Saturday, September 29, 2007
M-P loses slugfest
S-K settles last season's homecoming score
By Artyom Rayev
For the Press-Citizen
WELLMAN -- With an offense like a merry-go-round, Sigourney-Keota can sure confuse defenses.
With a 4-5 season like the one last year, the Savage Cobras sure confused fans, but things look to be falling back into place for S-K.
The Savage Cobras topped Mid-Prairie 44-35 on Friday night in a clash of Class 2A District 7 teams.
Led by first-year coach Clint Howard, son of longtime coach Bob Howard, the Savage Cobras have progressed impressively throughout the season.
Coming into the game, both teams were 2-2, with the Savage Cobras a week removed from a heartbreaking 22-20 loss to Collins-Maxwell-Baxter. Mid-Prairie was still on cloud nine after demolishing Eddyville-Blakesburg and Colfax-Mingo, 63-6 and 49-6, respectively.
With the district up for grabs, and the stakes high, this rivalry was intensified. After knocking the Golden Hawks out of the playoffs for two consecutive years, S-K was annihilated on homecoming last season 54-8 by Mid-Prairie. S-K had a score to settle.
"Sigourney-Keota did a very nice job with their run game, and they ended up wearing us down at the line of scrimmage, which made a big difference," Mid-Prairie coach Pete Cavanagh said. "They won the battle up front and ran the ball down our throats, which ended up being hard to stop."
The game opened up with a long return by wide receiver Abe Kos, who a few plays later made a spectacular diving catch to put Mid-Prairie in the red zone. The Golden Hawks ran the ball down to the 1-yard line before fullback Zach Murphy plunged in to give Mid-Prairie the first score of the game. On the ensuing possession, Murphy, this time at linebacker, worked his magic again, recovering a key fumble.
The Golden Hawks were halted at the 27-yard line, and decided to give sophomore kicker Tanner Miller a chance to make a 45-yard kick. Miller was just short, but the Golden Hawk defense backed him up with another stop. After a short punt return, Mid-Prairie's offense was back to work, but not for long. One play, and one play only, is what it took the Golden Hawks to score on the drive, as running back Josh Boone scampered 64 yards for a score. After a missed extra point, the Golden Hawks led 13-0.
With the first quarter almost at a close, the Mid-Prairie defense stood tall again, recovering another fumble. This time, S-K would not let the Golden Hawks score, forcing Mid-Prairie to punt. Sigourney set up their single-wing spinback whatchamacallit offense inside their 10-yard line after a punt by Boone. Kory Schwenke and Dillon Horning led a smash-mouth drive. Horning capped off the drive with a short rushing touchdown to put the Savage Cobras back into the game, down only 13-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
Golden Hawk quarterback Darian Patterson, an all-district pick at wide receiver last season led Mid-Prairie's offense to a lead before getting injured on a crucial Mid-Prairie possession. Enter Ryan Gent, a junior with limited experience at quarterback. On just his third pass, Gent connected with 6-foot-4 wide receiver Colin Brenneman for a long gain, but Mid-Prairie's drive didn't pan out. Sigourney-Keota's stout defense had kept them in the game after yet another fumble. Mid-Prairie had a shot at scoring points after a turnover, but was denied by the Savage Cobras.
S-K was all business on offense from that point on. Kory Schwenke led and then finished a drive with his high quality running. Schwenke then made good on the two-point conversion to give the Savage Cobras their first lead, 14-13, but Mid-Prairie would not quit. After a solid kick return, Mid-Prairie used some momentum-boosting chicanery.
With the athletic Patterson injured, the Golden Hawks still found a way to spark the crowd, using a well-timed flea-flicker that involved a touchdown pass from running back Josh Boone to Abe Kos. With a small amount of time left in the first half, the Golden Hawks took a 19-14 lead. Colin Brenneman caught a pass from Gent for the two-point conversion.
Coming out of the half, S-K's offense stalled yet again. Abe Kos was back to return the Savage Cobra kick. Coming into the game, Kos had already taken two punts back for touchdowns, and had a lofty 30.5 punt return average. The Savage Cobra punt was good, but not as good as the return. Kos slithered and shimmied his way out of tackles before making one final cutback to give Mid-Prairie a two-score lead.
The Golden Hawk offense, so far impressive, made one costly mistake that let Sigourney-Keota back into the game. After another Savage Cobra punt, Mid-Prairie had the ball near midfield but was unable to execute a handoff, which led to a game-breaking fumble recovery for S-K. Reenergized, the Savage Cobras stormed down the field in less than two minutes and handed it off to Dillon Horning for another score. Horning's second TD, and an ensuing two-point conversion put the Savage Cobras back in it, down only six at the end of the third quarter.
Mid-Prairie's offense was still recovering from their costly fumble in the fourth quarter, as it puttered to a punt. S-K led another scoring drive down the field, capped off by Dillon Horning's third touchdown of the game. S-K could not capitalize on the two-point opportunity and were left tied at 28.
Mid-Prairie was still not intimidated. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Josh Boone exploded for an 81-yard touchdown run to put the Golden Hawks ahead 35-28.
The Savage Cobras were down, but not out, and they refused to quit. The single-wing had been a curse in the first quarter, but now it was a blessing. Horning and Schwenke put the Savage Cobras on their back and led them down the field. Schwenke finished the drive with his second rushing touchdown. Horning, still very active, pounded his way in for the two-point conversion to give S-K a 36-35 lead. With momentum on their side, S-K stopped a Mid-Prairie drive and scored yet again. Schwenke put the game away with his third score, this time, by air from quarterback Nathan Hemsley. Schwenke made like UPS and went from air to ground, running in the two-point conversion to solidify the lead at 44-35.
The Golden Hawks had two minutes, but were intercepted early in their first drive. S-K ran out the clock on a barnburner in a heavily electrified rivalry match. Sigourney-Keota wore down the Golden Hawks late in the game to squeeze out a victory.
Now 3-2, Sigourney-Keota's single wing oddity seemed to work against the Golden Hawks. After a tune-up against Eddyville, Sigourney-Keota takes on district power Prairie-City Monroe. The Golden Hawks, now 2-3, take on PCM next week in Prairie City.
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Copyright © 2005, Iowa City Press-Citizen.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Gators explode late
Gators explode late
CARROLLTON, Ala.
CARROLLTON, Ala.
BY RONALD FRAZIER
Correspondent
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Glenwood used a 27-point fourth quarter to blow open a close game as the Gators went on the road and won their fifth game of the year, a 48-20 defeat of Pickens Academy Friday night.
Glenwood was ahead at the half, 21-20, due to quarterback Brandon Williams and tailback Marcus Woods.
Williams ran for 97 yards and one touchdown and passed for another to his brother, Arthur Williams.
Woods added 98 yards running and also scored a touchdown on an 88-yard kickoff return. But it was the other Gator weapons that sparked the fourth quarter.
With only 10:42 left in the game, Cody Pearcy scored on a 10-yard run.
William Tanzie's 5-yard run and fullback Cody Dykes' 31-yard rushing touchdown sealed the victory in the final period.
The final score came on a fumble returned 22 yards by Brian Lazzara.
Glenwood (5-1) had 321 yards total rushing and 53 more passing for the game.
Friday at Pickens Glenwood --48 Pickens --20
Correspondent
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Glenwood used a 27-point fourth quarter to blow open a close game as the Gators went on the road and won their fifth game of the year, a 48-20 defeat of Pickens Academy Friday night.
Glenwood was ahead at the half, 21-20, due to quarterback Brandon Williams and tailback Marcus Woods.
Williams ran for 97 yards and one touchdown and passed for another to his brother, Arthur Williams.
Woods added 98 yards running and also scored a touchdown on an 88-yard kickoff return. But it was the other Gator weapons that sparked the fourth quarter.
With only 10:42 left in the game, Cody Pearcy scored on a 10-yard run.
William Tanzie's 5-yard run and fullback Cody Dykes' 31-yard rushing touchdown sealed the victory in the final period.
The final score came on a fumble returned 22 yards by Brian Lazzara.
Glenwood (5-1) had 321 yards total rushing and 53 more passing for the game.
Friday at Pickens Glenwood --48 Pickens --20
First Quarter
PA--Shane Lance 2 yard run (PAT failed), 4:14
G--Marcus Woods 88 yard kickoff return (Austin Allison kick), 4:00
Second Quarter
PA--Lance 1 run (PAT failed), 11:55
G--Brandon Williams 33 pass to Arthur Williams (Allison kick), 8:34
PA--Kirk Lewis 2 run (Adams run), 2:34
G--B. Williams 14 run (Allison kick) 1:07
Fourth Quarter
G--Cody Pearcy 10 run (PAT failed), 10:32
G--William Tanzie 5 run (Allison kick), 5:44
G--Cody Dykes 31 run (Allison kick), 3:10
G--Brian Lazzara 22 run with fumble recover (Allison kick), 2:52
PA--Shane Lance 2 yard run (PAT failed), 4:14
G--Marcus Woods 88 yard kickoff return (Austin Allison kick), 4:00
Second Quarter
PA--Lance 1 run (PAT failed), 11:55
G--Brandon Williams 33 pass to Arthur Williams (Allison kick), 8:34
PA--Kirk Lewis 2 run (Adams run), 2:34
G--B. Williams 14 run (Allison kick) 1:07
Fourth Quarter
G--Cody Pearcy 10 run (PAT failed), 10:32
G--William Tanzie 5 run (Allison kick), 5:44
G--Cody Dykes 31 run (Allison kick), 3:10
G--Brian Lazzara 22 run with fumble recover (Allison kick), 2:52
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Marching among the unbeatens
Marching among the unbeatens
Terriers improve to 5-0 on season
BY JOHN CALKINS
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Week 5: Melbourne at Titusville
TITUSVILLE - With less than five minutes remaining and with the game and an undefeated record on the line, Titusville quarterback Chris Joly said he didn't need to say a word to his teammates.
"In the huddle, I saw it in their eyes," said Joly. "They knew what we had to do."
Down 25-21 with 4:48 left in the game, Joly led the Terriers on a flawlessly executed seven-play drive to beat Melbourne 28-25 and preserve Titusville's first 5-0 start in more than a decade.
Joly played just about a perfect game, completing 15 of 18 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning 6-yard score to Conner Szczerba with a little more than two minutes to go.
"He seems to improve every week," said Titusville coach Bobby Guthrie. "He deserves a lot of credit tonight."
The Terriers overcame a sluggish first half and went into the locker rooms down 17-7.
But two Joly touchdown passes in the second half changed that, and Titusville led 21-17 with 11:25 left in the fourth.
"(Guthrie) really chewed us out at halftime," Joly said.
But led by workhorse tailback Cortez Ray, who finished with a game-high 142 yards on 25 carries, Melbourne came back and took the lead after quarterback Matthew Spinazzola's 3-yard touchdown run with 4:48 to go in the game.
Then Joly took over.
On the final drive, Joly completed every pass he attempted and ran for two first downs.
"What can I say, the kid is my leader," Guthrie said.
Melbourne (2-3) got off to a fast start, scoring on its third play from scrimmage when tailback Jourdan Welch found a seam up the middle and scooted 40 yards for the game's first score.
The Bulldogs, at least in the first half, dominated.
"I tip my hat to them," Guthrie said. "They came out and played well. Our kids weren't ready to play in the first half."
Joly shrugged off his performance.
"I just tried to manage the game, and just play smart," he said. "I
had a lot of help."
That help mainly included receiver Willie Haulstead, who caught nine balls for 113 yards and two scores.
.
Terriers improve to 5-0 on season
BY JOHN CALKINS
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Week 5: Melbourne at Titusville
TITUSVILLE - With less than five minutes remaining and with the game and an undefeated record on the line, Titusville quarterback Chris Joly said he didn't need to say a word to his teammates.
"In the huddle, I saw it in their eyes," said Joly. "They knew what we had to do."
Down 25-21 with 4:48 left in the game, Joly led the Terriers on a flawlessly executed seven-play drive to beat Melbourne 28-25 and preserve Titusville's first 5-0 start in more than a decade.
Joly played just about a perfect game, completing 15 of 18 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning 6-yard score to Conner Szczerba with a little more than two minutes to go.
"He seems to improve every week," said Titusville coach Bobby Guthrie. "He deserves a lot of credit tonight."
The Terriers overcame a sluggish first half and went into the locker rooms down 17-7.
But two Joly touchdown passes in the second half changed that, and Titusville led 21-17 with 11:25 left in the fourth.
"(Guthrie) really chewed us out at halftime," Joly said.
But led by workhorse tailback Cortez Ray, who finished with a game-high 142 yards on 25 carries, Melbourne came back and took the lead after quarterback Matthew Spinazzola's 3-yard touchdown run with 4:48 to go in the game.
Then Joly took over.
On the final drive, Joly completed every pass he attempted and ran for two first downs.
"What can I say, the kid is my leader," Guthrie said.
Melbourne (2-3) got off to a fast start, scoring on its third play from scrimmage when tailback Jourdan Welch found a seam up the middle and scooted 40 yards for the game's first score.The Bulldogs, at least in the first half, dominated.
"I tip my hat to them," Guthrie said. "They came out and played well. Our kids weren't ready to play in the first half."
Joly shrugged off his performance.
"I just tried to manage the game, and just play smart," he said. "I
had a lot of help."That help mainly included receiver Willie Haulstead, who caught nine balls for 113 yards and two scores.
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Rockets have a blast
Rockets have a blast
Derek McCarty of Rapid River carries the ball in the first quarter of the Rockets' win over Brimley Friday. Mike Phillips of Brimley pursues. (Daily Press photo by Brandon Veale)By John Vrancic
dailypress.net
RAPID RIVER — There was plenty of time for experimenting Friday night as the Rapid River Rockets rolled to a 48-6 football triumph over the Brimley Bays.
Ten players carried the ball for the Rockets, who rushed for 377 yards in this Mid-Eastern Conference outing. Derek McCarty carried six times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard TD dash around right end midway through the second quarter.
“We tried a lot of different sets,” said Rockets’ coach Steve Ostrenga. “We wanted to get all of the kids in. The guys all practice hard. It’s important for them to get the game experience.”
The Rockets finished with 450 yards in total offense, including 4-of-6 passing by Alex Lindahl. The senior quarterback completed TD passes of 36 yards to Levi LaTulip and 13 to Dustin Lovell.
Lovell opened the scoring by sprinting 13 yards around left end on a counter play midway through the opening period. Junior Brent Forsythe added a one-yard TD run up the middle late in the third stanza and Justin Plimpton broke off guard for a 40-yard TD jaunt early in the fourth.
Brimley, with only three seniors and four juniors, averted the shutout on a QB sneak by sophomore Josh Graham with less than seven minutes to play.
“We have speed, but we’re just so young,” said Bays’ coach Brain Reattoir. “This is a major learning curve for us. We’re running a different offense this year and kids are playing in positions they’re not used to. We’re just trying to keep their heads in the game. We’re pleased with the effort. The kids haven’t given up at all.”
The Bays rushed for 79 yards with senior Ryan Freedman getting 66 in 14 carries. Freedman also hit 4-of-12 passes for 72 yards and two interceptions.
Rapid River senior tackle Dan Nedeau suffered a knee injury with three minutes left in the third frame. “I don’t know had bad it is yet,” said Ostrenga.
“I’m very impressed with Brimley. All their guys came over to our bench and shook his hand after the game. No. 35 (Freedman) is a nice ballplayer and they have a nice end.”
Rapid River (3-3 overall and league) hosts Oneida, Wis. Nation for homecoming Friday night. The Bays are 0-6 on both counts.
