Completely agree. Basic execution and consistency will beat a team with a program like Silver Oak. The FH jv team would move the ball against Silver Oak for that reason. In fact, I think they beat silver oak. They'd give up the big plays as well, but the offense doesn't turn the ball over and they'd churn out 4-5 yards a play to control the clock.
The talent gap in football has gotten ugly
- Thread starter BrianH1974
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Keyser is a WV 2A school.They play 7 WV 2A schools and 3 rivals.They play who they should be playing. 6 of those WV schools they play were playoff teams last year.Fort Hill's standards are very high on the field but not so much off the field.Does the name Fradiska mean anything to you Todd? Who has the most wins against Fort Hill since 2008?
Can you spell “overgeneralization”?
I do believe that situation occurred prior to the current coaching regime, and that was a family decision.
Furthermore, regardless that Keyser was the last local team to beat the Sentinels, the Golden Tornado made the decision to not schedule FH anymore after being a traditional foe that went back many decades. We will never know the outcome of the two teams playing each other this year due to “Keyser’s” decision to discontinue the tradition.
End of story!
HS football is bad right now. As the original posts says there is such a huge drop off between the have's and have not's. The only game I've been to this year was the ECP game. I probably won't attend another one until the semi's in the playoffs. Frostburg State has been getting my football attention this season. There was a time when I'd attend every game at the stadium no matter who played. I don't think it's me that has changed as much as the level of play and the lack of competitive games.
Where is the red-jacket shame?
It is over the top that you red-jackets bitch about not being entertained because you have to watch your bench-heavy team beat the shit out of teams you also verbally beat the shit out of - especially Allegany that now has a varsity team starting freshman - who had already been forced to move up to JV. Where is the shame?
The paradigm shift is great when it only involves few in numbers to make it happen - kids not wanting to lose and parents moving and directing their kids to the football school for a gimme-ring.
FH is the luckiest school west of the Baltimore beltway because it is the only entity therein that has benefited from the death of its own town. Homecoming this year will be a funeral service followed by another FH championship death benefit. [mic drop]
Oh...that was brutal.
Tough to carry on a football conversation with out John and Gary.?
Proud to be a red- jacket.
Tough to carry on a football conversation with out John and Gary.?
Proud to be a red- jacket.
A good JV team from FH is not the same as the collection of kids from Allegany that played SO. Allegany's JV team had the remnants of what used to be a freshman team.... now those kids are varsity. All of them were thrown together. Many out of position and all of them in emotional disarray. These are today's kids, not the kids who lied about their age and stormed the shores of Iwo Jima.
We've all seen college and pro teams come unraveled from losing a quarterback. Allegany is lucky to field a team let alone a cohesive team. That loss is understandable.
You da man! I like your certain sense of style.
As I reflect on today's youth, I recall my father telling me how he used to do heavy chores on the farm, then run two miles just to play a game of baseball. The grit, the struggle, all for a kid to play a game - not for a trophy, but just for the competition.
The young men who stay the course at Alco will not do farm chores all day and run two miles before a game, but they will struggle on the field and build more character for later in life than any bench-sitter across town. They will not get a gimme-ring. They will have to endure the ridicule the likes of which we see in this forum. In the end, they will be better men than those who quit. We will be able to trust them to stand at the wall for the rest of us when we need it the most.
No, it's not. Are you saying the backups and Jayvee call-ups never practiced before? We've never seen a college or pro team be in the situation that SOA is in. Weve all also seen a quarterback go down and the backup at least keep the team together. That loss is inexcusable.
I haven't seen Catoctin or Edmondson play this year so I can't comment on them, but Gwynn Park and Fairmont Heights don't belong in the conversation.
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The last one I went to was when Helmick stopped Porter on the 2 point conversion.
Never practiced is not what I posted. Being called up as kids and playing out of position on a team in disarray is. These are kids. Pros do come unraveled in their own way from just one key loss.
Please list the "Top 2A and 3A teams in MD" that FH would be competitive with.
FH isn't interested in Linganore, D-Mass, Potomac, Oakdale, or Middletown. The others are a possibility. Middletown reached out to FH a few years ago.
I'm missing your point about Martinsburg. Are you saying Martinsburg doesn't want to play FH?
