Back on that Ladder
We got to take a
week off from the ladder with a game that had nothing to do with the playoffs,
but it’s time to step to the side and get on a different one now.
Before we go there
though, let’s just say we did have a very nice showing on Saturday. I had
said I hoped we would put D/H away, and that we wouldn’t punt in the
game. Well, it was 32-0 at the end of quarter #1, and Mr. Telian
didn’t line up 11 (or however many) yards back, so that is good. We held
the Eagles to 25 yards rushing, which is outstanding in my book no matter whom
you are playing. Our scoring spree obviously did slow down, but it wasn’t
like the game was ever close. We still did get stuffed more than I would like,
but it is tough to play your hardest in that situation. I am confident it will
be different when the lead is 6 or 8 points instead of 20 or 30.
I will say that I
was actually a bit inspired watching Deposit/Hancock. They are now 0-8, and
they’ve gotten blown out in a good number of their games, but I thought
they really played hard throughout. How tough is it to throw a big (clean) hit
when you’re down by 30+ points? How easy is it to get lazy? They kept
coming I thought. We kept turning them back, but they kept coming. I think
that’s a positive sign for them, and I think that is the start of more
winning ways. I remember my then-6-year-old son losing a wrestling match 11-4
last year. He was so down about it, but I just told him to go out next time and
do what he knows how to do and do it the best that he can, and try to make the
guy across from him know he’s in a legitimate fight. Win or lose, you
make the guy work for whatever he gets. Well, he didn’t get to wrestle
that particular kid again, but he did beat everyone else he went up against. I
do think that D/H at least made it known that we were in a game – not a
game we had much chance of losing, mind you, but we were up against some
competitors anyway. We all obviously like to win, but sometimes the best you
can do is to go out there and show your opponent that you are going to play
– you’re not going to just be a punching bag. And, again, that is
the start to winning ways.
So,
back on the next ladder. This one starts on the roof of the division and goes into the clouds
– we don’t know where it ends! We could have slime on our hands and
fall this week, or we could climb it for a while. The bad news about this
ladder is that once you fall, you’re done. No getting back on this one.
The good news is that each step we take on this ladder is worth even a whole
lot more than each of those steps we took on the previous climb to the division
title. One win and we’re playing for a sectional title for the 7th
time in 12 years – which other sport around Delhi can boast that? Two
wins and we’re in the state playoffs for the 4th time in those
12 years. 3 wins and we get to play in that absolutely horrible soccer stadium
up in Rochester. You get the picture.
I think the
sectional title is for anyone to go out and win. From my work chair at this
moment I don’t see a clear favorite, and I don’t see a team that is
not capable of winning it. I really believe that we and Walton will both have
our hands full this weekend. Candor looks very strong with several very capable
backs and a QB that can throw as well. Tough to say right now whose division is
better – middling Seton beat middling END at the beginning of the season
in a close game. Candor has definitely not played anyone the caliber of Sidney,
but we really didn’t do a thing in that game either. They’ve got a
very tough top 3 in the division, but they also have a bottom 3 that, umm, is
quite less than stellar (while we really only had one basement dweller in our
division). I can’t give a great prediction for what’s going to
happen here. All I’ll say is that I’d love to see everyone just
crank things up just a bit – it’s playoff
time, so it’s time to go a bit harder, go a bit faster. I like the
offensive balance we have, and I think some adjustments we’ve made on
defense have helped us out. Let’s hope for no turnovers and few mistakes,
and we should be right there.
Arm Chair QB
– if you read my stuff at all you know my fondness for our coach. You
don’t play for 6 sectional titles in 11 years unless you have one who is
one of the very best. I also think the world of Salerno, as I think he’s
done a terrific job with running our offense, mentally and physically. So, all in fun, I will just mention a
couple times I was scratching my head or at least putting a good deal of
thought into what we were doing strategically.
The first 2 times
were in Bainbridge on our late 2nd quarter drive which stalled just
before the half. Clock ticking under a minute, 1st
and goal from the 5. Team lines up to spike the ball
to stop the clock. Salerno fakes the spike and tries to run up the
middle. It doesn’t work well, as he gains only a yard, and the clock
keeps ticking. I heard DK shout something like “don’t get too smart
for your own good”. Good advice, but I actually think it may have been a
good thought by our QB. I have to think that faking the spike, if done with the
knowledge of the linemen, would have a reasonable chance for success, and that
was definitely the down to do it on. By doing it on 1st down, it
allowed the team to be right at the line of scrimmage, line up again, spike it
for real, and still have 2 additional cracks at it. Bottom line is it
didn’t work, which makes it not look smart, but I think it was a
reasonable chance to take.
Time #2 was a
couple plays later. 4th down and goal with like 10 or 15 seconds in
the half. We had done a terrific job up to that point in running the ball.
