ThirdnLong

This was the wierdest football game I've seen in years.  Neither team could move the ball with any consistency so they had to wait for the big mistake to score.  I don't think the two teams combined had 250 yards of offense. H-D has great size for a 1a and a couple of good players but not much speed.  LL doesn't have much size or speed and is the least talented LL team in the last 10 years.  LL only returned 3 starters from last year and played a lot of soph/fresh. The scoring plays were a 79-yard interception return for a TD, a blocked punt for a TD, and a fumble returned to the LL 12 that resulted in a FG.  Overall, it was a comedy of errors on LL's side.  I don't see either team doing too much this year.

[quote name="H-D BOBCAT 55" post="1274069" timestamp="1347887516"] HD is coming off a heart breaking loss to a good Groveton team. Groveton pulled it out at the end. 20-14 tough loss. That game showed just how good HD can be. Lovelady may have their most depleted team in years. Lovelady was victorious over Colmesneil last week in their first win of season. Lovelady had several players move out and their numbers are real low. I feel HD's size and hunger will be to much for Lovelady. HD 24 Lovelady 14 [/quote] A couple of corrections: Lovelady beat Colmesneil by 30 in week 0, lost by six to New Waverly in week one and lost by 2 to Grapeland last week.  They're not as strong as in years past but could easily be 3-0 right now.  Lovelady's QB will be the fastest player on the field but he's not a strong passer (something we've gotten spoiled to having in the past).  Contain him and you have a shot.  I really don't think you'll hold LL to less than 20 points, but I've been wrong before.  We'll see.

Being from Lovelady, I really hope HD does well this year.  I don't know how many kids they lost from last year's team, but they had a few kids who were pretty good athletes and they competed well against us for the most part.  If what I've read is true and they have a larger group of kids coming out to play this fall it should only help them. It takes three things to make deep playoff runs: good athletes, a coaching staff that plays to the strengths of the players they have, and hard work.  You can be successful with just two of those three, but to be elite you have to have all three.  Lovelady was a down program for a long time.  Over the past few years we've had some great athletes and a coaching staff that knew how to use them and we've had a good program.  We've had the opportunity to play some of the best 1A teams in the state.  We beat Mart in Mart in '09 and if I'm not mistaken that is Coach Nail's only home loss to a 1A team.  We lost a heartbreaker to Cayuga that same year in the playoffs.  We've played the Altos and Garrisons.  In short, we've seen a lot of very talented teams the past few years and they all had great athletes that were well-coached.  I know what state-championship caliber teams look like.  IMO, HD has had some good athletes the past few seasons, but not enough to seriously challenge the upper-echelon 1A teams.  Maybe this year will be better for you folks. On a side note, you may stand a chance against Lovelady this year.  Our enrollment has dropped from 185 kids to about 135 the past two years so we're dropping down to 1A-D2.  I think we only have about 23 kids out for football, so it's possible we'll be down a little this year.  I don't think we'll have enough to seriously challenge for a deep run, but of those 23 kids we have some very good ones.  We'll see.  Best of luck to you folks. 

It was 2-0 Garrison after 1 (ball snapped over LL QB's head and out of the endzone).  17-0 at the half.  31-0 final. Garrison was much bigger than LL all across the line and dominated the line of scrimmage.  LL got beat by a better team.  It happens.

Lovelady (10-1) vs. Price Carlisle (11-0) Friday, 11/25, 7:30 at Bruce Stadium, Athens

65-0 final

32-0 LL Halftime

[quote name="pinelandflash" post="1098614" timestamp="1319865728"] I wasn't the one who posed the question. [/quote] Yeah, I know. I don't have Therwhanger's stats either, so I don't know whose stats are better.  The question was really directed to the other poster.  If someone makes a statement like "so-and-so's stats are better", then that someone needs to know both sets of stats.  Otherwise it's just a guess.  I wanted to know what the statement was based upon because as far as I know, LL hasn't released any stats.  It's also hard to say one is better than the other, especially "hands-down better", based on one half of one game. It really doesn't matter.  They're both very talented.  It's my understanding that the Lacey kid is a Jr., and if so, he could be scary good next year.  WS could possibly make some noise in the playoffs if they can somehow shore up their defense.

If you don't know Therwhanger's stats, how do you know Lacey's are better? 