When Welsh went down I posted that Alco's football program is finished. Their JV team was below average. At varsity they are terrible. But they are kids playing with heart. I don't care if SO had only 12 players. This no excuse shit is just from a bunch of adults that are probably facing the current challenge of a friggin' hangnail.
This Martinsburg win streak, the toughest team they have played was Sherando twice. We are talking about Martinsburg refusing to play someone who is better than they are. That doesn't include a game against FH who is not close to their level. Go play a couple of good DC private schools at least one time. Their schedule is horrible year in and out while the entire state of WV is miles below them and you think FH has it easy in 1A. LOL.
This was the game that calls for Hansels head.. I can't deny anymore that coaching is pretty bad on the blue side. The defense has been horrible since Hansel took over and they don't adjust during the game like we seen at Silver Oak.. Any coach that gets blown out by SO should give it up.. FHs freshman would probably put a running clock on SO lol..
If you read the post. I listed the top teams in 2a and 3a and yes I think Fort hill would be extremely competitive or beat them all. I don’t have personal knowledge of the situation but I’m assuming that people at Fort Hill do not want to play good teams.
I’m not saying Fort Hill would be competitive with Martinsburg. I don’t think they would ,but it’s obvious that Martinsburg does not want to play good teams also
What I’m saying is it seems to be a epidemic now where no team wants to play someone that can beat them. I would love to go to more fort hill games but there is no reason to drive all that distance when the game will be over in the first half of the first quarter. It’s a shame really.
I think I can speak for a lot of Fort Hill fans when I say that I would love to see Allegheny be great again. The only team I want to see beat Allegheny is Fort Hill. with the possibility of both schools making it to the playoffs now that would be tremendous!
I think it's important for us that are adults to look at the big picture in all of this hopefully without insulting each other. TDH had a lot of good thoughts in his original post about the talent gap.
What is happening in high school football is concerning to us who enjoy, coach or work around the sport or even young people for that matter. It's a complex issue with many different factors playing into hand.
I hope Allegany can turn it around at some point mostly for the kids in that school who want the chance to play football. For those of us who had the privilege to play it is a game changer in many young man's lives, regardless of the wins or losses your team had.
I work with young people and have for a long time. Things are much different know but have been heading that way for about the last 10 years. Kids have way more opportunities in regards to free time. The internet, video games and phones are having a huge impact on our young people, I see it everyday.
Travel ball is another factor in many schools too, I won't go there on my feeling about how it is being done or how it impacts the young athlete but kids are juggling more on their "athletic plate" than ever before. MInd you that the kids have no or very little say in some of these issues, they are just impacted by it and the choices it forces them to make. With that being said more kids specialize which pulls them away from other opportunities at their school.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a kid in class do well in an activity and apporach them about playing it as a sport only to be told "I would but I play travel _______?"
Ask yourself this also "Does our current pee wee system encourage kids to continue their football careers?" Are we making it a fun, learning experience but also age appropriate and challenging enough for them to want to keep them playing? I can't answer that because I have nobody I know playing but I have hard more than one high school coach ask that question.
If you really look at Allegany football over the last 7-8 years if it wasn't for the Robinette's and a few others their program would have probably been in the shape it is now. I honestly don't think it is Coach Hansen that has caused this problem.
The unfortunate thing is that is often us as adults and the decisions we make or the things we do that ruin what should be a great experience in athletics for the kids. I have attended a few pee wee and middle school athletic events recently and the kids were by the far the most reasonably behaved people at the event. Hostile is how I would describe the crowds behavior.
What is happening in high school football is concerning to us who enjoy, coach or work around the sport or even young people for that matter. It's a complex issue with many different factors playing into hand.
I hope Allegany can turn it around at some point mostly for the kids in that school who want the chance to play football. For those of us who had the privilege to play it is a game changer in many young man's lives, regardless of the wins or losses your team had.
I work with young people and have for a long time. Things are much different know but have been heading that way for about the last 10 years. Kids have way more opportunities in regards to free time. The internet, video games and phones are having a huge impact on our young people, I see it everyday.
Travel ball is another factor in many schools too, I won't go there on my feeling about how it is being done or how it impacts the young athlete but kids are juggling more on their "athletic plate" than ever before. MInd you that the kids have no or very little say in some of these issues, they are just impacted by it and the choices it forces them to make. With that being said more kids specialize which pulls them away from other opportunities at their school.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a kid in class do well in an activity and apporach them about playing it as a sport only to be told "I would but I play travel _______?"
