St. Xavier 38, Miami Northwestern 12

[Jesse]

Lakeland was supposed to roll X. Run rings around them. Ask the Lakeland players of their opinion of Ohio ball.

BTW, do you think X never plays teams with big o-lines? Glenville averages well over 300 pounds across the line. DeMatha was big also. The GCL and Colerain usually average at least 270-280 if not more.

What, in hindsight is your myopic opine on how the game may have played out had X hit the road and visited Lakeland on their turf?

 

[consumerman]

Actually several other states do have as much or more talent than Ohio.I do see how it works.You invite teams to come in and play, catch them in your backyard with your officials.When you win it then goes "See we told you we are better".
When your teams lose to the invited gueast that has traveled from afar you boys then denigrate that same team that you were raving about beforehand.
'Oh it was a rebuilding year", "Why were they invited"? Always an excuse.Or series of them.So juvenile.
I do feel that St.X is a fine team and Specht an excellent coach. Rasso laid the foundation though and he has run with it.

Could X beat MNW? Of course they could.At Nippert or wherever(Lockland), yes it could happen. Way down in Gator country where we eat Buckeyes like candy, very unlikely.

Basically what I already said recently

 

[Jesse]

By the way, in his new book, Sal Paolantonio calls the '72 Dolphins the second most overrated Super Bowl champions in history, behind the 1985 Bears (discuss amongst yourselves).

http://www.amazon.com/Paolantonio-R...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195242069&sr=1-1

I think they were actually underdogs against the 11-3 Redskins (by three points, maybe), since the AFC was supposed to be terrible (Super Bowls III, IV, and V not withstanding). But they won 14-7, and now they're supposed to be the greatest team ever.

Definately not the greatest team ever, but the greatest accomplishment in NFL history up to this point in time.

 

[consumerman]

Definately not the greatest team ever, but the greatest accomplishment in NFL history up to this point in time.

the 1972 Dolphins won 3 post season games by 6, 4 and 7 points or 17 points total

the 1989 49ers won 3 playoff games by 28, 27 and 45 points or 100 points total

 

[Jesse]

the 1972 Dolphins won 3 post season games by 6, 4 and 7 points or 17 points total

the 1989 49ers won 3 playoff games by 28, 27 and 45 points or 100 points total

Those SF teams from the Walsh era were something special. And fun to watch.Lets not forget however, that rules governing pass defense(bump rule) and allowing o-linemen to push off and essentially use their hands remains the primary reason the West coast offenses are so sucessfull.Sid Gillman who wrote the book on it says that without the rule changes of 79-80, football would still be far more favorable to the defenses.As great as Jerry Rice and John Taylor were, unlike Swann, Stallworth, Warefield, and others, he didn't have to deal with Jack Tatum, Thom Darden, George Atkinson, and those types when it was open season on recievers, at any time on any place on the field.

 

[consumerman]

Those SF teams from the Walsh era were something special. And fun to watch.Lets not forget however, that rules governing pass defense(bump rule) and allowing o-linemen to push off and essentially use their hands remains the primary reason the West coast offenses are so sucessfull.Sid Gillman who wrote the book on it says that without the rule changes of 79-80, football would still be far more favorable to the defenses.As great as Jerry Rice and John Taylor were, unlike Swann, Stallworth, Warefield, and others, he didn't have to deal with Jack Tatum, Thom Darden, George Atkinson, and those types when it was open season on recievers, at any time on any place on the field.

how fortunate were the 49ers to have arguably the greatest offensive coach and greatest master of the passing game come along right when the rule changes favoring offenses and passing come into effect

and the defenses weren't too shabby

1984 NFC title game SHUTOUT
1988 NFC title game 1 FG
1989 NFC title game 1 FG

and unlike some of those bears and steelers (for example) defenses, especially in the post season, they did not have cold, icy, windy home field advantages to help those defenses

funny its easy to excuse away more points with "rule changes" but conveniently leave out the same rules should have seen more points against the defense, the three games above hardly show that

 

