Trojans Roll Past Hounds in Second Half

Dixie had an emotional weekend.  They had a big win against a fellow SWBL team – Milton Union where they came from behind for the victory.  Then like a gun fighter who had shot all their bullets, they seemed to run out of ammo against the Arcanum Trojans.  It was a one point game at halftime, but the Trojans rolled the Hounds in the second half enroute to a lop-sided win.

Dixie got off to a very slow start against Milton Union.  At the end of one quarter, they only had single basket to show for their efforts.  Meanwhile the Bulldogs scored 15 for a 13 lead.  Dixie battled back, but they were still staring at a 31-18 deficit at halftime.  The Dixie defense really shutdown the Bulldogs after the break. And the team fed the post as Cody Grubb would score a game high 25 points on the night.  Dixie poured it on in the final stanza as they caught up with and then charged past the hapless Bulldogs for a come from behind 48-40 win.

“Defensively Justin Leonard was big for us. Justin Keirns and Zach Rader also stepped up for us too with their defense.  And Cody Grubb had a good game too. We were 13 down at one point, but ended up winning by 8.  Our energy was on a whole different level,” Stated coach Williams afterwards.

Next up were the Trojans of Arcanum who came into town for a CCC vs SWBL matchup.  And like Dixie they were coming off of a win from the previous night.  Easily dispatching Ansonia 57-38.   Both teams began in man to man defenses and neither team seemed to be able gain much of an advantage in the first half.  Arcanum did try to press some in an attempt to break things open, but the teams were separated by a single point at halftime Arcanum leading 25-24.

Arcanum hit 2 trey’s on back to back possessions early in the 3^rd quarter and so they began to distance themselves from Dixie.   Dixie took a time out and set up a press in an attempt to change the momentum.  But Arcanum’s offense was shooting well and the team was controlling the boards too. Dixie was being limited to one shot at their end of the court and Arcanum was getting second chances at their end. 

Things went from bad to worse when Dixie’s tall man Cody Grubb left the game for good after an altercation on the floor at the end of the third quarter. After that an already listless Dixie team really seemed to lose their way and Arcanum kept rolling in the final quarter building an 11 point lead to 25 and winning 57-33. 

“It is hard for 16 and 17 year olds to keep up the emotional and physical energy for two nights in row,” whispered a hoarse coach Williams after the game, “Yesterday was an up and down game where we came from behind for a big league victory over Milton Union.  And in the second half of this game we were spent, the wind left our sails. ”

He continued, “We’re not good at back to back games right now.  I have to give them props for yesterday’s big win, but it did take a lot of energy out of us.  Tonight I thought we had a lot of energy in the first half.  In the second half we lost energy and they capitalized on it.  We have to do a better job at that.  Next week is Newton, they play hard and get after it.  But Carlisle is a conference game, we need to be up for that, they are one of the better teams.”

Arcanum’s coach Bixler commented, “We gave ourselves a rating of about 2 out of 10 in the first half.  I wasn’t real happy with the defensive intensity even though we had the lead at the half and did not play well.  It’s not always easy to play two nights back to back.  But you have to be mentally tough for them.  We challenged the team at halftime and they responded.  They defended really well in the second half.

He continued, “At halftime we made sure that we identified their shooters and stuck to them.  We lost them several times in the first half.  We made sure we won’t going to lose the second half and we didn’t.  It was one of our best rebounding efforts this year. “

Connor Pohl, “I thought tonight was his best effort on the defensive end of the court.  And he did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  We knew that Grubb would be challenge for him and that he needed to keep him off the glass. He was physical at both ends of the floor. He continues to get better – I am proud of his efforts.”

Next week is a busy week for the Trojans as they play a make up game against Fort Recovery on Tuesday and then Newton and Greenville on the weekend.  

Fort Recovery, “We have went over them last week before the game was rescheduled. So we already practiced for them.  We know that they have two quick guards that we will need to watch.  They have a sophomore lefty in the post who is a good athlete.  They are going to be deliberate with the ball and try to shoot some 3’s.  On defense they are quick and they will try to press.  We have to take care of the ball against the press and at the other end of the floor we need to defend the paint.”

Arcanum Girls Outlast Dixie

The Arcanum Trojans were a bit rusty coming into Saturday nights game.  Due to scheduling and cancellations the team hadn’t played in about 3 weeks.  While the Trojans were struggling to get the rust off, Dixie raced out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.  Although Arcanum came back, Dixie still had the lead at the end of the first quarter. Arcanum hit their stride in the second quarter and got the lead which they held onto for the rest of the game.  Dixie made a heroic effort in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter, but would finally fall. 

Arcanum had a taller team, but Dixie was trying to out-quick the Trojans by running the floor in the early going.  The game was also a bit of a chess match as both teams switched offenses and defensive schemes throughout the game to try and get the upper hand on their opponent.  Arcanum used a 2-3 zone, 1-3-1 trapping zone, and man to man.  Then they used a single post offense and swung the ball on the perimeter to get 3 point shots when Dixie tried to take away the inside game.  And when Dixie countered the outside game they went to a two post offense and pushed the ball inside.

Arcanum opened a lead hitting outside shots including 3-3 pointers – in the second quarter.  That broke the game open and Dixie had to chase Arcanum the rest of the way.   And when Dixie was fouling in the last quarter to get back into the game, Arcanum was a solid 10 of 13 from the line.  Dixie was pressing hard with 5 minutes left – down 37-30.  At the 3 minute mark Arcanum went into keep away mode.  And the last minutes seemed to take forever.  Dixie never got closer than 5 points though, finally losing 46-40.

Scoring for Arcanum: Zell  2, Abner 17, Johnting 10, Sharritts 2, Kinney 5, O’Daniel 2, Deao 9. Dixie: Wylie 14, Shell 5, Leis 9, Honeywell 5, Berkte 7.

“The last 3 minutes it seemed like the time was not even ticking, “ remarked Arcanum’s coach Fearon, “We have not played for 3 weeks, and we were a little nervous coming out.  We are trying to get game legs back under us and getting back to the way we were.  After the first quarter, we settled down and started to play our game.  It took that first quarter to just get us back into the swing of things.”

Alexis Abner, “I thought that she had a really good game for us tonight.  She took charge, she took care of the basketball and did exactly what I asked her tonight. She’s been in a little bit of a rut and I think that tonight will boost her confidence.  But from a leadership standpoint, this was one of better games this year, more than the points - that is what I am looking for.” ValleyView(state ranked): “They are next up for us – I know that they are quick and we will need to match up speed wise.  It will be a test for us.”

