1989NDN

When did the star-rating system begin? In the late eighties, LaPorte had Curvin Richards. If there were five-star ratings in the eighties, he was a five-star. If the freshman RB at LaPorte is the next Curvin Richards, watch out...LaPorte will win a lot of games. This year's team has an OL that mauls people. The stable of backs pick a lane and run north/south. As long as the OL does its thing, LaPorte will be a tough out. They will hold on to the football, squeeze the number of possessions, and beat you up.

BH v. LP should be an excellent game. Evenly matched. Maybe a slight lean in favor of LP. Should be well attended with the two teams only 20 miles apart and playing in the middle at GP. If PN-G doesn't have a game on the same day, I'm going to this one.

I know it is a money issue for the UIL and there's no turning back the calendar, but games like this one illustrate why there should only be the top two teams from each district in the playoffs. Three and four teams from each district waters down the playoffs and creates games where the score is 70-0 with a running clock. I'm betting PAM played things pretty vanilla in the second half with twos, threes, and the JV kids rotating in and out. What did either team get out of that game? PAM prayed for no injuries. GP avoided PE and basketball season by one week and were still humiliated after an extra week of football practice.

70-0...with a running clock in the second half...YIKES!!! Did the Titan band suit up and get to play? The disparity in talent between GP and NS remains a mystery. Nice start to the playoff race. GO PAM!

What was Nederland's travel schedule? Leave on Thursday? Leave on Friday morning? Good luck and safe travels to Nederland fans.

Nederland, run the ball with Thomas over and over again. Limit the possessions of Texas High. I've never seen an offense score points when standing on the sidelines. Run the ball, run the ball some more, play a clean game with no TOs or personal foul penalties, and keep the game close. If the game is close with four minutes to go, roll the dice and see what happens.

+1,000 #88 has proven all year long, when given the opportunties, that he can catch and run with the ball after the catch. Early on in the season, the OC gave him some throws. And, then, the OC forgot about him for six or seven games. He is tall and mobile. Given him some throws. I'd spread him out and see if the LBs move out with him. Right now, teams are stacking eight and nine defenders in the box. Our OC does nothing to change the numbers game.

Montgomery motions people around to get a numbers advantage on one side or the other. The QB lines up in the shotgun with a RB on each side and he either runs to the side with the advantage, or he runs a counter to the weak side. The QB keeps the ball more than he gives it to the RB. The QB is elusive and if he gets in the open field, he will take it to the endzone. Both RBs can run the ball, but they were not as elusive as the QB. Passing game is nothing special. PN-G's DB left WRs open and he could not get the ball to them consistently. Lots of roll outs and deep throws.

Nederland will beat Montgomery. I've only seen each team 1x (vs. PN-G). Nederland is better than Montgomery. Contain the Montgomery QB. Montgomery motions people around to get a numbers advantange on one side or the other, and then, they let the QB run outside where he has the numbers advantage. The flip side to that scheme is setting up the numbers on the strong side with the QB faking that run and countering back to the weak side...that counter to the weak side hurt PN-G all night. It won't take the Nederland staff long to figure out Montgomery. Contain the Montgomery QB and give the ball to Thomas. Nederland will win.

Nederland has a shot. Nederland is at home. Road wins are hard. Nederland, run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball some more. When you want to throw the ball, stop. Pause. Run the ball. Line up and play the best you can on defense. Maybe a turnover or two goes your way. Get a few stops, and run the ball. MLC QB Eli Morcos is the best QB you will see this season. He's good, very good. MLB RB Tyvann Byars is also good. You see a good RB in practice every day. Thomas can do everything Byars can do. You will be ready. MLC will make some plays. That's OK. Morcos and Byars are good players. Control what you can, compete, and did I say, RUN THE BALL. Nederland has a good shot to get the W.

Where are the WB kids playing?

Nice job by Huntsville getting past a tough loss in the PN-G game and focusing on Montgomery. Easier said than done. Huntsville has a physical defense. They tackle people. Not surprised the Hornets were able to contain a good Montgomery team.

Ned's RB should have a big game vs. WF. Huntsville ran on WF and Ned should be able to do the same with a better RB. Just give the ball to Thomas and get out of the way.

For NS, it all comes down to 10/25 @ Atascocita and 11/8 @ Summer Creek.

The ILA's concern is automation. The unions, and not just the ILA, but the UAW, USW, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, etc., are all fighting automation because it cuts jobs and union members.

