[Sly Fox]

Now that we have the Coastal monkey off our backs, we can focus on capturing our first ever Big South championship. And for that to happen we need to take care of business the next two weeks. This Saturday afternoon the struggling VMI Keydets come to Williams Stadium in our Senior Day.


Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia


Official Football Site

Keydets Sportstalk Message Board


Jim Reid
Head Football Coach


2007 Results: 2-7
Big South: 0-3

09/01 - Lock Haven .............................. W 20-0
09/08 - William & Mary ......................... L 63-16
09/15 - @ JMU ...................................... L 45-17
09/22 - @ Lehigh ................................. L 37-6
09/29 - @ Robert Morris (PA) ............... W 40-13
10/13 - Presbyterian ............................ L 45-21
10/20 - Gardner-Webb ......................... L 36-22
10/27 - @ Coastal Carolina ................... L 42-35
11/03 - Charleston Southern ................ L 37-28


Key Players:



#14 Kyle Hughes
6' 2" Sophomore Quarterback
Thru 9 Games: 956 Yards Passing with 57.2 Completion %, 10 TDs & 4 INTs + 436 Yards & 5 TDs Rushing



#31 Howard Abegesah
6' 0" Sophomore Running Back
Thru 9 Games: Team-leading 957 Yards Rushing with 3 TDs



#28 Tim Maypray
5' 8" Sophomore Slotback
Thru 9 Games: 28 Catches for 550 Yards with 6 TDs + 1 Kickoff Return for TD



#88 Tommy Lloyd
6' 5" Senior Defensive End
Thru 9 Games: 50 Tackles including 13.5 for Loss, 5.5 Sacks & 1 Forced Fumble

[BJWilliams]

I think we have shown that we can shoot it out offensively with pretty much anybody this year (only one game of less than 30 points), and VMI has only allowed fewer than 30 points twice this year

[Schfourteenteen]

I think we have shown that we can shoot it out offensively with pretty much anybody this year (only one game of less than 30 points), and VMI has only allowed fewer than 30 points twice this year

William and Mary

[BJWilliams]

Im not totally sure why you brought them up...we scored 41 against them (and lost in 2 OT), VMI lost 63-16 to them.

[givemethemic]

I don't normally back B.J up but after reading and acknowledging his post (J/K) All he was saying was that we can score alot of points....Yes we lost to W&M but we scored over 40...so what is your point?

[bigsmooth]

other than a strong keydet running game, which i think we will stop, we are gonna crush these guys. it will be a great senior day.

[ToTheLeft]

I don't normally back B.J up but after reading and acknowledging his post (J/K) All he was saying was that we can score alot of points....Yes we lost to W&M but we scored over 40...so what is your point?

His point was that he can't possibly agree with BJ.

[BJWilliams]

I don't normally back B.J up but after reading and acknowledging his post (J/K) All he was saying was that we can score alot of points....Yes we lost to W&M but we scored over 40...so what is your point?

His point was that he can't possibly agree with BJ.

What Im saying is that if VMI wants to shoot it out, we can shoot it out. We have the offense to score just as much as they can. But I also know that our defense is better than their defense and it is peaking at the right time. I think we will win this one by at least 2 or 3 TDs

[Schfourteenteen]

Well 41 is masked by 7 in ot, so in 4 quarters its 34, and at the beginning of the 4th we only had 19. Anybody who was there could tell you we didnt shoot it out with them, we played the best 5 minutes we ever have late to tie it up.

Also The only team we have played with a defense worth mentioning is Elon and maybe Toledo, and yeah we did well against Toledo. If youre saying we can shoot it out with anybody in our conference the rest of our schedule then yes thats true. But we havent beaten a FCS team with a winning record. Not saying our offense isnt clicking we just havent played anyone good and won. Id be weary to say we can shoot it out with anyone. VMI shouldnt be a problem at all.

[SuperJon]

Tusculum is in first place in their conference and Toledo will likely be bowl eligible and has a chance to win the MAC. Elon is also in first place in the SoCon. Our schedule isn't as terrible as people want to believe.

[Stevev]

The competition that we are beating the last 3 weeks leave a lot to be desired but at least we are winning and winning big which is always good. It's not like we are loosing or just just getting by so it is a step in the right direction and I would think that it will continue for the next 2 weeks and then we can talk about a schedule upgrade. But until then we just take it one game at a time. VMI should be an easy win but you never know what will happen. Need to do what we failed to do last year when we played them at their place and that is to stop the triple option. They ran all over us and picked us apart with 1st down after first down and keep our offense off of the field after we took the big lead and barely held on. Need to penetrate and break the option down and limit their possibilities. Our offense should roll as did W & M and Presby did to them. Our defense I am a little worried about.

[SuperJon]

Why are you worried about our defense? They've barely given up any points in the past four weeks.

[Stevev]

I was mainly referring to the triple option being a problem like it was last year. All year long we were okay at stopping the run and then gave up 315 yards against what I thought was a subpar VMI team and that kept them in the game. What I don't know is what VMI is returning from last year's offense that gave us such a hard time. That offense that they run is much different than what we have been facing lately.