Coach Crowe commented after the game, “We’ve played a tough 11 game schedule to start the season.  And even though we lost, I am excited about the energy and effort that we showed.  I am eager for the rest of the season, we made some strides tonight and I think that we can carry them over.  Arcanum is a team that we could see in our sectional, so that is the caliber of team we will play against.  I’m excited about the direction that we are going.  Last year we seemed to rely on one player.  Now this year they are seeing that they can play together and when they do – it is nice.”

Amara Wylie: “She’s the kind of kid that gives everything.  She listens well, she is a coach’s dream – a great kid to coach.  Sometimes she can be too unselfish, but tonight she did a good job of taking the ball to the basket.  She helped to keep us in the game. “

South vs Trail Junior High

A few pics from this mornings Junior High game - Twin Valley South versus Trail.  Had an issue at work, so I had to leave earlier than intended - so no pics from the 8th grade game.

South Overcomes Sluggish First Half

Twin Valley South overcomes a sluggish first half and breaks open a 21-21 tie in the second half. South rode the back of Wes Cole who scored 17 of his game high 21 points after halftime.  A vigorous team defense kept South in the game in the first half and lead to points off of turn overs in the second.  South wins 54-40.  Next up is Brookville which South plays on Saturday night.  Can South keep their momentum as they head into next week for a big game against league leading Tri Village.

First up for South this week was Ansonia.  It has been a long season for Ansonia and the Tigers were dispatched easily 70-42.  Coach Augspurger has been harping on the team’s offense this season and the Panthers responded – at least for this game by having 3 players score in double figures and tally up the teams highest score of the season.  Wes Cole had 26, Jacob Bassler 10 and Jake Osborn had 12.

The team ended their week against Brookville.  This was another game where the team ran their defense in workmanlike fashion and clamped down the Brookville offense.  The Blue Devils struggled to score. The Panthers gained the lead early and gradually extended it throughout the game, finally winning 48-28.  Cole lead all scorers with 20 points.

Sandwiched in between these two game South played against league foe Bethel.  Another team trying to stake a claim to the top half of the league.  Although South was able to prevail, Bethel played with the Panthers for a spell and made South work for the win.

Coming out of the chute, South was shooting cold – baskets were hard to come by.  Bethel was able to make some perimeter shots and had a 6 point lead after one quarter.  Bethel ran a sort of weave offense in the perimeter and were cutting to the basket in the second quarter to extend their lead. Coach Augspurger had finally seen enough and took a time out at the 5:31 mark with South down 16-7.  The team which had been in a man to man defense went into a zone defense.  And the talking to had effect on the offense as well. The lethargy was shaken off and South was making shots and mounting a comeback.  Winston Crozier hit a trey just before halftime to tie the ball game at 21 all.

A determined Panther team re-entered the court after the break.  The defense was intense and the team was generating turnovers and turning them into points.  The team gradually built a double digit lead. Bethel tried a half court trap and then a full court press in an effort to stop the onslaught, but South was undeterred.  They romped to a 54-40 win. 

“We had a lousy first quarter,” remarked coach Augspurger after the game, “but we recovered from that and played well the rest of the game.  I felt good about the team effort.  We didn’t score well early, but we got stuff going with our defense.  We got offense from transition.  We got some steals and were able to take those down the court and get baskets. When they pressed, we attacked it and got layups. Wes Cole had a good game tonight he attacked the rim well and got a lot of points from steals once he got it going.”

Next week’s matchup is at South on Friday night.  Tri-Village has scored over 100 points this season, so they are a team that can score. So it will be a matchup between a sizeable and hot shooting Patriot team against the defensive pressure and intensity of the Panthers.  

Sports Around the Miami Valley

TVS Over Bethel

Trail Competes at Spartan Classic

Showdown in SWBL

Defense Difference for Golden Eagles

Knights Closer to Repeat

Braves Rally but Edgewood Wins

Hamilton Ends Losing Streak Against Middies

Kings Strong Start

East Boys Win Title in Florida

Lakota West Athlete of the Week

Gholston Leads Indians Past Big Blue

Greenville Hall of Fame inductee's

Versailles Bests Parkway

Tri-Village Defense Prevails

Darke County Stats

Jets Start Fast

Arcanum Beats Ansonia

Trail Girls 1-1

10 in a Row for Eaton

Trail Boys Split Games

North Holds off Jets

4 Rockets on AllTourney Team

Marauders Stomp Red Devils

Vandalia Honors OSU lineman Decker

Middies Lose to Mason

Fairfield Boys Top Hamilton

South Shuts Down Ansonia

Newton Beats Ansonia

TriVillage and Versailles Girls State Ranked

Fairfield Wrestling Takes Title

Bradford Cold vs. Houston

Lakota West Player on Alabama

Miami East over Troy Christian with last shot

Richmond's Trawick Claims Title

TVS wins - Eaton and TCN Fall

Eaton Girls Rally in Overtime

TriVillage Beats Covington

Railroaders on Track

Greenville Beats Lebanon

Patriots Score 106

Mississinewa Wins at Houston

North Wins

Troy Gets 1st Win

Too Much Tippecanoe

Preble Shawnee Holiday Tournament - All Tournament Team

2014 Preble Shawnee Holiday Tournament

All Tournament Team

Anthony Augspurger, Wes Cole, JJ Utz, Trey Smith, Thomas Buell

North Falls Short Against Talawanda

It was a tough two days for North in the Preble Shawnee Holiday Tournament. They struggled against the host team Preble Shawnee, but had a shot at a win against Talawanda. After leading a good bit of the way, North would slip at the end and lose to the Braves 44-37.  Still there were some bright spots – one in Ryan McAdams who would lead the team in scoring both nights.

North played Shawnee first and the host team got out to an early lead and didn’t look back. The Arrows converted North turnovers into points and other wise seemed to score at will.  Rebounding wise, an outsized North seemed to hold their own on the defensive boards, but couldn’t pull down many offensive boards – limiting themselves to one shot most possessions.  

Shawnee lead 39-15 at the half.  Coming out of the break McAdams hit two treys on back to back to possessions, prompting Shawnee to take a time out and get more pressure on the perimeter.  That dampened any thoughts of a comeback and North would later fall 68-42.  McAdams accounted for half of North’s points with 21 – including 4-3 pointers.

