Congrats to Both Russell and Ashland. There was alot of penilties and fumbles from Ashland that killed them. Russell also had several turnovers to. This one sure suprised me. :fire: I guess u can never count the Devils out.

 

:dancingpa

Im glad the young Devils proved me wrong on my prediction,we will take a will anyway we can get it. :ylsuper:

Ashland flat out CHOKED in this game. Ive seen them play so much better i guess the big game got to them.

Ashland flat out CHOKED in this game. Ive seen them play so much better i guess the big game got to them.

 

I disagree with this statement 100%. When a player makes a mistake, or a team makes numerous mistakes I dont think they choke. Saying they choke is just an insult. Russell played better and got the win, but Ashland didnt choke.

Ashland flat out CHOKED in this game. Ive seen them play so much better i guess the big game got to them.

True, the last play of the game for the tomcats was a good play. Great ball thrown just couldnt make the catch.!

Congrats to the young Devils. Coach Steve Hicks always does a good job.

Coach Hicks is also a very nice person to. :thumb:

Well Ashland pretty much lost this game in the 1st 6 minutes with some turnovers, one at the 1 yard line. They did a good job to battle back late in the game. But Coach Jack Harris really made some ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE play calls on the final drive. Ashland's 3 backs McCleod, Miller, and Hush had been running the ball well all night. So with 2:30 left on first and 15 from about the Russell 30 yard line he calls some kind of a halfback/TE reverse pass, that was of course incomplete. He proceeded to call this play or variations of this play 3 or 4 more times. Listen coach RUN THE FOOTBALL!!!!! He basically turned what could have been the game winning drive into a complete circus. Good effort from the team, its a shame they had to lose that way.

I agree AT41, I thought Russell completely outcoached Ashland tonight.

Ashland played tough in the second half coming back from 17 down to bring the game within one point. They had momentum and were playing well. It's a shame that the coach did not make the greatest play calls. That could have been the reason they lost the game with a turnover on downs to the Devils with 38 seconds.

Looks like this wasn't quite the reversal of last year's shellacking that some Tomcat fans predicted. These games usually never are that one-sided and it looks like tonight was more of the same. These close games at this level should mean we have several more good battles to look forward to on the varsity level the next few years.

I agree AT41, I thought Russell completely outcoached Ashland tonight.

 

No doubt. :mad:

Ashland may have been outcoached, but they never should have

been in that position in the first place. The Tomcats were faced with

two 4th and longs (over 10 yards) on the final drive, and the first

was a beautiful screen to the left. But that last drive should never

have been necessary - both teams turned the ball over alot, and

Ashland nearly lost the ball 3 more times on botched snaps. It is

hard for me to put the blame on the coaches.

 

The Russell offense looked very anemic for most of the night, but

they were able to take advantage of a good kickoff return, a blocked

punt, and I believe an interception to score from inside 35 yards

each time. Russell's defense, however, made big plays when they

needed them. This was very much a Russell win in a game that they

were the underdog - simply doing what they needed to do to win.

 

Could the playcalling have been better for Ashland? Certainly. But

Ashland did not seem to play well at all, and Russell seemed to

step up. This leads me to believe that there was some need of the

Heimlich maneuver on the Ashland sideline.

 

Way to go Russell on a huge win to end the season!

Someone made the comment that Ashland was unable to score

after they had the ball at the one of Russell, and that is not entirely

true. The Tomcat defense was able to get a safety and on the ensuing

kickoff I believe Ashland returned the ball to around the 40. If Ash-

land was going to capitalize (and thus not choke) they would have

answered with a score there. They didn't and that set the tone of

the ballgame until about the last 6 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Well Ashland pretty much lost this game in the 1st 6 minutes with some turnovers, one at the 1 yard line. They did a good job to battle back late in the game. But Coach Jack Harris really made some ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE play calls on the final drive. Ashland's 3 backs McCleod, Miller, and Hush had been running the ball well all night. So with 2:30 left on first and 15 from about the Russell 30 yard line he calls some kind of a halfback/TE reverse pass, that was of course incomplete. He proceeded to call this play or variations of this play 3 or 4 more times. Listen coach RUN THE FOOTBALL!!!!! He basically turned what could have been the game winning drive into a complete circus. Good effort from the team, its a shame they had to lose that way.

 

An accurate assessment AT...but I do have to give props to russell, they were ready to play, and did.