Benedictine 2020

bedevil said:
I don't know they wouldn't have blocked it. But the chances are greatly reduced when the attempt is from 20 yards instead of 35. You mention rules. Fair enough. My point is, in a situation like that, such a rule is a matter of interpretation. How egregious was the contact? In my view, the adults in this scenario overreacted as much as the middle school kid.

As for poor losers, Sparky, I have no skin in the game concerning Walsh. But I can say this with certainty: I have seen way more high school football games that you have, and rarely, if ever, have I seen a call as trivial in nature, particularly at a point in the game where so much was at stake. I could care less who won that game, but I think any fair-minded follower of the sport would have liked to have seen the game decided without a such a call. So, spare me the "poor loser" garbage. The only homer in this conversation is you.
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1st of all I hate when refs insert themselves into the game and they should never make a call that affects the game due to something that didn't happen on the field so I tend to agree that the call shouldn't have been made unless it was grievous. This was a great game between two motivated opponents and I wish it didn't come down to this call. That being said there is probably more to the story than the Summit Country folks may be talking about.

The game is available to re-watch here. The Walsh sideline was on top of that ref and jawing with Benny players all game long. Watch the play at the 1:51:30 mark, the coach does something to make the ref throw a sideline warning flag, (Walsh announcer got the call wrong). Everyone in football knows you get 1 free pass and the next sideline infraction is a penalty. The play in question happens at the 2:28:40 mark. It appears to me that in the heat of the moment the ball boy wanted to be on the field celebrating and he cuts right in front of the ref before the guy even had time to make the TD call, (and to me it looks like nobody else was around that had to be navigated). He knew he did something wrong because he stopped and turned and looked right at the ref as well as the Walsh WR puts his hands on his helmet when he saw the flag. I am guessing that after the sideline warning the Walsh staff called this out to the players but maybe failed to mention anything to the ball boy. Either way it looked like that ref had enough of the Walsh sideline antics and since they could not follow the rules after being warned he probably had to throw the flag.
 
As for the game...

1) I have to admit I was surprised by the result. I give credit to the Benny coaching staff as their 2nd half game plan with the season on the line was maybe the best coaching they have done all year long. Additionally as called above I think the high energy aspect to the Walsh staff came back to bite them in the game changing penalty. Yeah they were not directly involved in the play that got the flag for the PAT but one coach did get the bench warning in the 2nd half that made the flag possible. I really think coach Coach Alexander has a future as HC at a higher level, he put his team in a position to win a game against a superior athletic opponent but maybe he needs to maybe pay more attention to detail. With the HC experience he is gaining I could see him leading a NCAA Div III program in the near future.

2) I have not watched Benny in a couple games and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw on defense. When did they change to a 4 man front? The DEs still have some trouble setting the edge and the DBs sometimes don't maintain assignment integrity but Walsh was scoring buckets of points up to this point so to hold them 20 was a big win.

3) The offense is limited due to a key injury but the pivot to a more ground game based game plan may be a blessing in disguise. The OL is playing better and the game has shortened a lot which is helping out the defense. As the new QB is getting more comfortable maybe it is time to introduce some more plays and concepts that play to his strengths. Then again it might be best to keep things simple and just put the players in a position to succeed. By the way for the guys that are rocking the untucked look please tuck that shirt in, if for any reason it keeps defensive players from having something else to grab a hold of and pull them down.

Now they get to see Hoban again, this was to be expected. They are playing with a little house money so they should use this to their advantage and play with some confidence and not be intimidated by the name on the other jerseys. I see the key as the Benedictine DBs not allowing the big plays. How many defensive plays in round 1 against Hoban were over 20 yards? The safeties need to keep everything in front of them and to live for the next play, so much changes quickly in HS football so keep the HR TD from happening. Also, I doubt Hoban will have as many TOs this time around so Benny will also need to play smartly and not lose the TO battle. Finally the kicking game has been stellar, don't be afraid to take points when they are possible and punt to flip field position when it makes sense. Maybe I am in the minority here but I am thinking a conservative game plan may be the best way to stay in this one.
 