This set up the consolation game as Talawanda and North squared off the next night.  Both teams began the game in man to man defenses.  The Braves peeled off two quick baskets, and North took a quick time out to adjust their defense.  A hustling North ran the court thereafter.  Generating turnovers and gaining the lead.  At the end of one quarter, North was up 15-12.

North missed some shots down the stretch at the close of the second quarter, but still held a narrow lead 21-20.  Talawanda’s strategy coming back onto the court was to feed the ball to the post.  This gave the Braves the lead again at the 5 minute mark of the 3^rd quarter. North adjusted and then started to hit their shots.  McAdams hit a trey to give North the lead again and the team finished the quarter strong with a 36-30 lead.

North became more deliberate with the offense late in the last quarter.  Not a slow down, but the team was working the ball around more than they had earlier in the game in an attempt to milk time off of the clock.  But when they did get a shot, they couldn’t finish.  Meanwhile Talawanda was hitting their shots as the teams battled to the finish line.  At the 2:33 mark it was now a one point game.  Then a minute later, Talawanda had the lead.  North missed a lot of shots during this critical juncture. And this time the Braves would not let North back in the game as they completed the evening with a 44-37 win.

Scoring for North: McAdams 11, Louthen 10, Edgin 9, Cordes 4, Woodyard 3.

It comes down to a problem that we have with a lot of our games.  We just can’t rebound the basketball,” stated coach King after the game. “The kids played hard, as hard as they have played all year. Defensively we could not finish possessions out on the boards.”

Ryan McAdams: “He’s starting to settle down and buy into what we are preaching to him.  That is let the game come into him instead of trying to force everything.  But he stepped up really good for us.”

Next he was asked about Jacob Louthan playing well off the bench, “He hustles, he can still be a little timid at times – but that goes back to a lack of varsity experience.  He can shoot the ball pretty good.  Once he gets rolling, he can he can fill it up.  He did a good job of coming off the bench and giving us an extra scorer.”

TVS - Holiday Tournament Champs

South won the Holiday Tournament hosted by Preble Shawnee.  The team used a tenacious defense and an up-tempo offense to pave the way to success.  Although outsized, the team hustled to pull in long rebounds and get points off of turnovers as they fought their way to victory in both games. The team also placed several players on the All-Tournament team that was announced after the championship game.

First up for South was Talawanda.  They are a bigger school from the South West Ohio Conference and so they play a schedule against mainly Division 2 schools.  But South was aggressive from the get-go, using a variety of defenses to keep the Braves from settling into their offense.  They used a full court man to man for a time, then also used a half court trap.   Towards the end of the first quarter Talawanda tried to do some trapping of their own.  But South had already raced to a 21-10 lead.

South was unrelenting – leading 30 – 12 at one point as they continued to run the court in the second quarter.  The Braves could not keep pace with the Panthers and they finally fell 59-32.  South was unselfish in this game as the team combined for 17 assists on the night.  Wes Cole (17) and Anthony Augspurger (13) lead the team in scoring.  Augspurger and JJ Utz had 5 assists while Cole had 3.  Augspurger lead the teams in steals with 6.

This set up the championship game against Preble Shawnee, who had defeated North handily the night before.  The game would be the offensive firepower and physical size of Shawnee against the stalwart defense and up-tempo offense of South.  Both teams utilized a variety of defenses during the game.  Shawnee started the night in a zone, while South opened in their man to man defense.

South had a slim lead in the first quarter, but extended that lead in the second quarter as they hit their shots and were able to run the court on several possessions. Shawnee tried to half court trap to start the second quarter, but it had no effect on South. At the half, it was 25-16 in favor of South.

Shawnee stayed on the heels of South throughout the third quarter – gradually chipping away at the lead.  After a time out, South switched to a zone late in the quarter in an effort to stymie the Shawnee offense. But Shawnee hit a buzzer beater right at the end of the quarter from half court to make it a 4 point game, then Kevin Ketring hit another trey to start the 4^th quarter and suddenly it was a one point game.  South’s offense had grown cold, they were struggling to score and the momentum seemed to have gone to the Arrows.

Shawnee switched to a man to man defense and also got the lead at the 6:36 mark.  Augspurger scored a basket and got the lead back for the Panthers.   Shawnee again made it a two point game and then went to full court pressure with a minute left.  But South handled the pressure well – and with Shawnee having to foul to get the ball back – South sank their foul shots when it counted.  Both Cole and Augspurger hit some clutch shots from the foul line to seal the 49-42 victory for South.

Wes Cole and JJ Utz made the all-tournament team, while Anthony Augspurger was named tournament MVP. Scoring: Winston Crosier 4, Cole 12, Augspurger 16, Osborn 6, JJ Utz 9, Jason Utz 3. Leading rebounders:  Jacob Bassler 5, Cole 6, Augspurger 4.  Leading assists Cole 4, JJ Utz 4. Leading steals: JJ Utz 4, Wes Cole 3.

“We know that our ticket to victory is our defense,” stated coach Augspurger afterwards, “we are not really big, we’re not skilled enough.  But we are hardnosed, we’re tough – they are 8 kids that bust their tails.  Against Talawanda last night we took them out of whatever offensive scheme they tried to do.  Tonight they showed a lot of grit. Shawnee made a good run.  They actually came back and took the lead.  And we could have cracked then, but we didn’t crack.  Our seniors stepped up big in the 4^th quarter.  Anthony Augspurger and Wes Cole made some shots then for us and got us back in the lead. “

The improved offense, “We have been doing a lot of shooting. A lot of these guys are 3 sport athletes, they aren’t gym rats.  We are probably shooting more than almost any team around.  But I know that if our shooting comes around, we have the potential to be very good. We know the defense is there, we are going to guard you, we need the offense to get better.” 

South over Bucc's

Twin Valley South had one last game before Christmas.  They hosted the Covington Buccaneers in a CCC matchup.  Although Covington played tough against TVS, South gradually grew a lead.  The Bucc’s made a 4^th quarter run, but South held them off, then made a run of their own to seal a 64-47 victory.

Covington started in a man to man defense, but switched to a zone and remained in that through much of the game.  South did press some in the early going, but called it off and settled into a half court defense.  In the first quarter, Covington was right there with the Panthers – knotting the game at 13-all.

