Miner_Pride

Well I'm sure a lot will want to watch rather than here... but... thats unfortunate. worse than that.. I thought.. and still worry.... there were several that did make that drive... so anyone could bring it back. The TC AD said most the Linton folks did not have masks in the stands... I hope he was exaggerating..

Oh Dang.... I wonder how this affects our radio broadcast... or any other broadcast. I might go crazy not being at the game ! Holy Hell....

NOrth Posey is much more pass orientated that anyone Linton has faced in several weeks. Harold Bender has passed for 1,372 yards and 17 TDs. THe Vikings will have height with a couple 6'2" receivers. Looks like they spread the field. After Linton's recent performances on defense against the run, I don't think 24 points will happen unless we have some breakdowns in the secondary giving NP some big plays.

Despite all the Love we have for each other year round (LOL!!) I always pull for the local teams... and those on our schedule to do well in the tourney. Hard to say that I wish well to the Arrows... but in truth, I do. But I live in Vincennes too.. so, the Alices prolly get my support this week. As for NK.. yeah I'd love to see them represent and love to see them get the Win... and of course love to see the Miners and Warriors duke it out again. It'll be a tall order, but they play the games for a reason. Last year I thought NK played MD pretty good early on... but hard to keep MD down, they are very disciplined and very well coached. they CAN'T have the start we (Linton) had down at the Reitz Bowl!!! I always look forward to the crazy formations NP brings.... do they still do that???

I know we Miner folk are pulling for the Raiders each week! At least I am. No disrespect meant for the Titans...... I just like Southridge's program and people!

To be honest... I don't think I've ever predicted a score of any game. I think it's a given that Linton and Mater Dei are going to be favorites in both games. I think it helps Linton to be playing at home, and certainly helps North Knox playing at home too. Mater Dei is the perennial favorite in Sect 40. The Warriors are playing their best football of the year right now, but MD has faced opponents week in and out...and more pointedly beaten or been in games with then all. If NK can get that ground game to work and grind it out, I give them a shot... but if MD gets up a couple scores and NK has to play catch-up I think it will be the Wildcats. For Linton, they also are playing very well. North Posey is too... but the competition in these last couple weeks is vastly different. Linton can't afford to slack or look ahead... that would be my biggest fear this week. I don't think Mater Dei should look ahead either.

This is very true... but I would be very willing to state that I think Linton would be a vastly improved team both sides of the ball. Course, I realize Southridge could be just as much improved. Being the 1st game of the year for both teams you know you are gonna come out learning about your team and what areas need looked at. Linton made a couple changes the following week and saw positive results immediately. I have much respect for the Raiders.. love the program and what they are all about. I we continue to have them on our schedule. But I do think it would be a bit more of a game it we met this week.. I could be totally wrong too LOL!! LOL.. too much information for you?!?! Just print it and read it in the bathroom... or use it as TP is necessary LOL! ... I can't apologize.. I just like to talk!

I'd say North Knox is playing as well as they have all season. BUt it will certainly take a mistake free game from the Warriors. They'll need long sustaining drives that eat the clock, and not get behind the chains. While the passing game has improved, MD faces some big time passing teams in the course of their season... heck, they face big time running teams as well. I'll certainly be pulling for the Warriors in this game.... no offense to the WIldcats... nothing but respect for what they face and do year in and out; Hey!! good luck to those Senators!!

Absolutely no question that competition level favors Mater Dei... really against any 2A school in the southern part of Indiana. We (all the other small 2A's) try and get some games on our schedule to try and be better challenged... but even so... it will never match MD facing who they face. Heck Whiting and Indian Creek are no slouches... but yeah Jasper is the real deal.. and Lincoln is a good team too... just facing a whole lot more talent in the SIAC than the BIG 8 on a week to week basis.

Seems to me that a lot of the talk I heard pre game with Linton was how the 2019 team wasn't expected to do much... that they thought 2020 was going to be better... but as I look as last year's MD lineup against us... I see the the QB Happe, and RB McGrew and Boring, not to mention Kassenbrock and Schnur, plus 3 O linemen graduated on o... and Folz at LB, 3 of 4 starting Dlinemen, and 3 of 4 DB's including Lannert graduated. Certainly Alex Money and Nolan Knight are both back.... but yeah looks like they had a lot to replace...

Greetings all.... First of all... I want to express how badly I felt and still feel for the kids and school.. and the fans of Tell City High School. Clearly this was a year they were very high on with such a large group of seniors, and were having the season they thought they'd have heading into week 9 with the sectional draw laid out in front of them. When I got there for the broadcast, I was told that the Virus had exploded in the community in the last 10 or so days. However, teamwise, they were going to have 4 of the 5 players back that they had lost for the South Spencer game.. but had lost 1 more starter. So they were down 2. At about an hour before kick-off we learned they were going to be without 16-17 players and down to 21 dressed for the game against Linton. All of us.. including the Miners, felt bad. Nobody wants to beat a team that isn't at it's full strength. We respect was TC has done this year, and wanted it to be mano a mano... best vs best. When the warmups started I paid careful attention to who was out there for the Marksmen, and soon realized they would still have the bulk of their starters playing. All of the backfield was present that I'd seen against Southridge and Princeton in the game films. All Five of the starting senior line was the same. What I saw missing were the double tight ends. In their place were two freshmen, so I know there was a definite loss without seniior Tight Ends Kaiser and Naviaux. It wasn't going to affect the passing game as one pass had been caught between the two starters. Defensively is where they had more missing starters, and really it was the Defensive Backfield. I don't think there was any of the 4 normal starters that I saw dressed. Course, in very wet and very windy conditions, passing was not going to be a factor in this game. Obviously Coach Webb and his staff had to make adjustments in positioning but again the 6'4 190 Kaiser at Safety was a big loss. he was the Marksmen's leading tackler, so in run support he would be hard to replace. But in saying this, Tell City still had some big players on the field in Mathena, Beckort, Miller, Strahly, Cooper, Rockwell, Lloyd and Braunecker. I'm sure they'd of felt better not having a couple freshmen out there.. but I wll say that Buckendahl was in on a lot of tackles from LB. Please .. Don't misunderstand me... I do realize that the whole thing was a downer to the TC folks... they couldn't practice together, and it put a lot of pressure on them going into a game many thought would be a hard fought to the wire result. But I guess what I want to say is that Linton played very well. They really battled on the inside and held a normally overwhelming run offense to a mere 91 yards on 36 attempts. Did it hurt to not have your starting blocking TE's out there? I'm sure it did, because there was nothing doing on the outside either. But I know it was also an outstanding defensive effort, and some coaching adjustments made this past week that really worked well. Putting ILB Eslinger at NT, bringing in Breneman in at that ILB Smith was a great move. I had Breneman was 12 tackles, Smith at 10 and Eslinger at 9. Eslinger had 3.5 TFL in the process, and definitely caused disruption in plays in the mudpit. Offensively. Linton broke several outside runs that were key to this win. Linton rushed for 318 yards. I was tough sledding for the Miners as well in the mush, and the TC defense were a tough bunch... #56 Mathena had 11 stops from DE, #1 Rockwell had several "just miss" plays in the backfield had 9 tackles, #28 Beckort with 9, #30 Buckendahl (a freshman) with 7. Beckort and Rockwell each had 3 TFL too. The "Just Misses" were huge because a couple of those ended up being huge runs. 56 yards by Miner QB Gennickss on the 2nd drive led to a miner score. Then a 56 yard jet sweep by Padgett put Linton at the Marksmen 21, and another score. Passing played no part in the game for Linton. Gennicks threw 4 times, hitting once on a mid level pass to Goodman that the senior broke some tackles to make a 19 yard play. Padget would also bust a 30 yard run to set up another score in the 3rd quarter from the 12, and Gennicks went 48 yards on a keeper up the middle for another score. The Marksmen tried going do the air, but it wasn't their strong point, not to mention the weather, and Linton ended up with 2 picks. The breaks went Linton's way for sure. The squib kicks on kick-offs were a problem for TC, and the opening kick of the 2nd half ended up being a Linton recovery... and that was big for TC just being down 13-0 at the time, then Linton punched it in again. And I think by that point you could see and feel the spirit fade abit from the Marksmen. I have a ton of respect for those kids who have gone through what they have these last couple weeks. It'll be "What if" for them forever. But I also think it was a great Linton game plan, and a great effort from that interior line in a what because a massive mudpit in the middle of the field. Keep in mind too... Linton lost perhaps our best down lineman on defense, and a starting OT all season when Donovan DeBruhl was hurt late in the 1st quarter with a leg injury. He ended up in an ambulance headed to Evansville... I don't know his status, but I know he was upbeat and really didn't want to leave... he wanted to support his teammates. What I hope now is that we can keep this Covid issue under control in Linton. Talking to the TC folks.. it just sorta hit. Now....what hurt the Marksmen was that any player had it....but the contact quarantine from someone they had been in contact with put so many players out. I don't think any of them actually have the Virus... so it's ashame that this cost many of the seniors a chance to play Friday. It can happen to Miner City just as quickly as it did to Tell City. But... I do feel Linton showed something in this game. I don't think it should be belittled by comments that this would have not been the outcome had TC had their full roster. That 318 rushing was against a talented group, and that 91 rushing yards TC had was with their all senior starting offensive Line in tact, and all their running weapons as well. So I congratulate Tell City on a heck of a year, and I know there is disappointment in how it played out, but a true dogfight in the trenches. I heard nothing but positive comments from the press box folks, and several Tell City fans.. so this is necessarily directed at them in any way. They had great class that night, I saw several handshakes and pats on the back.. and I admit to feeling a bit of sadness as they brought each senior off after a play and the home crowd showed their appreciation. Now we just hope and pray the Virus can stay away from Linton. Best wishes to the Tell City players, coaches and the town itself. We were treated to great by the Tell City staff... really... in the press box it was total class. Miner Pride

