2019 GMC Football

Who wins the very competitive GMC this year after a wild offseason

  • Colerain

    Votes: 45 68.2%
  • Fairfield

    Votes: 2 3.0%
  • Hamilton

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Lakota East

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Lakota West

    Votes: 6 9.1%
  • Mason

    Votes: 3 4.5%
  • Middletown

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Oak Hills

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Princeton

    Votes: 10 15.2%
  • Sycamore

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    66
  • Poll closed .
Colerain = Passing Game?

Seriously? Have you watched Colerains passing attack?

Every now and then they throw in a pass to keep the defense honest but I wouldn’t say they even have an average passing game.
 
Well the stage proved to big for Fairfield as they lost to Colerain 28 - 7 in round 2 of the playoffs.

Not much to say except that the game was competitive into the 3rd quarter. Probably the biggest series was at the start of the 3rd quarter with FF having driven to a 1st & 10 at the Cards 25 trailing only 14 - 7. At that point the Indians were unable to get the first down and turned the ball over on downs.

Truth be told though with 5 turnovers & having to use all 3 TO's before the end of the 3rd quarter the odds of FF winning were pretty low.

Well it still was a great season for FF as they go 10 - 2. They do lose some outstanding seniors but there is talent among the underclassmen so I would expect the Indians to still be in the playoffs next season.

And good luck to Colerin next week against Elder. I think the Cards are getting their offense going at the perfect time. I suspect that while Elder's offense will pose a much tougher challenge to the Colerain D then the FF offense did tonight the Panthers defense is not as good as FF's. This should make for an interesting game.
 
Colerain = Passing Game?

Seriously? Have you watched Colerains passing attack?

Every now and then they throw in a pass to keep the defense honest but I wouldn’t say they even have an average passing game.

I take his point to mean that the best way to compete with Colerain may be to develop a very good passing game instead of relying on a running game that seldom if ever works against the Cards.
 
The sophomore class is very good. The JV and Freshman teams played well. The youth programs are also doing well. I expect the Vikes to make the playoffs for the next several years. Have to keep the players at Princeton and coach them up. Future looks bright.
You better keep LaSalle away from your future stars.
 
The only teams to ever beat Colerain except.maybe 1 loss to Hilliard Davidson are teams who can pass, like GCL quality/ HH Wayne quality passing game. At what point will a GMC coach develop a passing game, or all they all just satisfied to finish 2nd and get to a hopeful 2nd round playoff game if they can get another GMC opponent first round?

I think to say it's too hard or whatever is complete BS - to think the kids cant learn it and execute. Not buying that. Do you really think guys like practicing running plays they already know for 2 hours every day? It's not like they dont watch college and the NFL, and see other teams do it. Even some D2-7 teams have prolific passing games. I'm just saying, until we see a quality passer in the GMC, Colerain will go 8-0 every year because they actually have a passing game every year to complement their running game.
It's not BS, that's the truth. As I said, very few OC actually understand a proper passing schemes. They just literally draw up routes that they think look cool.

Also, you do realize that Elder led the GCL in rushing this year and had more rushing yards than passing during the regular season. Elder is a run first team, but they do a really good job of trying to stay balanced and are close to 50/50 split rush/pass.

Almost nobody makes a postseason run slinging the rock 45+ times per game. If they do, they are a flash in the pan and don't do it perennially like many run heavy teams. Running the ball is Paramount, it is not sexy, but teams that run well perform well. That's why there's such an emphasis on it.
 
The only teams to ever beat Colerain except.maybe 1 loss to Hilliard Davidson are teams who can pass, like GCL quality/ HH Wayne quality passing game. At what point will a GMC coach develop a passing game, or all they all just satisfied to finish 2nd and get to a hopeful 2nd round playoff game if they can get another GMC opponent first round?

