I don’t know anything about Boys Latin but so think the game was called at halftime and Loyola is credited with a win.
FH 16 Morgantown 7 Final
- Thread starter cumbfanatic
- Start date
I don’t know anything about Boys Latin but so think the game was called at halftime and Loyola is credited with a win.
Yea, they called the game at halftime and credited Loyola with the win.
I don't know anyone that was touting Morgantown as a powerhouse. They are not. But they are a solid 4A school who generally makes the WV playoffs and wins a game or two. They usually play a very difficult schedule so their 6 or 7 wins can be misleading some years. YO!...Steubenville, who Morgantown should have beaten last week, went 15-0 last year and won the Ohio Class V state title. And I had several Morgantown fans at the game telling me FH would beat Steubenville.
It was a crucial game for FH in the sense they had only played one quarter, which wasn't a good one with many new faces, lots of turnovers and lots of huge mistakes. So there were many doubts and question marks and I honestly felt Morgantown had the edge going into this game by a slight margin based on early season reps. It was a big win for FH and those 4A points will go a long way.
I will say one aspect that was disappointing was the number of people in the stands. Wow, that was horrible. In all the schedule debates through the years (and thankfully it has seemingly died off) so many people who think they knew something tried to say get better teams and FH will put more fans in the stands. Well, I told you so. Bottom line: people don't live here anymore. This hurt FH big time tonight. I know it rained but we were hoping for about 4000 fans to help us at the gate. If there were 700 people there I would be surprised. Other than Homecoming this was to be the best game on a Friday when Alco was off and we were expecting Motown to bring fans. Didn't happen big time. What that does is force FH into a hard money situation now. I have seen way bigger crowds at Silver Oak games. Don't ever compare fans in the stands to the schedule. Other than having to bring a team from Florida the opponent is almost irrelevant in regards to fans in the stand these days.
Last edited:
You do you realize it was calling for thunderstorms all night? Could it be possible the rain had something to do with it it? Also, FH wasn't the only show last night. Other area games were being played and delayed due to weather. Talk about selective reasoning to frame an argument. Last year you scheduled a good team in Melbourne on a Saturday evening I.e. no other games being played. The place was electric and packed. You can't control weather but I think it's disingenuous to blame population and not the thunderstorms and poor scheduling as the culprit for bad attendance. Just my two cents.
Let's talk about the real story of this game...the GOD AWFUL CONDITION of everything below bleacher level of the stadium. The field was puddled and had bubbles under the turf. The visitor team sideline was underwater until a few minutes before kickoff and there was literally a muddy moat of water along the entire front of the metal bleachers that has been there for several days.
Drainage anyone?
But seriously, this was a good win for FH. And while this offense doesn't look like championship caliber...yet. The FH defense is as good as any of the championship teams of the past 5 years.
Drainage anyone?
But seriously, this was a good win for FH. And while this offense doesn't look like championship caliber...yet. The FH defense is as good as any of the championship teams of the past 5 years.
I can understand the rain putting a damper on attendance but to the extent that there are more people at a youth league Patriots game no. So now it has to be a monster big game and perfect weather to get a half full stadium I guess. Has more to do with the population decline/money decline than weather or opponents. There will be more people at the Capital Christian game even if it rains because it's youth night, not a monster opponent.
It's the same concept as when Save-a-lot has a sale on real cheap chipped ham. The line at the register is much longer. Welcome to Cumberland.
The fan base is getting older. Football games aren’t the highlight for millenials. It was the highlight of our week in the fall in the 70’s and 80’s. There are many factors but the two highlighted here are the main reason for low attendance. 1) aging and FH die hard s dying off and 2) lack of interest in this generation
There are two field goals that I think sum up this staffs love for the field goal...the championship game against dunbar where with a lead and driving ran three conversative plays, went for a field goal, and missed...it took dunbar a minute to drive down and score the go-ahead winning td. Last year in the first half again, got conservative, went for a field goal, and made it. However, that field goal got them 3 points...they lost by four...had they have went for it and made it worst case scenario is you go to OT. It's not the field goal that's bad, it's the mentality of going conservative because you can kick a field goal instead of using all four downs when you are driving to drive a stake thru the heart.
yes but will you take it against dunbar in the final when you have no passing game because you throw twice a game leading up to that game? C'mon, it looks good when it works, but the minute you play a loyola or fca or dunbar, they are well enough coached to stack the box and the athletes to carry out the plan, you have a problem.
After watching replay a couple things jump out. Way too many offensive plays that are taking too long to develop, spending too much time in the backfield. When it's third and one you don't need to fake a handoff, it allows the d line too much time when they are already bunched up to stop a yard. As fast as the backs are when you take the handoff you don't need to run backwards all the way across the field to the sideline...allow your guards to make a block and cut in...this is a coachable correction but it continued all game all the way to the end when #22 ran across the field and out of bounds while the biggest thing was to run out the clock.
