mbhs69

Being part of a losing program is a good start, there's nowhere to go but up. Especially in the beginning, ya gotta tell and show not by saying, but by doing and setting the example. And Listen. Avoid using the word "I" at all costs .... use "We". Be the most reliable member of the staff, pay attention to detail especially little details, correct every mistake you see on the spot. Demonstrate when needed. Be the first to the field or the weight room or to the coaches meeting, the last to leave. Earn trust, don't expect it to be given to you. Integrity is bein a man of your word. Learn about each player, what they can and can't do, know about their personal home life without intruding, know their class work .... helps you figure out when they lose focus on the field. Find the help they need from the right source, you can't do it all. Know when you should chew somebody out in private, but always praise in public. Never show disunity or disagreement between coaching staff members in front of any player. Step aside to hash out differences. Address rumors immediately, they're not like wine and don't get better with age. Never be on your phone in front of anyone. Make yerself a journal of your core beliefs, techniques, and goals. Cross off what doesn't work for you, add new stuff that does. Patience must be one of your strongest character traits. Study the game, don't read about it, study it. Film and video too. Know and master every paragraph of FHSAA and game rules better than any ref, especially the most obscure rule that may help you when seconds count. Know what other staff coaches do, and be ready to step in immediately if they get a kidney stone. Know and admit when you should have adjusted, but didn't. Experience is the greatest teacher of all, for it gives the hard test first, followed by the lesson. So have an appetite for pride-swallowing. At the end of each day write down what you learned, both positives and negatives, don't trust it to memory. Most of all, be yourself .... you can't sustain bein Vince Lombardi for a whole season if it's not in your character. Pressure brings out the real you. Young men can spot counterfeits a mile away. It's not about you, it's about them, and the game. Be the rock when all others are falling apart. The head coach is responsible for everything the team as a whole does, or fails to do. Hating losing and loving winning are nice, but nothing's more important than building character in individual young men. If you change even one for the better, you've fully succeeded, even if you never knew it. In the end, always do the right thing, even if it comes with a cost. I admire your passion. Best of luck to you.

Good stuff here. Say what ya want but I believe Venice has been tested in deep waters, unlike Dwyer. I liked "The first step is the players believing they can win ....They have to be the better team for 2 hours" ... and "Our players are excited win or lose to play." Sounds like the Indians have the right mindset. Belief in themselves as a team, as a collective force, as one. STA may have more individual player capabilities, but at this point I don't see a whole lot of daylight between both as respective teams in that capability category. So intangibles like collective fortitude and guts will have a say. Who's hungrier? Somebody far more knowledgeable about what young men can achieve as a unit said it far better than me ... “The moral is to the physical as three to one†– Napoleon Bonaparte That holds to the playing field as it does on the battlefield. If Venice really wants it, I believe they're a team capable enough to just TAKE IT from them, as long as coaching and play-calling mistakes don't get in the way.

man, all this confusing back and forth and "what if's" make my hair hurt.

My 2 cents. Part of this, just a part, has to go back on a coach preparing for and exposing his team to adversity, so players don’t lose focus and self-control when challenged with unforeseen situations. Good coaches use football both to compete to win, and to develop character in young men. Many schedule non-district games against tough teams, which tests both individuals and the team as a whole, enabling them to know that “they been there beforeâ€. Dwyer had some tremendously talented players this year, and they showcased obvious, individual top-level athletic skills in easy games, running their record to 10-0. But this team as a single unit wasn’t challenged, tested, or prepared for playoff-level ball against top state teams who learned to correct mistakes and consistently improve by playing far tougher schedules. Has their team learned to keep focused and grind back when behind, or independently adjust in-game on the fly? What’s this year’s “go to†play when nothing else works? With a number of running clocks on other teams, they’ve rarely, if ever, had their endurance and resolve tested late and under pressure, were never in deep waters for a young man’s character test and gut-check. The mental-toughness and experience element is equal as, if not more important than the athletic element, especially when your back is against the wall …. that’s one great thing about football – when intangibles, guts, and self-control come into play. Instead, team success was padded with impressive season numbers against non-district cupcakes, perhaps falsely inflating their expectations and sense of entitlement. Unbeaten streaks, points scored and given up, sacks, picks, yards-gained, etc, may look good, but don’t always succeed against more seasoned teams on the hard playoff road to a chip …. nor do “traditional†games against easy local teams just ‘cause “it’s always been done that wayâ€. I may be old school and I’ll wear that. But I believe the coaches failed in part to prep Dwyer players, a so-called legacy team, for the real world of playoff football by scheduling easy non-district games. And if they were eventually provoked, like they’ve likely did to other teams this season, they just didn’t know how to handle it and lost self-control when it happened to them, … ‘cause “they never been there beforeâ€. Experience is the greatest teacher of all, for it gives the test first, followed by the hard-learned lesson.

my guess is asap, probably before next week's STA-Mater game.

