This was supposedly "Monster Saturday" for College Football. It was disappointing, due to the lack of anything really exciting happening. There were upsets (James Madison anyone?), but did anyone really care? The games people wanted to see (Bama-Penn State, OSU-Maimi Florida, Okla-Florida St.) were victories were the...uh, slim? favorite won by annihilating the opposition. Nonetheless, there are still things to learn from even a week where people where Mace was disappointed.
-It is still the "Feature Programs": People like Boise State (some people, ones who don't understand that to go undefeated in the WAC is like beating 8 Washington State-i every year, but I digress) and TCU because they interrupt the power programs....or do they? The traditional programs have won like the last 30 National Championships. The most recent one I recall is Auburn being co-champ in '04, and they were not technically the winners. More officially, thanks to the magic of the internet, I can confirm the most recent non-traditional team to win the National Championship Game was Washington in 1991. So while people hope to see Boise and TCU in the title game, it is unlikely they get there, much less win.
-You have to play every gam: Virginia Tech lost to James Madison
-Turnovers still hurt you a week later: Miami threw 4 picks against Ohio State and lost, by only 12. Without the lost opportunities which were handed to OSU, it could've been a different story.
-The ACC is worse than the Big-12, which is bad: The top of the ACC Hierarchy went 0-4 with UNC idle. Va-Tech, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Miami Florida all lost. Congrats, Big-12, you pulled yourself above two power conferences now.
-Denard Robinson is the Heisman favorite: If Michigan can keep winning (relatively unlikely, but their competitions has been nothing to sneeze at) than Robinson deserves some consideration. He has 885 total yards in two games and single-handily brought joy to Cincinnati fans everywhere by defeating Brian Kelley.
In Conclusion: "Monster Saturday" would've have been so disappointing had it not been the most hyped week of NCAA Football ever. By the way, I went 0-3 in upset alerts, holy crap.
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Story of a Lowly Guy:
There are few people who get to make a game winning play in a competitive sporting event. Even less often, a player makes a game winning play in football. I will go even farther and say almost never do you even hear or possibly think of a reserve (second-string player) making a game winning play in football. I have never attended a better game than the JV football game between Cincinnati Elder and Cincinnati Moeller on October 10th, 2009.
In a not so hostile environment at Moeller, the JV football team from Cincy Elder came in limping. They had lost their best offensive threat in wide receiver Jeff Vorherr due ot a broken leg agaisnt rival St. Xavier the week before. Their starting TE Michael Paff was also out. Moeller also had an injured wide receiver, whose name i could not apprehend. The game began with a beyond bold move by the Moeller Crusaders. They decided to test the awareness of the Elder kickoff return team and did a pseudo-kickoff, (they did an onside kick from a regular kickoff formation). To the Elder faithful's (the player's parents) chagrin, the Crusaders recovered the onside. Despite the early excitement, the crowd became buried in a defensive standstill. Both teams fought hard. Soon, Moeller found a chance to score at the end of the second quarter. They intercepted a Ben Gramke pass and found the three yard line, (guaranteed points). However, Nick Pennekamp and the stout Elder defense was going to have none of that (NOT TODAY!!!) and they stopped the Crusaders and three straight plays, allowing no yards. The Crusaders made the obvious (and soft) move of bringing in the field goal team. Their softness came back to haunt them, as Pennekamp tipped the field goal, sending it wide. Elder's offensive came back onto the field, prepared to try and score before the half. Starting on the 20, (a missed field goal inside the 20 is like a touchback). Gramke dropped back, but threw yet another interception. The Elder defensive responded, as cornerback Kevin Groll nabbed his own pick. The game went into half-time tied, 0-0. The Crusaders scored on their first possession of the second half. The Panthers quickly countered with their own score. With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Moeller punched in a score. Elder had one last chance. Gramke engineered a brilliant drive. He made ridiculous play after ridiculous play. Two penalties killed the panthers, but Gramke eventually found Vorherr's sub, Mark Westerfield, for a touchdown as time expired! The panthers decided to go soft and kick the extra point to send the game into overtime. Moeller, however, was not quite ready for the usually gusty Elder to kick the PAT, so they had brought on their defense. Moeller called a timeout. The man behind Elder JV's madness, Al Grissinger, decided he was through with those goddamn Crusaders and their softness. Coach Al sent the offense out in a 5-wide shotgun. Moeller came out in a frenzy. Their kick block team had come on, and now it was up to those fellas to play "D". Elder snapped the ball and Gramke dropped back. He scampered to his right and fired to the back of the endzone. The ball found its target in the backup tight end Adam Bross. Bross reeled in the ball, falling to his right. He stood up and the bull rush began. The Elder players leaped on the callow tight end. Suddenly, the referees were called over by the Moeller coaches, unable to accept defeat. The coaches complained that Elder receiver Tony Smith had not checked into the field (between the hash marks). Eventually, Coach Al thrust his hands in the air in victory, and the Elder sideline erupted again.
