I'm Glad You Asked

Saugus Centurions 28, West Ranch Wildcats 7

2008-10-25T11:32:00.001-07:00

In a matchup that could have placed your beloved Wildcats on top of the Foothill League, the home eleven fell to a talented Saugus team by 21 points.

We told the kids afterwards that they played hard, which is true: they also played badly, which is also true. Execution was the name of the game on Friday, and Saugus had it while we did not.

Offensively, we had some big plays: a hook-and-ladder play to start the game went for fifty yards or so, and an off tackle breakaway to start the second half went almost as long. But we were unable to capitalize on those big plays and ended up not scoring at all until the end of the game. We were able to move the ball inside the twenties, and probably had a couple hundred yards in total offense, but none of that really mattered since we could not put up the points. We also made some critical errors on offense that put our defense in tough spots.

Defensively, although we had many flashes of good execution, we suffered critical breakdowns in key situations that kept Saugus alive. Players played hard but forgot techniques and assignments, which Saugus used against us.

Special teams neither hurt us nor helped us much: we missed a field goal early (turns out it would not really have helped) and missed our first onside of the year late in the game.

We still believe in the effort and heart of the team--we have since watching them against Glendora. We have yet to put all of our talents and energies together for a sustained 48 minute game. When and if we can do that, I truly believe we can be formidable.

Current Foothill JV Standings:

1. Saugus 2-0 (def. West Ranch 28-7: next vs. Golden Valley)
1. Canyon 2-0 (def. Hart 38-0: next vs. West Ranch)
3. West Ranch 1-1 (lost to Saugus 28-7: next vs. Canyon)
3. Valencia 1-1 (def. Golden Valley: next vs. Hart)
5. Hart 0-2 (lost to Canyon 38-0: next vs. Valencia)
5. Golden Valley 0-2 (lost to Valencia: next vs. Saugus)

Next Week: Canyon!

West Ranch Wildcats 43, Golden Valley Grizzlies 28

2008-10-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

Your West Ranch Wildcats accomplished many of their league opener goals on Friday evening:

1. We wanted to end a two-game losing streak.
2. We wanted to climb back to .500.
3. We wanted to be in the top half for JV Foothill league teams.

All of that was accomplished with our sometimes uneven victory against Golden Valley.

Before a recap of the game, let me say that it is very impressive to see how far GVHS has come in two years. They have improved from disbanding a team in 2006 to fielding a weak team in 2007 to this respecatble team in 2008. If Golden Valley continues to improve, they will give some teams some trouble very soon.

Now, the game.

We scored a very quick 21 points against GV while holding them to nothing in the first quarter. Almost everything we did on offense was highly successful, and we were able to hold GV's offense.

The second quarter, however, was a different story. We either became complacent or tired or something, because we allowed GV to score twice before half and reenergized the entire Grizzly sideline. It was a complete meltdown: we suddenly had enormous trouble tackling and we turned the ball over on offense.

To start the second half, GV took over on their own 20 and proceeded to drive 80 yards to score. They had missed their first two extra points, so they went for 2 and got it.

The score was then 21-20. We led by one point.

To our offense's credit, we scored fifteen points to put the game out of reach before we could use some of our reserves, and we took time doing so. With about 8:00 left in the game, we were up I think 36-20.

Our second offensive unit then drove the field and scored against GV's first unit, and we are very proud of our second team line, receiver corps, and quarterback. They played admirably well and did not let up, making the score 43-20.

Golden Valley scored on our second unit to make the final score 43-28.

We have much to work on defensively, and the entire squad has to know that a football game is made up of 48:00 and is never over until the final gun. We face a Saugus team that is also 1-0 in league, having defeated Hart's JV's with what I think was a 28-7 score. In fact, here are the scores as I understand them:

West Ranch 1-0 (def. Golden Valley 43-28: plays Saugus next)
Saugus 1-0 (def. Hart 28-7: plays West Ranch next)
Canyon 1-0 (def. Valencia 45-47: plays Hart next)
Valencia 0-1 (lost to Canyon 48-46: plays Golden Valley next)
Hart 0-1 (lost to Saugus 28-7: plays Canyon next)
Golden Valley 0-1 (lost to West Ranch 43-28: plays Valencia next)

Next Week: Saugus!

Los Osos Grizzlies 28, West Ranch Wildcats 24

2008-10-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

In a fiercely-fought battle that went down to the last few seconds, your Wildcats came up just short against a tough Los Osos sophomore squad.

Any game that is decided by 4 points is likely to have been decided by small things, and this was indeed the case. We suffered an uncharacteristic lapse in special teams Friday that cost us the game: a punt return for a touchdown and several other kicks that were returned for long yardage, putting our defense in several tight spots. We have been so good for so long on special teams that it was disappointing to suffer the breakdowns we did.

We had several big plays on defense to stop drives: one interception near our own goal line to kill an opening Los Osos drive and a second tipped ball interception that stopped another gave us life. We also stopped Los Osos a few times on 4th down to get the ball back and forced some punts. Despite the 28 points, we are not too upset with our defensive performance. We do, however, need to reinforce our tackling.

Offensively, we were able to drive the ball and score. We only had three possessions in the first half, and they ended with a field goal, a touchdown, and the clock. We scored 10 points in the first half and the other 14 in the second: a fair performance. We also had our first touchdown pass of the season, which was a bright spot.

We told our boys we are proud of them, and so we are: we played well and fought hard for four quarters. Our opponent was a good one and we have nothing to be ashamed of.

I am sure, however, that the boys are a bit tired of listening to me saying they played well when they can look at the scoreboard showing they still lost. We need to turn these good performances into victories that are not just moral ones.

Next week: Foothill League starts against Golden Valley!

Glendora Tartans 34, West Ranch Wildcats 21

2008-10-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

When Jim Lovell and his crew managed to return to earth safely despite having not landed on the moon, the Apollo 13 mission was called the "successful failure."

This game may well be called "the victorious defeat."

Your Wildcats found themselves facing a JV team comprised of some very big, very strong, very fast juniors and sophomores--a unit they lost to last year--and never backed down nor gave up.

We were down 20-0 at halftime, and we later would go on to be down 34-0 at one point. Most teams would have folded, given up, asked for a running clock. Not us.

We finally put some drives and big plays together on offense and also managed to stop the Tartans on defense, and started scoring.

34-7.

A stop on defense.

34-14.

A successful onside kick.

34-21.

ANOTHER successful onside kick.

