Last Friday I bypassed the Springfield-Marist game to see Ashland and Willamette for the first time. I was hoping to catch the Miller-Spartan game on the radio as I watched the Grizzlies and Wolverines. Instead I ended up listening to the Lancer-Highlander game.
Ashland at Willamette
The game was a little torturous to watch for the first quarter. Both teams were trying to find ways not to win the game. I have to tell you, I am ready to see a game where both teams play well from beginning to end.
Ashland pulled away in the second quarter and took a 27-6 lead to the locker room at halftime. I liked the Grizzlie style of play. Jake Scarmanich is the real McCoy for Ashland, a team that has the very real Jake McCoy. The two quarterbacks present opponents with a bit of a nightmare. Scarmanich didn't have the greatest of passing games last week, but for the season he is completing 57% of his passes. He can pull the ball down and run like a rabbit. He's shifty, fast and strong, which has resulted in Scarmanich being fifth in league rushing from his qb position. Jake McCoy, on the other hand, is even better with his passing - 67% completions. McCoy, a junior, apparently realizes what Scarmanich can do with the ball, so McCoy likes to get the ball to Scarmanich, who is averaging 19 yards per catch.
The Grizzlies didn't throw much in the direction of their leading receiver, TJ Murphy. But that didn't hurt Ashland's production in the air against Willamette, as they spread the ball around to 7 receivers who averaged over 20 yards per catch. Sophomore Talen Heater was the leading receiver for the Grizzlies this game. That's good for the future of Ashland - the Grizzies have three receivers who are getting a fair amount of action who will be back next year along with qb Jake McCoy. That's also good for the present. Coach Hall has developed a stable of receivers including several solid seniors who will want to take Asland, 2-1 in the MWL, to a 6-1 finish in the MWL 8 league.
My photos of the Grizzlies show them getting to the ball en masse. You'd be amazed at what still photography can reveal. Linemen not making contact with people - looking like they are just standing around; the same two or three guys in on each defensive play - getting exhausted; technique - tackling, blocking. Mostly though, you notice if most of the team stays in the play til the finish. Photos show the Grizzlies do a pretty good job of it.
Willamette can't be happy with their turnover woes. But I think there are some bright spots. Sophomore qb Kamerun Smith throws a pretty ball. He's tall and can easily see over the line. There's a lot to learn at qb - from reading defenses to hitting receivers on the break. And improving arm strength will get the ball to it's target a lot quicker. Smith could grow into a really good qb, and he's certainly has a good start. I think a little pitching in baseball this spring would help. Another young player of note was sophomore rb #16 Dante Giles. If Ashland's Scarmanich runs like a rabblit, then Giles is Super Rabbit. I'm hoping Coach Fritz keeps giving this guy carries, Giles looked great and his team seemed to get pumped up when he touched the ball.
Eagle Point at Marshfield
I originally planned to drive to Coos Bay for this game, but after seeing Marshfield lose to Springfield 50-6, I changed my mind. What a mistake! Fortunately, I was able to listen to the game on KMHS. Marshfield games are carried on the internet. If your team is playing at Marshfield and you can't make it, listen to one of the best high school sports announcers in the country, Matt Jarvis. He does a lot of big time announcing, including announcing at the OSAA state track meets.
Marshfield coach Justin Ainsworth plans to continue the Pirate coaching tradition of longevity among head coaches. Marshfield had just three head coaches in the 63 years before Ainsworth took over the helm. I hope I'm still alive in twenty years, because I'll ask Justin, "What do you think was the most important game of your head coaching career?" It might be the win over the Eagles. Just the previous week Marshfield looked horrendous as they turned the ball over eight times in their fourth ever loss to Springfield. A Pirate player lost his cool on the field. A pirate broke his ankle. During the following week two players quit and two kids were suspended for a game for disciplinary reasons. #8 Eagle Point was coming to town, make that North Bend. Marshfield lost use of it's stadium for the entire season. Coach had to be wondering if the kids would mutiny or rally round the PIrate flag.
I'd love to know what coach Ainsworth said to his players and what the senior players did to upright the ship so fast. From the moment the radio broadcast started, you could tell something special was happening. Announcer Matt Jarvis was conveying the electricity in the air right through the airwaves and internet. The Pirate QB, Dallas Milburn, played flawlessly and added a pick six as a newly recruited db. The Pirates returned a kickoff 89 yards. Pirate punts were pinning the Eagles against their endzone. Pirate's who were pressed into starting were outstanding. Sometimes when a team plays like the Pirates did, the game is more meaningful than winning a league title because it teaches the kids so much more.
North Eugene at Churchill
I listened to this game while I was watching the Willamette game. At one point the announcer said that Churchill had 220 total yards on offense and North Eugene had 25. The score was 14-7. Churchill will have to work on finishing off their plays and drives if they are really going to make a statement in the MWL 6. Churchill eventually put it away 51-20 with 555 yards of offense.
Springfield at Marist
Probably the only hope for the Millers was to explode on offense. But the Marist line was too strong, quick, and relentless. And it didn't help that the Millers ran into Marist with Marist returning speedy receiver Taylor Walcott, tough LB Will Swindling and QB Josh Paiement as a very good receiver.
I've received several emails saying that I was too pro Marist early in the season. I did back off in my praise, but not in my thinking. The Spartans are better conditioned by far and they are the only team in the league where everyone goes all out all of the time. I'm thinking the road to the MWL 8 title will be only mildly bumpy all the way to Sparta, Greece.
Polls
MWL fans are predicting much closer games this week. As of Wednesday morning, the polls had Willamette over North Eugene 62-38 (percentages), Ashland over Marshfield 54-46, Springfield over Churchill 56-44 and Marist over Eagle Point 67-33. You can vote at MWL polls
RPI
Springfield and Marist are the only two teams in the MWL 8 that have RPI's over 500. Eagle Point and Ashland will likely join them with wins over Marist and Marshfield respectively.
Stats
I have complete stats from five of the eight MWL teams. The stats come from various sources including newspapers. The Medford Mail Tribune still prints all of the home and away teams stats which helps a lot. The Coos Bay paper didn't report the Springfield game stats, so I'm missing one Marshfield game, which is probaly keeping a couple of Pirates out of the rushing top 10. I don't have much on North Eugene and Churchill. The exception being the Lancer's Blake Determan, who has been mentioned with stats in the paper each game.
Rushing
2010 is not a 'Year of the Running Backs'. Junior Greg Park from Marist is the only RB over 100 yards per game. Teammate Logan Silver is next on the list. Thomas Spikes from Springfield is third at 77 yards per game. Eagle Point's Aaron Foster is fourth, and leads rushers with over 20 carries in Yards Per Carry, with a 7.8 ypc.
Passing
Sophomore Kamerun Smith is the only QB with over 1,000 yards. Logan Silver of Marist has 933 yards passing and will probably join the 1,000 yard club this weekend in Eagle Point. Springfield's Levi Green is the most efficient passer with a TD to INT ratio of 11 to 1. Green has Marist behind him so his stats should improve. Silver doesn't have to play Marist so his stats are likely to remain stellar. Marist's last four games are against Eagle Point, Churchill, Willamette and Marshfield.
Receiving.
The top two receivers have caught passes in only three of the four games so far. Marist sophomore Austin Baird, leads the league in yards (420) and TDs (7). But with the return of Taylor Walcott at receiver and qb Josh Paiement's as a wide receiver instead of QB, Marist worked Paiement and Walcott while Baird didn't have a catch last Friday.
Brandon Determan of Churchill is a close second in yardage at 408 yards. Churchill didn't play week 0. Springfield's John Davidson has been Levi Green's primary receiver for 378 yards so far this year. Willamette QB Smith, who leads the league in passing yards, has been connecting with Cameron Koehler and Deautne Brown for a combined 626 yards. Brown didn't play last Friday. Aaron Foster, who is fourth in league in rushing, is fifth in league in receiving.
Scoring
Nine playlers have 30 or more points. Aaron Foster from Eagle Point leads the pack with 44. (Let's see, Foster is the leagues leading scorer and in the top 5 rushing and receiving. I'm thinking he's up for first team honors so far. But wait, Marist is on the horizon.) Marist, which plays Eagle Point Friday, has three players with 30 or more points. So it will be interesting to see if one of them passes Foster.
Register-Guard Article
Nice article about Kameron Bates in today's Register-Guard (Sep 29). Bates is out for the season and is trying to get back for baseball.
Email your comments to mwlnow@yahoo.com or use the comment section on the blog.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Chris's Previews - Gary's Predictions fo September 24-25
Chris went all out this week and added previews of the 6A MWL games
WEEK 4 GAME PREVIEW
It’s a short drive to Roseburg and if you make the trip, you are guaranteed a special high school football memory. Roseburg Coach Thurman Bell goes for career win number 300 Friday night in Roseburg, when the Thurston Colts travel south to take on the Roseburg Indians. This is the featured game for our week number four Preview:
THURSTON COLTS AT ROSEBURG INDIANS: Thurston (2-1) travels south to play the #8 Oregon Live ranked Roseburg Indians (3-0) with the big story line Roseburg Coach Thurman Bell going for his 300th win as a head coach. Can the Colts pull the upset and prolong Coach Bell’s quest to join an elite group containing only two other coaches, Marshfield’s Kent Wigle and Dayton’s legendary Coach Dewey Sullivan? Thurston has had to deal with some injury issues at key offensive positions. Last week the Colts beat Crater 10-3 with a solid defensive effort. Thurston will need an even better defensive effort against the Roseburg ground game. Perhaps the best matchup of the night will be the Indians monstrous offensive line against the Thurston defensive line, led by Senior Kraig Akins. It’s either a Thurston upset victory or win number 300 for Bell; either way high school football fans can’t lose on this game.