Brimley 0 0 0 6 — 6
Rapid River 15 20 7 6 — 48
First quarter
RR — Lovell, 13-yard run (Lovell kick), 6:28
RR — Lindahl, 36-yard pass to LaTulip (Lindahl to LaTulip pass), 2:33
Second quarter
RR — McCarty, 16-yard run (Lovell kick), 11:53
RR — McCarty, 57-yard run (kick failed), 6:17
RR — Lindahl, 13-yard pass to Lovell (Lovell kick), 2:27
Third quarter
RR — Forsythe, 1-yard run (Clark kick), 3:06
Fourth quarter
RR — Plimpton, 40-yard run (kick failed), 11:47
B — Graham, 1-yard run (run failed), 6:40
Statistics
Passing — Brimley, 72 yards (Freedman 4-12, Phillips 0-1); Rapid River, 73 yards (Lindahl 4-6).
Rushing — Brimley, 79 yards (Freedman 14-66); Rapid River, 377 yards (McCarty 6-117).
Total offense — Brimley 151 yards, Rapid River 450 yards.
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Spartans Facing Single-Wing Team Claiborne
Spartans Facing Single-Wing Team Claiborne
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Spartans looking to get back on track
Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 11:15 AM CDT
By MARQ MITCHAM
Sports Editor
Opening up a three-week, non-conference stretch, Prairie View travels to Claiborne Friday night. Kickoff time is 7 p.m. in Haynesville.
SLOW START: Inheriting a program in a rebuilding mode, first-year head coach Tommy Reeder has directed the Rebels to a 1-4 getaway.
Porter's Chapel - the Rebels and Spartans only common foe - downed Claiborne 13-6 in the season opener. Prairie View, meanwhile, spanked Porter's Chapel 34-7 in Week 3.
Claiborne bounced back the following week to edge Tallulah 27-21, before dropping consecutive games at the hands of Riverdale (26-6), Wilkinson County Christian (14-6) and Glenbrook (36-0).
SINGLE WING: It should come as no surprise that Reeder, who guided Ruston to a Class 5A state runner-up finish in 1998, installed the Single Wing upon his arrival at Claiborne. But the Rebels showed some different looks last week against Wilkinson Co.
"They run a lot of misdirection," said Prairie View coach Mike Hinton. "They showed a good bit of trips and quads against Glenbrook last week, but they weren't real successful. I figure they'll do it again this week since Trinity was successful running the spread against us."
Kyle Holloway returned a punt 85 yards to paydirt vs. Riverdale. Other key players for the Rebels include Jeff Teel and Chris Brazzel.
TIME TO REGROUP: Coming off of a 14-6 victory over Riverfield in the MPSA District 3-2A opener, the Spartans were held to 59 total yards in a 33-0 loss to Trinity Episcopal.
"Trinity had more team speed than we could handle," Hinton said. "They had speed everywhere. I don't know if it was from coming off the big win over Riverfield or what, but we were a little flat last week.
"I heard several of our players make the comment that Trinity was just good, so I feel like they will put it behind them."
Friday night offers the Spartans an opportunity to regroup.
"We're looking forward to this week," Hinton said. "This will be a good test to see if we can get back on track. We've always had some battles with Claiborne the last few years."
This marks the second straight season for the Spartans to visit the Rebels. Claiborne won last year's season opener, 20-13.
LINE SHUFFLE: Prairie View (3-2) has juggled its offensive line this week.
David Picard, a backup center at Sterlington last season, has moved from guard to center. Seth Allen moves inside from tackle to guard, with Colby Gilbert going from center to tackle. Zach Tubbs and Logan Hollis remain at guard and tackle, respectively.
"I feel confident that David can make the move because he's so quick," Hinton said. "By moving him now, we won't have to break in a center in the spring.
"Seth works hard. He'll be able to adjust."
Allen and Hollis were both held out of Monday's practice, but returned for Tuesday's workout in the gym.
By implementing the changes now, the reshuffled line will have three games under its belt by the time the Spartans return to district play for an Oct. 19 meeting at Adams County Christian.
"We have three weeks before we get back into district play," Hinton said. "We want to have everything in place by then."
LOOKING AHEAD: Although he did not come out and say it, Hinton probably has his eye on the Oct. 26 home date with River Oaks.
Standing 1-1 in district play, a victory over ACCS would put the Spartans in position to clinch second place outright with a win over River Oaks. Either way, the Spartans are in position to earn their first playoff berth since 1999.
"Even though we lost to Trinity, we're still in good shape to make the playoffs," Hinton said. "Our goal coming into the season was to make the playoffs and we're still in good shape to do that."
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Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Spartans looking to get back on track
Published: Friday, September 28, 2007 11:15 AM CDT
By MARQ MITCHAM
Sports Editor
Opening up a three-week, non-conference stretch, Prairie View travels to Claiborne Friday night. Kickoff time is 7 p.m. in Haynesville.
SLOW START: Inheriting a program in a rebuilding mode, first-year head coach Tommy Reeder has directed the Rebels to a 1-4 getaway.
Porter's Chapel - the Rebels and Spartans only common foe - downed Claiborne 13-6 in the season opener. Prairie View, meanwhile, spanked Porter's Chapel 34-7 in Week 3.
Claiborne bounced back the following week to edge Tallulah 27-21, before dropping consecutive games at the hands of Riverdale (26-6), Wilkinson County Christian (14-6) and Glenbrook (36-0).
SINGLE WING: It should come as no surprise that Reeder, who guided Ruston to a Class 5A state runner-up finish in 1998, installed the Single Wing upon his arrival at Claiborne. But the Rebels showed some different looks last week against Wilkinson Co.
"They run a lot of misdirection," said Prairie View coach Mike Hinton. "They showed a good bit of trips and quads against Glenbrook last week, but they weren't real successful. I figure they'll do it again this week since Trinity was successful running the spread against us."
Kyle Holloway returned a punt 85 yards to paydirt vs. Riverdale. Other key players for the Rebels include Jeff Teel and Chris Brazzel.
TIME TO REGROUP: Coming off of a 14-6 victory over Riverfield in the MPSA District 3-2A opener, the Spartans were held to 59 total yards in a 33-0 loss to Trinity Episcopal.
"Trinity had more team speed than we could handle," Hinton said. "They had speed everywhere. I don't know if it was from coming off the big win over Riverfield or what, but we were a little flat last week.
"I heard several of our players make the comment that Trinity was just good, so I feel like they will put it behind them."
Friday night offers the Spartans an opportunity to regroup.
"We're looking forward to this week," Hinton said. "This will be a good test to see if we can get back on track. We've always had some battles with Claiborne the last few years."
This marks the second straight season for the Spartans to visit the Rebels. Claiborne won last year's season opener, 20-13.
LINE SHUFFLE: Prairie View (3-2) has juggled its offensive line this week.
David Picard, a backup center at Sterlington last season, has moved from guard to center. Seth Allen moves inside from tackle to guard, with Colby Gilbert going from center to tackle. Zach Tubbs and Logan Hollis remain at guard and tackle, respectively.
"I feel confident that David can make the move because he's so quick," Hinton said. "By moving him now, we won't have to break in a center in the spring.
"Seth works hard. He'll be able to adjust."
Allen and Hollis were both held out of Monday's practice, but returned for Tuesday's workout in the gym.
By implementing the changes now, the reshuffled line will have three games under its belt by the time the Spartans return to district play for an Oct. 19 meeting at Adams County Christian.
"We have three weeks before we get back into district play," Hinton said. "We want to have everything in place by then."
LOOKING AHEAD: Although he did not come out and say it, Hinton probably has his eye on the Oct. 26 home date with River Oaks.
Standing 1-1 in district play, a victory over ACCS would put the Spartans in position to clinch second place outright with a win over River Oaks. Either way, the Spartans are in position to earn their first playoff berth since 1999.
"Even though we lost to Trinity, we're still in good shape to make the playoffs," Hinton said. "Our goal coming into the season was to make the playoffs and we're still in good shape to do that."
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Mohigans back into fire
Mohigans back into fire against Wheeling Park
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN — Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Championships, it wouldn’t have mattered much to King Morgantown that it had defeated Preston in a football game.
That seemed to be their birthright.
Ah, but times have changed, and coach John Bowers admits that this year’s 19-0 slaying of the Knights was cause for celebration throughout the one-time Kingdom of Championships.
“I listened to (Michigan State) coach Mark Dantonio at a coach’s clinic, and he was talking about celebrating every win. There were times when a Morgantown High win over Preston didn’t mean a whole lot. But when we’ve had a season like we’ve had, we need to celebrate every victory. We were ecstatic to beat Fairmont West. We’re ecstatic here.”
Indeed, Morgantown stands at 3-2 after five games, but one of those three victories is a forfeit over Martinsburg, which admitted to using an ineligible player after thumping the Mohigans in the season opener.
It’s back into the fire for Morgantown this weekend as it hosts a strong Wheeling Park team at Pony Lewis Field on Friday night.
Winning at Preston wasn’t easy for the Mohigans, who struggled through a dismal first half tied at 0-0 before taking over and scoring all 19 points in the third quarter.
“The offense played a great second half. It didn’t play bad in the first half; it was just you get something going, then something would happen like a fumbled snap or a dropped pass or something,” Bowers said. “The defense played a great entire game. Our kids have never quit playing hard. We just made a few silly mistakes here.
“We’re still green. We have to take baby steps, and we have to be happy with any gains we make. Any time you come out in the ‘W’ column, no matter who it’s against, you have to be happy with it,” Bowers said.
It was those silly mistakes that forced Bowers to go back in time and put in his version of the old-fashioned single-wing offense in the second half, using Daniel Strosnider as his single-wing tailback.
“The thing is, when you throw it the kid has to catch the snap, throw it, someone has to catch it, learn the route. We would put three or four good plays together, then we’d drop a snap or drop a ball. It didn’t seem like we could get any continuity to it,” Bowers explained.
“When you snap directly to a guy and he doesn’t have to do anything with it, just run, that’s pretty safe. Daniel does a nice job. He’s a former quarterback. We have throwing in the package and he can throw it pretty well.”
Spreading out in the formation also has took some pressure off the offensive line, allowing them to not have to hold their blocks quite so long.
“We decided we needed to spread the field because we’re not a great blocking team,” Bowers said.
The important thing was that it worked and got a victory out of the game for Morgantown.
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E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com
By Bob Hertzel
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN — Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Championships, it wouldn’t have mattered much to King Morgantown that it had defeated Preston in a football game.
That seemed to be their birthright.
Ah, but times have changed, and coach John Bowers admits that this year’s 19-0 slaying of the Knights was cause for celebration throughout the one-time Kingdom of Championships.
“I listened to (Michigan State) coach Mark Dantonio at a coach’s clinic, and he was talking about celebrating every win. There were times when a Morgantown High win over Preston didn’t mean a whole lot. But when we’ve had a season like we’ve had, we need to celebrate every victory. We were ecstatic to beat Fairmont West. We’re ecstatic here.”
Indeed, Morgantown stands at 3-2 after five games, but one of those three victories is a forfeit over Martinsburg, which admitted to using an ineligible player after thumping the Mohigans in the season opener.
It’s back into the fire for Morgantown this weekend as it hosts a strong Wheeling Park team at Pony Lewis Field on Friday night.
Winning at Preston wasn’t easy for the Mohigans, who struggled through a dismal first half tied at 0-0 before taking over and scoring all 19 points in the third quarter.
“The offense played a great second half. It didn’t play bad in the first half; it was just you get something going, then something would happen like a fumbled snap or a dropped pass or something,” Bowers said. “The defense played a great entire game. Our kids have never quit playing hard. We just made a few silly mistakes here.
“We’re still green. We have to take baby steps, and we have to be happy with any gains we make. Any time you come out in the ‘W’ column, no matter who it’s against, you have to be happy with it,” Bowers said.
It was those silly mistakes that forced Bowers to go back in time and put in his version of the old-fashioned single-wing offense in the second half, using Daniel Strosnider as his single-wing tailback.
“The thing is, when you throw it the kid has to catch the snap, throw it, someone has to catch it, learn the route. We would put three or four good plays together, then we’d drop a snap or drop a ball. It didn’t seem like we could get any continuity to it,” Bowers explained.
“When you snap directly to a guy and he doesn’t have to do anything with it, just run, that’s pretty safe. Daniel does a nice job. He’s a former quarterback. We have throwing in the package and he can throw it pretty well.”
Spreading out in the formation also has took some pressure off the offensive line, allowing them to not have to hold their blocks quite so long.
“We decided we needed to spread the field because we’re not a great blocking team,” Bowers said.
The important thing was that it worked and got a victory out of the game for Morgantown.
------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com
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Bulldogs face key contest against Single-Wing Rival
Bulldogs face key contest against rivals Saturday
September 28, 2007
By Keith Trout
The Smith Valley Bulldogs football team was hoping to see a fast start followed by a slow second half (as in an earlier loss) not repeat itself this season but unfortunately it returned in last Saturday's 30-12 loss to a tough Owyhee team.
The Bulldogs (1-3) led 12-8 at halftime but couldn't score again while the visiting Braves (who improved to 3-0) began taking advantage of the SV defense, scoring four touchdowns.
And Smith Valley definitely doesn't want to see a repeat this Saturday as they host neighboring Coleville (1 p.m.) in the Western 1A conference opener on Norman Brown Field.
In the earlier meeting against Coleville to open the season (nonconference game), Smith Valley exploded for 26 second quarter points to lead 34-14 at halftime but then wilted some in the second half and ended up losing 56-40.
SVHS coach Joe Acciari said he is calling this game the biggest game of the season for his club, since it is against rival Coleville, it could go a long ways towards determining playoff teams and they want to amend for the earlier loss.
Since they've already played each other they know one another, the coach said, but added they've both likely improved.
SV wants to run the ball and keep ball control to keep the ball out of the hands of the Wolves' talented single-wing tailback Jason Peters, a running and passing threat.
"It's the biggest game of the year, we'll find out who we are," Acciari said.
The team lost one more player, as freshman end-defensive back Jordan Fletcher broke his hand. Senior end Guy Stearns will miss another game after suffering a concussion but his brother Frank, a center, was cleared to return to workouts this week and may play on Saturday.
In addition, the team received a new foreign exchange student who had played in Tennessee. Acciari said the player, who should be cleared to play Saturday, had played offensive end but since he's a good athlete he also hopes he can help out on defense, as the team lost a defensive starter this week to academic ineligibility.
Against Owyhee, the SV defense played well in the first half, holding the Braves to only the one touchdown (plus a safety as quarterback Diego Verdugo was sacked in the end zone).
Meanwhile, SV got a five-yard run for a score from fullback Chris Hardy while Verdugo returned an interception about 50 yards for the other score.
Owyhee, though, took the second-half kickoff and drove for a score and it seemed to take something out of the Bulldogs.
Acciari said his team didn't give up but seemed to lack energy in the second half. "Once they scored things went downhill."
Meanwhile, on offensive the SV line struggled, with Verdugo often not having much time on running attempts, suffering some big losses. He said the defensive ends set up wide and were very quick, shutting down Verdugo's bootleg rollout plays. Verdugo also wasn't 100 percent after an ankle injury the week before.
Besides sacks, Owyhee also intercepted three passes.
On defense, Owyhee began running away from senior defensive end Spencer McLaughlin (who usually plays the wide side), especially with outside runs. SV caught on to this and the defensive ends delayed taking a side until once Owyhee came to the line, but the Braves quarterback then would call an audible and run to the side away from the big senior.
Acciari said McLaughlin is very smart and does a great job with containment while also penetrating, as he blocked one pass and a punt.
The coach said Owyhee, which kept the ball on the ground, didn't have many big runs but was able to gain at least 3-4 yards on every try and SV couldn't stop their second half drives.
