I was able to make it to see the game last night. Absolutely perfect night for football. Awesome crowd for both teams and a great opening night.
My margin of victory prediction was spot on. I had Fairmont by 25 and they won by 24. However, my prediction on how Fairmont would play could not have been worse. They had 3 turnovers in the second quarter. Very sloppy game for an experienced Dave Miller team to play. Fairmont was by far the better team and I would say Alter was lucky to not get running clocked. Baker had 29 carries for 205 yards and 2 TD's.
FAIRMONT - Will be tough for anyone to play. Springfield will probably be the only team to blow them out. The Miller style is not a highly entertaining style to watch, but it is very effective. I also think it is a good style for Fairmont. I agree about the playoff success, but Fairmont should be very happy with the results he has produced. First year he was 1-9. Throw that out has he was changing the culture. Next 5 years they are 28-24 with 4 playoff appearance. That will get skewed now that just about every d one team will make the playoffs. Before Miller, Fairmont had bben to the playoffs once in their history. And that was because Alter had to forfeit the opening game. 28-20 in the regular season since, and a much improved out of conference schedule. Last year it was Trotwood and CJ and this year it is Trotwood and LaSalle. I love what he has done there. Again, it is not fun to watch, but gives them the best chance to win and compete week in and week out.
ALTER - They are not what they have been. A little on the smaller side and very unusual for them to have only 15-17 juniors and seniors in the whole program. Last years seniors must have run a few kids off. Freshmen numbers seemed great and a lot freshmen played last night. They will be competing for a regional title when the QB is a senior. I do not feel they play with the same discipline as they did 5 years ago. Could be Ed or it could be the staff. The won their two state championships with a great offensive line coach that they got rid of a few years after that. I always thought he was important to allow Domsitz to run the wishbone effectively. Their line play has not been as great since. Defense last night had a great game plan and played awesome in the first half. They will be good against the rest of the schedule except Badin. Will need to be creative on offense against Badin and the playoff teams to score enough to win.