Saturday, November 1, 2008

Friday night thoughts, final edition

Wow! What's up with football in Washington and Greene counties?

Shaler 16, Canon-McMillan 0.

Indiana 21, Trinity 6.

Blackhawk 35, Ringgold 7.

Beaver Falls 42, McGuffey 21.

North Catholic 14, Fort Cherry 7.

Rochester 48, Chartiers-Houston 22.

Monaca 56, Carmichaels 22.

Avonworth 35, California 8.

Western Beaver 38, Beth-Center 7.

That's 0-9. There's no sugarcoating. Not good.

The only area team to come away with a victory was Monessen, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a 24-7 victory over Serra Catholic. Add the 1-9 combined record with the mark of the past five years for local teams and it looks bad.

Local teams are now 16-61 in the postseason since 2003. That's a dismal .208 win percentage.

Is it safe to say area football has never been as down as it is right now? That's a tough question to answer but there are a lot of people who have been around the area for a long time that think so.

So, what's going on?

To be fair, a few teams didn't have much of a chance of advancing given their respective seeds. McGuffey would need the game of the ages to beat Beaver Falls. California, Chartiers-Houston, Carmichaels and Ringgold would have also needed a little Halloween hocus pocus to prevail.

Injuries also hurt a few teams. Canon-McMillan lost Mike Hull, Chad Hagan, Steve Roach and Butchie Cumpston during its loss to Shaler. Still, for a school of C-M's size, capable replacements are waiting to play.

"The bottom line is, no matter what you do schematically in football, you have to block and tackle. We did neither of those. We don't want to blame anything on injuries because we had veteran guys out there who didn't block and veteran guys who got run right through. That shouldn't have happened."

That's what Big Macs coach Guy Montecalvo told Observer-Reporter sports editor Chris Dugan following the game. Montecalvo could not be more correct. Not having Hull hurts, not blocking hurts more.

Injuries affect smaller schools more than bigger ones.

Beth-Center has played without sophomore fullback/linebacker Jeff Tarley for a couple weeks. Tarley is arguably the Bulldogs best player when healthy and his presence would have made a difference for Beth-Center. But can one player can't make up a 31-point margin?

"We got beat by a better team," said Beth-Center head coach Ed Woods following the game. "Plain and simple, they were a better team. No excuses, they just lined up and beat us. We had a very good season though. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We are a very young team and we will get right to work for next season"

Couldn't agree with Woods more. Area teams have nothing to be ashamed of, especially if they played to full effort. Still, I'm guessing a lot of local players are a little salty today.

I covered the Trinity at Indiana game and the Hillers did some things very well. Quarterback Andrew Steratore showed he can make difficult throws, while receivers Joe Havrilak and Alex Frey did their best to make plays. Trinity's troubles were key errors at the wrong times and the offensive line's inability to block well on the run. Trinity had a significant size advantage up front but Indiana clearly won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football.

I can think of at least two screen passes that went for sizable gains which could have been touchdowns if the players downfield would have blocked.

So, the forum is over to our readers. What did you see last night? Why did the two counties not pick up one victory? What is wrong with local football?

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ringgold... Jeff Petrucci... no chance! Another year of terrible play selection and another year of collecting a check. Jeff Petrucci should be ashamed of himself for accepting a paycheck from the poor taxpayers of the Ringgold School District. He will not help put a single athlete in a college program this year. I bet if you asked him where Bekavac was heading to continue his football career Petrucci would respond "Simon who?" Ringgold's school board should be ashamed of their athletic program and it starts with their arrogant and unqualified athletic director!

mike_kovak said...

From my perspective, Ringgold's Lloyd Price is a very good athletic director. To be more precise, I think he does his job as well as anyone in this area.

I also do not believe Jeff Petrucci is coaching just to collect a paycheck.

I think it is time for Ringgold fans, as faithful and opinionated as you are, to accept reality.

Anonymous said...

As the great Dusty Rhodes would say, hard times, Mr. Kovak. Hard times.

Anonymous said...

to back up what mike said about large schools should be able to find replacemnts.. look at shaler, they had a freshman qb making his first ever start. and he did well.

Anonymous said...

Mike, lets face facts, the Tri-County south is never good, they just arent.

The black hills conference showed that, outside of Clairton, they arent very good either.