NEXT WEEK: Thurston at Grants Pass.
GRANTS PASS CAVEMEN AT SHELDON IRISH: The Sheldon Irish trounced Grants Pass last year 63-18. No doubt this was motivated by a three overtime 42-41 loss to Grants Pass in 2008 that snapped Sheldon’s league winning streak. What will motivate the Irish this year? How about a #2 Oregon Live ranking and the need to continue perfecting their well oiled offense. Sheldon has put up 112 points in three games for an average of 37 points per game. Junior quarterback Dillon Miller has been efficient, with 11 touchdown passes and only 5 interceptions. Receivers Daniel Herr, Dontee Prevost and Joe Bando have been the main targets. This could be a good game for the Irish to balance out their offense and establish a running game with running backs JJ Juilfs and Trevonn Robinson. The Grants Pass defense has given up 105 points in three games.
NEXT WEEK: Sheldon hosts North Medford.
SOUTH EUGENE AXEMEN AT NORTH MEDFORD BLACK TORNADO: South Eugene (0-3) needs a win and this might be one of the few remaining opportunities. North Medford (1-2) is also struggling, having lost last week to 5A Mountain View 43-10. The Axemen offense needs to get on track having scored a total of 26 points so far this year. Quarterback duties have been split thus far between Senior Taylor VanderKley and Sophomore James Banks. The South defense has given up 117 points in three games, including 51 last week to Sheldon.
NEXT WEEK: South Eugene hosts Crater.
SPRINGFIELD MILLERS AT MARIST SPARTANS: Springfield is 2-0 in league and 2-1 overall and received enough votes to fall into the “others receiving votes” category and a #13 ranking on Oregon Live. Marist is ranked #2 and is going for their second league win after a 50-0 rout of North Eugene last week. Can the Miller offense score enough points to keep up with Marist? Both teams are lighting up the score board and average 41 points per game. The obvious match up of the night is the Springfield offense versus the Marist defense. But the real story line might be Springfield’s struggle to control the passing game of both Silverton and Willamette in weeks one and two. The Millers will certainly be tested by the Spartan air game this week.
NEXT WEEK: Marist at Eagle Point; Springfield hosts Churchill.
Gary’s Prediction: Springfield QB Levi Green has been almost mistake free this year with 11 TD’s and 1 INT. The Millers will score. However, Marist’s defense will get the ball back enough for the win. Marist 28 Springfield 17.
NORTH EUGENE HIGHLANDERS AT CHURCHILL LANCERS: Both the Highlanders and the Lancers are 0-2 on the season, so the good news is one team will get their first win of the season tonight. The bad news is one of these teams will be 0-3 at the end of the night. The slow start by Churchill has been a surprise. Defense needs to improve and the offense will have to be a lot better if the defense does not improve. North Eugene is struggling and things may not get better this week. The Highlanders have some offensive weapons in running back Alex Wilson, quarterback Dylan Lubonski and receiver Jackson Lundgren but are searching for consistency.
NEXT WEEK: Churchill at Springfield; North Eugene hosts Willamette.
Gary’s Prediction: Churchill should win this one. However, the Highlanders are skilled and scrappy enough to steal the win if the Lancers try and give away the game. Churchill 35 North Eugene 14.
EAGLE POINT EAGLES AT MARSHFIELD PIRATES: Just how good is #8 ranked Eagle Point? Senior Aaron Foster has been doing it all scoring touchdowns through the air, on the ground and on special teams. He scored four last week and the Eagle offense rushed for 400 yards in a 58-19 win over Willamette. It could be a long night for the Pirates (1-2). They gave up 351 total yards to Springfield last week and it could be worse this week if they cannot slow down the high flying balanced offense of the Eagle Point Eagles. The game is currently scheduled for Saturday at 3PM at North Bend High School.
NEXT WEEK: Marist at Eagle Point; Marshfield at Ashland.
Gary’s Prediction: Marshfield fans will get to see two great MWL 8 teams in North Bend this year. Eagle Point and Marist. Pirates need to eliminate turnovers. Eagle Point 35 Marshfield 14.
WILLAMETTE WOLVERINES AT ASHLAND GRIZZLIES: Willamette has struggled so far this year and is 0-3. Ashland (1-2) lost their first two games and got their first win last week against Churchill 21-14. Willamette is without senior leader and standout two way starter Danny Granillo, who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament tear in the loss to Springfield. The Wolverines have shown they can move the ball with sophomore quarterback Kamerun Smith and Senior running back Skyler Mohr. The Wolverine offense put up 393 yards passing in a loss to Springfield in week two.
NEXT WEEK: Willamette at North Eugene; Marshfield at Ashland.
Gary’s Prediction: If the Wolverines have kept the faith like I think they have, I believe their offense will kick into high gear. If it does, they're likely to score a ton of points and win. But I’m going with Ashland for two reasons. The game is in Ashland and Ashland had good fortune with their new two quarterback rotation. Ashland 28 Willamette 21.
Stats are up for rushing, receiving, passing and scoring. It takes a lot of hand entering of data to get the stats going, so please let me know if I've misspelled a name or have other info incorrect. Stats are missing for one Marshfield and one North Eugene game. Quarterbacks are looking pretty good. http://www.mwathletics.com/football/stats/2010/Passing.htm
WEEK 4 GAME PREVIEW
It’s a short drive to Roseburg and if you make the trip, you are guaranteed a special high school football memory. Roseburg Coach Thurman Bell goes for career win number 300 Friday night in Roseburg, when the Thurston Colts travel south to take on the Roseburg Indians. This is the featured game for our week number four Preview:
THURSTON COLTS AT ROSEBURG INDIANS: Thurston (2-1) travels south to play the #8 Oregon Live ranked Roseburg Indians (3-0) with the big story line Roseburg Coach Thurman Bell going for his 300th win as a head coach. Can the Colts pull the upset and prolong Coach Bell’s quest to join an elite group containing only two other coaches, Marshfield’s Kent Wigle and Dayton’s legendary Coach Dewey Sullivan? Thurston has had to deal with some injury issues at key offensive positions. Last week the Colts beat Crater 10-3 with a solid defensive effort. Thurston will need an even better defensive effort against the Roseburg ground game. Perhaps the best matchup of the night will be the Indians monstrous offensive line against the Thurston defensive line, led by Senior Kraig Akins. It’s either a Thurston upset victory or win number 300 for Bell; either way high school football fans can’t lose on this game.
NEXT WEEK: Thurston at Grants Pass.
GRANTS PASS CAVEMEN AT SHELDON IRISH: The Sheldon Irish trounced Grants Pass last year 63-18. No doubt this was motivated by a three overtime 42-41 loss to Grants Pass in 2008 that snapped Sheldon’s league winning streak. What will motivate the Irish this year? How about a #2 Oregon Live ranking and the need to continue perfecting their well oiled offense. Sheldon has put up 112 points in three games for an average of 37 points per game. Junior quarterback Dillon Miller has been efficient, with 11 touchdown passes and only 5 interceptions. Receivers Daniel Herr, Dontee Prevost and Joe Bando have been the main targets. This could be a good game for the Irish to balance out their offense and establish a running game with running backs JJ Juilfs and Trevonn Robinson. The Grants Pass defense has given up 105 points in three games.
NEXT WEEK: Sheldon hosts North Medford.
SOUTH EUGENE AXEMEN AT NORTH MEDFORD BLACK TORNADO: South Eugene (0-3) needs a win and this might be one of the few remaining opportunities. North Medford (1-2) is also struggling, having lost last week to 5A Mountain View 43-10. The Axemen offense needs to get on track having scored a total of 26 points so far this year. Quarterback duties have been split thus far between Senior Taylor VanderKley and Sophomore James Banks. The South defense has given up 117 points in three games, including 51 last week to Sheldon.
NEXT WEEK: South Eugene hosts Crater.
SPRINGFIELD MILLERS AT MARIST SPARTANS: Springfield is 2-0 in league and 2-1 overall and received enough votes to fall into the “others receiving votes” category and a #13 ranking on Oregon Live. Marist is ranked #2 and is going for their second league win after a 50-0 rout of North Eugene last week. Can the Miller offense score enough points to keep up with Marist? Both teams are lighting up the score board and average 41 points per game. The obvious match up of the night is the Springfield offense versus the Marist defense. But the real story line might be Springfield’s struggle to control the passing game of both Silverton and Willamette in weeks one and two. The Millers will certainly be tested by the Spartan air game this week.
NEXT WEEK: Marist at Eagle Point; Springfield hosts Churchill.
Gary’s Prediction: Springfield QB Levi Green has been almost mistake free this year with 11 TD’s and 1 INT. The Millers will score. However, Marist’s defense will get the ball back enough for the win. Marist 28 Springfield 17.
NORTH EUGENE HIGHLANDERS AT CHURCHILL LANCERS: Both the Highlanders and the Lancers are 0-2 on the season, so the good news is one team will get their first win of the season tonight. The bad news is one of these teams will be 0-3 at the end of the night. The slow start by Churchill has been a surprise. Defense needs to improve and the offense will have to be a lot better if the defense does not improve. North Eugene is struggling and things may not get better this week. The Highlanders have some offensive weapons in running back Alex Wilson, quarterback Dylan Lubonski and receiver Jackson Lundgren but are searching for consistency.
NEXT WEEK: Churchill at Springfield; North Eugene hosts Willamette.
