improve as the season goes on. I think what will really hurt them this season is the almost toral lack of experience at some of the o-line positions. It's no secret to anyone who follows football at all that it takes a good deal of time to build a strong and cohesive offensive line. The only answer for Ship is to let the young guys play, and it will be a learning process. This year's early schedule, including your improved Clarion team, isn't doing them any favors.

Things do come and go. Clarion was a very strong team back in the dark ages of the '60s when I was in college. California was much as they are today — a team with talent that could pound somebody one week and look terrible the next. I do hope Ship's rebuilding will be quick, but it's tough nowadays as it can be a real problem to keep your stars from being poached if you've had a bad year. I hope they can keep this bunch together.

[CC_BU]

I'm sure that is the case, and I can't imagine what he is going through. That said, the coaching staff at Ship still has a responsibility to do the best they can for the players they've recruited, and I' imagine they're well aware of that. Coach Mac's other son has continued to quarterback the Shippensburg High football team and so far has led them to a 3-0 record. What a heavy burden for a teenage kid to carry.

When a player or coach is dealing with something, whether it's a major tragedy or minor distraction, the field of play can provide some temporary mental and motional relief.

[Fightingscot82]

An impressive stat I saw,

This was the 15th straight home opener win for SRU and the 18th straight season opener victory. That's some good scheduling.