The big 7 (A) is VERY good and i think they are year in and year out. all 4 of their teams advanced.

lets face it, Ringgold had exactly 0 quality wins this year, 0. Did anyone think they were really going to get past a quality blackhawk team?

CM had 1 quality win in USC by 1 point. Outside of that, no other quality wins. Many of you may beg to differ, but i am not surprised by the outcome of any of these games. The writing was on the wall.

Anonymous said...

Clairton 42
Brentwood 7

Please dont be misled by this score. If not for an INT returned for a TD, a punt snap over the brentwood punters head and a controversial 2 pt conversion call, this game is 7-6 brentwood at the half. Clairton's offense could not do a thing and the defense could not stop Brentwood's spread passing game. This game was much closer than the score would indicate. Brentwood shot themselves in the foot on numerous occasions. Clairton by far had their worst outing of the season, how ironic it occured in the playoffs yet again. Had they been playing any other team (oustide of California) they would have lost this game.

There are two distinct seasons in highschool football...the regular season and playoff season. No doubt Clairton is one of the best regular season teams year in and year out. However when it comes to the playoff season, Clairton is mediocre at best.

I honestly dont know what it is. Are they out of steam at playoff time? Are they overconfident? Are they outcoached? Or is it all of the above?

No matter what it is, I'll tell you this...if Clairton plays Monessen Friday night the way they just played Brentwood their season will come to an end and the hounds will be playing for a trip to Heinz field.

Hats off to Brentwood and their coaching staff. They pulled out all the stops and had a good game plan in place.

mike_kovak said...

The Tri-County South put teams in the semifinals in each of the past two years. Two years, Jeff-Morgan was a horribly blown call away from possibly playing at Heinz Field.

Yes, it is not the strongest conference but to say they are never any good is completely ignoring recent accomplishments.

Anonymous said...

Trinity did not have the proper footwear for the sloppy field at Indiana.
Add to that a decision to call time when you have the momentum in red zone--2nd and 4--then call a pass and get sacked. Game over.

Brant said...

And to be honest, the only "area" team that won, Monessen, isn't really even in our area. If we're claiming Monessen, maybe we should start claiming some of the Beaver County teams. It would help our win-loss record.

Anonymous said...

From The Valley Independent...after Bassi threw the interception that was returned for a TD for Blackhawk's first score.

"Petrucci did not put the blame on Bassi and took responsibility."

Words from Petrucci..."I put David in the position to throw the interception," he said. "I put him in that situation."


Well atleast he realizes that he cannot call a good game, and that his playcalling obviously put the Rams in a hole early. The Rams D made a few key stops inside their own redzone in the beginning of this game, only to have there o so "potent Petrucci calling the shots offense do nothing in return"...You cannot say that losing Shane Mountain was the reason either because Dave Bassi was a very capable replacement. Once again for the second straight year Jeff Petrucci has the Rams going home via a first round exit because of his lack of playcalling abilities!!

Anonymous said...

Mike Kovak,
Your perspective of Ringgold athletics would be much different if you weren't looking through a telescope. I wish you would do a special section with Jeff on where his former players and current players are in their academic or athletic careers. He couldn't tell you where one of his players are currently and would not have the slightest idea where any of his current players are heading. Joe Ravasio still talks to his former players after 15 years. I'll bet Chirpak could tell you what happened to his kids. That's because Chirpak CARES!!! Ringgold, regardless of talent, always had kids play college football at various levels. There was enthusiasm and a passion for football that is completely missing. Petrucci never went to one, not one off-season workout. Never once! I will bet that Jim Render at least knows what his weight room looks like. Jeff is good with you media folks. Look at his quotations after last night's game. "We played hard, We never gave up, the kids had a great year, don't hang your heads." It would have been far better to say "I blew it, I stink, the game has passed me by, I did not have a game plan tonight because it was too nice of a day not to go golfing, I don't care about these kids, I couldn't tell you one of their parents names, I should pay Ringgold for the damage I have done." At least then he would have been brutally honest. Ringgold needs youth, Ringgold needs enthusiasm, or Ringgold needs to drop to Single A. Then I could look forward to who you would pick in the big Ringgold Monessan friday night matchup. At this rate I think I love Monessan. I'm back Mike!

mike_kovak said...