And, alas, that is where the magic ended. We were unable to convert on a fourth down and gave the ball back to Glendora with about a minute to go.

I have never been prouder of this team than I am after this.

Next week: Los Osos!

West Ranch Wildcats 14, Beverly Hills Normans 9

2008-09-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

This, friends, was an ugly, ugly game.

I don't mean it was dirty (though the referees certainly seemed to think so: we were flagged over and over and over by the same two refs, the umpire and the linesman on the Beverly Hills side) or that there was taunting or anything.

I mean it was sloppy.

Our defense continues to play very good football, and although Beverly Hills scored 9 points, none of them came from their offense. So from that perspective, it was a shutout. But our offense was horribly inconsistent and sputtering. Our tailback, Sullano, was a bright spot, as was our flanker, Guzman, but otherwise, we have little to be proud of offensively. Bertuch caught a few and managed to complete our trick play to Eichten, but we remain dangerous to ourselves on offense. It was so bad that eventually I started calling our Jumbo group out and we ran our short-yardage offense over and over. It was safe and it ate time: two things we needed.

Our defense, as I said before, played very well. We weren't on defense too much, since we were trying to win the time of possession game, but even so, the Normans weren't able to do anything of note. They drove down deep and were very, very close to our goal line, but we stood firm and stopped them.

A word on what happened next to those spectators who didn't understand.

We got the ball with a few minutes left in the 4th, up 14-7. After an unsuccessful series (and some MORE penalties) we found ourselves in a 4th and very long on our own 5 yard line. I sent in the punt team with instructions for Eichten, the punter, to take the snap and run around in the end zone for as long as he could, then either take a knee or step out the back of the end zone and voluntarily take the safety.

If you don't know, a safety is worth two points to the opposing team, and in addition, the team that surrendered the safety must kick to their opponent from their own 20 yard line.

With the safety, we were ahead 14-9, with just over a minute to play. But we had set up our weapon. Brady "The Leg" Stuart.

We knew he could kick the ball far. So we were not surprised when he booted the ball from our own 20 all the way to the Beverly Hills 15, where it rolled almost into the end zone. A Norman return man scooped it up and managed to get beyond his 20 before we pinned him down. Beverly Hills now had to go about 75 yards in under a minute. Their drive was ended when Gutierrez intercepted a pass and ran it back to the Beverly Hills 5 with 10 seconds left to play.

We told the kids after the game that this offensive performance would simply not do. It might have been strange for them to hear us so angry and disappointed after a victory, but the truth was, we did not win the game: we simply finished with more points than Beverly Hills.

So mark this one as a W, but make it a sloppy, ugly one, won't you?

Next Week: Glendora!

Notre Dame Knights 34, West Ranch Wildcats 3

2008-09-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

A pretty thorough loss to the Knights on Friday capped a week of lackluster and imprecise practice for the JV squad and brought us to 1-1 on the year.

On the bright side, despite the score, we mostly played good defense (our offense usually gave the Knights a short field to start with) and had more than a few openings on offense. We also kicked a field goal that was around 30 yards and had some good runs.

The problem was how imprecise we were. Our quarterback was not "on" that day, and it showed with I think four interceptions, the first one of which was returned over sixty yards for a touchdown. Interceptions stopped any drive we attempted to mount, and while we had some degree of success from time to time, we shot ourselves in the foot so much we could barely walk.

We spent the postgame talk proving to the team that a poor week of practice led to this loss. We had best learn this lesson for our next opponent and for the season. It's hard to be philosophical in such a loss, but we need to find the positive here, and we believe that we can teach the kids that preparation and hard work matters.

Next week: Beverly Hills (at WRHS).

West Ranch Wildcats 28, Lancaster Eagles 13

2008-09-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

In a solid, well-balanced performance to open the season, your West Ranch Wildcats defeated the Lancaster Eagles 28-13 on Friday, September 12th.

The game did not start well for us. We turned the ball over three times in the first quarter alone, once after a substantial gain in the air to our tight end, once on a carry up the middle, and once on a punt that put the ball on our own one-yard line for Lancaster to punch it in. We went behind 7-0 on points we simply HANDED to Lancaster.

But, after that shakedown quarter, we went into overdrive. We got back the score and added another via a combination of runs from Christian Sullano and Trevon Manuel and passes to Josh Guzman and Max Newlin. I don't have my stats with me, but Connor Eichten might have been around 10-for-15 on the day (Sorry, Connor, if it was more than that) and probably had over 100 yards. True, much of that was yards after catch, but we connected often and well.

Defensively, we had two drive-ending interceptions, one by Matt Bruns and the other by Michael Remy. We had some breakdowns in open-field tackling, but we can work on that and improve. We did a fair job of containing the Lancaster run game, with only a few breakdowns there. Overall, we did well stopping the big play and stopping drives.

Aside from the atrocious punt debacle, special teams were outstanding. We kicked off five times, and I believe three of them went into or through the end zone. One of the two returns did not make it past the 25. We made all four conversions and had some excellent kickoff returns.

So, a solid win. Lancaster was not the best team we will face, but they were decent enough. We will need to improve, however, across the board if we wish to defeat our next opponent.

Next week: Notre Dame!

2008 Season: Week 0: Burroughs (Scrimmage)

2008-09-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, readers, and welcome back to I'm Glad You Asked. As you can see, it has been quite some time since I last posted here: the 2008 West Ranch Junior Varsity football season is about to begin, so you should find regular game reports and comments from me here.

First, some overall comments on the fall:

As those of you who live in the area know, we have had some blisteringly hot days here. We are regularly in the 100's (and on a black rubber-cushioned synthetic field, the heat is even more intense) and our players have been subjected to withering conditions. We have also had a rash of injuries that we are only now beginning to recover from. The adversity we have faced already is considerable, but our players have responded to it well.

The first official contest of the season will be on Friday, September 12th, at Lancaster High School at 4:00. As always, the week before, we conduct a scrimmage (not exact game conditions) versus John Burroughs High School in Burbank. I write this having just come home from that scrimmage, so my thoughts about it are quite fresh.

These scrimmages are not scored, so unless one team dominates the other, it is difficult to know who "won." Today was not a domination by either squad. On the positive side, we connected well several times in the air on what we consider our "best" pass plays. We threw two long touchdown passes on plays that were not flukes. We connected to other receivers enough to know that we will be able to move the ball in the air. Pass protection was solid enough, and we did not make many mistakes.