South’s offense got into gear in the second quarter and they were able close out the half with a 7 point lead.   In the third quarter, South actually had a  lead in double figures, but Covington woke up and closed the gap.   Covington started to make a 7-0 run in the 4^th quarter and it was enough to where South could feel the heat, but coach Augspurger called a time out, and South returned to the court to make a run of their own and again extend their lead and cruise down the stretch to victory. 

The win puts South at 3-2 on the season, with the Holiday tournament at Shawnee their next test.

“I thought our defense was outstanding, commented Coach Augspurger afterwards, “We played good defense for several stretches.  We had a few 3-4 minute periods where we did not allow any points.  Now we weren’t quite as good as what I would have liked for the whole game, but overall we did really well.”

He continued, “Offensively, Anthony Augspurger had a really good game for us, he was 8 of 9 shooting, including 2 3 point shots. He scored 20 points and that is a career high for him.  JJ Utz, our point guard had only 1 turnover and 7 assists.  That was a big key for us – running the offense and not turning the ball over.  We have struggled shooting at times this season, but this game I thought we shot well.  Now we didn’t shoot great, but I thought we did a good job of attacking the basket. Wes Cole still struggled with his three, but finished strong around the basket.  And he played a good floor game with 7 boards and 4 assists. Jake Osborn did a great job on the offensive boards.  He had two big put backs that we needed.

Talawanda: “I have their tape, but have not watched it.  I do know that they have struggled this season, but they play a really good schedule.  And I know Shawnee got off to a slow start – but they have a good shooter back now and have won some games.  We will have to keep playing better to have a chance in this one.”

South scoring: Jacob Bassler 6, Winston Crosier 5, Wes Cole 18, Anthony Augspurger 20, Jake Osborn 7, JJ Utz 3, Josh Cottingim 5. Leading Rebounders: Jacob Bassler 7, Wes Cole 7, Anthony Augspurger 7, Jake Osborn 5. Steals: Jacob Bassler 2.

Dixie Over North

After getting their first win of the season against Eaton, Dixie hit a losing streak.  They lost against Waynesville(53-52),  rival Brookville(67-49), and Northridge(80-37). So they were hoping to get back on track before entering Christmas break. This weekend they visited Preble County where they played against Preble Shawnee and Tri-County North.

Shawnee also had only a single win coming into the game.  And although the game was closely contested, Dixie would lose Friday night at Shawnee 47-52.  This set up their 3^rd road game in a row Saturday against North who is winless on the season.

Dixie had an overall height advantage over North.  In the half court they used a zone early on, but would switch to man to man in the second quarter and would stay in that defense most of the game. They did mix in some ¾ court trapping which was semi effective.  They garnered a few turnovers but it was effective in that was able to slow down the North offense.

Dixie got an early lead and seemed poised to run away with the game in the first quarter with a 15-6 lead.   But North went on a run late – just before half time and made the game competitive.  With 2 minutes left it was a 3 point game with Dixie’s margin slimmed to 3 points.  But Dixie went on a run of their own at that time and closed the half with a more comfortable 30-21 lead.

Coming out at halftime it was plain to see that their strategy was now to utilize their height and feed the post.  Cody Grubb was the recipient of the extra attention to the post – scoring 20 of his game high 29 points in the second half.  North just could not seem to be able to stop Grubb inside.

North did make another run at Dixie in the third quarter.  They got the game to within 5 points midway through, but Dixie held them off and again extended their lead, this time into double digits. 

North pulled out all the stops – doing some full court man to man, switching to a zone defense. But the game seemed to spiral out of control in the 4^th quarter.  Dixie was able to win running away with a 61-47 win. Still North was able to play with Dixie at times and made the game competitive.

TCN Coach King: “Even though we lost, I thought that the team made huge strides tonight.  It was quite a reverse in 24 hours.  We’re young and the late start didn’t help, so I have to have a lot of patience.  They have come a long way and I think that we are getting better. “

Damon Nelson, “He came off of the bench and got big points for us.  He’s been proving himself in practice and shows that he is capable of staying in front of the ball on defense.  And right now that is what we need – someone who can stay in front of the ball.  He’s worked hard and he got time tonight. His defense is what got him his minutes – the points are just icing on the cake.”

Dixie Scoring: Rutledge 1, Leonard 9, Simpson 4, Hale 9, Miller 6, Keiras 1, Rader 4, Grubb 29.

TCN Scoring: Louthan 6, Edgin 14,Cordes 7, Nelson 12, Woodyard 8.

North Dropped by Trail

Tri-County North dropped two games this weekend.  And to add to their dismay, both games were at home. They played against National Trail – a league foe who was also winless coming into the game and Dixie who was 1-5.   Against Trail they actually lead at one point, but when Trail put their foot down on the accelerator and picked up the pace of the game, they rapidly outscored North.   

The first quarter of the game was very slow paced as the two teams cautiously sparred against one another.  North had 8 fouls to Trails 2 near the end of the first quarter, so they were racking up fouls at too fast of a pace.  Still North managed to hold a 10-9 lead as the teams re-entered the court for the second quarter.   North scored a bucket early in the quarter, but then Trail went on a run and blew the game open.  North simply could not score – they must have thought that there were bunjee cords on the rim.  Jacob Louthen connected on a couple of free throws before halftime to stop the lopsided run, but North was staring at a double digit deficit going to the locker room 30-13.  

So what had been a close game had been blown wide open.  North continued to shoot cold in the second half, that and turnovers stymied them on offense.  Meanwhile the Blazers continued their scoring rate unabated. 58-35 was the final score.

“Friday night was a defensive breakdown for us. We allowed them to score 41 points in just 3 quarters. It comes down to stopping the ball.  We need to take pride in stopping the ball, we are capable of scoring, but we need to get stops. A good defense can translate into easy buckets for us.”

Scoring for North: Louthan 4, McCollough 2, Edgin 3, Cordes 8, Nelson 6, Vanbrederode 2, Ballard 2,Woodyard 8.

North next plays against Miami East, then will be in the annual holiday tournament hosted by Preble Shawnee.

North Opens Season in Indiana

With North’s football season being extended by their playoff run, the start of the basketball season was delayed.  So while all the other area teams started a week earlier, this last Saturday marked the opening of the season for the Panthers.  Their opponents were the Seton Catholic Cardinals in Richmond, Indiana.  A team that had already played a handful of games and so were battle tested. Also to add to the difficulty level, North only returns 3 players with varsity experience from last year’s season.  So for many of North’s roster, this was their first varsity game.