Welcome back Mondaymorning QB

Anonymous said...

You win some, you loose some. Let's give a hand to all those young men for all their hard work and dedication, all year long. Good Luck to Monessen. Anything is possible. Keep focused.

Anonymous said...

I get the vibe that many of these Wash Cty Schools' football teams are happy to make it the playoffs, not "Excited to make a run" like teams like Rochester, USC, TJ, Clairton, etc are year after year.

They'd rather play their one playoff game, and then get started on their offseason before it gets too cold to practice.

J.D. Billy said...

anon, your a jag off if you say CM didnt have any big wins besides usc. They beat woodland hills in a tough fought win. I think your just trying to sound like you know what your talking about to sound cool on a washington county blog. "the writing was on the wall." I'm not even sticking up for CM, you just sound like a douche. The reason they lost is because they lost their 3 main contributers on offense. What offense would still be lethal if they lost their three key weapons? Picture the steelers losing Big Ben, Ward, Parker, all at the same time.. I don't think many people would be prepared to lose that many key contributers on offense.

Anonymous said...

At least you're not from Brownsville. Hard times, indeed.

Rod Taylor said...

Well, I will say this concerning the Rams football team, and this will be it for the season, most likely. The reasons Ringgold football will never become "elite." 1.The quality of coaching is just outright terrible. The last good coach Ringgold had was Scott Venick. He was tough and aggressive, and he won the Quad west conference back when Ringgold was AAAA. Every other coach has just simply made the program worse. 2. The youth football program(s). The (s) is the problem. The Union Finley Bears, The Monongahela Wildcats, and the Donora Dragons are the downfall is and will always be the downfall of Ringgold sports. When student athletes get to RHS, all they refer to is their respective backgrounds. The locker rooms are split and no one wants to work with anyone. Quite honestly I beleive all the talent resides in Donora, (I am from Finleyville mind you) but the talent does not come out, becauase Ringgold is a divided community. I am sure that when TJ plays youth football, it is just TJ. I can promise you that Ringgold has more talent lying around than any school out there. It is just that no one wants to play because of the divide in the community. As soon as they combine the youth football programs, Ringgold goes to the top. Basketball is just a lost cause. This years team wouldnt make the playoffs if every team was guaranteed a spot. (CONGRATS RINGGOLD RAMS [football] ON A GREAT SEASON. YOUR NUMBER 1 FAN, RODNEY) Also, Mike I think we need to have a Varsity Letters Summit. Like a banquet or something where we can all debate and put faces to all of the anons out there.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Hey Billy, you want to talk facts, lets talk facts "douche"

CM BEAT:
a 4-5 woody high team (yeah, quality win douche). this was a TERRIBLE year for woody high compared to their standards.

a 5-4 trinity team (average at best)

a 6-3 USC team (your quality win)

an 0-9 baldwin team (enough said)

a 2-7 mt. lebo team (diddo)

a 2-7 peters team (diddo)

CM LOST TO:
A 3-6 BUTLER TEAM. IN FACT, THEY SHUT OUT CM. THE ONLY TWO TEAMS BUTLER GAVE UP LESS THAN 21 POINTS TO WAS CM (0) AND SENECA VALLEY (18).

a 9-0 Bethel team who is very good.

a 7-2 central team who is pretty good.

Yes CM had injuries, everyone does. So "douche", what did i just say that wasnt factual or tyring to talk like i "know" something? The fact reamins THAT CM ISNT THAT GOOD, they are ABOVE AVERAGE. Above average isnt bad.

Anonymous said...

I know Trinity has been in the playoffs four straight years now, but what have they done when they got there? absolutley nothing at all.. the best run they had is when they made it four years ago and were in AAAA, they had injuries sure, but they cant blame it on that or the grass field... what if by some wild chance they made it to Heinz field? Isn't it grass? would they complain then?


Horrible blocking + horrible coaching = another early exit for the predictable hillers...

mike_kovak said...

R Keith,

Some interesting points about the youth programs in the Ringgold area. While I'm not sure if I agree with you that Ringgold has the best talent out there, I have heard for years that it is a very divided community and it trickles into the sports teams.

Good point to bring up. I'd be interested in hearing more about it.