Gary’s Prediction: Churchill should win this one. However, the Highlanders are skilled and scrappy enough to steal the win if the Lancers try and give away the game. Churchill 35 North Eugene 14.
EAGLE POINT EAGLES AT MARSHFIELD PIRATES: Just how good is #8 ranked Eagle Point? Senior Aaron Foster has been doing it all scoring touchdowns through the air, on the ground and on special teams. He scored four last week and the Eagle offense rushed for 400 yards in a 58-19 win over Willamette. It could be a long night for the Pirates (1-2). They gave up 351 total yards to Springfield last week and it could be worse this week if they cannot slow down the high flying balanced offense of the Eagle Point Eagles. The game is currently scheduled for Saturday at 3PM at North Bend High School.
NEXT WEEK: Marist at Eagle Point; Marshfield at Ashland.
Gary’s Prediction: Marshfield fans will get to see two great MWL 8 teams in North Bend this year. Eagle Point and Marist. Pirates need to eliminate turnovers. Eagle Point 35 Marshfield 14.
WILLAMETTE WOLVERINES AT ASHLAND GRIZZLIES: Willamette has struggled so far this year and is 0-3. Ashland (1-2) lost their first two games and got their first win last week against Churchill 21-14. Willamette is without senior leader and standout two way starter Danny Granillo, who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament tear in the loss to Springfield. The Wolverines have shown they can move the ball with sophomore quarterback Kamerun Smith and Senior running back Skyler Mohr. The Wolverine offense put up 393 yards passing in a loss to Springfield in week two.
NEXT WEEK: Willamette at North Eugene; Marshfield at Ashland.
Gary’s Prediction: If the Wolverines have kept the faith like I think they have, I believe their offense will kick into high gear. If it does, they're likely to score a ton of points and win. But I’m going with Ashland for two reasons. The game is in Ashland and Ashland had good fortune with their new two quarterback rotation. Ashland 28 Willamette 21.
Stats are up for rushing, receiving, passing and scoring. It takes a lot of hand entering of data to get the stats going, so please let me know if I've misspelled a name or have other info incorrect. Stats are missing for one Marshfield and one North Eugene game. Quarterbacks are looking pretty good. http://www.mwathletics.com/football/stats/2010/Passing.htm
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Springfield and Eagle Point - for real?
Springfield 50 Marshfield 6
A lot of people justifiably think that Springfield (2-0, 2-1) has a shot at Marist this Friday. Certainly the dominant win over the Pirates makes a statement that the Millers are improving week by week. Springfield quarterback Levi Green has 11 touchdowns versus 1 interception and he's completed passes to eight different receivers. Running back Thomas Spikes is pounding the ball for over 90 yards a game.
The win over the Pirates came via the great passing game of the Millers, eight turnovers by the Pirates and an out of this world game by Springfield's Kyle George. George took two of his four receptions to the house. He also picked up a fumble near midfield and rambled all the way to the endzone. And he created total havoc from his DB position.
Keep in mind that Springfield exploded for 20 points while it was pouring during the third quarter. Nothing stopped the Miller's passing game. The rain did shut down my photography for the night. I have good enough rain gear for the camera, but all I was getting was pictures of raindrops with players in the background.
Eagle Point 58 Willamette 19
I said I liked Eagle Points offense after I saw them at Churchill in week two. In the Lancer game, Eagle Point came out passing and quickly scored two td's. They cooled off for two quarters, but in the fourth they took over the game by pounding the ball on the ground. I liked the fact that the Eagles could quickly switch from passing to pounding the ball. The victory over the Lancers led to a great quote in the Register-Guard the next morning by coach Jacob Schaffler. Schaffler was speaking to the issue of Eagle Point and Ashland being in a two team league and what it meant to have non-league games against the entire Midwestern League. "We don't call it the Southern Oregon hybrid or anything like that. We call it the Midwestern because we're in the Midwestern League. These are our league opponents." Love that attitude. That's throwing out a challenge. Eagle Point wants the Midwestern League trophy. So, based on coach Shafflers's quote, I'm renaming the Hybridiberdoo League. It's now the 'Midwestern 8' . Heck, I'll provide the trophy.
According to the paper it was pouring in Eagle Point, so Schaffler used the running part of his game to rack up almost 400 yards on the ground, while not showing the scouts in the stands his passing game. Eagle Point completed only 5 passes, but then they didn't need to throw the ball. That's five straight quarters that Eagle Point has used their three yards and a cloud of dust routine. Did I say three yards? The Eagles averaged thirteen yards per carry against Willamette.
If the Eagles can roll the first three quarters on the coast against Marshfield and work on maintaining intensity each and every play, then the Marist at Eagle Point game on Oct 1 should be awesome. Unfortunately or fortunately, I won't be making the game at Eagle Point. I'm heading to Vancouver B.C. to watch my stepson play quarterback for Winnipeg. This is Alex's first year with Winnipeg and he's been getting some action lately. He has to hustle it when they send him in. The Canadian Football League has a 20 second clock! It's a hoot to watch with four backs in motion (forward motion), wide receivers who can be in motion along the line and almost no time for audible's.
Marist
Marist hit the 50 mark against North Eugene last Friday. I'm wondering when the Spartans will have Josh Paiment back at qb, thus freeing up Logan Silver to be a true back/receiver. And if a Paiment return occurs during the next two weeks, will his passing game be rusty and give Springfield and/or Eagle Point a nice advantage? And would coach Geske care, even if rust on Paiment did take a while to wear off? After all, shouldn't Paiment get in his reps against the best teams he can possibly face? He needs to be ready for the playoffs.
Bench Splinters
Did you notice that Churchill played the two southern Oregon teams in their two opening games? Eagle Point and Ashland were not very nice to the Lancers. Churchill will now play only league games. The Lancers might be the team that benefits most from the 'everybody in' format. I think that Churchill's stumbled more than they should have because of self inflicted mistakes. Those mistakes are fixable if the kids get in the right frame of mind and focus........
Did you notice Ashland used rotating quarterbacks in their win over Churchill? And who turned out to be the key receiver? Why, a quarterback - Jake Scarminach. He was 9 for 9 passing and led the teams with 83 yards receiving. Jake McCoy was the Grizzlies other QB. Hats off to coach Hall for making a radical change. It added some much needed punch to an offense that scored just siven points in the first two games.....
Did you notice that North Eugene's RPI went from 0 to 333 after their loss to Marist? North Eugene has a higher RPI than Marshfield (292), even though Marshfield has already beaten North Eugene. If Marist loses to Springfield or Eagle Point, would Marist's RPI increase?......
Did you notice that last week the only two undefeated teams with a winning record in the MWL played each other, with Springfield beating Marshfield.? Once again this week the only two undefeated teams with a winning record in league will play each other - Springfield (2-0) at Marist (1-0). It could happen again if Churchill beats North Eugene this Friday to go 1-0 in league. Churchill plays Springfield on Oct 1 and Marist on Oct 8. ....
Springfield's Kameron Bates is scheduled to undergo knee surgery this week. He's hoping to make a return for baseball season. Bates was the MWL MVP last year in baseball.....
A worse blow than my alma matre losing to Springfield last Friday was that there was no marching band at Silke field. Budget cuts have sliced into the Springfield music program. That's a shame, because the Millers have a fantastic music program. There were several years when the jazz band was more entertaining the the boys basketball team. (I was a three sport guy at Marshfield, but I played in the marching band and jazz band when I during my non varsity years. It was a riot.)
Hope to have Chris Park's previews tomorrow or Thursday. Also hope to have the first 2010 stat update Wednesday. Might be missing a team this week, but it looks like all teams will have reported by the end of next week. Remember, all league voting will be for all players in the 'Midwestern 8' league.
A lot of people justifiably think that Springfield (2-0, 2-1) has a shot at Marist this Friday. Certainly the dominant win over the Pirates makes a statement that the Millers are improving week by week. Springfield quarterback Levi Green has 11 touchdowns versus 1 interception and he's completed passes to eight different receivers. Running back Thomas Spikes is pounding the ball for over 90 yards a game.
The win over the Pirates came via the great passing game of the Millers, eight turnovers by the Pirates and an out of this world game by Springfield's Kyle George. George took two of his four receptions to the house. He also picked up a fumble near midfield and rambled all the way to the endzone. And he created total havoc from his DB position.
Keep in mind that Springfield exploded for 20 points while it was pouring during the third quarter. Nothing stopped the Miller's passing game. The rain did shut down my photography for the night. I have good enough rain gear for the camera, but all I was getting was pictures of raindrops with players in the background.
Eagle Point 58 Willamette 19
I said I liked Eagle Points offense after I saw them at Churchill in week two. In the Lancer game, Eagle Point came out passing and quickly scored two td's. They cooled off for two quarters, but in the fourth they took over the game by pounding the ball on the ground. I liked the fact that the Eagles could quickly switch from passing to pounding the ball. The victory over the Lancers led to a great quote in the Register-Guard the next morning by coach Jacob Schaffler. Schaffler was speaking to the issue of Eagle Point and Ashland being in a two team league and what it meant to have non-league games against the entire Midwestern League. "We don't call it the Southern Oregon hybrid or anything like that. We call it the Midwestern because we're in the Midwestern League. These are our league opponents." Love that attitude. That's throwing out a challenge. Eagle Point wants the Midwestern League trophy. So, based on coach Shafflers's quote, I'm renaming the Hybridiberdoo League. It's now the 'Midwestern 8' . Heck, I'll provide the trophy.
