I'm Glad You Asked

Okay, look.

I'm not a run-up-the-score kind of guy. I'm really not.

But when your opponent turns the ball over five times, (not to mention the turnovers on downs) and some of those are inside the ten, it becomes very hard NOT to score.

Again, we ran the clock in the second half, and again, we played our reserves in the second half.

Our first unit made short work of the Mustangs, again, scoring at will on the ground. Our defense stymied Vasquez and didn't allow positive yaradge. We went up 16-0 before Vasquez even had the ball, thanks to a score on offense followed up by a recovered onside kick which resulted in another offensive score.

Our backfield tandem of Spencer Ortega and Gabriel Regolado ran wild against the Mustangs, and John Choi threw well enough to a few targets in our victory. Our newly reconsititued defense (after injuries and a few players out due to ineligibility) stood firm, with no perceivable holes. Jeff Ernst, our all-around player, made an impact at rover.

As many of you know, Golden Valley has dissolved its JV program, so our week 10 game is no more. We are working on securing an opponent for the week, but at this late date, it doesn't look good.

Our next week game against Los Osos may be our last, therefore.

One game left.

One more game to make good on our promise to send these players to Varsity not knowing what it means to lose a high school football game.

We have made a point in the conditioning period to always "run through the line." So now we have to do it. We're almost at the finish. We need to finish strong.

In our most lopsided game yet (we scored more points against Hamilton, but the margin of victory in that game was only 40 points) your 'Cats walked all over the hapless Dons of Sierra Vista.

It was so bad ("how bad was it?") that their A.D. asked for a running clock. With over 8:00 left in the SECOND QUARTER. We were up I think 32-0 at that time.

We did have some standout play: Stephen Silver intercepted two passes (oddly enough, I had taken him aside during pregame and said, "this is a two pick night for you.") and ran one back about 80 yards for a touchdown to end the first half. John Choi and Jared Foster had the other two picks. John had a good return on his, and Jared's was in our own end zone to prevent a Don score.

We blocked at least two punts of theirs, one of which hit the UPRIGHT of their own end zone, causing a safety.

I can't be certain, but I THINK they had negative yardage on the night.

The game lasted 1 hour and thirty minutes.

Offensively, everything was working. Spencer Ortega was unstoppable (I was planning on taking him out in the second half, but I wanted him to get one last carry. I told him this was it for the game. He ran for about 60 yards and scored on the play), Gabriel Regolado was invincible, Mike Boskovitch was indominable. Our line pushed the poor Dons all over the field and didn't allow a sack when we did throw.

The most one-sided game I have been a part of in recent memory.

Next week: Vasquez!

Just a quick post here to welcome those of you who come from SCV Gridiron and a hearty thank you for the site administrators there. They agreed to link to this site. So, enjoy what you see here, and as always, I'm glad you asked.

Some stats of interest:

Record: 5-0

Points for: 200
Average per game: 40

Points against: 40
Average per game: 8

Fewest points scored in a game: 30 (vs. Pasadena)
Most points scored in a game: 56 (vs. Hamilton)

Most points allowed in a game: 16 (vs. Hamilton)
Fewest points allowed in a game: 0 (vs. Duarte)

Closest margin of victory: 24 points (vs. Pasadena)
Widest margin of victory: 40 points (vs Hamilton)

West Ranch Kickoffs: 32.
TD's allowed on special teams: 0
TD's scored on special teams: 3

That last stat is one of the most remarkable, I think. We have kicked the ball off 32 times! And in all those kickoffs, we have never allowed a score. Special teams are an often unnoticed part of the game, until something extraordinary happens. But all those who know the game know that there are three divisions to any team: offense, defense, and special teams. Teams who do not pay attention to this vital third element are hamstringing themselves. The ability to, say, pin a team inside their own 10 on a corner punt, or consistently make a team start on their own 20 after a kickoff, or conversely, establish a relatively short field on kick returns and punt returns is extraordinarily valuable. So all those stats on offense and defense one sees are fine, but the kicking game is equally important.

As the halfway mark, we find ourselves in the interesting position of not only having won every game, but having won each game in a walk. Not to speak ill of our opponents, but objectively, none of them were in our league. We also find ourselves in a bye week, so intensity is down. I've decided to go very, very light this week, taking several days off and having the kids return on the 16th fully recharged. I normally don't like bye weeks, but if one must have one, midseason is one of the best times, I think.

We'll see you again next week!

We advance to 5-0 as we hit the midpoint of the season. This contest was, like the others, lopsided from the start. We knew we had an advantage with our 40 man squad up against their 19 man one. They were not unathletic, and they were well coached, like we thought they would be, but the Lancers were simply no match physically for us.

We lost our primary running back early in the contest, in the first series. He was out all game but will be back for our next one. We therefore went with our rotation back who did a fine job. We also used the fullback quite a bit, and he had perhaps his best game ever. Our air attack continues to be unimpressive, though we are no longer helpless throwing the ball.

Defensively, we held firm, giving up 6 points only when our reserve unit entered the game, and even then, it was a hard-fought touchdown for the Lancers.

Credit for this win, however, rests firmly on the shoulders of the offensive line. Our two main running plays, trap and dive, both inside runs, continued to work exceptionally well behind the blocking of our front five. Poor Grace Brethren simply could not stop us. We had size, speed, strength, and in most cases, athleticism on our side. We were simply too much for them.

Next week, due to scheduling conflicts, the Wildcat JV team is dark, so no update will appear.