Anyway-- I figured I’d get some info... some reading stuff about Linton so you have a feel for how things are going as we head into this very good Tell City Team. I know they lost last week but that would not have happened without 5 of their kids quarantined last minute. 3 of those 2-way starters. I would not have thought South Spencer would win anyway... but they hit a couple long TD passes in the 3rd. Everyone talks about the marksmen's defense understandably so... until last week they had not given up more than 17... and actually had not let anyone score other than Southridge (14) and North Posey (17). That Southridge game was a dogfight. TC was stopped on a 4th down late in the game in Southridge territory... but a bad snap over QBs head gave TC a chance... they had to drive about 60-70 yards. . converted a long 4th down... had to pass which they don't do... and scored on a pass right at the end. But the ran a 2-point play and got stuffed. We lost 28-0 to Southridge, and could not do anything offensively. Defense actually did play well. But....that was week 1. Linton is much better than in week 1, and better than they showed against NK a few weeks back. I think every week Linton had improved in various aspects of the game until the NK game. The following week we learned nothing from slamming Eastern, but I think going to Providence and dominating them as they did show the team had re-focused... with some changes along the way. Coaches are still moving kids around, and some kids are just coming into their own at the right time. There is so much more depth now, and more one way players... altho I think we will see the best 11 on the field on both sides of the ball this week regardless. Tell City starts 9 seniors on offense. the Line is all seniors. Defense goes with 8 seniors. Linton and TC are alike in that both have 4 players that carry the ball effective, and any of the four could be the start that night. With Linton it starts with Hunter Gennicks at QB (since week 2). He was 572 yards 10 TDs in 98 carries. . tops in all three categories. Drew Smith is more the up the middle tough yards guy, with 390 on 71. Trey Goodman, the QB last year, and for most of the year prior, moved to WB (on his suggestion) in week 2, and had 404 yards on 81 carries 7 TDs. Kaolin Padgett is the fastest Miner, finally allowed to play in week 3. he's added 344 yards on 41 touches and 4 scores. All of these guys are at 5 or more yards per carry. All are underclassmen with exception of Goodman. For the Marksmen it's the opposite as 3 of their 4 backs are seniors. The lone junior is QB Aden Dodson. They line up in a wishbone style set up, double tight ends... everything tight. But they also do the double wing with the same personnel, as well as spread out putting 4 receivers double wide. #11 Keaton Lloyd leads the team in rush yards with 499 and 6 TDs on just 33 carries while #22 Bren Miller adds 395 yards 6 scores on a team high 65 carries. The FB is Hunter Backport #28 with 41 carries 200 yards and 3 scores. Dodson adds 220 yards and 47 touches with a team high 7 scores. Both teams are heavy running teams: Linton 2,013 yards 223.67 per game, Tell City 1,750 yards 250.0 per game. Linton has 30 rushing TD's, while TC has 26. but look at the rushing attempts... Linton 314 Tell City 315!! Neither team could say they have a strong passing game, but the numbers show Linton to have an edge; Dodson has only thrown 22 passes in the 8 games I have on file. He is 9 of those 22 for 166 yards, 4 TDs (which proves the defense is certainly not looking for the pass!) and 1 INT. The bulk of this passing came in 2 games. one was 4-5 for 72 against woeful Springs Valley, but the other was in that tough loss to Southridge. Dodson was forced to go the air on the final TD drive and did complete some big passes, including the TD score to Lloyd. he was 3 of 6 for 63 yards in that game. They didn't pass at all in 2 games, and he was 2 for 11 in the other three. In short... they don't pass because they haven't had too, but it looked like they could in those final minutes against Southridge. They went in to a passing set with a SE to either side usually Miller and #21 Reinecker... and put #11 Lloyd in a slot. He seems to be the go to guy...as has 4 of the catches and both 2 TDs 981 yards). They have a big TE in #15 Kaiser 6'4 190.. but he has no catches that I see, although I did see him at SE one on one in several other games…. Big target at 6’4. I am sure the Miners will play to stop the run and force the pass... or at lease see if the passing game is viable. For me... this means we will get burned on at least one long TD pass. Now Linton has been working on the passing game all season. We have double digit pass attempts in 7 of 9 games and at least 7 in each. I know that's not mind-blowing numbers, but for Linton it is LOL. Anytime you can add success ...even mild success... at passing it really helps set up the run success. The problem has been consistency. One game Gennicks in on target and we can get 120 to 190 yards in the air. But on another game or even within the game itself he will be just off a bit, or we get dropped passes. Teams do not expect Linton to pass....so the opportunity is usually there. I also think Gennicks is maturing...as he has learned to throw the ball away... and even just eat it and take the sack rather than try to force something. Goodman tried to force in week one and threw 3 key picks against Southridge that directly led to 14 points. Hunter is 52 of 101 passing 51.5%, for 830 yards. He's also hit on 13 TD passes against just 2 interceptions. Main receiver is #24 Eli Poe, with 24 catches 315 yards 5 TD. He's a lanky kid with good hands and goes after the ball. Of course the wingbacks are part of the passing- Goodman with 13 for 191 and 2 TD, Padgett 4 for 113 and 2 TD, and even Smith with a couple screens in 3 catches for 44 yards. We have been using the TE as well... and have a couple of them... Levi Grounds (#8) 2 for 26 and Bracey Breneman (#44) caught 36 yards score last week. #12 Hunter Johns comes in at WB as well, and he has 2 catches for 45 yard and a score. I think it will be key for Linton to complete some short passes and loosen up that Tell City defense because I am sure they will load the box. Also, key will be if Gennicks has time to roll out and see the field. An advantage I feel to Linton is Gennicks open field running.... ability to elude, and those bootlegs are scary for defenses. He sometimes shows flashes of Tyler Meurer in those situations... but just a sophomore. In fact, in all those names I've mentioned... only Goodman and Grounds are seniors. QB 14 Gennicks, Hunter 10 5'10 175 RB 13 Smith, Drew 11 6'2 215 RB 15 Goodman, Trey 12 6'1 175 WB 7 Padgett, Kaolin 11 5'8 160 TE 17 Goodman, Cameron 11 6'3 200 WR 24 Poe, Eli 11 6'1 160 RB 12 Johns, Hunter 10 5'8 170 RB 2 Eslinger, Gabe 11 6'0 195 TE 44 Breneman, Bracey 11 5'11 185 OL 8 Grounds, Levi 12 5'10 205 QB 2 Dodson, Aden 11 5'11 170 RB 22 Miller, Bren 12 5'11 195 FB 28 Beckort, Hunter 12 5'9 160 RB 11 Lloyd, keaton 12 6'0 175 TE 15 Kaiser, Nigel 12 6'4 190 TE 12 Naviaux, Jaxon 11 5'9 145 LT 58 Wilgus, Ross 12 6'2 219 LG 56 Mathena, Dylan 12 6'5 235 C 60 Kirtley, Will 12 5'9 220 RG 55 Stahly, Alec 12 6'1 195 RT 76 Bolin, Chance 12 6'3 285 Up front Linton has been battling some level of minor injuries the last couple weeks. My understanding is that everyone is ready to go this week. It has been consistent, but coached keep searching and building depth. Seniors and brothers Landon and Damien Giles have been mainstays at Tackle and Center. Damien has missed the last 2 games with a shoulder. He was dressed last week but didn't see action but for a couple plays on defense. In week 3 soph Wrigley Franklin got the start at Guard and has been there ever since... another soph, and younger brother of the Giles twins... Aiden has been at Tackle all year. Junior Donovan DeBruhl has been solid at Tackle as well. But even better has been the development of depth. Jurnior Dalton Carpenter is as much as starter as anyone. He stepped in to start at Center in his freshman season in the post-season, and started all year last year. He has started 2 or 3 games this year when anyone has missed time. Levi Grounds is a senior who played O line all through high school, but rarely saw action. In fact, he was down with a back injury all of last year. He made the switch to Tight End and started there all year until last week when suddenly he was back in a lineman's jersey and starting at Center against Providence! So, there are 7 guys who can step in and play and we feel we don't lose anything. Tell City has an all-senior offensive line. Here is who I saw starting a couple weeks back... Linton LT 56 Giles, Aiden 10 6'2 230 LG 51 Franklin, Wrigley 10 6'2 220 C 69 Giles, Damien 12 6'2 220 RG 57 Giles, Landon 12 6'2 230 RT 58 DeBruhl, Donovan 11 6'0 275 OL 61/8 Grounds, Levi 12 5'10 205 OL 77 Carpenter, Dalton 11 5'10 215 Defense is the supposed specialty of the Tell City squad- The area that I hear people talk about. I don’t have much in the way of numbers because the opponents haven’t posted much, in fact just 4 games. I know they have 5 shutouts, and held Southridge to 14 points. Southridge rushed for 249 against Linton, 185 against Tell City. I know that South Spencer connected on a few big pass plays… but that 2 of the key defensive backfield guys were out last week. They area led in tackles by Kaiser the big 6’4 kid at safety with 45. The two ILB area next with Miller (38) and Beckort (32). DE Braunecker (29) Mathena (25) and Rockwell (21) round out the top 6. Miller has 2 picks of a team total 5, and 5.0 TFKL. Rockwell leads in TFL with 6, and in Sacks with 3 (team 7). They had a strange formation they used against Southridge where 3 of the 5 d linemen stood up. Linebackers had the two (28 and 22) with 11 behind them in a triangle. However against Princeton and S.Spencer it looked more traditional looks. #77 Arthur Cooper a 6’0 298 Senior was at DT in a lot of plays I saw. Linton Defense has looked like the above. Damien Giles is in as much as Carpenter.... they seem to rotate. It’s highly possible that we will be in a 5-3. We ran this a lot earlier in the year with Carpenter at NT… Smith leads the team with 79 tackles but Eslinger has come on strong. He missed the ½ the Sullivan and all the Never game with an MCL sprain. Since coming back he’s stayed on the defensive side. He had 16 tackles last week… and has had 8.5 TFL the last 2 games. He has 71 tackles, and 15 for loss including 3 sacks. Grounds has really stepped up this year at DE. He has been our pressure guy on QBs, has 6.5 sacks, 7 hurries as well as 29 tackles. Jaydan Miller has also been a key cog in this defense at Safety with 46 tackles. Padgett has 5 interceptions, the Miners as a team have 12. We will rotate guys quite a bit with both Giles brothers in the game, and Breneman spells both Smith and Eslinger at times. Goodman seems to be in on obvious passing downs. I should mention that #17 Cameron Goodman (Jr 6’3 200) played the whole game last week at DE… prolyl the starter. He missed most all the year with an injury. He’s been special teams a couple weeks, then coaches said he had a tremendous practice week pre-Providence and he started at TE and DE! My guess is that TC will come out just like NK did, and see if we can stop their run game. It will be interesting to see if we learned anything from that NK situation. I know the intensity factor will be raised compared to that game, but I know that 2.5 hours in a bus can deflate emotion pretty quick. Even though most folks know TC was without 5 starters last week, and would have won with them… it still prolly sticks in their crawl to lost to 1-6 South Spencer. So that will likely serve as motivation going into Friday. I think Linton would have benefitted from a 49-6 TC win Friday more than the loss the Marksmen had. All year we’ve had trouble with passing teams. We do well for most the time, but there always seems to be a couple breakdowns that wind up being big scores for the opposition. The DBs are gonna have to be safe against that. A 5-man front means just 3 DB’s…. although Johns at OLB and Goodman if he is in… are both former CB’s…. The other issues I think big in this game is protection for Gennicks. TC has a stunt defense. I think we may have trouble with an inside game. I think we could have trouble with TC disrupting the counter traps and things Linton typically runs if they can drive our lineman back. Being able to pass the ball to hold back that rush might be the thing that gives the Miners an edge. If we get dominated up front… well could be a long night, and a long trip home.