There was a pretty good rain going. We hadn’t completed many passes.
There was no need to stop the clock. I have to believe that the defense was
thinking pass if for no other reason than probably our last 5-7 plays had been
passes, and everything felt hurried. I have to think a run would have had a
great shot there of getting us in the end zone. Were I the coach I probably
would have called that, though I can see the downside – we had 2 cracks
from the 1 with Oxford and we couldn’t put it in, though I have to think
they knew Fletcher was getting the ball on both of those before the ball was
ever snapped.
Event
#3…..this past week. I actually think this happened twice. We had 4th
down and short, maybe a yard or 2. Both times we go to the hard count, draw D/H
offsides, and pick up the first down. Before each of
those plays, I was excited to see what we were made of. I didn’t get to
see because we got it a “cheap” way. Now, mind you, in the
playoffs, I will definitely take that 1st down any way we can get
it. I just would like to have seen us forget the scoreboard for a play, and
pretend that this was a potential game-winning drive against Candor or Tioga or
Walton, and see what we had in us (without trying to draw them off).
OK, enough of that.
Nothing more pathetic than a 30-something who’s gone to 174 high school
games in a row who thinks he knows everything J. Actually, I will say that the BG coach’s
decision to kick after the TD (when we were up by 2 points) and at the end of
the game had me scratching my head FAR more than the items I mentioned above.
Last
topic before the picks. I was asked on Saturday after the game if I knew how close Fletcher
was to the school rushing record. Unfortunately I have not seen our
“official” records (though I’ve been asking for them to put
them on the site). For kids that I’ve watched over the past ~25 years, I
have to believe that, outside of Fletcher, our leading rushers would be Brenton Hood, Rich Mokay, and
Fran Pardee. All of these guys were starters over
several years, and played in extended seasons for at least one of their years.
I don’t have any stats on Mokay nor Pardee. I do have Hood’s stats, and I can tell you
how the stats I have for him compare to what I have for Fletcher. Note that
Hood’s and Fletchers are my numbers, and the schools numbers may be
slightly different. Through last Saturday’s game, I show Fletcher with
540 carries for 3160 yards and 37 TD’s. For Hood’s career (4 year
starter), I have 503 carries for 3350 yards and 38 TD’s. So, according to
these numbers, Fletcher needs 190 yards and 1 more TD to match Hood. I’m
going to guess that Hood has the most since I’ve been watching, but I
can’t be sure, and I don’t know what there might have been before
my Dad got that twinkle in his eye. Let’s hope Fletcher has a few more
games to set the record!
Well, now
I’ve blown it on predicting my predictions. I guessed I’d make a
15-4 record on what I thought was a difficult week, but I actually had an
outstanding week at 18-1 (0.947). I missed Odessa coming up with a win over
Edison out west. Looks like I’ve got a bit of mo’, as my season
total is creeping up like a pair of one-size-too-small tightie
whities at 132-37 (0.781). I still don’t see
0.800 happening after 2 more weeks, but it’s nice to get a bit of
redemption. For the playoffs, let’s go with…..Corning 38, Ithaca 24
(Corning has some rust after a week off); Binghamton 26, UE 10 (UE usually does
better in the playoffs, but not sure they have enough in the tank for
Binghamton, assuming Bingo’s running back is good to go); EFA 32,
Southside 12; Vestal 22, ME 20 (both starting QB’s may be out, and I give
the Golden Bears the edge with the section’s leading rusher); Owego 30,
Norwich 14 (I believe Owego actually scored the most this season on Corning,
and also had the closest margin of defeat, despite being 2 classes smaller);
Johnson City 28, Chenango Valley 26 (after Chenango Valley fumbles the snap on
a kneel-down); Forks 52, Trumansburg 6 (Forks puts up 46 in the first half),
Sidney 60, Newark Valley 12 (Sidney doesn’t hold back as much as Forks
does); Walton 30, Tioga 20 (I actually think Tioga might be a better overall
team, but you’re talking about Walton in the playoffs here…..the
coaching and Walton’s style of play make up for any deficiencies). For
the crossovers (much tougher picks for sure), let’s put the $0.05 on
Harpursville over Unatego (I certainly hope anyway,
would love for H-ville to have their first winning
season in decades, especially after starting 0-4), UVE over
Sherburne-Earlville, Greene over BG, SVE over Odessa, Oneonta over Waverly,
Windsor over Dryden, Deposit/Hancock over Newfield, Moravia over Oxford, Sus Valley over Point, Groton over Seton (Groton takes out
their frustrations of not being in the playoffs). I’m going to guess
I’ll be 8-1 for the playoffs (will miss either Tioga,
ME, or UE) and 8-2 on the others…
Let’s see
what these boys are made of on Saturday…