Last edited:
I'm not going to sit here and address your straw man argument about it having to be a monster game under perfect weather. So what ever makes you feel better for the poor scheduling i.e. on a Friday night, and probably to a greater extent the torrential rain we've been experiencing as the cause of poor attendance. We haven't lost vast amounts of people since the Melbourne game last year where the stadium was packed an electric. Only difference is you were smart enough to schedule it on a Saturday and it was a nice evening. Personally, I had every intention of taking my 3 year old daughter and 5 year old son yesterday. My daughter had such a blast last year at the Melbourne game that she asked me to take her "to the concert where the bands play", LOL because that's how she remembers it in her mind. Yesterday we were getting ready to leave and it began to down pour. So not wanting to have a sick 3 yr. old and 5 yr. old I decided against it. I'm sure others have similar stories. The health and welfare of myself and children are far more important than FH making a few bucks.
Last edited:
Go back and re read the ending to the alco Dunbar thread if you want to back down the fort Hill Dunbar rabbit hole.
Good statement. Fair enough.
It's a 2 way street though. As it should be, you and your family do not exist to support FH football. At the same time FH football does not exist to entertain you and your family. That was always my point. Let them schedule the way they see fit, not the way you see fit.
Last edited:
I had family and friends from Morgantown to Martinsburg, and one from Virginia Beach, that were planning to come up last night, but I told them to wait and come up in the next few weeks. I didn’t want them to drive an hour or hours to see a Q of football. In the event, the game was canceled. Last nights lack of attendance was a direct result of the weather.
I'm trying to see your point but having a hard time. You're addressing points that no one brought up. It goes without saying that FH doesn't exist to entertain me. But you're the one having a problem with attendance not me. The entertainment point you brought up from the past directly correlates with my decision to spend or not spend money. I have just as much right not to waste my money as FH does scheduling cream puffs. But once again you're the one with the attendance issue not me. And its my contention that people aren't going to pay for a bad product in a climate, as you put it, of "declining money". On one hand you argue that poor attendance has to do with money decline and then on the other you argue that people should waste their money on watching FH play a team like Silver Oak. Since you brought up the money aspect let me ask you, would FH reimburse the crowd their hard earned money if the game got cancelled like it was cancelled last week? Or did people have to take the chance of losing their money 2 weeks in a row due to a game being cancelled because of weather? Since money decline in your mind is an issue maybe people didn't want to chance it?
Last edited:
I wonder if the new gym bag/back pack policy the Board of Ed instituted had an impact? Lousy weather, calling for heavy rain and lightening.
People carry blankets and ponchos and such in bags and packs, especially older fans? Just wondering if the Board of Ed cut off their nose to spite their face?
People carry blankets and ponchos and such in bags and packs, especially older fans? Just wondering if the Board of Ed cut off their nose to spite their face?
Go to the games, Don't go to the games. It doesn't matter. Just don't complain about Capital Christian and Silver Oaks of the world. Despite your arguments of the past...they are not the reason attendance is at an all time low. As evident by last night. It's that simple.
If I sound bummed out it has more to do with where Cumberland is at this point, not just with our grand football traditions. This ole town ain't what she used to be by a long shot. Some people just refuse to accept it. Once again, attendance can be affected by several things, the biggest by far is the population drop and there is no fix to schedule around the problem. As evident by last night.
Last edited:
Morgantown's play-calling was anemic, at best. They threw one - ONE - screen and it was very successful.
Danny King - HUGE. Nothing more to say.
FH Offensive backs need to carry a football around with them all day until they play a complete game without dropping the ball.
QB needs to have an immediate secondary target when the primary isn't WIDE OPEN ONLY. This can be practiced. He seems to throw fairly well and has decent feet. Throw some screens in and open up the run. Short passes; get him comfortable throwing and completing.
All of my armchair QB-ing aside, my hat's off to the FH defense. Undersized, but unyielding. Pass coverage, while not perfect, was better than usual (for FH). Was Morgantown's O-line that weak or was FH's D that good? I hope it's the latter. Another game or two will shed some light on this.
Congrats Sentinels!
Danny King - HUGE. Nothing more to say.
FH Offensive backs need to carry a football around with them all day until they play a complete game without dropping the ball.
QB needs to have an immediate secondary target when the primary isn't WIDE OPEN ONLY. This can be practiced. He seems to throw fairly well and has decent feet. Throw some screens in and open up the run. Short passes; get him comfortable throwing and completing.
All of my armchair QB-ing aside, my hat's off to the FH defense. Undersized, but unyielding. Pass coverage, while not perfect, was better than usual (for FH). Was Morgantown's O-line that weak or was FH's D that good? I hope it's the latter. Another game or two will shed some light on this.
Congrats Sentinels!
When has other games in the area really affected FH attendance in the past? You got a team within comfortable driving distance that is pretty good, and the other games in the area are all laughers... There could have been a meteor hit in Cumberland during the Rapture and more than 2,500 people would have been there.
And before anyone jumps in to defend FH from an Alco guy, I said the same thing about Allegany 20 years ago.
Screens, I agree. What happened to screens. FH used to run TE middle screens, FB screens, WR bubble screens. What happened over the years to the Pro Set formation (two split backs, one WR split to to each side and TE) where you can pass out of or motion to and from to run or pass?:
Hitch; hitch and go; go; slants; screens; TE pop; Waggles; fake belly passes. It’s all there in the FH WingT history and you do not need super athletes to run it. You do need a line to block but these kids can do it. It needs practiced. WingT first but FH used to always be able to pass when it wanted with a few exceptions in some years.