According to the paper it was pouring in Eagle Point, so Schaffler used the running part of his game to rack up almost 400 yards on the ground, while not showing the scouts in the stands his passing game. Eagle Point completed only 5 passes, but then they didn't need to throw the ball. That's five straight quarters that Eagle Point has used their three yards and a cloud of dust routine. Did I say three yards? The Eagles averaged thirteen yards per carry against Willamette.
If the Eagles can roll the first three quarters on the coast against Marshfield and work on maintaining intensity each and every play, then the Marist at Eagle Point game on Oct 1 should be awesome. Unfortunately or fortunately, I won't be making the game at Eagle Point. I'm heading to Vancouver B.C. to watch my stepson play quarterback for Winnipeg. This is Alex's first year with Winnipeg and he's been getting some action lately. He has to hustle it when they send him in. The Canadian Football League has a 20 second clock! It's a hoot to watch with four backs in motion (forward motion), wide receivers who can be in motion along the line and almost no time for audible's.
Marist
Marist hit the 50 mark against North Eugene last Friday. I'm wondering when the Spartans will have Josh Paiment back at qb, thus freeing up Logan Silver to be a true back/receiver. And if a Paiment return occurs during the next two weeks, will his passing game be rusty and give Springfield and/or Eagle Point a nice advantage? And would coach Geske care, even if rust on Paiment did take a while to wear off? After all, shouldn't Paiment get in his reps against the best teams he can possibly face? He needs to be ready for the playoffs.
Bench Splinters
Did you notice that Churchill played the two southern Oregon teams in their two opening games? Eagle Point and Ashland were not very nice to the Lancers. Churchill will now play only league games. The Lancers might be the team that benefits most from the 'everybody in' format. I think that Churchill's stumbled more than they should have because of self inflicted mistakes. Those mistakes are fixable if the kids get in the right frame of mind and focus........
Did you notice Ashland used rotating quarterbacks in their win over Churchill? And who turned out to be the key receiver? Why, a quarterback - Jake Scarminach. He was 9 for 9 passing and led the teams with 83 yards receiving. Jake McCoy was the Grizzlies other QB. Hats off to coach Hall for making a radical change. It added some much needed punch to an offense that scored just siven points in the first two games.....
Did you notice that North Eugene's RPI went from 0 to 333 after their loss to Marist? North Eugene has a higher RPI than Marshfield (292), even though Marshfield has already beaten North Eugene. If Marist loses to Springfield or Eagle Point, would Marist's RPI increase?......
Did you notice that last week the only two undefeated teams with a winning record in the MWL played each other, with Springfield beating Marshfield.? Once again this week the only two undefeated teams with a winning record in league will play each other - Springfield (2-0) at Marist (1-0). It could happen again if Churchill beats North Eugene this Friday to go 1-0 in league. Churchill plays Springfield on Oct 1 and Marist on Oct 8. ....
Springfield's Kameron Bates is scheduled to undergo knee surgery this week. He's hoping to make a return for baseball season. Bates was the MWL MVP last year in baseball.....
A worse blow than my alma matre losing to Springfield last Friday was that there was no marching band at Silke field. Budget cuts have sliced into the Springfield music program. That's a shame, because the Millers have a fantastic music program. There were several years when the jazz band was more entertaining the the boys basketball team. (I was a three sport guy at Marshfield, but I played in the marching band and jazz band when I during my non varsity years. It was a riot.)
Hope to have Chris Park's previews tomorrow or Thursday. Also hope to have the first 2010 stat update Wednesday. Might be missing a team this week, but it looks like all teams will have reported by the end of next week. Remember, all league voting will be for all players in the 'Midwestern 8' league.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week 3 Predictions
I got knocked off my internet for a day and a half connection due to switching from Quest to Comcast. At least I now have one computer going. Comcast doesn't carry their free routers on their trucks, and the Quest router won't work because I was on DSL, which uses a telephone line. Oh, you don't care..... on to football
Bad News Note: The Register-Guard reported that Springfield's Kameron Bates injury was a torn ACL. Bates was second team on offense and defense last year. He was also the MWL's MVP in baseball - a great left handed pitcher with a smooth glove at fist and power at the plate. The paper also confirmed that Willamette's two way first teamer also tore his ACL.
Marshfield 1-0 at Springfield 1-0 (MWL record)
I believe Marshfield is on a 22 year roll over Springfield. In fact, Springfield can claim only three or four victories EVER over Marshfield. Last year the Pirates won 50-7. But everything is pointing towards the Millers this year. I didn't see this game last year. But I imagine Springfield's coach Raish, a former Willamette head coach, had steam coming out of his ears.
If rain doesn't come out of the sky, it will be in the form of Springfield's Levi Green's passes to one of seven receivers. Green is connecting on 65% of his passes for 250 yards per game. I'm looking forward to seeing senior receiver John Davidson. He's over 250 yards for two games. If it rains, running back Thomas Spikes will have to take over. He's over 230 yards in two games.
The Pirates have struggled in their first two outings. They did get 5' 11", 205 running back Tyler Davidson over 100 yards last week. That's a good thing if the field gets muddy. If it doesn't get muddy, the Pirates need to unleash Ryan Scoville, a smaller but lightning fast back. Bottom line is that the Marshfield line will need to make a big jump from week 2.
Bad News Note: The Register-Guard reported that Springfield's Kameron Bates injury was a torn ACL. Bates was second team on offense and defense last year. He was also the MWL's MVP in baseball - a great left handed pitcher with a smooth glove at fist and power at the plate. The paper also confirmed that Willamette's two way first teamer also tore his ACL.
Gary's Prediction:
No rain = Springfield 35 Marshfield 21.
Rain = Springfield 21 Marshfield 7......
Pirate hex = Marshfield 22 Springfield 21, mystery photographer trips Miller on way to td, but there is no rule about that.....
Full moon isn't until the 23rd, so the Millers might come through and break the jinx.
Willamette 0-2 at Eagle Point 1-1 (Season record)
Important game for both teams. I think Eagle Point is going to do well in regular season, so a Willamette win will greatly improve the Wolverines RPI because the RPI takes into consideration opponents win-loss records. Willamette rushed out to a big lead last week and let it get away. Still, the Wolverines put up 34 points. On the other side, Eagle Point caught a misfiring Churchill off guard and came away with a huge win.
The questions are: Can Willamette adjust to life without two way MWL first teamer Danny Granillo? Granillo successfully switched to tight end and might have become a force in the league as a receiver. Can Eagle Point play an entire game without getting gassed? The Eagles smoked the Lancers in the first quarter last week, then the Lancers dominated the second quarter while the Eagles cooled off. After a see-saw third quarter, the Eagles took over in the fourth quarter behind the snowman and running back Garrett Snow (5' 10", 210, ouch). If the Eagles have another letdown, even for just one quarter, the Wolverines are more than capable of capitalizing. Plus, the Eagles need to go all 48 minutes if they want to have a chance against Marist.
I wish I could get to Eagle Point. It should be fireworks with quarterbacks Shane Bluhm of Eagle Point and sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette.
Gary's Prediction: It's going to be closer than MWL fans expect. Eagle Point 35 Willamette 28 Fun game to watch.
Churchill 0-1 at Ashland 0-2 (Season record)
Huge game for two proud, but winless programs. Churchill lost to a very good Eagle Point last week. I don't know if Churchill would have won if they eliminated their bad center-qb exchanges, but if they put up 21 points with all of the mistakes, they can certainly lay a lot of points on their next opponent if they eliminate the mistakes.
The marquee player for Churchill on O is Brandon Determan at wide receiver. Ashland qb Jake Scarmanich had a big game in week 1, but was shut down by Marist.
Gary's prediction: MWL fans are giving Ashland a tiny 12% chance to win. That means fans think that Churchill is going to dramatically reduce their mistakes when executing their offense. I agree, but I think the 12% is because Ashland fans haven't found this website. Churchill 28 Ashland 14.
Marist 1-0 at North Eugene 0-1 (MWL record)
North Eugene did not have a game during week 1. The Highlanders should make a big jump in their play this week. Still, Marist is on a roll with two impressive wins and likely to notch another shutout.
Gary's prediction: Last week - Marist 31 Ashland 0. This Week - Marist 35 North Eugene 0. North has enough skills guys to put up some points. It would be great to see them break out this week.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Eagle Point - Churchill Reflections and What about those QB's?
It was a great evening for high school football last Friday. And it was entertaining to watch the Eagles fly into town and put on quite a show at Churchill.
Every team has a personality, but I hadn't seen Eagle Point under 3rd year coach Jacob Schauffler. I'd say as of right now, Eagle Point is an Oregon O and an MWL D. Eagle QB Shane Bluhm (pronounced Bloom as the Eagle fans noted during the starting lineup announcements) ran a hurry up quick strike passing game the first two Eagle possessions to put his team up 14-0. Eagle Point's spread option looked pretty much like just a passing offense after the first two drives.
Churchill answered with 14 points to tie it at 14 all. But the Eagles put it away in the second half by taking advantage of the spread option. Bluhm ran, passed and mixed in 5-10, 210 pound running back Garrett Snow. Snow looked like a giant snowball rolling downhill, crunching Lancers.
Stat wise, Blumn threw for 256 yards and 2 tds while rushing for 50. Snow had a well earned 100 yards on 20 timeclock burning runs. Snow even snagged a couple of passes for 31 yards. But Bluhm's (who stands at 6' 2") primary receivers were 6' 1" Aaron Foster (7 for 109 yd), 6' 1" junior Loren Nesberg (5-86 yds) and Jake Shaffer (3-50 yd). The Eagles totalled 426 yards on offense.