Ask yourself this also "Does our current pee wee system encourage kids to continue their football careers?" Are we making it a fun, learning experience but also age appropriate and challenging enough for them to want to keep them playing? I can't answer that because I have nobody I know playing but I have hard more than one high school coach ask that question.
If you really look at Allegany football over the last 7-8 years if it wasn't for the Robinette's and a few others their program would have probably been in the shape it is now. I honestly don't think it is Coach Hansen that has caused this problem.
The unfortunate thing is that is often us as adults and the decisions we make or the things we do that ruin what should be a great experience in athletics for the kids. I have attended a few pee wee and middle school athletic events recently and the kids were by the far the most reasonably behaved people at the event. Hostile is how I would describe the crowds behavior.
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Just a question... were you at the game? I didn't see or listen to it. I thought they did try different defenses, but of course, with the same personnel. A Hansel coached team with Robinette was very good. And, Foley was the defensive coach then and returned this year. I am not there, obviously. But I do catch the vids.
Plus, who the hell would take this team? Why is this age and experience salad of a team the coach's fault?
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I respectfully disagree 100%. If you look at the freshman and JV games against Fort hill they were very close to evenly split. You can choose to put any spin on this issue that you want but the fact is when these kids get to varsity football they are not as prepared as fort hill kids are.
The last point I want to make and then I won’t comment on this subject again is. No disrespect to the Fort Hill kids that are playing I really think it’s fantastic but if Fort hill had all the talent that Allegany fans like to say that they have. They wouldn’t be playing some 5 foot 7 and 140 pound kids. Johnson and Barnes are gone from the secondary and so are the 270 pound athletic line. They have been gone for years and the production is high. THATS CALLED COACHING.
Gee.... those who remain at Alco are now playing Varsity while the FH kids will ride lumber until their senior year, or they may not start at all like the Metz kid.
I'm not exactly sure what you are saying. But if you read my entire long post you see that I was very hard on FH. Very hard on Martinsburg, Keyser, Catoctin and a few others. What I see happening with lopsided scores every single week by good teams without those teams actually playing each other is a very disturbing trend that teaches our children horrible lessons. This is not just a one or two school issue.
When we see FH blistering every opponent on the scoreboard. And we see Keyser blistering every opponent on the scoreboard...well, if your take is that these teams are playing who they should be playing then we are worlds apart on sports philosophies.
I have no dog in the Allegany or Fort Hill fight. I live on the other side of the Potomac. I respect both programs and their great history. I do not know Coach Hansel but have heard great things about him from former players and people who know and work with him. I do know Coach Appel and he is a fantastic coach and a great man.
I will say this again as I have said before. Fort Hill does not recruit but does benefit from the results of building a great program particularly in a town with dwindling population.
Without a doubt there have been numerous players from many local schools who transfer, move into district or drive from out of district to be a part of their great football program.
This does impact the schools they transfer from when the depth and talent pool is already very thin at those schools. I was told by a fellow who coached at Fort Hill that in many positions, many years they are nearly two deep.
If you want to know how this effects a small school football program ask Coach Hansel, Coach Carr or Coach Whiteman.
I will say this again as I have said before. Fort Hill does not recruit but does benefit from the results of building a great program particularly in a town with dwindling population.
Without a doubt there have been numerous players from many local schools who transfer, move into district or drive from out of district to be a part of their great football program.
This does impact the schools they transfer from when the depth and talent pool is already very thin at those schools. I was told by a fellow who coached at Fort Hill that in many positions, many years they are nearly two deep.
If you want to know how this effects a small school football program ask Coach Hansel, Coach Carr or Coach Whiteman.
I'd say having cornerbacks playing tackle is also having kids out of position. High school teams do come together and play better as the season progresses.
If anyone thinks attendance to games is bad now. Wait until a few years from now. This football season has been as exciting as weeding my garden
Never said my sons. I said me. You've already said the entire team shouldn't play FH. Why the flop?
Always a gentleman and most always correct. Thanks for being a part of this forum.
Yes, FH should not be on the schedule. Hell, I posted that since Robinette graduated. Each school should find its own competitive level. But if you join a team and a game is on the schedule... you damn well show up even if you know you're gonna get your ass kicked... and you never just up and quit the team during the season. You gut it out.
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