Monday, September 5, 2011

Week 1 thoughts

When Fort Cherry received the No. 5 ranking in Class A from the Observer-Reporter, the Rangers' placement drew the ire of a few readers of The Varsity Letters.
When it comes to skill players, Fort Cherry's ranks right up there with the better groups in Class A, and that group put on a show Saturday afternoon during a 55-40 win at Western Beaver.
Ryan Babirad and Corey Garry tallied three touchdowns apiece, while Tanner Garry threw for three. It's a strong trio of players, and when added with running back Jeff Whalen and a offensive line that always has size, Fort Cherry looks like a team poised for a breakthrough in 2011.
But one anonymous poster guaranteed that Fort Cherry would not finish second in the Black Hills Conference this season. Clairton is the prohibitive favorite to repeat as conference champs, and, yes, the Rangers could finish below the top two.
Why?
Well, Chartiers-Houston is far from being a pushover. The guess here is the Bucs will at least approach last year's win total, and they finished 7-3.
In quarterback Daniel Lis, Mykel Dorsey, Garrett Vulcano and Jevone Hairston, C-H has four more-than-capable runners. Players like Nate Grandelis make the Bucs a strong team up front.
When Fort Cherry plays at Chartiers-Houston during the final week of the regular season, expect the winner to get a home playoff game.
* At least a few coaches in the Tri-County South Conference believe that Beth-Center senior Deshan Brown is one of the league's premier weapons, and if the Bulldogs' results during a season-opening win against Frazier are an indciation, Brown will play a big role.
He caught five passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns from Sal Faieta.
Brown also intercepted three passes. He ranked among WPIAL leaders in that category last season.
During the preseason, I asked Brown is he had a knack for making plays on defense and he said he did not. Basically, he credited his interceptions to his ability to read what the offense was doing on a particular play and putting himself in the right position.
* There's a lot of season remaining but it looks like Ringgold and a handful of the area's Class A teams have the best chances for long playoff runs. Fort Cherry, Chartiers-Houston, Monessen and Beth-Center are quality football teams.
Got a chance to briefly talk with Canon-McMillan offensive coordinator Russ Moore - one of the more colorful guys I've come across - Friday night and one of the first things the former head coach at Waynesburg and Ringgold told me was to watch out for the Rams.
* As long as Mike LaRocka remains healthy, there's no doubt Burgettstown will be much improved from last year.
Imagine if Burgettstown had a slightly smaller enrollment (talking just a couple boys) and competed in the Black Hills Conference this season. The Blue Devils would be a playoff team for sure. Heck, maybe they still will be in Class AA.
* Really liked what I saw out of Kenyadda Brown Friday night against Trinity. When Brown got the football, his eyes and body were directed toward the line of scrimmage, and he's got the speed to blow past defenders.
* Also liked what I witnessed from Trinity back Tyler Yocca.
Trinity's offense did next to nothing during the first quarter, and it took a crafty run from Yoccas to get things going. Yocca set up Trinity's first touchdown - a one-yard run from Patrick Frey - with a 66-yard scamper where he found a small running lane, exploded through it, then made a nifty cutback to get past a Big Macs defender.
The Hillers new offense appears to suit Yocca's talents well.

19 comments:

Joey Niklas said...

This week will either prove or disprove FC's rank in any poll out there.

Right now my poll

1 Clairton
2 Sto Rox
3 Springdale
4 FC
5 Rochester
6 Bishop Canevin
7 North Catholic
8 Monessen
9 Beth Center
10 Char Houston

R. Keith Taylor said...

Ringgold has a little work to do on the offense side of the ball as far as execution is concerned. While it is hard to sustain drive against EF's defense (big plays are inevitable), I think the Rams just need some more quality control. The ball was being snapped all over the place too. In defense, the snaps were much better in the second half.

I think nerves and expectations were to blame for Ringgold's problems in the first half. Surely can't attribute them to EF.

I'm sure Sarc would agree.

Anonymous said...

Remember last year when Mike jocked Beth-Center all year then Monessen blew them out? Here he goes again

mike_kovak said...