On the ground, we had plusses and minuses. We see potential in some players who have not had as much practice time as others, and we got very good surge off the line with our offensive front. All these things add up to potential, if we can capitalize on it.

Defensively, we improved our tackling but are still not as good as we need to be on it. Our secondary covered well and picked off a few passes.

We looked quite good in the special teams area. As many of you who follow this blog know, I always say: there are three phases to the game: offense, defense, and special teams. If you win two of the three, you win the game. We look like we can win special teams often.

However.

We lost quite a bit of the intesnity we had built up over the past few weeks. We had taken some steps in practice to build competetiveness and had felt pretty good about it, but tonight, we seemed to lose an awful lot of it. We seemed to have players who were either afraid or uninterested in playing. No matter what we do as far as X's and O's, if those X's and O's don't play, you won't win. Or to quote another footballism, "It's not the X's and O's, it's the Jacks and the Joes."

Of course, there are some technical points that need recoaching, especially at the defensive end position, but we are pleased at the technical performance of the team. For the most part, we have taught the kids what to do and how to do it: apparently, we need to work on getting them to do it with intensity.

So, again, to those of you who have been reading, welcome back, and to those newcomers to the site, I'm glad you asked.

Next week: Lancaster!

2007 Junior Varsity Awards

2007-12-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

As always, all awards save the Wildcat Awards were voted on by the players. The Wildcat Award is a special award the coaching staff gives out to two players who best exemplify West Ranch football.

Most Valuable Player
Zak Snell

Most Valuable Defensive Player
Daniel Kwon

Most Valuable Offensive Player
Joseph Choi

Most Valuable Special Teams Player
Oscar Martinez

Most Improved Player
James McGough

Wildcat Award
Tyler Killingsworth

Wildcat Award
Mike Modlin

I will be watching you next year as varsity players! It was an honor and a privilege to coach you all, and I will miss you. Ciao, 2007 Junior Varsity.

Buongiorno, 2008 Junior Varsity!

Season Recap 2007

2007-11-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

Wildcat Junior Varsity Football Season Recap 2007
(With apologies to Paul Anka and Frank Sinatra)

And now, the season’s done:
And here we are all having dinner.
My friends, we’ve all had fun,
Each single one I call a winner.

You’ve played a season tough
You practiced in some scorching weather:
But that was not enough:
You played together.

Regrets, you may have some
But truthfully, I don’t think many.
If you will always come
And go full speed, you won’t have any.

This game that you all played
Involves much more than simple leather:
To win, just like in life,
You play together.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When we bit off more than we’d chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt
We ate it up and spit it out
We faced it all, and we stood tall
And played together.

Our first game of the fall
We beat our foe, though only barely.
We then played better ball
And made mistakes much more rarely.

We then came into league
The first to do so altogether
And then, win, lose, or draw:
We played together.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not a team, then he has naught
To fight the fight, to face the foe
He needs a team, the records show:
You played with heart, you did your part,
And played together!

West Ranch Wildcats 41, Golden Valley Grizzlies 0

2007-11-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

Our season-ender against our cross-town rivals was perhaps not the closest contest we had been in all season, but it was an emotional game nonetheless.

Because Golden Valley had disbanded their JV program mid-season last year, this was actually my first meeting against them, and I applaud their growth to field a full program for all 10 weeks.

As far as we are concerned, we were quite happy with the play of the entire squad: we played our "killer B's" throughout the second half and cleared the bench when we came back from the halftime break. To the best of our knowledge, all players who wanted to got in the game for several plays on Friday.

Offensively, there was little that we did that didn't result in a score or a big play: we found early that we could outrun Golden Valley and did so often. We spread the ball around as well: I believe we may have had ten different offensive players touch the ball (not counting the two different centers!) and many, many more make blocks to spring runners. Defensively, we were able to stop most of what the Grizzlies could do, though their little slipscreen was a nifty play that required some adjustments on our part. Special teams play was unremarkable: obviously, we only returned one kickoff and we never punted, but our placekicker was 5-for-6 (his only miss came on a 35-yard attempt on a PAT following a suspect 15-yard penalty) and our punt return unit put us in good position often.

It's always bittersweet at this time: the season is over, most of the boys will move on to play Varsity football, and I will inherit a new crop of young players in a few weeks. There will be more posts here for the 2007 season: one more to announce the recipients of our awards, and another one to recap the season.

But to all those players who may be reading this: I loved being your coach this season. I am so proud that together we got to come into the Foothill League and announce that we were a team that needed to be taken seriously. I hope that the boys that finished through all the weeks of practice and games grew, learned, made friends, had a good and memorable time, and will take the lessons we tried to impart to them to heart. I respect each and every one of you and wish you the very best in your lives beyond our team.

Valencia Vikings 13, West Ranch Wildcats 0

2007-11-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

Against perhaps their toughest opponent yet, your Wildcats were shut out for the first time all season in a hard-fought loss to league-leader Valencia Friday.

Defensively, West Ranch held the powerful Valencia offense (who had defeated Hart 34-0 the week prior) to a mere 13 points despite many Valencia possessions.

Like so many of our other games, we remained in the game until very late in the fourth quarter, staying within one score for nearly the whole contest.

We were unable to produce much offense, though we did drive the football a little bit here and there. Valencia's tough defensive front proved too much for our boys in the trenches, and we were not able to connect in the air as much as we needed to. We pulled out every idea we had, both in practice and in the game, and "emptied the gun" so to speak. Although this was not the result we wanted, I have no doubt all involved gave all they could.

As many of you know, we were playing with several players out for one reason or another, and their replacements stepped up to the challenege and exceeded our expectations. We could not be prouder of our young men who contributed to the game, either on the field, on the practice field, or on the sidelines (and, for that matter, we are grateful for the support we receive in the stands and at home: we know that some of us are being supported by parts as distant as Ohio, and it means a lot to us). These boys left their hearts on the field and played as best they could.

We have one week remaining, and that week will determine if we have a winning season (6-4) or not (5-5). We must continue to improve and play sharp, disciplined football.

Next week: Golden Valley (season ender)!

Canyon Cowboys 20, West Ranch Wildcats 10

2007-10-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Said it before, say it again: little things matter.

In a game that was perhaps even more frustrating than the Hart game, your Wildcats could not manage to secure a victory Friday night, despite some heroic efforts by many of our players.

