Football: Monday Morning Quarterback - Eastern Guilford 2012

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In today's world of high technology, I thought I would write my entire article via the transcription of a text conversation I had with Ricky Portela on Friday evening.

Ready???   Here's the transcript:

• Ricky P:  Score?
• Kevin M:  WA 42-6. 8 min in 3rd
• Ricky P:  wow.  are they not good or are we playing good?
• Kevin M:  Both

Well folks... That pretty much sums it up. 

End of article. 

Have a good week. 

See you next Friday when WA hosts McMichael!!!

Now you know that I am NOT going to stop there.  But I could.  This short-and-sweet text conversation is a very accurate description of Friday evening. 

• WA played some very good football
• Eastern Guilford...  Not so much
• Result = Blowout!

You've always got to have at least a little drama,  so lets talk about the opening drive
by the Wildcats.  First of all... They got a good kick return (more on kick coverage later). 

Then, they came out in some funky formations with a split line resulting in some 4-wide formations.  Pretty strange looking to say the least.  But these tricky formations worked for the first couple of plays as the Wildcats marched deep into WA territory.  However....  Then the Wildcats got greedy and went for it all in the back corner of the endzone.

Dah Dah Dah!  Dah Dah Dah!

In case you didn't recognize the tune, that was my attempt and typing out the ESPN
tradmarked highlight sound.  You know it.  I'm sure.  Dah Dah Dah!  Dah Dah Dah!

If you still don't know what I'm talking about, maybe this will help:  Link

Anyway, that's what I heard in my head when Brock Deatherage made a highlight-reel
interception in the endzone to effectively kill any chance Eastern Guilford had of winning
this game.  Take a look for yourself.  Turn down the volume and maybe you will hear...
Dah Dah Dah!  Dah Dah Dah!

Interception:  Link


By the end of the first quarter, it was 28-0 and all photographers and videographers had already captured enough footage to call it a good night's work.  But we all stuck around because we knew there were still more highlights to come.

Its good that we did stick around because Brock had another "Dah Dah Dah!  Dah Dah Dah!" play just a few minutes later; emulating Superman leaping tall buildings in a single bound. 

I like to be close to the action but wish I was back about 10ft when shooting this highlight in order to take it all in.

Superman:  Link

But it wasn't just Brock.  It was EVERYONE!   You know how I usually do "shoutouts" each week to standout players???   This week, I can make it simple and just copy-and-paste the entire Warrior roster because every player deserves a shoutout.


But let me slow down a little and offer up some constructive criticism...  This wouldn't be an "editorial" unless I pointed out something that didn't work.

So here goes...Kick coverage...  In a word...  Stunk!! 

Seriously...  We need to improve.  We had a LOT of kickoffs in this game and
the Wildcats got way too many return yards.  So lets make kick coverage a point of emphasis next   week vs. McMichael.  We really do need to do a better job of covering kickoffs.  Hopefully we'll score a lot of TDs and, therefore, get a lot of practice kicking off! :)

In addition to our kick coverage, do you know what else stinks???  My Fantasy Football team!

Kevin's Krusher's have been the dominant force in the FBC Elon church league for the past decade.  This year...  I'm next to last.  And I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of my running backs.  In particular, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson have been major underachievers in 2012.

This being said, I am making a blockbuster trade this week.  I wanted to let you all know before you hear about it on SportsCenter.

  

Here's the deal...  I am sending Johnson and Peterson to Coach Snuffer in return for Donovan Apple.  By my calculations, YAC's performance on Friday evening (14 carries for 206 yards and 4 TDs) would have contributed 47 points to Kevin's Krushers!  That, by itself, was over half of my point total from last week!

So Donovan...  Its time to exchange your Warriors jersey for a Kevin's Krushers jersey.  You're in the big leagues now!

In all seriousness...  OUTSTANDING performance by Mr. Apple. 

And a message to opposing teams...  Don't forget... 