[Jesse]

how fortunate were the 49ers to have arguably the greatest offensive coach and greatest master of the passing game come along right when the rule changes favoring offenses and passing come into effect

and the defenses weren't too shabby

1984 NFC title game SHUTOUT
1988 NFC title game 1 FG
1989 NFC title game 1 FG

and unlike some of those bears and steelers (for example) defenses, especially in the post season, they did not have cold, icy, windy home field advantages to help those defenses

funny its easy to excuse away more points with "rule changes" but conveniently leave out the same rules should have seen more points against the defense, the three games above hardly show that

SF and Walsh were the Mayflower for utilizing those changes to their advantage. Compare ppg, passing ypg, and total offense ppg across the league before and after.Gillman drew it up Walsh perfected it and others were a bit slow on the take.Dallas amongst others. I respect your accuman but don't downplay the effect of o-linemen no longer having to "grab their jersey #'s and recievers being able to prance around unmolested. Any yes SF did have great defense to compliment their spectacular offense. Fred Dean anyone.Ronnie Lott. Rikki Gray-Ellison. SF and Walsh were just quicker on the take.Thats why Walsh was the best in the business.An abstract mind and a brain capable of acknowledging the game had changed. The Niners put a lot of extra spending money in my wallet back in those days

 

[BobcatBomber]

Actually several other states do have as much or more talent than Ohio.I do see how it works.You invite teams to come in and play, catch them in your backyard with your officials.When you win it then goes "See we told you we are better".
When your teams lose to the invited gueast that has traveled from afar you boys then denigrate that same team that you were raving about beforehand.
'Oh it was a rebuilding year", "Why were they invited"? Always an excuse.Or series of them.So juvenile.

I do feel that St.X is a fine team and Specht an excellent coach. Rasso laid the foundation though and he has run with it.

Could X beat MNW? Of course they could.At Nippert or wherever(Lockland), yes it could happen. Way down in Gator country where we eat Buckeyes like candy, very unlikely.

Never once will you read a post of mine saying "so and so was in a down year" or any other BS. If you get beat, you get beat. You must be thinking of someone else when you're referring to this.


Regarding the issue of the outcome of the game depending on where they play, you hae your opinion, I've got mine. Of course, we both know what they say about opinions...
Bottom line is, both are outstanding teams that, should both win their respective state titles, whoever is awarded "national" champs is well deserving of the title.

 

[Jesse]

Never once will you read a post of mine saying "so and so was in a down year" or any other BS. If you get beat, you get beat. You must be thinking of someone else when you're referring to this.


Regarding the issue of the outcome of the game depending on where they play, you hae your opinion, I've got mine. Of course, we both know what they say about opinions...
Bottom line is, both are outstanding teams that, should both win their respective state titles, whoever is awarded "national" champs is well deserving of the title.

Agreed.

And I will exclude you from the excuse makers ( too many to name in one post).Scroll back to late Aug and follow through mid Sept.And I believe you'll pick up on what I have stated.You sir are removed from the crybaby list.

 

[Jesse]

Moron,

Who was criticizing a schedule in hindsight?

namecalling is the greatest debating skill you have mr contradiction I mean concha-diction

and the answer to your question is YOU

you even did it in your response post

are you that bi-polar?

He is out of Paxil, Prozac or whatever.

 

[UncleBaldy]

Actually several other states do have as much or more talent than Ohio.I do see how it works.You invite teams to come in and play, catch them in your backyard with your officials.When you win it then goes "See we told you we are better".

If other states would like to have something like the Herbstreit, I am pretty sure there would be a lot of Ohio teams willing to take up the challenge. Your comments also smack of accusations of bad officiating in favor of Ohio teams. I would remind you that there have been bad calls going both ways and some have been more harmful to the Ohio team than the out of state team.

One more thing, if the Herbstreit was an attempt to make Ohio teams look better than teams from other states, then the Herbstreit would be held in November, not August. Herbstreit, I believe, has said on several occasions that the purpose of the Challenge is to show that Ohio High School football is as good as other states, not to prove that it is better.

Do I believe that Ohio football is better? No
Do I believe it is just as good as other states, notably TX, CA, and FL? Yes

 

[consumerman]

If other states would like to have something like the Herbstreit, I am pretty sure there would be a lot of Ohio teams willing to take up the challenge. Your comments also smack of accusations of bad officiating in favor of Ohio teams. I would remind you that there have been bad calls going both ways and some have been more harmful to the Ohio team than the out of state team.