Miners Face Tough Test at 6-2 Tell City To Kick-Off Post-Season The 8 teams in 2A Sectional 40 range from winless 0-5 Crawford County and 2-7 South Spencer to the regular favorites 5-4 Evansville Mater Dei and 6-3 Linton. This year you have to add 6-2 Tell City to that list of favorites, and certainly 5-2 North Knox. 5-3 North Posey and 6-3 Forest Park round out a group that has 6 of its 8 teams with winning seasons. Most folks around these parts of southwestern Indiana have put the Marksmen and of course the Wildcats at the top of the list of favorites, and the draw set up that very scenario. That is, unless, The Miners, Warriors, or even the Vikings or Rangers have a chance to change those thoughts. North Knox travels to Ferdinand to face a team on the rise in the Forest Park Rangers. Their 6-5 2019 season was their first +.500 season since an 8-3 2010. The Rangers first full season was actually 2008, so that was a relative quick rise to success, but playing in the tough PAC year in and out took its toll on the Rangers playing the likes of Gibson Southern, Heritage Hills, Southridge, as well as Perry Central. At 6-3 the Rangers are coming in off a 38-0 shellacking from unbeaten 3A Southridge. That ended a 3 game winning streak over 3A Pike Central (49-6), 1A Springs Valley (41-26) and 2A South Spencer (42-7). However those teams have a cumulative 3-21 W-L record. Against winning programs the Rangers still have much to prove. In addition to the Southridge loss, they fell 25-0 to Tell City (6-2), and 29-20 to Mt. Vernon (5-2). Their big win this year was in week 2’s 41-12 win over 1A 6-3 Perry Central. North Knox is coming off their best year of Warrior Football (8-4) since 2014, and reached the sectional championship game last year falling to Mater Dei 35-6. The Warriors have been warriors this year battling the Covid issue losing games last minute and adding games the next minute, still ended up playing only 7 of the 9 scheduled games. They’ve won 3 in a row, including last week’s 42-0 romp over 4-3 4A Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, 49-17 over 4-4 1A North Daviess, and the gem of their year a 27-14 win over Linton. Their first win over Linton since 2009. They lone losses came in week 1 to 3A 6-3 Sullivan 48-19, and in a late added game against 2A 5-4 Rensselaer Central 35-19. The Warriors and Rangers have met up twice in the last three years I post-season. NK won last year 25-0 at Warrior Field, with the Rangers winning in 2017 27-14 at the same place Many folks casually scanning scores last Saturday morning we no doubt stunned by the 35-26 result of South Spencer knocking off previous 6-1 Tell City. I admit, hearing that score on the Sports Talk network on the car radio coming home from Clarksville stunned me. Briefly. But I knew there had to be more to that story and there was. Tell City was without 5 starters, and 3 of those were 2-way starters, and this happened last minute, so the Marksmen were hampered severely. This was evident on 3 pass plays accounting for scores…essentially blown coverages that one would assume would not have occurred with their normal senior starters in the game. Meanwhile the Miners have won 2 in a row, a 56-0 slashing of Eastern Greene (1A 1-8) , and last week’s long road trip to defeat Providence 27-7 (2A 3-5). At 6-3 their big win of 2020 was a 22-16 overtime thriller of 3A 5-3 Sullivan. The 3 losses have come to unbeaten 3A Southridge (28-0), to 4-3 4A Boonville 44-42 in Overtime, and 27-14 to 5-2 2A North Knox. The Marksmen, under first year coach Mac Webb, are 6-2. The 6 wins are the most for the program in a single year since a 6-4 2013, and before that a 6-4 2006 season. You have to go back to 2000 to see a high win total- 8-4 in 2000. Linton has had only 1 losing season (5-6 2018) in the last 20 years. Brian Oliver has been at the helm 8 years with a 79-20 mark over-all. Both schools lost to Southridge, but Tell City’s was down to the wire (14-12) while Linton was blanked in week 1 (28-0). Course week one was a long time ago. Both teams should be at full strength tonight, as it should be. Linton and Tell City despite being in southern Indiana, have only met one time to my knowledge. In Linton’s 2015 run to a runner up 1A trophy Linton ran over the Marksmen 76-8 in the opening sectional round at Linton. South Spencer truly has nothing to lose in playing Evansville Mater Dei tonight. I am pretty sure that nobody will have the Rebels in this game. When you consider the 5-4 Wildcats, under 25th year coach Mike Goebel, you have to look into their schedule. It’s said year in and year out- they are a 2A school playing a 3A-4A schedule. The SIAC is brutal for anyone, but Mater Dei is always in the hunt for top honors in Evansville. They are coming off a 40-20 handling of 4A 3-6 Evansville Reitz, and have won their last 4- including 49-15 over 4A Harrison (1-8), 56-6 over Bosse (0-8), and a huge 29-14 win over 5A North (5-4). Their 4 losses were to powerhouse programs in Southwestern Indiana. But even the losses were impressive in that twice they lost by only 3 points (6-3 to 5A Castle (5-3), 13-10 to 4A Memorial 6-3). The othes were Unbeaten 4A Central (21-0) and 28-14 to 4A Jasper (7-2). The Rebels under Jeff Daming in his first year at South Spencer were in the midst of a 4 game losing skid when they upset the 6 and now 2 Tell City Marksman last week in Reo. Despite the game facts given in the above paragraph, a win is still a win. The Rebels put up 35 points on a team who had given up on 34 all season long. It has to give the players at S.Spencer some confidence going into Evansville Friday. The other “W” came in week three with a 48-0 win over winless 3A Pike Central. They put up 28 in a 42-28 loss to 2-7 3A Princeton, but have had trouble putting points on the board against every one else (less that 7 points in each of 6 games). These teams have met in 2016 (56-20 Mater Dei; 2015 63-22 Mater Dei; 2012 42-0 Mater Dei; 2009 12-0 Mater Dei and 2007 35-13 Mater Dei and 4 more losses back to 1994). So yeah, it’s a big mountain to climb for the Rebels to shock the state, but never say never. The Vikings of North Posey are on a roll. They were 2-3 after back to back to back losses to Southridge (55-21) Tell City (35-17) and a tough double over time loss to Heritage Hills (35-34). But they are currently on a 3 game winning streak with wins over Tecumseh 27-15, South Spencer 27-7 and last week Pike Central 58-15. Now, we know the level of competition has been considerably different in those subsets. Those first three schools WL was 18-7, compared to the last three at 4-18 . Yet winning breeds a winning attitude too. The Vikings under 4th year coach Waylon Schenk started off with 2 wins--- 30-6 over South Spencer (yes, they played twice), and a 22-7 win over Princeton. The draw was very kind to them with the Wolfpack of Crawford Country being their first round opponent. Not offense meant for those kids trying to field a team in tough conditions in Marengo with low numbers as it is. But they have yet to have a winning season in their existence (starting in 2007). They’ve only tallied more that 2 wins in a season once (4 in 2008). They’ve played 5 games in 2020, losing each of them substantially, giving up 55 points a game. The lost last week to 1A Tecumseh 51-14, and have played some good teams in 6-3 3A North Harrison, 6-3 2A Paoli, and 6-3 1A Perry Central. I don’t see that these teams have met prior to this game. Coach Tony Bell is at the helm for Crawford County, and regardless of the outcome they should be applauded for keeping the program alive and those kids who go out an play full tilt every week. So there you have it. I think the NK-FP game along with the Linton TC game are the ones of interest tonight. The winner between the Warriors and Rangers will probably saddle up against Mater Dei. The Miners and Marksmen likely to face North Posey. My personal feeling is North Knox will be too much for the Rangers… but I haven’t seen Forest Park play. I am just looking at number crunching. The Linton Tell City matchup is enticing. I can’t help..even as a Miner guy… feeling uneasy that the Marksmen are such a power running team, and that even though that is the pride of Miner Football---shutting down rushing attacks… we got embarrassed with North Knox running all over the field. I have to feel the Linton kids are going to respond to that with a re-focus… and perhaps a bit of a wake-up call. The defense certainly played their best collective game last week against a solid Providence team. For the Marksmen… this is a big game for their program. They’ve been one and done in 9 of the last 10 sectionals. Only in 2000 have they reached the sectional championship (losing to of course mater Dei). Linton since moving up to 2A has at least won their first round, and have always been considered at least a dark horse if not a co-favorite most years. But yet, they’ve not been able to make noise in Sectional 48 with the win necessary. So it’s as big a game for the Miners as the Marksmen. I hope the weather doesn’t factor in things… but we’ve been awfully luck with weather this year! Good Luck to All Teams