Auggie said:
1st of all I hate when refs insert themselves into the game and they should never make a call that affects the game due to something that didn't happen on the field so I tend to agree that the call shouldn't have been made unless it was grievous. This was a great game between two motivated opponents and I wish it didn't come down to this call. That being said there is probably more to the story than the Summit Country folks may be talking about.

The game is available to re-watch here. The Walsh sideline was on top of that ref and jawing with Benny players all game long. Watch the play at the 1:51:30 mark, the coach does something to make the ref throw a sideline warning flag, (Walsh announcer got the call wrong). Everyone in football knows you get 1 free pass and the next sideline infraction is a penalty. The play in question happens at the 2:28:40 mark. It appears to me that in the heat of the moment the ball boy wanted to be on the field celebrating and he cuts right in front of the ref before the guy even had time to make the TD call, (and to me it looks like nobody else was around that had to be navigated). He knew he did something wrong because he stopped and turned and looked right at the ref as well as the Walsh WR puts his hands on his helmet when he saw the flag. I am guessing that after the sideline warning the Walsh staff called this out to the players but maybe failed to mention anything to the ball boy. Either way it looked like that ref had enough of the Walsh sideline antics and since they could not follow the rules after being warned he probably had to throw the flag.
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You are correct about the sideline warning and the ball boy running into the ref. Rules are made to be followed and not interpreted weather it is the time to call it or not. The boy ran into the ref IN THE BOX , easy call no other call needed. As far as Bedevil goes I've been on the field for more games than you could ever have been. Ask any Bengal fan on this site they know what I do.
 
bedevil said:
Apparently, nothing was said to the official who threw the flag after the Walsh touchdown that tied it.

My understanding from people who had a chance to view the moment indicated that the ball boy neither entered the field of play in his excitement (that was one explanation) or said anything to the official (another possibility). The prevailing conclusion is that the ball boy brushed the official going by on the very crowded area when the play ended. It happened right at the cone at the goal line and there were players flying everywhere, there was the person holding the down marker and the chain gang nearby, and, of course, the official. People who saw the replay said the ball boy squeezed by and barely made contact with the official. As soon as that contact was, out came the flag, and the official flung it high in the air.

Let's assume that it is exactly how it transpired. If so, then that official should NEVER officiate a playoff game again...or any game, for that matter, on the high school level. To insinuate yourself into the outcome of the game because a non-participant made non-aggressive contact with you off the field of play is unbelievably poor judgment. It likely cost Walsh the game. I would say this if it was Benedictine that was victimized in this manner.

I credit Benedictine for playing an incredible second half, making a clutch block on the 35-yard point after attempt, and performing better in overtime. But you can't blame Walsh Jesuit for thinking they should be playing Hoban this week.
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Protect yourself at all times.......
 
Final

Archbishop Hoban 37

Benedictine 0

I didn’t expect a beat down . But without Schultz , the Bengals had no chance . Hoban just has it all.Hoban has outscored opponents by a combined score of 142-0 in three playoff games. What a weird season it was . On to basketball ?
 
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Auggie said:
NO!
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Unless there is something untowards behind his resignation, I can think of several solid reasons why he may be the best coach to resurrect our program.

Abbott Jerome, Coach Bossu, Mr. Rufus, Pray for Us. Football Action Team - come back and get busy.

Go Bengals!
 
TRBengal said:
Unless there is something untowards behind his resignation, I can think of several solid reasons why he may be the best coach to resurrect our program.

Abbott Jerome, Coach Bossu, Mr. Rufus, Pray for Us. Football Action Team - come back and get busy.

Go Bengals!
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Resurrect? What’s wrong with it ?
 
How many state titles has Rotsky won?

The one thing about a Rotsky coached team is it ends up being about him and not the program, that would never play well at a Benedictine and be a recipe for disaster.
 
Admittedly, I don't know a lot about his behind-the-scenes indiscretions, other than recruiting issues at Chanel. I heard he was housing a few players near the school, although that doesn't make sense because there wouldn't be any territory issues at Chanel. Perhaps it was when he was at Cleveland Heights. He won one State Title at Chanel in 2001 when he had a great back in Tony Franklin.

I don't know if we can cite lack of additional state titles when he's been coaching against the big boys, i.e. Mentor, Iggy, Eds, etc.

