Hurdling Hurricanes

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Bill McDonald '68

Ben Solomon photo

In one of their strongest performances of the season, the Eagles defeated Miami, 27-14, in a nationally televised game last Friday. BC was especially dominant in the first quarter, gaining 209 yards to the Hurricanes’s 74 yards, and jumping out to a 14-7 lead. A 17-14 BC halftime lead seemed much too close considering the action on the field, but the Eagles added 10 more points in the second half and shut out Miami.

(Sorry for the delay in getting this report online. I was in Boston to attend the game and then visited my daughter and son-in-law in Buckeye Country [Columbus, Ohio], returning yesterday. A personal video below in this post shows some of the pregame and game ambience.)

AJ Dillon. Ben Solomon photo

Following a Miami five-play possession at the start, BC scored on its opening drive for the sixth game this season, going 88 yards on 10 plays, displaying an offensive play variety not often seen. Running back AJ Dillon, though, started it off in the traditional way — a 25-yard run. BC also ran something of a “Philly special,” with WR Jeff Smith taking a handoff from QB Anthony Brown and then passing to Brown for 27 yards. The same pair returned to their traditional roles for the nine-yard touchdown.

Following a 62-yard kickoff return, Miami tied the score in a six-play drive. BC, against the then-#2-ranked defense, went right back down the field, scoring after 10 plays and 77 yards, to take a 14-7 lead. Smith once again showed the talents of an ex-quarterback by completing a 32-yard pass to RB Travis Levy.

BC used up over seven minutes in a 20-play, 79-yard drive that ended in a Colton Lichtenberg 21-yard field goal, to go up 17-7. BC’s special teams again faltered, however, as the Hurricanes returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to set up a 10-play drive to close to 17-14 at the half.

Two BC pass interceptions, both leading to Eagle touchdowns, and an overall stout defense spelled the difference in the game in the second half. BC, however, also pulled off the pedal offensively in the second half, seemingly continually running into the center of the Miami defense. The tactic of running the clock ultimately was successful, but fan displeasure was evident . . . until the game’s conclusion, when students rushed the field to celebrate.

Personally, and as an old Eagle, I was a little surprised and a little disappointed in the postgame activity. This was an important win, but not really a major one. Martin Jarmond, BC athletic director, had taken several steps to make the game experience more “exciting.” To get students, and others, into the stands on time, he reduced the cost of refreshments in the stadium by half in the first quarter. New LED lights created something of a light show and “fireworks” soared up from the western rim of the stadium somewhat frequently.

When the game ended, BC students, if not encouraged, were not discouraged from rushing onto the field. The scene, accompanied by an LED light show, was clearly very positive for the national television audience. Even more positive for BC, perhaps, were the postgame comments by the game announcers, essentially promoting the values expressed by BC in this “red bandana” game, honoring the sacrifice of 9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99.

Here is a very short video of the pregame ambience (including views of the new Plex under construction) and postgame celebration. The band in the video, Unit One, is made up of BC seniors Rachel Moon on guitar and vocals, Nicolas Sucre on bass, and Josh Mentzer on drums.

Dillon ran for 149 yards, making it the 11th game the sophomore has gained 100+ yards. BC is 9-2 overall when he exceeds the century mark. Brown was 15 of 28 for 152 yards, with 1 TD and 1 interception. Smith was 2 of 2 passing and also caught 2 passes, 1 for a touchdown.

The Eagles edged into the top 25 following the victory, but it seems the College Football Playoff committee was more impressed. It put BC at #22 in the first CFP poll of the season, first appearance ever in this poll by the Eagles. BC plays Virginia Tech Saturday in Blacksburg, Va., not usually a friendly place for the Eagles.

Here are video highlights of the game.

Saturday permits lunch at gamewatch — our first midday game. Come join San Diego Eagles!

Conquering Cardinals

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Bill McDonald '68

Redshirt freshman tight end Hunter Long scores BC’s first touchdown. John Quackenbos photo

Despite a lapse of about 10 minutes, in which the Eagles gave Louisville easy access to 13 points, BC was otherwise pretty dominant over the Cardinals, defeating them 38-20 yesterday in chilly, rainy Chestnut Hill. At game time, temperature was 46.

Cold and rainy at the start.

The Eagles opened the game showing dominance as they twice forced Louisville into consecutive three-and-outs and answered each with touchdown drives to go up 14-0 in the first six minutes. Another Louisville punt, however, was fumbled by Ben Glines on the BC six-yard line and the Cardinals scored the touchdown. In what seems to be increasingly common for the Eagles, though, BC blocked the point-after attempt.