Dang I had to search for this all the way to page 3 or 4! For once I have a little time to spare.... I will be watching how the Miners start this game. It's a long trek, and I recall the last time we went in 2018 we were down so fast in the first quarter.. other than last year's debacle with Mater Dei at the Reitz Bowl... it was prolly the worst start I had seen in my years... As has been stated-- at 3-4, folks who don't dig a little are going to think Linton at 5-3 has the edge... but yeah...Silver Creek, Floyd Central, Holy Cross are all very good programs. The loss to 3-5 Clarksville is a head scratcher I suppose... They graduated a lot of guys- 12; and by my calculations have just 2 offensive starters and only 1 back on defense. RB Jeremy Gettelfinger stands out on both sides. 800 rush yards this year... he didn't play against us in 2018 due to injury, but as a sophomore ran for 65 yards on 6 carries and a TD. At LB he is 3rd in tackles with 44. Jaxon Murphy is the QB, and likes to run... he has 80 carries 334 yards 5 TDs. There hasn't been a bunch of passing for the Pioneers... just 57 attempts... Murphy is 24 of 56 3 TDs 4 picks.. 42.9%, 7 of those to Carson Heldman #3 for 149, 6 to Gettelfinger for 71 and a score. #47 Kole Krininger at 5'11 190 is the Fullback...but lines up more like and H Back. Gettelfinger is 5'10 180 at RB, Murphy 5'8 160. The wideouts feature a freshman #28 Brian Wall at 6'0 140, and senior #18 Isaac Ohlmann at 5'11 160. These skill guys are all seniors other than Wall. So.. despite the fact there's only 2 returning starters... they still seem to be senior laden. The O line has 2 seniors... 1 returning starter in Senir #51 David Wall at 6'4 215 at Tackle. The other senior is 5'11 250 lb #77 Michael Vaughn. Center Jr #70 Devin Goodrow at 5'11 235; On the Right side in #63 Soph Grayson Abel 6'2 215 and #54 Roy Shrout a junior at 6'0 195. Linton is led by QB Soph Hunter Gennicks (#14 5'10 175) with 522 yards rushing, and 687 passing (46-92 11 TD, 2 INT). #15 Trey Goodman is one of 4 seniors on the offense, who was the starting QB his Sophomore and Junior Years... after the opening game of 2020 moved to WB and has 359 yards 6 TD on 70 carries. #7 Kaulin Padgett is the fastest back, and his 1st game was week 3, had 258 yards on 33 carries with 6 TD. The RB is Drew SMith with 55 carries for 311 yards... Smith at 6;2 215 in a grinder and a load to bring down. Any of those four could be the leading rushing in any game. The main receiver has been #24 Jr Eli Poe with 23 catches for 276 yards and 5 scores, but Goodman has 12 for 170 and Padgett has 2 TDs in his 3 catches for 87 yards. Hunter Johns, #12 a Soph, gets his nods as well with 102 rushing and 2 catches with 1 being a TD. The Miner oline are all 6'0 or more and start with senior brothers Damien and Landon Giles both at 6'2 and 230). Damien at Center, Landon at tackle. Sophs Aiden Giles (yes another brother) at 6'2 230 and #51 Wrigley Franklin (6'2 220) man the left side. at 6'0 275 pounds #58 Jr Donovan DeBruhl is at Right Tackle. Dalton Carpenter #77 jr 5'10 215 is basically another starter at Guard... he has been a starter as a Soph and Freshman as well. TE is also in the mix with #8 Levi Grounds 5'10 205 who has caught a TD pass as well. Providence defensively led by safety (as well as QB) Jaxon Murphy with 52 tackles. The Miners are led by Jr Drew Smith at ILB with 75 tackles, 6 for loss. LB's Craig Bratcher (jr 5'7 160) and Gettelfinger are at 46 and 44 tackles with Gettelfinger 7 tackles for loss. A lot of 2 way players for the Pioneers... 8. David Wall also stands out with 7 TFL at DE with 35 over-all tackles. Linton has a solid LB group with Smith-- #2 Jr Gabe Eslinger (6'0 195) with 55 tackles ,was the leading tackler last year as a soph. Johns and senior Braymon Lannon at at the outside backers. #32 Jr Jaydan Miller (5'8 150) has been solid at safety with 43 tackles. DeBruhl at DT with 33. Eslinger leads Linton with 11 TFL, and Padgett at CB has 4 of Linton's overall 12 intereptions (Poe with 3). In a game that could come down to PAT or FG's.... Linton really has not kicked the ball at all.. other than in 2 games!. Last week out of nowhere Miller kicked 6 of 7 PAT's... but I don't know that we won't go for two...as that seems to be the prevent move. Linton is 14 of 24 on 2 point plays. On the Providence side they have a designated kicker in #46 Nathan Sirby. He is 13 of 14 in PAT's... and hit on 2 of 4 Field Goals with a long of 36. One area Linton has been very good at is Red Zone... 26 of 29, and I think 2 of those that weren't scores were kneel downs at the end of a game. Linton needs to come out strong and be physical. For me this game is a must have.... because we have to get confidence going into sectional with another long long trip to Tell City... a team that has to be a favorite in Sectional 40. If we make that long trek to Clarksville to get handed our tails by the Pioneers.. I worry about the team going forward. The Pioneers are playing good with back to back wins over 1A Milan 29-21 and 2A Mitchell 34-16... they've won 3 of their last 4. Linton was a 3-1, but has gone 2-2 the last 4. The loss to North Knox was hopefully an eye opener, and yes we did see the Miners romp 56-0 last week... but over a 1-6 freshman laden Eastern Greene. Still... the Miners executed in both the run and pass, but still had things to correct in that win. QBs Murphy and Gennicks both run the ball well... can make moves in the open field and at tough runners. The Pioneers basically run Murphy and Gettelfinger with Krininger getting 4 touches a game. Linton will come at you with any of the four at any time, and certainly aren't afraid to pass the ball... it just hasn't been a consistent passing game. Linton has shown it can be done though, and that will be a huge plus to a usual run heavy team.

