CardinalBacker

Yeah.... I said that. What kind of fan would I be if I went around predicting my team would lose? In all fairness, we have a decent squad every few years. That particular year we had one of the best BC squads that we’ve seen since we ALMOST beat WOS in 2012, I think. The bad news is that we had a good squad for BC at the same time WOS had one of the best squads in Tx HSFB. That’s just the breaks, though. In retrospect, that WOS team should have been good for a 2 or 3 TD victory over us. With all of the extracurricular BS caused by our team in the buildup and the subsequent suspension of some of our kids, you had a demoralized BC squad facing a hyper-motivated WOS squad and the score is what the score was. I’m not saying that the outcome would have been any different without all of our self-inflicted distraction(s), but I think the game would have been a little more competitive. The hangover from that beat down held over through the next week in which we sleep-walked through a similar beatdown by a unusually weak Newton team that eventually lost out to Arp in the 3rd round. Fortunately we had two consecutive bye weeks and rebounded to win our first DC in years before losing a close game in the 3rd round. And as far as 80-nothing, if those WOS kids could have scored 80, they would have. The chain gang held when they needed to, but still gave up over a hundred yards rushing to Draper. We even missed a chip shot field goal after we drove the field. It absolutely wasn’t our night. And like I said, even if it was our night, I’m confident we still would have probably lost by 3 TDs. My favorite part of that season (my kid’s senior season) was the game against Silsbee in BC. Not because we won a nail biter over a really strong Silsbee team, but because a number of WOS players were there on their bye week in the BC stands, cheering us on. If you weren’t a part of either of our communities, you probably can’t imagine how big of an impact that whole series of events had on our season and on our players and communities. While people from the outside like to bash us over the events of that week, they’ll never understand the profound impact and lessons learned through that particular series of events and the character displayed by so many in addressing the issue. Anyways, it’s all history now.

There are always exceptions. My point is this. IF the Kountze team that featured Arnold had made 4-5 rounds into the playoffs with the same exact roster that they had when Arnold was there, you would have seen 4-5 kids with D1 offers because they had been successful in the playoffs against other teams. Does that mean that there were 4-5 undiscovered talents on Kountze? Who knows? Making multiple rounds will absolutely get more looks for your kids. At the end of the day, offers really don’t mean anything. There’s a conversation going on right now about how few kids from Central got offers versus previous years. We’d give credit or blame to the coaching staff for that change. Newton kids are getting plenty of looks and a lot of it has to do with their success they’ve had crushing tomato cans in an inferior division. I could care less how they do... but if Newton fan wants to show up and say, “yeah... we could have beaten anybody in 3A or 4A, and the fact that some of our kids have gotten D1 offers is proof...” well... they need corrected. That’s what I’m here for.

You mean the kids who have offers but haven’t actually played anybody yet. Trust me... these kids just like the rest of “D1 Talent” coming from small schools, aka “weak competition” will face their first real tests (and get exposed) when they actually get to college. History keeps proving me right over and over. No offense, but Newton hasn’t exactly been tested by the Manvels, Highland Parks, Lake Travis, etc. Newton kids are “battle tested” (hahaha!) by the likes of such powerhouses as BC.... EC..... Garrison. I appreciate that Newton had a good year for a 3AD2 school. But that’s what it was, and that’s all it will be this year, too. Some semi-decent athletes will look really good against some other teeny tiny teams from places that none of us could locate on a map, and then Newton Fan will turn up taking about what they “coulda” done. And immediately after that will be Signing Day, aka “The Last Time We Ever Heard From That D1 Kid From Newton Day.” Stay in your lane, Eagle Fan. I know you guys get the same trophy as the other Championship Teams, but it doesn’t mean you’d stack up on the field.

I’d bet good money that the kid in front of Elam didn’t play for a 3A D2 school.

Give me a break.... Newton beat Silsbee the week after the flood when most schools were still cancelled and before Silsbee made adjustments that sent them into the playoffs. They also beat a terrible BC team. Other than that, Newton didn’t face a single 4A school. You’re basing your opinion on absolutely zero relevant experiences. To suddenly crown them kings of 4A is silly. I don’t care how much “D1 talent” they’re putting on those teeny tiny 3A D2 fields.... it’s a joke. Whatever happened to Newton’s last big D1 talent? Elam? I’ll give you a hint. He suited up for 8 games last year and ended up with a tackle total of ONE. One single solitary tackle all year. What about Shorter? If anybody knows, fill me in. It’s like the guy dropped off of the earth. Newton’s “D1 talent” doesn’t translate to the next level. Tony Brown? Yup. Deionte Thompson? Sure enough. Calvin Tyler? You know it. Matt Bryant? Bad example. They all played in bigger classifications and were ready for D1 Ball. You can’t get ready for the next level by facing off with Garrison. Newton would have made the playoffs and lost in the first round if they’d played in our district.

Who says that I’m supposed to blindly support anybody, just because they were raised near to my geographic location? Thats always the common argument... “why do you say bad things about _______? He’s from the area! Well, ______ just got arrested for wrasslin’ a cop. Or maybe _______ got a DUI. Maybe it’s a kid who just failed out before the playoffs. Maybe it’s a kid that sucker punched some other kid in front of 32 cameras. There’s nothing more damaging for a talented athlete than an adoring fan base that will forever see no wrongdoing on the part of that athlete because of his/her athletic abilities. And that’s not just athletes, either. It’s true of all kids.