I think to say it's too hard or whatever is complete BS - to think the kids cant learn it and execute. Not buying that. Do you really think guys like practicing running plays they already know for 2 hours every day? It's not like they dont watch college and the NFL, and see other teams do it. Even some D2-7 teams have prolific passing games. I'm just saying, until we see a quality passer in the GMC, Colerain will go 8-0 every year because they actually have a passing game every year to complement their running game.

I actually think you're on to something here. The reason Elder has a chance to beat Coelrain next week is because of their passing attack and this includes the QB runs which directly benefit from an effective passing game.

And I agree that after watching literally a hundred GMC games over the last decade the conferences passing games are largely primitive and secondary to the run game. While this works for Colerain and to a lesser extent for Lakota East because they run the option, it hasn't really helped anyone else in the GMC. Bottom line is that nobody is coming close to dethroning Coelrain in the GMC. So maybe a little thinking out of the box could be useful.

It's not like building strong defensive teams that can run the football has helped knock Colerain off or enabled GMC teams not named Coelrian to routinely go deep into the playoffs.
 
The only teams to ever beat Colerain except.maybe 1 loss to Hilliard Davidson are teams who can pass, like GCL quality/ HH Wayne quality passing game. At what point will a GMC coach develop a passing game, or all they all just satisfied to finish 2nd and get to a hopeful 2nd round playoff game if they can get another GMC opponent first round?

I think to say it's too hard or whatever is complete BS - to think the kids cant learn it and execute. Not buying that. Do you really think guys like practicing running plays they already know for 2 hours every day? It's not like they dont watch college and the NFL, and see other teams do it. Even some D2-7 teams have prolific passing games. I'm just saying, until we see a quality passer in the GMC, Colerain will go 8-0 every year because they actually have a passing game every year to complement their running game.
There is one team grooming a QB in the GMC and the coach knows all of Colerain‘s plays. Lakota West coach Bolden is grooming his son to give Lakota a very good passing attack.
 
It's not BS, that's the truth. As I said, very few OC actually understand a proper passing schemes. They just literally draw up routes that they think look cool.

Also, you do realize that Elder led the GCL in rushing this year and had more rushing yards than passing during the regular season. Elder is a run first team, but they do a really good job of trying to stay balanced and are close to 50/50 split rush/pass.

Almost nobody makes a postseason run slinging the rock 45+ times per game. If they do, they are a flash in the pan and don't do it perennially like many run heavy teams. Running the ball is Paramount, it is not sexy, but teams that run well perform well. That's why there's such an emphasis on it.

I agree that you don't need to throw 45 passes to win a playoff game. But the GMC is full of schools that really struggle to throw the ball effectively on a regular basis. Sure the conference has spectacular individual passing plays because of the athleticism on the field. But I don't see precision passing teams.

Elder has the THREAT of the passing game to loosen things up for their very fine running QB. And if called on Elder can complete 5 passes in a row and move the ball downfield if a team loads the box and put's a spy on the QB. And as others have mentioned Saint X has recently had an embarrassment of riches at QB.

The key is balance in the run & pass game and the GCL S has that. So does Saint Ignatius & Eds. Ditto for Mentor. The GMC teams heavily lean on the run and their passing attacks are herky/jerky. An 80 yard TD one play then 5 straight incomplete passes following that.
 
There is one team grooming a QB in the GMC and the coach knows all of Colerain‘s plays. Lakota West coach Bolden is grooming his son to give Lakota a very good passing attack.

I was impressed with this kid. Took some licks and threw some nice passes. Seemed pretty mobile to. Being a coaches son also helps big time. Wasn't his dad a QB at Colerain? Only a freshman I would expect a big jump next season and an even bigger jump into his junior year.
 
I agree that you don't need to throw 45 passes to win a playoff game. But the GMC is full of schools that really struggle to throw the ball effectively on a regular basis. Sure the conference has spectacular individual passing plays because of the athleticism on the field. But I don't see precision passing teams.

Elder has the THREAT of the passing game to loosen things up for their very fine running QB. And if called on Elder can complete 5 passes in a row and move the ball downfield if a team loads the box and put's a spy on the QB. And as others have mentioned Saint X has recently had an embarrassment of riches at QB.