With a taller team, the Cardinals packed into a 2-3 zone and dared the Panthers to shoot from outside.  The Panthers couldn’t settle into a groove on offense.  They had some opening night ball handling problems at times, so turnovers didn’t help their cause.  But although they hit the rim most of the night, they had problems getting their shots to drop.  And with their height advantage, Seton was hauling in most of the rebounds, limiting the Panthers to just one shot attempt.

At the other end of the court, the Panthers struggled to find an answer for Desmond Bane, an athletic player for Seton, who would score 26 points on the night – almost half of their points.  This despite sitting out the 4^th quarter.  He could drive the ball to basket – and Seton did run an old school NBA style clear out play for him.  But he could also pull up and drain a 3.  North started in a man to man defense, but switched to a zone.  But neither defense slowed down the pace of Cardinal scoring. 

By games end the score was 58-28 in favor of the Cardinals.  Their record is now 5-1, while North is 0-1. Scoring for North: MacAdams 6, Louthan 5, McCullough 4, Edgin 4, Cordes 3, Woodyard 4, Vanbroderode 2.

“We did all right in the first quarter, but we got away from our game,” stated coach King after the game. “We made way too many turnovers and had problems shooting the ball.  They came in 5 games into their season and this was our first game.”

Did the late start to the season have an effect: “Three of our players were on the football team. The rest have been able to practice together the entire time. So in my mind, it wasn’t really a factor.”

Next week North plays Trail and Dixie.  “Trail is playing way better ball than they did last year so that game will be tough.  And Dixie always plays us hard.  So we expect good games from both teams.”

South Survives Against Trail

Although their record does not yet reflect it, Trail is playing better basketball this season. They played with South all night long and fell just short at games end.   It was a one point game at halftime and although South had a nice 3^rd quarter run and built their longest lead of the night – 7 points, Trail made a run of their own in the 4^th quarter, had the game tied, but lost in the last minute 42-40.

South though was cold in their outside shooting.  Coach Augspurger would report afterwards that South was an abysmal 2 for 17 in the first half from the 3 point line and for the game was 5 of 28. Something that will have to change for the team to be successful. But the defense was aggressive the entire night. South pressed some early, but the Trail guards handled the ball well so South had to drop it. So they played in your face man to man in the half court for most of night.  They did mix in some zone defense to give Trail a different look.  Trail played in a zone defense for the entire game.

The last minute or so was where the rubber met the road in this game.  After Trail tied the score, South’s Wes Cole drove to the hoop and made a layup to put South back on top. With 28 seconds left Trail tried to set up a play.  But the South defense was up to the task and did not give Trail the shot that they wanted, holding on for the narrow 2 point win. Anthony Augspurger had a double double – scoring 15 and snagging 10 rebounds on  the night. Other scores for South: Cole 14, Cottingim 4, Bassler 8, Osborn 1.

Coach Augspurger was asked about Anthony Augspurger, “He played well and shot well, I thought he had a good night.  He made a lot of big shots for us.  We were behind in the second quarter and he got us going to get the lead back.  He played solid defense and got a lot of rebounds.”

Wes Cole: “His shot selection was better, but his shots just weren’t dropping for him.  If he keeps taking good shots, he’s going to get rolling – it just hasn’t happened yet.  But Jacob Bassler had 2 big three’s when Trail was making a run. We’ve been working on shooting a lot in practice and we are going to need to work on it more.  I feel our defense is close to where we need it to be, but we need more offense. We have to figure out ways to score.”

Next week South travels to play a solid Miami East team: “They have size, they have 5 starters back from a team that made it to the sectional finals.  We have to defend very well, we need to handle their pressure.  Obviously Tri-Village is the team to beat this season in the CCC – but Miami East is right there.”

South Trounces Eagles; Short Against Stivers

South hosted a tip off tournament to open the first weekend of the boys basketball season.  Friday night South played against the Eaton Eagles and the team methodically took apart the Eagles. South had a 27-14 halftime lead.  Eaton rallied in the third quarter, but South ran away with the game in the final quarter with a 23 point burst to defeat Eaton 60-40.

This set up the championship game against Stivers who had won the previous night against Dixie.  The Tigers are tall and athletic while South’s tallest player was only 6’2”.  For a long while South has had the advantage of tall post players.  So this year’s team has to be scrappy and opportunistic on defense to be competitive. That was the way the team played against Eaton and Stivers.

Both teams pressed a little in the early going, but gradually settled into half court defenses with South in a zone and Stivers playing man to man. South started cold with some sloppy play that let Stivers get an early 8-2 advantage.  Coach Augspurger took a time out after about 4-5 turnovers and got the team sailing straight.  South was down 14-20 at the first break and that seemed to set the tone for night where Stivers would lead most of the way and South would stay on their heels.

Stivers has decent depth this season and so they could go with a short, quick lineup – then with a line change go to a taller, more physical line up.  That made it tough defensively for South to have to adjust back and forth. Still after trailing the entire game, South tied up the game at 40 all when Winston Crozier hit a shot late in the 3^rd quarter.  Stivers could feel the pressure as South doggedly stayed on their heels – tying the game several times in the late 3^rd and 4^th quarters.  But South never could get that push to go ahead.

South rested their starters going into the last quarter and when they re-entered the court Wes Cole picked up his 3^rd, then 4^th foul and had to go back to the bench.  He did re-enter the game with about 2 and half minutes left.  And with South fouling to get possession of the ball, he delivered a 3 point shot to put South back within 1 with 23 seconds left.  South got the ball back again after a foul and set up a play with 15 seconds left.  They got the shot they wanted – but it wouldn’t drop and South fell in a heated game 55-53.

 “We just didn’t make enough shots,” said Coach Augspurger after the game. “but we did everything else.  I thought we battled well, we had some problems with their pressure – but we adjusted. We didn’t back down at all.  I don’t know what our shooting percentage was, but it couldn’t have been very good.”

He continued, “We had some opportunities in the 4^th quarter to score and we just didn’t score.  We tied it up, but we just couldn’t get the lead.  Sometimes getting the lead changes the mentality of the game.  And we just never got there – we were always playing from behind.  We shoot free throws a little better, or we make a layup and it changes the game.”

Jacob Bassler and Wes Cole were high points for South, “Jacob Bassler had a good tournament.  He had a great second quarter against Eaton.  And he played well today, he attacked the basket.  And we need him to continue to get better.  Wes struggled shooting the ball at times.  He did not have his best weekend shooting, but we know what he can do – he can make things happen.”

