Opinion

Falcons prepare to take on the best in their league

By Robert Silvers

September 17, 2010

After a 3-7 season in 2009, one would wonder why the Falcon Football team would schedule as tough a non-conference schedule as they have in 2010.

“Our conference is so good nobody wanted to play teams from this league,” said Coach John O’Grady. “We do not fear playing anyone. We get better as a result of competing against, supposedly, some of the best in the country.”

Just how tough is the Falcons’ schedule? The Falcons opened the year on Sept. 2 at No. 11 Ohio Northern. On Saturday, they travelled to No. 5 St. Thomas, and in their home opener this weekend, the Falcons host No. 17 Trine (Michigan).

As if that isn’t enough, conference foes UWOshkosh and UW-Stout both received votes in the preseason top-25; UW-Stevens Point was ranked in that same preseason poll, and defending national champion UW-Whitewater holds tight to the No. 1 spot in the country.

How do you compete with the top teams in the country, easy, confuse them. That is exactly what Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and his staff have worked to do this offseason. The 2010 Falcon offense is full of pre-snap motion with several guys shifting positions.

“Both head coaches at Ohio Northern and St. Thomas commented to me after the game that they do not like preparing for our offensive system,” O’Grady said. “It is fun to watch, because we handcuff them to a degree.”

Although the new offensive system has yet to result in a win for the Falcons, the team can be pleased with its early performance. In the season opener the club led 15-14 at the half, but committed three unforced offensive errors and lost 35- 21. On Saturday, the team eliminated many of the errors and competed with a better team as they lost 27-3.

Junior Taylor Edwards (Janesville, WI/ Parker) leads the team offensively with 299 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. The Falcons host No. 17 Trine at 1 p.m. at Ramer Field. The action can be heard live on WRFW FM 88.7 or pureradio887.com.

Robert Silvers is a student at UW-River Falls.