Hitch; hitch and go; go; slants; screens; TE pop; Waggles; fake belly passes. It’s all there in the FH WingT history and you do not need super athletes to run it. You do need a line to block but these kids can do it. It needs practiced. WingT first but FH used to always be able to pass when it wanted with a few exceptions in some years.
Last edited:
Yes or No was FH going to reimburse the crowd their money for a game being cancelled two weeks in a row because of weather? That right there is your answer. Doesn't take a rocket scientist or some grand conspiracy to figure this out. Usually the most obvious answer is the correct one.
And without fail here comes TDhelmick's lap dog. But thank you for making my point. Since they can't reimburse, people would have lost money 2 weeks in a row due to bad weather. Money that people can't afford to lose in a "declining money" climate as TDHelmick frames it. Once again thank you for making my argument and proving my point. To state the obvious, it was the weather! You guys can have the last word...
Last edited:
It's always easy to say stuff if one doesn't have to backup their claims with action. But I honestly feel that if I lived near Cumberland, I would attend every home game by either school. You have something special. Support it. I have looked at a second residence in WV, just haven't found what I want. When I find it. I will be there to support both schools. Count on it.
This was exactly the case for my wife and me. I'm sure we're not alone, either.
Keep in mind, a great many of those empty seats on the Home Side were in Season Ticket Holder territory, so Fort Hill actually already got paid for many of those empty seats. I know a fella with 6 season tickets, and only 1 person attended the game, but $ 30 was already paid to Fort Hill for this game months ago.
Lag your right local football up here is something special. I usually go to every home game for both schools. I have seen alot of great games at Greenway. We had a few thrillers up here last yr. I think FH's attendance will be just fine. I really believe the weather kept that place from being packed. It rained so hard that people werent sure if there was even going to be a game. We didn't have the several hundred kids walking around with no interest in the game like we usually have...
Last edited:
It's a valid point. Just how do you reimburse fans who bought a ticket at the gate? Maybe we could have you volunteer to hand out $5 bills as everyone leaves the game. Unless it is raining of course and you aren't there anyway. Reimburse the fans. LOL. How dude? You have asked some off the wall questions and statements in the past but this one might be the winner.
Last edited:
Morgantown won the with scrimmage against Bridgeport 4 TD's to 2 TD's
Baltimore should be ashamed. Alot of empty seats at the Ravens game. Must be because of "population and money decline" and not because of the obvious rain...
I don’t agree with Savage about pretty much anything, but weather was a big factor. Personally I didn’t go last week because of bad weather. I didn’t go this week because they cancelled last weeks game due to bad weather. I hardly ever miss a game, but what really drove it home was my woman said “I’m not sitting in the rain”, and what she says generally dictates my plans.
Unless you have work, or you have kids or someone to physically take of and can’t get out of the obligation only true football fans show up in all weather. There are such things as rain coats, umbrellas, towels and blankets.
I can't disagree with that. Of course the weather is a huge factor. I set up shop as a vendor all summer. Two things have to exist to make money vending outdoors. 1. Weather, 2. Foot Traffic - both go hand in hand.
I expected a much smaller crowd Friday, but was really caught off guard it was that low. There literally were more people at the JV game last Monday. No joke aside from the band being there. It sucks but I really have no problem with this. I do have a problem though when people try to say no one goes to games because the FH games are blowouts. For the 100th time, the biggest factor is the population decline. 30 years ago the stands would have been packed Friday rain or not. Some just chose to be in denial about it.
Go to the game or don't, just stop complaining about who FH is playing. FH football does not exist for everyone's entertainment. So my previous years statements that FH should in no way schedule to put fannies in the seats is only validated by the JV crowd present at the biggest home game of the year in a rainy night that I didn't even need an umbrella for, just a light rain jacket. My mother never misses games but probably would have Friday due to the weather, I get it, but she isn't complaining about who FH is playing. She supports FH and doesn't ask that they schedule games to meet her own needs.
Last edited:
We had at least 700 plus fans travel to Jefferson 20 years ago in a monsoon. Population definitively was a factor Friday, as mush as the weather. If you are that hard up for $5 stand at the gate or sit in your car until you are sure the game will be played.
I know FH usually gets atleast 200+ kids at every home game just walking around and hanging out with friends and they couldn't do that this week in the rain.. That's a nice ticket loss just with them.
Maybe FH fans thought they might lose after their week 1 performance so they decided to stay home? We all know they pack the stadium when they know theres going to be a running clock...
Do you remember the playoff game at Linganore, wind chill below freezing, the wind blowing across the field into the fh bench and fans...utterly the coldest I've ever been in my life...however, there were easily 2,000 fans there. Friday night rain was like a day at the beach compared to that.
Same with Southern games in the rain, sleet, flurries and fog back in the 90s. It was literally dangerous to come home in the fog and people went. Bigger population.
Similar threads