IT's a tough task to drive all the way to Tell City to face perhaps the best Marksmen team they;ve had for many many years. I would never doubt that Linton has a chance... but we sure are gonna need to do better in a lot of areas... and handle that long bus ride. We have a longer bus ride this Friday to Clarksville... so back to back hauls. I agree that the NKnox Forest Park game will be a good one to check out. Don't know much about the Rangers other than at 6-2... they've only beaten one team with a positive record (1A Perry Central (5-3))... but only lost 29-20 to Mt. Vernon Posey. Wins over Princeton, South Spencer, Tecumseh, SPrings Valley and Pike Central.. .with a combined 4-30 mark. Hard to tell how good they are, but in the past they lost games like those. North Knox beat Linton at Linton, and North Daviess 4-3.... but also has wins over 1-7 Eastern Greene and winless North Central. Seems to me that the Warriors have hit their stride these last couple weeks.... and picked up playing 4A 4-2 Indy Attucks not to mention a last minute pickup game with Rensselaer Central a few weeks back ( they lost, but still a quality opponent. Tell City sure looks good at 6-1... and that Southridge 14-12 loss came down to not making a 2 point play at the end of the game... nobody has come within 20 point of the Raiders all year. 5 Shutouts for that Marksmen defense in those 6 wins. Linton got run over by NKnox which surprised me, and alot of folks... but I know there will be a fire lit. I'll feel better or worse after tomorrow night's game at Providence. Obviously.... no matter the record... Mater Dei has to be at least a co-favorite just given on whom they play . Losses to 8-0 4A Evan. CEntral, 5-3 5A Castle by 3, 5-3 4A Memorial again by 3, and 6-2 4A Jasper... and beating 5-3 5A Evans North, as well as 3A Vincennes Lincoln... North Posey got lucky on the ping pong draw facing 0-4 Crawford County.... and should advance easy enough. But should they.. and be 5-3 ..remember those wins came twice over S.Spencer (1-7), then Tecumseh and Princeton (combined 3-10). I would say this sectional boils down to the winner of Linton Tell City facing Mater Dei in the final. And even tho I am a Miner guy.. Linton is gonna have to play very good to get past Tell City. I think NK will prevail over a much improved Ranger team, but Mater Dei is at another level.