Defensively, the Eagles gave up 21 points. It's hard to tell what Churchill would have scored had the Lancers not had several bad center-qb exchanges in the shotgun formation. They must have had at least five or six poor exchanges, sometimes twice in a series. QB Derek Godrey hooked up with his center often enough to go 19-34 for 201 yards and 2 td's. Churchill's run game didn't materialize. The Lancers had less than 70 yards on the ground. Aaron Ingram had 43 yards on 11 carries. Kingsley Nkwanta (6' 1", 215 lbs) was held to 22 yards on 8 carries. My hat is off to wide receiver Brandon Determan. With nothing working for the Lancer O, it was more and more obvious that Determan was going to be getting the ball thrown his way. He caught 13 passes for 159 yards. So far, I'm thinking Determan and Blaine Austin from Marist are the most exciting receivers in the league. But I haven't seen Springfield's or Willamette's aerial shows.
Can Eagle Point beat Marist, Willamette and Springfield? The Eagle's home game against Willamette is a huge game as it will test their ability to play well week in and week out. I'd like to see the Eagles keep improving and move into the upper echelon of 5A. They have the talent and size, but it takes a lot of work. Looking ahead three weeks, I don't think the Eagle's will stop Marist' offense when they meet in Eagle Point. But if Coach Schauffler can get the offense to stay focused for an entire game, they might be good enough on O to give the Spartans a scare.
From a league fan's point of view. It's great having Eagle Point in the unofficial MWL/SO league. They are fun to watch on O and I'm sure you'll recognize their overall potential.
Friday's games:
Marshfield at Springfield. I believe Marshfield's winning streak stands at 22. Will the Millers pick up their first win over the Pirates this century?
Willamette at Eagle Point. Fireworks on both sides. Fun, Fun, Fun!
Churchill at Ashland. With Ashlnad having Marist behind them, this game should also be an aerial show. More fun!
Marist at North Eugene. North will have to make huge strides from last week's game.
RPI Thoughts
Have you noticed that Eagle Point, with one loss, has an RPI of 775, while 2-0 Marist has an RPI of 688? That means Eagle Point would be seeded higher in the round of 16 during the playoffs if the round of 16 games were this weekend. Marist can fix all of that by beating Eagle Point in three weeks.
As a mental excercise, it's interesting to think what Marist's RPI would be if they sweep their regular season. One of the parts of the calculation is opponents record. All MWL and SO teams lost their first game, so Marist wouldn't get any help from the MWL/SO team's records. But that's putting the cart before the horse. If Springfield or Eagle Point can figure out how to go to the whistle for 48 minutes, they both have a shot. We'll find out over the next three weeks.
QB's around the league
Sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette is averaging 342 yards per game, with a very decent 5:2 touchdown to int ratio.
But Levi Green from Springfield probably feels better right now. He's averaging 248 yards per game, and has an 8:1 td to int ratio. Most importantly, Green has a win over Smith's Millers.
Marist's Logan Silver is averaging 222 yards with a 5:3 int-td ration.
Eagle Point's Shane Bluhm is averaging 199 yards through the air and 45 yards on the ground. Watch out for Bluhm if he improves each game.
North Eugene's Dylan Lubonski opened the season with a 200 plus yard game and two td passes.
As mentioned, Derek Godfrey was also at the 200 mark with two td's in his first outing.
Running Backs
Marist's Greg Park rushed for 212 yards and two td's to give him a two game average of 118 yds per game. Teammate Logan Silver has averaged 95 yards from the qb position.
Springfield's Thomas Spikes ripped off 146 yards on 20 carries in the Millers win over Willamette. He's averaging 116 YPG.
Marshfield's Tyler Davidson got the Pirate game going with 131 yards on 22 carries against North.
Eagle Point will be hoping that Garrett Snow continues his pounding of opponents after his 100 yard game against Churchill.
Recievers
Austin Baird from Marist didn't get the big yards this week, but he did put on a couple of circus acts. He still leads the league with 267 yards.
Churchill's Brandon Determan was spectacular Friday as I already mentioned. Marist can charge an extra buck in four weeks for the Churchill-Marist game. Baird vs Determan and Silver vs Smith.
Springfield's John Davidson is second in league with 253 yards on 14 catches. That's 16 yards per catch.
Willamette has two receivers over 100 yards per game. Duante Brown has 237 yards on 16 catches. Cameron Koehler has 232 yards on 9 catches. That's 26 yards per catch for Koehler.
Eagle Point's Aaron Foster cracked 100 yards receiving against Churchill. That's likely to be a trend as Eagle Point gets better and better on offense.
The Register Guard reported that Kameron Bates and Danny Granillo suffered knee injuries. My heart goes out to those guys and their parents.
If you'd like to comment or make corrections, please use the comment feature on this blog or email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com
Every team has a personality, but I hadn't seen Eagle Point under 3rd year coach Jacob Schauffler. I'd say as of right now, Eagle Point is an Oregon O and an MWL D. Eagle QB Shane Bluhm (pronounced Bloom as the Eagle fans noted during the starting lineup announcements) ran a hurry up quick strike passing game the first two Eagle possessions to put his team up 14-0. Eagle Point's spread option looked pretty much like just a passing offense after the first two drives.
Churchill answered with 14 points to tie it at 14 all. But the Eagles put it away in the second half by taking advantage of the spread option. Bluhm ran, passed and mixed in 5-10, 210 pound running back Garrett Snow. Snow looked like a giant snowball rolling downhill, crunching Lancers.
Stat wise, Blumn threw for 256 yards and 2 tds while rushing for 50. Snow had a well earned 100 yards on 20 timeclock burning runs. Snow even snagged a couple of passes for 31 yards. But Bluhm's (who stands at 6' 2") primary receivers were 6' 1" Aaron Foster (7 for 109 yd), 6' 1" junior Loren Nesberg (5-86 yds) and Jake Shaffer (3-50 yd). The Eagles totalled 426 yards on offense.
Defensively, the Eagles gave up 21 points. It's hard to tell what Churchill would have scored had the Lancers not had several bad center-qb exchanges in the shotgun formation. They must have had at least five or six poor exchanges, sometimes twice in a series. QB Derek Godrey hooked up with his center often enough to go 19-34 for 201 yards and 2 td's. Churchill's run game didn't materialize. The Lancers had less than 70 yards on the ground. Aaron Ingram had 43 yards on 11 carries. Kingsley Nkwanta (6' 1", 215 lbs) was held to 22 yards on 8 carries. My hat is off to wide receiver Brandon Determan. With nothing working for the Lancer O, it was more and more obvious that Determan was going to be getting the ball thrown his way. He caught 13 passes for 159 yards. So far, I'm thinking Determan and Blaine Austin from Marist are the most exciting receivers in the league. But I haven't seen Springfield's or Willamette's aerial shows.
Can Eagle Point beat Marist, Willamette and Springfield? The Eagle's home game against Willamette is a huge game as it will test their ability to play well week in and week out. I'd like to see the Eagles keep improving and move into the upper echelon of 5A. They have the talent and size, but it takes a lot of work. Looking ahead three weeks, I don't think the Eagle's will stop Marist' offense when they meet in Eagle Point. But if Coach Schauffler can get the offense to stay focused for an entire game, they might be good enough on O to give the Spartans a scare.
From a league fan's point of view. It's great having Eagle Point in the unofficial MWL/SO league. They are fun to watch on O and I'm sure you'll recognize their overall potential.
Friday's games:
Marshfield at Springfield. I believe Marshfield's winning streak stands at 22. Will the Millers pick up their first win over the Pirates this century?
Willamette at Eagle Point. Fireworks on both sides. Fun, Fun, Fun!
Churchill at Ashland. With Ashlnad having Marist behind them, this game should also be an aerial show. More fun!
Marist at North Eugene. North will have to make huge strides from last week's game.
RPI Thoughts
Have you noticed that Eagle Point, with one loss, has an RPI of 775, while 2-0 Marist has an RPI of 688? That means Eagle Point would be seeded higher in the round of 16 during the playoffs if the round of 16 games were this weekend. Marist can fix all of that by beating Eagle Point in three weeks.
As a mental excercise, it's interesting to think what Marist's RPI would be if they sweep their regular season. One of the parts of the calculation is opponents record. All MWL and SO teams lost their first game, so Marist wouldn't get any help from the MWL/SO team's records. But that's putting the cart before the horse. If Springfield or Eagle Point can figure out how to go to the whistle for 48 minutes, they both have a shot. We'll find out over the next three weeks.
QB's around the league
Sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette is averaging 342 yards per game, with a very decent 5:2 touchdown to int ratio.
But Levi Green from Springfield probably feels better right now. He's averaging 248 yards per game, and has an 8:1 td to int ratio. Most importantly, Green has a win over Smith's Millers.
Marist's Logan Silver is averaging 222 yards with a 5:3 int-td ration.
Eagle Point's Shane Bluhm is averaging 199 yards through the air and 45 yards on the ground. Watch out for Bluhm if he improves each game.
North Eugene's Dylan Lubonski opened the season with a 200 plus yard game and two td passes.
As mentioned, Derek Godfrey was also at the 200 mark with two td's in his first outing.
Running Backs
Marist's Greg Park rushed for 212 yards and two td's to give him a two game average of 118 yds per game. Teammate Logan Silver has averaged 95 yards from the qb position.
Springfield's Thomas Spikes ripped off 146 yards on 20 carries in the Millers win over Willamette. He's averaging 116 YPG.