So, should I just ignore a player who had two touchdowns receiving and three interceptions because he's from B-C and the Bulldogs have lost to Monessen the past two years?

Anonymous said...

Hey Franchise, why don't you just use your tag on here? Why hide like a coward? No one cares about Monesson, then have no prayer this year.

Sarcastic Sword said...

@ Keith...

Nerves and expectations were definitely part of the mix..Play-calling in first half was perplexing. Not enough Meech, Cook, and Law and too much aerial game...Im not positive but I think there wasnt one pass attempt in 2nd half - which was a good adjustment. Sometimes you just go with your bread and butter until they stop you and was a little surprised that the offense didnt feature their strength from the get-go which is speed to the perimeter..factor in 3 TD's called back due to penalties - I think they had in excess of a dozen yellow hankies on the ground - then the score is much more indicative of the talent difference.

Had to be 5+ pre-snap OL penalties too...All correctable....but these mental errors are the type you get out of your system in July and August..Hopefully its was a one game deal...

Anonymous said...

No prayer for what? And no Mike, But what about that kid that rushed for 150+ yards, 4 Touchdowns on 8 carries for the hounds last week? You ignoring that?

mike_kovak said...

Monessen makes this blog plenty.

Anonymous said...

I think Rochester is in the top 3. They are 2 tds better than FC at least right now.

Anonymous said...

LOL to both anonymous posters. Relax dawgs! One claims the other is franchise (My 1st time ever posting a comment here thank u) and says I'm a coward for "hiding" when they are anonymous. The other who is apparently a motown guy who just plays along and then complains about a lack of coverage on a performance against Geibel LOL!

I casually and occasionally read this blog because I enjoy Mike's work and coverage. I choose not to post on here which is my business. Again, relax dawgs!

A-Wild said...

Ringgold was definitely the better team but I think EF's defense deserved a little more credit in the first half.
In the second half they couldn't bring any Ringgold runner down.
Your O line is in need of work and a will be the achilles heal. Fortunatley you have guys that can bounce it outside.

Anonymous said...

It's funny cause the people who say they are "Casual Readers" and that they "Never post" are probably the most active people on the blog. Also, I find it extremely funny that a Anonymous poster is talking about a Anonymous poster!! Come on "Dawg"!

Sarcastic Sword said...

@ A-Wild...

you are 100% on the mark. Even last year with a senior laden line, that team had issues with sustaining drives and grinding out first downs...Ringgold had a ton of 1 and 2 play td drives last yr and this year will be no different. Last years line wasnt undisciplined though - the amount of OL penalties in Friday's game might be the amount of overall OL penalties that last yr's team committed...

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why Fort Cherry is being expected to beat Rochy? Granted Fc has a lot of talent this year, why are we throwing them at the wolves and ranking them above a tean that has made in to the heinz on consecutive recent occasions. It's to early in the season to see how these teams stack up so go with your guns and expect Rochy to beat Fort Cherry.

R. Keith Taylor said...

@ Sarc. I think that we will be able to get a better barometer of how Ringgold's line is. I believe the line has a chance to be OK. I imagine Hampton to be a little better than EF, but Hampton did get thumped by Blackhawk.

Anonymous said...

This isnt the same Rochester team...I'm telling you. This Rochester team is down a little from the teams that have competed at Heinz the last couple of years. Fort cherry with Tanner Garry, Corey Garry and Ryan Babirad match up VERY well against this Rochy team. Rochy may win...but this is going to be a 21-14, 21-20 type of game. If Rochy is better than FC, its not by much.

Joey Niklas said...

I did predict FC to beat Rochy.

http://joeweisel.blogspot.com/2011/09/week-2-blackhills-picks.html

Sarcastic Sword said...

@ Keith

Listen to any coach worth his salt and he will tell you that a team's biggest improvement is between week 1 and week 2....So lets use the Hampton game for some measure of this improvement although I dont believe Hampton will give the Rams much competition.....Im looking for some discipline (no penalties) from the OL as a start...

R. Keith Taylor said...

@Sarc.

You obviously see the same games I do. Would you be interested in talking at game? Or is your anonymous moniker important? If so, I will post my email (pending Mikes approval).