One more thing, if the Herbstreit was an attempt to make Ohio teams look better than teams from other states, then the Herbstreit would be held in November, not August. Herbstreit, I believe, has said on several occasions that the purpose of the Challenge is to show that Ohio High School football is as good as other states, not to prove that it is better.

Do I believe that Ohio football is better? No
Do I believe it is just as good as other states, notably TX, CA, and FL? Yes

no question Ohio is a great football state

 

[skyway28]

What, in hindsight is your myopic opine on how the game may have played out had X hit the road and visited Lakeland on their turf?

This is a question nobody seems to want to ask or answer. Except for the bologna about home field merely being worth 1.5 points or something stupid.

 

[fish82]

I think the point is that "home field advantage" was not even brought up during the weeks leading up to Lakeland/X. Lakeland was the defending national champs, and would roll X if they played "on the moon." Only after they barely escaped with their lives did the "home field" thing come up.

I always found that curious.

I'll say it before, and I'll say it again. If coming to Ohio is that big of a flippin deal, there are 2 options.

1. Don't come. Plenty of teams in line to come take a crack at us. No skin off our nose.

2. Put together a similar game or event in your own state, paying the way for all participating teams.

It's that simple.

 

[concha]

He is out of Paxil, Prozac or whatever.

Out of all of the above.



So, DLS's schedule this year....

Lets' review:

1) I have stated that DLS's performance this year has been very impressive. I ain't the fool to dispute it a second.

2) I have stated more than once that I don't accuse DLS of trying to "schedule soft".

3) DLS's opponents are 54-51-2 on the year (or 54-41-2 less losses to DLS). X's are 108-29 less losses to X.



Conclusions on my part:

1) Regarding "hindsight". Hindsight would relevant if I had accused DLS of purposefully scheduling soft after already knowing their results. I have not done that. Coach Lad is not shy of competition. My question is valid. DLS's schedule this year has ended up being tough or it has not. After a 10-game season, DLS's average opponent is a 50% or 60% win team (depending on inclusion of DLS games). My point was that DLS IS very good this year and a Frazier or two on the schedule would help their situation nationally amongst the elite programs in the polls.

2) X's average foe won 70% to 80% of their games this year (with and without X games). So, is it reasonable to compare game stats between X and DLS? Is it sensible to not account for X playing without at least one key player in most of their games (one of whom is considered one of the best in the country at his position)? I'd say when your pool of opponents has gone 108-29, X might deserve a little consideration.







Bottom line:

DLS has been damned impressive this season when many didn't expect one of their better years. It's too bad they didn't have a bigtime out-of-state game or better luck with their SS opponent since MV has had an off year.

For X, "only a fool" would discount the overall quality of their schedule this year. And to be undefeated without Ashley for several games and despite losing the senior QB - that's a gritty performance. Beating a 12-0 nationally-ranked Colerain team that was putting up 40 ppg (no offense?) isn't too bad either.

Look, I am perfectly happy dropping the pizzing match. MV-Moe is meaningless. MV played an ineligible. BFD. Moe is a better team than they often show [FYI their coach has been asked to resign]. Yes, X probably should have handled Iggy better, but they also pulled out a win under several difficult circumstances to one of the better programs in Ohio. These are things that are easy to take cheap shts at, as is Serra losing to St. Francis and Riordan.




Now, Would MNW beat X? Possible. Who knows. Let's just say that I can't find much regard for folks who say things like "X couldn't MNW's line", "X would get torched by MNW's DBs" and "X couldn't handle Jacory Harris" etc etc etc. Consider:

1) X played opponents so far this year who are a combined 108-29 apart from losses to X. I know of no other team in the nation whose opponents approach this level of success. FYI, MNW's foes are 54-48.

2) In 11 of 13 games in this schedule, X sent their opponent home with their worst loss of the year. It would be 12 of 13 but X took a knee versus Moe near the goal line. The other game was versus Iggy and was played under difficult circumstances which have been discussed.

3) X has faced two teams ranked in the top ten this year (at least at game time) and beat each in strong fashion.

