I had 2 aspects to watch for Fort Hill tonight at Hollidaysburg...number of times the ball hits the turf and the FH pass defense.
I counted 4 fumbles with 1 lost. However, none were due to the center/QB exchange like we saw against Coolidge. Looks like FH figured that out.
The Tigers throw the ball. Some. They have had success thru the air this season. Basically up to this point this represented the best passing team FH has seen, with much better passing teams to come. I thought FH covered very well outside of the final two drives of the game while in prevent soft coverage. This young and inexperienced secondary got a good grade tonight. Not sure of the Hollidaysburg passing numbers but they were very limited.
This game turned to start the 2nd quarter. That's about the time the Sentinel OL took over and started dominating the trenches with seemingly five different running backs gashing the Golden Tigers up and down the field. Once the score hit 35-7 FH seemed to go into coast mode. The only thing that stopped the FH offense were the penalty flags.
I am rarely hard on officials. You don't know how tough that job is until you actually walk in their shoes for a game. My main problem with officials no matter what level is that a strike on the outside corner has to be a strike for both teams. That was not the case tonight. 10 penalties to 1. I never understood how a passing team can have zero holding calls while a running team gets holding calls and crack back blocks so much. I'm fine if you want to call holding, but Hess got mugged all night and not one call. Doesn't make a lick of sense. Oh well.
There is still a ton of unanswered questions with this FH team that will get answered hard over the next five weeks. The next four opponents before Homecoming - Briar Woods, Mtn Ridge, Wadsworth and New Oxford - are currently a combined 19-1. Each of them is a bigger school in size, with two of them more than double and triple in size. Should be fun.
The negative aspect for FH at this juncture has been the passing game, nothing new after 85 years of football on the Hill I suppose. It really looked like through the first two scrimmages and the opener vs. Northern that this team was sure to throw the ball 10-15 times a game. But every time they throw the ball it kills the drive as it's incomplete or a sack. Incomplete passes kill a team that relies so much on the ground game. The QB is not looking down field often enough. It's more of looking at pass rushers and lanes to turn the play into a running QB. The protection has been spotty as well. The only way to fix it seems to be a very short passing game that resembles nothing much different than a hand off. Much like the two-point conversion FH was successful with tonight to a TE who faked falling down only to get up and catch a short pass in the flats of the end zone. That has to be the passing game, nothing more than 10 yards or nothing more than the first read. Very discombobulated at the present. I told friends I was sitting with that the FH passing game is always going to be what it is. That the modernization of spread and throw football should not be a part of the FH equation just because that's the "trend" today. Or that is what gets players recruited (which is hog wash). FH has an unprecedented winning record. Forcing FH to change it and throw the ball more equates to changing the Coca-Cola formula, which for those of us old enough to remember that happening, was a complete disaster. Leave it alone. Stop listening to people who bitch about not throwing the ball more because that is all they see elsewhere.
On the positive side, the FH running backs are getting better each week. Only one senior in this backfield with a ton of sophomores and a frosh leading the way. Carson Bender, that frosh, is legit. He may wind up the team's leading rusher come season's end. What a great future. His best aspect seems to be an astounding vision for finding the open space and getting there quick. Tonight, the big eye-opener was Daniels carrying the rock. Tonight, there was speed and power as he finds his place in this fullback heavy offense. The OL and defensive front were dominating.
This Fort Hill team has a chance to be very good once they stop shooting themselves in the foot offensively. The little things will matter the next five weeks.
FYI, the hand cut fries at the Hollidaysburg concessions were stellar. I got the chili and cheese fries basket. Too much for even my advanced appetite. Oh, and my first official hot chocolate of the year. Fall weather his here.
I counted 4 fumbles with 1 lost. However, none were due to the center/QB exchange like we saw against Coolidge. Looks like FH figured that out.
The Tigers throw the ball. Some. They have had success thru the air this season. Basically up to this point this represented the best passing team FH has seen, with much better passing teams to come. I thought FH covered very well outside of the final two drives of the game while in prevent soft coverage. This young and inexperienced secondary got a good grade tonight. Not sure of the Hollidaysburg passing numbers but they were very limited.
This game turned to start the 2nd quarter. That's about the time the Sentinel OL took over and started dominating the trenches with seemingly five different running backs gashing the Golden Tigers up and down the field. Once the score hit 35-7 FH seemed to go into coast mode. The only thing that stopped the FH offense were the penalty flags.
I am rarely hard on officials. You don't know how tough that job is until you actually walk in their shoes for a game. My main problem with officials no matter what level is that a strike on the outside corner has to be a strike for both teams. That was not the case tonight. 10 penalties to 1. I never understood how a passing team can have zero holding calls while a running team gets holding calls and crack back blocks so much. I'm fine if you want to call holding, but Hess got mugged all night and not one call. Doesn't make a lick of sense. Oh well.
There is still a ton of unanswered questions with this FH team that will get answered hard over the next five weeks. The next four opponents before Homecoming - Briar Woods, Mtn Ridge, Wadsworth and New Oxford - are currently a combined 19-1. Each of them is a bigger school in size, with two of them more than double and triple in size. Should be fun.
The negative aspect for FH at this juncture has been the passing game, nothing new after 85 years of football on the Hill I suppose. It really looked like through the first two scrimmages and the opener vs. Northern that this team was sure to throw the ball 10-15 times a game. But every time they throw the ball it kills the drive as it's incomplete or a sack. Incomplete passes kill a team that relies so much on the ground game. The QB is not looking down field often enough. It's more of looking at pass rushers and lanes to turn the play into a running QB. The protection has been spotty as well. The only way to fix it seems to be a very short passing game that resembles nothing much different than a hand off. Much like the two-point conversion FH was successful with tonight to a TE who faked falling down only to get up and catch a short pass in the flats of the end zone. That has to be the passing game, nothing more than 10 yards or nothing more than the first read. Very discombobulated at the present. I told friends I was sitting with that the FH passing game is always going to be what it is. That the modernization of spread and throw football should not be a part of the FH equation just because that's the "trend" today. Or that is what gets players recruited (which is hog wash). FH has an unprecedented winning record. Forcing FH to change it and throw the ball more equates to changing the Coca-Cola formula, which for those of us old enough to remember that happening, was a complete disaster. Leave it alone. Stop listening to people who bitch about not throwing the ball more because that is all they see elsewhere.
On the positive side, the FH running backs are getting better each week. Only one senior in this backfield with a ton of sophomores and a frosh leading the way. Carson Bender, that frosh, is legit. He may wind up the team's leading rusher come season's end. What a great future. His best aspect seems to be an astounding vision for finding the open space and getting there quick. Tonight, the big eye-opener was Daniels carrying the rock. Tonight, there was speed and power as he finds his place in this fullback heavy offense. The OL and defensive front were dominating.
This Fort Hill team has a chance to be very good once they stop shooting themselves in the foot offensively. The little things will matter the next five weeks.
FYI, the hand cut fries at the Hollidaysburg concessions were stellar. I got the chili and cheese fries basket. Too much for even my advanced appetite. Oh, and my first official hot chocolate of the year. Fall weather his here.
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