The key is balance in the run & pass game and the GCL S has that. So does Saint Ignatius & Eds. Ditto for Mentor. The GMC teams heavily lean on the run and their passing attacks are herky/jerky. An 80 yard TD one play then 5 straight incomplete passes following that.
I think your herky jerky comment is spot on. I really cannot stress enough how difficult it is to find a competent offensive coordinator and more importantly a WR coach that isn't a prima Donna himself is step 1. There are only a handful fo teams in the Cincy area that have that combination in their coaching staff.
 
I actually think you're on to something here. The reason Elder has a chance to beat Coelrain next week is because of their passing attack and this includes the QB runs which directly benefit from an effective passing game.

And I agree that after watching literally a hundred GMC games over the last decade the conferences passing games are largely primitive and secondary to the run game. While this works for Colerain and to a lesser extent for Lakota East because they run the option, it hasn't really helped anyone else in the GMC. Bottom line is that nobody is coming close to dethroning Coelrain in the GMC. So maybe a little thinking out of the box could be useful.

It's not like building strong defensive teams that can run the football has helped knock Colerain off or enabled GMC teams not named Coelrian to routinely go deep into the playoffs.

Thank you! Nobody else agrees with me
But whatx historically, do these teams have in common: Wayne, Moeller, Elder, St X, Pick Central have? They all usually have a QB who is very capable of passing for 150-200+ yards in a game if he has to.

Tonight, Colerain absolutely was not going to let Fairfield get 200 yards running the ball. Forced Fairfield to pass the ball which they mostly refused to until late 3rd quarter.

When Middletown throttled Moeller in a playoff game, Watkins I think was the QB, that was the last great GMC passer outside of maybe a guy or two at Sycamore.

Yes, I believe in Colerains passing game more than anyone else's. Colersin threw a beautiful TD tonight, but when Colerain just has to have a first down, they are capable of finding a tight end or someone for 7 yards.

It amazes me that GMC quarterbacks cant find a tight end for 7 yards when they really need to move the chains. Tonight, as tight as that Colerain front 8 were, a tight end release would have been hard for them to defend.

Until someone can give me evidence otherwise. COLERAIN has the best PASSING quarterback year after year, dating back a long time and will continue to.

If I have to play Colerain and have some good athletes, I'm lighting up the sky because who is ever able to play smashmouth and beat Colerain running the ball? It just doesnt happen.

And it wont. Saw enough tonight out of Colerains offensive coordinator. That guy is creative and innovative. Never saw so much misdirection and not just counters but fake sweeps. Jet sweeps out of the option formations. Just a lot of new wrinkles, lot of window dressing.

Really called a great game and he is not going to be fun to go up against. GMC teams better start becoming balanced because the Colerain offense is in really good hands. Running the ball tough guy style isnt going to beat them.
 
Thank you! Nobody else agrees with me
But whatx historically, do these teams have in common: Wayne, Moeller, Elder, St X, Pick Central have? They all usually have a QB who is very capable of passing for 150-200+ yards in a game if he has to.

Tonight, Colerain absolutely was not going to let Fairfield get 200 yards running the ball. Forced Fairfield to pass the ball which they mostly refused to until late 3rd quarter.

When Middletown throttled Moeller in a playoff game, Watkins I think was the QB, that was the last great GMC passer outside of maybe a guy or two at Sycamore.

Yes, I believe in Colerains passing game more than anyone else's. Colersin threw a beautiful TD tonight, but when Colerain just has to have a first down, they are capable of finding a tight end or someone for 7 yards.

It amazes me that GMC quarterbacks cant find a tight end for 7 yards when they really need to move the chains. Tonight, as tight as that Colerain front 8 were, a tight end release would have been hard for them to defend.

Until someone can give me evidence otherwise. COLERAIN has the best PASSING quarterback year after year, dating back a long time and will continue to.

If I have to play Colerain and have some good athletes, I'm lighting up the sky because who is ever able to play smashmouth and beat Colerain running the ball? It just doesnt happen.