"He's a sophomore!   He's a sophomore!"

So this week's MVP award goes to the YAC - Donovan Apple!

 
But go watch the highlights and there's something else you will notice. 

Yes - Donovan's nickname is YAC which stands for "Yards After Contact."  But on Friday night, the Warrior OL did such a dominant job that in a lot of cases, we could shorten Don's nickname to "Y" (because there wasn't a lot of "After Contact"). 

The big guys up front got the job done and Donovan was able to run free!  And this was without the services of starter Jamie Billings (out for a couple weeks with a knee injury).  Andy Walker filled in for Billings and by all accounts, did an admirable job along with the other regulars (Michael Bell, Charlie Harper, Cody Rice, and Josh Pitts). 

IT ALL STARTS UP FRONT!

I love my big guys.  I can't always see how good you do from the sidelines, but I do take notice of it when re-watching the game video.  Git 'r done!

Do you know who else "Got 'r Done"????  TJ Harris!

I call TJ the "Man-i-mal" because when he's in game mode, he plays like he's half-man; half-animal.  I mean he gets this intense look (a little bit frightening if I'm being honest) and he's just a beast!

On Friday evening, TJ had a little extra incentive playing against his former school, Eastern Guilford, and just went crazy on the field.  I couldn't find the official stats but based on what I recall, there were 3 sacks; a forced fumble; and a batted pass (that resulted in an interception by Blake Deatherage).  That's big time!

Great job TJ!  And we're very happy that you are a Warrior Manimal and not a Wildcat!

 

 

 

 

Or Swag????

 

 

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A few other things that I liked seeing:

 

1. Brock getting a few reps at QB each game.  Find a way(s) to get him more touches on offense.
2. Use of the Tight End.  Hunter caught a nifty 2-point conversion from Nigel Carlton and also had a nice reception out in flat later in the game.  Personally, I'd like to see us attack the middle of the field more using the TE.  Let the WR's clear out the coverage and sneak Hunter/Jay Underwood/Alex Ball right out in the vacated area just beyond the line of scrimmage.
3. Playing time for the younger guys.  Offensively, it was great seeing the freshman, Trevion McCollum, get in a few snaps at QB.  Defensively, Eli Gordon made his presence felt with at nice tackle behind the line of scrimmage.  Remember these 2 names...  You will be hearing them a lot in the upcoming years.

 

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This week...  a first!  For the first time ever, I am going to give my "Its The Little Things" award to someone who didn't even play.

Jr. OL, Jamie Billings (out for a couple of weeks with an injury), traded in his helmet & shoulder pads for a microphone and co-hosted the "Warrior Wrapup" post-game show with me on Friday evening.  Jamie filled in for my regular co-host, Ricky Portela, and did a fantastic job!

 

Jamie....  One confession....  You weren't my first choice.  I first offered the job to the young and pretty and football savvy __________  ___________ (I won't say the name but her initials are 'SS') and I was shot down.  I was devastated!  Absolutely crushed :(

But I'm glad I was!  Serves her right!  And that's how careers are made.  This could be your "big break."   If football doesn't work out for you, I could foresee you eventually sitting in front of the camera on Fox8 or New2 as the sports anchor! 

 

Or lets dream even bigger....

 

 

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Looking ahead...  Next week, the McMichael Phoenix come to town.  The Phoenix are having a so-so year sitting at 3-5 overall (1-4 in the conference).  So its not really a "big" game, right???

WRONG!   This is THE most important game for WA.  We have to win this game.  We need this win big-time to solidify our playoff seeding.

 

 

And McMichael has played us reasonably close the past 2 years so lets not take them lightly:

 

2011:  WA 32-21

2010:  W 21-14

 

 

I believe it will be Northern Alamance Pee-Wee night and that is always a treat!  So come out and lets get our 8th win on the season and build some momentum. 

 

I'm ready to hear some more Warrior generated "Dah Dah Dah!  Dah Dah Dah!" moments!