A-Town Big Dog 2 wrote:I like the host site, just about as fair as they could make it.
But there is a skyline chili so we can live with that. Good luck. We'll def need someI agree, the OHSAA didn't do you guys any favors there. Nothing like going to the Cincy area to play a Dayton team.....yeah sounds fair to me.dewdrinker wrote:A-Town Big Dog 2 wrote:I like the host site, just about as fair as they could make it.
Much rather be in Columbus than Mt Orab like we are. Lol. Prob not even a bw to tailgate at and watch a game
This is in no way an official explanation (I'm not a coach), but one of the problems this year with having a soccer player kick was that the team was so young and small. They played a lot of freshmen and other young players who have only played soccer. I heard that a couple of the older, stronger players were interested in kicking but had injuries that kept them out of the running. The two guys that kicked last year at the end of the season were seniors and exceptional athletes who took to kicking quite quickly. There is hope that one or more of the younger kids will be able to acquire the skill needed to help out. Contrary to popular belief, kicking a football is not the same as kicking in soccer and quite a bit of training is involved to be successful. And it wouldn't hurt if one was a big guy like Drew Basil. By the way, there have been soccer players that did kick and kick well over the years, though not as much recently. Nick Palmer and Andy Perry were two that come to mind, though admittedly that goes back a few years (A Town had said he couldn't ever remember soccer kids kicking). Ryan Zeisler was the most recent full-season soccer kicker and I believe that was 2007 or 08?A-Town Big Dog 2 wrote:Tons of soccer kids at Athens, with the exception of last year for the N-Y and Jackson games I can't remember ever having soccer kids help with the football team for whatever reason. It would be nice but sadly it just doesn't happen.GalliaGrad78 wrote:It shocks me that Athens has no kicking game. I thought there were plenty of soccer players up there.
As it was last year with Jackson vs Jonathon Alder, shawnee will go in as the home team with the #2 seat.93Bulldog wrote:With Athens being the higher seed - does that mean they get the home stands Saturday?
or does Shawnee beating kettering now make them the #2 ... which is how it works in some other sports.
We didn't score much that season but I believe he did have a couple of field goals. My point is that in general having a good soccer program hasn't helped the football team. With a general lack of quality kicking available in HS and even college football, you'd think more kids would give it a try as some college scholarships could be available.I understand his disappointment in not receiving a varsity letter but let me explain most likely why, to earn a varsity letter you must participate in a certain percentage of total plays throughout the year to qualify. I suspect that if he were only involved in kicking situations then he did not earn enough playing time to qualify for the letter and was instead issued a JV letter like any other player who participated (who may or may not played in any JV games) but did not have enough playing time. I'm not saying it is fair in situations like this but that is how it normally works. My personal opinion is that exceptions could/should be made for specialty players in these cases.Bulldog Mom wrote:Ryan Zeisler was a member of the team the whole year. He was also a soccer player. As I recall he truly enjoyed being a member of the team. However, he received a JV letter at the end of the year and was hurt by that. He never played in a JV game, only varsity, and scored some points for the team. I think that did put a damper on soccer players wanting to be a part of the team. Certainly last year against NY the soccer player kicked the game winner,Seth Brooks, I think. Not sure how involved he was with team, etc. but he was not mentioned at year end at all.
I'm not defending the way the situation was handled or saying its right, I believe an exception should have been made for the young men because of the situation but keep in mind many young men participate all year, attend team dinners, practices, etc. some play a few plays at the end of games and for the most part they don't earn enough credit for letters and aren't recognized either. As you said.....Go Bulldogs!Bulldog Mom wrote:I understand the situation and how letters are earned. There are in fact exceptions. If you are trying to bring in kickers, especially if they attend practices and team dinners and such then they should be eligible for a letter. I have no dog in this fight, but do think if part of the question is why more soccer players were not interested in putting in the work, this could be a partial answer...same with the boy last year not being recognized at all.... Back when Ryan kicked, we weren't scoring 10 touchdowns a game...so there were fewer plays...however he was a part of the team...especially when you win by a point or a field goal. Any who...not being critical...GO DOGS!
what were the other 11 teams Athens played?greatone wrote:They are playing a real football team now.
I will leave all the "weak" and "weaker" comments aside, and consider the source. TM will most undoubtedly I agree represent the region. However the best team to match up against them is someone that may, just may be able to score 1 to 1 with them. Athens can possibly do that better than Shawnee based on having seen both of them play. So not only do I think Athens has a chance to beat Shawnee, which I do think, they may be the better match-up in an offensive sense. Seriously though, leave all the "weak" adjectives out of your analysis, which usually has pretty good insight. Just not necessary to bring into the conversation the put-downs.Paladin wrote:I haven't said much about this game. It has little interest for me because the winner gets Marshall, who I have picked to handily win the region. The match up on paper pits a weak Athens team who played a schedule of smaller weaker teams against Shawnee who played the bigger schools and tougher teams. The fact they beat an Alter team tells you all you need to know about their ability. But I don't know how healthy Shawnee is now . I am going to say that Shawnee should win this one. The margin is the tricky part. And in projecting the next game against Marshall, I'd see Shawnee matching up far better than Athens against a juggernaut.