foxbat

I think schedule strength may not be doing TippValley any favors. Outside of SB Washington, they have the lowest schedule strength of the teams in Sectional 26. I'd give the inside track to Marian right now in the sectional, provided they don't get beat up too bad playing Elkhart. If TippValley wins Sectional 26, they should win that regional. As @Yuccaguy said, things get tougher after that regional given that semi-state probably goes through Sectional 28. Even Guerin, at 1-5, is a danger from that Sectional ... their loses coming against, from the Coaches' Poll, #9 2A LCC, #6 2A Heritage Christian, #1 3A Brebuef ... who also occupies The Sectional of Death, Sectional 28 ..., #1 4A Roncalli, and #9 4A Chatard.

Ain't that the truth.

I don't know ... don't most folks who get married a second time invite the ex-wife that they have a restraining order against? Just to make it interesting? 😁

I'm only outside for a half tonight and then headed to a volleyball tournament for the weekend ... an indoor one, so weather will be less of a concern for me this weekend. Not so much for my son who suits for both JV and varsity and heads on the road to Muncie tomorrow. "Luckily" they got to practice in the rain and cold earlier this week. He told me that he'd rather play in extreme heat rather than wet and cold. I informed him that there are very few extreme heat games in Indiana that end your season, but plenty of wet, cold ones that are the last one of the season for half the teams on a weekend. Of course, I said it with a smugness knowing that I was going to be indoors this weekend. 😀

If I recall correctly, it doesn't count as a first down. Now realize that I'm basing this on old rules about first downs and penetrations when I used to play back in the 70s. Tie games were determined by first downs and then penetrations ... no extra time or sudden death. In the game, we were down 6 points with roughly 45 seconds to go and were on our own 35 having just received the kickoff. We tried a trick play and ended up with our receiver behind the safety. He caught the ball with a three-step lead on the safety, but off-balance. He stumbled forward about 10-15 yards as the defender caught him and brought him down on the 18. On the next play, we ran the exact same type of play, but this time kept it around end for the score. We missed the conversion and the game ended in a tie. We won the game though. We were tied on first downs for the game and ahead by one on penetrations. The ref told our coach that, while it didn't seem like it at the time, that back stumbling and going down instead of running in for the endzone on that long pass play proved to be the difference as it registered both a first down and a penetration of the 20-yard line, but if he hadn't been tackled, we wouldn't have had the first down or the penetration; just the TD. I don't know if that's something that's changed over time as I've not heard anyone talk about penetrations in a REALLY long time as having a direct impact on the game. I suspect they don't have direct impact anymore, nor do first downs, since we now play overtimes/sudden death.

Unlike high school union halls, I suspect that there might be beer served at the Steelworkers Local 1010 hall on Friday nights. Maybe that's why there are so many folks signed up for the tennis team. 😀

I always find it deplorable the way that people, and parents in particular, seem to go after younger refs, in youth sports. When done right, youth sports are a great training ground for upcoming refs. It's a great opportunity for education for players as well as refs. When I coached in Little Gridiron, we often had more experienced refs ... the league paid the money to hire Friday-night refs and often those experienced refs would bring newer refs with them and would enhance their training during the games. Things such as the communication signs, how to talk to the chain crew, and even simple things like halting the game for a minute to explain to a kid and/or the coaches why a particular call was made and how to avoid that in the future. Baseball is perhaps the worst place that I've seen officials, especially young officials, berated. The parents are really close and, apparently, believe that their tournament entry fee also makes them members of the officiating crew. Having coached youth sports for over a couple of decades across two different sports, I very much understand and appreciate the role of officials in the games and experience and especially how touch it is for newer/younger refs. As a parent at baseball games, I try to tell the umps thanks after/between games when I see them at the fields or concession stands or in the parking lots. For the younger refs, I also try to toss in some encouragement, even if they struggled. I also make it a point, if I see the tournament supervisors or officials supervisors walking around, to tell them about the good job that their younger officials are doing. We are facing a crisis with the population of officials getting tighter and the last thing that we should be doing is running off the folks who are interested at an early age in being a big part of it.

