#SWARM - RELOADED

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Small thing that I absolutely love: We have only the 24th least amount of penalties, with 39, and the 23rd least amount of penalty yards, with 302. Usually see the user team with the least penalties, least yards.

[Careless Whisper]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Nice to see a comfortable win there against UConn, and three recruits commit afterwards! Interested to see how you end up doing realignment after the season.

[moose141]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Looking forward to seeing how you shake up the conferences. I think that's the one big thing that lets everyone have some variety in their files is by making the conferences custom to their liking in their universe. Big game for BJ against UConn, I think that has to be the perfect performance out of him, 20 passes for 250+ and near 100 rush yards as well. I'm expecting more of the same against what looks like it's going to be an overmatched Temple defense.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Nice to see a comfortable win there against UConn, and three recruits commit afterwards! Interested to see how you end up doing realignment after the season.

It was so nice to just have a chill second half where I wasn't sweating it out lmao.

Looking forward to seeing how you shake up the conferences. I think that's the one big thing that lets everyone have some variety in their files is by making the conferences custom to their liking in their universe. Big game for BJ against UConn, I think that has to be the perfect performance out of him, 20 passes for 250+ and near 100 rush yards as well. I'm expecting more of the same against what looks like it's going to be an overmatched Temple defense.

Huge game for BJ, was great to see him get in rhythm and tear up that UConn defense, like you said Temple is overmatched and we should be able to light them up. I've been able to run very effectively the last 2 weeks because our line is actually good at run blocking, plus Thompson is super elusive with a good break tackle rating, so any weak backers get crushed.

So both you guys asked about realignment: It's gonna be really similar to Deuce's new WAC dynasty. I always wanted to get the Big 12 to have a title game, and get all the Texas schools in there, so Nebraska is leaving the Big Ten, WVU to the ACC, Notre Dame replaces Nebraska in the Big Ten, AAC I'll probably split North/South and make it 16 teams, a true mid-major conference. C-USA I'll look to get 14-16 teams as well if I can. To do that I'll probably just make the MAC and Sun Belt 6 team conferences, wish I could just dissolve the Sun Belt tbh.

But yeah, very similar to what he's done, few differences here and there. Going to try to eliminate independent schools so Army/Navy don't become superpowers.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Report by Isaac Robinson - October 21st, 2018

Swarm hit .500 thanks to 412 yards, 6 scores from Henderson

Henderson posts first career 300 yard game, turnovers still a concern though -- James Thompson over 100 for third straight game as Owls defense can't handle the run -- Temple QB Will Hill posts 300 total yards with HB Mason scoring 4 times

B.J. Henderson dives between 2 defenders at the goal line for a score

Philadelphia, PA -- B.J. Henderson just keeps improving. The sophomore set new career bests for passing yards and scores, with 302 and 4, respectively, and tacked on 110 more rushing yards and 2 more scores to lead his team to a dramatic 40-37 victory over now 1-6 Temple.

Westlake State did open the scoring, with Henderson improvising to find Josh Roach in the back of the endzone on a broken play, before Will Hill-led Temple scored 17 unanswered thanks to some very efficient offense, with Brett Mason running in a pair of scores. He would finish with 4 on the day, the 3rd time this season the Swarm have allowed a player to do that.

Henderson evaded pressure, then found Roach for a score

After Temple kicked a field goal, the Swarm were down 17 to 7 with 2:26 to go in the 1st half. The drive got off to an awful start, with Henderson being sacked (1 of 3 times he went down in the first half), setting up a 3rd and 10. This was really the game's defining moment. If the Swarm don't convert here, a red-hot Temple offense gets the ball back with 2 minutes and 3 timeouts, up 17-7. But true freshman Robert Coley showed off his speed, getting a step on Temple corner John Phillips, and Henderson dropped in a good ball that Coley was able to stretch out and catch for a gain of 44 yards. 5 plays and 26 yards later, B.J. Henderson would find Eric Monroe for a TD from 4 yards out to cut Temple's lead to 3 points.

Coley catches the deep ball

The Swarm got the ball to start the 3rd quarter, and B.J. Henderson promptly threw a pick to Phillips near midfield that was returned to his own 10. Defense held up though, and forced Temple into a field goal.