On defense, linebackers Hardy and Tony Castaneda had big games, as they had 22 and 17 total tackles apiece.
.
September 28, 2007
By Keith Trout
The Smith Valley Bulldogs football team was hoping to see a fast start followed by a slow second half (as in an earlier loss) not repeat itself this season but unfortunately it returned in last Saturday's 30-12 loss to a tough Owyhee team.
The Bulldogs (1-3) led 12-8 at halftime but couldn't score again while the visiting Braves (who improved to 3-0) began taking advantage of the SV defense, scoring four touchdowns.
And Smith Valley definitely doesn't want to see a repeat this Saturday as they host neighboring Coleville (1 p.m.) in the Western 1A conference opener on Norman Brown Field.
In the earlier meeting against Coleville to open the season (nonconference game), Smith Valley exploded for 26 second quarter points to lead 34-14 at halftime but then wilted some in the second half and ended up losing 56-40.
SVHS coach Joe Acciari said he is calling this game the biggest game of the season for his club, since it is against rival Coleville, it could go a long ways towards determining playoff teams and they want to amend for the earlier loss.
Since they've already played each other they know one another, the coach said, but added they've both likely improved.
SV wants to run the ball and keep ball control to keep the ball out of the hands of the Wolves' talented single-wing tailback Jason Peters, a running and passing threat.
"It's the biggest game of the year, we'll find out who we are," Acciari said.
The team lost one more player, as freshman end-defensive back Jordan Fletcher broke his hand. Senior end Guy Stearns will miss another game after suffering a concussion but his brother Frank, a center, was cleared to return to workouts this week and may play on Saturday.
In addition, the team received a new foreign exchange student who had played in Tennessee. Acciari said the player, who should be cleared to play Saturday, had played offensive end but since he's a good athlete he also hopes he can help out on defense, as the team lost a defensive starter this week to academic ineligibility.
Against Owyhee, the SV defense played well in the first half, holding the Braves to only the one touchdown (plus a safety as quarterback Diego Verdugo was sacked in the end zone).
Meanwhile, SV got a five-yard run for a score from fullback Chris Hardy while Verdugo returned an interception about 50 yards for the other score.
Owyhee, though, took the second-half kickoff and drove for a score and it seemed to take something out of the Bulldogs.
Acciari said his team didn't give up but seemed to lack energy in the second half. "Once they scored things went downhill."
Meanwhile, on offensive the SV line struggled, with Verdugo often not having much time on running attempts, suffering some big losses. He said the defensive ends set up wide and were very quick, shutting down Verdugo's bootleg rollout plays. Verdugo also wasn't 100 percent after an ankle injury the week before.
Besides sacks, Owyhee also intercepted three passes.
On defense, Owyhee began running away from senior defensive end Spencer McLaughlin (who usually plays the wide side), especially with outside runs. SV caught on to this and the defensive ends delayed taking a side until once Owyhee came to the line, but the Braves quarterback then would call an audible and run to the side away from the big senior.
Acciari said McLaughlin is very smart and does a great job with containment while also penetrating, as he blocked one pass and a punt.
The coach said Owyhee, which kept the ball on the ground, didn't have many big runs but was able to gain at least 3-4 yards on every try and SV couldn't stop their second half drives.
On defense, linebackers Hardy and Tony Castaneda had big games, as they had 22 and 17 total tackles apiece.
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Single-Wing Coleville thumps McDermitt
Football: Coleville football thumps McDermitt
Record Courier
Staff Reports
September 25, 2007
The Coleville Wolves exploded for 80 points in a lopsided victory over the hosting McDermitt Bulldogs over the weekend.
The 80 to 16 non-league victory keep the Wolves unbeaten at 5-0 in the preseason with league play beginning next week at Smith Valley.
Freshman flanker and defensive back Emmi Sandoval had a career day, scoring four times for Coleville.
Sandoval scored on the Wolves opening drive on a 41-yard pass from Jason Peters. He scored again on Coleville’s second drive on a 33-yard run. He scored twice more in the second quarter returning an interception for a school record 79 yards and returning a kickoff 75 yards.
Sophomore tight end and linebacker Jay Clark also had a breakout game scoring his first two career touchdowns.
Clark scored on a 26-yard touchdown reception and on a 58-yard touchdown scamper after he blocked a third-quarter field goal. In addition to his defensive touchdown, Clark ended the day with 3 solo tackles and 12 assists in an outstanding defensive performance.
Peters, the Wolves’ sophomore quarterback, ended the day with 182 yards passing and four touchdown passes. Trevor Anderson led the Coleville receivers with 78 yards in receptions, scoring once on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Dylan Hudson caught one pass for a 31-yard touchdown and also scored on a 29-yard interception return.
Colton Ward led the Wolves with 37 yards on the ground and scored one touchdown on a seven-yard run. Freshman Shane Parker scored his first career touchdown on a 34-yard run.
Defensively the Coleville Wolves forced six turnovers. Sophomore linebacker John Hall came off the bench to lead the defensive effort with four solos, 11 assists, and a fumble recovery. Kyle Tidwell with two solos and five assists, Terrence Garcia with 10 assists and one sack, Steven Koelling with eight assists, and Kambel Kenaston with six assists all made significant defensive contributions.
“I was hoping for a more competitive tune-up game leading into league play but it was a great opportunity to get the younger players significant playing time,” Coleville coach Will Sandy said. “The younger guys played very well especially on defense. We understand that our next three games will be very tough league contests beginning with next week’s game at Smith Valley. Smith Valley will be out to avenge an earlier loss to us and we had better be ready to play our best game of the season.”
Record Courier
Staff Reports
September 25, 2007
The Coleville Wolves exploded for 80 points in a lopsided victory over the hosting McDermitt Bulldogs over the weekend.
The 80 to 16 non-league victory keep the Wolves unbeaten at 5-0 in the preseason with league play beginning next week at Smith Valley.
Freshman flanker and defensive back Emmi Sandoval had a career day, scoring four times for Coleville.
Sandoval scored on the Wolves opening drive on a 41-yard pass from Jason Peters. He scored again on Coleville’s second drive on a 33-yard run. He scored twice more in the second quarter returning an interception for a school record 79 yards and returning a kickoff 75 yards.
Sophomore tight end and linebacker Jay Clark also had a breakout game scoring his first two career touchdowns.
Clark scored on a 26-yard touchdown reception and on a 58-yard touchdown scamper after he blocked a third-quarter field goal. In addition to his defensive touchdown, Clark ended the day with 3 solo tackles and 12 assists in an outstanding defensive performance.
Peters, the Wolves’ sophomore quarterback, ended the day with 182 yards passing and four touchdown passes. Trevor Anderson led the Coleville receivers with 78 yards in receptions, scoring once on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Dylan Hudson caught one pass for a 31-yard touchdown and also scored on a 29-yard interception return.
Colton Ward led the Wolves with 37 yards on the ground and scored one touchdown on a seven-yard run. Freshman Shane Parker scored his first career touchdown on a 34-yard run.
Defensively the Coleville Wolves forced six turnovers. Sophomore linebacker John Hall came off the bench to lead the defensive effort with four solos, 11 assists, and a fumble recovery. Kyle Tidwell with two solos and five assists, Terrence Garcia with 10 assists and one sack, Steven Koelling with eight assists, and Kambel Kenaston with six assists all made significant defensive contributions.
“I was hoping for a more competitive tune-up game leading into league play but it was a great opportunity to get the younger players significant playing time,” Coleville coach Will Sandy said. “The younger guys played very well especially on defense. We understand that our next three games will be very tough league contests beginning with next week’s game at Smith Valley. Smith Valley will be out to avenge an earlier loss to us and we had better be ready to play our best game of the season.”
Mountaineers looking to build on week-one win
09/21/2007
Mountaineers looking to build on week-one win
By TIMOTHY W. GAFFNEY
Register Citizen Correspondent
FALLS VILLAGE - The Housatonic football team finds itself in a position it would love to see more of, tied for first place in the Uncas Division of the Pequot League.
The 1-0 Mountaineers travel to Deep River to take on 0-1 Valley Regional today under the lights with a 6:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff.
Things have been buzzing all week in this small town, fresh off its football team's opening-week 34-20 home win over Coginchaug/Vinal Tech.
Second-year head coach Deron Bayer liked what he saw in the week-one win, but understands the task ahead versus a team that mirrors his in many ways is no easy one.
"Over the past 10 years (Bayer was assistant coach before taking over the reigns this year), we have matched up evenly with Valley almost every year." Bayer explained.
"Tim King is their head coach and he always gets the most out his players." he continued. "You have to be on your toes when you face him because he knows and runs a game very well."
Last week, senior running back Tom Kennedy scored four touchdowns as the Mountaineers ran out to a 20-0 lead before holding on for the win in the second half.
Kennedy earned the Athlete of the Week honor in the Register Citizen last week, but Bayer credits Kennedy for understanding how it happened.
"Tom would be the first to say it was a team effort." Bayer said. "He understands he wouldn't be able to do much without his line blocking as well as they did last week."
Valley was blanked by Ellington 24-0 last week on the road, but playing under the lights in its home opener should provide extra motivation for Regional.
"They will want to get their first win on their home field in front of a big crowd." Bayer said.
Like the Mountaineers, Valley won't be bringing many surprises to the game, it's smashmouth football, and running will be the name of the game.
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Running back playing major role in Londonderry’s Single Wing offense
Article published Sep 28, 2007
Numbers adding up for Theodhosi
Running back playing major role in Londonderry’s Single Wing offense
By Gary Fitz
Telegraph Staff
The apparatus has now become part of the legend. It's a 28-foot long rope that extends from floor to ceiling in a stairwell in the home of Londonderry running back Alex Theodhosi.
Installed by his father when Alex was in elementary school, it was the perfect way to build upper body strength for an athlete still too young to hit the weight room. It may help explain why Theodhosi owns the Londonderry High School record for chin-ups with an astounding 30.
Of course, the chin-up record pales in comparison to some of the other numbers Theodhosi is putting up this fall. There's 42 – the number of times he carried the ball in the Lancers' huge victory over Salem two weeks ago. That's a school record, too.
And there's 790 – the number of yards Theodhosi has gained in just four games this season, despite going for just 76 yards on 15 carries in the team's only loss, against Manchester West.
In the last two weeks Theodhosi has lugged the ball 67 times for 501 yards.
Want more numbers? How about 320 and 400, or Theodhosi's weight-room highs in the bench press and squat, respectively.
Perhaps the most surprising figure is 4.4. Twice last summer, including at a camp at Dartmouth College, Theodhosi was clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Some question the authenticity of the number, but Theodhosi has been consistently in the 4.5-4.6 range.
At a school that has mass-produced talented running backs since one and only coach Tom Sawyer brought the program to prominence in the mid-1980s, Theodhosi is on course to obliterate every single-season school record on the books.
Of course, Theodhosi has one big advantage over his predecessors, like the amazing Steve Miller in the late 1990s. In the Single Wing offense the school is running this fall, he takes a direct snap and lets his size, speed, power and 10 blocking teammates do the rest.
"It makes perfect sense to me,'' said Londonderry assistant coach Mike Bicchieri, an outstanding back in his own right from the Miller era. "Give the ball to the biggest, strongest, fastest kid with 10 guys blocking for him.''
Bicchieri says Theodhosi is the strongest and fastest running back he's ever seen in Londonderry. But it wasn't love at first sight.
"When I had him as a sophomore on the junior varsity, he was a little soft,'' Bicchieri said. "He was always hurt and missing practice.''
So Bicchieri, an obvious disciple of a very tough-minded head coach, gave him the Londonderry ultimatum.
"I got hurt one day and told him I couldn't practice,'' Theodhosi remembers. "He told me to take one day off, but when you come back tomorrow I don't want to hear that again.''
Injuries are part of football but so is injury prevention, and Theodhosi has attempted to make himself all but indestructible in the weight room.
"I've always liked to lift and I've always put a lot of emphasis on leg power,'' Theodhosi said. "When you have that power in your legs, the extra acceleration and explosiveness, it's easier to break tackles.''
Theodhosi has more going for him than power and speed. Another number that can't and shouldn't be overlooked is his grade point average, which is currently over 4.0. While he's busting tackles on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, he's cracking the books the rest of the week, with advanced placements courses this fall in calculus, statistics and environmental science.
The combination of football and academics has Theodhosi narrowing his college choices to the schools in the Ivy League and New England Small College Athletic Conference. He's already visited Bates and Bowdoin.
For someone so accomplished, you'd think people could at least spell his name right. But until a few weeks ago, when his name started to dominate the headlines, it was "Theodosi,'' in large part because it was misspelled on the team's official roster.
"I'm of Albanian descent and it's not a common name,'' Theodhosi said, "so I guess leaving out the extra H wasn't that big a deal. It's nice that people are starting to get it right.''
With the old spelling, Theodhosi said, some people thought he was Italian.
"Hey, it's right across the Adriatic Sea,'' Theodhosi said. "No big deal.''
Of course, he would know that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006, Telegraph Publishing Company, Nashua, New Hampshire
Numbers adding up for Theodhosi
Running back playing major role in Londonderry’s Single Wing offense
By Gary Fitz
Telegraph Staff
The apparatus has now become part of the legend. It's a 28-foot long rope that extends from floor to ceiling in a stairwell in the home of Londonderry running back Alex Theodhosi.
Installed by his father when Alex was in elementary school, it was the perfect way to build upper body strength for an athlete still too young to hit the weight room. It may help explain why Theodhosi owns the Londonderry High School record for chin-ups with an astounding 30.
Of course, the chin-up record pales in comparison to some of the other numbers Theodhosi is putting up this fall. There's 42 – the number of times he carried the ball in the Lancers' huge victory over Salem two weeks ago. That's a school record, too.
And there's 790 – the number of yards Theodhosi has gained in just four games this season, despite going for just 76 yards on 15 carries in the team's only loss, against Manchester West.
In the last two weeks Theodhosi has lugged the ball 67 times for 501 yards.
Want more numbers? How about 320 and 400, or Theodhosi's weight-room highs in the bench press and squat, respectively.
Perhaps the most surprising figure is 4.4. Twice last summer, including at a camp at Dartmouth College, Theodhosi was clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Some question the authenticity of the number, but Theodhosi has been consistently in the 4.5-4.6 range.
At a school that has mass-produced talented running backs since one and only coach Tom Sawyer brought the program to prominence in the mid-1980s, Theodhosi is on course to obliterate every single-season school record on the books.
Of course, Theodhosi has one big advantage over his predecessors, like the amazing Steve Miller in the late 1990s. In the Single Wing offense the school is running this fall, he takes a direct snap and lets his size, speed, power and 10 blocking teammates do the rest.
"It makes perfect sense to me,'' said Londonderry assistant coach Mike Bicchieri, an outstanding back in his own right from the Miller era. "Give the ball to the biggest, strongest, fastest kid with 10 guys blocking for him.''
Bicchieri says Theodhosi is the strongest and fastest running back he's ever seen in Londonderry. But it wasn't love at first sight.
"When I had him as a sophomore on the junior varsity, he was a little soft,'' Bicchieri said. "He was always hurt and missing practice.''
So Bicchieri, an obvious disciple of a very tough-minded head coach, gave him the Londonderry ultimatum.
"I got hurt one day and told him I couldn't practice,'' Theodhosi remembers. "He told me to take one day off, but when you come back tomorrow I don't want to hear that again.''
Injuries are part of football but so is injury prevention, and Theodhosi has attempted to make himself all but indestructible in the weight room.