1 Point Games Northwestern @ Tipton West Lafayette @ Benton Central 3 Point Games Lafayette Central Catholic @ Rensselaer Twin Lakes @ Hamilton Heights Western @ Cass North Judson @ Culver Military Brebeuf Jesuit @ Indianapolis Roncalli DONNIE BAKER SPECIAL Park Heritage @ South Vermillion – I’m taking the Woofs over South Vermillions ... gonna beat on them until Creed's popular again ... and I’ll say it your face Mitchell. I gotta go.

Pardon my French, but have people lost their f***ing minds? What makes someone think that, over a game, they have the right to accost someone much less detain them?

I see your point, to an extent, by I think it is an issue tied to culture. The default that most people grow up with in sports is that "the older, more experienced guy gets the nod." On the teams that I coached, I always made clear, and it became known with parents and players that the guys that started were the ones that produced and gave consistent effort in that production. Every once in a while, I'd get a kid's parent, who moved in and didn't know the philosophy, who'd corner me after the a game and ask me why his kid wasn't starting even though he was in a higher grade. For the most part though, the kids and parents knew that, while everyone was going to get a chance to play, productivity was what determined how long. If a coach is constantly saying, from Day 1, "I don't care how big you are or fast you are or how old you are, but it's a question of what you DO with that," then I don't think anyone gets caught by surprise or feels cheated. On the other hand, if he lets the expectations go unspoken, then I think he's likely, and rightly so, to see folks get upset if seniority is passed over. I appreciate a coach who, on the first day of practices or before, tells the team "Not everyone is going to play and, if you want to up that playing time, you need to step up your game. I will work with anyone who is serious about improving to see how to get you to that level of more playing time."

I always worry about a team that plays the odds on 4th and 1 with more or same green behind them than in front of them and kicks it away. Like you said, it's a gut check ... an affirmation of what your team expects itself to be able to do. Given that our policy wasn't punting except in extreme situations, it was baked into practices and the team's mindset that we were going to live and die by what the front line could do when called on ... including not jumping on two.

I think there's also a provision for "purposeful fouls" that are expected to extend the period ... like a coach running out on a sideline and smacking an opposing playing who might be getting ready to tackle his back. I know it sounds crazy, but we've seen it before ... and crazier.

If I'm not mistaken, for NFHS, the game doesn't end if there is ANY accepted penalty as time expires ... regardless of offense or defense. In this case here, defense could accept the penalty and offense gets one additional play, with the mark-off, or they can decline the penalty. In the case of declining the penalty, the TD stands and the offense also gets the shot at the extra point attempt. If the game is within 9 points, then the defense is pretty much forced to accept that penalty and give the offense another shot ... with five yards tacked on.

If I'm not mistaken, for NFHS, the game doesn't end if there is ANY accepted penalty as time expires ... regardless of offense or defense. In this case here, defense could accept the penalty and offense gets one additional play, with the mark-off, or they can decline the penalty. In the case of declining the penalty, the TD stands and the offense also gets the shot at the extra point attempt. If the game is within 9 points, then the defense is pretty much forced to accept that penalty and give the offense another shot ... with five yards tacked on.

Turned out to be a good one. My son hit a PAT and, in the 4th, hit the game-winning field goal.

I think the Westfield JV kicker hit a 47-yarder ... I think that was the length ... just a couple of weeks ago to give them a 1-point win over Harrison.

Don't know if the game's an upset, but I'm upset. Just messed up my pick 'ems for the week. 🥴

That's what Twitter's reporting.

Harrison in complete control ... leading 42-0 at the half over Anderson.

Harrison with another TD. Up 21-0 over Anderson with about 1 min left in 1Q.

Harrison now up 14-0 with about 5 mins left in 1Q.

Harrison up 7-0 over Anderson in 1Q.

I'm in-state, but away from football. At senior night for my daughter's volleyball team. I'll be at Harrison tomorrow though when Harrison's JV takes on Chatard.

LCC vs. Tipton, a pair of Coaches Poll 2A, Hoosier Conference teams, will square off tonight.

Taking Tippy Valley in this one over NJSP. Thanks for the update!