4) X destroyed Elder, who ended Indy's streak. X also beat Colerain, who beat Hoover. Hoover is undefeated on the field apart from Colerain. I know that there may be "buts" attached to Indy and Hoover this year, but in their home states they have one loss on the field between them, ans that by just one point. Respectable.

5) X did all this without highly touted Darius Ashley for four games (and playing gimpy for at least a couple more). They lost their starting QB late in the season.


I would submit that writing off X versus any high school team anywhere is silly given what they've done this year.

 

[skyway28]

I think the point is that "home field advantage" was not even brought up during the weeks leading up to Lakeland/X. Lakeland was the defending national champs, and would roll X if they played "on the moon." Only after they barely escaped with their lives did the "home field" thing come up.

I always found that curious.

I'll say it before, and I'll say it again. If coming to Ohio is that big of a flippin deal, there are 2 options.

1. Don't come. Plenty of teams in line to come take a crack at us. No skin off our nose.

2. Put together a similar game or event in your own state, paying the way for all participating teams.

It's that simple.

Huh? It was mentioned repeatedly by many, including yours truly. Are you going to suggest that since you don't personally recall anybody mentioning home-field advantage before the game..X didn't have an advantage? Lol

Nobody said Lakeland or any of the other non-Ohio teams at the Herbie at any sort of problem with going. All that has been said and is fact is that the Ohio teams do, in fact, have a home-field advantage. Especially the Cincy area teams playing at Nippert. When looking at the results of the games, you must consider the home-field advantage the Ohio teams had. That's all.

 

[concha]

Actually several other states do have as much or more talent than Ohio.I do see how it works.You invite teams to come in and play, catch them in your backyard with your officials.When you win it then goes "See we told you we are better".
When your teams lose to the invited gueast that has traveled from afar you boys then denigrate that same team that you were raving about beforehand.
'Oh it was a rebuilding year", "Why were they invited"? Always an excuse.Or series of them.So juvenile.

I do feel that St.X is a fine team and Specht an excellent coach. Rasso laid the foundation though and he has run with it.

Could X beat MNW? Of course they could.At Nippert or wherever(Lockland), yes it could happen. Way down in Gator country where we eat Buckeyes like candy, very unlikely.

I think there is alot of mental creativity involved in the above.


Ex.
X lost to Lakeland, and they were expected to - especially by Florida posters. Two very good teams. X was at home. Lakeland had more experience and more blue-chips. Great game. Could have gone either way. Nobody begrudged Lakeland the win. Lakeland left impressed.

Elder lost to DLS. Then again, Elder got their clocks cleaned a few other games too. Unfortunate pairing. Elder got spanked. DLS was denied a statement win versus one of Ohio's best that year. DLS impressed Ohio fans as they should have.

Moe wasn't ranked at all versus a highly ranked byrnes team and was expected to lose badly. They nearly pulled out a win. Truth.

MV beat Moe in another close one. Neither has had a season to write home about. It may be good for Moe in the long term, as they are losing a head coach who has been criticized for years now.

Poly beat Glenville in a closely contested game. Good for Poly. A quality win. Glenville has serious talent that has been hamstrung this year by poor coaching decisions, turnovers and one of the worst kicking games in the solar system. Fact is, Glenville has the kids to have beaten Poly, X and Mentor this year, but a combination of the three factors I mentioned blew it each time. What a waste. No excuses for G'ville. If anything, criticism.



I guess I'm just not quite sure where this posturing by Ohioans has been. Nobody has claimed "We wuz robbed". When Ohio teams went into play teams that were higher ranked nationally (Ex. Lakeland, Indy, Byrnes, DLS games), that wasn't Ohio polls making the call.

Though Ohio does get a "home" advantage to varying degrees in the Herbie games, they are also bringing in select top teams from the rest of the entire nation. The #1s or #2s from NJ, PA, AL, FL, CA (? - top programs anyway), NC, SC...others?... have come and Ohio hasn't done too badly considering. I can't think of a major upset of an Ohio team and the field of opponents has been pretty impressive.

That said, results are far from showing Ohio to be THE football in the nation, though they do indicate that Ohio can play some damned good ball against damned good teams from around the nation.

