Yes, I picked Mt Ida to win the state title way back in the summer.
Well, truth be told, I said one of two teams would win it: Des Arc, or Mt Ida.
I also said England would not win it. Besides the fact that I thought they would find a way to screw the pooch and not win it all, they assured they would have basketballs passed out to them a week early by going to WMS to practice during semifinal week.
The football gods don't like that arrogant crap.
Anyhow, back to Mt Ida. Well, let's back up about 4 years first.
I sat in the bleachers at CMS at a junior high game vs Mt Ida. The junior Lions dressed close to 40 kids. They were big, physical, and deep.
They hung a 50 burger on CMS that day.
I sat there and told Jennifer that "that team might be playing for a state title in 4 years."
Well, here we are. And I guarandamntee you that not one soul in the statewide media mentioned the Lions in the preseason when discussing state title contenders. Everyone crowned England before fall camp started.
But guess what? You can have all the skill position talent in the world, but at the end of the day, winning football originates at the line of scrimmage. I don't care what offensive scheme you run.
And the reason why I thought Mt Ida could win it all was directly because of their ability to get physical at the point of attack. Their offensive line averages about 240 lbs from tackle to tackle. That's a big line for 2A. And today, they outweighed Hampton's defensive front by almost 35 lbs per man.
Not only did they make adjustments on the defensive side of the ball (held Hampton to six points in the second half), but by the 4th quarter, the Mt Ida offensive line was wearing out the Hampton defensive front.
Basic football. Win the line of scrimmage, and you win the game the majority of the time. That's at any level of football.
Preston and his 3rd and 4th grade buddies went 8-1 this year. Why? Because they would absolutely whip teams up front on both sides of the ball. Preston played right guard and by the end of the season was pancaking other team's defensive linemen. Him and his linemates were opening up huge holes for backs to run through.
Junction City dominated 2A for 15 years because they were the most physical team on the field virtually every time they would play. They punched teams in the mouth from the moment they got off the bus.
Football is football. It always starts up front in the trenches. Basic stuff.
And today, because of that, Mt Ida beat a team that was faster and more athletic. And they have enough returning that they're my Way Too Early preseason #1 in 2A for 2017
Well, truth be told, I said one of two teams would win it: Des Arc, or Mt Ida.
I also said England would not win it. Besides the fact that I thought they would find a way to screw the pooch and not win it all, they assured they would have basketballs passed out to them a week early by going to WMS to practice during semifinal week.
The football gods don't like that arrogant crap.
Anyhow, back to Mt Ida. Well, let's back up about 4 years first.
I sat in the bleachers at CMS at a junior high game vs Mt Ida. The junior Lions dressed close to 40 kids. They were big, physical, and deep.
They hung a 50 burger on CMS that day.
I sat there and told Jennifer that "that team might be playing for a state title in 4 years."
Well, here we are. And I guarandamntee you that not one soul in the statewide media mentioned the Lions in the preseason when discussing state title contenders. Everyone crowned England before fall camp started.
But guess what? You can have all the skill position talent in the world, but at the end of the day, winning football originates at the line of scrimmage. I don't care what offensive scheme you run.
And the reason why I thought Mt Ida could win it all was directly because of their ability to get physical at the point of attack. Their offensive line averages about 240 lbs from tackle to tackle. That's a big line for 2A. And today, they outweighed Hampton's defensive front by almost 35 lbs per man.
Not only did they make adjustments on the defensive side of the ball (held Hampton to six points in the second half), but by the 4th quarter, the Mt Ida offensive line was wearing out the Hampton defensive front.
Basic football. Win the line of scrimmage, and you win the game the majority of the time. That's at any level of football.
Preston and his 3rd and 4th grade buddies went 8-1 this year. Why? Because they would absolutely whip teams up front on both sides of the ball. Preston played right guard and by the end of the season was pancaking other team's defensive linemen. Him and his linemates were opening up huge holes for backs to run through.
Junction City dominated 2A for 15 years because they were the most physical team on the field virtually every time they would play. They punched teams in the mouth from the moment they got off the bus.
Football is football. It always starts up front in the trenches. Basic stuff.
And today, because of that, Mt Ida beat a team that was faster and more athletic. And they have enough returning that they're my Way Too Early preseason #1 in 2A for 2017