We did many things right: we intercepted a pass and ran it back about seventy yards to set up a score; we drove the ball on offense and capitalized on field positon; we kicked a field go to go ahead 10-7 late in the game, and we put together a two-minute drill drive with no timeouts to put us in position to score. Our defense allowed one score (the other two came from offensive mistakes, one of which was meaningless late in the game) and forced Canyon to punt several times.

Unfortunately, our opponent was not giving up anything. The few mistakes we made were quite costly: a miscommunication that resulted in a fumble and a Canyon touchdown, a crucial penalty when we were driving to score, and a misjudgement on a coverage all added up to a loss for us.

The final score, 20-10, does not accurately reflect the closeness of the contest: We were down 7-0 early in the game due to a mistake on our part, then spent a while battling back and forth, neither team able to do much, until the interception set up our score. We tied the game, 7-7, then late in the game kicked the field goal to go up 10-7.

As fate would have it, we made another costly error, this time on defense, and allowed the Cowboys to score with roughly 2:00 left to play.

Our two-minute offense went into action (with no timeouts remaining, having used them all on defense to stop the clock) after the kickoff, moving the ball from our 20 to the Canyon 35 in an
impressive, and quick, 45-yard drive. With under 10 seconds in the game, we had put ourselves in position for a miracle: a miracle that did not come true. We were not able to connect into the end zone with 10 seconds left and down 14-10. The interception and subsequent return for touchdown was academic: if we had not caught the ball, the game would have been over no matter what.

There is lots to be proud of in our performance, but I honestly hope our players realize how we cost ourselves the game.

Once again, the final message: little things matter.

Next week: Valencia!

FIRE ALERT: 10/22

2007-10-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Practice is CANCELLED for Monday, October 22nd.

Players should be prepared to report on Tuesday, October 23rd during 7th period pending air quality/fire status.

For your information, there are several reasons for this cancellation: air quality, disruption of players' transportation and home lives, and the fact that I am unable to leave my home due to road closures and mandatory evacuations. My part of the street has not yet been under mandatory evacuation, but we are literally only a few blocks away, so it may happen at any time.

EDIT: 14:45

We were ordered to evacuate, but stayed where we were to protect the house. Our thoughts are with those of you who are dealing with the Castaic or Stevenson Ranch fires.

EDIT: 21:00

We have been prohibited by CIF from holding practice or meetings tomorrow, October 23rd. We will honor that and instead will practice at 3:00 on Wednesday, October 24th.

Hart Indians 13, West Ranch Wildcats 7

2007-10-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Little things matter.

If there was any player on our squad who did not already know this, he is certainly convinced of the truth of it now.

There's no percentage in isolating any single play or event in the game and pointing at it as "the" play or "the" moment. If we, as coaches, could pick and choose which moments we wanted to cancel out of the game, we'd all be undefeated.

The point, though, is that doing the little things right make a difference.

Those of you who saw the game saw a battle between two Foothill League teams that could have gone either way at any time. While we never like to lose, of course, it's quite obvious from our two games and the other games in the league that West Ranch JV Football is a contender. No one would dare say that because we are the new kid on the block we need to go a few years before we're worthy. We proved it against Saugus last week, and even though we lost here to Hart, we proved it again last Friday.

We did not help ourselves with too many turnovers and far too many penalties. We must eliminate those kinds of things and play as close to error-free as we can. The strength of this team has always been its precision and smarts: we need to eliminate the lapse in both we had this game.

Now, we must learn from the Hart loss and come raging back against Canyon. We cannot get into the complexities of who-beat-who and what it means for us: we merely need to improve and come out strong against Canyon.

Next Week: Canyon!

West Ranch Wildcats 15, Saugus Centurions 13

2007-10-12T23:13:00.001-07:00

Oh. My. GOODNESS!

Those of you who were at the game will know what I mean by that above quote. This game was a first not only for this team, but for the school itself: it was the FIRST ever Foothill League junior varsity game in the school's history. We knew that Saugus was very happy to introduce us to the league--many of the banners up at the stadium said as much (my favorite Saugus banner, which turned out to be true, was, "We're allergic to kitties." Yes, Saugus, evidently your JV's were).

So to enter the league with a win was very, very big for us.

About the game: as I said to the boys afterward, I would be here for a long time if I listed the individual heroes of the game: Cisneros, Borg, and Kwon all playing hurt; Triple-Threat Brooks deep snapping, punt covering, and intercepting a key Saugus pass; Peterson consistently solid at his end position; Snell, amazing all-purpose running both on offense and on special teams; Choi (Aloo Alualau) refusing to get tired as we went to him over, and over, and over again; offensive line of Lander, Modlin, Pistone, Lee, Boring, Frausto pushing back Saugus when we needed it; Grossman controlling the offense and McGough not only making a clutch catch from Grossman but also running away from defenders and into the end zone.

I am sure I am missing some people--that's what happens when you have a team victory like this.

There is still much to work on: Saugus was heavily defending the run, so we went more to the air than we usually do. Although it paid off when we needed it, we still need to complete passes more often. Also, our tackling (which has never been a problem) suddenly became simply awful. These are areas of growth for us.

Nevertheless, we advance to 5-1, which is a good record, but more importantly, we put the rest of the Foothill League on notice: you ignore West Ranch at your peril.

Next week is a bit of an unusual game for me: we play Hart High School, and as some of you know, I taught there for ten years and was the JV head coach for four years there.

Hart is the only Foothill league team I have never coached against.

The Hart JV's are coached by a good friend of mine.

All of these factors are interesting, to be sure, but what matters most here is that we have a chance to be 2-0 in league and 6-1 overall and prove to the league that this Saugus win was not a fluke.

We've earned the right to be looked at. Now, we must play even better to be talked about.

West Ranch Wildcats 47, Grace Bretheren Lancers 6

2007-10-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

This game was a milestone for many reasons. First, it marks the most points we have scored this year. Second, it was our first away game.

But most importantly, it was the last game before we enter the Foothill league.

The game itself was sort of a runaway, as you can tell from the score. On offense, we had one drive that did not end in a touchdown, and that was a hurry-up drive to try and get some quick points on the board at the end of the half. Every other time we had the ball on offense, we scored. We were able to run the ball more or less at will, and our pass attack finally managed to get something going. I am happy to report we are not as one-dimensional as were used to be.

Defensively, we held firm, though a series of questionable penalites and just plain weird officiating kept the Lancers alive to score their only points. We know we have a few things to work on for Foothill, but we are solid here.

Special teams continue to dominate (though we did not use punt) as we keep making good things happen in the kicking game.