"I've always liked to lift and I've always put a lot of emphasis on leg power,'' Theodhosi said. "When you have that power in your legs, the extra acceleration and explosiveness, it's easier to break tackles.''
Theodhosi has more going for him than power and speed. Another number that can't and shouldn't be overlooked is his grade point average, which is currently over 4.0. While he's busting tackles on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, he's cracking the books the rest of the week, with advanced placements courses this fall in calculus, statistics and environmental science.
The combination of football and academics has Theodhosi narrowing his college choices to the schools in the Ivy League and New England Small College Athletic Conference. He's already visited Bates and Bowdoin.
For someone so accomplished, you'd think people could at least spell his name right. But until a few weeks ago, when his name started to dominate the headlines, it was "Theodosi,'' in large part because it was misspelled on the team's official roster.
"I'm of Albanian descent and it's not a common name,'' Theodhosi said, "so I guess leaving out the extra H wasn't that big a deal. It's nice that people are starting to get it right.''
With the old spelling, Theodhosi said, some people thought he was Italian.
"Hey, it's right across the Adriatic Sea,'' Theodhosi said. "No big deal.''
Of course, he would know that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006, Telegraph Publishing Company, Nashua, New Hampshire
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Two Single-Wing Teams Battle; Coach Hughes wins 100th
Milestone 100th victory a nail-biter for Long Reach coach Hughes
09/27/07
by andrew conrad
Football
It took Long Reach coach Pete Hughes 25 years to get his first 99 wins as a head coach and it took him every bit of 48 minutes to get his 100th win Sept. 21 in a 7-6 victory over Centennial at home.
Centennial sophomore quarterback Greg Edmonds scored on the opening kickoff return, but a penalty for celebrating (it was the Eagles' first score of the season) left them with a difficult extra-point attempt, which was missed.
That one point made all the difference as Long Reach sophomore Kwasi Sarpong capped a long drive with a touchdown run in the second quarter, and Dele Ukim connected on the extra point to give Long Reach a 7-6 lead that would hold up for the entire second half.
"Centennial's very tough defensively, it was an exciting game," Hughes said. "We both run similar offenses, the single wing, so they see it in practice."
With only about 10 games per season, 100 wins has been quite a journey for Hughes. He played high school football for Woodlawn and was recruited by Valley City State in North Dakota.
There, he was named a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American defensive back in 1980, when the Vikings won the conference championship and their opening game of the NAIA playoffs.
Hughes is second on the school's career interception return yard list, with 144 on 13 interceptions (fourth all-time), and made 267 total tackles (seventh all-time).
After graduating, he became head coach at Finley-Sharon in 1983, where he went 22-6 and led the Spartans to a regional championship, a performance that earned him North Dakota Coach of the Year honors in 1985. Hughes came home to Maryland in 1986 and was defensive coordinator at Hammond for 10 years before taking the head coaching job at Long Reach when it opened in 1997.
He is 78-38 with the Lightning.
"I was just happy to get (100) and have it behind me," Hughes said. "The kids didn't realize until I told them after the game. They were excited, and so was I."
09/27/07
by andrew conrad
Football
It took Long Reach coach Pete Hughes 25 years to get his first 99 wins as a head coach and it took him every bit of 48 minutes to get his 100th win Sept. 21 in a 7-6 victory over Centennial at home.
Centennial sophomore quarterback Greg Edmonds scored on the opening kickoff return, but a penalty for celebrating (it was the Eagles' first score of the season) left them with a difficult extra-point attempt, which was missed.
That one point made all the difference as Long Reach sophomore Kwasi Sarpong capped a long drive with a touchdown run in the second quarter, and Dele Ukim connected on the extra point to give Long Reach a 7-6 lead that would hold up for the entire second half.
"Centennial's very tough defensively, it was an exciting game," Hughes said. "We both run similar offenses, the single wing, so they see it in practice."
With only about 10 games per season, 100 wins has been quite a journey for Hughes. He played high school football for Woodlawn and was recruited by Valley City State in North Dakota.
There, he was named a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American defensive back in 1980, when the Vikings won the conference championship and their opening game of the NAIA playoffs.
Hughes is second on the school's career interception return yard list, with 144 on 13 interceptions (fourth all-time), and made 267 total tackles (seventh all-time).
After graduating, he became head coach at Finley-Sharon in 1983, where he went 22-6 and led the Spartans to a regional championship, a performance that earned him North Dakota Coach of the Year honors in 1985. Hughes came home to Maryland in 1986 and was defensive coordinator at Hammond for 10 years before taking the head coaching job at Long Reach when it opened in 1997.
He is 78-38 with the Lightning.
"I was just happy to get (100) and have it behind me," Hughes said. "The kids didn't realize until I told them after the game. They were excited, and so was I."
E-mail Andrew Conrad at Andrew Conrad@patuxent.com
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
Big weekend for football fans
Big weekend for football fans
Aaron Kirchoff
Sports Editor
...
Greensburg is celebrating Homecoming against EIAC foe Batesville.
The Pirates and Bulldogs square off at 7 p.m. Both teams are 4-2 on the year with the Pirates 3-0 in conference play and the Bulldogs 2-1 in the EIAC.
“Batesville is a very good team. They have a several good running backs. Jeremy Cook is very explosive and is hard to bring down. Quarterback Hartman is big and we expect to see him run a lot of sneaks to challenge us up front,” Greensburg head coach Eric Schreiber noted.
“Batesville runs the single wing offense with their Wing-T plays. They have a unique defense that is very stubborn. This game will be a huge challenge for us, but we will be ready to give them all we have on Homecoming night,” Coach Schreiber added.
Offensively, the Pirates are led by quarterback Mitch Adams with 518 yards rushing. Andrew Jobe has rushed for 410 yards and Mitch Tuttle averages 6.2 yards per carry.
The Pirates defense is led by Trygve Henrikson with 45 tackles and 37 assists. Nick Springmeyer has 18 tackles and 16 assists to go along with a team-high four sacks. Jay Myers has 13 tackles and 38 assists. Tuttle had 21 tackles and George Myers has 14 tackles.
Greensburg has won the last two regular season meetings.
Aaron Kirchoff
Sports Editor
...
Greensburg is celebrating Homecoming against EIAC foe Batesville.
The Pirates and Bulldogs square off at 7 p.m. Both teams are 4-2 on the year with the Pirates 3-0 in conference play and the Bulldogs 2-1 in the EIAC.
“Batesville is a very good team. They have a several good running backs. Jeremy Cook is very explosive and is hard to bring down. Quarterback Hartman is big and we expect to see him run a lot of sneaks to challenge us up front,” Greensburg head coach Eric Schreiber noted.
“Batesville runs the single wing offense with their Wing-T plays. They have a unique defense that is very stubborn. This game will be a huge challenge for us, but we will be ready to give them all we have on Homecoming night,” Coach Schreiber added.
Offensively, the Pirates are led by quarterback Mitch Adams with 518 yards rushing. Andrew Jobe has rushed for 410 yards and Mitch Tuttle averages 6.2 yards per carry.
The Pirates defense is led by Trygve Henrikson with 45 tackles and 37 assists. Nick Springmeyer has 18 tackles and 16 assists to go along with a team-high four sacks. Jay Myers has 13 tackles and 38 assists. Tuttle had 21 tackles and George Myers has 14 tackles.Greensburg has won the last two regular season meetings.
Coal Grove, Fairland a contrast of styles
THE HUDDLE
Coal Grove, Fairland a contrast of styles
By JIM WALKER/Tribune Sports Editor
One likes to go over the fence, the other likes to go under it.
In a distinct contrast of styles, the Coal Grove Hornets will pit their running game against the Fairland Dragons passing attack when the teams begin Ohio Valley Conference play Friday at Lemaster Stadium.
The Hornets send a group of running backs at opponents led by Frank Delawder who has rushed 71 times for 413 yards and five touchdowns in four games.
Matt Cooper had 44 carries for 176 yards and four scores while Jacob Jenkins had 44 attempts for 211 yards.
“They have what appears to be a very solid line with backs who run very hard. They look like Coal Grove teams of the past,” said Fairland coach Brent Wilcoxon. “We have to kept them from shoving it down our throats.”
Fairland (2-3) is known for its passing game that centers around quarterback Cole Hatfield, 79 of 136 on the season for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns.
Michael Lamb leads Fairland with 27 catches for 403 yards and three scores. Chad Fisher had 16 grabs for 197 yards and Matt Bloomfield 12 receptions for 195 yards.
“Lamb is a nice player. He made a great catch last week,” said Hornets coach Dave Lucas. “They’re pretty good athletes. The key for us is to move the ball. If we can do that, we’ll be okay. And we have to stop the big play.”
Fairland has added the single-wing to its offense. The move led to Jordan Kersey running for 283 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 48-43 win over Meigs.
Lucas began as an assistant coach at Fairland under Jim Mayo who ran the single-wing.
“It’s not the same as ours. They do different things out of it,” said Lucas. “They have good speed. You have to get them before they get started.”
Fairland averages 32 points a game, but is yielding 29.6 a game. Despite the numbers, Lucas doesn’t discredit the Fairland defense.
“He’s better de defensively that he’s been in the past few years,” said Lucas.
Coal Grove won a 27-26 thriller last year and outscored the Dragons 52-50 three years ago.
“(Coal Grove) is similar in style to Sheldon Clark. They just come right at you,” said Wilcoxon. “They’re doing a lot of different things on defense. They mix things up and keep you confused.
“I’d like to keep our high-scoring offense. We have to stop their 10- and 13-play drives that have haunted us in the past where they just eat up the clock.”
Coal Grove (3-1) had an open date last week when Sciotoville East bought its way out of the contract. Lucas doesn’t know what effect it will have on his team to sit idle.
“It was kind of frustrating because the kids want to play,” said Lucas.
Coal Grove, Fairland a contrast of styles
By JIM WALKER/Tribune Sports Editor
One likes to go over the fence, the other likes to go under it.
In a distinct contrast of styles, the Coal Grove Hornets will pit their running game against the Fairland Dragons passing attack when the teams begin Ohio Valley Conference play Friday at Lemaster Stadium.
The Hornets send a group of running backs at opponents led by Frank Delawder who has rushed 71 times for 413 yards and five touchdowns in four games.
Matt Cooper had 44 carries for 176 yards and four scores while Jacob Jenkins had 44 attempts for 211 yards.
“They have what appears to be a very solid line with backs who run very hard. They look like Coal Grove teams of the past,” said Fairland coach Brent Wilcoxon. “We have to kept them from shoving it down our throats.”
Fairland (2-3) is known for its passing game that centers around quarterback Cole Hatfield, 79 of 136 on the season for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns.
Michael Lamb leads Fairland with 27 catches for 403 yards and three scores. Chad Fisher had 16 grabs for 197 yards and Matt Bloomfield 12 receptions for 195 yards.
“Lamb is a nice player. He made a great catch last week,” said Hornets coach Dave Lucas. “They’re pretty good athletes. The key for us is to move the ball. If we can do that, we’ll be okay. And we have to stop the big play.”
Fairland has added the single-wing to its offense. The move led to Jordan Kersey running for 283 yards and four touchdowns last week in a 48-43 win over Meigs.
Lucas began as an assistant coach at Fairland under Jim Mayo who ran the single-wing.
“It’s not the same as ours. They do different things out of it,” said Lucas. “They have good speed. You have to get them before they get started.”
Fairland averages 32 points a game, but is yielding 29.6 a game. Despite the numbers, Lucas doesn’t discredit the Fairland defense.
“He’s better de defensively that he’s been in the past few years,” said Lucas.
Coal Grove won a 27-26 thriller last year and outscored the Dragons 52-50 three years ago.
“(Coal Grove) is similar in style to Sheldon Clark. They just come right at you,” said Wilcoxon. “They’re doing a lot of different things on defense. They mix things up and keep you confused.
“I’d like to keep our high-scoring offense. We have to stop their 10- and 13-play drives that have haunted us in the past where they just eat up the clock.”
Coal Grove (3-1) had an open date last week when Sciotoville East bought its way out of the contract. Lucas doesn’t know what effect it will have on his team to sit idle.
“It was kind of frustrating because the kids want to play,” said Lucas.
Apopka adjusts to larger foes with a 2-QB
Apopka adjusts to larger foes with a 2-QB offense
Tania Ganguli Sentinel Staff Writer
September 27, 2007
Drastic changes followed Apopka's 36-0 loss to Daytona Beach Seabreeze in a preseason classic.
The new single-wing offense the Blue Darters had implemented didn't work. They had exactly one week to figure out something that would. The coaches scrapped their old system in favor of one that used two quarterbacks.
The Blue Darters unveiled the new offense against Lake Brantley.
"It was a little confusing," said Jeremy Gallon, one of Apopka's junior quarterbacks. "We were doing things we hadn't done against another team before."
For one thing, Gallon had never played quarterback before. But as the game went on, the offense made more sense and the players felt more comfortable. They won 35-28 in triple overtime.
Apopka is small and inexperienced, but the Blue Darters -- ranked fourth in the Sentinel Super 6 heading into Friday night's home game against No. 2 Edgewater -- are learning on the fly.
Four games into the season, the Blue Darters are undefeated against some of the best teams in Central Florida. With the help of a sharp defense, a quick and unconventional offense and a few lucky breaks, they are one of the best teams in Central Florida.
"I think it's somewhat of a -- it's a very steady team," Apopka Coach Rick Darlington said. "With all the young kids we have, I thought it'd be a team that was up and down emotionally. They haven't been that way at all."
Darlington said he selected the single-wing offense because of his personnel.
Size left Apopka at a disadvantage. The line's only senior is 5 feet 8 and weighs 220 pounds. Apopka's quarterback/running back/wide receiver, Gallon is also 5 feet 8 and weighs 160. Wing back Jeremy Rouse is 5 feet 10, 165 pounds, and linebacker Larvez "Pooh Bear" Mars is 5 feet 10, 195 pounds.
Inexperience was another concern.
Last year's starting quarterback, Derek Shaw, transferred to Lake Brantley. The offensive line returned just one starter and plays three sophomores. The Blue Darters have 30 sophomores and 16 seniors on their roster.
When Apopka moved toward a more traditional offense, players worked to find favorable matchups.
"We just pick a weakness," Gallon said. "We're fast. We've got a fast, small team."
They've got a skilled team as well. Darlington said Gallon and fellow quarterback Caleb Nelson are completing more than 50 percent of their passes.
Gallon and Nelson share equal playing time and alternate on no particular schedule.
Two weeks ago, Apopka traveled to Dr. Phillips and showed off that speed and ability to pick on a weakness.
"They've got great players; they're just young," said Kevin Pettis, the Dr. Phillips coach whose team lost to Apopka 24-20. "They're juniors, but they do have great players and they play hard, and they're just a great football team. Coach Darlington always throws in a few wrinkles you haven't seen."
Defense played a key role against the Panthers as Apopka scored once off a fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by Jeremy Gallon's younger brother, Bradley Gallon.
Things seem to be falling the right way for Apopka these days.
"Right now, we kind of have gotten a lot of good breaks," Darlington said. "Lake Brantley, they kicked the field goal at the end of regulation and missed it, fumbled at the goal line. That was a good break. Dr. Phillips had some long passes; they had a long touchdown run called back.
"But you can't always count on those breaks to go your way."
Tania Ganguli can be reached at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
Tania Ganguli Sentinel Staff Writer
September 27, 2007
Drastic changes followed Apopka's 36-0 loss to Daytona Beach Seabreeze in a preseason classic.
The new single-wing offense the Blue Darters had implemented didn't work. They had exactly one week to figure out something that would. The coaches scrapped their old system in favor of one that used two quarterbacks.
The Blue Darters unveiled the new offense against Lake Brantley.
