Rolled in this morning and watched the SMV/NOR tape then read through the 4 zillion pages you guys filibustered through this week......

I was very surprised by the Bobcat/Smithie game. Count me among the "egg on my face" prognosticators. A big congratulations to Smithville and their die hard posters. The Smithies had to win and they did, shows alot of character. I hope this springboards them into the playoffs.

Kudos to the real Norwayne fans & posters (Bobcat, B14, etc), honest evaluations and way to man up.....Where are Paul & Thunderkitty when the chips are down.

As for the game itself.....
Smithvilles defense put on quite a show. A couple big sacks and knockdowns. Norwayne never really got the time to get their passing game going, largely due to the Smithville pass rush, conditions weren't ideal for passing but when you can't run either, it's gonna go bad. Smithvilles pass defense is still a question mark. One thing that can't be questioned though, is Smithvilles heart and determination.

After last night, Norwayne has got to be questioning everything. Schrock just laid out the blueprint for beating Norwayne.....Ball control. Don't let them get it.

I personally think Wallace has a great arm and when he had time I thought his accuracy was decent as well. I also noticed the alledged "lockdown" corner wasn't even the No. 1 coverage guy, looked like when he played he stayed in tight or covered the slot. So much for the video, he's now a walking punch line...rough way to get a life lesson.

As a team Norwayne faded badly in the second half. It seemed like they got down and couldn't find the heart to rally. Whispering eye gets kudos for calling that one.

Last nights game should dampen the Nor/Orr playoff talk. If the Bobcats don't show more guts than last night, they'll get spanked by battle hardened teams like Orrville.

All that being said......best of luck to both teams in the coming weeks.

Beverboy - sorry if you take my comment personnally. My point was about the weakness of the WCAL, not about Dalton. Getting a win against any of the bottom five in the WCAL this year is not a great accomplishment. Rittman and Chippewa are about as bad as it gets for HS football in the state. Sorry if that offends anyone but look at the non-conference records of these five teams.
The fact Norwayne rolled these teams shows it meant nothing once they got against what is probably just an average Smithie Team when compared to past years. Norwayne had 37 yards rushing and gave up well over 200 yards on the ground. What will happen against an Orrville team with Monheim running the ball? After what I saw last night, it could get real ugly.

1486wd;941319 wrote:i agree mompov - the daily record article sums up the bulldog game well - they had so many guys in street clothes last night it was almost comical. When Moyer goes out, there goes the gameplan. I think they probably beat the chipps by 4 scores if he plays. You have to remember, when they lose moyer, they lose their leading passer, leading rusher, leading tackler, kicker, punter, kick returner and punt returner (he may even do the long snapping to himself, I could never quite tell). As long as these guys stay positive, things will definitely look up the next couple years.

don't forget he brings the water out also during time outs

Congratulations to the Tommy Williams, the coaching staff and the Hillsdale Falcons for earning at least a share of their second WCAL Championship. Their first ever 9-0 start, and three years of league play at home with out a loss (only loss at home DSJ). But lets not settle for a share!

Congratulations to The Green Machine our fans were cheering your every score and every first down!

Unfortunately, our game last night was against Rittman. Saw some kids that tried really hard to get over the hump and played hard all night but screen passes back to the line of scrimmage will not get you far and trying to run against a big D line does not help.

I hope the WCAL upset gods have been appeased for the season. This coming Fridays game is everything for the Falcons and a search for redemption for the Bobcats. Not sure if the Smithies win helps or hurts us in the coming game. If the Norwayne coaches can channel the energy from the loss, Hillsdale faces a real fight. From what I read on here I am not sure that will happen. Either way Hillsdale comes to Creston with two weeks of prep and ready to play.


Go Falcons!

PS: I have talked some Falcon Fans into taking a road trip tonight to watch a MAC game Delpos St John vs. Marion Local and I had to promise some wives there would be no Bloody Crawls.

