September
8, 2005 By
Jonathon Hadley
Wowser.
Whooda thunk it? 62 points.
Last
season it took us till part way into game 5 before we had scored that many ON
THE SEASON. We haven’t scored that many since ripping Seton 62-14 on October 5,
2001. We’ve scored 40 only twice following the championship season.
So
why all the light on the scoreboard, when last year we struggled to score a
total of 132 points on the whole season? Sure, the line did a terrific job (and
I mean that, SUPER job boys). Last year’s line was pretty good as well though.
Hoody had 1000 yards and 2 200 yard games, and he never scored more than twice
in a game. So what’s up? Well, speaking just for last Saturday, I give 3
factors……
1.
Downfield
Running – Anyone notice how tough both Hood and Rocky looked on Saturday?
Anyone notice the stiffarms? Anyone notice the balance? Anyone notice effort at
breaking free from tacklers? These guys on Saturday had twice the downfield
toughness that they had last year. They were workhorses. Sure they did a good
job last year, but last year they would have been on the ground on several of
the runs that they scored on on Saturday.
2.
Speed
– Who knows, maybe it was the competition. Maybe there truly are a few more
fast twitch muscles. Regardless, Hoody and Rocky both showed an ability to pull
away like I had not seen in them.
3.
The
competition – Yes, I must be realistic and admit that at least part of Hood’s
and Rockefeller’s success had something to do with less than stellar
competition and somewhat poor tackling. Still, Delhi played some, ehhem, less
than state champion caliber teams last year (as well as the two years previous)
and did not dominate like this.
Can
anyone else wait to see what these boys do this Saturday? I’m even more excited
to see how they do in week 3 against a more fundamentally sound team in
Unatego. Gosh I hope I’m not looking past Saturday….
What
about that passing game? Yuck…..2 for 9 for 37 yards and a pick. Well, we don’t
know for sure where it’s going, but I certainly wouldn’t write it off just
yet…..think back with me to 2 years ago on the same field. Travis Mahler made
his first varsity start at QB. The same season that he completed 54% if his
passes. Remember how he did in Jeffersonville? 2 for 8 for 25 yards and an INT.
Sounds eerily familiar doesn’t it? The next week against Whitney Point Mahler
improved to 8 for 12 for 127 yards and a TD. Must be something with section 9
fields, because the year before Sean Whitaker, who had a stellar year passing
the ball, went 5 for 12 for 40 yards and an INT down at Saugerties.
As
for thoughts from around the area……Sidney will pound teams who get intimidated
by their offensive firepower (and it doesn’t get a whole lot better than what
they have in Simonds/Zurn/Kozak/Morenus), but without the intangible fear
factor, they may struggle with teams who stand firm and attack their weakness
on the lines. Walton will hound Morenus relentlessly. If Sidney wants to be in
that game (and doesn’t want Morenus out with a concussion) they best only pass
the ball 6-10 times, and run even when it might not be working…..be patient,
their speed will break one eventually. This one is tough to call in my
opinion….but I’ll go with Walton 30-20. I thought highly of Walton going into
this season, and a 2 TD win over ‘Tego is significant in my book, but I am
concerned that a sophomore scored all 4 of their TD’s. Makes one wonder if they
can successfully get all the way through the gauntlet of Unatego, Sidney, and
Delhi (in a few weeks). Greene was impressive in a rout of BG, though I didn’t
have high expectations for BG, even in class D. They are in D a year too late –
they would have had a shot at a sectional title a year ago (and the bummer for
them is that they actually were D last year, they just failed to inform section
IV in time that they were dropping Afton). I think Greene is a spoiler for the
big 3 of Delhi, Sidney, and Unatego. Seton could be as well, but I think they
are a step below Greene, and I don’t know if they will win a division game (I
can hear Tim Rogers from the Syracuse
forum complaining now…..sorry!).
For
picks, I didn’t do too great last week….I went a horrible 18-10 for a measly
0.643….could have done almost as well by guessing randomly. For this week, I’ll
go with Liverpool, Vestal (come on section IV, you’ve gotta beat Syracuse
once), Cortland, Towanda, Norwich (great game with Windsor), Corning East,
Unatego, Elmira Notre Dame, Unadilla Valley, Greene (playing Oxford in a good
one), Walton, Lansing, Candor, Fayetteville-Manlius, Horseheads, Sus Valley,
Johnson City, Chenango Valley, Deposit, Newark Valley, Newfield, Moravia,
Southern Springs, and Seton (there you are Tim). Go to www.section4football.com/2005
to see the matchups if you wish.
Looks
like the weather is going to be great again…..enjoy people…..
-jmh