 

[fish82]

Huh? It was mentioned repeatedly by many, including yours truly. Are you going to suggest that since you don't personally recall anybody mentioning home-field advantage before the game..X didn't have an advantage? Lol

Post game? Yes. Pre-game? We'll have to agree to disagree there.

Nobody said Lakeland or any of the other non-Ohio teams at the Herbie at any sort of problem with going. All that has been said and is fact is that the Ohio teams do, in fact, have a home-field advantage. Especially the Cincy area teams playing at Nippert. When looking at the results of the games, you must consider the home-field advantage the Ohio teams had. That's all.

I never said I disputed that. However, on any given Friday night, 20,000 other HS teams have a home field advantage. It's rare that I ever see someone say that "must be considered" when evaluating the win.

Each year teams in Texas travel father than some Herbie teams to play in their own state. I have yet to read any of the losers say, "yea, but we had to fly/drive across the state and stay in a hotel for 2 nights."

I may be in the minority, but it just reeks "excuse" to me.

 

[concha]

Huh? It was mentioned repeatedly by many, including yours truly. Are you going to suggest that since you don't personally recall anybody mentioning home-field advantage before the game..X didn't have an advantage? Lol

Nobody said Lakeland or any of the other non-Ohio teams at the Herbie at any sort of problem with going. All that has been said and is fact is that the Ohio teams do, in fact, have a home-field advantage. Especially the Cincy area teams playing at Nippert. When looking at the results of the games, you must consider the home-field advantage the Ohio teams had. That's all.

The point is that, in general, Florida posters simply expected Lakeland to run rings around X. They knew where the game was being played, but their expectation was still clear. The same happened with Texas fans when Colerain beat REL. Big win by Texas team expected, homefield advantage talk dragged out after the result was far from exectations.

So, yes, of course playing in Ohio is an advantage. How much of an advantage? Who could possibly know? Then again, bringing in top teams from a choice of 49 states to face a group of Ohio teams that is at best a mix of the best and let's just say "others" should be considered in the Away guys favor, no?

 

[skyway28]

Post game? Yes. Pre-game? We'll have to agree to disagree there.



I never said I disputed that. However, on any given Friday night, 20,000 other HS teams have a home field advantage. It's rare that I ever see someone say that "must be considered" when evaluating the win.

Each year teams in Texas travel father than some Herbie teams to play in their own state. I have yet to read any of the losers say, "yea, but we had to fly/drive across the state and stay in a hotel for 2 nights."

I may be in the minority, but it just reeks "excuse" to me.

1) To some degree, home-field advantage should be considered in all games where it existed

2) A team traveling 20 miles to play in front of 2,000 fans for the other team is not exactly the same thing as traveling 2,000 miles to play in front of 20,000 fans. And, when something big like state pride is on the line, everything is magnified over your regular prep game.

3) In Texas and Ohio, to a large degree, playoff games are played in cavernous, neutral site facilities. The stadium may be closer to one school than another, but its nothing like a home game. Nobody had a home-field advantage last year when SLC played Trinity or when X played Colerain.

 

[skyway28]

The point is that, in general, Florida posters simply expected Lakeland to run rings around X. They knew where the game was being played, but their expectation was still clear. The same happened with Texas fans when Colerain beat REL. Big win by Texas team expected, homefield advantage talk dragged out after the result was far from exectations.

So, yes, of course playing in Ohio is an advantage. How much of an advantage? Who could possibly know? Then again, bringing in top teams from a choice of 49 states to face a group of Ohio teams that is at best a mix of the best and let's just say "others" should be considered in the Away guys favor, no?

There are always going to be loud-mouthed, ignorant posters claiming there teams/states would destroy anybody.

No doubt Ohio, thanks to Kirk Herbstreit and some decent sponsorship deals making travel possible, has challenged itself in a big way by playing many of the top teams in the country. That the state's record againt such elite competition is poor is, in fact, not bad at all considering who's playing who.

 

[concha]

There are always going to be loud-mouthed, ignorant posters claiming there teams/states would destroy anybody.