In Conclusion: You never know when you might make the difference for people in your life. Elder had two of its more consistent players in Michael Paff and Jeffrey Vorherr go down to injuries, but their replacements pulled through in the clutch. You should never become complacent as a role as a backup or playing second fiddle, because you never know when the person ahead of you will need you to pick them up or help them out. Also, it shows that taking chances can payoff and being soft is not the route to go in life.
In a not so hostile environment at Moeller, the JV football team from Cincy Elder came in limping. They had lost their best offensive threat in wide receiver Jeff Vorherr due ot a broken leg agaisnt rival St. Xavier the week before. Their starting TE Michael Paff was also out. Moeller also had an injured wide receiver, whose name i could not apprehend. The game began with a beyond bold move by the Moeller Crusaders. They decided to test the awareness of the Elder kickoff return team and did a pseudo-kickoff, (they did an onside kick from a regular kickoff formation). To the Elder faithful's (the player's parents) chagrin, the Crusaders recovered the onside. Despite the early excitement, the crowd became buried in a defensive standstill. Both teams fought hard. Soon, Moeller found a chance to score at the end of the second quarter. They intercepted a Ben Gramke pass and found the three yard line, (guaranteed points). However, Nick Pennekamp and the stout Elder defense was going to have none of that (NOT TODAY!!!) and they stopped the Crusaders and three straight plays, allowing no yards. The Crusaders made the obvious (and soft) move of bringing in the field goal team. Their softness came back to haunt them, as Pennekamp tipped the field goal, sending it wide. Elder's offensive came back onto the field, prepared to try and score before the half. Starting on the 20, (a missed field goal inside the 20 is like a touchback). Gramke dropped back, but threw yet another interception. The Elder defensive responded, as cornerback Kevin Groll nabbed his own pick. The game went into half-time tied, 0-0. The Crusaders scored on their first possession of the second half. The Panthers quickly countered with their own score. With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Moeller punched in a score. Elder had one last chance. Gramke engineered a brilliant drive. He made ridiculous play after ridiculous play. Two penalties killed the panthers, but Gramke eventually found Vorherr's sub, Mark Westerfield, for a touchdown as time expired! The panthers decided to go soft and kick the extra point to send the game into overtime. Moeller, however, was not quite ready for the usually gusty Elder to kick the PAT, so they had brought on their defense. Moeller called a timeout. The man behind Elder JV's madness, Al Grissinger, decided he was through with those goddamn Crusaders and their softness. Coach Al sent the offense out in a 5-wide shotgun. Moeller came out in a frenzy. Their kick block team had come on, and now it was up to those fellas to play "D". Elder snapped the ball and Gramke dropped back. He scampered to his right and fired to the back of the endzone. The ball found its target in the backup tight end Adam Bross. Bross reeled in the ball, falling to his right. He stood up and the bull rush began. The Elder players leaped on the callow tight end. Suddenly, the referees were called over by the Moeller coaches, unable to accept defeat. The coaches complained that Elder receiver Tony Smith had not checked into the field (between the hash marks). Eventually, Coach Al thrust his hands in the air in victory, and the Elder sideline erupted again.
In Conclusion: You never know when you might make the difference for people in your life. Elder had two of its more consistent players in Michael Paff and Jeffrey Vorherr go down to injuries, but their replacements pulled through in the clutch. You should never become complacent as a role as a backup or playing second fiddle, because you never know when the person ahead of you will need you to pick them up or help them out. Also, it shows that taking chances can payoff and being soft is not the route to go in life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)