2010, behind Brett Hamlin has pulled even and given himself a shot at finishing with a winning record. Now ChiTown hopes to knock off one of the two undefeated teams and in doing so bring himself even with the Dazzlers.
To do that he will have to get by Offy's Army
The Army is stacked with players from the Golden Age of UB football.
Led by the 1949-1950 "Touchdown Twins" of Quarterback Tracy Latona and Receiver Edmond "Doc G" Gicewicz.The Army has an array of solid receiving targets which include Wideout Doc Ashley and Richard Doll, a UB Running back who led his team in receiving. Raymond Weser (1949) is the other threat on the ground.
There are two modern era players on the squad. One is tight end Jessie Rack (2009) and the other current UB kicker Patrick Clark. The Army is led by the 1959 defense.
This weeks captain for "Offy's Army" is Dual threat running back Richard Doll
Aside from raw numbers one can evaluate just how important a player is to their team. Richard Doll is one of those players who has had most of his stats lost to the ages. The stats we do have are impressive but incomplete, the story beyond the stats is amazing!
Doll, A Seneca High grad, was a vital peice of Coach Offenhamer's plan to impliemnt a Spilt-T offense, the spread of it's day, when Offy Arrived in 1955.
In 55' Doll ran for nine touchdowns, he tacked on three more 1956 to finish with 12 carrer scores. Of the nine teams that UB played that season five listed Ridchard Doll as the toughest running back they played on their "All Opponent teams".
Note to self, maintain an all opponent team on Bull Run this season.
His nine scores in 1955 solidified his place on the team and lead UB coach Dick Offenhamer told the Niagara Gazette "He (Doll) is a 60-minute man and a great all around performer". When Doll was injured duing pre season practices Offenhamer told the local media that UB's season hinged on his quick return.
And Doll proved Coach Offy right. Despite missing the start of the 1956 season he led the Bulls in both rushing yards and receiving yards that season. Doll was even known to toss the ball around a bit.
Top that off his punt return average of 10.8 yards which still stands as the second highest punt return average average ever. This number was puclished in the 2002 UB record book but curiously omitted from the 2010 record book.He also held the ball on field goals and extra points. Offenhamer was not kidding when he said he would use Doll every play
Despite the fact the University does not have the stats from the 50's the pages of local newspapers from that era always boil down to how key Doll was in helping Offenhamer build his team, the success of of 1955 and 1956, on the legs of Doll, set UB up for 58 and 59.If you are only look to raw numbers than greatness can be lost to the ages. Dick Doll's was viewd as one of the greatest not only by the Best UB coach in history but by the teams who had to defend him.
ChiTown's finest is a much more modern group of UB players. It's a very MAC Championship heavy team that features the 2008 defense, Drew Willy, and Ernest Jackson. They are joined by tight end Chad Bartoszek (2002), Rusty Knapp (1993) and Running Backs Alan Bell(1992) and Lee Jones (1969).
Kicking for Chi Town is "The Leg" Gerald Carlson who has the second longest field goal in UB History.
ChiTown plans to grind Offy down with Alan Bell:
Tried to close the poll (20 hours) instead I deleted it... The final score was Offy 4 Chi town 2I choose Alan Bell this week, because he is on track to have a huge game against Offy's Army. Sure, I have an outstanding passing attack if I need it with Willy, Knapp, Jackson and Bartoszek at tight end, but none of that will be needed this week. I anticipate the Army to not generate much offense at all, which will allow for a heavy dose of Alan Bell, and if needed, Lee Jones at the goaline.
Why do I feel so confident in my defense? Well, it's simply because we are not afraid of the Army's offense. Tracy Latona is a productive and efficient quarterback, but at the end of the day he only has 131 passing attempts. An inexperienced QB against a defense like mine, which is going to let you nickle and dime down the field and force you to make a mistake with all the plays you are running. Then at running back, the Army has Richard Doll. All I have to say is, when my backup/flex player is much better then his starting running back, he is in a bad spot.
So, Alan Bell is an obvious choice this week because he will be getting a heavy load. Not only is he going to build on his 4.4 ypc (682 attempts), he is also a threat out of the backfield, with 48 catches and 335 yards. Once we go up big, there will be no reason to pass and Bell will continue to carry, and run the clock on the Offy's Army.