On the next drive, Henderson bounced back, as on a 3rd and short the Swarm went play action. Coley was running a go route, and strong safety Joey Lewis was way outmatched for speed. So Coley decided to hit the brakes, and Lewis couldn't stay with him as Coley made an easy grab for 49 yards. Henderson would run it in on the next play to make it 21-20, Swarm. Westlake State forced a punt, but then one again, Henderson was intercepted, this time by MLB Daniel Sullivan. This one was more on Eric Monroe in my opinion, as the freshman didn't box out Sullivan at all, allowing him to just step in front for the easy INT. Temple scored and went for 2 to try and make it a 7 point game, but would fail. 26-21, Owls.

Not a great read, but Monroe could have gotten to this one

Henderson got back on track, as after some good running from himself and James Thompson, he would find Josh Roach for a 21 yard score, the sophomore's 4th in the last 2 games, tying him for the team lead. It was Westlake's turn to try and fail a 2-point conversion, and it was 27-26, Swarm.

Will Hill went OFF this drive. The senior ran it 4 times for 44 yards, and completed a 14 yard pass to Lawrence Henry to set up Brett Mason's 4th and final TD on the day. This time, the 2-point conversion was good, and Temple led by a touchdown.

Hill gained 30 yards on this play

Not to be outdone, B.J. Henderson ran for 10 yards, then after a 4 yard pickup from Thompson, Jon Smith took a slant route 30 yards, before Josh Roach caught a ball for 18, and 2 plays later, Henderson found the end zone from 15 yards out, diving between 2 defenders at the goal line to score. 34-34... or it should have been. Joe Romero missed a PAT, and Temple still led. 34-33, Temple.

They would extend their lead, as they kicked a 32 yard field goal on a drive that ate up a ton of clock and forced the Swarm to use two timeouts, leaving Westlake State with just 1, down 4 with 2:12 left. The drive started well, with Thompson running for 8 to convert on 3rd down, and Henderson coming up clutch after a holding call forced a 3rd and 14, hitting Jon Smith for 12 yards to set up a 9 yard rush from Thompson on 4th and 2. 1st down at the Temple 45, 29 seconds to go.

On the very next play, Temple once again were beat deep, as Phillips, maybe still thinking about that interception, flipped his hips way too late to keep up with Kevin Sykes, who caught the wide open deep ball for a score. This time, Romero made the PAT, and the Swarm led by 3.

Great job by Sykes to reel this one in

Temple put up a good fight, with a screen play to Mason going for 38 yards to get them close to field goal range. Another screen went for negative yardage, and with 5 seconds to go, Temple tried to force OT from 56. The kick was long enough, but it was pushed far to the right, and Westlake State were victorious for the 3rd week in a row.

Dion Barkley had nothing put praise for his young QB after the game:

B.J. is improving every week. I think, and I've told him this from the time he was 15, that he can play NFL football. I really do believe that. Every week, he gets better, more confident, less mistakes. Still a risk-taker, throws some bad picks, but come on. 302 yards, 110 rushing, 6 scores altogether? This guy is the best QB in the conference, and he's gonna show everyone.

Despite the win, there is some bad news: starting corner DeAndre Mosley and WR Jon Smith both left the game with injuries: Mosley pulling up on a sprint in the 3rd, and Smith after catching that 12 yard pass near the end. Mosley is expected to miss just a week with a slight quad strain, but Smith seemed to be in serious pain, and didn't look like could even move his left arm.

Reports are that he suffered a shoulder tear which would likely end his season. The 5'10, 202 pound senior had been garnering some NFL attention following his 1310 yard, 12 TD junior campaign. He has just 520 yards and 3 scores through 8 games in 2018, but has shown enough that he's on some draft boards as a fringe 7th-rounder. He is among the nation's best route runners, and has shown an ability to make highlight-reel grabs. With this injury though, and his less than spectacular production (more due to not having elite QB play), who knows what'll happen.

Westlake State will travel to sunny Florida to play the still winless USF Bulls. Watch out - they may be winless, but they boast the nations #13 passing offense and have lost 5 games by 5 or less points, including a game where they lost by just 3 to then top-ranked Georgia.

Brett Mason had 4 rushing scores on the day


Henderson finds Eric Monroe for a score

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Report by Isaac Robinson - October 24th, 2018

Jon Smith seemingly indicates the end of his college career

Westlake, OH -- Senior WR Jon Smith seemingly indicated that he will not play another college snap following his shoulder tear suffered last week at Temple. The senior is receiving substantial interest from NFL teams, who see him as a potentially solid receiver with his athleticism, ball skills and route running.