Just look at it like this... when you’re all watching TB play on Sundays, know that I’m watching, too, and it kills a little bit of my soul every time he makes a big play.

It was a fairly decent rivalry game with all of the local “pageantry”... a banquet, trophies, etc.... it just got a little rowdy in the last few games. There was a fairly decent brawl in the last one and OF decided to stop participating. We figured that would last a few years but it’s been five now, I think. Kinda stupid they were still district opponents in every other sport. Our kids and OF kids all play little baseball in BC’s program as well as little dribblers and stjfl. The fun only stops when it gets to school organized fb. My favorite memory of that rivalry is when some genius made a sign for a basketball game that looked like the IHOP logo.... but it said “I Hate Orangefield People.”

Cardinalbacker approves.

I have a bad feeling that once he’s out from under Saban’s watchful eye he’s gonna have a hard time keeping it together. I hope he proves me wrong. Good luck.

Of course, I’m predicting a Cardinal DC, so I have it. 1. BC 2. Lumberton 3. LCM 4. Livingston Lyin’s 5. Huffman 6. Splendora All jokes aside, it’s anybodys district. I also think that the eventual DC will not run the table. I’m also not convinced that there will be a absolute doormat at the bottom of the district, either.

“Woodshedded”

That's weird.... I use a computer to do all of my math for me. It's never made a mistake yet. Sounds like somebody got reminded that the education system is here to support the athletic programs... not the other way around.

I agree.

Sometimes it seems like we run exclusively.... Mostly because we run exclusively. PG's slot T was effective because their passing game was more than just an opportunity for the opposing secondary to create turnovers. Sometimes I wish that we'd have a true field general work his (or even her) way up through the ranks to see how well we'd do with a legit passing attack.

And I dare say that Carthage faced a better Silsbee squad than Newton did based on personnel changes, post hurricane bs, etc, etc.....

Let’s be honest.... every team that you “think” you can hang with has a much tougher road through the playoffs than Newton. It only makes your accomplishments look weaker when you start comparing yourself to championship teams that everbody NOT wearing purple knows would KILL lil’ol’ Newton. So, much like the Gold Medal winning Special Olympians, celebrate your win. But stop kidding yourselves.

Have you ever seen Carthage, for instance? You’re nowhere near as stacked as dozens of 4A schools. Once again, I don’t want to sound hateful, but I don’t think a single kid on the Newton squad has ever played a snap of D1 ball... much less in the SEC. Kids who are projected to be D1 talent from small schools tend to get exposed when they step onto the field at the next level. Every kid with a few shreds of talent looks like a world beater when facing 3A D2 teams. Every few years we hear all about how Newton has a whole new crop of “D1 Talent” and then they are never heard from again. Except for the ones that go to McNeese Once again... I wish we had our choice of some of those kids here in BC. I’m not being hateful. You guys just wrecked your division.... 3A D2. I tend to think you guys would attract a whole lot less hate if you stuck your bird chests out and said “we’re the best in 3A D2!!! Do y’all want to see our rings again?” instead of hitting the message boards trying to convince the masses that you’d have rolled through all of 3A and 4A. Makes trips to Jerryworld the next three years and we’ll still say you’re inferior to WOS... because you’re doing it against weaker comp.

Not quite. Too many kids playing both ways, and although bless with some really talented kids at the top of the roster, the deficiencies down the roster eventually turn up when facing teams with big kids and lots of fresh bodies. i guess I’m the only one that can remember all of the way back to two years ago when Newton was getting walked by Orangefield.

Better suited for playing some aggressive two-below....

Not gonna lie... I dipped out as well.

Napa closed. I stopped at Brookshires for gas last week and there’s a big ol’ Remax sign out front. But I get what you’re saying, and I’ll bet you’re right.

That’s not true. Well, it might be if you’re talking about vehicles that run. Seriously, though. Newton came to BC during non-district play and I remember thinking that the team looked really good this year, but once again the stands over there were pretty sparsely populated. I would argue that we had more fans turn out in Navasota late in a losing campaign than Newton brought an hour down the road to Historic Larry B Ward Stadium. Call the proposed matchup between Newton and Carthage whatever you want... calling it a potential money-maker isn’t accurate.

There are plenty of bigger schools around that would match up well with Newton. Not necessarily marquee names, but being a 3A D2 school and playing close games with decent 4A D1 and D2 schools is a great way to get ready to roll through the 3A D2 playoffs. You guys get the chance to play teams that have size and depth that you probably won’t see again until late in the playoffs.

I’m not real certain about the Cardinals this year. I’m less connected to the team than I have been in years. I know that we lost a lot of key personnel after the 2016 season, then got absolutely devastated by injuries last year. I saw a few positives for the coming year... Dubois has created an absolute army of kids who want to be one of the Cardinal RBs. Hopefully fb Lara has the kind of season that we expected from him last year. Ply looked really good when called up for action last year. It seems like we’ve lost a lot of key pieces on defense this year. The whole question to me is whether the kids are in the weight room right now handling their business. You have successful football seasons because of the work you do in the offseason. I’m not sure if these kids want to win football games or just have their senior picture made with a letterman jacket. Time will tell.