Marshfield's Tyler Davidson got the Pirate game going with 131 yards on 22 carries against North.
Eagle Point will be hoping that Garrett Snow continues his pounding of opponents after his 100 yard game against Churchill.
Recievers
Austin Baird from Marist didn't get the big yards this week, but he did put on a couple of circus acts. He still leads the league with 267 yards.
Churchill's Brandon Determan was spectacular Friday as I already mentioned. Marist can charge an extra buck in four weeks for the Churchill-Marist game. Baird vs Determan and Silver vs Smith.
Springfield's John Davidson is second in league with 253 yards on 14 catches. That's 16 yards per catch.
Willamette has two receivers over 100 yards per game. Duante Brown has 237 yards on 16 catches. Cameron Koehler has 232 yards on 9 catches. That's 26 yards per catch for Koehler.
Eagle Point's Aaron Foster cracked 100 yards receiving against Churchill. That's likely to be a trend as Eagle Point gets better and better on offense.
The Register Guard reported that Kameron Bates and Danny Granillo suffered knee injuries. My heart goes out to those guys and their parents.
If you'd like to comment or make corrections, please use the comment feature on this blog or email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Chris's Eagle Point - Churchill preview, Gary's Predictions
Chris Parks preview of the Eagle Point at Churchill game.
If you don’t mind traveling, the Sheldon at Hillsboro game is an excellent choice, with the defending 5A Champs Hillsboro Spartans (#5 Oregon Live Poll) taking on the defending 6A Champs Sheldon Irish (#3 Oregon Live Poll). The drive to Hillsboro might nix that, so with that in mind, the matchup between Churchill and Eagle Point would be my first choice for local fans looking to watch Friday night high school football.
This is the season opener for the Churchill Lancers. Eagle Point hits the road again for their second game of the season. The Eagles lost at #5 Mountain View 28-30 last Friday night. The Eagles nearly pulled the upset, leading late in the fourth quarter until Mountain View scored the game winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the game. Eagle Point quarterback Shane Blum was 13 for 30 for 142 yards and one interception. Seven Eagle Point receivers caught passes for the Eagles. Eagle Point displayed a balanced offense rushing for 167 yards on 37 rush plays. Aaron Foster led the way on 13 rushes for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Eagle Point lost the turnover battle with one interception and four fumbles lost. The performance was enough to impress some voters, as despite the loss the Eagles picked up enough votes to debut at #12 in the Oregon Live poll.
Having not played last week, Churchill will be eager to get their high octane offense off the ground. The Lancers have two solid quarterbacks with starting experience in Spencer Savelich and Derek Godfrey and two experienced running backs in Nick Bell and Aaron Ingram. Churchill may struggle a bit in the first quarter as they work through typical first game nerves and game speed timing, but the Eagle Point defense may be in for a long night if they can’t slow down the Lancer offense. This game should have plenty of offense and it may come down to the team with the better defense prevailing.
Gary's Predictions:
Eagle Point at Churchill
Tough call. My gut says Eagle Point. My brain says Churchill. Eagle Point has a ton of returning starters And as Chris pointed out, they had five turnovers last week and barely lost to a top ten team. I'm guessing that they won't fumble four times this week. The keys for Churchill are getting up to speed on D and clicking on O with no penalties after a first week bye. My brain says 7th year coach Darrel Mehl will be able to pull it off. Note that my wife often points out that using my brain is not always wise.
Churchill 28 Eagle Point 21
Springfield at Willamette
Four MWL seeds will earn automatic seeds into the round of 32. These two teams are likely to be among them. This will be a QB battle with fireworks. The experienced Green versus sophomore Smith. I'm going with the homefield advantage and I like the Granillo experiment at tight end and short yardage back. This will be a great game to watch.
Willamette 28 Springfield 27
North Eugene at Marshfield.
Two MWL teams will have to play a play-in game to get into the round of 32. It's beginning to look like these are the two teams. A recent article in The World reported that Marshfield will play all 'home' games at North Bend due to the turf at Susick Stadium failing an impact test. This might not be as bad as it seems. It's been awhile since the Pirates have filled Susick Stadium and it should be a lot easier for the Pirates to fill the stands in the smaller, but outstanding North Bend facility. Even though North returns a lot of experience and a lot of skills guys, I'm going with Marshfield as I expect a huge improvement over last week's loss to the Bulldogs.
Marshfield 21 North Eugene 14
Ashland at Marist
I have to believe Marist is going to blanket Ashland's receiver's and pressure qb Scarmanich (221 yards last week). Ashland's running backs will have to get the Grizzlies in gear. I don't have a feel for the type of game Ashland plays and how hard they bring it on, so it's hard to know how'll they will fare against Marist's intensity. I have seen Marist enough to know how they play, even with their injuries.
Marist 35 Ashland 14
Last week I was 3-3. Two losses to 4A teams really hurt. Remember that even though the MWL and SO playoff seeds are based on how teams finish in their respective leagues, each game is important because a team's playoff opponent will be determined on a team's RPI.
Stats
I've created a widget that combines players stats from the MWL and SO leagues. Only teams that have input stats into the MaxPreps.com web site show up in the widget. It usually takes a couple of weeks for teams to get started on their stats. So far three of the six teams that played last weekend have entered stats. I'll be helping a couple of other teams with their stats soon. Hopefully, we can get all eight teams on board. All league selections will be made from a combination of the MWL and SO leagues. The widget will be a way to compare performances during the season. Here's a link to the page with the widget.
League/Seeds Predictions
Final league predictions for MWL, SO and the league for all star selection, the MWL/SO league.
Polls close at 7PM on game night. Vote on each of the four games. MWL polls for September 10
If you don’t mind traveling, the Sheldon at Hillsboro game is an excellent choice, with the defending 5A Champs Hillsboro Spartans (#5 Oregon Live Poll) taking on the defending 6A Champs Sheldon Irish (#3 Oregon Live Poll). The drive to Hillsboro might nix that, so with that in mind, the matchup between Churchill and Eagle Point would be my first choice for local fans looking to watch Friday night high school football.
This is the season opener for the Churchill Lancers. Eagle Point hits the road again for their second game of the season. The Eagles lost at #5 Mountain View 28-30 last Friday night. The Eagles nearly pulled the upset, leading late in the fourth quarter until Mountain View scored the game winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the game. Eagle Point quarterback Shane Blum was 13 for 30 for 142 yards and one interception. Seven Eagle Point receivers caught passes for the Eagles. Eagle Point displayed a balanced offense rushing for 167 yards on 37 rush plays. Aaron Foster led the way on 13 rushes for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Eagle Point lost the turnover battle with one interception and four fumbles lost. The performance was enough to impress some voters, as despite the loss the Eagles picked up enough votes to debut at #12 in the Oregon Live poll.
Having not played last week, Churchill will be eager to get their high octane offense off the ground. The Lancers have two solid quarterbacks with starting experience in Spencer Savelich and Derek Godfrey and two experienced running backs in Nick Bell and Aaron Ingram. Churchill may struggle a bit in the first quarter as they work through typical first game nerves and game speed timing, but the Eagle Point defense may be in for a long night if they can’t slow down the Lancer offense. This game should have plenty of offense and it may come down to the team with the better defense prevailing.
Gary's Predictions:
Eagle Point at Churchill
Tough call. My gut says Eagle Point. My brain says Churchill. Eagle Point has a ton of returning starters And as Chris pointed out, they had five turnovers last week and barely lost to a top ten team. I'm guessing that they won't fumble four times this week. The keys for Churchill are getting up to speed on D and clicking on O with no penalties after a first week bye. My brain says 7th year coach Darrel Mehl will be able to pull it off. Note that my wife often points out that using my brain is not always wise.
Churchill 28 Eagle Point 21
Springfield at Willamette
Four MWL seeds will earn automatic seeds into the round of 32. These two teams are likely to be among them. This will be a QB battle with fireworks. The experienced Green versus sophomore Smith. I'm going with the homefield advantage and I like the Granillo experiment at tight end and short yardage back. This will be a great game to watch.
Willamette 28 Springfield 27
North Eugene at Marshfield.
Two MWL teams will have to play a play-in game to get into the round of 32. It's beginning to look like these are the two teams. A recent article in The World reported that Marshfield will play all 'home' games at North Bend due to the turf at Susick Stadium failing an impact test. This might not be as bad as it seems. It's been awhile since the Pirates have filled Susick Stadium and it should be a lot easier for the Pirates to fill the stands in the smaller, but outstanding North Bend facility. Even though North returns a lot of experience and a lot of skills guys, I'm going with Marshfield as I expect a huge improvement over last week's loss to the Bulldogs.
Marshfield 21 North Eugene 14
Ashland at Marist
I have to believe Marist is going to blanket Ashland's receiver's and pressure qb Scarmanich (221 yards last week). Ashland's running backs will have to get the Grizzlies in gear. I don't have a feel for the type of game Ashland plays and how hard they bring it on, so it's hard to know how'll they will fare against Marist's intensity. I have seen Marist enough to know how they play, even with their injuries.
Marist 35 Ashland 14
Last week I was 3-3. Two losses to 4A teams really hurt. Remember that even though the MWL and SO playoff seeds are based on how teams finish in their respective leagues, each game is important because a team's playoff opponent will be determined on a team's RPI.
Stats
I've created a widget that combines players stats from the MWL and SO leagues. Only teams that have input stats into the MaxPreps.com web site show up in the widget. It usually takes a couple of weeks for teams to get started on their stats. So far three of the six teams that played last weekend have entered stats. I'll be helping a couple of other teams with their stats soon. Hopefully, we can get all eight teams on board. All league selections will be made from a combination of the MWL and SO leagues. The widget will be a way to compare performances during the season. Here's a link to the page with the widget.