And it wont. Saw enough tonight out of Colerains offensive coordinator. That guy is creative and innovative. Never saw so much misdirection and not just counters but fake sweeps. Jet sweeps out of the option formations. Just a lot of new wrinkles, lot of window dressing.

Really called a great game and he is not going to be fun to go up against. GMC teams better start becoming balanced because the Colerain offense is in really good hands. Running the ball tough guy style isnt going to beat them.

A few things:

* You have to include coach Krause's son Hunter among the best GMC QB's over the last 20 years. I'll always wonder what might have been had he not gotten hurt against Mason his senior year. He & TC Wells ripped Elder a new one at the Pit in their close playoff loss to the Panthers.

* I agree on the Colerian coordinator coming up with some clever changes in the game plan tonight. Not only did he use a lot of misdirection to great effect but he must have saw something on tape because he attacked FF at the edges mercilessly. The Cards opening 2 play 65 yard drive involved a pitch right and then a pitch left!

* I think if you're going to compete with Colerain you first have to match their physicality on defense and play smash mouth defense. FF did this 2 weeks ago and the game went to OT. But I'm in your camp that on offense smash mouth is not the way to beat Colerain.
 
I was impressed with this kid. Took some licks and threw some nice passes. Seemed pretty mobile to. Being a coaches son also helps big time. Wasn't his dad a QB at Colerain? Only a freshman I would expect a big jump next season and an even bigger jump into his junior year.
Yes, Tom Bolden was the QB for Colerain from him Sophomore season 86’ until his Senior season 88’. Tom still holds the all-time passing record for Colerain.
 
FAIRFIELD-COLERAIN COVERAGE

Go to swohiosportsdaily.com for Eric Hickey's report and Ron Alvey's photo gallery from Fairfield's Division I playoff loss to Colerain
 
If you think that was Bolden's offense against FF last night....

There was more imagination in that offense last night then we've seen in years at Colerain. The offensive coaches have been force feeding this group with new wrinkles slowly and are almost where they want to be. The Fairfield offense looked like they were confused all night about what they wanted to do. They didn't have enough time outs to use to cover all of the confusion.
 
Forgot about that Fairfield team who went to the Pit and had a very real chance to win due to having a real passing game. Just think if this years Fairfield team had the same passing plays in the playbook.

Sycamore almost made a final 4 as well with Bonnet at running back, but again that team had legitimate passing and could move the chains on 3rd and 7 if they had to.

Look at D1 QBs, just in recent memory... Ramsey, Clifford, Ragland, Wolf, the guy at Wyoming this year... any of the GCL guys on that list maybe go to a GMC school if there was a system for passing QBs? I just wonder, do GMC teams lose out on great passers because they want to go to a higher ceiling passing offense?

I argue with my buddy about this... but I always tell him, lakota east maxes out at 9-1, 2nd round playoff loss, no matter how good their talent is. That's the absolute ceiling and he has no rebuttal. While not abandoning the run it just seems like 10 legitimate passing plays that are well executed should not be that hard. But it just seems when these run heavy teams do pass it looks out of sync. I never understand why, as you dont have to spend 2 hours of practice time every day doing the same runing plays that guys have been running since their freshman year???

If Wyoming and Indian Hill can have great balance and run routes and catch 100+ yards I'm pretty confident in GMC receivers to do the same thing.

Time for the GMC coaches to stop being satisfied with chasing 2nd place and make Colerain, as well as playoff opponents defense the whole field, and defense the threat of a real passing game.

I'm liking what Hamilton did this year, and believe it or not, Middletown. Middletown has a 3 year starting QB coming back who threw for 1000 yards. I'd they get some defense and depth next year they will be a tough out. Lot of their games were close till after halftime and it was a really hot season, and without any depth that took its toll on all their 2 way starters.
 
