Catawba is a LAUGHING STOCK!

[Catawbafan]

[CatUFootballDad]

Painful to watch indeed. Not sure why the Soph transfer QB Brandon Stewart go in when Davis went down in the 3rd. I asked and was told and I quote "not real sure". I am new to the Catawba scene this year and just talking to folks at tailgates pregame and just listening to the discussions it is quite apparent boosters are not happy with the product and when that happens so goes the $$$$ I don't care what size institution you are. Without that support recruiting goes down and facilities stay the same. Leadership should take notice and action!

It all starts at the top and the HC is the CEO.

[Chuck Bitner]

I totally understand the frustration. Catawba has a lot of problems. As discussed in this thread and the other, they are losing games at the line scrimmage. The same has been true for Newberry this year but they totally dominated Catawba. That is a really bad sign. I've been saying for weeks that the Newberry's lack of a running game is a big problem for them. I was shocked to see that they ran for 432 yards. I don't care what kind of problems Catawba is having. A defensive performance like that against a team that has not run the ball well this year is pretty hard to explain.

As far as Kendall Davis coming back into the game...did that really happen? He left the game in the third quarter following a late hit out of bounds and based on what i can see in the box score, it looks like Kaylon Wade took the rest of the snaps. I can't imagine any player going back into the game if he truly was knocked unconscious. If that actually happened, multiple people would lose their jobs.

As far as changes possibly coming, I'm not in the business of hiring or firing coaches. The program is not in good shape right now and obviously Curtis Walker has to answer for that. This will be three losing seasons in the last four years, and its not out of line for alumni and supporters to be losing patience. But Walker's staff has also put together seasons of 9-3 and 9-2 and that's probably enough recent success to get another year to turn it around. Coaches never use injuries as an excuse but they have had way more than their share over the last two years and it is a young team.

[Ursidae]

I sure do miss the Catawba twins, Timmy and Tommy in times like these. Those two were the epidemy of good reasonable (for the most part) diehard Catawba fans. They kept the board exciting and fun for several years. They could trash talk with the best Carson Newman trash talkers. The last I heard Timbo was almost through with law school and Tombo was a Tax collector in Rowan County, NC. Timmy was the SAC writer for at least one year, maybe more.

I think the twins would say: 1. This is a rebuilding year 2. Every team has hard luck at some point 3. Catawba has had a lot of injuries 4. A lot of new players, mostly freshmen are having to play and they lack experience at this level. 5. Curtis Walker is a winner, not a whinner like some of the fair weather Catawba fans on here.

if any of you see T&T tell them I said duh-huh

[Kit-Carson]

I saw the hit to Kendell Davis in the first quarter. Watching it on TV (internet variety) it sure looked like he was briefly unconscious. He got rag dolled from behind by a huge Newberry D lineman and was tossed into a teammate's (or a Newberry player's?) knee that was running towards him. He head snapped hard and he went totally limp on the field for a brief second or two. I think that is the hit Catawbafan is referring to. I expected a stretcher on the field but he popped up. He was getting looked at by medical staff on the sidelines and again, I figured they were over there asking him what state he was in and seeing if his eyeballs can track an object, etc. The next think i knew he was back in the game on the next Catawba possession. I too was rather shocked to see him back in the game so soon. Based on the tone of voice, I think two media guys calling the game were also surprised.

That said, I think we have to give the Catawba medical and coaching staff the benefit of the doubt though since we weren't there and could only see it from afar and speculate about what happened.

[Chuck Bitner]

I saw the hit to Kendell Davis in the first quarter. Watching it on TV (internet variety) it sure looked like he was briefly unconscious. He got rag dolled from behind by a huge Newberry D lineman and was tossed into a teammate's (or a Newberry player's?) knee that was running towards him. He head snapped hard and he went totally limp on the field for a brief second or two. I think that is the hit Catawbafan is referring to. I expected a stretcher on the field but he popped up. He was getting looked at by medical staff on the sidelines and again, I figured they were over there asking him what state he was in and seeing if his eyeballs can track an object, etc. The next think i knew he was back in the game on the next Catawba possession. I too was rather shocked to see him back in the game so soon. Based on the tone of voice, I think two media guys calling the game were also surprised.

That said, I think we have to give the Catawba medical and coaching staff the benefit of the doubt though since we weren't there and could only see it from afar and speculate about what happened.