"It was a little confusing," said Jeremy Gallon, one of Apopka's junior quarterbacks. "We were doing things we hadn't done against another team before."
For one thing, Gallon had never played quarterback before. But as the game went on, the offense made more sense and the players felt more comfortable. They won 35-28 in triple overtime.
Apopka is small and inexperienced, but the Blue Darters -- ranked fourth in the Sentinel Super 6 heading into Friday night's home game against No. 2 Edgewater -- are learning on the fly.
Four games into the season, the Blue Darters are undefeated against some of the best teams in Central Florida. With the help of a sharp defense, a quick and unconventional offense and a few lucky breaks, they are one of the best teams in Central Florida.
"I think it's somewhat of a -- it's a very steady team," Apopka Coach Rick Darlington said. "With all the young kids we have, I thought it'd be a team that was up and down emotionally. They haven't been that way at all."
Darlington said he selected the single-wing offense because of his personnel.
Size left Apopka at a disadvantage. The line's only senior is 5 feet 8 and weighs 220 pounds. Apopka's quarterback/running back/wide receiver, Gallon is also 5 feet 8 and weighs 160. Wing back Jeremy Rouse is 5 feet 10, 165 pounds, and linebacker Larvez "Pooh Bear" Mars is 5 feet 10, 195 pounds.
Inexperience was another concern.
Last year's starting quarterback, Derek Shaw, transferred to Lake Brantley. The offensive line returned just one starter and plays three sophomores. The Blue Darters have 30 sophomores and 16 seniors on their roster.
When Apopka moved toward a more traditional offense, players worked to find favorable matchups.
"We just pick a weakness," Gallon said. "We're fast. We've got a fast, small team."
They've got a skilled team as well. Darlington said Gallon and fellow quarterback Caleb Nelson are completing more than 50 percent of their passes.
Gallon and Nelson share equal playing time and alternate on no particular schedule.
Two weeks ago, Apopka traveled to Dr. Phillips and showed off that speed and ability to pick on a weakness.
"They've got great players; they're just young," said Kevin Pettis, the Dr. Phillips coach whose team lost to Apopka 24-20. "They're juniors, but they do have great players and they play hard, and they're just a great football team. Coach Darlington always throws in a few wrinkles you haven't seen."
Defense played a key role against the Panthers as Apopka scored once off a fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by Jeremy Gallon's younger brother, Bradley Gallon.
Things seem to be falling the right way for Apopka these days.
"Right now, we kind of have gotten a lot of good breaks," Darlington said. "Lake Brantley, they kicked the field goal at the end of regulation and missed it, fumbled at the goal line. That was a good break. Dr. Phillips had some long passes; they had a long touchdown run called back.
"But you can't always count on those breaks to go your way."
Tania Ganguli can be reached at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
Single Wing helps end a 15 game losing streak
Comets shock Addison
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Citizen Patriot staff reports
The Addison High School football team found itself just 3 yards from pulling into a tie and possibly avoiding an upset loss at the hands of Hanover-Horton on Friday night.
The Comets didn't let the Panthers get there.
Hanover-Horton stopped Addison star running back Jaron Butts on a potential tying two-point conversion try late in the game and held on for a shocking 28-26 victory over the Panthers.
The win ended a 15-game losing streak to Addison for the Comets (3-1, 2-1 Cascades Conference). Hanover-Horton's last victory over Addison came by a 7-6 score in 1992. The win also pushed Hanover-Horton into a tie for first in the league with four other teams, including Addison.
Addison (2-2, 2-1 Cascades) dominated the game statistically but couldn't finish drives due to mistakes, coach Mark Beougher said.
"Not only was it turnovers that stopped drives, it was penalties," he said. "We just couldn't punch it in, because we kept losing 10 yards. It made it awful difficult to keep any type of momentum."
The Panthers rushed for 343 yards and held Hanover- Horton to 208 yards of offense.
Butts scored with 1 minute, 21 seconds to go to cut the Hanover-Horton lead to two points. Addison went back to Butts for the two-point conversion try with a play that Beougher said had worked all night.
"They kind of shifted into where we were running right at the last minute," Beougher said. "I still hoped we'd be able to bounce it to the outside, but they were able to get a hand on Butts and slow him down."
Jake Wood scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:43 to play.
©2007 Jackson Citizen Patriot
© 2007 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
Quote from The Manchester Enterprise: "The Comets are enjoying a breakout season while running a single-Wing offense, the same that state power Menomonee runs."
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Citizen Patriot staff reports
The Addison High School football team found itself just 3 yards from pulling into a tie and possibly avoiding an upset loss at the hands of Hanover-Horton on Friday night.
The Comets didn't let the Panthers get there.
Hanover-Horton stopped Addison star running back Jaron Butts on a potential tying two-point conversion try late in the game and held on for a shocking 28-26 victory over the Panthers.
The win ended a 15-game losing streak to Addison for the Comets (3-1, 2-1 Cascades Conference). Hanover-Horton's last victory over Addison came by a 7-6 score in 1992. The win also pushed Hanover-Horton into a tie for first in the league with four other teams, including Addison.
Addison (2-2, 2-1 Cascades) dominated the game statistically but couldn't finish drives due to mistakes, coach Mark Beougher said.
"Not only was it turnovers that stopped drives, it was penalties," he said. "We just couldn't punch it in, because we kept losing 10 yards. It made it awful difficult to keep any type of momentum."
The Panthers rushed for 343 yards and held Hanover- Horton to 208 yards of offense.
Butts scored with 1 minute, 21 seconds to go to cut the Hanover-Horton lead to two points. Addison went back to Butts for the two-point conversion try with a play that Beougher said had worked all night.
"They kind of shifted into where we were running right at the last minute," Beougher said. "I still hoped we'd be able to bounce it to the outside, but they were able to get a hand on Butts and slow him down."
Jake Wood scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 2:43 to play.
©2007 Jackson Citizen Patriot
© 2007 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.
Quote from The Manchester Enterprise: "The Comets are enjoying a breakout season while running a single-Wing offense, the same that state power Menomonee runs."
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Vikings’ offense single-winging it
Vikings’ offense single-winging it
By Bryan Fazio
The Valdosta Daily Times
By Bryan Fazio
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Randy McPherson was excited about returning so many players to the Lowndes football team this season, and four games in, he’s starting to show why.
In the Vikings 42-0 route of Central Gwinnett Friday during their final non-region game of the season, McPherson did something he has been wanting to do since spring practices - open up the play book.
The Vikings, usually known for sweeps, veers and draws showed a little more against the Black Knights, throwing to several receivers, running option plays and even mixing in a new formation.
The new additions were spurred on by both the way the Black Knights were defending and the improvement of the Vikings.
“I don’t think the amount of plays is the secret,” McPherson said. “Whether you’re throwing the ball or passing the ball, the game comes down to blocking or tackling, no matter what you’re doing.”
For one whole drive, the Vikings ran their offense out of the single wing formation, with Darriet Perry or Greg Reid lined up behind the center. The formation allows the Vikings, stacked with talented running backs, to run with even more options.
“It makes people line up to another formation and defend another formation,” McPherson said. “I think that gives us an advantage.”
McPherson has used the single wing formation before, but not in his tenure at Lowndes. The debut of the Vikings’ second formation was a successful one, as Reid and Perry were both able to break runs out of the backfield.
“I think it worked pretty good,” Perry said. “It kind of offset their defense a little bit, and opened up some holes. Especially with the offensive line we’ve got.
The offensive line sparked the Vikings to 325 total rushing yards and 7.93 per carry.
“They took a step forward Friday night for sure,” McPherson said. “If you can block, you can run the offense.”
Whether or not the Vikings run more of their playbook against Coffee Friday, depends on what kind of defensive front they face. With Lowndes known for a running team, opposing defenses usually show a lot up front, giving openings down field.
Against Central Gwinnett, the Vikings took advantage of those openings, passing 12 times, and completing 50 percent of its tries.
On three occasions Lowndes went deep, just barley missing a wide open target.
“We certainly feel like we can run everything we ran the other night, and more,” McPherson said. “A lot of it depends on how well we can handle Coffee.”
The Trojans come into Martin Stadium Friday, as the state’s No. 2 ranked AAAAA team, providing the Vikings’ biggest game of the 2007 season.
Copyright © 1999-2006 cnhi, inc.
Photos
Photo by Andy Harrison Darriett Perry fights for yardage against a Central Gwinett defender Friday night. The Valdosta Daily Times
Maroons fall to Spartans
Maroons fall to Spartans
Wytheville Enterprise Staff
Wytheville Enterprise: Sports >
01:51 PM
By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff
The Giles Spartans left little doubt Friday night that they will have something to say about what team wins the Division 2 region championship.
Wytheville Enterprise Staff
Wytheville Enterprise: Sports >
01:51 PM
By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff
The Giles Spartans left little doubt Friday night that they will have something to say about what team wins the Division 2 region championship.
The Spartans controlled the ball and the game to whip the George Wythe Maroons 28-7 in a non-district football game played at Pendleton Field.
Giles improved its record to 3-1 while giving George Wythe (3-1) its first loss of the season.
Although there wasn’t a significant difference in the statistics (Giles had 289 total yards to 266 for GW and had 15 first downs to GW’s 12), the Spartans were able to pick up yardage when they needed it the most and kept the Maroons from making serious scoring threats for most of the game.
Although there wasn’t a significant difference in the statistics (Giles had 289 total yards to 266 for GW and had 15 first downs to GW’s 12), the Spartans were able to pick up yardage when they needed it the most and kept the Maroons from making serious scoring threats for most of the game.
Two Maroons had good games on the ground. Seth White picked up 100 yards on nine carries. Larry McCoy had 92 yards on 12 carries. McCoy put the Maroons on the board late in the game on a 41-yard run.
GW quarterback Jacob Sharitz completed four passes to four different receivers. Brandon Atwell caught a 12-yard pass; Seth White caught a 31-yard pass; Brandon Davis caught a 19-yard pass; and Devin Smith caught a 22-yard pass.
It was Smith who appeared to have tied the game up on GW’s second possession in the first quarter when he took a handoff and ran over and through several Giles defenders for a 40-yard plus run to the end zone. However, a holding penalty against GW brought the play back. After a quarterback sack, the Maroons had to punt on fourth and long.
The Spartans defense put pressure on GW quarterback Sharitz for most of the game. Sharitz had eight carries in the game for a total of minus 12 yards.
The single wing of Giles gave the Maroons defense fits right from the start. The Spartans took the game’s opening kickoff from their own 32-yard line and methodically moved the ball downfield. Hunter Williams had two long runs on the drive and also took the ball over for the first TD of the game on a one-yard run. Williams scored two touchdowns for Giles and was the leading rusher with 116 yards on 12 carries.
After the touchdown with 9:26 left in the first quarter, GW was called for an offsides on the PAT kick attempt. Giles then attempted a run for the two-point conversion, but GW stopped it as the Spartans settled for a 6-0 lead.
George Wythe’s first possession ended when it turned the ball over on downs and its second ended on a punt late in the first quarter.
After the Maroons forced GHS to punt on its second series, the Spartans went back to its torrid ground game early in the second quarter. Williams capped off the drive again, this time on a six-yard run. The two-point conversion extended the Giles lead to 14-0 with 10:19 left in the first half.
GW was forced to punt again on its next possession, and Giles went on another scoring drive. The points this time came on a 24-yard field goal by Cody Journell to make it 17-0 with 4:20 remaining in the first half.
The Maroons then proceeded to put together a long, sustained drive that began from their own 20 and moved down inside the Giles 20.
But a second and six pass was intercepted by Journell to end the threat with about a minute left in the half.
Both teams punted on their first possessions of the second half. The Maroons, however, fumbled the Giles punt to give the Spartans possessions at the GW 16.
The Spartans quickly took advantage by scoring a TD on a two-yard run by Douthat with 8:05 left in the third. A two-point pass put Giles up 25-0.
Journell kicked another field goal early in the fourth quarter.
McCoy gave the large home crowd something to cheer about with only 1:27 left on a 41-yard burst down the right sideline for six points.
Giles 6 11 8 3 – 28
George Wythe 0 0 0 7 – 7
Scoring:
GHS --Williams 1 run (run failed)
GHS – Williams 6 run (Douthat run)
GHS – Journell 24 FG
GHS – Douthat 2 run (Garrison pass to Douthat)
GHS – Journell 27 FG
GW – McCoy 41 run (Jones kick)
Stats GHS GW
First downs 15 12
Yards rushing 50-254 30-182
Yards passing 35 84
Comp-Att-Int 3-4-0 4-16-1
Fumbles-lost 4-0 3-1
Penalties-yds 8-70 7-45.5
Punts-avg 4-43.0 5-39.0
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)
(T – 2:27)
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Single-Wing instant football classic: Giles’ 46-43 comeback win over Blacksburg
Community abuzz over instant football classic
Giles’ 46-43 comeback win over Blacksburg in six OTs after trailing 23-0 at the half
PEARISBURG -- Steve Ragsdale, the Giles High School football coach, had one reaction last week when somebody suggested he send in kicker Cody Journell with seconds left against Blacksburg to attempt a 57-yard field goal.
"Are you crazy?"
Rusty Kelley, one of the assistant coaches, then put forth a compelling argument.
"It's only 3 yards farther than the one he just kicked."
That 54-yarder had tied the score 23-23 just minutes before and had brought the Spartans all the way back from a 23-0 halftime deficit to set the stage for one of the great high school football epics in Timesland history. The game eventually lasted six overtime periods, tying a state record.
Ragsdale reconsidered.
"Why not?" he said. "If he missed it, then it would be no worse than a punt anyway."
Of course, if the kick were blocked, the Bruins could pick the loose football up, return it for a touchdown and win the game themselves. Or, the snap and hold could be botched, Blacksburg could recover and then drive from a short distance for the winning touchdown or field goal.
Ragsdale took it all into account. Then he sent in the field goal team.
Journell was wide right on the kick, but the boot had the distance. It turned out he'd have another chance. The score remained deadlocked, which sent the game into its first overtime. The Spartans finally won 46-43 on Gavin Lee's 2-yard touchdown run, one of four scores by Lee.
Giles wouldn't have made it that far if Journell hadn't belted a 42-yarder in the fourth overtime that forced another tie and again saved the Spartans from defeat. Blacksburg's Caleb Violette had earlier in the fourth OT kicked a 22-yarder of his own, one of his five field goals in a notably remarkable performance measured on its own merits.
"I never dreamed I'd ever have a chance to kick a 50-yard field goal," Journell said this week. "I was pretty excited about it."
No more so than holder Josh Stump, who for the previous two seasons had served as the Spartans manager. Stump, now a player, was pressed into service at the last minute last week when regular holder Luke Jackson was hurt. The deep snapper was Corey Martin.
"A kick is one of the hardest plays to execute," Ragsdale said. "The snap has to be good, the hold has to be good, the line has to block well, and then after all that, he has to make the kick."
All that was going through Stump's head when he trotted out for the kick that tied the score in regulation.
"Cody told me not to worry about it," Stump said. "He said, it'll be just like practice. Just put it on the tee and the kick would be there."
Adding perhaps to the pressure was the presence of Journell's private kicking coach, Doug Blevins, who was in attendance at the invitation of Journell's father, Jim. Blevins, who has also helped Violette, has worked with several professional and amateur kickers, including most notably NFL great Adam Vinatieri.
"Something I've often told our players about pressure is not to forget to look at the flip side," Ragsdale said. "And that is that there is pressure, but you also have a great chance to be a hero."
