Highlands 29 Ryle 14

[75center]

I believe he had 151 on 13 carries if I recall the stats correctly. Definitely wasn't shut down by HHS defense.

 

He had a huge amount of that total on the one play he took down to the 1. Boy that was something!

[katbird]

I believe he had 151 on 13 carries if I recall the stats correctly. Definitely wasn't shut down by HHS defense.

 

Guess what he can't do everything or Ryle will never beat the Birds..

[John Anthony]

I like I said months ago Ryle is over hyped.

 

Keep telling yourself that and your in for a big surprise. They are a big physical football team who is not just running plays under center anymore. They have very capable athletes.

[cooperstown]

I believe Hemple carried the ball quite a bit on QB draws and keepers . Is Hemple a beast too ?

 

He's developed into a very good runner and he's not easy to bring down either. I'll bet he rushes for as many yards as any other QB in NKY this year.

 

Ryle's passing issues have zero to do with him. He rarely gets to set up in the pocket to throw and is constantly on the run (though some are obviously designed rollouts). There were quite a few drops tonight. Other than the TD toss to Lonkard, which was a very nice play, I'm not certain Ryle attempted another pass more than 8-10 yards. They have had a very successful vertical passing game the past two years and hopefully we'll see some of that back in this year's pass attack.

[cooperstown]

Towles' pass to end the first half was an absolute laser dart. Very impressive. Outside of that play and the long pass in the 2nd half, however, I thought Ryle's secondary did a nice job. Very nice game by Senvinsky (2 picks).

[keyplayer]

Great game by both teams. Thought the Bruns boys for Highlands had a great game on the defensive side of the ball. Big turnovers, big hits. Nice game by both. Looking forward to game 2!!

[hoosierbirdfan]

Some student threw a plastic ball on the field that the cheerleaders had thrown into the stands. I would not praise Mr. Sullivan for what he did to Mr. Elliott and then others that joined in. You had a team teetering on the brink of feeling defeated and then you pump them up with a nonsense play like that. If Ryle converts the first down and goes on to score thus making it a one possession game, does that make it a great play. Very disappointed in what occurred even if there was jawing going on prior to that play. What if one or all four players would have been ejected? Maybe that is something that needs to be thought about the next time this situation presents itself.

 

I agree with most on here that the turning point in the game was the touchdown pass by Towles at the end of the first half and then Ryle fumbles on its first possession of the second half to go from being up 7 to down by 5. From there Ryle started doubting itself a little and Highlands took control. IMO Ryle wore down both mentally and physically as the game went on which is an attribute that Highlands seems to have on most everyone they play.

 

Where in my post did I praise Sullivan ? Did you also notice that two personal fouls were called on that play. Offsetting penaltys. I'm sure Elliot had nothing to do with it , so why did he get flagged too. I guess Elliot was in the wrong place at the wrong time.:ohbrother:

[John Anthony]

Towles' pass to end the first half was an absolute laser dart. Very impressive. Outside of that play and the long pass in the 2nd half, however, I thought Ryle's secondary did a nice job. Very nice game by Senvinsky (2 picks).

 

Like Manual, Ryle played off the WR's, cover 2/3 all night. The only WR on Highlands who is going to blow past someone with them backing off that much is Sheehan which he did tonight on a huge play. The kid can fly. Gold is an excellent router runner and knows where to be, his catch before the half was just unexplainable. HUGE! I would love to see Streeter in the slot some.

[FamilyTradition]

Nice win Birds! Sloppy at times but the Birds made adjustments at halftime. Offensive players date the cheerleaders and the defense wins championships!

[leatherneck]

Nice win Birds! Sloppy at times but the Birds made adjustments at halftime. Offensive players date the cheerleaders and the defense wins championships!

 

My good guess is that the Enquirer's article tomorrow on the game is going to say that the game was sloppy by both teams. Congrats to the Birds for pulling out the win. I have a response the the who dates the cheerleader comment, but I'll provide it to you tomorrow morning when I pick you up at 6:30.

[Bpiccolo]

As I said in the predicition thread Highlands is just more balanced. It showed tonight.

[RyleRAID34]

Ryle played a heckuva game! The Birds got it done when it counted, but they struggled with mistakes.

 

Accurate assessment of the game - thanks for having the class that some people seem to lack these days -

[RyleRAID34]

I think the play of the game came in the 3rd qtr or maybe early in the 4th qtr .MR. Elliot met Mr. Sullivan , talk about a train wreck .I think the refs got the call right , off setting penalty for both teams. Great collision but the ref was blown up too , but he appeared to be injury free.:thumb:

 

On a side note ,we had Beechwoods scouts sitting in the next row behind us . I won't repeat what they were saying , but it was mostly talking about Highlands , and mostly talking about comparison to the previous Highlands teams.Some of it was not positive sorry Bird fans I can't repeat it on a public forum. Don't get me wrong , they weren't trashing Highlands, (here is one thing) they couldn't make a one on one tackle. They always needed at least two or more to bring the ball carrier down.

 

Might have been the hit of the night?

[Walter]

Difference in this game was plain and simple...COACHING.

 

Ryle got up early but the Birds coaching staff made the proper adjustments to shut Ryle out the second half.

 

One of the biggest reasons Highlands is consistently one of the best teams in the state is becasue of the coaching they have on that sideline.

 

Round 2 should be a lot of fun. I do think though that if Ryle was going to beat the Birds, this was their best shot, for the reason above.

[Henry521]

On a sour note, a 4th grade FTJRFL player was walking to the concession stand on the sidelines and got wiped out by Sheehan who flew out of bounds. They really need to protect the fans in certain areas of the field. ON the side where the concessions /bathrooms are there were kids playing tackle by the goal line, I couldnt believe they allow that. Now I have a kid who likely will need stitches and not play tomorrow in the first youth game of the season.

 

Parents can't just drop thier kids off at the game and/or just sit in the stands and enjoy the game and let there kids run around.

 

You can't blame the school or blame others for not watching kids. The parents need to step it up.