I think Coaches and people like me.... we will be looking for execution. Eastern Greene is certainly having a down period, so it's a game where mistakes can be overcome and bad habits continue but still the scoreboard will lean heavy in Linton's direction. Coaching staff has been on the kids for some things all year.... and those things came back to bite us badly last week. I'm sure technique and assignments will be heavily drilled. I think too we will see several players out there... I think if someone does anything wrong....they are going to hear about it. OR.... I could be all wrong...! I do think there will be passing early and often. We simply have to get that aspect where it can benefit the rushing game. I tell you... it's so close too...

I would say so as well... but I do think a lot more thought will be put into a rematch should it happen. Mentally...hopefully, there will be realization that this isn't 'just' North Knox...a team we've beaten soundly year after year. Not that it would have made a difference Friday, but maybe it will down the road. Gonna have to find a way to defend it and make it work.

Well i wanted to congratulate the NK Warriors. I know this was a big win for them... and they did it with domination up front on both sides of the ball. Rarely have I seen my Miners on the receiving end of manhandling as I did Friday. Any you know that's hard to admit... but we simply could not stop certain plays all night. we haven't have 400+ rushing as a team on us since 1994. And by my totals 262 for Sheren was the most given up since 1994 as well. Impressed with Doades as well... and really #21 Boyd on Defense. I had him with 16 tackles... Certainly Beau Noland was a dominating player on both sides of the ball. Hammelman, Boyles, Brocksmith, Long.... and that young offensive line truly ran over us. Linton's offense was also stymied. We had a chance early on. A fumble that may or or may not have gotten the 5 yards on 4th down...and certainly the interception in the endzone on drive 2 would have been big for LInton... altho... we kept giving up the huge runs to Sherren, a couple to Doades, and of course one to Thorne. I really thought Linton would come out after the half and get it together...and the defense made the inital stop... just no offense. I think we had three 3 and outs to start 2nd half. ugh. I hope this serves as a huge wake-up call to my Miners that work still needs to be put in... We saw in last year's game that NK was coming on. Here's my opening paragraph in my Lintonian article. It was homecoming night at Roy Williams Field Friday night, but it felt anything like a typical Miner home game. It was the first Warrior win over Linton since 2009’s 15-7 loss at Warrior Field. It ended a stretch of 15 straight losses to the Miners. That loss had been the only loss in 25 meetings since 2000. It certainly was a big win for the Warrior football program having lost the last 10 meetings by a 46-6 nearly 40 points per game. To go further into numbers, it was Linton’s first home loss to the Warriors since I believe 1991, a 20 to 7 NK win. Considering that Sherren and Doades are both juniors and that 4 of the 5 offensive linemen are underclassmen including Noland all return; one wonders how the future will be between these old rivals. Linton has improved it seems week to week building towards an post-season run, but will have to rebound and refocus with a sectional 40 group that is much improved from 2019 including these same Warriors.

Yeah I listened to most of it on the way to a gig. I thought NK hung tough too... I didn't hear the last part.. I think it was maybe 21-14 when I shut down. I think Linton worked on a lot of aspects of their game against ND. A lot of guys got reps, and a couple in different spots. I still worry about the pass defense a bit... we still tend to give up a big play here and there. last year NK had a couple of those against us. They didn't get us with the running game though... so I expect they will try to exploit Linton in the air. I like the Hammelman kid the have at QB.. and certainly HOltman Doades had big plays against us as a soph last year. Linton simply has to come in to this game ready to play. North Knox will I'm sure... Beating the Miners would be huge for NK... i hope DeBruhl will be back.. he said he was ready last week.

I know I know... i have dropped the ball on a lot of things this year... I swear it's just I am so busy with other projects and issues. I get all my game info in order.. just the nights I would normally be typing up pre-game are spent doing other necessary things. I really apologize. I haven't been on TGD much...But I still bleed Miner Red. Yeh..I wondered about this. He didn't play after half time last week.. and you could see he had a headache. He was a vital player at DT last week...After watching video he really was dominant inside in the 1st half, and was in on 4 stops of Mockabee, and many others forced him into others. Mockabee got a lot of yards, but didn't get them up the middle. He did better after the half... when Donovan was not there. I'm hoping it's a case of being cautious so he will be 100% the rest of the year. Obviously... this Covid thing has attendance way down.. but I venture to comment that even before this virus, attendance hasn't been what it was. I don't understand it. THe kids noticed it... I understand the rain and cold.. but I also know for facts the while the ability to Video Stream benefits the fans and family who don't live near Linton or can't physically be at games.... it's a detriment when all the bars and clubs are showing the games on big screen TVs all over town. No question it has put a bit in a lot of folks who would normally be at the Roy in person. I would never ever rather sit at home and miss supporting the kids or feeling that one of a kind small town football friday vibe. But there have been some incredible crowds or small town football..and incredible moments. Well... we know that ND has gotten better.... and they are getting the we can win feeling happening under Coach Fine. THey have key guys back from last year.. Reed at QB, Jeffers at RB, Krusenklaus and Fox at skills. Alex Steffy ad 6'3 275 on both lines... Last year they came in 4-1 just losing 7-6 to West Vigo coming into the Linton game...and Linton dominated 48-14. I think they have confidence in their offense.... they have put up the points.. BUT... no way they have faced a defense like Linton. Sure...44 points put on us last week... and hard to really even say it.. but the defense was solid. Having to face Mockabee last week.. and those Southridge Raiders in week one... plus some good athletes at Sullivan... will have LInton ready... and I think with something to prove.... Had we won last week...I think you might have dealt with the old let down factor... I don't think that's the case. I think you will see a fired up Miner team... both sides of the ball. Linton will prolly also work on that passing game....need that if there is any hope of getting through the sectional. ND fans prolly see 3-2 and know what we graduated and think.. ok.. it's prime time... but.... the MIner team is getting better and better. It will hurt not having DeBruhl...but... others have stepped in.

my own opinion... of course... but I can't seem to go anywhere or do anything without politics being involved... I just come here for High School Football. I never ventured anywhere near OOB.