League/Seeds Predictions
Final league predictions for MWL, SO and the league for all star selection, the MWL/SO league.
Polls close at 7PM on game night. Vote on each of the four games. MWL polls for September 10
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Opening Day Mop Up - Some Silver linings
It took me the Duck and Boise State wins to recover from my Marshfield Pirate's loss to local rival North Bend for the first time in 20 years, and the loss of all but one of the MWL/SO teams. Now it's time to look at our numerous QB successes of last week, injury riddled Marist, and an official 'league' opener.
Marist
You probably read in the Register Guard that starting Marist QB Josh Paiement and speedy WR Taylor Walcott went down early with injuries, possibly breaks. LB Will Swindling also disappeared from my camera's eye early in the game after he left with an injury. Logan Silver took over at QB and after working through some problems, brought the Spartans back from a 0-7 first quarter deficit, to hammer Corvallis 42-14. Keep in mind that one of Corvallis's scores was a kickoff return.
I was impressed that after LB Swindling left the game, Carson Kiesewetter and Brady Chiongbian, were delivering the hits from the LB position and they delivered their blows exactly how I saw them do it in practice. Practicing technique makes perfect. But perhaps the hardest and loudest hits came from DB Ryan Inouye. Ouch! O linemen Matthew Devereux, Chris Bender and crew delivered as expected. Wide receiver Austin Baird was out of his mind and body,with 207 yards and 3 td's. One Baird score happened when he took a pass, stopped in place, squared off with a Spartan, stuffed him in the facemask, juked two more players and shook off another for the TD.
Finally, while Marist was dominant with Silver at qb, I'm not sure that's the Spartans ticket to the 5A title. Usually, by the time the quarters or semis roll around, there is a team that has a quick enough D to sit on one guy. So, I'm thinking if Paiement is out for awhile, it might be time to try Jonathan Tharpe at Qb and set Silver free as a RB/receiver. Entertainment wise, I'm nor sure if it would more fun to watch Silver at Qb or as RB/receiver.
Ashland, Eagle Point, Marshfield, Springfield and Willamette
Certainly, a 1-5 start for the MWL/SO teams is not good. However, no team lost by more than a touchdown.
Quarterbacks were particularly outstanding. Levi Green of Springfield tossed for 298 yards, sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette threw for 292, Silver had 264 for Marist, Scarminach had 221 for Ashland and while Dallas Milburn didn't break 200, he led a drive to take the lead, 14-13, with 2:10 left in the game.
There were no huge breakout games by running backs. But, Springfield's Thomas Spikes rushed for 86, Wolverine junior Jordan Visarraga averaged 6.5 yards on 13 carries. Eagle Point's Aaron Foster did a little better than Visaragga with 87 yards on 13 carries.
Beside's Marist's Austin Baird's 207 yards receiving, Willamette had two standout performances; Cameron Koehler with 122 yards on just three catches, and Deaunte Brown with 86 yards on five catches. Wolverine teammate Dannny Granillo caught four passes for 70 yards in his tight end experiment. John Davidson from Springfield had 170 yards on ten catches and teammate Spikes had 72 yards. In the spirit of brotherhood, Eagle Point spread 13 catches among seven receivers. That variety could come in handy as the Eagle Point QB progresses this year.
Two real league games this week.
I talked to someone over the phone last week who hadn't heard of all of the OSAA changes. So, if you're in the dark..... Each of the six MWL teams and two Southern Oregon 5A teams play in two different leagues. For playoff purposes, the six MWL teams are in the MWL league. Now get this: the two Southern Oregon teams are in a two team league - the Southern Oregon League. All eight teams are in the same league for all-star selections. This is called the hybriddieberdoo league. It's pronounced 'Hybrid -die-ber-doo." They named it that after Scooby Doo and The Flinstones. Some poor kid from the Southern Oregon League is going to have to say "My team was last in the Southern Oregon league, but I was first team Hybridieberdoo."
There are two MWL league games this week and all of a sudden they have become doozies. (The two Southern Oregon teams have to wait until the last week of regular season.)
Springfield at Willamette
Last Friday, QB Levi Green of Springfield had 298 yards passing, and sophomore Kamerun Smith had 292. I saw some of Willamette's evening scrimmage last Wednesday, and they have some exciting skills guys. I haven't seen Springfield at all, but Green is off to a great start. 50-48 score anyone?
North Eugene at Marshfield.
Kailee Wong was at North the last time the Highlanders beat Marshfield. The current Highlanders were toddlers. North Eugene did not play Friday, so there's no word on what to expect. The Pirates fell to North Bend, ending a 20 year Bulldog drought. North Eugene is out to prove that last year's four win season was the start of a positive trend, while the Pirates are hoping to get their potentially prolific offense in gear.
Two other great games to watch
Ashland at Marist.
Anytime you can see the Spartans play it's a treat. Plus, this week you get to see how coach Geske is going to deal with the Qb situation. And remember, Ashland's pitcher Jake Scarminach threw for 221 yards last week.
Eagle Point at Churchill (0-0).
I'm going to this one. It was a toss up between this game and Springfield vs Willamette. Eagle Point played with ranked Mountain View, losing by two. Churchill is in the top ten. Eagle Point used seven receivers, and Churchill has Lancer Air.
.
Miscellaneous:
If you know of any MWL players who are playing college ball, email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com .
Here's my current list: http://www.mwathletics.com/football/all_stars/college.htm
Marists hamburger stand sells the number one hamburger in the league, but I'm not ready to put the hamburger stand into the overall spot. The Spartan burger equals the burgers at Marshfield and Willamette, and has all of the fixin's, including the capper, fresh cooked onions. What puts the Spartan burger over the top is the perfectly warmed, plump (unsquished) buns. To die for. However, I think the burger stand setting at Marshfield has better ambiance. For heaven's sake, it's got a name, "Buck's Place". And it's in a better location, right when you walk in. I'll have to get back to Willamette and Marshfield this season to compare. Terrible mission:):):):):)
Marist
You probably read in the Register Guard that starting Marist QB Josh Paiement and speedy WR Taylor Walcott went down early with injuries, possibly breaks. LB Will Swindling also disappeared from my camera's eye early in the game after he left with an injury. Logan Silver took over at QB and after working through some problems, brought the Spartans back from a 0-7 first quarter deficit, to hammer Corvallis 42-14. Keep in mind that one of Corvallis's scores was a kickoff return.
I was impressed that after LB Swindling left the game, Carson Kiesewetter and Brady Chiongbian, were delivering the hits from the LB position and they delivered their blows exactly how I saw them do it in practice. Practicing technique makes perfect. But perhaps the hardest and loudest hits came from DB Ryan Inouye. Ouch! O linemen Matthew Devereux, Chris Bender and crew delivered as expected. Wide receiver Austin Baird was out of his mind and body,with 207 yards and 3 td's. One Baird score happened when he took a pass, stopped in place, squared off with a Spartan, stuffed him in the facemask, juked two more players and shook off another for the TD.Ashland, Eagle Point, Marshfield, Springfield and Willamette
Certainly, a 1-5 start for the MWL/SO teams is not good. However, no team lost by more than a touchdown.
Quarterbacks were particularly outstanding. Levi Green of Springfield tossed for 298 yards, sophomore Kamerun Smith of Willamette threw for 292, Silver had 264 for Marist, Scarminach had 221 for Ashland and while Dallas Milburn didn't break 200, he led a drive to take the lead, 14-13, with 2:10 left in the game.
There were no huge breakout games by running backs. But, Springfield's Thomas Spikes rushed for 86, Wolverine junior Jordan Visarraga averaged 6.5 yards on 13 carries. Eagle Point's Aaron Foster did a little better than Visaragga with 87 yards on 13 carries.
Beside's Marist's Austin Baird's 207 yards receiving, Willamette had two standout performances; Cameron Koehler with 122 yards on just three catches, and Deaunte Brown with 86 yards on five catches. Wolverine teammate Dannny Granillo caught four passes for 70 yards in his tight end experiment. John Davidson from Springfield had 170 yards on ten catches and teammate Spikes had 72 yards. In the spirit of brotherhood, Eagle Point spread 13 catches among seven receivers. That variety could come in handy as the Eagle Point QB progresses this year.
Two real league games this week.
I talked to someone over the phone last week who hadn't heard of all of the OSAA changes. So, if you're in the dark..... Each of the six MWL teams and two Southern Oregon 5A teams play in two different leagues. For playoff purposes, the six MWL teams are in the MWL league. Now get this: the two Southern Oregon teams are in a two team league - the Southern Oregon League. All eight teams are in the same league for all-star selections. This is called the hybriddieberdoo league. It's pronounced 'Hybrid -die-ber-doo." They named it that after Scooby Doo and The Flinstones. Some poor kid from the Southern Oregon League is going to have to say "My team was last in the Southern Oregon league, but I was first team Hybridieberdoo."
There are two MWL league games this week and all of a sudden they have become doozies. (The two Southern Oregon teams have to wait until the last week of regular season.)
Springfield at Willamette
Last Friday, QB Levi Green of Springfield had 298 yards passing, and sophomore Kamerun Smith had 292. I saw some of Willamette's evening scrimmage last Wednesday, and they have some exciting skills guys. I haven't seen Springfield at all, but Green is off to a great start. 50-48 score anyone?
North Eugene at Marshfield.
