THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
You knew Villanova coach Andy Talley would talk about the Wildcats' win at Richmond during this afternoon's local college football coaches luncheon.
But as happens every once in a while, Talley took a moment to step away from the football field. You may recall that a few weeks ago, I noted that Talley is very involved with raising awareness about bone marrow transplants, and works with many of his fellow coaches in the region to find donors.
Well, we learned today that Rowan defensive lineman Mike Hoffman has been called to be a donor. According to Talley and Profs coach Jay Accorsi, the 6-3 junior from Burlington Township will be donating next week to perhaps help save someone's life.
The donor is a 52-year-old male with lymphoma, Accorsi said.
This would be noteworthy under any circumstance, but it is made even more so because Hoffman will be missing his team's final game of the season. Rowan faces the College of New Jersey on Saturday in what is a rivalry game.
"He's a spectacular young man," Accorsi said of Hoffman. "He's given up the last game of his junior year to try to save an individual."
Accorsi added that when the donation was set up, he and his team figured that the game wouldn't have any stakes relative to the postseason. Hoffman tried to reschedule the transplant, but there isn't much room to be flexible when you're dealing with a real life-or-death situation.
"We thought we would have more games, and that obviously didn't happen. "I've left it up to [Matt] the whole time, [and] the bone marrow people told him that the individual is just too ill, and we've got to try to get this done as soon as possible."
After his remarks about Hoffman, Talley changed the subject to the "minor stuff" that happened last Saturday. It was certainly a back-and-forth game, and Villanova was quite fortunate that Richmond kicker Andrew Howard hooked that last-second field goal attempt wide left.
"Sometimes you'd rather be lucky than good, and I think right now we were just flat-out lucky," Talley said.
When I heard that, I couldn't help thinking about Mike Hoffman and whoever really is lucky enough to be getting that bone-marrow transplant. I know I shouldn't be doing too much non-sports stuff on here, but it's important to remember that there are more important things in the world.
You can hear from Talley, Penn coach Al Bagnoli, and others in the audio player below. West Chester coach Bill Zwaan came by for the first time this season, and took a look back at the year after the Golden Rams' last game this past Saturday.
Delaware Valley coach Jim Clements and Widener defensive coordinator Mike Guille were also in the spotlight, as their teams will play for the Keystone Cup this coming Saturday in Chester.
A reminder that I'll be blogging live from Harvard Stadium this Saturday as Penn and Harvard play for the Ivy League championship. I talked with the Harvard athletic department this afternoon and was told that there is still no deal for a television broadcast, so my blog will be the best way to get live updates on the game.
Here's the full slate of Division II and Division III action:
West Chester
Last week: Home win vs. Mercyhurst, 45-13
This week: Season over
Delaware Valley
Last week: Home win vs. Albright, 45-16
This week: 11/14 at Widener, 1:00 p.m.
Rowan
Last week: Home loss vs. Montclair State, 14-7
This week: 11/14 vs. The College of New Jersey, 1:00 p.m.
Ursinus
Last week: Home win vs. Muhlenberg, 24-10
This week: 11/14 at Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
Widener
Last week: Road loss vs. Wilkes, 29-24
This week: 11/14 vs. Delaware Valley, 1:00 p.m.
Lincoln
Season over
Cheyney
Last week: Home loss vs. Clarion, 32-12
This week: Season over