Wes Cole and Anthony Augspurger made the All-Tournament team for South.  Scoring against Stivers: Wes Cole 14, Jacob Bassler 15, Winston Crozier 4, Anthony Augspurger 8, Jake Osborn 5, JJ Utz 4.

This coming Friday South plays at Trail, a team that is hoping to bounce back from last years disappointing record.

Dixie Splits Games Opening Weekend

This weekend opens the Boys Varsity Basketball season and Dixie played in the Tip Off Tournament hosted by TVS.  Their first round game was against the eventual winner of the tournament – Stivers. Dixie got off to a slow start against the Tigers – only scoring 11 points in the first half.  But thanks to a late rally in the 4^th quarter they came back, but ran out of time as they fell 55-48.

So Saturday night the Greyhounds faced off against the Eaton Eagles – part of the big school division of the SWBL.  Eaton had fallen the previous night to South.  It quickly became evident that Dixie wanted to redeem themselves for their loss.  One had the sense that it would be a long night for Eaton when their point guard double dribbled the ball 5 seconds into the game. Although Eaton had an overall team height advantage, Dixie was able to counter that with an aggressive defense and spot on outside shooting.

In the first half Dixie connected on 8 treys to get the lead.  Eaton tried both man to man and 1-2-2 zone to get pressure on the wings.  But Dixie was too quick to keep covered for long. Dixie played a zone, but would mix in some trapping to keep Eaton off balance.  And Dixie was able to get turnovers from their defensive pressure.  They doubled up Eaton by halftime 33-16, shrugged off an attempt by Eaton to press coming out in the 3^rd quarter and cruised to an easy 60-35 win.

Blake Miller made the all-tournament team with his performance – leading his team in scoring with 21 points Friday and 26 points Saturday. Scoring against Eaton: Rutledge 4, Grubb 7, Leonard 9, Simpson 4, Hale 3, Gengler 3, Arnett 4.

“Overall I thought we shot the ball pretty well,” stated Coach Williams after the game, “We don’t have a lot of guys big inside, so we are going to have to take a lot of outside shots. I thought defensively we did pretty well.  Now I thought we had too many turnovers as a team.  We’re going to be better, but it’s going to be a process to get where we need to be.  But defensively we were able to steal the ball and get the job done.”

Defensive Rebounding: “Our goal is to try and limit any team to just one shot. And everyone has to box out and go get a rebound.  Even against Stivers with their big size, I thought that we did a good job of limiting them to one shot most times.  We already understand that if we give them second and third shots that it is going to be a long night for us."

Stivers, “They got up on us early, but we did not quit. We got the game back to a manageable situation. But we lost some opportunities to get even closer - we missed some key shots.  Blake Miller played well for us and Justin Leonard played unbelievably well – he gave us a double – double. We were able to make it a game and challenge them.”

Next week Dixie has two big games on their schedule as they host Waynesville on Friday and then rival Brookville on Saturday.

Panthers Dominate Bronco's

South has gotten off to a slow start this season, but they hit their stride for at least one game against the Jefferson Bronco’s.  The girls dominated from the opening tip to the end of the game.  They used an aggressive defense to befuddle the Bronco’s and keep them from generating any offense on the night.  With an expanded line up this year, South was able to able to do hockey like line changes and move 5 in and 5 out to keep their pressure fresh and intense the entire game. 

South had a 10 point lead at the end of the first quarter. But they adjusted to the court in the second quarter and the shots began to drop – the Panthers stretched out their lead  and were up 36-7 at the half.  And the pressure did not relent the entire game.  South held Jefferson to a single point in the last quarter to put an exclamation point on their 64-19 win.

And scoring was distributed. High points for South  was senior Abby Horton and sophomore Emily Hutchison who both scored 10 points.  9 out of 10 players scored, also scoring were – Jaycie Fisher 6, Mylan Crews 9, Madison Wright 4, Sydney Vorhis 8, Abbey Creech 8, Hailey Keener 4, Morgan Newhart 5.

“Sometimes a game like this gets a little ugly.” Remarked coach Mabry after the game. “I will take the win – but am I totally pleased with the way we played - No.  Now the effort was there – it doesn’t matter who we are playing or what the score is, this team plays hard.  We were playing quick and up-tempo, sometimes we need to just relax a little bit.  It was good to see 9 out of the 10 players get in the score book.  We aren’t going to be able to do that every game, but it was nice to get everyone in there.”

National Trail, “Trail is a good solid team. It’s the first time in years we haven’t had to worry about a 6 footer in the post.  We are going to go out and compete and see how we do.” 

Random Thoughts - December 7th

Well it's a testimony to the strength of the MAC- 3 state champions from that conference this season.  And hardly a season goes by where one or more MAC doesn't make it to the state title game. They have to be the top small school conference in the country.  Those schools must have entire wings devoted to Championship hardware.

And speaking about strength - what about the Buckeyes last night!!! Saw a lot of comments online - did Wisconsin even get off the bus? Did someone spike the Ohio State Gatorade?? Anyway they simply dominated all facets of the game. If you are the Wisconsin coach what do you tell your players at halftime when you are already down 38-0!!

And you are being pummeled by a team starting their 3rd string quarterback. Imagine - your first start as a Buckeye and you are starting in a championship game.  And Cardale Jones came out like a gunslinger and took care of business.  He does not run as well as Miller or Barrett.  But he has that quick release and rifle arm that NFL teams like.

So regardless of what happens in the last game, who starts for the Buckeyes next fall?  Urban Myers has a wealth of talent at quarterback. Declare one of them the QB in the offseason?  Have a run off in the spring or during conditioning in August?  It's going to be hard to make a decision and keep everyone happy.

North Loses By One

Both Panthers team are searching for their first victory this season.  But North girls basketball came the closest to reaching that goal in the Tip Off games hosted at Northridge over Thanksgiving weekend.  Their first game was a lopsided loss against Carlisle but their next night’s game was against Northridge and that game was an exciting game that was down to wire.

The Indians have decent size, can shoot the ball both outside (hitting 7 3 pointers in the 3^rd quarter) and inside.  And they are no slouches on the defensive end of the court.  North kept pace with them for one half, but after that the Indians expanded their lead and thanks to a lot of North turnovers, they won handily 57-22.  Freshman point guard Cassi Stinson lead Panther scoring with 10, Sara Harris 3, Megan Duffy 3, Tiarra Alford 3, Kara Simpson 1, December Strawser 2.