We were able to play many more players than we ever have and get them some significant playing time. With over sixty players, this is no small feat.

Overall, midway through the season, I am pleased with our performance. We have played well and our players seem to have the enthusiasm and fire they need to compete in this most challenging of leagues. As I told the boys, though...everything moves up a notch in the weeks to come,

Next week: Saugus!

Glendora Tartans 19, West Ranch Wildcats 6

2007-09-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Firstly, anyone reading this who attended the game saw an injury to one of our players (I will not name him here for privacy reasons). I am happy to report that he is doing well and expects to return soon. He suffered a dislocated knee, but it was a fairly run-of-the-mill variety. I visited him after the game in the hospital, and he had already had the knee put back in place and looked quite good.

Now, on to the game itself.

It wasn't a perfect game for us--we had too many penalties (some of which were inexcusable procedural ones: one of my great hatreds is procedural penalties) and we turned the ball over on too many times.

But it was a darn good game.

Glendora was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best team we have faced all season. They were big (very big, actually) they were physical, they were smart, they were reasonably fast. In other words, this was the first team that did not give us many chances to win.

Still, we did not make our own success like we need to. We fought hard all the way to the end (the final score doesn't quite reflect the reality of the game: this game was undecided until the middle of the 4th quarter) but we weren't able to wrestle a win away from a very tenacious Glendora squad.

Many of the Glendora players were varsity players brought down for our contest (this is perfectly legal as long as the player is not a senior) and Glendora was undefeated, as we were, giong into the contest. We have reports that their JV squad was undefeated last year as well.

This was a good indicator of the quality (if not the type) of opponent we will likely face in the Foothill. It is good to know that we are close to the level we need to be in order to challenge the league for the championship.

Now, as to the bruhaha regarding the forfeits:

As some of you know, we were forced to forfeit our first three games because we had inadvertently played an ineligible player as a backup/rotator on defense. At our school, grade checks are supposed to be conducted by the Assistant Principal (Athletics) and the Athletic Director. I was informed that they forgot to do this, and as a result, we technically forfeited those games.

As I told the team, this is a forfeit because we broke the rules: never mind that we didn't mean to or didn't know. We broke them, and the penalty is forfeiture. I think it is important for the boys to know that actions lead to consequences, and a real man (I can say "man" here because we have no girls on the team this year) stands up and admits his faults and takes the consequences. I myself have had to do this in my own life, and it is important to me the boys learn this lesson.

However, it is also important to remember what actually happened on the field. Lancaster, Corona, and Pasadena will, I am sure, be happy to post their JV games with us as a win, but each and every player that participated in those games knows the truth. Just as I didn't count the forfeits we received last year as "wins," neither will I count the forfeits we had to give up this year as "losses."

As far as I am concerned, we are still a very tough, very dangerous 3-1 team looking to go 4-1 into Foothill league action.

Next week: Grace Brethren (at Moorpark College, 5:00)!

P.S. For anyone keeping count, this game snaps my personal 11-game win streak at West Ranch. My record at WRHS is now 11-1, bringing my overall lifetime w/l ratio to 39-13, or 75% win/ 25% loss.

West Ranch Wildcats 26, Pasadena Bulldogs 0

2007-09-20T23:18:00.001-07:00

It was a pretty good half of football for us on Thursday.

We dropped a little in quality, and certainly dropped in enthusiasm, against our Week 3 opponent. There is still a lot we are doing right, but this was not the same effort we gave against Corona. Our first half score was merely 6-0, and that came from a punt return. I'm not taking anything away from our special teams unit, especially our return man, but the point I am making is it represented ONE play, not a series.

Our second half was significantly better, than the first, as again our opponent handed us opportunities and we took them. We intercepted several passes and gave our offense a short field many times. Defensively, we continued our unscored-on streak, but we were not as dominant as we could have been.

Offensively, we are still too one-dimensional. I take most of the responsibility for that: I am getting better, but I still tend to find what works and stick with it, instead of developing more ways to attack. It's not as if we don't practice other things; I just tend not to call them in a game.

Where we are excelling is on special teams. In two contests now, we have scored on special teams. We ran a fake punt and got the first down (mainly due to a heroic second effort by the runner). In our last two contests, our special teams have not decided the game, but were a major factor in the win.

I know it may seem odd to be so down after what appears to be a dominant, significant win, but I know what is on the horizon. Today's performance will not stack up to Foothill league teams.

It will probably not be enough even for next week's opponent.

But that's why we practice. To get better.

Next week: Glendora!

West Ranch Wildcats 44, Corona Panthers 0

2007-09-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

They say there are three aspects to a football game: offense, defense, and special teams. They also say that if you win two of the three, you will most likely win the game.

If you win all three, you get a rout.

Everything clicked for us Saturday as we took care of the Panthers in very decisive fashion. This is not to say we are perfect: we still have much to work on and improve. But we are not the same team we were against Lancaster.

I don't have my stat sheet with me now, so I am not sure who exactly scored what, but I do know that the first 2007 JV touchdown was scored by Zak Snell. I also know that Snell ran rampant over the Panthers. Our fullback, Choi, was also a machine, churning out the yardage when we needed it.

Defensively, again, it's hard to ask more out of the unit. Again, we scored a safety (the second time in as many games--an impressive stat indeed) and again, we held a team scoreless. Big plays and big hits kept the Panthers reeling.

From a special teams perspective, we kicked what I believe was a twenty-nine yard field goal and kept the Corona offense pinned deep with several booming kicks. We also scored on kickoff, as our cover unit manhandled the ball out of a Panther runner's hands and romped into the end zone.

So, to sum up, we scored 44 points in the following ways:

A safety for 2 points.
A field goal for 3 points.
Three PAT's for 3 points.
Six touchdowns for 36 points.

Total: 44 points.

Incidentally, and forgive me this shameless bit of self-promotion (but it is my blog, after all, and I'm glad you asked!), this win was my 50th game as a JV head coach. My running record is now 38-12, which gives me a win percentage of 76%. Some of you know that number has significance to me, so I thought I'd share it.

Next week: Pasadena!

West Ranch Wildcats 2, Lancaster Eagles 0

2007-09-08T13:22:00.001-07:00

Yes, reader, you read that right. 2-0.

The lowest scoring game possible that still results in a winner.

From the defensive side of things, what more can a coach ask for? We not only held them scoreless but scored on defense. Lonnie Walker scored the safety with just over 5:00 to play in the contest. We picked the ball off twice (both by Zak Snell) and had good returns on them. Lancaster has a lot of breakway potential, and we contained it all night (their only big run was called back on a penalty).

