It is homecoming weekend here…..I have some pictures of the boys in the parade that I’ll post later on. And they don’t do anything special for homecoming for the youth games….but for the first time all year Matthew plays and then the game is followed by Cpher’s game.
Matthew: Won 24-8 against Holt. First win of the year! (Varsity, after all of the coaching upheaval, also got their first win of the year Friday night).
I have video from both games; did not sit up in the press box but focused on the boys exclusively. Will post that later this week (I am out in Indianapolis for 3 days and 2 nights so should have some blogging-video time on my hands).
We did get some pictures.
since Matthew doesn’t really run the ball anymore (I think he had 2 carries for 4 yards) and because he is staying home and covering the middle of the field as linebacker, well, there aren’t many pictures of him in action. But, 24 points mean that there was a lot of kicking. Three for three on extra points. This is the first…
Next year this play is live…..watching Cpher’s games teams have had mixed success at the conversion. There is one crucial key to it, and the next photo shows it….
You absolutely have to get the ball high quickly. And Matthew does that.
I was watching practice Thursday night…they were practicing kickoffs and onside kicks. And one thing was pretty obvious….aside from Matthew’s ability to boot the ball a long distance. He can kick a very repeatable onside kick. You know what the kick is going to do and where it is going to do it.
So the coaches made the decision that our first three(!) kicks of this game would be onside kicks. This is the second one (I think)….the first one Matthew hit like he always does….it bounces bounces and then kicks very high in the air and our team couldn’t run on to it and it went out of bounds.
This one bounced bounced and then kicked up very high and our team did run onto it…..
The third one bounced bounced and then kicked up very high….we just missed it as it went out of bounds again. Those out of bounds plays work out pretty good; you can either take the ball where it goes out of bounds or back us up 5 yards and re-kick. Most of the teams just take the ball.
Another extra-point sequence. Mom has confided that these cause her a great deal of stress and anguish. Much like Kevin (who says being on stage is nothing to him, no nervousness, nothing) Matthew reports that this is ‘no big deal’.
(critical to a good kick. do not let go of the ball. Pretty clear here that our holder did just fine)
And Matthew sails it through….
The only non-kicking photo of the bunch.
Really doubt Matthew will be playing football next year….he found this year to be very frustrating and complained mightily about going to practice, whether that was after soccer or just on its own. Does want to kick. I have no idea how to make that happen without signing up for the whole thing. Will have to investigate that possibility quite a bit next August (would love to have him kick for Cpher’s team….the 7th graders don’t have a good consistent kicker and it would knock down the number of separate events on the calendar).
Cpher: Lost 12-0 to Holt. To a team that the other 7th grade team had beaten handily. Just not a good outing.
There will be no wimpy kicking photos here….all meat and potatoes on the lines. I don’t think Christopher was very aggressive or active on defense for the first quarter and a half….but after that I think he did just fine….there was a stretch in the fourth quarter where he was in on every tackle. I think this picture is from the first quarter though (I know it was, Suzanne was gone by halftime since we had to get ready to go to a JNL bowling party after the the game). He’s holding his own here, but, that might be part of the problem. Because just holding your own isn’t enough if you’re Cpher size….you should probably be dominating.
The first in a sequence….Cpher trying to deal with the big fast guy to the outside…
and he gets out to the side well….
and he engages the guy….
and that’s that. This guy is getting nothing further out of this play.
On offense, holding your own is basically the name of the game. And matched up against two of the bigger guys on Holt’s line (84 here and that 57 from the defensive picture earlier) you did not hear those two guys called out as making the plays on defense.
Sadly, you heard one number over and over. 99. And I was only taping Cpher so didn’t really see what was happening on the other side of the line….finally looked over there later in the game and it was just getting caved in on play after play after play.
The big tackle on a day of tackles….this is a punt return. And the guy has juked and weaved by four guys to turn right into Cpher. You could hear the smack of pads as Cpher hit him ring out from the field.
…he went no further.
It has been a frustrating year for the team….and Cpher is becoming extremely frustrated with the head coach. I don’t think it is Cpher’s play that is frustrating the coach; I think it is the coach’s expectation that Cpher could be doing much more with his size and strength.
I’d have to agree with the coach though….Cpher could be doing a lot more with his size and strength. But I understand how frustrating this season has to be for the coaches……and there are bigger problems than Cpher on this team.
And maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder….Cpher is going to miss next week because we will be in Chicago for Matthew’s soccer tournament. Suzanne and I have talked extensively on how to manage Matthew’s tournament and not have Cpher miss this game….the team is in shambles right now and I can’t even imagine what the OL blocking is going to be like without Cpher there. But, as Suzanne says, how can the team get much worse than it is now?
Was talking with another Dad after the game….I can’t name one play this team can run consistently that would gain three yards. That might say everything about how this team is doing.