Now, for everyone else. Spirited debate is great. Let's try not to hurl personal attacks and make accusations we can not prove.

mike_kovak said...

Anon,

Comment was removed because players are never "stolen."

J.D. Billy said...

LOL, when did i say anything else about their other wins? I think Woodland Hills record is deceptive. Their first game of the year the lost to Justin Northwest (from Texas) by 1 point. Their other losses came to CM, Bethel, and Central Catholic, none of which were blowouts.

And when your injured player is one of the best in the wpial for most of the entire season (mike hull) its going to hurt your team fyi.

Anonymous said...

billy, they also lost to Penn Hills which you neglected to mention. That justin northwest loss you talked about...justin northwest is 5-3...not exactly a Texas Juggernaut. And the bethel park game woody high lost was by 17, not exactly a real close loss.

And im just asking because i am not 100 percent sure, was Hull injured when 3-6 Butler shut them out or was there another excuse for not scoring any points against that team?

Anonymous said...

One thing you can always count on with Ringgold is the parents and fans will always blame everything on the coach. It's always the coach's fault. It's Petrucci's fault. It was Russ Moore's fault. It was Joe Ravasio's fault. It was Scott Venick's fault. It was the fault of a bunch of other coaches. What Ringgold needs to realize is the players simply aren't good enough, they aren't dedicated enough and there are too many meddling parents.

VCTMbrian said...

Anon who needs a piece of chocoloate,

What's your deal? Stop sippin on that haterade or Zima, or whatever you got...
Who do you want CM to schedule? Their non-conference schedule included a AAA playoff team (and rival)and 2 AAAA playoff teams with loads of tradition.
The thing is anon, by your logic, if CM loses 1 game this year and lets say that's to Bethel, you would say that CM still only had 1 "quality win." You aren't giving respect to CM for a win, but rather knocking a team for losing to CM. Think about it Mr. Holmes, each time you beat a team, they get a 1 in the loss column instead of a 1 in the win column. So if CM would beat PCC, you would be saying that wasn't a quality win and that PCC is having a down year. Just like you are saying about Woody High. CM played very competitive football with some of the best teams in the WPIAL, this teams is good. When is the last time CM played close to PCC or beat Woodland Hills?

J.D. Billy said...

lol yeah actually Hull's back was messed up before the season started, but of course you wouldn't be able to tell because he would tell you he is good to go even if his arm was broken.

Anonymous said...

brian/billy, im just playing devils advocate. It seems to me everyone on this "washington county blog" seems to think CM is one of the "elite" teams in AAAA. They are not. They are an average team. When you beat Bethel, when you beat PCC, when you beat Mckeesport, when you beat Gateway, when you beat ANY ONE OF THOSE types of teams then I'll agree that CM has a good team. Until then...sorry I'm not buying it. I did, however, give CM their due in saying they did beat a quality USC team. They're an average to above average team. Thats all I'm saying, there's nothing wrong with being average...most, if not all washington county teams are used to that by now.

VCTMbrian said...

I know I've never called CM an Elite AAAA team. Sure there were some goofs that probably have come on here and said it not really thinking, but that's far from everyone on this "washington county blog." When you take a look at all of the new faces on this years CM team, it is hard not to be impressed by the amount of hard work and dedication they put forth to get where they did. Apparently though, you were not. You were eager to come on here after CM lost and tell the "washington county blogsters" how CM was never good in the first place. Wow, takes some guts to kick a dog when it's down. You must feel pretty good.
No one on here was predicting CM to goto Heinz field, most of us predicted a battle against Shaler. Did a lot of people expect CM to win? Sure, but that doesn't mean everyone on this washington county blog considers CM to be as good as USA today's #3 ranked team. How about you congratulate the folks that put in the time all summer and all fall while still performing well in the classroom and battling injuries, on their good season rather than telling them they weren't really that good in the first place. Sure CM wasn't Gateway but they were darn good team. They battled with two of the best in AAAA, and you can go ask Terry Totten or Jeff Metheny if CM has a good football team.

Anonymous said...