It makes sense for Smith to call it quits for the year, as he will miss at minimum the rest of the regular season. This does leave the Swarm in a bit of a pickle, as Smith leads the team in catches (36) and yards (520). He was frequently B.J. Henderson's safety blanket, as his catch radius turned bad throws into completions at times. Robert Coley will likely take Smith's spot on the outside.

Smith's tweet from this afternoon can be found below.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Y1, G9 Preview - @ USF

Coach Barkley's Take

This is a textbook trap game. USF have a ton of talent, and they are overdue for a win. Brandon Clark has been one of the nation's most prolific QBs this year, already over 2000 yards for the year. He has a weak arm, but he's very accurate and makes good reads. He has a likely day 2 draft pick to throw to in Donald Ray. USF don't run a ton, but Marcus Brunner is a very good downhill runner who will be able to gash us much like Christian High did last week.

We are going to start DeAndre Mosley even though he may not be 100%, we kinda have to in order to slow down this pass attack.

Offensively, it's the same gameplan as the past couple weeks. USF don't have a great front 7, so we should be able to run it well. Then we can open up the passing game and try to hit them deep. Missing Jon Smith is going to hurt, Kevin Sykes will have to step up. It will be harder to hit these guys deep if they are in man though, they have more speed than Temple.

[moose141]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Brutal to lose your top receiver, especially when you're in a pivotal run for the division title! BJ's gonna be a dark horse Heisman contender if he keeps up the way he is playing, especially with those rushing stats he's adding in.

I thought for a second that it said that Todd Graham was USF's coach, because if that was the case I was going to say be them by 100 please, haha.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Brutal to lose your top receiver, especially when you're in a pivotal run for the division title! BJ's gonna be a dark horse Heisman contender if he keeps up the way he is playing, especially with those rushing stats he's adding in.

I thought for a second that it said that Todd Graham was USF's coach, because if that was the case I was going to say be them by 100 please, haha.

I'm about to type up the game recap, and B.J. did have another great day in a VERY tight game. I think the picks will really hurt his case, maybe next year haha. Really sucks to lose Smith, he hasn't put up huge numbers but he just doesn't drop the ball the way some of our other guys do.

Didn't know who Graham was, did a quick google on him, wow that guy's a snake.

Thanks for checking in!

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Report by Isaac Robinson - October 27th, 2018

Drops, flags cost the Swarm in a heartbreaker

6 drops, 10 penalties slow down Swarm O as B.J. Henderson tosses 3 scores -- USF dominates on the ground for their first win

Brandon Clark threw for 264 and 2 scores

Tampa, FL -- USF were due for a win. The now 1-7 Bulls had kept it close with then #1 Georgia among others, as they had lost 5 games by 5 or less points coming into this one, and boasted the nation's #13 passing attack. Indeed, junior Brandon Clark threw for 264 yards and 2 scores on 27/43 passing, and senior Marcus Brunner had his best game of the year with 130 yards rushing on just 18 carries. Westlake State did manage 2 interceptions which kept them in it, but it wasn't enough to overcome a whopping 6 dropped passes and 10 penalties.

It was scoreless after a quarter, with Shannon Wilkinson picking off Clark on the Bulls' second drive, but the Swarm ended up going 4 and out as a hit on Barrett Miller jarred the ball loose on 4th and 2. A 32 yard run from Brunner sparked the game's first scoring drive, with Clark finding tight end Brad Davis for 8 yards and a score.

No clue what Clark saw here

The Swarm answered back, as some good running allowed the Swarm to open up the pass game, and from the 37, B.J. Henderson found a wide open Kevin Sykes at the 15 off of play action, and the senior did the rest, finding paydirt to even things up. Punts were exchanged, and then the Bulls would score again, with another long run, this time 26 yards from backup Martin Harrell, being the play that jumpstarted the drive. This one ended in Clark keeping it himself on a zone read from a couple yards out for the score. After a 3 and out, USF managed a last second field goal before the half. Westlake State 7, USF 17.

Westlake State punted as a sack took them out of field goal range, and then a couple big gains from Carl Joyce through the air, combined with a facemask call on Leon Alexander put the Bulls inside the 5. They would only manage a field goal, as the Swarm defense came up with an impressive goal line stand to end the 3rd.

Westlake State would get themselves back into it with a 13 play, 75 yard drive capped off by Kevin Sykes' second receiving score on the day, making him the new team leader with 6 on the year. USF would go 3 and out, but so would the Swarm, as an Eric Monroe drop forced a punt. USF kicked a field goal, and the score was 23-14 in their favor.

