26 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Pet peeve. When you are getting your butt kicked, you always look flat. In this case though, I disagree. The Tigers were not flat, and they certainly weren't flat from the get go. 

The Tigers actually were ok out of the gate. Cov Cath's first possession was a 3 and out. Beechwood's first offensive play was a nice pass completion for a first down on a slant pattern before punting. Then the defense forced another 3 and out. So no problem with the start. Not flat at all. First quarter ended 0-0.

At the end of the 1Q, I truthfully was thinking that Beechwood was more than likely to win. Cov Cath was playing well and appeared to be executing on their game plan, but I thought Beechwood was playing with more excitement. I felt, at that moment, that that was most likely to swing things in Beechwood's favor once all was said and done.

In hindsight, I think the overall feeling behind the teams in that moment reminds me a little more of the way it felt being a Cov Cath player against Moeller when we played them each year in the 90s. With little exception, we could be as fired up as we wanted to be going into the game, and as gritty and ready to go as possible, but Moeller would just come into the game and they had this kind of quiet "this is another day at the office" confidence to the way they played. They were hard to shake. I remember even when we would score, they were just lined up and ready to go for the PAT within seconds like, "You guys just scored, right? Are you going to get going with this PAT? We're ready for it." We would get done celebrating after the touchdown and then it was like, "Oh, that didn't even rattle them at all."

I'm not saying Cov Cath had THAT kind of confidence going into things tonight. Frankly, I know I didn't have that kind of confidence in the win going into things. But I feel like it was similar to that, looking back.

3 minutes ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

At the end of the 1Q, I truthfully was thinking that Beechwood was more than likely to win. Cov Cath was playing well and appeared to be executing on their game plan, but I thought Beechwood was playing with more excitement. I felt, at that moment, that that was most likely to swing things in Beechwood's favor once all was said and done.

In hindsight, I think the overall feeling behind the teams in that moment reminds me a little more of the way it felt being a Cov Cath player against Moeller when we played them each year in the 90s. With little exception, we could be as fired up as we wanted to be going into the game, and as gritty and ready to go as possible, but Moeller would just come into the game and they had this kind of quiet "this is another day at the office" confidence to the way they played. They were hard to shake. I remember even when we would score, they were just lined up and ready to go for the PAT within seconds like, "You guys just scored, right? Are you going to get going with this PAT? We're ready for it." We would get done celebrating after the touchdown and then it was like, "Oh, that didn't even rattle them at all."

I'm not saying Cov Cath had THAT kind of confidence going into things tonight. Frankly, I know I didn't have that kind of confidence in the win going into things. But I feel like it was similar to that, looking back.

That was deep CWB. 

Much improved Colonels.  If they improve a little each week they can contend. If Pitzer starts hitting in the pass game they could become really good.  Didn’t think they’d show this physicality.  Also been missing a kicking game last year.  Better there too so far.

4 minutes ago, theguru said:

That was deep CWB. 

It's been eating at me...can you tell? ?

Congrats to Cov Cath on big win!

29 minutes ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

At the end of the 1Q, I truthfully was thinking that Beechwood was more than likely to win. Cov Cath was playing well and appeared to be executing on their game plan, but I thought Beechwood was playing with more excitement. I felt, at that moment, that that was most likely to swing things in Beechwood's favor once all was said and done.

In hindsight, I think the overall feeling behind the teams in that moment reminds me a little more of the way it felt being a Cov Cath player against Moeller when we played them each year in the 90s. With little exception, we could be as fired up as we wanted to be going into the game, and as gritty and ready to go as possible, but Moeller would just come into the game and they had this kind of quiet "this is another day at the office" confidence to the way they played. They were hard to shake. I remember even when we would score, they were just lined up and ready to go for the PAT within seconds like, "You guys just scored, right? Are you going to get going with this PAT? We're ready for it." We would get done celebrating after the touchdown and then it was like, "Oh, that didn't even rattle them at all."

I'm not saying Cov Cath had THAT kind of confidence going into things tonight. Frankly, I know I didn't have that kind of confidence in the win going into things. But I feel like it was similar to that, looking back.

I am going to go a little deeper. I alluded to it earlier. To me this was a game about 3rd down. CCH was not getting chunk plays. Beechwood made them work for everything. But Beechwood could not get the play they needed on 3rd or 4th down. It was a little like last year's game in that sense. CCH keep grinding and making just enough to get the yardage they needed. And because Beechwood could not get stops, they wore down which made it even harder to get stops. Meanwhile, this year's Beechwood offense did not have the passing game to get those 3rd down plays to hit.

Those two TD's by CCH at the end of the first half sealed the story. That moved it from a 7-7 game with 3 minutes left in the half to a 21-7 lead. Eviston going for it on a couple of those drives on 4th down even when he was in field goal range was a big move and CCH made it work. 

Bottom line - Cov Cath controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It was a small difference but it was enough to make the difference over the course of the game. That plus Pitzer hitting on some key 3rd and 4th down plays, and Beechwood not hitting on any of those plays. 

One more comment. When I saw the upset alert flag on the game thread, I thought is this an upset? I guess to many people it was. Personally, I feel Beechwood is always the underdog when they play CCH. Always.

I felt it was a coin flip tonight and I felt the same way last year and the year before, although I was maybe a little more confident last year. Go back before that, Beechwood was definitely the underdog for several years in a row. In fact, I can't remember a time in the last 20 years where I would have said Beechwood is the clear favorite. I remember there being a stretch for a few years where people were asking if Beechwood should stop playing CCH because it wasn't a contest any more. I'm happy those comments are gone and Beechwood has a fighting chance in these games.

1 minute ago, Voice of Reason said:

One more comment. When I saw the upset alert flag on the game thread, I thought is this an upset? I guess to many people it was. Personally, I feel Beechwood is always the underdog when they play CCH. Always.

I felt it was a coin flip tonight and I felt the same way last year and the year before, although I was maybe a little more confident last year. Go back before that, Beechwood was definitely the underdog for several years in a row. In fact, I can't remember a time in the last 20 years where I would have said Beechwood is the clear favorite. I remember there being a stretch for a few years where people were asking if Beechwood should stop playing CCH because it wasn't a contest any more.

The poll was 72 to 18 in favor of Beechwood.  I think that qualifies as an upset alert. 

1 minute ago, theguru said:

The poll was 72 to 18 in favor of Beechwood.  I think that qualifies as an upset alert. 

Good point. I still say Beechwood is always the underdog, but I know these teams and programs better than most.

Besides the center and QB, Cov Cath only had 3 players who touched the football on offense. Owen Leen with 37 carries for 150 yards and 1 TD and 4 receptions for 27 yards, Braylon Miller with 2 receptions for 38 yards and 1 TD (plus kick returns), and Willie Rodriguez with 5 receptions for 91 yards and 1 TD.

As many said, Beechwood too one dimensional. Good thing is they will be fine in 2A. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Besides the center and QB, Cov Cath only had 3 players who touched the football on offense. Owen Leen with 37 carries for 150 yards and 1 TD and 4 receptions for 27 yards, Braylon Miller with 2 receptions for 38 yards and 1 TD (plus kick returns), and Willie Rodriguez with 5 receptions for 91 yards and 1 TD.

I wonder what the school record is for carries in a game?  I don’t recall a Colonel back with as many.  Great performance in a big game.

7 minutes ago, Samcro said:

I wonder what the school record is for carries in a game?  I don’t recall a Colonel back with as many.  Great performance in a big game.

I don't see a single game rushing attempt record listed, but Cole Chadwick had 319 carries in 1998, so I'm guessing he had at least one game with 38+.