Haha anon jus got dissed.You feel real salty lol.....sorry JD and Brian i just had to get in on this.lol

Anonymous said...

awhhh, brian you hurt my feelings. I dont think im going to post anymore. ha ha ha. give me a break. you know as well as i do that had ringgold and CM won this blog would have been inundated by a bunch of delusional fans saying those two schools were great. Instead, what happened? Those two teams lose and you have those same "fans" on here saying "oh the coaches suck" and looking for people to blame and excuses to make. Im not going to apologize for anything i said. I will say, though, that highschool football is a kids sport and nothing i have said was meant to disparage those kids or the effort they put into it. These arent multi-million dollar athletes, they are kids who play hard and play to their ability. I commend them. I think its more of the ridiculous fans i have an issue with and am laughing at. Everything i have said has been meant to stir them up more than anything. Spare me the heart-felt speech.

Anonymous said...

back to ringgold athletic being divided.. ive played in the split youth football and know that union-finley, monongahela, and donora hate each other, especially the last year when i played when those teams finished 1,3,4 respectively (i played for union-finley) anyway, the rivalry tends to continue through the high school level and i remember watching games where a donora kid would purposely not block because a finley kid was running the ball, and vica versa. thats one of ringgolds many downfalls. theres no unity, dedication, commitment, etc. and that all adds up to an average team at best. even though i support ringgold, its the truth

VCTMbrian said...

Anon,

Oh, so you come on here to stir up fans under an anonymous name? Ballsy.
What's funny is that in the post i responded to of yours, you mention the word "team" 7 times and the word "fan" 0.

Btw, not once in my last post was Ringgold mentioned, so please don't use the ringgold fans who are upset with their coach/AD to aid your case. I was talking about CM, as were you.

What excuses have been made for CM outside of their top 3 offensive threats were all injured? I'm not saying that this is a legitimate excuse because depth is a crucial piece to any good team, but this is the only thing i think is mentioned as an excuse for CM's loss in this article's responses.

Anonymous said...

well ringgold will never be good...union finley, mon city, and donora are good whenever they are younger but that soon fades once high school comes around...most of union finley kids are from south park or move to south park, mon city barely has a youth program anymore, and donora thinks it is the next compton of the united states so its athletes are now forgetting athletics and heading straight to the gang banging with monesson!

Anonymous said...

haha your right anon, donora thinks its comparable to harlem or somethin. and yes, parents get too involved such as "my sons not qb'n cause hes from donora" honestly get over it, where can unity exist when you got a parent steppin their foot in. but union-finley is not south park kids, there was 1 or 2 at most a few years back but south park his its own program now

Anonymous said...

brian, its anonymous because i am not a professional blogger and dont post a picture of myself straight out of 1983...

As far as the "mentioning the word team 7 times"...im glad you can count, good for you.

And i dont remember ever directly questioning you about anything...in fact, it wasnt until i posted a few times that you decided to jump in, you and billy both.

Anonymous said...

Anyone think monessen has a chance?

Anonymous said...

Monessen absolutely has a chance. A lot of people just see scores and think "wow, what a blow out". While the Monessen game was a blowout, it wasnt a good representation of what Monessen can do. It started off bad for the greyhounds in that game and just snowballed out of control. Not to mention, this is the playoffs now, for whatever reason Clairton always plays poorly in the playoffs. It is only going to take one good game from Monessesn to knock off the bears. And if Clairton plays Monessen the way they played Brentwood, Monessen will advance to the semi's, i have no doubt in my mind. Monessen wont be intimidated by Clairton this time around, they are going to want revenge.

Monessen has a chance...a good one.

Anonymous said...

If Monessen's defense continues to play the way it has for the past 3 weeks, they have a chance. The Serra game actually should have been a shut-out - Serra only scored because of a back snap on a punt that sailed over Clark's head and he finally fell on the ball on the 5 yard line, giving Serra the field position that they were never able to get with their offense.

motown

Anonymous said...

And you can count...





...on me waiting for you in the parking lot!

Anonymous said...