I do know that I've heard a few parents of players he had at Chanel praise the way he treated the kids in reviewing film and teaching them the finer points of football on his private time and making a deep and lasting impression. He also made it a habit of taking interested eighth graders into the high school locker room to give them the thrill of anticipation and the feeling of being wanted.

I'm just trying to stimulate some conversation, good, or not-so-good, about the merits of having him take our program under strict review by our administration, in order to acquire an excellent coach.

There are some positives he could bring to our table. He is financially secure and wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. He seemingly runs a disciplined program and motivates all combinations of kids. He may get out-played, or out-talented, but he doesn't seem to get out-coached. His teams show spirit, even when behind on the scoreboard.

Auggie, do you like anything about him? If he stayed in-tow, he's had winning teams, and he may just draw some athletes to our program which we never would have had otherwise.


Go Bengals!
 
TRBengal said:
Admittedly, I don't know a lot about his behind-the-scenes indiscretions, other than recruiting issues at Chanel. I heard he was housing a few players near the school, although that doesn't make sense because there wouldn't be any territory issues at Chanel. Perhaps it was when he was at Cleveland Heights. He won one State Title at Chanel in 2001 when he had a great back in Tony Franklin.

I don't know if we can cite lack of additional state titles when he's been coaching against the big boys, i.e. Mentor, Iggy, Eds, etc.

I do know that I've heard a few parents of players he had at Chanel praise the way he treated the kids in reviewing film and teaching them the finer points of football on his private time and making a deep and lasting impression. He also made it a habit of taking interested eighth graders into the high school locker room to give them the thrill of anticipation and the feeling of being wanted.

I'm just trying to stimulate some conversation, good, or not-so-good, about the merits of having him take our program under strict review by our administration, in order to acquire an excellent coach.

There are some positives he could bring to our table. He is financially secure and wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg. He seemingly runs a disciplined program and motivates all combinations of kids. He may get out-played, or out-talented, but he doesn't seem to get out-coached. His teams show spirit, even when behind on the scoreboard.

Auggie, do you like anything about him? If he stayed in-tow, he's had winning teams, and he may just draw some athletes to our program which we never would have had otherwise.


Go Bengals!
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Ain't NEVER going to happen
 
fr willie said:
We already have coach. The above mention will NEVER happen
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I'm guessing the current staff is on contract for one more season.

I can understand the skepticism, but if many of you think we already have A coach, then the only thing I can say to our alumni is that we need THE coach.

God Bless The Home of Champions
 
TRBengal I don't know how to respond to your post but I will say that we have a staff that is 95% Men of Benedictine and they are very a hard working staff and will do rher best to make our kids better players and more importantly better young men.
 
fr willie said:
TRBengal I don't know how to respond to your post but I will say that we have a staff that is 95% Men of Benedictine and they are very a hard working staff and will do rher best to make our kids better players and more importantly better young men.
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Thank you for the civil and sincere response. None of the alumni I speak to are questioning the academic direction of our leadership, or the improvements they are making to the school/grounds from a difficult budget during these times. And nobody is questioning the level of hard work the athletic staff and department are exerting. They certainly need another year to demonstrate their own strategies going forward.

This is not the forum for airing private and very sensitive concerns, but we once had a Football Action Team and a head coach whose focus, ambitions, and intentions were to plan for a 15-year period which would bring 10 State Championships. A 6-year drought following an 11-year championship drought would never have been in those plans. For The Home of Champions, just being competitive in spots just isn't enough.

We should strive to field a team which can compete with any team in any division. However, realistically, we should plan our student body to keep us in Division III, however that can be accomplished economically. But from the ultimate expectation of beating Iggy and Eds, we haven't really been there since '96 for Eds, and maybe as far back as the mid-'80's for Iggy. When we've had powerful teams we had trouble scheduling Iggy, and those same teams sadly fell short against Eds. Pushing Eds and Lake Catholic around, particularly on defensive in '96 was a tremendous thrill.

Several alumni in our circle, myself included, have been watching Benedictine football before we enrolled, going back as far as 1961. Even longer for our Alumni Breakfast group. You'll have to excuse us if we are the more impatient of the alumni base. We would love for our programs to be staffed by alumni, former players, etc. But we want the best coach, and we've not taken advantage of a few good coaching prospects in recent years, for whatever reason. If it was economics, this would have been an area the Action Team would have found ways to fund.