I agree. There is a protocol and I have confidence the staff at Catawba followed it as directed. I can't imagine anyone at that college endangering a student athlete unnecessarily.

[CatUFootballDad]

I saw the hit to Kendell Davis in the first quarter. Watching it on TV (internet variety) it sure looked like he was briefly unconscious. He got rag dolled from behind by a huge Newberry D lineman and was tossed into a teammate's (or a Newberry player's?) knee that was running towards him. He head snapped hard and he went totally limp on the field for a brief second or two. I think that is the hit Catawbafan is referring to. I expected a stretcher on the field but he popped up. He was getting looked at by medical staff on the sidelines and again, I figured they were over there asking him what state he was in and seeing if his eyeballs can track an object, etc. The next think i knew he was back in the game on the next Catawba possession. I too was rather shocked to see him back in the game so soon. Based on the tone of voice, I think two media guys calling the game were also surprised.

That said, I think we have to give the Catawba medical and coaching staff the benefit of the doubt though since we weren't there and could only see it from afar and speculate about what happened.

I was at the game and saw the hit. From my perspective I agree with the above statement, it sure looked like he got knocked and teammates on the field reacted as such. But can't say for sure. I don't believe he should have returned to the game. Nowadays that is a NO NO.

[CatUFootballDad]

I totally understand the frustration. Catawba has a lot of problems. As discussed in this thread and the other, they are losing games at the line scrimmage. The same has been true for Newberry this year but they totally dominated Catawba. That is a really bad sign. I've been saying for weeks that the Newberry's lack of a running game is a big problem for them. I was shocked to see that they ran for 432 yards. I don't care what kind of problems Catawba is having. A defensive performance like that against a team that has not run the ball well this year is pretty hard to explain.

CB - That is 100% correct. Every team they have played out side of WSSU they have been outmanned on the LOS - Bigger, Stronger, Faster. IMO, not that it matters - they need to recruit OL and I mean BIG OL. I think our roster only shows 1 athlete over 300lbs.

[Bearhof]

[CATUSUPPORTER]

I would like to see Coach Walker try some different players and see what they can do. He has bigger players on the bench who make alot off plays in practice but then never see the field, for whatever reason. At this point why not give them a shot, you might find a diamond in the rough. Those kids are there for a reason, try them and see what happens.

[Chuck Bitner]

I would like to see Coach Walker try some different players and see what they can do. He has bigger players on the bench who make alot off plays in practice but then never see the field, for whatever reason. At this point why not give them a shot, you might find a diamond in the rough. Those kids are there for a reason, try them and see what happens.

I got the sense they were heading in that direction. Mike London wrote an article in the Salisbury Post last week and talked about Coach Walker bring all freshmen to his weekly media availability. I'm planning to see the game against Mars Hill this weekend. Will be interesting to see if they so start inserting more youth to get the experience.

[CATUSUPPORTER]

I was actually talking about upperclassmen also. He has a couple of linebackers that can really play with high football I Q's but never get in the game. One of those freshmen you referred to played one series at linebacker and made 1 tackle and never saw the field again. I also think that through this run of blowouts, maybe some of these bench players should get a chance because the ones on defense haven't gotten in even in the 4th quarter at garbage time.

[Chuck Bitner]

Wade's time comes earlier than expected, by Mike London, Salisbury Post

[Son of Zardoz]

Injuries are certainly a factor but everybody has to deal with them so they can't be an excuse. I haven't been back to a home game for a couple of seasons for completely personal reasons so I haven't seen them play in a while but it sounds pretty bad right now. I hope they can get it turned around going forward but totally agree that now is the time to give more players a chance to show what they can do. I don't know what the situation is in athletics but some of the general staff cuts they made this year for budgetary reasons seemed concerning (was covered in the local paper). I'm a football and basketball guy and after a long downswing Catawba b-ball is really on an upward trajectory now. I hope this is a much shorter lull for football and they right the ship quickly, I believe Coach Walker certainly has the ability to do so.

[Eagle74]

I would like to see Coach Walker try some different players and see what they can do. He has bigger players on the bench who make alot off plays in practice but then never see the field, for whatever reason. At this point why not give them a shot, you might find a diamond in the rough. Those kids are there for a reason, try them and see what happens.

At this point, it wouldn't hurt.

On a side note, I understand that the home attendance is taking a nose dive, and dependence on visitors help in filling the stands is coming into play.