Week 4 is upon us, and it brings the North Vermillion Falcons to Roy Williams Field, in what has been a genuine friendly rivalry over the years. These teams met many years back on a yearly basis, but most recently back on the schedule since 2015. The Falcons have had great success under Head Coach Brian Crabtree, himself a North Daviess product, with 88 wins against only 18 defeats in this his 9th year at ND. He is very familiar with Linton, as he was previously at North Central in the same capacity. In his first year at NV in 2012 he lead the Falcons to a sectional trophy, and in 2014 they won the 1A state title. They were back again in 2018 losing to a very powerful Pioneer squad. 2020 hasn’t been what the folks in Cayuga are used to with an 0-3 start. You have to go back to 2002 to find the last NV start at 0-3. However, Crabtree has not had the full compliment of players as of yet with the quarantine issue as well as injury. Add to that the loss of a stellar class of kids to graduation and, much like the Miners, have a lot of players seeing first time varsity action. Offensively the Falcons return only 2 starters from last year’s meeting losing most notably QB/S Bennan Ellis, RB/LB Wyatt Reynolds, and four starting linemen. Defensively they return just three. Linton found themselves in the same boat coming into 2020 with only 3 returning on offense, and just 1 on defense as it turned out. Depending on the status of Gabe Eslinger, it could be 0 starters returning! Coming into week 4 Linton has won 2 in a row, including last week’s offensive shootout with Monrovia 42-36. For the 1st time this season, it felt like the Miner Offense was clicking pretty well with over 400 yards of offense, 342 of that on the ground. The shift of Trey Goodman to WB, Hunter Gennnicks to QB, along with the return of Kaulin Padgett to the backfield for the 1st time seemed to bolster the attack. Drew Smith and Gennicks rushed over 100 yards last week, and Padgett would have certainly joined that group had not tow long runs been called back. Add to the mix Eslinger and Hunter Johns, and there is getting to be a solid group of skill players answering the call to the graduated Luke Lannan, Lance Dyer and Cash Howard trifecta of the last couple years. Replacing Ellis and Reynolds seems to be a harder task for the Falcons. Last week NV had a freshman at QB, Cody Tryon (#10) 5’8 150, and a junior Carter Edney (#44 5’11 210) at RB. Edney has experience, but it was at Tight End last year. It is a very young team at NV with just 2 seniors starting- TE Klayton Bailey (#23 5’10 165) and at Center with Matthew Jackson (#78 6’5 260). I have no statistical info on NV, but can see by videos they are certainly a condensed power running attack. Other names in that mix are Harrison Holtkamp (Soph #89 6’2 185) and Braydon Schrader (Jr #38 5’8 180), with Owen Burns (Soph #80 6’0 160) at Split End. There is good size on the Oline, with Weston Rowe (Jr 6’3 210) Seth Girton (Jr 5’10 250) Atticu Blak (Soph 6’3 250) and Eli Apple (Jr 6’1 220) along with Jackson at 6’5 260. Four of these Five play on the Dline as well. One area the Miners are slowly improving on is the passing game. With Goodman showing good hands since moving to WB, and SE Eli Poe showing promise as well I would expect to see more work on that aspect. Genncks in his 2 starts is 11 of 23 for 106 yards, 2 TDs and 0 interceptions. Lest we forget that Goodman is also a solid veteran QB himself, in fact he was 12-17 for 209 yards and 2 TD connections in this game last year. Poe has caught 5 for 54 and a score, with Goodman 4 for 48 in the last 2 games. Linton has 3 players within 2 carries of each other… Gennicks 32 for 176, Smith 30 for 161 and Goodman 31 for 103. Eslinger would be right there with 27 for 38, but missed last week with a knee injury. Should he back this week might be pushing it, but if so, it would not surprise me to see him strictly on defense. As for the Defensively side of things the Miners found themselves in a battle last week giving up 204 rushing yards at 5.8 yards per carry. Probably not what Coach Oliver wants to see. There were also numerous big plays for the Bulldogs, most notably through the air. Monrovia only completed 5 passes, but 2 were TD’s of 24 and 69, and another to the 1. Still the Miners made the defensive stands when they needed them the most. Led by Drew Smith at MLB with a total 40 tackles on the season, Linton has been in a 5 man front most of the time. With NV’s tendency to run the ball, it will likely be the case tonight. Last week saw Dalton Carpenter at NT, with Donovan DeBruhl and Jackson Fields at DT in most plays. Damien Giles and Levi Grounds were the main Defensive ends, but Landon Giles was in the mix as well as Jackson Lynn. With Eslinger out, and a key element in Linton’s defense, Bracey Brenneman stepped up at LB with Smith, and Hunter Johns & Braymon Lannan as well at OLB. Goodman and Poe, as well as Padgett were at corners, while Jaydan Miller made big plays at Free Safety. Miller is end in tackles with 22. The Falcons had 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores start on Defense last week. Most of the names mentioned on offense also play on the defensive side of things. Those three frosh starters are all in the defensive backfield, which leads me to think we may see the Miners work on the passing game tonight. I would imagine #44 Edney has been their main tackler at ILB. A weapon this year has been Miller punting the ball. Linton never wants to punt, but when so Miller has done great with a 35.7 average. Several punts have put the opponent inside the 20, and a couple inside the 5. It is obvious that the Miners are not confident in place kicking at this point. We’ve yet to see an extra point kick attempted. The good news is that Linton was 5 for their first 5 two-point conversions, but failed on their last three to close out the game. Kickoffs have been handled by Drew Smith but they tend to be squibs to the middle of the field which has led to decent starting positions for our opponent. Another strong point has been the finish of drives. We came close to having the big play with Padgett’s burst of speed, but all 8 Miner TD’s this year have come inside the red zone. For the year 8 of 9 in the Red Zone, and that one non-score was taking a knee at the end of the game last week. Again we saw the improvement in the Miners last week, and again it was the addition of a couple names to the mix. Padgett at WB/RB and Soph Wrigley Franklin starting on the offensive line. The coaching staff looking for ways to increase depth and get more one way players. Lynn at TE, Grounds at DE, Carpenter at NT, are just examples. Linton won last year in Cayuga 38-20, and won at the Roy in 2018 34-7. Linton has won the last meetings none bigger than a 56-27 win that put Linton in the state finals in 2015 for the first time ever.