Nobody elected me spokesman, but in closing, I'd like to acknowledge that probably very few in our group can fathom the difficulties in staffing and running the day-to-day objectives of our beloved Benedictine. However, we do respect it. It's just "to fight for the game and spread our name" is a stronger mantra for us old-timers.


Go Bengals!
 
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TRBengal said:
This is not the forum for airing private and very sensitive concerns, but we once had a Football Action Team and a head coach whose focus, ambitions, and intentions were to plan for a 15-year period which would bring 10 State Championships. A 6-year drought following a 7-year championship drought would never have been in those plans. For The Home of Champions, just being competitive in spots just isn't enough.
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That.. sounds very unreasonable.
Especially for a school that normally has 7+ year state championship draughts.
In fact I can’t think of any school our size that has come remotely close to that success.
 
Hey TR Bengal class of 66. Thanks for your input as we are brothers and are always trying to improve the football program. If you want to take the initiative to start the Action Team up again that would be fantastic. We need money,. we need more coaches on this staff. It's easy to be in the midst of the Finger Lakes and making suggestions however very few coaches will spend the amount of time it takes to coach football for the prices we can afford to pay. If you can organize a group to help out that would be much appreciated.
Go Bengal
Fight for the game
 
Just.here said:
That.. sounds very unreasonable.
Especially for a school that normally has 7+ year state championship draughts.
In fact I can’t think of any school our size that has come remotely close to that success.
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My only intent is to keep Benedictine in the limelight with thread-talk and not have us fade into the woodwork. It's getting tougher attracting student-athletes, and if you check the records, there are several small schools which have passed our record for excellance. I can't recall exact divisions for each, but we can start with Steubenville, St. Mary's, Coldwater, Kirtland and more. I'm particularly envious watching Akron Hoban's run, although we were never going to attract athletes from their area. But they've no doubt affected the football fortunes of Walsh and St. V's. How sweet would it be if we could attract enough blue chippers to compete with Iggy and Eds?

Go Bennies!
 
fr willie said:
Hey TR Bengal class of 66. Thanks for your input as we are brothers and are always trying to improve the football program. If you want to take the initiative to start the Action Team up again that would be fantastic. We need money,. we need more coaches on this staff. It's easy to be in the midst of the Finger Lakes and making suggestions however very few coaches will spend the amount of time it takes to coach football for the prices we can afford to pay. If you can organize a group to help out that would be much appreciated.
Go Bengal
Fight for the game
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I don't know if you're old enough to recall that era of the Football Action Team, but it took a collection of alumni with a lot of juice to convince our clergy to relinquish just a modicum of authority. Unfortunately, there were more obstacles and resistance than they ever anticipated.

I don't live in the Finger Lakes. And none of the small, dedicated group of alumni we hang with has anywhere near the juice to resurrect the Action Team. Those guys had track records of involvement in funding financial aid programs, probably hundreds of thousand of dollars of disposable income, as well as being great former athletes who still had the respect of our older clergy. But our guys are mostly retired, or are closer to the end than the middle. It's going to take the millennials to step up. More guys like Jerome Baker and currently successful businessmen.

Before the virus, I would have some of these conversations with the old-timers at our Alumni Breakfast club. Some can barely get around let alone add some cash and elbow grease to the effort.

Last, a reason I threw out Rotsky's name is that he is an excellent coach and he would attract athletes to our program. He is independently wealthy so a huge salary wouldn't be on the table, and he would also attract assistant coaches. His uncle is one of my physicians, and Jeff has frequently told him of his immense respect for Coach Bossu and our traditions. I just happen to have faith that he would tow the line because of his respect for our school and not do anything to tarnish it. However, I don't know the breath of his indiscretions, or how deep-rooted those habits may be.

We have complex issues to be sure. "After" the virus, I would be happy to try to get some of our guys to meet with some of your guys to discuss whatever we can do. It probably starts with helping to build a more substantial endowment. I don't have any problem calling up some of those former Action Team members to solicit proposals for a new effort.