These bad drops are why Monroe isn't at a P5 schoo

Enter B.J. Henderson. The sophomore had had a frustrating game, as he hadn't really put a foot wrong, but was just 12 of 24 thanks to his receivers dropping 6 balls, all catchable. On the first play of the drive, the Swarm ran a play-fake, sending Eric Monroe deep. USF were in cover 2, and strong safety Brendan Dawson was no match for Monroe's speed, and Henderson knew this. He dropped in a perfect pass, right in stride, and this time Monroe caught it and went the rest of the way for a 74 yard TD. Westlake State were knocking on the door, down just 2 points now.

What a play

That was a 64 yard throw if you look at where he threw it from. Eric got open deep and B.J. made a throw that not every QB can make, hitting guys in stride that deep downfield.

The Swarm would take the lead just a few plays later, as Mark Landrum jumped in front of a pass and took it all the way back to the USF 7, and B.J. Henderson would run it in himself on the option.

Needing a score, USF would have to rely on the arm of Brandon Clark, but he didn't let the INT faze him. He immediately hit Brian Warren for 17 yards on a corner route, then Brunner for 16 a few plays later. Brunner ran for 13 to get the Bulls into Swarm territory, and then a short run and a couple of incompletions forced a game-deciding 4th and 7 from the Swarm 32. Clark would fire off a quick slant to Carl Joyce, who caught it and ended up gaining 15 yards. 3 plays later, Martin Harrell caught a 5 yard TD on an angle route for the go-ahead score. USF 30, Westlake State 29.

Clark finds Carl Joyce for the crucial conversion

It ended that way, as Henderson got too ambitious with 54 seconds to go, forcing a throw to Monroe. It wasn't well-placed, Monroe was double-covered anyway, and that was that. USF picked up a first down, and Clark kneeled once to end it.

Penalties really killed the Swarm in this one. The 3rd down drop from Monroe was bad, along with another drive-killing drop from Josh Roach earlier on, but the penalties did more. 6 false starts, 10 flags in total, costing the Swarm 65 yards. This is the second time this season the Swarm have had 10 flags thrown on them, the first being in week 1 against Nevada.

The run game also struggled compared to the last few weeks, as the Swarm ran for just 167 yards on 32 attempts, and it wasn't consistent at all. James Thompson averaged just 4.1 yards per carry as he was held under 100 yards for the first time in 3 games. Not only that, but most of Henderson's 89 rushing yards came when he had to improvise on a busted play.

We have to do better, no doubt about it. Run game has to be able to get yards so we're not always asking B.J. to throw for a 3rd and 8, 3rd and 9. Then when he does make a good throw and it gets dropped like what happened a couple times today. Really rough loss, but this team [USF] was too good to be 0-7. They deserved that win, we didn't do enough to get it. Onto Arkansas State, they are another tough team that will punish us if we don't execute.

Westlake State are playing a team that could be a conference foe next season in the new-look AAC: Arkansas State, who sit at 6-2 behind the nation's 8th stingiest pass defense, boasting a pair of cornerbacks who will almost certainly go in the first 3 rounds of next year's NFL draft.

[Deuce2223]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Wow looks like a failure to convert 1st downs really killed the offense for most of the game. Way to make it close in the 4th Quarter though.


I agree BJ is going to be a star.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Y1, G10 Preview - vs Arkansas State

Coach Barkley's Take

This team is dangerous. Anthony Lawson has an NFL arm (92 thp, 88 tha), but struggles with decision making (74 awr). Their #1 back, Willie Jones, is coming off an injury, so expect a lot of Alex Harrison and third-string speedster Chris Barnett (92 spd, 96 acc). Jon Inman has been one of the nation's best wideouts, and they have some deep threats to complement him.

But it's the defense that makes this team so good. Randy Walker (99 man, zone and press) will go in round 1. He's a ballhawk. 6 picks in 8 games. Max Mullins doesn't have a pick, but he's another elite corner (93 man, 98 zone, 96 prc). Their nickel corner, Mike Gipson, is solid too, and they have good safeties for their 4-2-5 in Eric Cox, Ryan Pickens, and Marcus Carey. It won't be easy to throw on these guys. We're going to try, but we may have to lean on the run game.

[young22]

Re: #SWARM - RELOADED

Wow looks like a failure to convert 1st downs really killed the offense for most of the game. Way to make it close in the 4th Quarter though.


I agree BJ is going to be a star.

Yeah B.J. made some big plays to keep us in it. Can't wait to see what he does next season.

Thanks for checking in!