Journell had plenty of those chances against Blacksburg. Not only did he place kick and kick off (four of his five kickoffs were out of the end zone and unreturnable), but he also went the distance at safety and played most of the second half and all the overtime periods at wingback. The regular wingback, Mario Jones, had moved to fullback to fill in for Hunter Williams, one of many suffering cramps.
"We don't look at Cody as just a kicker," Ragsdale said. "We look at him like a darned good football player."
Journell got into kicking when his father, who had coached him in youth soccer, realized what a remarkably strong leg his son had.
"The key is getting them started early," Jim Journell said.
The past couple of years, Cody Journell has visited several kicking camps in addition to studying with the Hillsville-based Blevins. In January, he won a competition among many top high school kickers at the Atlanta-based Jim Rafter kicking camp. In July, Journell finished third in a similar competition at the Chris Sailer camp in Charlotte, N.C.
Sailer has Journell ranked No. 6 nationally among kickers in the junior class. Journell, who took a recruiting visit to Duke last weekend, figures to be a Division I prospect as a kicker.
He's got plenty of high school ball to play yet. At Giles, his reputation is already secure.
"He's the best kicker we've ever had," Ragsdale said.
Miami changes offensive gameplan with Direct Snap
Miami changes offensive gameplan
BY CRAIG HANDEL
FLORIDA TODAY
CORAL GABLES - -- It didn't compare with Florida's Tim Tebow, West Virginia's Pat White or Arkansas' Darren McFadden; but the University of Miami's use of the direct snap gave the Hurricanes' offense another look in its 34-17 victory over Texas A&M.
Freshman tailback Graig Cooper scored Miami's first touchdown -- a 7-yard run -- after taking a direct snap. Sophomore tailback Javarris James set up the Hurricanes' second TD when he took a direct snap for a first down on fourth-and-1.
"You can see the hole a lot better," James said. "Back there, it feels good to be a quarterback sometimes. I wish I could throw a pass."
Maybe that will be included in Miami's next package. "No, I'll leave that up to Kyle (Wright)," James said.
While Miami had practiced the direct-snap plays since spring, it never showed it in scrimmages or games until Thursday.
"We hadn't seen it before," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "But I'm not ever completely surprised. The trend is it being done just about everywhere, teams doing it a little bit."
The direct snap goes back to the days of single-wing football, in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who used it 15 years ago when he coached at Division II Glenville State (W.V.), said he basically did it to give his shorter quarterback more time to pass.
"Since then, the run game evolved," he said. "Coaches throughout the country are copy cats."
So far this season, White has 617 yards passing and 286 yards rushing. Tebow has 1,096 yards passing and 358 rushing while McFadden, who has run for 512 yards, has thrown a 42-yard touchdown pass. Last season, he went 7-of-9 for 69 yards with three TDs.
"They try to outgap you," said Troy coach Larry Blakeney, whose team lost to Arkansas in its season opener. "Whoever catches the direct snap, you can't fill all the gaps unless you play man-to-man coverage.
"It's done to create one-on-one matchups. People get you to play wide but you can use the power game or you can use play-action pass."
North Texas coach Todd Dodge will face Arkansas this week. He said by not taking a handoff, a back can get to the line quicker.
"It's a different timing," Dodge said. "As coaches, we're constantly watching video of the sideline and end zone. We're freezing things in different parts of the play to show our players. Whether it's in a passing scheme or blocking patterns, players will find where those creases are.
"You take a guy who's 6-foot-2, 215 pounds and run a stretch play, it's hard to get your hands on him. There's a lot of different creases he can go through. These are things defenses have to deal with him."
When the Hurricanes ran out of the direct snap, they used two tight ends.
"They put seven or eight in the box, but you have two tight ends, eight bodies in the box to block eight," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "So you win on that on offense."
While Miami had success at key times last Thursday, Shannon said not to expect this as staple in the Hurricanes offense.
"That play is only for certain situations, five or 10 times max," he said. "And then you might not use it another five, six games because everyone will prepare for it."
BY CRAIG HANDEL
FLORIDA TODAY
CORAL GABLES - -- It didn't compare with Florida's Tim Tebow, West Virginia's Pat White or Arkansas' Darren McFadden; but the University of Miami's use of the direct snap gave the Hurricanes' offense another look in its 34-17 victory over Texas A&M.
Freshman tailback Graig Cooper scored Miami's first touchdown -- a 7-yard run -- after taking a direct snap. Sophomore tailback Javarris James set up the Hurricanes' second TD when he took a direct snap for a first down on fourth-and-1.
"You can see the hole a lot better," James said. "Back there, it feels good to be a quarterback sometimes. I wish I could throw a pass."
Maybe that will be included in Miami's next package. "No, I'll leave that up to Kyle (Wright)," James said.
While Miami had practiced the direct-snap plays since spring, it never showed it in scrimmages or games until Thursday.
"We hadn't seen it before," Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione said. "But I'm not ever completely surprised. The trend is it being done just about everywhere, teams doing it a little bit."
The direct snap goes back to the days of single-wing football, in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, who used it 15 years ago when he coached at Division II Glenville State (W.V.), said he basically did it to give his shorter quarterback more time to pass.
"Since then, the run game evolved," he said. "Coaches throughout the country are copy cats."
So far this season, White has 617 yards passing and 286 yards rushing. Tebow has 1,096 yards passing and 358 rushing while McFadden, who has run for 512 yards, has thrown a 42-yard touchdown pass. Last season, he went 7-of-9 for 69 yards with three TDs.
"They try to outgap you," said Troy coach Larry Blakeney, whose team lost to Arkansas in its season opener. "Whoever catches the direct snap, you can't fill all the gaps unless you play man-to-man coverage.
"It's done to create one-on-one matchups. People get you to play wide but you can use the power game or you can use play-action pass."
North Texas coach Todd Dodge will face Arkansas this week. He said by not taking a handoff, a back can get to the line quicker.
"It's a different timing," Dodge said. "As coaches, we're constantly watching video of the sideline and end zone. We're freezing things in different parts of the play to show our players. Whether it's in a passing scheme or blocking patterns, players will find where those creases are.
"You take a guy who's 6-foot-2, 215 pounds and run a stretch play, it's hard to get your hands on him. There's a lot of different creases he can go through. These are things defenses have to deal with him."
When the Hurricanes ran out of the direct snap, they used two tight ends.
"They put seven or eight in the box, but you have two tight ends, eight bodies in the box to block eight," Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "So you win on that on offense."
While Miami had success at key times last Thursday, Shannon said not to expect this as staple in the Hurricanes offense.
"That play is only for certain situations, five or 10 times max," he said. "And then you might not use it another five, six games because everyone will prepare for it."
Youth -- Tomahawks bear down on Grizzlies
Tehachapi Tomahawks bear down on Grizzlies
By: Paul Blewett
Posted by editor Tue Sep 25, 2007 13:21:25 PDT
The Tehachapi Tomahawks youth football teams swept the Arvin Grizzlies on Saturday, Sept. 22.
The Varsity, JV, and Freshmen Tomahawks moved to 3-0 in league play, after their victories over the Ridgeview Wolverines and Central Blue Dogs on the preceding Saturdays.
The Sophomore Tomahawks notched their first victory improving their record to 1-2.
Varsity Tomahawks 20 – Grizzlies 0
The Varsity Tomahawks defeated the Arvin Grizzlies this past Saturday at Benz-Visco Field logging their third shutout of the season.
The Tomahawks jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and then relied on suffocating defense to put the game away against a gritty Arvin squad. On the opening kick-off, the Tomahawks nearly turned the ball over deep in their own territory, barely recovering a fumbled pitch. However, the offense covered the sixty yards to the end zone on four plays including a twenty-yard gain on a pass to the tight end to convert on a third and long, and a thirty-five yard run for a touchdown on the very next play.
After recovering the onside kick, the Tomahawks marched the ball forty-five yards to the end zone on a series of running plays out of a single-wing formation giving the Tomahawks a quick 12-0 lead. Arvin received the ensuing kick-off but the
Tehachapi defense forced the Grizzlies to punt after three plays. The Tomahawks started their third drive from their own 30-yard line and drove the 70 yards to the end zone, this time relying on their power-I formation. The drive was capped with a 15 yard run for the touchdown resulting in the 20-0 lead that would be the final score of the game. For the next three quarters, the teams battled it out in the middle of the field with hard-hitting defensive play by both teams.
JV Tomahawks 40 – Grizzlies 16
Relying on a dominant running game in Saturday’s wet conditions, the JV Tomahawks pounced on the Grizzlies early, and never let up. Jumping out to an early 16-0 lead, the Tomahawks responded to a Grizzly touchdown late in the second quarter with a touchdown of their own, scoring on a long run to the outside with only 9 seconds to play in the half. Taking a 24-8 lead into halftime, the Tomahawks picked up right where they left off as they scored again on their first possession of the second half. The Tomahawks used a time consuming, methodical drive resulting in another score giving the Tomahawks a 32-8 lead. The Grizzlies quickly answered with touchdown of their own on a long break-away run late in the third quarter. Once again, however, Tehachapi took the kick-off and ate up more time with another long drive that resulted in a touchdown yielding the final score of the game.
Sophomore Tomahawks 26 – Grizzlies 0
Freshmen Tomahawks 14 – Grizzlies 0
The Tomahawks take on the Fareast Titans at Benz-Visco Field on Sept. 29 with the Freshmen teeing it up at 10 a.m., the Sophomores at 12 noon, the JV at 2 p.m. and the Varsity at 4 p.m.. On Oct. 6, the Northwest Falcons come to town to face the Tomahawk teams at the same times.
By: Paul Blewett
Posted by editor Tue Sep 25, 2007 13:21:25 PDT
The Tehachapi Tomahawks youth football teams swept the Arvin Grizzlies on Saturday, Sept. 22.The Varsity, JV, and Freshmen Tomahawks moved to 3-0 in league play, after their victories over the Ridgeview Wolverines and Central Blue Dogs on the preceding Saturdays.
The Sophomore Tomahawks notched their first victory improving their record to 1-2.
Varsity Tomahawks 20 – Grizzlies 0
The Varsity Tomahawks defeated the Arvin Grizzlies this past Saturday at Benz-Visco Field logging their third shutout of the season.
The Tomahawks jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and then relied on suffocating defense to put the game away against a gritty Arvin squad. On the opening kick-off, the Tomahawks nearly turned the ball over deep in their own territory, barely recovering a fumbled pitch. However, the offense covered the sixty yards to the end zone on four plays including a twenty-yard gain on a pass to the tight end to convert on a third and long, and a thirty-five yard run for a touchdown on the very next play.
After recovering the onside kick, the Tomahawks marched the ball forty-five yards to the end zone on a series of running plays out of a single-wing formation giving the Tomahawks a quick 12-0 lead. Arvin received the ensuing kick-off but the
Tehachapi defense forced the Grizzlies to punt after three plays. The Tomahawks started their third drive from their own 30-yard line and drove the 70 yards to the end zone, this time relying on their power-I formation. The drive was capped with a 15 yard run for the touchdown resulting in the 20-0 lead that would be the final score of the game. For the next three quarters, the teams battled it out in the middle of the field with hard-hitting defensive play by both teams.
JV Tomahawks 40 – Grizzlies 16
Relying on a dominant running game in Saturday’s wet conditions, the JV Tomahawks pounced on the Grizzlies early, and never let up. Jumping out to an early 16-0 lead, the Tomahawks responded to a Grizzly touchdown late in the second quarter with a touchdown of their own, scoring on a long run to the outside with only 9 seconds to play in the half. Taking a 24-8 lead into halftime, the Tomahawks picked up right where they left off as they scored again on their first possession of the second half. The Tomahawks used a time consuming, methodical drive resulting in another score giving the Tomahawks a 32-8 lead. The Grizzlies quickly answered with touchdown of their own on a long break-away run late in the third quarter. Once again, however, Tehachapi took the kick-off and ate up more time with another long drive that resulted in a touchdown yielding the final score of the game.
Sophomore Tomahawks 26 – Grizzlies 0
Freshmen Tomahawks 14 – Grizzlies 0
The Tomahawks take on the Fareast Titans at Benz-Visco Field on Sept. 29 with the Freshmen teeing it up at 10 a.m., the Sophomores at 12 noon, the JV at 2 p.m. and the Varsity at 4 p.m.. On Oct. 6, the Northwest Falcons come to town to face the Tomahawk teams at the same times.
Single-Wing Titusville thumps Barracudas
September 22, 2007
Titusville thumps Barracudas
BY BUDDY SHACKLETTE
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Titusville visited New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex Stadium for a District 7-4A football game and host NSB was more than hospitable to its guest.
The Barracudas (0-4) handed the ball over twice on special teams and once on offense as Titusville (4-0) turned two of the turnovers into scores and rolled to a 38-13 victory.
The start of the game was delayed two hours by inclement weather and the victory got the Terriers off to their best start in more than a decade, while NSB saw its winless steak extended to four games.
Titusville running back Sherrod Brim rushed for 102 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries, but the player that hurt NSB the most was quarterback Chris Joly, who passed for 204 yards and ran for 64 more.
Brim ran for scores of 21, 2, 3 and pair of 1-yard scores as the Terriers totaled up 466 yards of offense while limiting the Barracudas to just 165 yards.
Stevin Twiggs totaled 151 yards of offense and about the only thing the Terriers did wrong on the evening was total up 16 penalties for 145 yards.
NSB actually led 6-3 five minutes into the contest when Dantrelle Horne raced 68 yards for a score, but the turnover bug showed up for NSB and from there it was all Titusville.
Titusville opened the game with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was culminated by 44-yard field goal by Chase Dornbusch with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.
Undaunted by the opening drive, NSB struck back just three plays later.
Horne took an inside trap and raced 68 yards for a score, staking the hosts to a 6-3 lead just five minutes into the contest.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Sharod Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Brim made up for things, however, on Titusville's nest offensive series as the Terriers took just 41 seconds to go 42 yards and Brim took in a 21-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening quarter.NSB's defense then came up with a big stop, but when Horne tried to field the ball just before it was blow dead he fumbled and Titusville accepted the turnover on the NSB 4.
On the next play Brim skirted in for a score, staking the visitors to a 17-6 lead with 7:10 left to play in the first half.
The hosts went three-and-out and Titusville battled countless penalties – one time facing a first-and-45 on the 25 – but came back with an 11-play drive that ended with Brim's third scoring run of the evening.
Brim's 3-yard score gave the visitors, who tallied 307 yards of offense in the first half, a 24-6 halftime. Despite 13 penalties for 110 yards in the first half, Titusville moved the ball without difficulty.
After gaining 94 yards in the opening quarter, NSB gained none in the second quarter.NSB fumbled the ball over on the first play of the second half and three plays later Brim ran in a 1-yard score.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Titusville thumps Barracudas
BY BUDDY SHACKLETTE
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Titusville visited New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex Stadium for a District 7-4A football game and host NSB was more than hospitable to its guest.
The Barracudas (0-4) handed the ball over twice on special teams and once on offense as Titusville (4-0) turned two of the turnovers into scores and rolled to a 38-13 victory.
The start of the game was delayed two hours by inclement weather and the victory got the Terriers off to their best start in more than a decade, while NSB saw its winless steak extended to four games.
Titusville running back Sherrod Brim rushed for 102 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries, but the player that hurt NSB the most was quarterback Chris Joly, who passed for 204 yards and ran for 64 more.
Brim ran for scores of 21, 2, 3 and pair of 1-yard scores as the Terriers totaled up 466 yards of offense while limiting the Barracudas to just 165 yards.
Stevin Twiggs totaled 151 yards of offense and about the only thing the Terriers did wrong on the evening was total up 16 penalties for 145 yards.