Perhaps Auggie could join us. His opinions are respected here. What is your era Fr. Willie?

Stay safe.

And Go Bengals!
 
My era is not far from yours I am a 71 grad . I know one of your friends Dave Kornatowski pretty well . I am ALL for the resurrection of the Action Team and yes I know what they did and how they did it. Money is and always will be a issue at Benny . Each sports team we have needs to fund raise to get anything extra for there program.Football is the sport with the greatest tradition and state champ banners in the gym. We have a cookie dough fundraiser and a wing ding just before Covid hit raising a little but far below what we need. If you want to get a hold of me get my number from Dave and we can discuss the possibilities of getting the F.A.T going again. Dave will tell you a little bit about and the influence and love I have at the Home of Champions
Ora et Labora. P .J
 
This guy can help ...
 

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A lot to digest here as what was supposed to be a banner year for the Benedictine football team fell very short of expectations and has yet again brought some soul searching on direction of the program. At some point I will post thoughts on what happened on the field and what the future may hold but the bottom line is that because some dude ate a bad raw bat in China it probably affected the fortunes of a HS football team on the other side of the world.

  • First and foremost the school needs to be strengthened as an institution to make anything else associated with it more than just respectable. As a place that charges a decent amount of $s for a good but not great product I really think Benedictine needs to elevate its game to help overcome the location issue. The leadership team in place seems strong and I think the energy is there to make it a destination for young men looking for a quality single sex Catholic education. The next piece of the puzzle seems to be moving forward and that is the $s being invested through the centennial campaign into the physical campus that is needed and long over due. The Opportunity Corridor project should help to make it easier for folks in the southern and western 'burbs get the school which is where it seems most suburban students come from these days. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done as Benedictine is still somewhat stuck in the good old days. There are things that can be done that are not high cost too: beef up and be at the forefront of a social media presence, develop strategic partnerships with University Circle institutions, and be a beacon of hope in a challenged neighborhood.
  • Transitioning over to athletics... From what I have heard and seen the current AD has been a nice addition to the team and this could be a blue print for future personnel moves. Because of the changing times there is no longer an ensconced coach that is almost like a priest staying at 1 school for a lifetime working for peanuts. Guys like Bossu are not happening anymore and once Kyle leaves Iggy they will be in the same boat. We had probably the perfect candidate for this type of guy in Coach Schaeffer yet I don't blame him for wanting to make a career out of football and to support a family these days he needed to move on. Point being the model I could see working at Benny is a coach system that has recent alumni with energy being mentored by more seasoned grads or recently vested OPERS public coaches that don't need the bigger $s but still want the challenges and rewards of coaching at a high profile program. Then if the younger guys need to move on there are guys ready to step in with the mentors in place to help in a transition.
  • I respect what Coach Goode is trying to do with the program's direction but from what I have seen his management of day to day aspects and especially his attention to detail is lacking. Looking at the staff I don't really see that guy who can come up to him and tell him maybe he should look at doing X differently or try Y. The football program is screaming for some kind of senior mentoring personnel.
  • With regards to a football action team... As a wise man said, a camel is horse designed by a committee. Not sure a bunch of curmudgeons alums are the answer to getting things going in the right direction. I would rather see this energy be focused into supporting the team through aspects like some sort of alumni backing structure that allows a connection to the program by staying engaged in a variety of manners but not having a say in day to day operations. I would like to see a term limited alumni volunteer football admin position created to act as a bridge between the current football staff and the alumni base so there is accountability and transparent communications on key decisions.
  • I do know Jeff Rotsky and have an informed opinion on his coaching abilities. His style works for certain types of programs, Benedictine is not one of them for a variety of reasons. If anyone would like to discuss specifics I would do so through a message as opposed to a public forum.
  • Finally I don't think there is any program in Ohio that has been more affected by the competitive balance multiplier than Benedictine. Because of the Covid things will stay the same again in 2021 and with the reduced enrollment it really is a Div IV sized team that should be moved up to Div III. The team doesn't have the roster depth that these much larger suburban teams do or the resources that a Hoban or LaSalle have. This is something that cannot be changed and they have to suck it up but it does affect what happens in the post season.

I know this is kind of long winded essay with many different ideas but isn't that what this place is for?
 
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