Sounds like the field wasn't big enough to contain all the exceptional character displayed by the players on both teams. Talk about digging deep and leavin everything on the field .... !!! That sorta effort brings integrity to the game, a gift to the rest of us.

Before STA, Dwyer had 372 PF - 32 PA in 10 season games. They had 49 Total offensive yards last night. STA total mileage unknown. After the pre-game stunts, the # and nature of possible PF's / UC's penalties during the game would reveal any middle acts before the final curtain calls. Somebody's facing consequences for unsportsmanlike conduct ... players and schools alike. Fhsaa's gotta make a quick report since all players from both schools are under scrutiny and STA plays Mater next week. Regs 7.1-7.2 and 30.1-30.2 apply: http://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2010/09/16/node-178/1617_football_manual.pdf

The clock started running with 5 min to go in the 3rd, then STA eased off the gas. After beating up cupcakes all season, Dwyer found themselves in unfamiliar deep waters. There's a reason wise coaches develop young men by scheduling tough non-district games. It builds character, mental toughness, persistence, teamwork, and self-control, giving players life-long lessons when facing adversity. Don't recall any other STA post-game brawls with the 8 or so other teams they've beaten by 35+ this year.

The young men on both teams will always remember that. The sorta character test and gut check that'll prepare them for tough times in life. A great experience.

CM in a stampede. To all ... pass the crow, I'll even eat it raw.

35-0 2nd qtr. man, did I ever blow that call out my butt. Newman's bringin the backyard puppy instead of the junkyard dog. Feel like a gobshyte eejit.

Interesting to see if QB Columbi is back for CM. Read that Friday's game is at 3PM .... might play hooky for that one.

don't overlook Cardinal Newman upsetting Chaminade-Madonna. They been bringing a junkyard dog style over the past few games and I think they got a decent shot.

Don't forget that Pahokee has that iron leg in K/P Ezekiel Hernandez, last year's Lou Groza award winner for best kicker as a sophomore. He hit a 61 or 63 yarder last year, and he's rarely missed this year. Eye-opening power and consistent accuracy. So even if Pahokee's in range, say for a 40 yard attempt or so, there's a decent chance for a few extra likely points. Then there's his punts, putting teams deep. Overall, Pahokee has an excellent special team's capability, both on coverage and receiving. Can't count that out.

Assuming Dwyer gets past Ft. Lauderdale in rd 1, they'd meet STA in rd 2. Dwyer's scored over 330 points, and a solid D gave up only 32 points in regular season (not counting their 34-17 loss to Northwestern in the koc). Not shabby numbers although they've had a somewhat easy schedule against Palm Beach county schools. How would Dwyer do against STA? , and IF they upset them ... how could they do going down the rest of the 7A road to states? Jack Daniels is still at the helm.

That Cubs starting rotation and that Indians bullpen .... some of the best arms I can remember in a Series .... even though the hitting was great too.

Broward - too funny!. But knowing that now, I believe AHD will take all their season's-long frustrations out on SJP in an epic beatdown.

Oxbridge 19-0 over Newman. final

end 3rd Oxbridge 13 CArdinal Newman 0 bad blood on the field, a grudge match

Let me add the 7A Palm Beach Lakes Rams in west palm beach. 3-8 last year, now 6-2.

