Raiderbback04

Most 9th region fans have not gotten to see lots of teams from other regions play. I do know that CovCath passes the ball extremely well, they have many players who can light it up from 3-land, they play great team defense, they do not rely on one or two players to carry the load offensively, they move well without the ball and rotate the leather to the weak side effectively, they have good depth, they have good point guard play with two guys (Tierney and Jacobs) who can slice and dice and give it up after dribble penetration. Their FT shooting percentage has been a little less than what they would like in some games and they do not have a big shot-blocker or leaper in the middle. They are a close-knit team with no heroes. Just the kind of team I love to see win championships! They are one of the 6-7 teams that has a legit shot to cut down the nets IMO. Good luck to the Blue Colonels. If you have not seen CovCath play, you will like their tenacity and team play and LOVE the Crazies!

Great job, Neers. Good luck vs. Shelby.

I stand by my statement that CovCath has no dominant inside player. Perhaps we just have a different view about what a dominant inside player is. A dominant inside player is a guy who can get the ball on the block and score with regularity on anyone. Noll and Schult are not those types of players. CovCath is a great T-E-A-M!

The great thing about CovCath is how many guys can step up and have big games. When you combine that offensive balance, with great defense, many threats from 3-ball land and ZERO selfish play, I agree that they have a chance to win state even without a dominant inside player. That being said, I'm sure Coach Listerman has them already thinking NewCath, not Rupp.

What a great effort by both teams. Danny Noll gets star of the game tonight with an incredible show. 3rd quarter lightning again for the Blue Colonels. Great season for the Birds.

I look for SK to win a close one for the right to take on Shelby Co.

Back at you, Big Zig. Your Ziggers gave it all they had and that's what sports is all about - 100% effort at all times.

I am confident in saying that the religious reference in writing that Nate used as a tool to try to make peace to settle some internal strife on the team was the suspendable offense. Sounds like Saudi Arabia to me. Now, his W-L record at Ryle speaks for itself because it is not very good, especially when you look at the school's size and talent pool. Nate is a great family man and teacher IMO and a man of principle. Ryle may be better off with a change of coaches from a success standpoint but that is not my call.

Always nice to have him in the house. :thumb:

The divine intervention was the half court swish at the buzzer. The other 5 factors did not pan out.

Great effort by Ludlow. Best wishes to all of the seniors in the future. Birds depth and balance took its toll. Congrats to the Birds.

I look for both colors of Colonels to advance with 5-point wins. If the games end up being runaways for whatever reason, I think only CovCath and Dixie are capable of turning their respective games into surprisingly large margins of victory. Good luck to all remaining teams!

Yes, Michael Brown, excellent soccer player. He had a very nice game tonight.

Not much to say for my closing comments on the season. Solid first half by the Raiders and you would think that Michael Brown draining a half-courter at the buzzer would give you a lift, only trailing by THREE at the half. That was an awesome shot, the best I saw in person this season with him getting bumped and everything and absolutely drawing nothing but net. Not so as CovCath dominated the second half. Congrats to the Holy Colonels. I vote for a 16 minute contest the next time we play the Blue Colonels. Best of luck to all the remaining teams.

NO pressure on Ryle at all IMO other than the defensive pressure they will see from the BC's. The kids seem very loose confident and may just surprise some folks tonight by battling for 4 quarters. We shall see. It would be a huge upset if the BC's went down tonight.

I really like the passion the Dawgs bring to the court. I think they just need a greater emphasis on team play at all times, especially at crunch times. The talent is there. There were some wide open Dawgs that did not get the ball for an easy shot because everyone tried to take the game on their own shoulders. It was definitely a bitter loss after having control of the game. Best of luck to Dixie as they move on. I expect another thriller vs. the Breds.

Holmes had a good season in spite of a disappointing end and the struggles of adapting to losing a very good player late in the season. It will take a lot of work to get back on top but I would think the effort will be there. Congrats again to Dixie on a good come-from-behind win. I personally think that Coach Henley is a high class person who does well handling a tough coaching situation.

Holmes went away from team ball on every one of their possessions in the final couple of minutes and they forced shots one on one instead of working as a team. Whoever had the ball near the top of the key drove for the forced shot. Dixie continued to work as a team down the stretch and made some nice passes. Holmes had the game won and then made too many mistakes and played selfishly IMO. Congrats to Dixie on pulling the upset.

I never have made predictions for the region. There's no way I could hit almost every game the exact way they turned out on the district prediction thread but here goes: Monday is surprise and suspense night: Dixie pulls out a very close game in a see-saw battle vs. Holmes. Sam and the seniors at Dixie continue their rebound and surprise some folks by defeating the defending champs in a great game. Conner pulls out a thriller vs. NewCath by the narrowest of margins and marches on to play Dixie in the semis. Tuesday night is valiant effort night: Ryle gives it 100%, playing one of their best games of the year, and falls short against one of the top 15 teams in the state at this time IMO. It will be a much better game than last time and CovCath has to work hard for the win. The Birds get a challenge from the Big Ziggers for a while but pull away in the last 12 minutes for a fairly comfortable win. SEMIS: Dixie continues their late season surge and handles the Cougars in a game that is close until the final few minutes when Dixie pulls ahead by hitting their throws. In the most anticipated match-up of the region, the game disappoints no one. It will be a huge defensive battle and a game in the high 40's or low 50's. The Holy Colonels pull it out in the end. FINAL: Dixie keeps it close for the first half but can't match CovCath's inside game. CovCath ends up winning by 10 points and goes on to Rupp along with their Crazies! Good luck to all teams! Just more luck to Ryle!

The problem is parents out of line far more often than coaches out of line. I support the coaches always unless the line of abuse has been crossed. In the Ryle case, the line of abuse was not close to being crossed. I support Coach Niemi 100%.

:argue: Hey, you guys have enough tools in the toolbox. You don't need to pull out the old D-Card (disarray card). See you tomorrow night. Ryle needs to shoot over 55%, have CovCath on a off night, beat the press, play their best game of the year, avoid scoring droughts and perhaps enjoy some divine intervention. A major upset could be pulled only if all the above listed things take place. CovCath is the best team in the 9th right now but I never say never in sports!

Tubby had a favorite player one time.

The other thread says that Conner and NewCath square off in the first round. Where did you see that Conner plays Holmes?

The problem was playing time and not the religious references IMO. I guess that Nate's mistake was putting down the reference in writing. Yes, it is my understanding that the actual reason for the suspension by the superintendent was the religious reference that was given in writing to more than just the player whose parents filed the greivance.

I agree that parents need to respect and stand up for their coach. As a Ryle football parent, I do stand up for Coach Niemi. IMO, there was no intentional discrimination or unfair treatment in this situation. The parents caused the flap and the bad attitude rubs off on their kids. I have found that if I support the coaches, things are always better for my kids in the long run.