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There may always be bandwagon types when things are good, but that word and @FrankNicodemus shouldn't be in the same post. His fandom runs deep.

If I was Highlands Principal, I’d right a strongly worded letter to the Dixie AD about the mess that Dixie is leaving on the field.

I'd probably go with Elder at LaSalle. Would obviously be more attractive if it was at Elder (because you're obligated to pay homage to how awesome The Pit is whenever you bring up Elder). But's it's still probably the best rivalry game this weekend and should have a great atmosphere. Princeton is the #1 team in the city and they do have pretty nice facilities, but I doubt that game will be as entertaining. I don't know the pre-game festivities situation at LaSalle, but there's a little pub, Cloverleaf Pub, just up the street that I'm sure is well attended before the game. Short walk to the high school.

I just have to say that was a really fun environment last night. Student sections were very well represented and the place was packed. In regards to the game, NDA deserves a lot of coaching credit for their commitment to hitting Highlands on the counter in the second half. They bottled up the middle and when they had a chance to break, they were bombing forward. It was terrifying. Also stood out how many more subs NDA ran on and off throughout the game and it just seemed like all of that came together with less than a minute left.

https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=29486

In my experience, and of course with all due respect, Moeller people have no issue coming off as slightly arrogant. ?

This is a great topic, and I hope the high school players who I knew browse this board, take a second to read it. There will never be anything like Friday nights. Even if you get to continue playing this game for as long as you choose, you cannot ever recreate that feeling of playing with the guys you grew up with, in front of your friends, your family and your community. All of what's already been mentioned, the lights, the band, the tradition, it's just something really hard for other sports/activities to replicate. And one day, it all ends. The pads come off and they don't ever, ever go back on. Something so poetic and dramatic about that and just another one of the terrific life lessons this game provides.

I'll say this, it's not everyday a BGP'er so perfectly embodies their username in a single post. #slowclap

One cool thing about the video is that it was done by a sophomore who played all through middle school, etc. Earlier this year, he decided that maybe his future wasn't on the field, and has since pretty much taken over a lot of the social media stuff for the team account. Just kind of a cool way for a kid to stay involved and be part of the team in his own way. He really does a good job!

I would have to imagine that anyone who has ever coached hopes to have this kind of impact. Really well said, man.

Seems like LCA has 'em right where they want 'em. It's almost like there was a list on this very forum of things that LCA had to avoid and they darn near checked every one of them off that list. We'll see if that TD at the end can give them a little fire, but going to be an awfully big hill to climb.

I've never seen anything like what this South Warren kicker has done tonight on these kickoffs. This is kind of insane.

I think they'll be a well coached, well disciplined squad. I don't think they're particularly big or loaded with athletes, but should still be a good game. Looks like they're up to #8 in Ohio Division IV rankings. They are 3-0 but their opponents are a combined 0-9 (in fairness Highlands' opponents are a combined 3-6). CHCA has yet to score a point this season.

It's kind of like the old Eddie Murphy bit, "If you're starving and somebody throw you a cracker you gonna be like this: ******* that's the best cracker I ever ate in my life!"

Regarding the travel conversation, I'll just say this. If you look at the schedules from the Georgia schools that Sphire previously coached at, he's extremely familiar with a 3+ hour travel time for regular season away games and I believe has a tried and true method to that process. As for the game, I just want to see Highlands play fast and physical. Everything I've seen and heard from Sphire, he has two very admirable leadership qualities, 1) He calls it like he sees it. He doesn't sugarcoat much and wants everyone to be crystal clear on where the program is. 2) But he also never fails to end everyone of those conversations with a hard determination that they're going to fix it. Either way, can't believe it's already here and looking forward to a great atmosphere Saturday night.

I have to say, that LaSalle (OH) schedule has got to be one of the most challenging schedules I've certainly ever seen.

Man, I don't mean this in a lousy way, but I think you'd have a better argument if you just said, "this 7x7 team I (or my kid) is clearly affiliated with, lost some kids from Highlands because of their coach." Instead, you started off arguing he wasn't letting "kids be kids" which then morphed into a college recruiting/exposure argument, while simultaneously ignoring Sphire's impressive record of getting kids to the next level. I'm not here to argue how many of those next level kids are currently at Highlands, but if they are, he's proven his ability to get them there.

I think your points on the varsity record this upcoming season have merit, but I would push back on the youth program being competitive. I'm not sure how you're justifying that opinion. Even if the games are inter-league 3-6, the competitive results would suggest otherwise when those kids get to middle school. The group that are currently freshmen were two different teams in 7th and 8th grade, one of those teams won the Norsemen Conference 7th grade year and the other won the conference their 8th grade year. The group that are currently 8th graders also had two teams this past year and one of them won the NKMSAA Medium School Division. Numbers are very good across the board and Coach Sphire has been involved from top to bottom at a level that hasn't been seen in quite some time. That performance on the field hardly suggests a cracked foundation. What was or wasn't happening when those kids advanced to the high school level was a much bigger problem. Just my two cents.

Lots of good stuff there @FrankNicodemus. This is a program re-build and thus far it looks like they really may have found the right guy for it. Just one guy's perspective, but the more I hear and see, the more you have to step back and realize, "oh yeah, these are things they really should have had, been doing, etc." Thus far, Coach Sphire has demonstrated my favorite leadership quality of all. A cold, unblinking assessment of where things are regardless of how bad or uncomfortable, but he also couples that with an unwavering belief that it will be fixed and they will be successful.

Yeah, I didn't make it to any of their games, I was just relaying what two different people said on a Georgia HS message board. So, not really a hill I'm willing to die on.

I may have done some reading on a Georgia HS football board, which provided another testament to how good we got it here, and there did seem to be a consensus that Camden Co. was an actual dumpster fire when he took over. Also seems to be a lot of kids that had left the program prior to him arriving. It certainly does seem that he genuinely knows how to run a program from startup (LexCath) to a rebuild (North Gwinnett) and at all of those places it certainly seems that he left all of them in better shape than when he arrived.

You don't have to worry too much about the boys motivation. There are a few personal trainers in the area for whom this has been a gold rush. I'd much prefer them to all be together putting in work that way, but there's a ton of em that are putting in the work however they can get it.

Just to chime in, and while I would like the opposite to be true, but its my understanding (FWIW) that he's happy there. He has opinions he's not shy about sharing on Twitter, but happy from a coaching standpoint.

Here's my main problem with @BigErn. No less than 4 times now, I 've gone from this message board straight to YouTube to watch clips from Kingpin. Such a great character.

Alright, now you guys are killing me. Man I'm going to embarrass myself with this, but there's this king, Joffrey, who is probably one of the most hated characters in TV history. Just cruel, stupid and a terrible, terrible person. But he's king. Then there's his grandfather who is kind of like the chief of staff and is the one who actually runs things and people obey. The king has this habit of constantly announcing he's king and his grandfather points out that any real king shouldn't have to constantly tell people that. Now sit down and shut up and I'll go win this war for you. I can only assume that is the scenario that Don is hinting at.