Offensively, we weren't hopeless: we had around 180 yards of total offense, which is not embarassing. We ran the ball reasonably well when we were between the twenties with Snell, Choi, and Cisneros providing the gains. We were adequate in the offensive line, but we need to do a lot better with the front six. Our major issue was that when we needed gains, we usually didn't get them unless a back got it himself. We need to do major work on the throwing game, in protection and in accuracy.

Special teams performed well, though some costly running into the kicker penalties for Lancaster gave them life. We out kicked them, which is no small feat. Our lone kickoff went into the end zone both because Oscar Martinez' leg and the Lancaster return man mishandling the ball. Our return unit gave us the ball in good field position.

All in all, we won two of the three parts of the game (our defense beat their offense, our kicking unit beat theirs) which was enough to get it done Friday.

Barely.

Next Week: Cornoa (Saturday 4:00)

Season Starts: Practice

2007-08-18T11:05:00.000-07:00

We have ended the unpadded practices and are finally in the contact period, which is a relief to an old line coach like me. There's only so much throwing and catching I can take.

We are still quite high in numbers: we regularly run in the high fifties or low sixties, which sounds like an advantage but which has its downside. It is difficult bordering on impossible to make sure all players receive equal access to coaching while simultaneously preparing the team to succeed. The time will come and come soon when we will have to differentiate who is getting the reps and who isn't.

We're still waiting to fill some spots on the offensive line. We think we have three of them more or less figured out, but the other two are still open and so far no one has stood out head and shoulders above the rest to claim one of the remaining two.

Our skill positions are more or less as we left them in summer: we have not had many disappointments there. We have had a bit of a pleasant surprise in a new player on the defensive line: we may be fieldinging an unusually tough front four defensively if things work out.

It's been brutally hot out, which has taken a toll on the players. Monday begins our game week practice plan. We have ten real practices before our first scrimmage against Burroughs: we need to have a fully functiona offense, defense, and kicking game in place by then so we can tailor it to Lancaster in the following week.

Summer Update

2007-06-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we're almost halfway through with the summer session, so here are some thoughts on how it has been going so far.

The players, for the most part, seem to understand what we are trying to do schematically. I still think we need more technique work (I think we do a little too much just counting on an athlete's raw talent rather than teaching techniques well) so we'll have to budget more individual time and scale back on the 7-on-7 time. We've seen what we need to as far as the passing game: after this Friday's throwaround at Saugus we will be converting into a far more "game-authentic" practice strategy.

We are also beginning to run into the midsummer rut a little bit: the enthusiasm and energy has begun to fade, so we need to put things into the practice schedule to reinvigorate the players.

I am very, very happy with my staff this year. Last year at this time, the JV staff was very small and not nearly as skilled as it is now: I am quite pleased with the three assistants we have at this level.

Overall, things are going well. We are on schedule for play installation, review, and polish, and we are headed towards our motto: "Amateurs practice until they get it right: Wildcats practice until they cannot get it wrong."

Countdown until season opener versus Lancaster on 9/7: 72 days.

Passing League 2007

2007-06-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hello, all.

We've played in our first passing league (I love that term: passing league. There's no league--not even a loose organization. League makes it sound so official, when it isn't) throwaround at Hart High the other day, and I must say, we did very very well. Not only did we move the ball well and stop our opponents, but we managed to play a high percentage of our players (remember that we have about 64 players on our roster, with perhaps 40 or so involved in passing league) in so doing. We faced some tough competition: Hart, Notre Dame, and Burroughs, and we did well against all three.

Saturday, we have the Saugus UTL tournament, and our pool consists of Saugus, Village Christian, and Burroughs.

Athletic Coda 2007

2007-03-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

We've been working with the new crop of athletes for the 2007 West Ranch JV football team, so I felt it was time to set some things straight about how I feel towards sport.

To start, a definition:

Athlete
Can be found at the youth, high school, college, and professional levels. An individual who participates in sports. Characterized by dedication, focus, intelligence, and work ethic. Athletes usually are overshadowed in high school by Jocks; they are too busy to do much grandstanding. Most pro players are athletes rather than jocks.

The athlete is intelligent, hard-working, and a decent human being. He has fallback plans for the future in case he can't play pro. The jock is arrogant, stupid, lazy, and a jerk. He has no plans for the future beyond high school whatsoever.

Jocks are drinking and messing around with cheerleaders while athletes are training, studying, or participating in worthwhile extracurriculars.

Next, here is the Athenian Oath, rewritten to fit the circumstances of an athlete at West Ranch High School:

We will never bring disgrace to this, our school by any act of dishonesty or cowardice, nor ever desert our suffering comrades in the ranks; we will fight for the ideal and sacred things of the school, both alone and with many; we will revere and obey the school's laws and do our best to incite a like respect in those above us who are prone to annul or set them at naught; we will strive unceasingly to quicken the student body's sense of school pride. Thus, in all these ways, we will transmit this school not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.

Last, a brief paragraph on the Athenian Ideal as it pertained to sport:

The Athenians did not play sports just to keep fit, and they didn’t play sports to win glory for themselves or even for their cities. They felt that the development of the body and of the spirit went together. They also saw that the artistic and the athletic were expressions of one another. For example, to train in public speaking, they practiced the javelin throw (“taking hold” of a subject, having an “accurate delivery” in order to be “on target.”) while those who wanted to become better philosophers were encouraged to participate in wrestling (“grappling” with life’s questions). Sports was not intended to produce sportsmen or warriors, but to produce well rounded, harmonious human beings.

I hope I can instill these values in my athletes.

2006 Season Awards

2006-12-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

These were voted on by the players (with the exception of the Wildcat and Most Improved awards) and the results are as follows:

Most Valuable Player of the Year
Spencer Ortega

Offensive Player of the Year
Gabriel Regalado

Defensive Player of the Year
Geoffrey Ernst

Lineman of the Year
Patrick Fuertes

Special Teams Players of the Year
Jordan Foster

Most Improved Player of the Year
Garrett Lander

The Wildcat Award
Kyle Boettcher and Stephen Silver

2006 Season Wrap-Up

2006-12-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan (and, I suppose, Major-General Stanley from The Pirates of Penzance), here is the 2006 West Ranch Junior Varsity season recap:

We are the very model of a West Ranch J.V. football team
We had from the beginning our eyes fixed upon a noble dream
We learned, along with complicated football offense/defense schemes
That going undefeated is not quite as crazy as it seems.
Our practices in spring and summer gave us every chance to learn
Who we all were, and gave some players places on the squad to earn.
Before we knew it, fall had come, and with it hitting drills and pain,
But I am sure that you’ve all heard that without pain there is no gain.

