Good size. Excellent field vision. Great balance. Decent but not great speed. Extremely hard worker. Very humble. He is simply another cog in the wheel to the team concept being promoted at Grove. Finally he has been blessed to have several better than average linemen to help him along the way
Northwest Conference 2024
- Thread starter BirdDog10
- Start date
Pirate Wishbone
Active member
Serious question, I know Grove has a lot to replace from the lines last year, is the O and then D line better than last year or is it just Barazza doing his thing?
Asking because that was the part that got us both times, I felt we had the skill players to match Grove but the Grove line was to (strangely) athletic for our line, if that makes sense
Dr. Frasier Crane
Well-known member
Well, our right guard is a Regional Qualifier in the hurdles. Both tackles played basketball last year and the center and left guard wrestled. So i would have to say they are pretty athletic too. I'm not 100% positive but I think all 5 were on the track team too.
Pirate Wishbone
Active member
Interesting, I respect the basketball and especially the wrestlers,(have always felt those skills translate to football O and D line play), not so sure how I feel about a regional hurdler?, Not sure that means much for a lineman,
Dr. Frasier Crane
Well-known member
He wrestles too.Interesting, I respect the basketball and especially the wrestlers,(have always felt those skills translate to football O and D line play), not so sure how I feel about a regional hurdler?, Not sure that means much for a lineman,
BirdDog10
Well-known member
Right guard is Layton Blankemeyer. He’s a 3 year starter at defensive end, qualified for districts in wrestling 2 or 3 times? One of those years I think he was injured at sectionals or conference. Anchor in Grove’s 4x400 and is step for step with your guy Kruse in both hurdle events. He’s an athleteInteresting, I respect the basketball and especially the wrestlers,(have always felt those skills translate to football O and D line play), not so sure how I feel about a regional hurdler?, Not sure that means much for a lineman,
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Pirate Wishbone
Active member
Noted, I am more concerned with speed on the O and D line than size
Basement Bias
Well-known member
Gotta love those football & wrestlers. If my youngest son had his way, he'd play football, basketball, wrestling, & baseball until he graduated. If you can stay in that wrestling shape or even basketball shape during football season, it would be lights out.
BirdDog10
Well-known member
The right combination of strong and athletic is key. Against Versailles last year i I thought Grove’s lines looked bigger and stronger on both sides of the ball but Versailles kids were so athletic they just ran right around ours. Can’t do much as a D-lineman when you’re already beat to the point of attack immediately after the snap
BirdDog10
Well-known member
IMO the best thing an interior football player can do in the winter is wrestle, second best is play basketball. There’s very few kids who can take off winter, spring, or both and continue to get better at football, those are normally the special ones.
Basement Bias
Well-known member
Biggest issue is keeping the mindset of those football first guys during wrestling and/or basketball season right. Those 2 sports are grinders late in their seasons. Probably not too many Ohio schools have swimming?
Pirate Wishbone
Active member
Interesting how the speed game has evolved to incorporate the linemen. That was very evident in D6 last year, I was at Grove Versailles and totally agree, I thought V was very small compared to Grove. When you look at those games Bluffton Ottawa Hills was a similar contrast, even though I thought Bluffton line was bigger, you could them the linemen were much quicker and got to the second level with ease. I did see some film of Grove Carey (for obvious reasons) that was probably one of the best examples of size vs speed on the line, as Carey was huge but line couldn't move their feet fast enough.
Week 10 will be interesting, we have some very good basketball and wrestlers on our line as well,
maybe we should move Kruse to D end instead of safety
Week 10 will be interesting, we have some very good basketball and wrestlers on our line as well,
maybe we should move Kruse to D end instead of safety oneeyepirate
Member
In my opinion, Grove's offensive and defensive line are worse than last year. Very soft, they seem smaller and more athletic, but soft.
BirdDog10
Well-known member
What's that old saying about opinions?
Does Grove live rent free in your head. In about every post you make, you can not go without taking jab at them. Thats pretty Ballsy considering they’ve owned the pirates since like 2017.
BirdDog10
Well-known member
@Redskin97 here you go if you need a pre-game or post-game bite to eat. I’m a big fan of their “torpedoughs” too
Bruce Monnin
Well-known member
I bet I've driven past that place a 100+ times but never stopped in (never stopped anywhere in Columbus Grove while driving through). Now I'm thinking about it ...
Highly recommended it when you get a chance. Especially the “torpedoughs“ they are pretty freaking good.
If you haven’t been to their games- and I bet u haven’t- your opinion means nothing. To voice an opinion one must have a base from which to offer that opinion-you do not have that base , therefore it follows that your opinions are meaningless
PirateLifer24
Active member
like most grove blind faith supporters
Oh my, that hurts. lol grow up kid
Curious what the scores were during this time between Bluffton and Ada. Not really because I know the results but you said it perfectly BirdDog, very short sighted of the school board
BirdDog10
Well-known member
There's also Pizzeria's in Ottawa, Pandora, Leipsic, and Kalida. All owned and run by the same family. The previous owners were brothers, Brent and Curt Shafer, and they sold to their sons, Jordan, Alex, and Zach around 2 years ago. Definitely worth the stop
Bruce Monnin
Well-known member
I've been by the one in Ottawa also. Both on our way to the Liberty Center/Napoleon area.
BirdDog10
Well-known member
Please don’t ever post again
You were just a little bit off on your prediction. I even knew it wouldn’t be close. lol. Respect to Grove, that’s solid team they got there. Now let me get back at enjoying some nice cold Dr. Pepper on the rest of the way home lol
BirdDog10
Well-known member
Might have a little secret ingredient, 2 ease the pain lolI saw those RV’s in the parking lot…. You sure it’s just Dr. Pepper in your cup?
Dr. Frasier Crane
Well-known member
That big RV was awesome. That's big time stuff.