The most dramatic game of the weekend was the final game – North versus Northridge. North has already lost one starter for 2 weeks with a preseason injury and against Northridge they were short a second starter so that made the level of difficulty a little harder for North.  Both teams were slow to get going in the first quarter.  Sarah Harris nailed a 3 late in the quarter to give North a lead they would hold onto for a good part of the game.  In the second and third quarters, North would make a run, but Northridge would bounce back with a little run of their own and stay on the Panthers heels. 

Outside shooting was what kept North on top during this time.  They connected on 6 treys in the first 3 quarters – but wouldn’t hit one at all in the last quarter.  The game momentum shifted back and forth at the end of the 3^rd quarter.  North made a nice 7-2 run and seemed poised to put the game away.  They were up 27-16, their only double digit lead of the night.  But Northridge made some adjustments after a time out and went on a 10-0 run of their own and their fans raised the roof when midway through the 4^th quarter Northridge gained the lead.

Now the game went back and forth as the North came back and tied the score. And foul shots became critical in the last few minutes.  North was giving away bonus and senior Megan Duffy, a post player, fouled out with about a minute left.  Northridge sunk both throws to give Northridge the lead.  And with 20 seconds left, North was forced to foul to get the ball back and again they sunk both of them to extend their lead.  With 3 second lefts North inbounded the ball, but didn’t get the 3 point shot they needed for a tie – sinking instead a two point shot and losing 36-35 in a thrilling game.

Scoring for North: December Strawser (6), Sara Harris (3), Cassi Stinson (3), Allie Kring (9), Megan Duffy (6), Hailey Hillard (3), Tiarra Alford (5)

Coach Jessica Cherry on the Northridge game:  “They came out in the second half to shut down our outside shooting and I think they were successful in that.  Having our post player foul out at the end was a huge difference.  But I think we played a lot better today and we were short one of our starters with the flu, and it’s a whole different game if we have her here.  Keeping momentum was hard, I think we got a little tired at the end from playing games two nights in a row."

Cassi Stinson: “She made some good shots at the end of the game and was the leading scorer against Carlisle.  She did hurt her ankle and that may have affected her in the beginning of the game.  But she has stepped into her role as point guard and been a good leader too.  Allie Kring had a good game too, she shot well for us. Once we get our injured players back we should be able to get that inside – outside game going.”

South Starts Season

Twin Valley South’s girls basketball team began their season this weekend by playing in the CCC/SWBL Tip Off that was hosted at Northridge this season.  This season’s edition of the Panthers has more players than last year, but is still lacking in Varsity experience – and height. The team will need to be scrappy and aggressive on defense to be successful this season.

And that was the way that the team started on Friday night.  They pressed the host Polar Bears and used an attacking defense to gain an early advantage that lasted to half time.  But the third quarter was all Northridge as they outscored the Panthers and gained a lead that would not be relinquished. What had been a narrow 2 point lead at half time was turned into a deficit as South would fall 41-25. Freshman Milan Crews lead scoring for the Panthers with 9 points, Abbey Creech scored 7, Jayce Fisher 5, and Hailey Keener had 3.

Carlisle was clearly the best team in the tip off and they were next up for the Panthers. South tried to start out the same way against the Indians – a full court press and a man to man defense in the half court.  But Carlisle could not be contained so South then settled into a zone defense for the remainder of the night.  But South’s lack of height showed as Carlisle was getting 2 and 3 shot attempts on their possessions while South would only get 1 attempt.  South was also cold from the foul line – missing their first 5 attempts.  Although they would not have made a difference this time, those are lost points that can make a difference in a close game.

South scoring against Carlisle: Creech 7, Keener 8, Morgan Newhart 4.

Coach Mabry – against Northridge: “We played well early, we were up 8-zip.  We came out pressing, got on them early, and caught them by surprise.  Which is something we need to do – we have some quickness on the team and we need to utilize it.  Now we are inexperienced and we tend to get out of control with that quickness.  But as long as we are being aggressive, I don’t have a problem with it.”

He continued, “But our biggest thing right now is our shooting and our passing. I think we can get to where we need to be – it might take awhile. We mixed together some people that played last year with some people that came out this year and it will take a little bit for them to gel as a team.  Even with some juniors and a couple of seniors on the team – not much varsity experience."

The Carlisle game: “Defensively we tried to do a couple of things tonight that we hadn’t worked on in practice – this early in the season we need to find what we can do.  And I will give them credit, I can call a time out and diagram something and they will go out and execute it.  Which with some teams in the past we couldn’t do.  It is rare for a young team to be able to just sit and listen, then go out and do what I ask."

Finally, “There is a lot more to do, we are always going to be challenged to do defensive rebounding.  We can take the ball to the hole – we are aggressive with our quickness. But that quickness has to translate to rebounds at the other end. Rebounding is based on awareness – you can’t just stand around and wait for the ball to come to you. And we need to get better with our shooting.  We got some good looks, but just couldn’t knock down our shots. ”

North Falls to West Liberty

In a game that was not decided until the last minute North fell to the West Liberty Salem Tigers 21-14. When two closely matched teams play many times it is the team that makes the fewest mistakes that gets the victory.  And for the second time in the playoffs North’s first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble.  And that seemed to set the tone for the night as North squandered several opportunities due to penalties and turnovers.

The Tigers defense did play North tough and they bent several times – allowing North inside their 30 7 times, but stopping the drive each time.  North would only punt 1 time on the night, but failed to convert on 4^th down 4 times and gave up 3 turnovers.  A ball control team can’t afford to be in long yardage situations and several times penalties moved the ball backwards.  Still North battled back against adversity and made some good defensive stands themselves. Defensively they did a fair job against the run, and although North seemed to adjust to the pass in the second half, the Tigers did the most damage in the air.

The Tigers made some big plays on offense.  After recovering the opening fumble from North they ran a draw play on third and long and scored first on a 37 yard run.  North was able to respond when Colton Booth threw a 16 yard strike to Blake Lawson.  The Tigers would close out the first quarter with a long touchdown pass – again on a third and long play that would go 74 yards. 

In the second quarter, both teams had several drives end deep in enemy territory.  Trey Summers stopped one Tiger drive with a fumble recovery.  And the Tigers stopped two drives where North failed to convert on 4^th down.  North held firm right before the end of half when the Tigers went for it on 4^th down at the 19 yard line.  So both defenses made big plays to keep the second quarter scoreless.

