Football enduring rough season

Turmoil would be the best word to describe the state of the 2012 Wright State club football team.

WSU was soundly defeated 48-23 on homecoming weekend by Onondaga Community College. Frustration got the best of the team, and benches cleared when WSU defender Brian Sledge took down the OCC backup quarterback as the Ogres attempted to take a knee and head back to New York.

While there were no reports of punches thrown during the scuffle, it took several minutes to separate the teams and officials declared the game over.

“It was a dirty game, however there was no fight,” team advisor Billy Willis said. “Tempers flared, but we’re correcting the incident and attempting to move forward.”

Wright State Head Coach Paul Grimes reportedly texted Director of Football Operations for OCC, Derek Demperio, and apologized for how the game ended. While Onondaga accepted the apology, the program still considers the incident a fight.

“We obviously feel a fight took place,” Demperio said. “We felt rather strongly that No. 33 of the Wright State defense (Sledge) intended to injure or take a cheap shot at our backup QB while he was in the process of taking a knee that would have effectively ended the game. “The actions of No. 33 are some of the more cowardly actions you can take on a football field.”

According to Demperio, the Ogre offense had notified both the officials and the WSU defense that they were going to take a knee and end the game.

“This does not meet WSU’s expectations, my expectations or the team’s expectations,” Willis said. “The team is sorry for what happened.”

“The ending of the OCC game was far from ideal,” Club President Ryan Tucker said. “That type of behavior is not tolerated by the Wright State club football team or by Wright State University. We have made sure that an event like that will not happen again.”

To add further insult, the Raiders traveled without their coaches to Southern Illinois University this past weekend and were defeated 46-16.

“As a team, we decided that it was best for the team to make the trip [without the coaches],” Tucker said. “We needed to bond more and become a family, and that's what we did. We came together and made huge improvements.”

As the team looks forward to a home matchup with Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Oct. 27, the question remains whether they will have coaches on the sideline for the remainder of the season.

Lack of depth on the roster is another problem the Raiders face in what could be the program’s first year with a losing record. The only confirmed victory came by the way of forfeit after Xavier’s program folded midway through the season.

WSU’s final games of the season with UWM and Miami (OH) will be played at the Rinzler Sports Complex.

“The roster depth is not going well,” Tucker said. “It’s definitely still an issue, but our guys are capable of playing multiple positions. This helps create an effective rotation and keep guys fresh. Also, the conditioning that Coach Mora has put us through has prepared us to play almost every down of a game.”

But Willis and the team are still looking for help as they try to find players and financial help.

Through everything, Tucker remains optimistic about the future of the team.

“The team works hard and puts in the work on and off the field,” Tucker said.