D5 - Region 19: (#6) Ridgewood at (#3) Minford

[crab_apple4]

SOC I is no joke, okay maybe not Oak Hill... SOC I champ beat SOC II champ and moved to the 2nd round.

Minford showed up early, but Ridgewood can play.

[RogueWarrior1965]

Congratulations to Ridgewood on the win. They have a nice, fundamental, hard hitting team and more speed than we saw all year. To Minford, we are proud of you guys. You did what many said you couldn't do this year from beating Coal Grove to beating the 3 Ws, winning the SOC outright, and making the playoffs. Great job.

To the Minford seniors.......we love you guys and congratulations on a great career. Your class will leave Minford as the winningest class in the history of Minford football, you qualified for the playoffs 3 years in a row (something that has never happened in Minford) and won the SOC outright for only the 2nd time in the history of Minford football. Your hard work and commitment paid off and you all have always played with grit, determination, and a ton of heart. Great season guys!

[mglight88]

Don't hang your heads boys, you had a terrific season. Have a great off-season, hit the weights and we will see what 2010 will bring to the Falcons.
Great atmosphere last night. Saw alot of students from other schools rooting for Minford.
I see the Generals not stopping anytime soon, best of luck Oaks. You will need it.

[Bucknut27]

Minford was one of the most impressive teams I watched all year. For Ridgewood to win that game like they did is just mind blowing to me. As an Oak Hill fan it's exciting to watch our team have a chance to play a team of that calibur. It's all about matchups and week to week things change so we'll all see how it turns out next weekend. OH has to control the line of scrimmage to win this game.

I will say all the CG posters said all week was how physical their team was and they would pound OH. Well what I saw was the complete opposite OH physically smacked them around for 4 quarters and dominated the game.

Back on topic, Minford kids have nothing to hang their heads about. They won the SOC 2 outright which is one heck of an accomplishment and your staff has built something truly special down in Muletown. Work hard in the offseason and get ready for next year. There is no doubt in my mind Minford will be right back in the thick of it next year.

Congratulations on a great season and I hope OH can do the SOC proud next week.

[Bushy Tail Butcher]

First off, I have to say Hat's Off to Ridgewood!! They have a great team, and are well coached. The speed they have is unreal, and #5 is a class act. Their defense played great, they flew to the ball, and made some great plays. They came out and started making adjustments in the second quarter, and we couldn't stop them. Their Coaching staff seemed to have an answer for everthing we did, and the players made the plays. Ridgewood has a great team, and next week will be a dog fight, with the Mighty Oaks. Good Luck to both teams!!!

As for my Falcons, you had a great year, and we are so proud of you!!! You senior's, you are the best class to ever go through our program, and you deserve all the credit. Most of you have been playing Varsity, for two, three , and some four years, you have earned all the praise you can get. Good Luck in your future, and don't forget where you come from!!!


As for the returning players, you have alot to be proud of also. Alot of you have played all year and have done a great job. I see alot of promise in the returning players. We should have good speed, strength, and experience. But next year, the pressure will be even greater. Everyone will be shooting for you, they all will want a piece of the Falcons next year. Work hard this summer and come out ready to take on the World next fall.

One last note, the team that wanted it most, won tonight. Ridgewood wanted the win, and they came out and kicked our backsides.


Proud to be a Falcon!!! The SOC II Champs!!!

[Westfan]

Minford lost this game when they fumbled down by their goal line, then got the interception back, and had to settle for 3. Up until that, RW couldn't really slow them down. That exchange gave them a real shot in the arm.

I thought the 4 man fronts confused Minford. All year long, Minford has probably played against 5-2's, 5-3's, and 6-2's. Its a whole lot different for a tackle to block a guy directly over him than to have to chase a fast linebacker. They stopped minfords sweep from getting outside.

RW's offense is good. Their playcalling really kept Minford off-balance and #5 is a great back.

Minford's coach has done a great job rebuilding their program. He seems to always have his team prepared, and I think Minford was ready to play. But as the game went on, Ridgewood's experience showed and they adjusted, Minford didn't.

[mother_nature]

First off, hats off to Minford's facility, hospitality and community. They were a true class act. Secondly game was closer than the score would show. 1st half was a battle with Minford possibly winning the half other than the actual score. BUT, as I said earlier this week and took alot of slack from you southerners on here, The Wood is FAST! Not just our backs but our D line our secondary our special teams, etc. It eventually showed and the Wood was able to pull away. And Yes #5 is the real deal. Has been the best player on the field in all 11 games we have played this year. As I stated before this Wood team is better than the last 2 that have came to the SOC and played.
Cant wait for week 12 matchup with the Oaks, should be a good one.

[pigskinguru]

First off, hats off to Minford's facility, hospitality and community. They were a true class act. Secondly game was closer than the score would show. 1st half was a battle with Minford possibly winning the half other than the actual score. BUT, as I said earlier this week and took alot of slack from you southerners on here, The Wood is FAST! Not just our backs but our D line our secondary our special teams, etc. It eventually showed and the Wood was able to pull away. And Yes #5 is the real deal. Has been the best player on the field in all 11 games we have played this year. As I stated before this Wood team is better than the last 2 that have came to the SOC and played.
Cant wait for week 12 matchup with the Oaks, should be a good one.

Congrats. Can't wait to see your team. I have seen some clips and they look very impressive.

[MuletownManiac]

I first want to congratulate the Generals on a good win last night, and for their loyal fans to travel that far was rather suprising to me, but they showed up and you could hear them "all" night. So congrats and good luck and good health the rest of the way.
Secondly I am very proud of this group of players for Minford, they played their guts out all year, and just couldnt get it done against a pretty good Ridgewood team. So to you Seniors thank you for the memories and you guys will go down as the winningest 4 year group in our schools history.