I have no comment on this player's situation, but it brings to mind another long ago story about young men who make mistakes, sports, high school, and lessons about life at a time when alternatives were college (which few in Philly could afford without a scholarship) or a voracious draft which usually resulted in a ticket to Vietnam. A bit long, about basketball not football, from a Philly newspaper. ON THE NIGHT of Feb. 26, 1968, the defending city champion North Catholic High School Falcons made national headlines with a 77-60 victory over the mighty Bishop McDevitt Lancers in the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division playoff opener. But not in the normal fashion. It did so with a squad of Junior Varsity players, subbing for the suspended varsity team. The coach, and man behind the suspensions, was Coach (and School Disciplinarian and Latin Teacher) Jack Friel. The fill- in JV starters were juniors Iggy Brodzinski, Joe Evanosich and Mike Kaiser, and sophomores Bill Dever and Jim Boylan. The replacement Falcons took the floor to the sound of deafening boos from the Falcon’s own fan section and chants of " We want the varsity . . . we want the varsity". They trailed just once, 2-0, scored the final 11 points of the game after McDevitt had sliced the lead to six with 2:45 to go, and had become larger than life - even to some McDevitt fans - by the end of the night. Later, Coach Friel received countless awards and honors for his noble stand and, to boot, letters of admiration from as far away as the West Coast and a Sports Illustrated story. BUT THAT'S GETTING ahead of the story, which began with a special morning prayer and team Mass, and a directive from Friel to the players that they go out to a diner for some breakfast then return for second period. The first part went fine, but the players never returned, at least not on time. Friel then tracked them down and the machinery was set in motion to prevent them from representing the school that very night. "The team was due back at 9:15AM sharp, " said Friel. " I happened to be in the Discipline Office at the time and I noticed the attendance slips came back with all their names marked absent. By 10:30, they still weren't back. I made a few stops around the neighbourhood and met them as they were walking back to the school. I said, 'On your way back, think about not playing tonight.' I gave them the opportunity for an explanation, but none seemed to hold water. I then went off to discuss the matter with the principal, Rev. Edward Corcoran, and the vice principal, Rev. William Guerin. There was no hesitation. We had to show the kids in the strongest way possible that they were students first, athletes second. The kids took a liberty and betrayed a trust. As athletes, they felt they deserved something extra. But they always got that through the accolades they received for playing the games. Another punishment never even entered my mind. It was clear-cut as far as I was concerned. All 12 varsity players were suspended" BUT THE NEWS did NOT spread like wild fire. "I'll never forget, fifth period history class," said Brodzinski. "There were a couple JV players and a couple varsity players. One of the varsity guys, Billy O'Hara, whispered to me that the varsity had been suspended and that the JV would be playing tonight. He was such a practical joker, though, I didn't take him seriously. Then, the teacher mentioned something that he had heard a rumor to the same effect. I started believing it.†Later, the JV players received notes to "come to the Discipline Office after schoolâ€, and waited there until 3:30, when everything was made official. They then practiced for a half-hour (they hadn't played in eight days and some had to borrow sneakers and socks), went to the Northeast Diner for what was supposed to be a light meal (Evanosich and Dever, it is recalled, ordered spaghetti and meatballs, sundaes, and everything else that would not be found at a normal pre-game munch), then the team took the train to the historic Palestra. 5,495 fans packed the Palestra for the 7PM game. "When we came out and our own North fans were booing, it made us feel more mad than bad," said Evanosich, best remembered for his floppy, parted-down-the- middle mop of hair. "I was so into what was going on, I didn't even notice the boos until Dever mentioned it. But we got ticked off and we wanted to show 'em. All along, I thought we could win. On the train, some of the guys were saying, 'People will read about this in the comic strips, not the sports section.' I told 'em, 'They might be a year older than us, but they're still just kids and they put their sneaks on one at a time like we do. ' " "Nobody expected us to win, " said Dever, who had not even started all year for the JV. "When Coach Fran Dougherty (JV coach) told me I was starting, I was thinking, 'Don't put ME in there, don't do this to me.' At halftime, I figured we could play with them, but when they cut it to six I figured, 'Oh, oh, now they're playing like they should. That's it, the fairy tale's over. ' Then we scored the last 11. That was the greatest year of my young life. In football, our first two quarterbacks got hurt and I started in the Thanksgiving win over Frankford. Then, that JV game." Dever's role in the game was ballhandling, while Evanosich (13 points) handled the outside sniping. Kaiser (6-2) totaled 20 points and 23 rebounds, Brodzinski (6-3) 19 and 18, and Boylan (6-4) 14 and 15 as the JVs - who had split once with McDevitt's JVs - posted their highest point total of the year, and a 62-36 rebounding advantage against McDevitt. "THE ONLY DISTINCTION between us and the varsity," said Kaiser, "was that they played the second game all year. We had a lot of talented players and we were all pretty close. At first, I wasn't sure if the school was making the right decision and if we were making the right decision to take their place. It was sort of like we weren't supporting the varsity. I asked the guys what they thought. They were so psyched up to play, I had to go along. I mean, like who ever gets a chance like this?" "If I remember right, " said Brodzinski, " Mike Kaiser didn't think very much of the school for putting us on the spot like that. He was not too enthused. Meanwhile, we thought it was great. Really, we were the perfect matchup for that team. It was a little scary when we first came out, but the booing by our own fans really helped us. And the Palestra's so tight, the fans are right on top of you. We had a few goofballs on the team, like real lunatics. So that razzing was all they needed to push them over the hump. I know Coach Friel deserved a lot of credit for what he did, but JV Coach Fran Dougherty deserved a lot credit for what we did. The JVs were his, and he stepped up with 3 ½ hours notice to coach us that night. He had us prepared so well." "I was more nervous than the players," Coach Dougherty said. "To be very honest, I felt there was no wayâ€, he said. “The team was laughing, joking and cutting up. But the second they went on the floor, they got real serious, real fast. They had this look like they expected to win, they were hungry, like wolves. When we got off to the good start, I thought, 'Geez, maybe we've got a shot here.' All night, we kept going right through McDevitt’s press.†“The response to Coach Friel's decision from the varsity players' parents was mostly favorableâ€, Dougherty said. "The only guy I remember really being hot was Mr. Siemiontkowski," he said, of father of varsity starter Hank Siemiontkowski, City MVP who would star at Villanova and be drafted by the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. We saw him that night. I thought he was going to pop us. And he was a real big man, real big." Dougherty went on, "what we achieved could never happen today. Back then, there were a number of quality players at all-boys North Catholic (the enrollment was 2,800). Ten, 15, even 20 tremendous players. The JV scrimmaged against the varsity every day. Sometimes we beat them." "When the varsity came back," said Friel, "it did so with a super attitude. None of the guys were sullen or bitter or hanging their heads. They had a feeling like 'Hey, we messed up, we paid, it's done, we're alive, let's go do something about it.' They were good kids, they really were. We had team rules, team expectations, team goals. They just made a bad mistake in judgment like all high school kids occasionally do." Six days later, with the varsity reinstated for the semifinal game with powerhouse Cardinal O'Hara - which the defending city champ Falcons lost agonizingly 51-49, on a tap by Lou Ferro that rolled around the rim for 2 seconds before falling in at the buzzer - Friel saw fit to dress six of his JVs. Two played in that game, Kaiser and Dever. FROM THE OTHER side, the whole chain of events was a nightmare for McDevitt's players and their coach, Steve Chapman. "I happen to think it was a psychological freak." said Chapman." Our kids had nothing to win and everything to lose. For their kids, it was just the opposite. When we got to the end of the first quarter down (15-10), that was enough to set off their psyche. Against their varsity, we would have been right on schedule. Against their JVs, well, there was nothing I could say to my kids to shake them out of it. People that talk about adjustments and Xs and Os are crazy. It wasn't that at all. The will to win a game comes from the heart". Playing at the Palestra - http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/pennband/honorbands/img/1920/blue.jpg

