Bulling for the Playoffs

October 16, 2008

Well, I hope the corner has been turned. We stopped the bleeding against Deposit, and we got up and punched BG’s lights out last week. That has to be one of the most well-played games I’ve seen out of Delhi in a long time. The fact that we scored every single time we had the ball (outside of taking a knee at the end of the game) is just phenomenal. How about that 97 yard drive? How about some of the clutch 3^rd and 4^th down plays that kept drives going? What a breath of fresh air that was.

We’ll have to be careful not to let the bottom fall out now, however. For one thing, we still haven’t clinched a playoff spot, and even further than that, a turn in the wrong direction now would not bode well for how we might perform in the playoffs. It is tempting to look at Hancock’s 1-5 record along with their very poor performance over the last few seasons and think that this will be a cakewalk, with the real action being the playoffs a week later. This is NOT the Hancock of the past couple years however. Hancock has already scored 40 more points in 6 games than they did in 9 games last year (ditto the previous year). They are giving up an average of 31 points per game this year, but that compares to an average of well over 40 the past 2 seasons. I will grant that they still have not played great competition, but I would say it isn’t as bad as some years, and they even gave BG a very good game, along with beating Deposit. Hancock has been hurt greatly with turnovers and other mistakes this season, so we should be concerned that one day of mistake-free ball on the Wildcats’ part could make for a very interesting game. Just look at what we did Friday when we pulled it all together.

Like I said, momentum needs to keep moving in a positive direction. After Hancock, if we are in the playoffs, we’d face a Seton team with a strong passing game, which could make life interesting. A win there would mean a possible matchup with Groton, who has been very strong, including a big win over Elmira Notre Dame. Then a win there would likely mean a matchup with Walton. So the stakes get higher and higher…

One last point to note, if you get a chance try to get to a Binghamton game this year. If you like high powered offenses, they will entertain you to your heart’s content. RB Jamar Smith is the best I’ve seen since Mike Hart.

I didn’t do this piece last week, so I’ll have to cover 2 weeks worth of picks. I actually did make picks last week before the games started, you’ll have to trust me! For week 5, I was 17-6 (0.739). For some silly reason, I forgot to make a pick on the Binghamton game, which I would have picked correctly. Oh well. For week 6, I went 19-6 (0.760). I seem to be a bit stuck, as I have yet to break 0.800 on the season. There’s just too much parity this year, especially in class B. My year total is 109-39 (0.736). Let’s see what week 7 brings. I should have it down by now…..Binghamton over Nottingham, Johnson City over Corning West, Windsor over Oneonta, Norwich over Oneida, Dryden over Owego, Waverly over Southern Springs, Bainbridge-Guilford over Unatego (playoff implications here, a BG loss would be better, but I think Ross breaks loose a feel times), Elmira Notre Dame over Whitney Point, Trumansburg over Tioga, Spencer-Van Etten over Watkins Glen, Candor over Oxford, Lansing over Tully, Greene over Unadilla Valley/Edmeston, Horseheads over Ithaca (could be Ithaca’s first win though), Corning East over Elmira Southside, Chenango Forks over Chenango Valley, Sidney over Sus Valley, Newark Valley over Newfield, Walton over Harpursville, Groton over Edison, Moravia over Odessa-Montour, Maine-Endwell over Vestal, Seton over Deposit, Union-Endicott over Elmira Free Academy.