If you are a fan of great offense and resilient defense, then you certainly got a treat in Albany State’s 36-21 season-opening victory over Chowan.
The projected champs of the SIAC looked anything but in the opening half of the contest, but buckled-down on defense, forcing five fumbles and three interceptions against the CIAA preseason first-team QB, C.J. Westler. Sure, Chowan isn’t the best the CIAA has to offer, but they did put up an offensive threat that the Golden Rams will likely compete against throughout the SIAC regular season.
Perhaps Albany State was exposed on pass defense, but there’s nothing you can take away from the Rams’ defensive prowess up front (five sacks) and in the secondary.
The Chowan Hawks have to be encouraged with the output of their offense and defense. Turnovers will kill any team, and the Hawks coughed up six of them. But they did have fewer penalties, held the ball longer, and gained more first downs and third down conversions. It’s clear they can pass, if only their offensive line holds against strong and fast pressure from the edges.
Both teams exposed some weaknesses that the better teams in their respective conferences will exploit throughout the season. But Albany State and Chowan can both have positives that will put them in great positions to win a lot of games in 2009.
Technorati Tags: Albany State University, Chowan University
Maybe its a little presumptuous to ask about the Chowan University athletic profile this early into their CIAA affiliation. After all, the Hawks struggled to two wins in football, and just recently captured their first conference win in men’s basketball. .jpg)