The ensuing kickoff by Louisville was then fumbled by BC’s Michael Walker and, 40 yards and five plays later, the Cardinals closed the score to 14-13.

On the second play of the second quarter, BC intercepted a Louisville pass on the Cardinals’ 33. But the Eagles gained only five yards before being stopped on a fourth-down play at the 27. Louisville then had its only sustained offensive possession, going 73 yards in nine plays to go ahead, 20-14. Those would be the Cardinals’ last points.

Junior DB Nolan Borgersen gives Louisville punter NO chance to kick.

After an exchange of possessions, Louisville’s punt from its 20-yard line was blocked by BC and, for the second game in a row, recovered by sophomore running back Travis Levy in the end zone for a touchdown and 21-20 lead. With four seconds remaining in the half, Colton Lichtenberg kicked a 38-yard field goal to put the Eagles ahead, 24-21.

The sun came out for the second half and so did the BC ground attack. Running backs junior Ben Glines and freshman David Bailey, running in place of injured AJ Dillon, had run 16 times for a total of 58 yards in the first half. They added another 161 yards in the second half, each ending up with over 100 yards rushing. Bailey, listed as 6-1, 245, carried most of the load, ending the game with 112 yards on 28 carries.

Freshman running back David Bailey. John Quackenbos photo

A dude in duds.

A BC drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter featured Bailey carrying the ball on eight of the 13 plays, including the final one-yard plunge for a touchdown to move the Eagles to 31-20. BC’s final score came on eight consecutive running plays for 67 yards, with Jeff Smith running the final five yards.

The Eagles’ defense held the Cardinals to 71 yards total offense in the second half and zero points. BC gained 237 yards in the second half to bring its total offense for the game to 430 yards.

On a day when running was the name of the game, BC QB Anthony Brown was 10 of 15 for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Video highlights

It’s a week off for the Eagles and their fans. Next game is on Friday, October 26, at home against Miami.

Whipped by Wolfpack

Posted on October 7, 2018 by Bill McDonald '68

Michael Walker was productive both as a kick returner and wide receiver.

With star running back AJ Dillon watching from Chestnut Hill, due to injury, the Eagles needed to keep the score close in their game yesterday against #23 North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C. They didn’t.

At the end of the first half, BC had deficits in points, 3-21; first downs, 4-19, and total offense, 105-303. The Wolfpack added another touchdown late in the third quarter to make it 28-3.

Then the dormant Eagle offense heard the alarm clock. Spurred by a 33-yard kickoff return by Michael Walker, BC constructed a 5-play, 62-yard drive in 1:18, culminated by runs by QB Anthony Brown (28 yards) and RB Ben Glines (21 yards), to score its first touchdown.

BC’s first drive of the fourth quarter was another quick affair, as the Eagles took only five plays and 1:36 to go 64 yards for the touchdown. Walker again led the way with a 46-yard pass reception to the NC State 18-yard line. A two-point conversion failed.

Down 28-16, the Eagles forced the Wolfpack into a three-and-out series and began a 78-yard drive that ended with a critical BC fumble at the NC State two-yard line. (More about the “fumble” below.) With 3:33 left in the game, Eagles DB Mike Palmer blocked the subsequent Wolfpack punt and RB Travis Levy recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

NC State recovered BC’s onside kick attempt and held possession to the end for a 28-23 victory.

In addition to the blocked punt for their final touchdown, the Eagles blocked a field goal attempt and forced two fumbles by NC State. Those turnovers resulted in nine points for BC. The turnover advantage, however, paled in comparison to the Eagles’s low offensive production. BC added 8 first downs and 213 yards offense in the second half to reach game totals of 12 first downs and 318 yards total offense. The Wolfpack finished with 533 yards total offense. They also ran 87 plays to BC’s 50, and had possession for 41 minutes, 30 seconds, leaving the Eagles with only 18:30 in possession of the ball.

The “fumble.” BC had driven 75 yards to the NC State 5-yard line. It was 2nd-and-2. Glines ran up the middle and was halted by a mash of players, all standing. The mash was static for a couple of seconds and then an NC State player emerged with the ball. The referees had not blown the whistle and ruled it was a fumble recovered by the Wolfpack, a ruling that was not overturned after review. It could be argued the whistle should have been blown as there was no evidence of forward progress. In similar plays, other teams have “pushed the pile” into the end zone and the referees may have given the Eagles a little bit of time to do just that. The Eagles did not move the pile, however, to their disadvantage. The photos show the pileup and the fumble “recovery.”