No doubt Ohio, thanks to Kirk Herbstreit and some decent sponsorship deals making travel possible, has challenged itself in a big way by playing many of the top teams in the country. That the state's record againt such elite competition is poor is, in fact, not bad at all considering who's playing who.

1) As regards fans, that is true. That said, Lakeland was a clear favorite in most people's opinions. I recall seeing a quote ot two from Lakeland players commenting how they expected to be much faster than X but were surprised by X's game speed.

2) The only game I can think of that could be regarded as an upset versus Ohio might be the Moe-MV game, though I think based on the prior year and early season expectations, MV probably came in even even odds at worst. I think Colerain didn't win as clearly as expected this year. Elder exceeded expectations. X did well. Glenville/Poly? Lord, who knows with Glenville? All that talent and speed but poor coaching, too many turnovers and an inexcusable kicking game. I'd say Moe exceeded expectations versus Byrnes. Elder didn't belong anywhere near DLS or about 3 other opponents they faced in 2006. Bosco beat a decent Centerville team with some key injuries... not much to take away from that one. Mooney beat Gateway, who is a PA big school title contender it appears.... I think the overall stroy is that Ohio has held its own. No big, meaningfull losses and no big, meaningfull wins overall.

 

[concha]

In another post, several years ago you stated you saw Pukeview-Camden at the Kell kickoff classic"They were slow, and just kept running the ball nowhere".Could be you watched two teams talented enough to take each other out of their game plan and have to play defense. Take off the rose colored glasses counselor. I felt the same when seeing Iggy, Elder, and Princton,St Eds, Mentor and quite a few other Ohio, and PA teams.. I notice you avoid GAVSV.Old Rabid would love to discuss this with you as well.He's waiting to chew your ears off and spit them back in your face. Lowndes would love to host any so-called name program who wants to roll the dice.Other than ST.X, the Vikings would defeat any GCL team this year.

Pukeview played Lowndes in 2004 in the finals.Early onset of Alzheimers? And btw why are you living in Georgia? Couldn't make it back in the hometown?

1) The DLS guy I went to the game with had an even lower opinion than I. It's not like we had any motive to dog Georgia ball. Honest impressions from two guys from two different states with no dog in the fight. Snipe away.

2) What is GAVSV so I know what I'm avoiding so strenuously.

3) Old Rabid. Is that a dog?

4) That is nice of Lowndes. Who have they invited?

5) Maybe Lowndes would do well versus the rest of the GCL. They have a loss already and it wasn't exactly Northside they were playing.

6) You need to mix in a "yo mamma" joke every now and then. That's all That's keeping you from true comic genius.

 

[Chicago]

"Early onset of Alzheimer's?"

How does he know how old you are?

 

[concha]

"Early onset of Alzheimer's?"

How does he know how old you are?

His mental powers are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. Even if I did know at one time, apparently I can't remember....

 

[skyway28]

"1) The DLS guy I went to the game with had an even lower opinion than I. It's not like we had any motive to dog Georgia ball. Honest impressions from two guys from two different states with no dog in the fight. Snipe away."

That's not true. You both wanted your respective home states to be superior to the other states, Georgia included. You went into the game expecting and subconsciously hoping to see inferior football. People can fit what they see into the altered form of reality they want to see. And some people are just biased against run-oriented defensive football games. Which is an ineffective way to really judge the quality of teams.

 

[concha]

"1) The DLS guy I went to the game with had an even lower opinion than I. It's not like we had any motive to dog Georgia ball. Honest impressions from two guys from two different states with no dog in the fight. Snipe away."

That's not true. You both wanted your respective home states to be superior to the other states, Georgia included. You went into the game expecting and subconsciously hoping to see inferior football. People can fit what they see into the altered form of reality they want to see. And some people are just biased against run-oriented defensive football games. Which is an ineffective way to really judge the quality of teams.

My impressions went beyond any tainting due to homerism. Perhaps it was just that game. Starting the season, jitters, who knows. It was not a good display. One of the things I clearly recall was the lack of adjustments. "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again" was a theme. I left surprised and disappointed.

As regards bias against run-oriented, defensively strong teams, I'm from Ohio for crying out loud. And DLS runs a little too wouldn't you say?