I second, ... or third that on WO .... eclipsed only by 3A AHD that I've seen. Of course their schedule has been, and remains brutal.

And 7A Olympic Heights - 0-10 last year. A new HC and 5-2 so far this season.

3A Cardinal Newman is worth a peek. Went 1-10 last year, now 4-3 and a tough road team under a new HC. I'll write off their game 1 loss to Spanish River, but they went to both Pahokee and to Boynton Beach and competed, not losing by much. Then went to AHD and put a stake in the heart of their nightmare season, winning 21-20. Now they have a home district game against Oxbridge this Thursday, and Newman considers Oxbridge their #1 rival, but I don't think Oxbridge knows that yet. Newman's junior QB Moschella played LB the past 2 years, and plays QB like a linebacker, go figure ... and still plays D this year. A senior CB named Powell is as hard as woodpecker lips, and he hauls the rock occasionally too. Two kids named A. Hayes who are both offensive weapons. This is a tough team across the board who don't quit, and they don't seem to think they've been beaten even if the scoreboard sez so. Can be a dangerous team. That new HC is settin the pace and attitude, instilling pride and a lost tradition. Lotsa underclass players. Ox will beat them but it's gonna be a slugfest. Watch them next year. Good recent article here - http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/high-school-football/first-year-quarterback-leads-cardinal-newman-turnaround/u9vuGiXCZzr8nExielenmK/ Another surprise is The King's Academy, West Palm Beach at 8-0 in the SE Football Conference. 4-6 last year. Might be time for them to up their schedule strength next year. Wish I could say something positive about Inlet Grove, .... but I can't.

didn't think much of img's onside kick late in the game when way up. ... specially when that kicker's iron leg nailed touchback every other time ... even against that wind