Mason has had a couple D1 QBs over the years and they definitely threw the ball more than years past. But I see them going back to playing good defense and running the ball next year even though I hear there are some very good young QBs in the program going forward. The biggest issue at Mason is getting WRs with size. If Mason can get some of the basketball/lacrosse players to play more than one sport, that would be a huge step forward.
 
Balance is the key. You need to be decent at every position group on offense and special at one of them to move the ball and score on Colerain. There have been years where Sycamore has moved the ball well on Colerain with that exact formula. Mason too. The problem is that both Sycamore and Mason don’t have the speed on defense to ever stop Colerain.

In most years, the top team out of the GCL-S has a balanced offense with at least one star player. Those teams move the ball on Colerain decently well. They end up winning when they have the players on defense. Elder is not one of those teams this year. Elder is, however, special on the OL and at QB, and this could end up being one of the best offensive outputs on Colerain in a playoff game. It’ll have to be for them to win.

Aside from the Middletown upset in ‘08 (that Middletown team finished 6-4 and Colerain still won the league), the only teams that have come close to knocking Colerain off their perch (i.e. beat them and win league) have been ‘06 Sycamore, ‘11 Middletown, Sycamore ‘12, Mason ‘15, and Fairfield ‘19. The only other school to play in a regional final was Sycamore ‘16. Colerain beat them 52-7. All of those teams had multiple D1 players on offense. Colerain still won. It will take a lot to ever knock them off their perch in the GMC.
 
Balance is the key. You need to be decent at every position group on offense and special at one of them to move the ball and score on Colerain. There have been years where Sycamore has moved the ball well on Colerain with that exact formula. Mason too. The problem is that both Sycamore and Mason don’t have the speed on defense to ever stop Colerain.

In most years, the top team out of the GCL-S has a balanced offense with at least one star player. Those teams move the ball on Colerain decently well. They end up winning when they have the players on defense. Elder is not one of those teams this year. Elder is, however, special on the OL and at QB, and this could end up being one of the best offensive outputs on Colerain in a playoff game. It’ll have to be for them to win.

Aside from the Middletown upset in ‘08 (that Middletown team finished 6-4 and Colerain still won the league), the only teams that have come close to knocking Colerain off their perch (i.e. beat them and win league) have been ‘06 Sycamore, ‘11 Middletown, Sycamore ‘12, Mason ‘15, and Fairfield ‘19. The only other school to play in a regional final was Sycamore ‘16. Colerain beat them 52-7. All of those teams had multiple D1 players on offense. Colerain still won. It will take a lot to ever knock them off their perch in the GMC.

The Mason game this year was pretty close - lost 33-28 at Colerain. Mason was up 3 with 5 minutes left. To your point, Mason wasn’t going to win the GMC this year.
 
I am not in the camp that Elder is going to cruise Friday. This is the BEST offensive coordinator Colerain has ever had. Really hurts losing their star running back who also played D but they are so much harder to defend now than in week 13s of years past. And the defense, while small and maybe young, they are so fast that you dont get those long runs that you get against all the other teams. Elder has ana amazing team this year too, should be a fantastic game that goes late in the 4th before it is decided. Dont think either team gets blown out. Punting and kick coverage will be really huge.
 
Colerain's defense is ELITE. I wouldn't even say that they are small. It will be a really good matchup with that Elder offensive line and the very talented Luebbe playing behind it.
 
What is resources for year-round QB development, Alex?
Dont want to speak for him but I can tell you that most of the elite QBs that attend the schools he listed, have parents that are capable of spending major money to have them work with private QB coaches in the off season. If you depend solely on a HS coaching staff your QB will probably be behind the power curve in most cases. Those QBs work footwork, technique and mechanics hard in the off season with knowledgeable personal QB coaches in order to get ready for the season. When QBs show up at St X for freshman camp they in most cases are already very well schooled on QB mechanics or they stand no chance of being a QB. X had 4 QBs in this years sophomore class that would probably start on varsity as sophomores at most GMC or ECC schools not named colerain or lakota east. All are 6 ft 1 to 6 ft 4 and fit the QB profile.
 
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