 

[Chicago]

I just went to 7-11.

I walked right past the root beer and got a Mountain Dew.

Now, I like both, mind you, but I usually like root beer better.

I didn't really think about it. It just seemed like something I wanted to do.

Do you know why I did it, and if so, could you let me know? I've been wondering, and you seem like you could help (there may have been something subconscious going on).

 

[concha]

I just went to 7-11.

I walked right past the root beer and got a Mountain Dew.

Now, I like both, mind you, but I usually like root beer better.

I didn't really think about it. It just seemed like something I wanted to do.

Do you know why I did it, and if so, could you let me know? I've been wondering, and you seem like you could help (there may have been something subconscious going on).

I think I can help you. I'm a psychologist. I mean psychiatrist. Wait. No I'm not. Or am I? Crap. I can't remember. What was the question?

 

[Jesse]

Out of all of the above.



So, DLS's schedule this year....

Lets' review:

1) I have stated that DLS's performance this year has been very impressive. I ain't the fool to dispute it a second.

2) I have stated more than once that I don't accuse DLS of trying to "schedule soft".

3) DLS's opponents are 54-51-2 on the year (or 54-41-2 less losses to DLS). X's are 108-29 less losses to X.



Conclusions on my part:

1) Regarding "hindsight". Hindsight would relevant if I had accused DLS of purposefully scheduling soft after already knowing their results. I have not done that. Coach Lad is not shy of competition. My question is valid. DLS's schedule this year has ended up being tough or it has not. After a 10-game season, DLS's average opponent is a 50% or 60% win team (depending on inclusion of DLS games). My point was that DLS IS very good this year and a Frazier or two on the schedule would help their situation nationally amongst the elite programs in the polls.

2) X's average foe won 70% to 80% of their games this year (with and without X games). So, is it reasonable to compare game stats between X and DLS? Is it sensible to not account for X playing without at least one key player in most of their games (one of whom is considered one of the best in the country at his position)? I'd say when your pool of opponents has gone 108-29, X might deserve a little consideration.







Bottom line:

DLS has been damned impressive this season when many didn't expect one of their better years. It's too bad they didn't have a bigtime out-of-state game or better luck with their SS opponent since MV has had an off year.

For X, "only a fool" would discount the overall quality of their schedule this year. And to be undefeated without Ashley for several games and despite losing the senior QB - that's a gritty performance. Beating a 12-0 nationally-ranked Colerain team that was putting up 40 ppg (no offense?) isn't too bad either.

Look, I am perfectly happy dropping the pizzing match. MV-Moe is meaningless. MV played an ineligible. BFD. Moe is a better team than they often show [FYI their coach has been asked to resign]. Yes, X probably should have handled Iggy better, but they also pulled out a win under several difficult circumstances to one of the better programs in Ohio. These are things that are easy to take cheap shts at, as is Serra losing to St. Francis and Riordan.




Now, Would MNW beat X? Possible. Who knows. Let's just say that I can't find much regard for folks who say things like "X couldn't MNW's line", "X would get torched by MNW's DBs" and "X couldn't handle Jacory Harris" etc etc etc. Consider:

1) X played opponents so far this year who are a combined 108-29 apart from losses to X. I know of no other team in the nation whose opponents approach this level of success. FYI, MNW's foes are 54-48.

2) In 11 of 13 games in this schedule, X sent their opponent home with their worst loss of the year. It would be 12 of 13 but X took a knee versus Moe near the goal line. The other game was versus Iggy and was played under difficult circumstances which have been discussed.

3) X has faced two teams ranked in the top ten this year (at least at game time) and beat each in strong fashion.

4) X destroyed Elder, who ended Indy's streak. X also beat Colerain, who beat Hoover. Hoover is undefeated on the field apart from Colerain. I know that there may be "buts" attached to Indy and Hoover this year, but in their home states they have one loss on the field between them, ans that by just one point. Respectable.

5) X did all this without highly touted Darius Ashley for four games (and playing gimpy for at least a couple more). They lost their starting QB late in the season.


I would submit that writing off X versus any high school team anywhere is silly given what they've done this year.

I have to agree with the consular about ST.X vs DLS, with respect to schedule strength "this year".