Astros fans...if you are Dana Brown, what do you do this offseason? Resign Bregman? Resign Verlander? Try to sign Kikuchi? Do a long term deal with Tucker and spend whatever money is left to patch holes at 3B, 1B and starting pitching? I think the Astros let Pressley walk. I'm not sure if they will seriously try to resign Verlander and Bregman. I haven't heard if Dana Brown has any interest in resigning Kikuchi. Bregman's agent want him to hit the open market and get a sense of what he will be worth at his age before he talks to the Astros. Bregman already said, no hometown discount. It's his last shot a multi-year big dollar contract so he wants his market value. I think Dana Brown may lean toward letting Bregman walk, promoting Dezenzo to play 3B or 1B, and using the Bregman money to resign Kyle Tucker long term. The Astros will fish the free agent waters for either a 3B or 1B player to play whichever spot Dezenzo doesn't play. What moves do think may happen? And, one more thing. I enjoyed the posts this season and especially during the stretch run.

How healthy is Port Arthur on defense? The Titans need to pressure and contain Kyden Barker-----signed, Captain Obvious. Go PAM!

What is it with Hader? Something seems off. He's got some bad mojo right now. Need to shake if off. Has the MLB playoffs TV schedule been released? Will the Astros start on Tuesday or Wednesday? I guess I could Google it...look it up. Ha-ha.

Final $1.00 dog night in 2024. Alex Bregman with a deep bomb to CF, Tuck with a bomb, and Jason Heyward with the difference maker and a great catch. I owe Dana Brown an apology. His signings of Yusei Kikuchi and Jason Heyward were the right moves. I was critical...and I was WRONG!!!

5A-D1 District 9 may come down to Port Arthur at Galveston Ball on October 4. Can Port Arthur stop Kyden Barker or out score him? Disclaimer: I say may because I have not seen Lufkin play. BH will compete but the two BH games I watched had the Eagles turning the ball over and it's hard do win when you turn the ball over.

Port Arthur should have combined their JV and FROSH teams and played the varsity Titans. It would have been a bigger challenge, better game, and the ISD could have saved money on travel. Port Arthur is good, but Cleburn is terrible. It will be hard for Port Arthur to take the foot off the gas and still not run up the score to an embarassing number. Unless the Titans just fall down on offense, the score will keep going up...regardless if its the starters or the back-ups.

Tip of the cap to LP. Physical OL and a stable of talented RBs. PN-G will not be the only team to have lots of trouble getting those LP RBs on the ground. They are low to the ground, they wait for the LP OL to open a crease, and they get going north/south in a hurry. The Indians relied on an experienced and strong OL, a 1-2 punch with #15 and #27 carrying the ball, and good special teams play. Good time for a bye to get some rest, focus on tackling, and getting excited to play a really good Lake Creek team. GO INDIANS!

The D-backs' Pavin Smith had the game of his life. 3-4 with 3-HRs, including a 3-run HR, grand slam, and solo shot for a total of 8-RBIs. Before the game, my son and I watched JV warm up throwing long toss in the outfield. He kept meeting with a trainer. I did not see him give facial expressions or body language that he was injured but something is off. In the first inning, his 4-seam fastball was between 94-97. In the third inning it was 88-90. When Smith came up to bat in the 5th inning, fans were yelling, hit him, throw it at him, back him off the plate. Others were yelling, walk him!!! He hit the solo HR. One of those games for the Astros. Day off tomorrow...welcome the Okland As on Tuesday night for one dollar dog night.

AAW, rupert3, baddog, BearCPA...we need to do something to stop the Astros three game slide. Group hug, put on rally caps, wear a lucky sports jersey, something else? We need the Astros to get back on track. Maybe tonight's game at Minute Maid Park will be the start to a new winning streak? Go Astros! P.S. Sports radio in Houston has been discussing the Astros playoff pitching rotation. Do you let JV start or bump him to a bullpen role? Framber, Kikuchi, Hunter Brown, and ??? JV or Ronel Blanco? This presumes JV is healthy and can pitch in the playoffs. Arrighetti in or out? What are your thoughts?

I agree with baddog...if Bregman is not at 3rd base, I'd go with Dubon. I was at the game last night and Jason Heyward is a big dude. He's tall and has muscle on his frame. He smoked the double down the first base line and knocked in Pena and Singleton. I hope Heyward finds his mojo and helps us down the stretch...like he did last night. Good game by the good guys.