RINGGOLD DOES NOT NEED A JOINT YOUTH LEAGUE! There is too much made from Ringgold having 3 youth programs. The fact is, many benefits come from multiple youth programs. 1. Three times as many kids have the opportunity to start each and every week which gives that many more kids actual gametime experience. 2. More individual attention is given to each of the players as opposed to throwing 70 kids on a team when they are 10 years old and having 3 or 4 coaches on the whole team. 3. These are young kids and the idea of the youth programs are for these kids to have fun and give them something constructive to do. 4. I would take the coaches of these 3 youth programs over coaching staff at Ringgold any day! The real trouble with Ringgold is that the star athletes from Donora used to wait until they were out of school to start a life of drugs and crime and now they start in middle school. We used to at least get 4 good years out of them. To say that these kids from these youth programs hate each other throughout high school is absolutely rediculous. There have been many teams through the years who could not wait until high school to join forces and fight for 1 common team. There are kids every year that are best of friends from opposite ends of the district including this year's team. If any kid "did not block for another kid" for ANY REASON, he would be on my bench. Ringgold will some day hopefully stumble into "that coach" that will turn them into the power that they are capable of being with the 3 youth programs running just as they are. Ringgold got it all wrong when they hired an OLD coach and a YOUNG AD, it should have been an OLD AD and a YOUNG coach! Missed ya Mike!

VCTMbrian said...

Semi-Pro Blogger anon,

your explanations are comical. Keep them coming, please.



Also, 1968 is the year you are looking for. 1968.

Anonymous said...

mondaymorningqb you hit the nail on the head about the Ringgold Youth programs...if all 3 communities had to play as one team it would encourage less kids to play because of the fact they would not get to play as much whenever they are younger. Having 3 teams lets more kids have a chance to play and have valuable playing experience. To say that the kids hate each other is not true at all...being a Ringgold grad and former rams player, i was friends with players from all 3 youth programs and once your in high school it is soon forgotten which of the three teams you came from. Donora's fame to having famous athletes is just about completely done. The sad part is kids from Donora are more worried about selling drugs and there gang war with Monesson than to ever pick up a weight and train for football...if they only realized it could be their ticket out!!! Still the biggest problem for Ringgold Football is the Coach, Ringgold needs to go out and hire a young coach that is motivated and is coaching because he loves coaching and is not doing it for the money. Ringgold needs a coach who will inspire the kids not only from Donora but from the whole district and someone who will encourage them that they can be good. Hopefully Petrucci stays 2 more years at Ringgold and MIKE KOVAK here this will maybe open your eyes up...Ringgold's 9th Grade football team in 07-08 was undefeated and only had 20 points score on them all seeason, they beat quad a connellsville and quad a power erie cathedral prep. They were sophomores this year and will be juniors next season then will be seniors in the 2010 season. If that team does not win atleast one playoff game then the blame can only be pointed at the one person who deserves it most...Petrucci...those kids proved they can win and will have 4 years in his program...only time will tell...but i would bet alot against petrucci!!

Anonymous said...

ya i remember that great 9th grade team ringgold had. erie cathedral prep walked off the field before the game was even over because of how stunned they were to be completely dominated by.. RINGGOLD?!?. yes that team was a good team and i have read a few articles about a bright football future at ringgold. their JV teams have been very successful the past few years although im not quite sure of this year, but the 2 years before that they went 16-1 combined. the talent is there for them to take advantage of. even during games where the JV played and southmorelands varsity squad, i beleive ringgold JV held them to -40 yards. i know southmoreland was not good at all, but a varsity team should at least have some success over a JV

Anonymous said...

lol...im glad you have a good sense of humor brian.

mike_kovak said...

Great posts everyone.

I will say this, if I had a dollar for every time someone told me "Wait til the eighth graders hit the varsity" or "This kid is the next Brian Davis" or "This group went undefeated for three straight years", I could open my own business.

A lot of factors go into making a strong varsity team, more than winning at the JV and junior high levels.

VCTMbrian said...

I totally agree, mike. A LOT more goes into it... Kids, when younger can succeed athletically on raw talent and athleticism alone, and because others mature and grow at rates that happen to be slower than theirs.
What is somewhat sickening is how much publicity is going to athletes that are younger and younger. I read on ESPN not too long ago about a 5 year old basketball player or something. Just click on youtube and search next____ (insert name of sport star here)...


However, very rarely do you see a group that has struggled throughout their youth leagues(rec,middle school,jv...) become successful at the varsity level. I guess there are quite a few reasons for this too though.

Anonymous said...