Congrats to the smithies! They really ran the ball well on my bobcats. Only thing I didn't really like was the big plays norwayne had ALL got called back.. If they would have gotten those calls maybe would be a different story.. But congrats smithville, Norwayne- pull it together or were getting smoked...

Havin Fun;941356 wrote:Beverboy - sorry if you take my comment personnally. My point was about the weakness of the WCAL, not about Dalton. Getting a win against any of the bottom five in the WCAL this year is not a great accomplishment. Rittman and Chippewa are about as bad as it gets for HS football in the state. Sorry if that offends anyone but look at the non-conference records of these five teams.
The fact Norwayne rolled these teams shows it meant nothing once they got against what is probably just an average Smithie Team when compared to past years. Norwayne had 37 yards rushing and gave up well over 200 yards on the ground. What will happen against an Orrville team with Monheim running the ball? After what I saw last night, it could get real ugly.

it's not ? i think it's big accomplishment we have alot of freshmen,sophmores ,and even jr having 0 experience at varsity level til this yr !! it show these young men that they can win down the road ! and far as the wcal last year wasn't much better i think the three schools did just fine in the play-offs. norwayne goes 1-1 lost too the best tm in the state ursuline,hillsdale 2-1 lost too lima cc which lost to ursuline,dalton 1-1 loss too mcdonald which we lost that with 6 turnover and 3 of them inside our 30 . give wcal a chance !! and see how we do in the play off maybe ritt/chipp and the bottom 5 are not the worst tm in the state !!

I am one of the Die hard Smithville fans!!! I have recieved the best birthday present!!! A Smithie Victory! I talked last week about the game plan and Smithville executed it to perfection! Keep the Bobcat offense off the field and control the clock!! I guess my oldtimer stories about 2003 seem very relevent today Hahaha! You cant out fox Schrock!!!!

I myself am a "Smithie" grad, I was unable to go to the game but listen to most of it on the radio. I am very happy the Smithies pulled out a huge victory. I just wanted to comment on an early post about questioning going for the 2 point conversion when it was 14-13. I know most of the "Smithie" faith-full that have followed them over the last 15 years or so can remember when Smithville traveled to Amanda CC for a first round playoff game and we faked a extra point conversion that ended up being the key play of the game to win a Huge game, and we ran it in the first half of that game. Also we did it another year in the playoffs with success, so I am fine going for 2 there. I know that is in the past but remember it is still Schrock running the show. Go Smithies!

Just read the article in the Daily. Seemed like the Norwayne coach was making a lot of excuses about playing their worst game.

Against your best opposition, your likely to play your worst game. The opposition is what makes that happen. Ask Smithville about the Hillsdale game, when they doubled their season total for fumbles.

Those saying this is a down year for the WCAL, I'm not sure I agree. Granted, you've got three teams really struggling, two teams that are middle of the road. Three teams at the top. The Smithie team that lost to a very average Tuslaw team is not the same one that has shown up weeks 2 through 9. You have to remember that they turned around and beat a Mogadore team that will make the playoffs this year.

Smithville lost to Tuslaw, who got handled pretty well by CVCA, who got blown out by Norwayne, who lost to Smithville. I love that.

Having watched most of the Smithville games this year, I can say that this team reminds me of theteams from the early and mid 2000s.

Granted, they've got weaknesses, but every Smithville team has. The teams atop this league are not average. They're good.

As for non-conference wins, some of that is scheduling. If you look at the non-conference schedules, you'll see that some of these schools had between challenging and brutal non-conference schedules. Northwestern in particular, whose first three games were against teams that are currently 8-0, 7-1, and 6-2 respectively, all playoff teams this year.

Seems like nobody played a cupcake non-conference schedule.

But we'll see how we stack up as a conference, come playoff time, when at least 2 teams make it in.

OQB;941271 wrote:For those in attendance....what do you think the play of the game was?