The Tigers got their last score of the night midway in the 3^rd quarter, a 16 yard pass that made it a 2 touchdown lead.   This following sequence points out one of many squandered opportunities for North. Austin Elmore had several good kick returns on the night.  But his best was a punt return to the Tiger 26 yard line in the 3^rd quarter. But from there North went backwards.  They gave up a sack and then on third and long a holding penalty turned a completed pass into a loss.   Then on 4^th and forever the snap was mishandled and the Tigers recovered the ball.  It was almost a complete disaster, but North kept the Tigers from scoring again.

North would score with 5 minutes left in the game.  A poor punt combined with a good return by Colton Overholtz gave North the ball at the 18 yard line. The next play Colton Booth connected with Garrett Woodyard to make it a one touchdown game 21-14.  The onsides kick failed, but North held the Tigers to 3 plays and a punt.  With just under 2 minutes left in the game, North began a drive on their own 10 with no time outs left.  But after getting a couple of first downs the Tigers crushed North’s hope for a last minute comeback when they picked off a pass and ended North’s season.

It has been a record setting year for North.  10-1 on the season, league champs, first playoff victory ever.  The seniors are the first class ever to go to the play offs all 4 years. So the North has a lot to be proud of this season.  And the playoff loss – a lot of coulda, shoulda’s.  With all the mistakes and turnovers, they still were in the game all the way to the end.  Coach Derringer and the coaching staff are also to be commended – high school football takes a lot of time and dedication to the program. In recent years North has reloaded each fall, so there a system in place that creates winners.

“Mistakes killed us,” lamented coach Derringer after the game, “We came out and made mistakes in the first half.  Then we gave up some big plays to them.  We adjusted our pass coverage and that seemed to have that fixed.  We just didn’t play well tonight. But every kid gave it their all.”

He continued, “We have had a great season and a fantastic run. I am proud of each and every one of the kids – we fought and fought and fought.  It was 21-14 and we got the ball and were driving at the end.   I have to give credit to West Liberty they deserve the win – they held us on every 4^th down we had deep in their territory.  If we make any one of those and punch it in, then it’s a different ball game. Their linebackers did a good job of blowing up our isolation plays.  They are big up front and have good skill players.”

Finally, “They have been a great group of seniors.  They have been good leaders all year.  The first group in Preble County to go to the playoffs all four years.  And there are the unsung heroes  - several seniors did not get that much playing time.  But they came to practice every day, they worked hard, they tried to make us better.  It was a group effort out of this senior class. I told them they did something that no one else at North has ever done. This year was a special year - it was a great run.”

Tri-County North Wins First Ever Playoff Game

This year’s record setting team once again took care of business the same way that have all season and recorded North’s first ever play off win.  Over the years North has qualified for the playoffs many times, but they were always one and done.  And the victory was all the sweeter as it took place in Lewisburg in front of a vocal TCN crowd.  For the senior class – they can also be proud that they made the playoffs all 4 years that they played.

Summit Country Day spread out the field and mixed the run and the pass.  But for the most part North’s defense kept them contained.  And North’s special teams once again shone and set up some big plays – including a punt return for a touchdown by Austin Elmore.  And Country Day had to deal with a long field most of night. They are a young team and do not have as deep a bench as North.  So in the second half North’s senior laden offense kept chugging out the yardage and kept Country Day’s offense on the bench.  And after their first possession of the second half – North pretty much limited them to 3 and out’s the rest of the night.

You had to be worried when the first play from scrimmage by North was a fumble – but the ball bounced into a diving Colton Booth’s hands.  And North did have to punt on their first series.  But the remainder of the first quarter was all North.  Linebacker Tanner Booth set up the first score by batting a Country Day pass into the air, then catching the ball and carrying to the 8 yard line before being dragged down.  Kody Cordes took over from there as he carried the ball into the endzone to spot North an early lead. 

And things went downhill fast for the Silver Knights.  A mishandled kick put the ball on the 5 yard line where Colton Booth tackled the quarterback in the endzone for a safety.   So Country Day now had to kick to North and the team responded by driving the ball 70 yards for another scoring drive – capped by a 21 yard carry by Kody Cordes.  So in the space of a few minutes, Country Day was down 16-0.

County Day was able to respond in the second quarter – they reached into their bag of tricks and were able to pull off a fake punt that kept the drive alive.  But North’s defense held them to a 28 yard field goal.  As time ran down before the half, Colton Booth connected with Garret Woodyard for a 38 yard catch to put North up 24-3.

Country Day came out of the locker room and put together another scoring drive.  And this made it a two score game with North up 24-10.  Country Day did try an onsides kick – but an offsides penalty called it back and the second time they kicked away.   The teams exchanged possessions and it was Austin Elmore who put the game out of reach when he took a punt at midfield and weaved through Country Day to make it a 3 score game once again.

North played ball possession the remainder of the game and Austin Green put the final points on the board with an 11 yard carry.  Not a perfect game – North mishandled the ball several times and this, along with some untimely penalties put them into long yardage situations.  A ball possession team needs to chug out the yardage consistently and not have to deal with 3^rd and longs.  Still it was enough to win 38-10 and earn a ticket to the next round of the playoffs.   Not that North needed any extra motivation, but a few of the Country Day players trash talked North players during warmups. Coach Derringer remarked later that he did not need to motivate the players before the game– they were already fired up.

Like climbing a ladder - each round of the playoffs will be tougher and tougher for the team as they take each rung.  So they will need to watch those afore mentioned mistakes.  Next week they play against West Liberty Salem - a more seasoned team that can pass the ball well.

Coach Derringer on the win, “It’s been a long time coming – it took 7 times to get the win.  It’s a special group of guys, they worked so hard.  I can’t say enough for the senior leadership.  I know that at halftime, no one was satisfied with the performance of the first half.  They got on each other at halftime and in the second half I thought we did a pretty nice job. “

He continued, “I am almost at a loss for words right now, it’s really exciting.  I am happy for the kids – we are at 10-0 now.  It’s been a special year.”

On Country Day’s touchdown, “We really need to work on our deep pass coverage.  They have some really good skill players.  Our coverage was there we just have to do a better job of playing the football instead of playing the man. But we will work hard on that this week.  A lot of the teams coming up are shot gun, spread teams that can throw the ball.  So we are going to see this again.”