Our first opponent was Mojave, and it was a scary game,
We didn’t know if we were awesome, average, weak, or merely lame:
But when the dust had settled, and the final scoreboard lights did gleam,
They showed themselves the model of a West Ranch JV football team!

We next defeated Hamilton by forty points, and from the start
We knew that this opponent did not have the tactics or the art
To match our firm resolve to make this second game another part
Of an unspotted season that each one of us held in our heart.
Pasadena played the closest game that we would see throughout the year:
The margin of our victory had never been so very near
We won the game, but only by two dozen points, yet have no fear:
I’ll tell you of the next five games if you will kindly lend an ear.

The Duarte Falcons had their feathers plucked by Wildcats, and with that
We found that we were four-and-oh, and also season’s midpoint at
But whether it was under lights, or in a yellow sunshine beam,
We showed ourselves the model of a West Ranch JV football team!

Grace Bretheren we beat by thirty, but perhaps we ought to say
That they hold a distinction in the games that we had left to play
Perhaps it was their spiritual way, perhaps they did anoint
Their footballs—for they would be the last team on us to score a point.
Sierra Vista, sad to say, could simply not remain with us
The most exciting thing about the game was sitting on the bus
I thought that forty-six to nothing was the biggest blowout yet,
But Vasquez and their sand-trap field—how simply awful can it get?

I hate to rub it in against the Mustangs, but for goodness’ sake!
Fifty-eight to nothing? That, quite simply, really takes the cake.
Los Osos had some talent, but we beat them, and so with me scream,
We are the very model of a West Ranch JV football team!

West Ranch Wildats 32, Los Osos Grizzlies 0

2006-11-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it.

More on that later.

As for the game, Los Osos proved to be a worthy opponent for most of the contest, especially on defense. They were stingy in allowing run yardage and relentless in pressuring our quarterback when we tried to throw.

We started with the ball, and managed to drive perhaps twenty-five yards before a key holding call put us in a hole. We could not convert on a third-and-twenty (we did make about twelve yards, but we were still facing fourth and eight) and I had to shout something our team hadn't heard since game three:

"Punt!"

There was a sort of collective pause on the sideline: not of panic or of discouragement, but a sort of realization.

We were in a game.

We went in at half up 8-0, and those eight points had been hard-won. After a Grizzly punt that our return man let go, we found ourselves on our own three. We drove down the length of the field, taking perhaps a dozen plays to reach their eight yard line, but we could not put it in. Los Osos wasn't able to do much either, so they punted again from deep in their own territory and we resumed our drive, this time needing only perhaps fifty yards. This drive was successful, and we went in at half 8-0.

We came out after the half and managed to put together another drive to go up 16-0.

Los Osos was starting to crack.

We broke their backs when our middle linebacker intercepted a pass and ran it back to their eight yard line, where we punched it in to go ahead 24-0. Los Osos then put nine men in the box on defense to try and stop our run game, so we went to spread formation and threw a sixty yard touchdown pass to clinch the game and go ahead 32-0.

Due to one thing and another, this game was the end of our season. We had said, a long, long time ago, we wanted to have an undefeated season, and we did it.

More on that in later posts.

West Ranch Wildcats 58, Vasquez Mustangs 0

2006-10-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

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.

West Ranch Wildcats 46, Sierra Vista Dons 0

2006-10-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome to SCV Gridiron!

2006-10-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Wildcat JV Midseason Report

2006-10-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

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!

West Ranch Wildcats 36, Grace Brethren Lancers 6

2006-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

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.

West Ranch Wildcats 36, Duarte Falcons 0

2006-09-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

And it just keeps going.

In a contest very similar to the Hamilton game, your Wildcats romped all over the Falcons and won it in a walk.

Going in at halftimee 24-0, we pledged to spread the offense, practice the various things we could do. We also managed to get a huge number of players in the game, and had many of them get the ball.

We used all three quarterbacks, two different fullbacks, three tailbacks, three tight ends, and half a dozen receivers on offense. We had eleven different players get the ball, if memory serves.

Although we played well, it is getting to be a bit of a challenge getting the team up for each game. They are forming the impression that they can win even if they don't play hard, and I don't want that. It has nothing to do with winning--it is about learning that hard work, in any endeavor, is worth it.

West Ranch Wildcats 30, Pasadena Bulldogs 6

2006-09-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

So, another one bites the dust.

This was much closer in the first half: we were only up 6-0 when we went in at halftime. True, we had marched down the field for some long drives only to sputter in the red zone, and we were in command of the game, but we hadn't converted that command into points.

Our defense held firm against a very slippery Pasadena team. I'm quite proud of our defensive unit managing to contain their runners and quarterback as well as they did.

Offensively, we managed to get it together in the second half and put the game away early.

The big scare of the night was when our starting quarterback was literally knocked out of the game. He lost consciousness for a few moments and had to be helped off. His family took him to the hospital, and I asked the dad to contact me. Most likely, the player will have a concussion.

Our #2 quarterback is a new guy we have been training. At one point, we wanted to see what he could do, so we let him air it out.

45 yard touchdown throw.

Okay, so we don't really lose a lot with this guy.

The real interesting thing about the night was the officiating.

It wasn't the typical "bad call" thing (though there were some, what are you going to do? It happens) but the philosophy of the referee crew.

At one point, the ball was marked ready for play, and we charged off our sideline to take up formation and go. Once the ball is marked ready, the ref blows his whistle, game on. We come out like the highly disciplined team we are to find Pasadena just sort of standing around. So great, we're gonna catch them off-guard.

Tweet!

Referee moves in to prevent us from starting until they are ready.

I shout out, "You've marked the ball ready for play!"

Ref comes back with, "Coach, I'm not going to let you take advantage of them."

That one sort of stunned me. I've never heard that. The whole POINT of the game is taking advantage of them! They couldn't seem to stop our off-tackle run, so we used it a lot. That's taking advantage of them. We weren't violating a rule or even the spirit of a rule by charging out, gung-ho, ready to play.

That happened on the first play. I should have known I should have shut up.

Later in the game, the referee called me to the center of the field and told me to turn around. This, again, I had never seen before. Usually the ref comes to the coach. I was being SUMMONED to the center. And then told to turn around. I was then admonished for pointing out the calls they were missing.

