43 minutes ago, Redheat said:

The fumble on the one should have been a false start or a penalty on the defense,  they were trying to simulate our snap count all night.

I said the exact same thing. 

To me the game changing play was the blocked punt.  Special teams were a concern all year and last night they hurt in crucial situations.  
 

Defensive scheme was not the best in my opinion.  If me I play Fenik and Stojokvic inside and Robinson and Dunn out in tackle end gap because they are my two best tacklers.

Offensive play calling been a problem all year.  Down 6 with 6 minutes to go and throw it on every down?  Run some offense and clock.  The clock was your friend there.   Also explain the field goal down 14-0 please.

Officiating questions.  Can someone explain the penalty on Matteoli after the touchdown.  Also the 5 yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff.

Liked what I saw from the heart, hustle and desire last night to the very end.  That has been missing and I credit the seniors for buying in and pushing the younger kids.

Still work to be done but their was progress from start to finish.

3 minutes ago, Mr. Sixer said:

Originally I thought SC would pull away but in the actual case they hung on. If SC scores just before half instead of muffing the snap at the Highlands 1 yard line they probably would have pulled away IMO. 

If Highlands doesn’t try a field goal and scores a touchdown then different ballgame.  Those who think this was a total mismatch did not watch the game I did.  Scott County defense was average to me.  Highlands moved the ball and as someone said earlier their were 3 or 4 passes that just missed being long touchdowns.  That unfortunate is the what if game.

I was on the end zone side on the penalty. To me it looked like SC pushed the Highlnads player but I guess he said something. It’s 5 yard penalty on the kicking team if the ball goes out of bounds untouched.

10 minutes ago, Jack of all Trades said:

If Highlands doesn’t try a field goal and scores a touchdown then different ballgame.  Those who think this was a total mismatch did not watch the game I did.  Scott County defense was average to me.  Highlands moved the ball and as someone said earlier their were 3 or 4 passes that just missed being long touchdowns.  That unfortunate is the what if game.

I only watched the first half but I agree this game was definitely not a mismatch. The key play that no one has mentioned was the "fumble" early in the game by Noon. He was clearly stopped, being gang tackled and going down, Scott County players started tugging at the ball as he went down. The video did not capture the end of the play as he was almost down but forward progress was stopped IMO so there should not have been a fumble. Highlands was moving on offense when that fumble happened. They score there and the whole game is shifted. 

15 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

I only watched the first half but I agree this game was definitely not a mismatch. The key play that no one has mentioned was the "fumble" early in the game by Noon. He was clearly stopped, being gang tackled and going down, Scott County players started tugging at the ball as he went down. The video did not capture the end of the play as he was almost down but forward progress was stopped IMO so there should not have been a fumble. Highlands was moving on offense when that fumble happened. They score there and the whole game is shifted. 

Yes good catch.

19 minutes ago, Breds82 said:

I was on the end zone side on the penalty. To me it looked like SC pushed the Highlnads player but I guess he said something. It’s 5 yard penalty on the kicking team if the ball goes out of bounds untouched.

So you are saying Scott County player pushed Matteolli and he said something for 15 yard penalty?  If so that is WEAK.

The kickoff penalty I am talking about was when the white hat blew play dead because ball was not yet placed in play.  That is NOT a penalty.  Just shows how the officiating crew was disconnected on many crucial calls.

1 hour ago, Jack of all Trades said:

So you are saying Scott County player pushed Matteolli and he said something for 15 yard penalty?  If so that is WEAK.

The kickoff penalty I am talking about was when the white hat blew play dead because ball was not yet placed in play.  That is NOT a penalty.  Just shows how the officiating crew was disconnected on many crucial calls.

Yes that was confusing.   It was on the onside kick correct?

7 minutes ago, cincyswords said:

Yes that was confusing.   It was on the onside kick correct?

Yes that is the play.

The HHS defensive game plan was pretty good. They took away quick pitch and belly sweep for the most part. The made power bounce. The guys running open on play action I’m going to guess was an eye discipline thing. That even got sorted out for the most part. 
 

I’m guessing here but I think HHS was cross keying in the secondary. That would explain how the filled so well on belly sweep. What hurt them was Belly which eventually started to roll. That and whatever their adjustment was to motion from the wing because later in the game Scott Co would motion wing away and run power back toward the TE. There was also a heavier dose of HB on the same side as the TE than normal. 