This Friday will see the 5th meeting in a row with this latest series with the Monrovia Bulldogs. It was renewed in 2016, after playing from 1999 thru 2003. It has produced a couple of truly memorable games that indeed came down to final plays of the game to decide the victor. Not so in the last two meetings, with Linton blasting the Dogs 35-0 at Monrovia last year, and a 23-0 Bulldog win at the Roy in 2018. Over-all thru 9 meetings I have on record Linton has a 5-4 edge in wins. Last year was very tough for the Monrovia faithful suffering through a 0-10 in a football loving town not unlike Linton. It was just a few years removed from a 34-9 three year run that produced 3 Semi State appearances, and a 2A State Championship in 2015 under then Head Coach Kevin Hutchins. Hutchins left after a 5-5 2018 season, leading to the one year tenure of Nathan Aker. Monrovia welcomed back Andy Olson this year, who was no stranger to the Bulldog players and fan base. Olson was a coach on Hutchins’ staff from 2011 to 2017, and vows to bring back the physicality and toughness Monrovia has always been known for as Head Coach. Should be noted that the Bulldogs play in one of the perennial tough small school conferences with the Indiana Crossroads that includes Lutheran, Ritter, Triton Central among others. Both the Miners and Bulldogs come into this 3rd week with much needed “wins” under their belts. To open the season, Monrovia was overrun by 3A Cardinal Ritter 40-6 surrendering 366 rushing yards along the way. Linton didn’t fare much better in a 28-0 blanking to 3A Southridge and producing a mere 88 yards of total offense. Both bounced back in week 2 with Linton’s emotional overtime win over rivals 3A 1-1 Sullivan 22-16, and the Bulldogs a 20-8 win over 3A 1-1 Edgewood. Similarities between the two teams is undeniable. Offensive and Defensive styles are much the same. Both are heavily run orientated, and use multi backs instead of having one feature back. Passing games on both sides have had much impact, but can’t be ignored. One consistent positive in 2020 thus far for Linton has been the Defense. Even in the 28-0 loss, it was a solid effort in being put against the wall several times. Then facing the multi-faceted Arrows last week and holding them to just 177 total offense. The Offense showed cast improvement week 1 to week 2, pushing their yards per carry from 1.4 to 4.1. Linton has tried to pass the ball in each game (13 per game) and was markedly better against Sullivan completing 6, including the first score of the year to Eli Poe. With Hunter Gennicks moved to QB, and Senior Trey Goodman shifting to WB/RB I believe we saw a better spread of talent, and more weapons to exploit. Goodman provided several nice outside gains severely missing in week 1. With Gennicks, Goodman, Drew Smith, Gabe Eslinger (when he’s healthy again), and the first appearance of Junior Kaulin Padgett, and others I expect the Miner offense to get more productive, and generate some big numbers. OF course the Defense will suffer the lose of LB and 2019 leading tackler Gabe Eslinger. I don’t know the extent of the injury, but know he will certainly miss some games. I was impressed with Bracey Breneman stepping in for most the 2nd half at Sullivan. Drew Smith has been double digit in tackles both games, and he moved over the Eslinger’s spot. The Pass defense I feel has also stepped up. It’s hard to defend a team like Sullivan with so many formations and receivers and not make mistakes. You are going to have those especially early in the season, and with an entirely new bunch of jersey numbers in those spots. Eli Poe, Trey Goodman and Jaydan Miller have been those guys most downs this year, but you’d have to include the linebackers, especially the outside group with Hunter Johns, Jackson Lynn and Hunter Gennicks. Monrovia returns their QB from 2019 in Sr #9 Dalen Clements. He only threw 58 times last year for just 267 yards total. He is 3 of 12 this year with just 12 yards and 2 picks. Passing isn’t going to be a strongpoint for the Bulldogs it would seem. Like Linton, they have three guys that can carry the ball on any play. Jr #4 Todd Camic, Fr #42 Brayton Belcher, and Jr #27 Gavin Followell have carried the brunt of the load in 2020. Camic is only one with any varsity play with 300 yards last year. He leads the team in yards with 153 on 27 carries, but Belcher, just a freshman, has 31 carries for 126 yard and 3 of Monrovia’s 5 rush scores. Followell has 11 for 118, while Clements has 10 for 20. The Bulldogs line up Sr #36 Ethan Payne at SE and Sr #30 Jaden Whalen at TE who both started last year. Up front Monrovia return 2 starters in tackle #55 Jett Massey and Guard #63 Jayden Huffman. Four of the Five are at least 6’1. Defensively they are led by a returning starter at LB Sr #40 Hunter Wray with 24 tackles. They also return #25 Jr Alex Scdoris at LB. Over all they return 6 starters, and look to have 7 players going both ways. I would also bring up Sr #7 Corbin Padgett for the Bulldogs, as I see him on the roster, and know he will be playing Friday night. As a Sophomore he ran for 1,034 yards and 8 scores in tandem with Clay Whitney’s 1,439 yards that year. He didn’t play last year, but I can’t imagine that he won’t make an impact in the Bulldog rushing attack if he plays. Linton is pretty even in carries and yards with Goodman at 72 on 21 touches, Gennicks 12 for 69, Smith 16-54, and Eslinger at 27-38. Gennicks was 6 of 13 passing last week for 42 yards and a TD, Goodman was 3-13 for 37 yards the week prior. Eli Poe clearly the main target with 4 catches for 43 yards, but Goodman, Hunter Johns, and Eslinger all caught passes. The Miners have utilized three players at TE in Lynn, Breneman and Sr Levi Grounds, and the O line definitely opened up better holes for the backs last week. The Giles family heavily represented with SR brothers Landon (#57) and Damien (#69), as well as Soph Aiden (#56) all starting along with Jr #58 Donovan DeBruhl, and Jr #77 Dalton Carpenter. Defensively they have shown 4 and 5 man fronts, and I expect a lot of 5 man this week. In that formation we’ve seen #45 Jackson Lynn line up at NT instead of LB. #13 Smith leads the team 32 tackles, but moves outside with I assume #12 Johns or #44 Breneman, or #14 Gennicks. Gennicks had 14 tackles in week one, but stayed on the offensive side 99% of Sullivan game. Linton has a good group of DTs and DE’s in Carpenter, both older Giles brothers, DeBruhl, Grounds and Jr #63 Jackson Fields. I also see Jr #62 Cody Jackson with reps. One area of concern would have to be the kicking game. Linton has not shown a PAT kicker as of yet, going for 2 on each of the TD’s scored last week. While they achieved both conversions, it could get to be a problem getting down by 1 or 2 in tight games. Jaydan Miller has been excellent punting the ball with a 34.1 average, and many kicks perfectly placed for no returns inside the 20. The kickoffs are confusing and it seems we are purposely squibbing kicks down the middle of the field, but this gave the Arrows the ball near or beyond the 40 each time. Monrovia utilizes the freshman Belcher to punt (25.8 avg) and I don’t actually think they have kicked a PAT either to be honest. Clements is the kick off guy with a 43.7 yard average. Special Teams has not really played a role thus far for Linton, which….can be looked at as good!

yeah I have loads of love for Monrovia's style and football history. Maybe they hit a rough patch.. but that happens to most teams now and there. Lutheran must be really good to beat Ritter so bad.. I thought Ritter looked good against Monrovia. Looks like the Bulldogs made some adjustments and played much better against Edgewood. It's always a hard nosed head to head battle with these teams. I'm sure they will be coming to Linton full tilt on paybacks. I look forward to seeing my MOnrovia friends I've gotten to know these last few years. I definitely believe both programs got hugely needed wins for their confidence last week. I cant imagine my Miners 0-2 and a loss in OT at Sullivan... but ... didnt happen! I know as well that with Linton's small roster and dependency on underclassmen on Varsity it is probably bare bones on the JV... but that doesn't mean we will cancel games! Just gives those younger kids playing experience... and Monrovia is always a quality opponent!!

Grounds made some huge plays at DE last week... he also played a lot of TE... which help spell Lynn and Breneman.. who had to move to ILB with injury to Eslinger. Padgett I think had shoulder thing.. but he's cleared to play next week. He should give Miners needed rotation at WB and CB... he was slated as a starter at one or the other at the Scrimmage. Again with Eslinger prolly out... we will need another WB/RB out there. Lannan played last week at Sullivan... he was on special teams... but I'm sure with more practice reps he'll be more depth at LB and OL.