"Coach, we can't catch everything. All I have heard is complaining out of you. There are ony three referees today: if you had wanted a fourth, you should have paid for one."

I'm pretty proud of my comeback.

"We're the visitors. We don't pay for refs: the home team does."

"Coach, go back to the sideline and shut up."

So I did.

Later, our coaching staff got a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. And this one, too, I have never heard.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"I don't like the whole tenor of the sideline."

Again, I am aghast. I ask for clarification so we know what we're not supposed to do, and he tells me one of my coaches was coaching the players in a way he didn't like.

I was then warned that I was about to be thrown out of the game.

Gentle Reader, I think I am a nice guy. But I had had it with them. I decided it would not look so hot if I were thrown out, so I decided not to talk to the refs any more.

Still, a coaching first for me.

And, as always, I'm glad you asked.

Next week: Duarte! (Not sure of their mascot: the Fighting Evitas perhaps)

West Ranch Wildcats 56, Hamilton Bobcats 16

2006-09-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well then.

We knew we were in for a bit of a blowout right away.

Put it this way...with exactly three minutes gone in the game (9:00 left in the first quarter) we had run ONE offensive play.

West Ranch 16, Hamilton 0.

Received the kickoff, fair return. Ran one play. 65 yard touchdown. 2-point conversion. Kicked off to them, they ran a 3-and-out series, punted.

Return punt for touchdown. 2-point conversion.

So.

it was 32 to 0 at halftime, and we had stopped trying hard to score and were more or less working on our offense. We put in our second unit players (the guys who back up the main players and who don't usually get in much) and were planning to go the rest of the game with them.

When they gave up 16 points (two touchdowns and a field goal) inside of eight minutes, and had produced NOTHING on offense, we had to go back to the number ones when the score was 32 to 16 and Hamilton was threatening to come back.

I'm afraid I got to be a bit of a meanie when I told my guys to "get back in there and punish these miserable Hamilton bastards for daring to think they had a shot."

So we scored a lot.

Look, I'm not trying to run the score up, but fer God's sake...my number two unit is just awful, and my number ones are fantastic. I could train the two's to get better, but at the cost of not continuing to drill the one's.

Oh, well. A good win, I guess. Those of you who are counting, here are some stats on the year:

Points for: 98 (avg. 49 per game)
Points against: 28 (avg. 14 per game)
Record: 2-0
My lifetime record (I looked it up from my previous years, and lo and behold, I hit a little milestone tonight): 30-12. (win pct .714)

Next Week: Pasadena High School!

As always, I'm glad you asked.

West Ranch Wildcats 42, Mojave Mustangs 12

2006-09-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we got the jitters out.

After falling behind early 6-0, West Ranch managed to score 42 unanswered points in almost every way possible Friday night in the High Desert. Mojave scored six points at the tail end of the game against West Ranch's reserve unit players.

Now, the technical stuff for any of you who care.

We noticed early that when we moved our tight end from one side of the formation to the other, they overreacted by moving their front four, sending their free safety to the line of scrimmage to the tight end side, and rotating their rover to the tight end side. In other words, they had left their weak side (the side without the tight end) lightly defended because they were so worried about the strong side (the side with the tight end)

Two quick touchdowns later (one breakaway run for 60 yards, one breakaway run for 45, I think it was) Mojave stopped doing that.

Our defense was too aggressive at the start: we were flying through their line like missiles, and as a result could not tackle their backs. We were out of control and missing them. So we made the adjustment to rush under control, and strated trapping their runners. With nowhere for them to go, it was much easier to tackle them.

We got a boost from our special teams: after a kickoff of ours, their deep man coughed up the ball in a big pile. One of our quick-thinking kickoff cover players scooped it up and ran it in for 6.

We also intercepted one of the Mustang passes and ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown.

So, we start out of the gate pretty well, I think.

Next Week: Hamilton High!

I May Have Gone Too Far...

2006-09-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hello, folks.

I've been a bit busy with one thing and another, but as the football season is just about to start, I thought I'd convert this into a sort of update on my team and their progress. I apologize to those of you for whom this is a change for the worse; for the rest, well, I'm glad you asked.

The Junior Varsity West Ranch Wildcats had their first scrimmage against a very tough John Burroughs High School team. The scrimmage was unscored and was in a 10-play series format, so it is difficult to gauge a winner. I believe we each scored the same number of times as the other, but Burroughs turned the ball over more frequently, including an interception on our goal line that we returned 70 yards. So, I think it's safe to say we "won" in a squeaker.

As to the title of this post, I was interviewed by the local newspaper a few days ago. The article ran on the 31st of August, but I did not read it. I generally don't like to read myself in the paper for fear I said something stupid.

The reporter had asked me all kinds of questions, and as is usual, he took only some of the material and crafted a "theme" report.

I won't tell you the theme of the article right now, but I'll give you the first two lines. That ought to make the title of this post make some sense.

"Sean O'Brien isn't here to play games.

He's here to win them."

Ouch. Anyway, if you are interested, here is the link to the entire article. I think I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew here, but we'll see.

http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=32461&format=html

The Wildcats play their season opener against Mojave (yes, as in, Mojave desert) Friday, September 8th, 4:00 pm. Any of you who wish to come out, let me know; I'll leave some tickets at will call. :)

Who Sayz Futball Playerz Are Dum?

2006-05-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's the setup:

In spring football, we don't wear pads. We wear a uniform--we alternate between solid navy shirts and white shirts. We were in the navy ones on this day. No numbers, no decoration--just a plain navy UnderArmor shirt.

Since we all look alike, we use vests (they look like road worker vests, except they come in navy and they come in yellow) to differentiate offensive players and defensive players. I had huddled the offense up and had instructed the defense to put on the vests.

I've got my back turned to the defense as I am instructing the offense. "Okay. We're going to go with Left King, Blue 931. So tight end, you need to get out there, outside release, get out to 13 and a half yards, make your break. Got it?"

The players nod.

I turn to see if the defense is ready with the vests.

They have put the vests on.

The navy ones.

The ones that were the exact same color as their shirts.

I buried my face in my hands.

"Guys...the vests are so we can tell the difference between offense and defense."

No reaction from the defense.

"So...with both sides in navy shirts..."

The middle linebacker finally seems to get it, and heads to the supply bag, taking off his navy vest, muttering, "I told you guys!"

My God...it was funny.