[SuperJon]

VMI is worse than last year.

We gave up 300 yards on the ground, but barely anything through the air. If a team runs the ball 68 times, they're going to rack up some yardage.

[Chris Lang]

Minor edit: No. 31 is Howard Abegesah, not Robert.

[BJWilliams]

Well 41 is masked by 7 in ot, so in 4 quarters its 34, and at the beginning of the 4th we only had 19. Anybody who was there could tell you we didnt shoot it out with them, we played the best 5 minutes we ever have late to tie it up.

Also The only team we have played with a defense worth mentioning is Elon and maybe Toledo, and yeah we did well against Toledo. If youre saying we can shoot it out with anybody in our conference the rest of our schedule then yes thats true. But we havent beaten a FCS team with a winning record. Not saying our offense isnt clicking we just havent played anyone good and won. Id be weary to say we can shoot it out with anyone. VMI shouldnt be a problem at all.

My point is, we can score points and we can score them in bunches. We showed that even against W&M when we came back like we did. If VMI wants to shoot it out, we can do that. Im not going to question a low scoring game (unless you consider low scoring both teams <30 points). YEah we can definitely shoot it out with teams in the BSC (50 vs CSU, 37 against CCU. 48 vs PC who isn't even officially a member of the conference yet). Yes we hit a buzzsaw in Elon, I will admit that. I still think that we have the offensive talent right now to put a bunch of points on the board.

[The NSL]

WHY is their mascot a kangaroo?

[SuperJon]

Keydets and Kangaroos
No, a Keydet is not a Kangaroo, although the term "Keydets" has been used over the years to refer to VMI's athletic teams and the kangaroo has become the established mascot.

The story behind the kangaroo is relatively simple. Back in 1947, two VMI cheerleaders saw a picture of a kangaroo on the front of the magazine and realized how uncommon the animal was as a mascot. As one of the mascots was finally procured, a contest was held to give the creature an appropriate name. The prize winning name was "TD Bound."

Sometime later the kangaroo's name was changed to "Moe" in order that he might be associated in all sports at VMI and not just football. So far in history there have been four real "Moes", the last of which was actually a wallaby, the smaller relative of the kangaroo. A kangaroo costume worn by a VMI cheerleader then replaced the live mascot in the 70's so there could be a mascot representative at any VMI contest at home or on the road.

The source and/or meaning of the nickname "Keydets" is not as easy to find. The problem lies in the fact that there is no definite meaning that has been found for the word. There have been plenty of explanations offered, but none have been convincingly substantiated. The United States Military Academy claims that it was a word used to denote the gray of the standard uniform of a cadet. One less factual definition is that due to the Southern drawl of some of the members of the VMI Corps, the common term cadet was transformed into "Keydet".

VMI has had many nicknames through the years. Probably the longest standing name used to refer to its team, especially in football, was the "Flying Squadron." The nickname got started back in 1917 at a football game between VMI and North Carolina. The name stuck and became more popular during the 1920 football season. It wasn't until the 30's that the term "Keydet" came into use in conjunction with the athletic teams.

Regarless of which definition is correct, the word "Keydet" like kangaroo, will continue to identify VMI's athletic teams.

[LUconn]

That's not true. I think it's pretty obvious that a Keydet is a group of Kangaroos.

[ToTheLeft]

That's not true. I think it's pretty obvious that a Keydet is a group of Kangaroos.

And a group of Elephants is a Crimson Tide!

[PAmedic]

just visited the Keydets board, and evidently- we all have it completely wrong. We have had all our success due to all our seniors being UVa transfers, and next year we will suck

http://vmisports.proboards57.com/index. ... 456&page=4

Came away from the game dissapointed thay we lost but feeling really good about our progress. When Coach Reid arrived the cupboard was bare, probably even more so than we or he ever imagined. But as was stated, he has won championships and knows what needs to be done to get there. Playing eighteen and nineteen year olds against twenty-three year old been is a mismatch both physically and mentally. Until we overcome that, we will continue to get beat.

Agree with DTB 69 that the fifth year program could be changed, but doubt if it will and Coach Reid I'm sure understands that too and won't let it stand in his way of building our program.

We are on the right track as painful as it may seem. Just feel for the players and the staff because they are getting so close but not quite getting there. If these young men will commit to staying at VMI, we will be the surprise of the nation!

Saturday we've got another tough one but we'll show up against Liberty's 20 Seniors (all they all UVA transfers?). Next year they will be rebuilding and looking up at us. The following Saturday, we will BEAT The Citadel in Lexington and all of these excrusiatingly close losses will be a distant memory.

[Sly Fox]

Medic stirring the pot ... never seen that happen before.

[PAmedic]

who, me?

and it takes a lot of work, believe me.

[SuperJon]

Not with that bunch.

They're terrible. They're worse than last year, and will likely suck again.


I hope they get The Citadel this year, because if not, they might not be able to for a while.

[El Scorcho]

just visited the Keydets board...

I tried to sign up there Sunday. I think their board is busted.