Kailee Wong was at North the last time the Highlanders beat Marshfield. The current Highlanders were toddlers. North Eugene did not play Friday, so there's no word on what to expect. The Pirates fell to North Bend, ending a 20 year Bulldog drought. North Eugene is out to prove that last year's four win season was the start of a positive trend, while the Pirates are hoping to get their potentially prolific offense in gear.
Two other great games to watch
Ashland at Marist.
Anytime you can see the Spartans play it's a treat. Plus, this week you get to see how coach Geske is going to deal with the Qb situation. And remember, Ashland's pitcher Jake Scarminach threw for 221 yards last week.
Eagle Point at Churchill (0-0).
I'm going to this one. It was a toss up between this game and Springfield vs Willamette. Eagle Point played with ranked Mountain View, losing by two. Churchill is in the top ten. Eagle Point used seven receivers, and Churchill has Lancer Air.
.
Miscellaneous:
If you know of any MWL players who are playing college ball, email me at mwlnow@yahoo.com .
Here's my current list: http://www.mwathletics.com/football/all_stars/college.htm
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Opening Night Predictions
I am PUMPED! I went to the Willamette scrimmage last night and the pads poppin' got my juices flowing. If Willamette's O line can give their new QB some time to get a feel for varsity ball, the Wolverines will do some damage in the MWL.Here' the opening night preview from Chris Park:
MIDWESTERN LEAGUE 2010 SEASON OPENER PREVIEW
FEATURED GAME CORVALLIS AT MARIST:
It’s Spartans versus Spartans and the similarities don’t end there in the season opener for the Corvallis Spartans on the road to Eugene to take on the Marist Spartans. Both of these schools have football tradition with a history of winning. Marist has won five State Championships, including four in the last seven years. Corvallis has also won five State Championships and last won the title in a three overtime thriller versus West Albany in 2006.
This game looks to be exciting and features two of the top running backs in 5A in Corvallis’ Dominic Wooten (6’0”, 205) and Marist’s Logan Silver (5’11” 185). Wooten has rushed for 3,119 yards in his high school career thus far, including leading all running backs in 5A last year with 1,980 yards on 270 carries and 17 TD’s. Silver rushed for 1,533 yards on 172 carries and scored 24 touchdowns for Marist on the way to a 14-0 season and 4A State Championship. The Marist offensive line is anchored by senior Matthew Devereux (6’3” 275) a Division 1 prospect with an offer from Air Force. Corvallis has a D1 offensive lineman prospect as well in junior Isaac Seumalo (6’2” 250).
Defensively, Marist returns seven starters, including 4A Defensive Player of the Year Devereux at defensive tackle and LB Logan Mayes (6’3”, 230) another D1 prospect who has verbally committed to Washington State. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Mayes is the son of former NFL running back and Washington State Cougar great, Reuben Mayes.
Corvallis returns five of their top tacklers on defense, including senior LB Vincenzo Gross (5’11”, 190), senior LB Jordan Brown (6’0”, 190), Seumalo at defensive tackle, senior defensive lineman Schuyler Randle (6’1”, 220) and junior linebacker Ian Leonard (6’1”, 165).
Both teams will be breaking in a new quarterback and with established, talented tailbacks, look for the offense to take the pressure off the young QB’s and try to establish a running game and control the line of scrimmage before looking to the passing game.
NEXT GAME: Corvallis hosts Crescent Valley Raiders; Marist hosts Ashland Grizzlies.
Gary's Prediction: Marist 28 Corvallis 14. Marist D prevails while the new Marist QB gains experience.
SILVERTON FOXES AT SPRINGFIELD MILLERS:
The Springfield Millers host the Silverton Foxes and hope to avenge last year’s 28-32 loss at Silverton. Silverton went 4-6 overall in 2009 and was competitive in all loses with the exception of 14-32 loss to South Albany. Both teams return experienced quarterbacks and skill players on offense. Silverton senior running back Troy Sinn (5’9” 165) rushed for 1095 yards on 212 carries and 13 TD’s last year. Nic Reinhard (6’3” 170) is the QB for Silverton and passed for 1,589 yards on 106 completions to 207 attempts with 16 TD’s and 9 interceptions. Junior receiver Torrey Rogness (6’2” 160) was the second leading receiver last year and returns with 24 catches for 549 yards and 7 TD’s in 2009. This game could be an offensive shootout and might be a good measuring stick to see how the Midwestern League stacks up against a very competitive Mid-Willamette Conference.
NEXT GAME: Springfield at Willamette Wolverines; Silverton home versus Woodburn Bulldogs.
Gary's Prediction: Silverton in a high scoring game, 35-28.
SOUTH ALBANY REBELS AT WILLAMETTE WOLVERINES:
Another great game to see how the Midwestern League does against the Mid-Willamette Conference. Last year’s 21-20 South Albany Rebels (4-6 in 2009) victory over the Willamette Wolverines was a game of two very different halves. Willamette jumped out to a 20-0 half time lead and then the wheels fell off in the second half, including a blocked Willamette punt recovered in the end zone for a South Albany touchdown with six minutes left in the game. South Albany’s Bryce Stutzman (5’10” 175) was the work horse for the Rebels as he rushed for 143 yards on 34 carries. He’s back for his senior season and with a young offense and new quarterback, the Wolverines will need to stop the South Albany ground attack in order to win this game.
NEXT GAME: Willamette home versus Springfield Millers; South Albany at West Albany Bulldogs.
MARSHFIELD PIRATES AT NORTH BEND BULLDOGS:
This long standing rivalry went to overtime last year with Marshfield prevailing 20-13 thanks to the heroic efforts of the now graduated Kyle Tedder. Tedder ran for a 25 yard touchdown on the second play of overtime and then intercepted a pass on defense to seal Marshfield’s twentieth straight win in this rivalry. The last time North Bend won was in 1989. Look for Marshfield to work out the kinks in their offense and ease new starter senior Dallas Milburn (6’1” 175) in at quarterback. Although Marshfield won’t likely see any Midwestern League opponents running the Double Wing, led by North Bend running backs Jake Lucero (6’2” 195) and Ryan Johnson (6’0” 165), it will still be a good chance for the Pirates to work on stopping the running game; something they will need to do to be successful in league.
NEXT GAME: Marshfield home versus North Eugene Highlanders; North Bend at 3A Sheridan Spartans
Gary's Prediction: Marshfield 35 North Bend 14. A strong Pirate first half will show that the Pirates are buying into second year coach Ainsworth's program..
CHURCHILL LANCERS AT JUNCTION CITY JAMBOREE:
The Lancers travel to Junction City for a Jamboree with the Taft Tigers, Marshall Minutemen, Philomath Warriors and Junction City Tigers. Although Churchill will not have the benefit of playing a full game, the Jamboree will be a good chance to see how the Lancers stack up offensively and defensively against four other teams and the various formations and schemes they bring. It’s probably not as good as a full non league game, but certainly better than an intra squad scrimmage. Look for Churchill to put the finishing touches on their balanced and potent offensive attack and find some leaders on defense in the Junction City Jamboree.
NEXT GAME: Churchill home versus Eagle Point Eagles.
Gary's Prediction: Lancer Airlines looks great, but Churchill fumbles a kickoff return when the other team pooch kicks the kickoff to a wide open space between the Lancers.
OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST:
West Salem Titans at Sheldon Irish: West Salem senior QB Brett Smith is a D1 prospect with a verbal commitment to San Jose State. The Sheldon Irish are the defending 6A State Champions. Sheldon loses a bunch of starters on both sides of the football. It will be exciting to see how quickly Sheldon Coach Marty Johnson reloads and a chance to look at Sheldon junior QB Dillon Miller, son of former Sheldon, University of Oregon and NFL QB Chris Miller, in his first varsity start.
Thurston Colts at West Albany Bulldogs: Thurston steps down a classification to take on 5A West Albany in this rematch of the 5A 2008 title game won by West Albany 35-28. The Colts break in a new quarterback, with junior Chad Olson (5’10” 150) likely to be the starter. Senior running back Tyler Johnson (6’0” 195) rushed for 765 yards on 103 carries and 12 TD’s in 2009 for Thurston. Look for that same hard hitting defense from Thurston in this exciting season opener.
Skyview (WA) at Sherwood Bowmen: Sherwood is a likely top five 5A pre-season team that has an abundance of speed and skill position players in addition to the lineman to make a run for the State Championship. Skyview plays in the large school classification in Washington and this could be a tough, early season test for the Bowmen, who are expected to cruise through their league schedule.
Eagle Point Eagles at Mountain View Cougars: Mountain View is another likely preseason top 10 team that is loaded with talent, size and speed. This game is of interest as the Cougars will likely be in the playoff mix and Eagle Point is a common opponent for many of the Midwestern League teams.
Gary's Prediction: #6 Mountain View 28 Eagle Point 21. The Eagles turn some heads including Churchill scout in the stands.
Gary's Prediction: #16 Ashland 35 Klamath Union 21. Ashland is tied for Marshfield for 16th in the OregonLive poll. That's basically middle of the pack in the 37 team 5A Division. That should be good enough to beat the Pelicans.
Jefferson Democrats at Crescent Valley Raiders: Another great season opener with two likely preseason top ten teams. Jefferson is the 2009 5A State Runner Up. Crescent Valley has a great tailback in Andre Ogelsby (5’7” 175), who rushed for 1,701 yards on 269 carries with 21 TD’s.
Remember, this weeks games count in the power rankings calculations. Chris Park will have a write up about the power rankings in a couple of weeks. Thanks Chris for all of your hard work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