NSB actually led 6-3 five minutes into the contest when Dantrelle Horne raced 68 yards for a score, but the turnover bug showed up for NSB and from there it was all Titusville.
Titusville opened the game with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was culminated by 44-yard field goal by Chase Dornbusch with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.
Undaunted by the opening drive, NSB struck back just three plays later.
Horne took an inside trap and raced 68 yards for a score, staking the hosts to a 6-3 lead just five minutes into the contest.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Sharod Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Brim made up for things, however, on Titusville's nest offensive series as the Terriers took just 41 seconds to go 42 yards and Brim took in a 21-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening quarter.NSB's defense then came up with a big stop, but when Horne tried to field the ball just before it was blow dead he fumbled and Titusville accepted the turnover on the NSB 4.
On the next play Brim skirted in for a score, staking the visitors to a 17-6 lead with 7:10 left to play in the first half.
The hosts went three-and-out and Titusville battled countless penalties – one time facing a first-and-45 on the 25 – but came back with an 11-play drive that ended with Brim's third scoring run of the evening.
Brim's 3-yard score gave the visitors, who tallied 307 yards of offense in the first half, a 24-6 halftime. Despite 13 penalties for 110 yards in the first half, Titusville moved the ball without difficulty.
After gaining 94 yards in the opening quarter, NSB gained none in the second quarter.NSB fumbled the ball over on the first play of the second half and three plays later Brim ran in a 1-yard score.
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Single-Wing Titusville Stays Undefeated
New Smyrna Beach drops district opener To Titusville
By BUDDY SHACKLETTE
Staff Writer
By BUDDY SHACKLETTE
Staff Writer
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Titusville visited New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex Stadium for a District 7-4A football game and host NSB was more than hospitable to its guest.
The Barracudas (0-4) handed the ball over twice on special teams and once on offense as Titusville (4-0) turned two of the turnovers into scores and rolled to a 38-13 victory.
The start of the game was delayed two hours by inclement weather and the victory got the Terriers off to their best start in more than a decade while New Smyrna Beach saw its winless steak extended to four games.
Titusville running back Sharod Brim rushed for 102 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries, but the player that hurt NSB the most was quarterback Chris Joly, who passed for 204 yards and ran for 64 more.
Brim ran for scores of 21, 2, 3 and pair of 1-yard scores as the Terriers totaled up 466 yards of offense while limiting the Barracudas to just 165 yards.Stevin Twiggs totaled 151 yards of offense and about the only thing the Terriers did wrong on the evening was total up 16 penalties for 145 yards.
NSB actually led 6-3 five minutes into the contest when Dantrelle Horne raced 68 yards for a score, but the turnover bug showed up for NSB and from there it was all Titusville.
Titusville opened the game with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was culminated by 44-yard field goal by Chase Dornbusch with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.
Undaunted by the opening drive, New Smyrna Beach struck back just three plays later.
Horne took an inside trap and raced 68 yards for a score, staking the hosts to a 6-3 lead just five minutes into the contest.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Titusville then responded by driving to the New Smyrna Beach 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Sharod Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Brim made up for things, however, on Titusville's nest offensive series as the Terriers took just 41 seconds to go 42 yards and Brim took in a 21-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening quarter.
NSB's defense then came up with a big stop, but when Horne tried to field the ball just before it was blow dead he fumbled and Titusville accepted the turnover on the NSB 4.
On the next play Brim skirted in for a score, staking the visitors to a 17-6 lead with 7:10 left to play in the first half.
Brim's third scoring run of the evening gave the visitors, who tallied 307 yards of offense in the first half, a 24-6 halftime. Despite 13 penalties for 110 yards in the first half, Titusville moved the ball without difficulty.
buddy.shacklette@news-jrnl.com
Titusville 10 14 14 0 --38
New Smyrna 6 0 0 7 --13
T -- Dornbusch 44 FG
N -- Horne 68 run (No kick)
T -- Brim 21 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 2 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 3 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 1 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 1 run (Dornbusch kick)
N -- Enamait fumble recover in end zone (Kiep kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Titusville: Brim 20-102, Joly 8-64, Twiggs 5-48, Hamilton 4-6, Szczerba 2-6, De'Reese 1-5. Team: 41-238. NSB: Hooks 9-32, Horne 2-70, Jackson 1-10, Granger 3-(-12), Johnson 1-0, Hill 1-0, Sanders 1-(-2), Stephens 1-(-3). Team: 19-95.
PASSING--Titusville: Joly 11-16-0--166, Szczerba 1-3-0--24. NSB: Kerr 0-8-0--00, Granger 6-13-0--70.
RECEIVING -- Titusville: Haulstead 5-48, Twiggs 6-103, Szczerba 3-54, Griffin 1-23. NSB: Sears 2-34, Kiep 2-20, Horne 1-18, 35, Hill 1-(-2).
PUNTING -- Titusville: None. NSB: Ferris 3-40.0.
GAME STATISTICS:
Penalties -- Titusville 16-145, NSB 9-35. First downs: Titusville 21, NSB 6. Fumbles/lost: Titusville 4-3, NSB 4-3.
The Barracudas (0-4) handed the ball over twice on special teams and once on offense as Titusville (4-0) turned two of the turnovers into scores and rolled to a 38-13 victory.
The start of the game was delayed two hours by inclement weather and the victory got the Terriers off to their best start in more than a decade while New Smyrna Beach saw its winless steak extended to four games.
Titusville running back Sharod Brim rushed for 102 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries, but the player that hurt NSB the most was quarterback Chris Joly, who passed for 204 yards and ran for 64 more.
Brim ran for scores of 21, 2, 3 and pair of 1-yard scores as the Terriers totaled up 466 yards of offense while limiting the Barracudas to just 165 yards.Stevin Twiggs totaled 151 yards of offense and about the only thing the Terriers did wrong on the evening was total up 16 penalties for 145 yards.
NSB actually led 6-3 five minutes into the contest when Dantrelle Horne raced 68 yards for a score, but the turnover bug showed up for NSB and from there it was all Titusville.
Titusville opened the game with a 10-play, 55-yard drive that was culminated by 44-yard field goal by Chase Dornbusch with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.
Undaunted by the opening drive, New Smyrna Beach struck back just three plays later.
Horne took an inside trap and raced 68 yards for a score, staking the hosts to a 6-3 lead just five minutes into the contest.
Titusville then responded by driving to the NSB 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Titusville then responded by driving to the New Smyrna Beach 7-yard line, but a mishandled ball by Titusville's Sharod Brim found the hands of NSB's Mike Klein, who accepted the turnover for the hosts.
Brim made up for things, however, on Titusville's nest offensive series as the Terriers took just 41 seconds to go 42 yards and Brim took in a 21-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening quarter.
NSB's defense then came up with a big stop, but when Horne tried to field the ball just before it was blow dead he fumbled and Titusville accepted the turnover on the NSB 4.
On the next play Brim skirted in for a score, staking the visitors to a 17-6 lead with 7:10 left to play in the first half.
Brim's third scoring run of the evening gave the visitors, who tallied 307 yards of offense in the first half, a 24-6 halftime. Despite 13 penalties for 110 yards in the first half, Titusville moved the ball without difficulty.
buddy.shacklette@news-jrnl.com
Titusville 10 14 14 0 --38
New Smyrna 6 0 0 7 --13
T -- Dornbusch 44 FG
N -- Horne 68 run (No kick)
T -- Brim 21 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 2 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 3 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 1 run (Dornbusch kick)
T -- Brim 1 run (Dornbusch kick)
N -- Enamait fumble recover in end zone (Kiep kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Titusville: Brim 20-102, Joly 8-64, Twiggs 5-48, Hamilton 4-6, Szczerba 2-6, De'Reese 1-5. Team: 41-238. NSB: Hooks 9-32, Horne 2-70, Jackson 1-10, Granger 3-(-12), Johnson 1-0, Hill 1-0, Sanders 1-(-2), Stephens 1-(-3). Team: 19-95.
PASSING--Titusville: Joly 11-16-0--166, Szczerba 1-3-0--24. NSB: Kerr 0-8-0--00, Granger 6-13-0--70.
RECEIVING -- Titusville: Haulstead 5-48, Twiggs 6-103, Szczerba 3-54, Griffin 1-23. NSB: Sears 2-34, Kiep 2-20, Horne 1-18, 35, Hill 1-(-2).
PUNTING -- Titusville: None. NSB: Ferris 3-40.0.
GAME STATISTICS:
Penalties -- Titusville 16-145, NSB 9-35. First downs: Titusville 21, NSB 6. Fumbles/lost: Titusville 4-3, NSB 4-3.
Single-Wing Gators: Williams leads No. 5 Glenwood past Macon-East
Williams leads No. 5 Glenwood past Macon-East
Mike Szvetitz
Staff Writer
Saturday, September 15, 2007
PHENIX CITY - Branden Williams met with his head coach right before heading out onto the field. With his Glenwood team trailing by 5 late in the fourth quarter, the Gator quarterback told his coach the plan.
"He told me he was going to go out and win it," Glenwood head coach Trip Henderson said.
And he did.
Williams led the Gators on a 61-yard drive in the final three minutes, capping it with a 19-yard touchdown run to give No. 5 Glenwood (3-1) a 13-12 win over No. 7 Macon-East (3-1) on Friday night at The Swamp.
"Thank goodness we had Branden," Henderson said. "He's starting to get healthier and run a lot harder. It's what we expected from him when he came here."
Williams, the Russell County transfer who broke his ankle last season and then had knee surgery in the offseason, put the Gators on his back in the second half.
The senior quarterback finished with 166 yards on 15 carries, including 133 after the break.
After Macon-East scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:39 left to play on a wide receiver pass that went for 80 yards, Glenwood needed to put together a drive. All game, the Gators were able to move the football, but penalties put the running team in third-and-longs, killing drives and scoring opportunities.
So after the Knights touchdown put them up 12-7, Wililams had seen enough. It was time.
Williams hit wideout Austin Allison with a 20-yard pass - his first and only completion of the night - on third-and-10 to spark the scoring drive.
On the next play, junior running back Marcus Woods took a handoff around right end for 17 yards.
Two plays later, Williams bulled into the end zone for the game-winning score with 1:53 to play. The 2-point conversion was no good, but the Gators were up 13-12.
Macon-East threw four consecutive incomplete passes to give the ball back to Glenwood with 1:13 to play. But the Knights, with a full complement of timeouts, kept the Gators from getting a first down, and forced a punt.
Glenwood punter Brian Lazzara got off one of his best kicks of the night, pinning the Knights inside their 10-yard line with 37 seconds to play.
Allison then sealed the win for the Gators when he picked off Macon-East quarterback Neal Posey's first pass.
"I'm proud of the way we battle back," Henderson said. "We've got to limit some of the penalties and get better on pass defense if we want to be a championship-caliber team. But I'm proud of 'em"
The Gators defense gave up 173 yards through the air, with 80 coming on a trick play for a touchdown.
Woods finished the night with 110 yards on 17 carries and the game's first touchdown.
Glenwood hosts Tuscaloosa Academy on Friday at 7 p.m.
mszvetitz@oanow.com 737-2513
Mike Szvetitz
Staff Writer
Saturday, September 15, 2007
PHENIX CITY - Branden Williams met with his head coach right before heading out onto the field. With his Glenwood team trailing by 5 late in the fourth quarter, the Gator quarterback told his coach the plan.
"He told me he was going to go out and win it," Glenwood head coach Trip Henderson said.
And he did.
Williams led the Gators on a 61-yard drive in the final three minutes, capping it with a 19-yard touchdown run to give No. 5 Glenwood (3-1) a 13-12 win over No. 7 Macon-East (3-1) on Friday night at The Swamp.
"Thank goodness we had Branden," Henderson said. "He's starting to get healthier and run a lot harder. It's what we expected from him when he came here."
Williams, the Russell County transfer who broke his ankle last season and then had knee surgery in the offseason, put the Gators on his back in the second half.
The senior quarterback finished with 166 yards on 15 carries, including 133 after the break.
After Macon-East scored the go-ahead touchdown with 3:39 left to play on a wide receiver pass that went for 80 yards, Glenwood needed to put together a drive. All game, the Gators were able to move the football, but penalties put the running team in third-and-longs, killing drives and scoring opportunities.
So after the Knights touchdown put them up 12-7, Wililams had seen enough. It was time.
Williams hit wideout Austin Allison with a 20-yard pass - his first and only completion of the night - on third-and-10 to spark the scoring drive.
On the next play, junior running back Marcus Woods took a handoff around right end for 17 yards.
Two plays later, Williams bulled into the end zone for the game-winning score with 1:53 to play. The 2-point conversion was no good, but the Gators were up 13-12.
Macon-East threw four consecutive incomplete passes to give the ball back to Glenwood with 1:13 to play. But the Knights, with a full complement of timeouts, kept the Gators from getting a first down, and forced a punt.
Glenwood punter Brian Lazzara got off one of his best kicks of the night, pinning the Knights inside their 10-yard line with 37 seconds to play.
Allison then sealed the win for the Gators when he picked off Macon-East quarterback Neal Posey's first pass.
"I'm proud of the way we battle back," Henderson said. "We've got to limit some of the penalties and get better on pass defense if we want to be a championship-caliber team. But I'm proud of 'em"
The Gators defense gave up 173 yards through the air, with 80 coming on a trick play for a touchdown.
Woods finished the night with 110 yards on 17 carries and the game's first touchdown.
Glenwood hosts Tuscaloosa Academy on Friday at 7 p.m.
mszvetitz@oanow.com 737-2513
Winging their way to a dream
Winging their way to a dream
Published Monday, November 20, 2006 12:00:52 AM Central Time
By TOM KAESER
Assistant sports editor
tkaeser@eagleherald.com
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Their helmets raised in triumph for the 13th time, the Menominee Maroons are on the express lane to Ford Field.
The Maroons knocked unbeaten Saginaw Swan Valley onto the playoff exit ramp with a 34-0 win on the carpet at the Superior Dome Saturday afternoon.
Menominee will play unbeaten Madison Heights Madison (13-0) for the Division 5 state title Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on the home field of the Detroit Lions.
"This is probably one of the hardest working teams we've had," coach Ken Hofer said. "This is really great and the young people deserve it."
Menominee kept its incredible playoff shutout streak intact as it smothered the undersized Vikings' highly-tauted speed under a rolling wave of Maroon intensity.
Menominee Maroons (from left) Brian Busick, Ryan Paliewicz and Anthony Polazzo celebrate their state semifinal victory over Saginaw Swan Valley on Saturday in Marquette's Superior Dome. The Maroons won 34-0.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
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The Maroons picked off five passes, including a ball-hawking hat trick by Matt LaCanne, and recovered two fumbles.
"They didn't do anything we didn't expect, they just did it better," Saginaw Swan Valley coach Rich Bell said. "Film doesn't do them justice."
The Maroon defense allowed just 98 toal yards and never allowed the Viking speed backs to get into open space.
The single wing and Maroon offensive line began to take its toll on the second possession. Matt Eisenzoph blasted through the Vikings for a 13-yard gain and Blake Chouinard flipped 15-yard option spiral to Mike Hansen to spark a nine-play, 53-yard drive. EIsenzoph slammed it over from the 1 with 3:45 left in the first period.
Jacob Pedersen flattened QB Adam Houthoofd for a 10-yard loss and Eisenzoph, Josh Blavat and Robert Forgette chilled speed-burner Brandon Hayes for a 2-yard loss to blow up Saginaw's second series.
LaCanne snagged the ensuing punt on the bounce and raced back to the Viking 40.
