Top O’the Ladder

I remember back to the days following our week 3 win over Oxford. I remember thinking that the win we had just picked up was pure gold. It looked like there was going to be parity in the division, and we had just come up with a W. I think it was so significant in my mind because it just as easily could have gone the other way. The whole game came down to one play. We were fortunate enough to win that play and the game.

Two weeks later (and 1 week after Seton gave BG a 2^nd divisional loss), I headed down to DK field thinking that a win over the Saints was another small wall to get over…that if we could make it we’d be that much stronger in a seemingly crowded division race. We came out with the win, and guess what my thoughts would be the following 2 weeks against Walton and BG? Each was a very nice step up the ladder. A loss in any of those games meant a descent down the ladder, a descent that could very well be very costly. And, incidentally, it seems like all 4 of those wins I mentioned were just on the hairy edge of being Delhi wins…we could have easily not converted the 2 in Oxford, we caught a big break with the offensive pass interference against Seton, Walton’s Howe was the width of my elbow hair from the end zone on one of his 2 point tries, and it’s not inconceivable that the kicker from Deutschland could have made that kick in Bainbridge. Wow, I hope we know how fortunate we are to be sitting here!

Incidentally, the ladder climbing takes a break this week. So far as I can figure, this week’s game has exactly zero bearing on where we stand for the playoffs. Sure, we’d like to close out 3 years in a row undefeated in division play. We’d like to keep climbing the state rankings ladder. We want the seniors to win their last home game. But still, unlike the last 4 division games, whatever happens here is not going to change what happens in week 9.

Maybe that is a good thing. I would like to see us get in the mode of putting teams away again. I loved how in week 2 we responded so well to Harpursville’s 2 early scores – we crammed the ball right back down their throats and put the distance between us again. In the past 3 games especially, we’ve had opportunities to do that…to break that close game open, and we haven’t been able to. Since we don’t have the must-win pressure that sometimes just drives you to making mistakes and making the game more exciting than it needs to be, I’d like to set the precedent and put D/H away. I want to get in that mode again where we start strong, we go strong through the stretches of the game, and we end strong. Our luck is going to run out at some point in these 2 point games. The trouble is, beginning in week 9, once it does, our season is done, and the parity of a crowd of good teams means nothing at all anymore – there’s no atoning for the mistakes you make come week 9.

Please don’t think I’m taking D/H lightly. I believe they have shown some signs of life this season. They did get routed by Walton, but they kept it reasonably close with BG and Seton, and I really think with the merger that they are a team that gets better the more they play together. And, here’s the kicker, they like to pass. All it takes is a flat day by us and a whole bunch of excitement and belief that they can win on their part, and we’re suddenly in a dogfight. People don’t expect us to lose given that we are 6-1 and they are 0-7, but far crazier things have happened.

If I had a goal for the game, I think it would be to not punt…to just pour it on, to get used to offensive consistency like we had the 1^st 2 weeks.

For the playoffs, we’ll know more after this weekend, but all indications are pointing to it being Delhi/Candor and Walton/Tioga. This is based on my unofficial calculations mind you, and I’ve seen it in some papers as well. The main thing that could likely mess it up is if Tioga were to lose to END this weekend. Then, assuming Groton beat Moravia, we’d likely play Groton and Walton would play Candor. We’ll know soon.

I once again just slightly underestimated my own prognosticatory abilities, predicting a 16-4 finish, whilst I managed a 17-3 (0.850). I thought sure I had my first perfect day wrapped up on Friday night, but SVE somehow came up with a 1 point win over Whitney Point, and thus I stood at 11-1 that night. I also missed Newark Valley over Trumansburg and Sus Valley over Oneonta. The season tally now stands at 114-36 (0.760). This looks like a tough weak, so I’m getting ever more pessimistic on my final grade…..my week 8 winners are….Sidney over Greene (how in the world did Greene lose to UVE, but then give Forks such a fight?!?), Groton over Moravia (Groton hoping for the END upset over Tioga), Norwich over Oneonta (Oneonta in the playoffs with a win, but I think they choke), Trumansburg over Lansing, Waverly over Dryden, Candor over Newfield, Tioga over END (probably a couple Walton scouts in attendance), Edison over Odessa, Chenango Valley over Windsor, Walton over Seton (if Seton pulled the upset, Walton would have the distinct possibility of their first losing season since before I was following high school football), Binghamton over Maine-Endwell, EFA over Southside, Owego over Johnson City, Forks over UVE, Ithaca over Horseheads, BG over Unatego, Harpursville over Oxford (tough pick, should be the other way around, but Oxford has really been sagging lately), Whitney Point over Newark Valley (maybe if I keep picking Point they’ll finally prove me right), UE over Vestal (not sure on this either, but I can guarantee that if I picked it the other way that UE would win). I’ll stick with the 4 loss pick – think I’ll go 15-4 this week….

Senior Appreciation…..be there!