Mike, I couldnt agree with you more about you can't get overhyped about an undefeated ninth grade team or middle school team...but the fact is those kids have talent at a young age and with a good coach that has a good program going, i.e. offseason workouts and weightlifting, they can continue to develop the needed strength to become better and to develop their raw telent.

Rod Taylor said...

I see peoples dynamic concerning the unification of the youth programs. After reading the posts, one can understand that it works both ways. When I was in high school I was friends with all my teammates. On the contrary, other people simply despised each other. Concerning the 9th grade teams and JV teams, they have all skill and no size. I have watched them, and there is not a single capable lineman out there. The JV team in the past two years has lost 2 games. And the freshman team has a plethora of talent. In two years, I beleive RHS will be pretty good. And to elaborate on the coaches of Ringgold, Jeff Petrucci has picked the program up from the dismal recent history. However, I do not think he is going to be the person to hold it up.

VCTMbrian said...

Ringgold fans remind me of Clemson fans...

J.D. Billy said...

semi-pro blogger, check out yearbookyourself.com you MIGHT see brian's similar photo there around 1968 lol

Anonymous said...

Now that football is over, perhaps it is time to start discussing baseball again. We can have discussions on baseball along the same lines as those that are going on right now for football. For example, we could talk about how the CM youth baseball leagues are split (similar to Ringgold youth football). "My kid is from 84, how come he doesnt play?" "Well my kid is from Cecil how come he doesn't play?"

I am always amused when parents and/or players think that they aren't getting any playing time because of the township they grew up in. I seriously doubt that any high school coaches put "holding kids back because of where they are from" ahead of winning on their list of priorities.

One thing is sure, the Big Macs still have some exciting seasons left in basketball and baseball to stir up the controversy on this blog some more. As a fan, I am looking forward to seeing "legends" like Chad Hagan, Mike Toward, and Mike Hull continue to compete day in and day out.

Also a shout out to JD Billy (the man with 3 first names)- relax man, I know you bleed the blue and gold too, but try not to take the things that some clown says too personally.

J.D. Billy said...

Don't tell me what to do, but your input is appreciated.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

he came close to a good season, an extra point in 2OT away from 7-2. but how doesnt a AAA team have a kicker who can at least kick extra points consistently. maybe if there was more interest in football, a soccer player would have come over. look at schools like TJ, im not sure if they use a soccer player as a kicker or not, but if i was a soccer player, id die to be their kicker haha. who wouldnt want to be a back to back state champ?

Rod Taylor said...

MMQB I hope that you are not refering to me as a "loser." Because I am far from it. I do not think Petrucci was a thief, he put a lot of time in. However much his salary is, I am sure it is nominal, considering the time that a coach puts is. He was in the coaches room studying film for freakish amounts of time. I just think he needs to refine his play calling skills. He did something that few coaches could do their recently, 1. Win 2. Not let the inmates rule the asylum.

Ringgold's kicker was not a kicker, but a fullback.

Anonymous said...

yes, TJ uses a soccer player to kick every year.

mike_kovak said...

Monday Morning QB,

Wr value strong opinions on this board but please refrain from personal attacks. We can criticize without name calling.

Anonymous said...

haha i thought so, they probably have many competing for the job too

Anonymous said...

but look out for josh totterdale to be all state for cm baseball this season. he is so good at everything he does. (credit it to good aau coaching) but he can hit the ball like 4 miles half the time and two miles most of the other times. Keep it real josh.

Anonymous said...

Oh dont get me started. if parkside drive is really Bill Lonero he has issues. relax about josh totterdale. cm has many good ball players. no allstars just team players. Im not impressed with josh totterdale never have been.

mike_kovak said...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I have read this blog. I have a feeling that either we have mad parents or non football players leaving comments. Well....As far as Trinity Football goes we seem to forget before 2000 Trinity was the laughing stock of the WPIAL. So being competitive and making the playoffs is a good thing. You are not going to advance in the playoff's if you can't run the football. I don't think that is lack of o-line either. Everybody criticizes Trinity's play calling year by year. This is the first year I can remember that Trinity didn't have a 1,000 yard back. Is that the teams fault NO!! Is that the coaches fault No!! Also Trinity isn't loosing their athletes to neighboring schools. I thinks If you compare the Trinity Football program's last 10 years to the previous 10 before that would show how far the programs has came.

Anonymous said...

Screw you Kovak!