Menominee's Matt LaCanne steps in front of Saginaw Swan Valley's Brandon Hayes to snare one
of his three interceptions in the Maroons' 34-0 win over the Vikings at the Superior Dome in Marquette on Saturday. The Maroons picked off five passes and recovered two fumbles in their 13th straight win.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
------------------------------------------------------------------
A Menominee team that has taken care of the ball all season, suddenly got a case of fumble-itis. After getting away with fumbles on three straight plays, Blake Chouinard made a 27-yard dash toward the goal line. But just as he was about to stride to paydirt, the Vikings knocked the ball loose and recovered it in the end zone for a touchback.
LaCanne quickly doused any spark the fumble gave the Vikings. Under pressure from a Maroon pass rush, Houthoofd overthrew two receivers. As the ball floated toward the turf, LaCanne made a shoestring catch for his second interception.
Chouinard made amends for his fumble with a determined 17-yard run, and tossed a 9-yard pass to Hansen, who darted to the 2. Ethan Shaver burst into the end zone to push the lead to 14-0 lead with 7:22 left in the half.
A Viking defense already on the field for 28 plays needed a sustained drive by the offense, but the Maroon 'D' smelled blood.
Pedersen buried Hayes for a 2-yard loss and a wild-bull blitz by Eiszenzoph forced an incomplete pass.
Menominee got the short field again when LaCanne sprinted down to the Viking 45 on the punt. A 21-yard gallop by Chouinard, followed by a late-hit penalty gave the Maroons a first down at the 11. After a 7-yard run by Eisenzoph behind a block by Shaver, Chouinard followed the block of Nate Linsmeier into the end zone. Chouinard's second PAT hiked the lead to 20-0 with 4:03 left.
A 10-yard sack by Eisenzoph forced Saginaw into a third-and-15 hole at its own 15. Houthoofd's pass was tipped downfield, but LaCanne was on the ball again for his second pick of the half. After snatching the errant pass at the 35, he raced to the Viking 15.
"I was just at the right place at the right time," LaCanne said modestly. "We worked on their passing game all week. They didn't do anything different than what we worked on in practice."
Hansen snared a 7-yard pass after LaCanne's pick and Shaver sliced in from the 3 behind blocks by Brian Busick and Dustin Kovar. Chouinard's kick gave the Maroons a 27-0 lead as the huge Maroon crowd began its "U.P. Power" chant.
Matt Eisenzoph gets a bear hug from his proud stepfather, Rich Shatusky, following the Maroons' fifth straight shutout. Menominee will play Madison Heights Madison for the Division 5 state title Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
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Saginaw drove from its own 20 to the Maroon 41 on its final first-half series before Shaver came out of nowhere to join the secondary "pick party" with an interception to end the half.
A fumble recovery on Menominee's second play of the third quarter gave Saginaw the ball at the Maroon 45. After a 10-yard ramble by Hoothoofd, Robert Forgette buried the threat by pouncing on a fumble.
Menominee's hard-hitting defense administered another dose of turnover trauma when Hansen jolted the ball loose from Houthoofd with a bone-shivering hit. Scott DeMars
jumped on the ball at the Viking 13.
Shaver broke away from the grasp of Brad Bourbina in the Maroon backfield, then took off like a bottle rocket for a 10-yard scoring dart. Chouinard's fourth kick gave the Maroons their 34-0 margin with 4:45 left in the third period.
The Maroon air defense struck again early in the fourth period when Kert Roubal swiped a pass and flippped back to Shaver, who bobbed and weaved to the Viking 46.
LaCanne came up with his third interception on Saginaw's next possession.
Published Monday, November 20, 2006 12:00:52 AM Central Time
By TOM KAESER
Assistant sports editor
tkaeser@eagleherald.com
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Their helmets raised in triumph for the 13th time, the Menominee Maroons are on the express lane to Ford Field.The Maroons knocked unbeaten Saginaw Swan Valley onto the playoff exit ramp with a 34-0 win on the carpet at the Superior Dome Saturday afternoon.
Menominee will play unbeaten Madison Heights Madison (13-0) for the Division 5 state title Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) on the home field of the Detroit Lions.
"This is probably one of the hardest working teams we've had," coach Ken Hofer said. "This is really great and the young people deserve it."
Menominee kept its incredible playoff shutout streak intact as it smothered the undersized Vikings' highly-tauted speed under a rolling wave of Maroon intensity.
Menominee Maroons (from left) Brian Busick, Ryan Paliewicz and Anthony Polazzo celebrate their state semifinal victory over Saginaw Swan Valley on Saturday in Marquette's Superior Dome. The Maroons won 34-0.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
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The Maroons picked off five passes, including a ball-hawking hat trick by Matt LaCanne, and recovered two fumbles.
"They didn't do anything we didn't expect, they just did it better," Saginaw Swan Valley coach Rich Bell said. "Film doesn't do them justice."
The Maroon defense allowed just 98 toal yards and never allowed the Viking speed backs to get into open space.
The single wing and Maroon offensive line began to take its toll on the second possession. Matt Eisenzoph blasted through the Vikings for a 13-yard gain and Blake Chouinard flipped 15-yard option spiral to Mike Hansen to spark a nine-play, 53-yard drive. EIsenzoph slammed it over from the 1 with 3:45 left in the first period.
Jacob Pedersen flattened QB Adam Houthoofd for a 10-yard loss and Eisenzoph, Josh Blavat and Robert Forgette chilled speed-burner Brandon Hayes for a 2-yard loss to blow up Saginaw's second series.
LaCanne snagged the ensuing punt on the bounce and raced back to the Viking 40.
Menominee's Matt LaCanne steps in front of Saginaw Swan Valley's Brandon Hayes to snare one
of his three interceptions in the Maroons' 34-0 win over the Vikings at the Superior Dome in Marquette on Saturday. The Maroons picked off five passes and recovered two fumbles in their 13th straight win.EagleHerald/Jody Korch
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A Menominee team that has taken care of the ball all season, suddenly got a case of fumble-itis. After getting away with fumbles on three straight plays, Blake Chouinard made a 27-yard dash toward the goal line. But just as he was about to stride to paydirt, the Vikings knocked the ball loose and recovered it in the end zone for a touchback.
LaCanne quickly doused any spark the fumble gave the Vikings. Under pressure from a Maroon pass rush, Houthoofd overthrew two receivers. As the ball floated toward the turf, LaCanne made a shoestring catch for his second interception.
Chouinard made amends for his fumble with a determined 17-yard run, and tossed a 9-yard pass to Hansen, who darted to the 2. Ethan Shaver burst into the end zone to push the lead to 14-0 lead with 7:22 left in the half.
A Viking defense already on the field for 28 plays needed a sustained drive by the offense, but the Maroon 'D' smelled blood.
Pedersen buried Hayes for a 2-yard loss and a wild-bull blitz by Eiszenzoph forced an incomplete pass.
Menominee got the short field again when LaCanne sprinted down to the Viking 45 on the punt. A 21-yard gallop by Chouinard, followed by a late-hit penalty gave the Maroons a first down at the 11. After a 7-yard run by Eisenzoph behind a block by Shaver, Chouinard followed the block of Nate Linsmeier into the end zone. Chouinard's second PAT hiked the lead to 20-0 with 4:03 left.
A 10-yard sack by Eisenzoph forced Saginaw into a third-and-15 hole at its own 15. Houthoofd's pass was tipped downfield, but LaCanne was on the ball again for his second pick of the half. After snatching the errant pass at the 35, he raced to the Viking 15.
"I was just at the right place at the right time," LaCanne said modestly. "We worked on their passing game all week. They didn't do anything different than what we worked on in practice."
Hansen snared a 7-yard pass after LaCanne's pick and Shaver sliced in from the 3 behind blocks by Brian Busick and Dustin Kovar. Chouinard's kick gave the Maroons a 27-0 lead as the huge Maroon crowd began its "U.P. Power" chant.
Matt Eisenzoph gets a bear hug from his proud stepfather, Rich Shatusky, following the Maroons' fifth straight shutout. Menominee will play Madison Heights Madison for the Division 5 state title Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit.
EagleHerald/Jody Korch
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saginaw drove from its own 20 to the Maroon 41 on its final first-half series before Shaver came out of nowhere to join the secondary "pick party" with an interception to end the half.
A fumble recovery on Menominee's second play of the third quarter gave Saginaw the ball at the Maroon 45. After a 10-yard ramble by Hoothoofd, Robert Forgette buried the threat by pouncing on a fumble.
Menominee's hard-hitting defense administered another dose of turnover trauma when Hansen jolted the ball loose from Houthoofd with a bone-shivering hit. Scott DeMars
jumped on the ball at the Viking 13.Shaver broke away from the grasp of Brad Bourbina in the Maroon backfield, then took off like a bottle rocket for a 10-yard scoring dart. Chouinard's fourth kick gave the Maroons their 34-0 margin with 4:45 left in the third period.
The Maroon air defense struck again early in the fourth period when Kert Roubal swiped a pass and flippped back to Shaver, who bobbed and weaved to the Viking 46.
LaCanne came up with his third interception on Saginaw's next possession.
Menominee wins battle of champions
Menominee wins battle of champions
September 3, 2007
BY MICK McCABE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
The biggest game in the state last weekend featured a battle between two defending state champions.
You can stop scratching your heads. It was Menominee, the Division 5 state champ from the Upper Peninsula, against Homestead High School in Mequon, a suburb of Milwaukee, that won the biggest division in Wisconsin last fall.
This fall, Mequon was ranked No. 1.
"They might have lost some of their guys defensively," said Menominee coach Ken Hofer. "But offensively, they had five guys who are just about impossible to stop."
In the early going, Menominee jumped to an 18-7 lead and the fans who packed Menominee's stadium might have thought it was going to be easy.
"I was thinking we better get more," Hofer said, "because it was going to take more than that to beat them."
Hofer was right. In the third quarter, Mequon led, 28-18, before the Maroons rallied to post an impressive 48-28 victory.
After closing to 18-14 at the half, Mequon scored on the first play of the second half and then scored quickly again for a 10-point lead.
"All of a sudden we looked like: 'Where are we?' " Hofer said. "But for whatever reason, our defense came alive. We had four straight three-and-outs and blocked a punt."
Menominee's defensive domination, which began late in the third quarter, allowed the Maroons to score 30 consecutive points. Ethan Shaver's 36-yard run gave Menominee the lead with 6:03 left to play.
For the game, Shaver gained 181 yards on 25 carries and Matt Eisenzoph added 90 yards on 16 carries, in addition to his contributions as a linebacker.
"Matt was in on at least 60% of the tackles," Hofer said. "Our defensive ends, Bob Forgette and Trevor Powers, also played very well."
The victory bodes well for Menominee, but Hofer knows a trip to Ford Field is far from assured.
"I think we've got a good football team," Hofer said. "But we've got some weaknesses we've got to get straightened out before we get into our league or we're going to be in trouble."
September 3, 2007
BY MICK McCABE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
The biggest game in the state last weekend featured a battle between two defending state champions.
You can stop scratching your heads. It was Menominee, the Division 5 state champ from the Upper Peninsula, against Homestead High School in Mequon, a suburb of Milwaukee, that won the biggest division in Wisconsin last fall.This fall, Mequon was ranked No. 1.
"They might have lost some of their guys defensively," said Menominee coach Ken Hofer. "But offensively, they had five guys who are just about impossible to stop."
In the early going, Menominee jumped to an 18-7 lead and the fans who packed Menominee's stadium might have thought it was going to be easy.
"I was thinking we better get more," Hofer said, "because it was going to take more than that to beat them."
Hofer was right. In the third quarter, Mequon led, 28-18, before the Maroons rallied to post an impressive 48-28 victory.
After closing to 18-14 at the half, Mequon scored on the first play of the second half and then scored quickly again for a 10-point lead.
"All of a sudden we looked like: 'Where are we?' " Hofer said. "But for whatever reason, our defense came alive. We had four straight three-and-outs and blocked a punt."
Menominee's defensive domination, which began late in the third quarter, allowed the Maroons to score 30 consecutive points. Ethan Shaver's 36-yard run gave Menominee the lead with 6:03 left to play.
For the game, Shaver gained 181 yards on 25 carries and Matt Eisenzoph added 90 yards on 16 carries, in addition to his contributions as a linebacker.
"Matt was in on at least 60% of the tackles," Hofer said. "Our defensive ends, Bob Forgette and Trevor Powers, also played very well."
The victory bodes well for Menominee, but Hofer knows a trip to Ford Field is far from assured.
"I think we've got a good football team," Hofer said. "But we've got some weaknesses we've got to get straightened out before we get into our league or we're going to be in trouble."
Monday, September 24, 2007
Hall Of Famer: Fritz Pollard, an All-America Single-Wing Halfback
Hall Of Famer: Fritz Pollard, an All-America Single-Wing HalfbackFritz Pollard, an All-America Single-Wing halfback from Brown University was a pro football pioneer in more ways than one. The 5-9, 165-pound back, who led Brown to the Rose Bowl in 1915 as an All-American running back.
East Coast newspapers -- including the New York Times -- sang his praises week-to-week as his Bruins upset the likes of powerful Harvard and Yale. Had there been a Heisman Trophy in his day, Pollard would have been the frontrunner.
He turned pro in 1919, when he joined the Akron (OH) Pros following army service during World War I. In 1920, the Pros joined the newly founded American Professional Football Association, later renamed the National Football League.
That season, with Pollard leading the charge, the Pros went undefeated (8-0-3) to win the league’s first crown. The team did not lose in the first 19 games in which Pollard played (15-0-4), outscoring the opposition, 236 to 7.
Pollard As a member of the new league, Pollard immediately earned a place in pro football history as one of just two African Americans in the new league. In 1921 he earned another distinction becoming the first African American head coach in NFL history when the Pros named him co-coach of the team.
The team won its first seven games (all shutouts), before injuries to the team’s stars, including Pollard himself, caused the team to trail off, ending the season at 8-3-1. Pollard led that team in rushing, scoring and punt returns while also serving as the head coach.
Contemporary accounts indicate that Pollard, an exciting elusive runner, was the most feared running back in the fledgling league. During his pro football career the two-time All-America played and sometimes coached for four different NFL teams, the Pros/Indians (1920-21/1925-26), the Milwaukee Badgers (1922), the Hammond Pros (1923, 1925), and the Providence Steam Roller (1925). Fritz also spent time in 1923 and 1924 playing for the Gilberton Cadamounts, a strong independent pro team in the Pennsylvania “Coal League.”
In 1928, Pollard organized and coached the Chicago Black Hawks, an all-African American professional team based in the Windy City. Pollard’s Black Hawks played against white teams around Chicago, but enjoyed their greatest success by scheduling exhibition games against West Coast teams during the winter months.
From 1929 until 1932 when the Depression caused the team to fold, the Black Hawks had become one of the more popular teams on the West Coast.
Pollard was also a very successful business man in his post-football career. He founded the first black investment firm, F.D. Pollard and Co. and established the first weekly black tabloid (N.Y. Independent News). Pollard managed Suntan Movie Studio in Harlem and founded coal delivery companies in Chicago and New York. As a theatrical agent, Pollard booked black talent in white clubs in New York.
In 1978, syndicated columnist Jerry Izenberg wrote of Pollard, “It is a shame and a scandal that more young people do not even know his name. Those number add up to nothing in Canton, Ohio. He is not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That is an incredible oversight -- almost as incredible as the chain of events which form Pollard’s own personal history.”
Pollard was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, together with Dan Marino, Steve Young, and Benny Friedman. The man leaves a legacy behind in the form of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, dedicated to assisting minority, candidates in their pursuit of head coaching positions.
Pollard's grandson, Fritz Pollard III, has also formed a foundation to assist students in their pursuit of higher education.
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