The game was Norwaynes for the taking until the Smithie takeaway with 4 minutes to go. Since Norwayne has been notorious for taking it away, this play and Smithie protection of the ball was HUGE!

Coach 08;941424 wrote:I myself am a "Smithie" grad, I was unable to go to the game but listen to most of it on the radio. I am very happy the Smithies pulled out a huge victory. I just wanted to comment on an early post about questioning going for the 2 point conversion when it was 14-13. I know most of the "Smithie" faith-full that have followed them over the last 15 years or so can remember when Smithville traveled to Amanda CC for a first round playoff game and we faked a extra point conversion that ended up being the key play of the game to win a Huge game, and we ran it in the first half of that game. Also we did it another year in the playoffs with success, so I am fine going for 2 there. I know that is in the past but remember it is still Schrock running the show. Go Smithies!

I was on the field that whole game. I still question it last night. Smithville's PATs weren't so automatic back then, and field conditions were MUCH worse in Amanda than they were last night.

But, then again, coach has been doing this for so long. I trust his judgment. I just don't get it, sometimes.

THE4RINGZ;941342 wrote:Can we please stop the discussion about #22? My God, the kid wanted some cred, and he got it. We are still talking about it almost a week after the fact. I assure you all one thing, Schrock would have had his boys ready to win that game even if there had not of been a YouTube or Facebook video. His actions, while a mild distraction perhaps to the bobcats, were NOT the reason the creston 11 didn't go home with a victory. You can use him as a scape goat, and keep his name in the presses, but the fact of the matter is Smithville was more prepared, had a better game plan, and executed better.

Now, seeing that Hillsdale has the same ability to take the air out of the ball, and keep the ball out of Wallace's hands on offense, does your prediction for the Week 1o Showdown change?

I beg to differ Ringz...this kid couldn't stop running his mouth and gave Smithville 15 yards because of it which kept the drive going....so I would say his actions did contribute to last nights game and in a big way.

The bottom five in the WCAL are the weakest they have ever been. I stand by that. I have never seen a year where there was such a seperation from the top 3 to the bottom 5. It may be youth, it may be many other things but that will not change my opinion. There has been one mildly competitve game when NW played Smithville and that was really over after Smithville jumped to a 21-0 lead. The rest have been blowouts with the game over in the first quarter. When has that last happened???

O-Trap;941425 wrote:Those saying this is a down year for the WCAL, I'm not sure I agree. Granted, you've got three teams really struggling, two teams that are middle of the road. Three teams at the top. The Smithie team that lost to a very average Tuslaw team is not the same one that has shown up weeks 2 through 9. You have to remember that they turned around and beat a Mogadore team that will make the playoffs this year.

It is not so much a down year as it is a reversal. The kings of the hill find them selves fighting for the scraps so it must mean that all is not well. Last year the same thing was said, then 3 first round wins and one second round. Not real weak in my opinion.

Go Falcons - I agree the top 3 are as good or better than past years.

In response to the wcal strength this year:


2002:
the entire league record was 48-40
Smithville went 14-1
Dalton went 11-2

2003:
the entire league record was 44-39
Waynedale went 10-2
Smithville went 9-2
Dalton went 10-2

2006:
league record was 45-37
Northwestern went 10-1
Smithville went 9-2
Norwayne went 8-2

2009:
league record 50-42
Dalton went 9-2
Hillsdale went 9-3
Waynedale 7-4

2011:
league record so far this year is 34-35
Hillsdale 9-0
Norwayne 8-1
Smithville 7-2

Havin Fun;941444 wrote:Go Falcons - I agree the top 3 are as good or better than past years.

better than 2003? you can also add norwayne who was a solid team with losses only to dalton,wd, and sville if I remember... 99 and 98 were some pretty decent years with a good chippewa team in the mix. top to bottom those years were better than this but that isn't taking anything away from this years. couple solid teams up front and another year of shrock magic... wcal proves to be a crazy and fun to watch small school league

Thanks OCB - you just made my point. Your W & L's in league will always be even. The fact Norwayne, Hillsdale and Smithville are 8-1 OOC means the rest of the league has stunk to be below .500 as a group. In 2003 the league was +5 in the w/l column. That is a huge difference between -1.