The difference in the game was turnovers. HHS had a punt blocked, two picks, a fumble and a lot of short fields for SC .Birds were down 14 in the first qtr.

Down 14 the Birds fought like pit bulls to get back in it. The Birds were one drive short at winning the game. Play calling on the last drive was terrible to say the least. 

I just want to tell the Birds that I'm proud of them, they kept fighting until the end. 

Might want to find a better OC before next season.

2 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

I only watched the first half but I agree this game was definitely not a mismatch. The key play that no one has mentioned was the "fumble" early in the game by Noon. He was clearly stopped, being gang tackled and going down, Scott County players started tugging at the ball as he went down. The video did not capture the end of the play as he was almost down but forward progress was stopped IMO so there should not have been a fumble. Highlands was moving on offense when that fumble happened. They score there and the whole game is shifted. 

That all depends on when the whistle blew, and forward progress stopping doesn't immediately result in a blown whistle. Didn't see the play in question, but often in the way this play was described, if the runner is on the way down, the whistle won't blow until he contacts the ground. I've seen a lot of fumbles caused when the runner is on his way down.

4 hours ago, El Diablo said:

Meh, they were pretty evenly matched. 29-23 is no blowout. Both teams left drives in garbage can. Plus Highlands had way more turnovers and only lose by a TD is relatively even.  Scott was the better team but they don’t win 9/10 matchups by any means. They run a really tough scheme. Noon basically was not used last night which left me scratching my head. 

It was no blowout, but you even said this game probably should have been worse than it was for Highlands, and was fortunate it was this close. Would Highland fans say them and CovCath were evenly matched teams this year? I would think Highlands fans would disagree if someone said them and CovCath were two evenly matched teams. I know I believe you even said Highlands is even 14 points better than them now.  Even though CovCath was even winning in the 4th in that one. Unlike this when Highlands was never leading for a second in this one.

Shouldn’t that apply here, since the main reason Highlands was even in the game at the end, was cause of Scott County’s own mistakes that had nothing to do with Highlands. Like fumbling the ball at the 1 before half, and also missing a chip shot field goal. Just that easy 10 points alone that Scott County should have had, would have made it a 23 point game with just 3 minutes left in the game. Scott County went on the road in a tough environment, and led throughout, and just people who watched probably would just say Scott County is simply better after seeing the game. If they play 10 times, Scott County probably wins at least 7 of them if not more. Which there is nothing wrong with that, Highlands lost to a team that was simply better than them. Highlands made great progress as a program this year, and positioned to be back as being a favorite next year in the state. 

16 hours ago, Fan of Karen said:

Does that mean no helicopter ride?

Nope.  But, I was afraid @Fan of Karen was going to NEED a helicopter ride after @ing you. 

42 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

It was no blowout, but you even said this game probably should have been worse than it was for Highlands, and was fortunate it was this close. Would Highland fans say them and CovCath were evenly matched teams this year? I would think Highlands fans would disagree if someone said them and CovCath were two evenly matched teams. I know I believe you even said Highlands is even 14 points better than them now.  Even though CovCath was even winning in the 4th in that one. Unlike this when Highlands was never leading for a second in this one.

Shouldn’t that apply here, since the main reason Highlands was even in the game at the end, was cause of Scott County’s own mistakes that had nothing to do with Highlands. Like fumbling the ball at the 1 before half, and also missing a chip shot field goal. Just that easy 10 points alone that Scott County should have had, would have made it a 23 point game with just 3 minutes left in the game. Scott County went on the road in a tough environment, and led throughout, and just people who watched probably would just say Scott County is simply better after seeing the game. If they play 10 times, Scott County probably wins at least 7 of them if not more. Which there is nothing wrong with that, Highlands lost to a team that was simply better than them. Highlands made great progress as a program this year, and positioned to be back as being a favorite next year in the state. 

Well put and spot on. Our young Birds maximized their potential and had an opportunity to win the game. The team got better every game. Despite the blocked punt yesterday (credit to Scott) special teams have been great which is clear to anyone that has a true knowledge of the game. There are a lot of young up and coming Birds and the weight room will pay dividends once again. Look for the offensive and defensive line to be dominant.