Lovelady won 42-21. HD had a good game plan: short passes, didn't snap the ball until about 5 seconds left on the play clock.  LL corners played 8-10 yards off the whole game. HD has some nice players- QB, #5 and #25 all played well.  The whole team played hard. LL came out flat; probably the worst game I've seen them play.  They were missing their starting QB, best RB (out due to a family emergency), safety,  kicker and (I think) a couple of linemen.  It's hard for any team to be up for ten straight games, but in no way does that take away from the effort and emotion HD played with tonight.  Good job HD, and good job Lions for winning when you weren't at your best.  

[quote name="wssgrad" post="1097101" timestamp="1319818606"] numbers don't lie. [/quote] Can you post both their numbers for comparison?

[quote name="pinelandflash" post="1094451" timestamp="1319598016"] So, if H-D loses to Lovelady Friday and you guys beat Colmesneil all the playoff teams will be set? Be just a matter of playoff seeding next week? [/quote] Here's the breakdown: LL 2-0 with games left against HD and Colmesneil.  Should finish 4-0 and district champs. WS 2-1 with one game left against HD.  Should finish 3-1 for second place or  even if they finish 2-2. WH 1-2 with one game left against Colmesneil.  Should finish 2-2 for third place. HD 1-1 with two games left against LL and WS.  Should finish fourth at 1-3. Colmesneil 0-2 with games left against WH and LL. If WS wins against HD then they are alone in second place and they hold the tie-breaker vs. WH should they lose and WH wins. IF the playoffs started today with LL 1, WS 2 and WH 3, these would be the matchups: LL:  First round bye, then play the winner between the 2nd-place team in district 10 (currently Alto) and the third-place team from district 9 (currently Big Sandy). WS: Play the third-place team from district 12 (currently Moody) in the first round. WH: Play the 2nd-place team from district 12 (currently Thrall). Of course, there are still 1-2 games left for these teams to play and this could change. Right now Thrall is 4-5 and Moody is 5-3 but both are in a weak district. Alto and Big Sandy are both 5-3, but both come from tougher districts.

Really a bad break for Therwhanger and the Lions.  The kid is talented, sneaky fast, has a good arm and a good head on his shoulders.  I've never seen him rattled.  Plays a good safety on defense as well.  He could possibly be back if LL makes it to the third round of the playoffs. That being said, his backup is no slouch.  He is the younger brother of the QB LL had on the '09 team that played HD in the playoffs.  He's a tall, rangy, good athlete who can throw.  LL didn't attempt many passes in the second half because 1) they were trying to run the clock and 2) the backup (Denson) hadn't worked with the 1st team receivers very much.  Besides, they scored 27 points in the second half without throwing it.  I imagine LL will still throw the ball when they want to. LL still has some players even with the loss of their QB.

LL QB is out for the last 2 games.  Hopefully he will be back for the playoffs.  He'll be missed on the defensive side as well.  Very difficult break for a Sr. WS has some talented athletes, quick guys who can catch the ball and they play hard.  The QB has good feet and a strong arm.  Hard to believe they've only won two games. One of the weirdest games I've seen.  There seemed to a flag every other play (LL had six holding penalties in the first quarter).  The officials spent half the night holding up the game to explain one thing or another to the coaches on the sideline.

NW 56 HH 54 Final 2/OT

At last report NW 48, HH 48 in double OT

KTRE in Lufkin is reporting SA 30 CC 22 as a final

Better take advantage of the shot to take down LL this year because next year they will almost certainly be in a different district.  It's my understanding that LL will drop to 1A D2 because of a big decline in HS  enrollment (something like 185 in '10 to about 135 in '12) with only 20-25 kids out for football in '12.  I think they dress around 30 now.

Lovelady's offense is the dangerous part of the team.  The defense is a couple of ticks below what it was last year IMO, but the O is better.  I'd be very surprised if WH held LL to 21 points.  If WH wins this game, they better put points on the board.  I don't know if they can score with LL.  We'll see.

Lovelady was leading 29-24 with about 3:00 to go in the 3rd. BTW, game is in Bullard at Brook Hill, not in LL.

Garrison 34 Lovelady 12 Final

Garrison led 35-14 with about 1:00 left

Lovelady 34 New Waverly 14 Final

Same score, halftime.

Garrison leads 13-7 Halftime