OQB;941448 wrote:In response to the wcal strength this year:


2002:
the entire league record was 48-40
Smithville went 14-1
Dalton went 11-2

2003:
the entire league record was 44-39
Waynedale went 10-2
Smithville went 9-2
Dalton went 10-2

2006:
league record was 45-37
Northwestern went 10-1
Smithville went 9-2
Norwayne went 8-2

2009:
league record 50-42
Dalton went 9-2
Hillsdale went 9-3
Waynedale 7-4

2011:
league record so far this year is 34-35
Hillsdale 9-0
Norwayne 8-1
Smithville 7-2

awesome. we posted at the same time.... interesting to see...

The way the Norwayne coaches act towards the players IMO is more friendship than coaching. The coaches are very young and it looks as though they have been coasting and riding the coat tails of all the talent and not really doing there jobs. If Norwayne is going to bounce back against Hillsdale the relationship between the coaches and players has to change. You could see before the game even started during warmups that Smithville was ready to crack some skulls. Norwaynes players were walking around talking and laughing with their helmets off. I see that as a complete lack of discipline and must change for this team to improve.

Havin Fun;941455 wrote:Thanks OCB - you just made my point. Your W & L's in league will always be even. The fact Norwayne, Hillsdale and Smithville are 8-1 OOC means the rest of the league has stunk to be below .500 as a group. In 2003 the league was +5 in the w/l column. That is a huge difference between -1.

don't forget this.... wd dalton sville triway and orrville all in playoffs that year. 98-03 were really good years for the area with some really big games. tough to top those years

Whispering eye;941457 wrote:The way the Norwayne coaches act towards the players IMO is more friendship than coaching. The coaches are very young and it looks as though they have been coasting and riding the coat tails of all the talent and not really doing there jobs. If Norwayne is going to bounce back against Hillsdale the relationship between the coaches and players has to change. You could see before the game even started during warmups that Smithville was ready to crack some skulls. Norwaynes players were walking around talking and laughing with their helmets off. I see that as a complete lack of discipline and must change for this team to improve.

very good point!

Fall of 2002:
WCAL Non-Conference Opponents' Record: 102-138 (.425 winning percentage)
* Only two teams, Norwayne and Waynedale, had non-conference opponents with a cumulative winning percentage of .500 or better.

Fall of 2011:
WCAL Non-Conference Opponents' Record (to date): 106-86 (.552 winning percentage)
* Every team, with the exception of Hillsdale and Rittman, had non-conference opponents with a cumulative winning percentage of .500 or better.


Sorry, but I don't think the league is down as much as it has just played a tougher schedule. Granted, while the wins among the top 3 teams have still been lopsided against the bottom (except for Smithville v. Northwestern and Hillsdale v. Northwestern), I don't think we'd be having this discussion if the league was playing the same caliber non-conference teams they were back then.

Congrats to the Hillsdale Falcons for getting at least a share of the WCAL title.

Mookie22;941378 wrote:Congrats to the smithies! They really ran the ball well on my bobcats. Only thing I didn't really like was the big plays norwayne had ALL got called back.. If they would have gotten those calls maybe would be a different story.. But congrats smithville, Norwayne- pull it together or were getting smoked...

Mookie... you can't blame that loss on referees. Penalties were close, and the only difference seemed to be the three personal fouls on the defense. Berger dropped a deep pass in the second half that could've been a huge play. However, there were several other big passing plays that led to the first two scores (still not sure if the first should've been a touchdown, but whatever). Give the Smithies credit where it's due. They worked hard, executed their game plan, and got the job done. Now gotta regroup and reload for next week against the Falcons!!!!