Thirdly(lol if thats even a word) I am not sure what its going to take to get ourselves out of the first round of the playoffs, Im proud to have made it there three times in a row, but its getting a little old. Now I know I should be proud of this accomplishment, but if we dont strive to go farther and expect to win regional championships then we wont. I can remeber (not to long ago) when we werent even thinking we could win the SOC, but it has happend and now we expect to compete for the SOC and are dissapointed when we dont take home the gold. I think this applies to the playoffs now, and we should be proud to have won enough games to compete in the playoffs but if you want to be one of the best you have to beat the best. Look at Wheelersburg: 27 SOC championships, and have only missed the playoffs 3 times since 1989, they are the model team in what you would want your program to look like. I think Minford has the talent coming up and the Coaching to win more playoff games, but we are just not there yet.

[pigskinguru]

I first want to congratulate the Generals on a good win last night, and for their loyal fans to travel that far was rather suprising to me, but they showed up and you could hear them "all" night. So congrats and good luck and good health the rest of the way.
Secondly I am very proud of this group of players for Minford, they played their guts out all year, and just couldnt get it done against a pretty good Ridgewood team. So to you Seniors thank you for the memories and you guys will go down as the winningest 4 year group in our schools history.

Thirdly(lol if thats even a word) I am not sure what its going to take to get ourselves out of the first round of the playoffs, Im proud to have made it there three times in a row, but its getting a little old. Now I know I should be proud of this accomplishment, but if we dont strive to go farther and expect to win regional championships then we wont. I can remeber (not to long ago) when we werent even thinking we could win the SOC, but it has happend and now we expect to compete for the SOC and are dissapointed when we dont take home the gold. I think this applies to the playoffs now, and we should be proud to have won enough games to compete in the playoffs but if you want to be one of the best you have to beat the best. Look at Wheelersburg: 27 SOC championships, and have only missed the playoffs 3 times since 1989, they are the model team in what you would want your program to look like. I think Minford has the talent coming up and the Coaching to win more playoff games, but we are just not there yet.

Muletown,

I have a question for your. In you opinion do you think the Sloan kid gets the ball enough. I saw where he only carried it 10 times last night. At Oak Hill, I believe he only touched it 4 times in the second half after he ran for over 130 in the first half. If I had a kid like that, I would at least want him to touch it 20 to 25 times a game. Not trying to start anything. As an outside observer, I was just wondering what the thoughts of some Minford fans are on this topic. I know the other kids are good players, but he seems to be a cut above the others. Congrats on a great season.

[justamom]

Congratulations to the Falcon team and coaches on a great season and the SOC II title.
I am proud of the way the boys stepped up time after time to dispel the naysayers.

I was very disappointed to see the Falcon fans pouring out of the stands in the third/fourth quarters.
I know it was cold, but I think the boys deserved to look in the stands and see they still had support and I wish more fans would have been there to give the boys a hand when they ended the game and their season - they earned it.

[Falconmom]

Congratulations to the Falcon team and coaches on a great season and the SOC II title.
I am proud of the way the boys stepped up time after time to dispel the naysayers.

I was very disappointed to see the Falcon fans pouring out of the stands in the third/fourth quarters.
I know it was cold, but I think the boys deserved to look in the stands and see they still had support and I wish more fans would have been there to give the boys a hand when they ended the game and their season - they earned it.

I'd have to agree with you on this one...I thought it was VERY disrespectful of the Falcon fans to leave b4 the game was even over, winning or not. These boys have played they a$$es off this year to get to where they are...SOC CHAMPS and it seemed like they all forgot how far they had come just because they numbers on the scoreboard werent what we all wanted...they should ba ashamed of themselves. IMO that was saying "we give up" NOT a phrase our boys know.

[High Plains Drifter]

Great season Minford, alot to be proud of!!!

[MuletownManiac]

Guru,

I think Slone should get the ball in different situations, and on different plays. I understand that he is the power back of the the 3 to 4 backs they have, but when they run him up the "A" gap every time he gets his touches then he gets one dimensional. I also see what your saying about him not getting more touches, but at the Oak Hill game I heard that there were kids getting sick at halftime, so I dont know if something happened to him or not. I would definitley like to see him get the ball more often, and I think that they could still use there other backs on the counter plays and sweeps to keep the defense honest.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

congratulations from ole bait, minford , rock on.

[marshallman]

Baby steps: First winning seasons breed more winning seasons- Minford is doing that.
2nd- beat the three W's in the same year- did that, now be consistent
3rd- Winning to SOC II which they did - now do it consistently
4th- beef up the schedule- would love to see Ironton and PHS on the sch.
5th goal- Now that we can make the playoffs we need to find a way to win and advance further and further towards the State finals.

[Mikenmike]

Who is on the schedule for next year?

[TrojanXplosion]

Minford is not ready for Ironton just yet. Minford has turned the corner and is on the rise but they have a ways to go before they would want to see Ironton.

[falcon1]

South Point (River Valley)
Megs (Huntington Ross)
Piketon (CoalGrove)

[RogueWarrior1965]

Baby steps: First winning seasons breed more winning seasons- Minford is doing that.
4th- beef up the schedule- would love to see Ironton and PHS on the sch.

Even though the schedule was weak the first few weeks this year, Minford had the most 2nd level points in Region 19 and I believe the 4th highest total 2nd level points in all of Division V, so they played a tough schedule overall. It would have been nice to have a more challenging game in place of River Valley or Huntington Ross but you gotta stay strong and healthy for conference play. I am telling you, the SOC II is as tough of a conference as you will see. I look for the conference to be as tough and equal next year as what it was this year. Minford, Wheelersburg, Valley, and West will all field tough teams next year.