All of those who posted were very accuarte in their evaluation so I won't be redundent.Some things I do want to mention are the Elder punting game which was mentioned but deserves further elaboration. The punter negated most of the field position that Highlands earned by outgaining Elder. He was phenomenal. Another point worth mentioning was the penalty called on the Highlands punt that took a favorable roll and went out at about the one yard line. The re-kick left Elder near their 35 yard line. That was very big.

Finally, Kramer ran the ball well despite the fact that Elder keyed on him. However, his decision to field the punt near the 5 yard line was not a good one. He not only muffed the punt, but the ball was right there for him to recover and he could not get the handle.

In fairness, Highlands final score was a bit tainted in that Cecil threw the ball right into the hands of a surprised Elder defenser. It was an easy catch, but the defender had the ball go over his shoulder straight into the arms of a Highlands receiver. But for that play, many would have made an early exit.

Here are some pictures from last night. I only took a few during the game because I was too nervous, too wet, and too busy going back and forth between cheering and crying. :jump: :cry: :jump: :cry: :jump:

 

This first one was at about 6:00 PM right after they opened the gates.

The final "stretch."

Elder coming out onto the field.

Some of our coaches.

Both teams, right before the game started

This was the crowd at game time.

My one decent shot of the actual game.

Very good game by the BIRDS and a tough loss in the end. This one may hurt, but the kids gave it their all. Elder should feel very fortunate to have gotten the W and needs to recognize their need for improvement, especially on offense. The BIRDS shut them down.

 

Highlands needs to let this one go and get ready for X. Previous posts have said how great this X team is compared to Elder, I don't know and will wait and see. Elder will be competitive all year, just not the best Cincy has to offer. Cincy X and Colerain have that job this year.

 

Offense, the line played very good and should be proud. Play calling could have been better, IMO. Big backs running it or blocking in the red zone could have one this game. Fumble in the first half and a stalled drive in the second half got only 3 points. Leading a QB draw with Jordan blocking bogged us down on a short field. Delay of game killed us, get the play in from the sideline. Overall, we beat them up and down the field. Formations could have been better. 3 wideouts on most every play got old, especially if we are not using them. Elder did not respect the pass or the formations for most of the game. Late in the game when we needed to pass, Elder was dropping 6/7 in coverage and the HB screen was there for the taking and we only used it once I believe for 20+ yards. I thought are passing game got much better with Simmons in the game. 45, 16 and 13 seemed ineffective on pass routes.

Defense was stellar and against much bigger boys. Their receivers are tall and ran decent routes. QB was under pressure all night, but when he had the time got it to them a few times.

 

Elder won this game on the scoreboard and with its punt team on the field. It is a shame that the BIRDS had the misfortune of the ball grazing a blocker in the first half. The play at the five, should not have happened and unfortunately it did and was huge. Did anyone notice that when Elder punted, the ball being used was lets say "worn". I did not think a kicking ball or soft ball was allowed. Any thoughts. Not to say the kid was not booming the ball anyway.

 

Overall, great job and keep your heads up and re-focus on X.

 

Go BIRDS.

Nice pics BF.:thumb:

Where is LN's analysis at???????? I look forward to seeing what he has to say....:confused:

 

What, are the rest of us chopped liver?:creepy:

What, are the rest of us chopped liver?:creepy:

 

You're just a woman, you couldn't possibly know what you're talking about...:fire:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k Henry...you may know more about football than me...and definitely Birdsfan.

What, are the rest of us chopped liver?:creepy:

Dunno, but I've been called a turkey...and GT is definitely a ham.

Who won the jv game????

You're just a woman, you couldn't possibly know what you're talking about...:fire:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

j/k Henry...you may know more about football than me...and definitely Birdsfan.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I just don't understand why those boys just keep running into each other.:creepy: