X's and O's - Talking West Virginia and SmartFootball

PHOTO BY TRAVIS LONG - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

It seems like at every level of play, high school and up to the pro level, scores in games are getting out of control.  To think that the national championship game next week will be about defense seems a bit strange in the current offensive environment where scores in the 40's and 30's are routine and getting to 70 or 67 points against what most would call reputable competition, see West Virginia over Clemson in the Orange Bowl and Baylor over Washington in the Alamo Bowl is a reality.  

On the local high school scene the Leesville Road Pride averaged 51.5 points a game this past season and had just two games where they scored less than 40, against Garner (21 points) in the Eastern 4AA semifinals and early in the year against Jordan where they managed a paltry 39 in a victory.  At the pro level, three teams, Green Bay, New Orleans and New England all averaged over 30 points per game during the 2011 regular season.  A quick look over the past nine seasons revealed that in 2004 two teams passed the 30 point threshold (Indianapolis and Kansas City), while in 2008, 2005 and 2002 no teams averaged more than 30 a game.  In every other season during that nine year period, only a single team eclipsed the 30 point per game threshold [New England (2010, 2007), New Orleans (2009), San Diego (2006), Kansas City (2003)].  A quick glance would indicate that points scored are up and the performance that West Virginia put forth against Clemson earlier this week is just one example.

My background is more on the offensive side of the ball and I love talking X's and O's - I love the chess match of it all.  If that sounds interesting then I would highly recommend checking out Chris Brown's site SmartFootball.com.  It is hands-down one of, if not the best, X's and O's sites out there and I've rarely left the site after reading one of his posts wondering why I took the time.  It's here that the discussion about a seeming point bonanza and SmartFootball.com  coalesce.  I would encourage you if you are interested in reading a ton of great material about what Coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff are doing offensively at West Virginia or understanding in more detail the roots of their system - to venture over there and check out the following story: SmartFootball article by Chris Brown on WVU offense.  I feel confident for all those X's and O's junkies out there, you won't be disappointed.  I'd go a step further, bookmark the site!

Photographs courtesy of newsobserver.com (The News & Observer)

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Playoff Update - 84 Remain

PHOTO BY DEAN STRICKLAND - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

This is one of those things about the football season at every level, but especially in college and high school where it seems to fly by before it even started, that makes you sometimes wish you had a 'bloated' major league baseball type season - or...perhaps not.  

Another week is gone and we sit with just two remaining regular season weeks to go and teams are working hard to position for not only playoff qualification, but also for top seeding as we close out the 2011 regular season.

As we did a week ago, we'll run through some brief playoff elements, specifically with regard to the classification AAAA teams in the state.  As always, we'd like to point out the assistance we received from one of the top resource sites in North Carolina when it comes to overall team statistics.  If you haven't checked them out, then please take a moment and do that before the season is out.  References, citations, footnotes - whatever your modus operandi is with regards to giving credit - are a good thing, so I wanted to give a shout out to the Asheville Reynolds contingent that have for so many years done an awesome job with their website [www.gobiggreen.net].  Almost all of the information that I used to put together this post was compiled based on their site.

Playoffs Out of Reach?

Heading into last weeks' games, Garinger HS and Southwest Guilford (due to a post-season ban) were the only two teams that looked certain to not be in a position to make the playoffs.  A total of four additional teams; Sanderson, Smithfield Selma, Ben L. Smith and East Mecklenburg were in positions where we reported it looked as though they would need to win out to have the opportunity to at the very least qualify for the playoffs.  All four ended up losing last week and with that, it appears that all four are officially eliminated from post-season consideration as they each have two games remaining on their schedules and are not in position to reach the four win plateau or compete for a top three finish in their respective conferences.  Joining these six squads as we enter this week of play are an additional 10 teams that currently have one overall win on the season, with either one conference win or less and only two games or less remaining on their schedules.  It appears, that even if they were to win out, they would certainly be below the four win qualifying plateau and will be unable to reach a top three finish in their respective conferences.  They include: Person, North Mecklenburg, Enloe, McDowell, Providence, Apex, Riverside, Pine Forest, Terry Sanford and Southern Alamance.  Even though the playoffs may be out of reach for each of these teams, with two weeks to go, many of them will be playing squads jockeying for playoff position and a few wins here or there by these squads could make things interesting for the remaining AAAA teams.

Yes As a Matter of Fact, Ties Do Exist for the Record

PHOTO BY CHRIS ADAMCZYK - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Northern Durham was the lone PAC-6 squad in action last evening in non-conference play as they took on the Apex Cougars from the Tri-9.  The game went back and forth with the Knights taking an early lead, only to fall behind and have to mount a comeback late.  After both teams missed PATs on their final scores of the game, the scoreboard read 20-20 at the newly refurbished Durham County Memorial Stadium and it looked like the fans were in for a treat on a brisk October evening, with overtime and more football.  But that wasn't to be the case as this was truly a trick-or-treat night and no treats were to be found, instead of deciding the game on the field in overtime, the game was declared final at 20-20.

So what happened you ask?  According to the rules of the NCHSAA, prior to any non-conference game, both head coaches are asked whether they would like to play overtime if the game is tied at the end of regulation.  If one of the two coaches decides not to play overtime, then the game officially ends as a tie.  The key is that both coaches have to agree to play the overtime session.

Tie Equivalent to Loss in Playoff Speak

Fast forward or perhaps rewind to last evening and with the game tied at the end of regulation, the decision was made to not proceed to overtime.  According to an article in the Durham Herald Sun by Joe Johnson [Blocked PAT leaves Northern with a tie], the decision not to play overtime appears to have been made by the Apex coaching staff.  A quote from the article stated the following: "The game ended in a tie because both coaches have to agree to play overtime before the start of the game and Apex coach Bob Wolfe declined."  From this information it appears that at the very least Apex decided not to play overtime.  The inference is that if that had not been the case, overtime would have been played, which would indicate that the Northern staff had agreed to play overtime.  From the story, it's unclear with 100% certainty that this was the case, but suffice it to say that at the very least one of the two staffs definitely elected not to play overtime.

And Down the Stretch They Come!

PHOTO BY CHRIS SEWARD - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

It certainly feels like we are rounding that final corner and with just three games and in some cases two games remaining for most of the area teams, conference automatic bids are at stake and reaching the four win playoff qualification plateau is in the forefront for a number of teams.  Every Friday night during the fall is a great one to get out and watch a football game, but with the weather appearing to move even more into those 40's and 50's and with teams angling for a top three conference finish - tonight is guaranteed to be a great night for Football Friday.

In the following capsules (this post and others to follow), we'll briefly hit on the 4A conferences around the area and talk playoff implications for this evening's games.

PAC-6

Check out our post from earlier concerning Person and Jordan [Tonight is a Playoff Night in the PAC-6].

Hillside with a win will secure a top three finish as they'll move to four wins in conference (assuming everyone else holds serve...).  A Riverside loss will drop them out of playoff contention as they'll have only two games remaining on the schedule and not be able to reach the 3-3 mark in conference that could be open for a third place automatic berth.

Southern Durham, needs a win in their final two against either East or Northern, assuming other teams in conference hold serve in order to secure a top three finish (important we say hold serve, because if others don't, then four wins in conference may not be enough!).  If both Southern and Hillside win this evening, they'll be three teams in the PAC-6 with four conference wins, with Northern slated to close out the season against the other two.

Tonight is a Playoff Night in the PAC-6

PHOTO BY DON CALLAHAN

Yes, you read that correctly, tonight is a playoff night in the PAC-6 for at least four teams in the conference. For two of them in particular, Person and Jordan, a win this evening keeps hope alive heading into next week that a playoff berth may still be available, while a loss effectively eliminates them from playoff contention in 2011. Both squads are currently sitting at 1-7 overall with three games remaining on the schedule for both teams. They both lost their endowment games earlier this year, so effectively they are at a reportable one win or 1-6 record. This means that rolling off a three game winning streak is imperative for both clubs and they happen to be the only two teams in the PAC-6 playing each other tonight that are in that situation. Riverside, also with only one reportable win has three games to go and will face Hillside this evening, while East Chapel Hill in a slightly better position, at least from the conference perspective, sits at two reportable wins, both in conference and will face Southern Durham this evening.

So why this game as opposed to others in the PAC-6? Easy, it should be the one game in the PAC-6 with the most on the line and with the highest chance of either team pulling off the victory.  Sure, Riverside is in a similar boat, they need to win this evening, but they are also playing the Hornets and the likelihood is slim that they pull the upset.  Not so similar is East Chapel Hill, they still have three games on the schedule and have two wins.  The Rockets and Falcons are the 50-50 game and for both, the chance of getting to the playoffs is all about picking up a Playoff Win - TONIGHT!

 Articles on the playoffs:

the Work Week Quarterback (WWQB) - Thoughts and Notes   [Link to Article]

Talking Playoffs and Conference Winning Percentages   [Link to Article]
When Does 4 Wins Not Equal 4 Wins?   [Link to Article]
Multiple Endowments, Oh My!   [Link to Article]


PAC-6 Match-up, Friday, 10/14/2011

Jordan (1-7 overall, 0-4 conference) at Person (1-7 overall, 0-3 conference)

The visiting Falcons are currently on a six game slide, but have arguably taken on the top of the conference with games against one win Person and Riverside still remaining to help in getting back on course.  They will also travel to Panther Creek for an out of conference match-up next week.  Compared to what they've faced so far this season you would expect that the close of the regular season sets up well for the Falcons to try and make that final push for playoff contention.  Offensively the Falcons have been sporadic at best, with 30+ point outputs against Orange, Enloe and East Chapel Hill, where they went 1-2, while only managing seven points or less in the remaining five games.  On the defensive side, teams have had success, scoring 34+ points or more in six of their contests and 21+ or more in seven or more.  The lowest point total allowed was against Northern Durham, in a 14-7 loss.

Playoff Update - Only 94 Remain

PHOTO BY JOHNNY JOHNSON - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Conference races are heating up throughout the state and before we know it that first week of the playoffs will be upon us.  I know that personally one thing I'm definitely missing is the exceptional work that Drew Pasteur put forth each fall with regards to his Fantastic 50 predictions that ultimately culminated in the incredible work that projected out all of the brackets.  It was amazing work and in case you happen to be reading Drew - thanks for all that you did to support high school athletics in North Carolina over the years and I hope you and the family are doing well up North!

I won't try to match what Drew did, but I did take a few moments and go through and get a bit of information about all of the classification AAAA teams in the state and at least have an idea of where teams stand as we head into the final three weeks of the regular season.  References, citations, footnotes - whatever your modus operandi is with regards to giving credit - are a good thing, so I wanted to give a shout out to the Asheville Reynolds contingent that have for so many years done an awesome job with their website [www.gobiggreen.net].  Almost all of the information that I used to put together some of the information I'm going to present came from their site.  If you haven't checked out this site and you follow high school ball in the state, then you are definitely missing out.  For those that value a bit of perspective when you are talking around the water cooler (as opposed to the hype machines that base the hype on zero substance) you have to check out the site, you won't be disappointed.

Playoffs Out of Reach?

Well, you knew it was coming sooner or later and with last week we had four additional teams inch closer to the edge and get very close to joining Garinger High School and Southwest Guilford as teams that as best as I can determine will not be able to make the playoffs this year, unless some incredible things happen over the final three weeks.  Southwest Guilford will be ineligible for postseason play because of players being ejected earlier this season.  Garinger was eliminated a week prior as they currently have zero reportable wins with only two games remaining on their schedule.  Sanderson, Smithfield Selma, Ben L. Smith and East Mecklenburg look to be at best half-way out of consideration at this point.  All have zero reportable wins and only three games remaining meaning that winning all of them will not get them to the four win plateau for at-large consideration.  It also does not appear that winning their three remaining games would get them into the top three of their conferences for an automatic bid unless there are numerous upsets that create a log-jam in the three win region.  That said, if any of those four can pull off a three game winning streak to close the season and if crazy things happen ahead of them - who knows, it just might be their lucky day!

the Work Week Quarterback (WWQB) - Thoughts and Notes

PHOTO BY ROBERT WILLETT - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

the Work Week QB is Here!

The PAC-6 appears to be solidifying their top three berths for the playoffs based on the results from this past Friday.  We knew going into the games that either the race for those three spots would either become incredibly undecided or else the favorites would exert their might and put some quality distance between the top half of the conference and the bottom  half.  The only game that appeared to be completely up in the air was the Northern Durham at East Chapel Hill game [Knights and Wildcats for First Place?], where the Knights showed dominance on the ground, while the Wildcats struggled to hold onto the ball, leading to Northern equaling their conference win total from a year ago and positioning themselves strongly to at worst end up as the third place finisher, unless some crazy upsets occur over the next three weeks, and with it an automatic bid to the 2011 playoffs.

Bull City Alum

The Bull City has been fortunate to see a number of their student-athletes move on to the collegiate level in a number of sports.  The opening picture is of Jordan alum T.J. Thorpe, currently in his first year at North Carolina.  T.J. has been the primary kick-off return specialist for the Tarheels so far this season and the photo by News & Observer photographer Robert Willett is from the game against Virginia earlier this year.

Playoff Odds and Ends

We've hit the blog hard with a lot of playoff talk, so be sure to check out our recent posts to get up to speed on how it may or may not affect your favorite team.  [When Does 4 Wins Not Equal 4 Wins?], [Multiple Endowments, Oh My!], [Talking Playoffs and Conference Winning Percentages], [NCHSAA Handbook Football], and from last year, our description of how the playoff process will work - [T-Minus One Month = Playoff Time] - aside from a few changes over the past year.


Thinking Bull City Pigskin and the Playoffs

Hillside continued its dominance within the Bull City and PAC-6 in general with a convincing 36-7 victory over cross-town rival Jordan.  The Hornets still have three conference games to go with their regular season finale against Northern Durham potentially shaping up to be for the conference crown.  The Hornets sit at 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference and would appear to be in a strong position to nab one of the top three slots, unless what most would consider a huge upset here or there were to occur.  Assuming a complete collapse were to occur, the Hornets would finish at 6-4 and 3-3 (0.500) in conference.  With only ten games on the schedule, they'll retain their full record from the reporting perspective and if they had to go in as an at-large would be in a solid position with six reportable wins and the 0.500 conference winning percentage.  These final three games will be about playoff positioning and Bull City Pride.

Multiple Endowments, Oh My!

PHOTO BY LIZ CONDO - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

The following is an addendum to our post from yesterday entitled 'When Does 4 Wins Not Equal 4 Wins?' [Link to previous story].  Suggest you read that post prior to delving into the additional information below.

In further discussions since the original story was posted I was made aware (and went back to read the handbook a few more times) that in fact teams can actually have more than one endowment game (assuming NCHSAA approval)!  The key here is that any team can only have a total of 11 games in the season (there are only 11 weeks of playable dates).  If you play an 11 game schedule, you must have one of those games as an endowment.  If you play a 10 game schedule you can still have an endowment game.  So here are some additional points.  According to the NCHSAA football handbook, you must report a 10 game schedule at the end of the year.  So, if you are a team that has played only 10 games without an endowment, easy, you report that entire record, no games are dropped.  If you played a 10 game schedule and one of those games was an endowment, then you also keep that 10 game record. You don't drop the endowment in this case.  Or at least that is what it appears the handbook is saying.  It does not explicitly say this, rather the exact quote is as follows:

"Each school will only report a record indicating a total of 10 games and must drop the designated non-conference endowment game, provided they played an 11th game (endowment)."  NCHSAA handbook - section on football, page 53. [Link to NCHSAA Football Handbook Section]

As I read that, it looks to be saying what I wrote above for teams that played a 10 game schedule and also had one of those games listed as an endowment game.  You keep all of your games, the dropping of the game only occurs when you've played 11 total games and of course in that situation, one of them would have been an endowment.

Now, if you played an 11 game schedule and one of those games was an endowment.  You drop that game, the endowment game, again getting you down to a 10 game reportable schedule.

Where it may get a bit more interesting is that you can potentially play 'two' or more endowment games.  But, you had to designate prior to the season beginning which of those 'multiple' endowment games you chose to drop, win or lose.  This gets even more interesting due to at least one example that I've unearthed.  Jordan, Wake Forest-Rolesville and Panther Creek.  According to both the Jordan athletic sports calendar [Link to calendar posting] and Wake Forest-Rolesville athletic sports calender [Link to calendar posting], their contest that opened the season was an endowment game.  Not a big deal you say.  Sure, means that both teams drop that game.  Jordan gets rid of one of their losses, WFR has to give up a win (although that is tough on their end as it would have been nice to give up that East Wake loss instead, which would of been how it worked given last year's rules).  But, enter Panther Creek.  According to the article run by J. Mike Blake in the Cary News on Wednesday, 10/5/2011 [Link to article], it is reported that Panther Creek will play an endowment against Jordan, later this month.  Interesting or maybe not.  So, could the Jordan at Panther Creek game be an endowment, but simply not be the endowment designated by Jordan, but was designated by Panther Creek?  That's what it appears to be, at least based on all of the information.  And, it's important to note that as the NCHSAA handbook reads, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with this situation - perfectly fine in fact.  Still, you can see how a very complex system is simply getting more complex and I can't help but think that this may lead to just a bit more confusion come Selection Saturday.  If everything runs smoothly, kudos to the NCHSAA and athletic directors and coaching staffs across North Carolina for being tuned into these new changes!

Photographs courtesy of newsobserver.com (The News & Observer)

Calling All Aspiring or Established Sports Photogs

Courtesy Don Callahan

The DFBFan can use your help and in the process we'll give you a visible outlet to present your work on BCF4S!  I've never considered myself to be solid at photography.  Instead, I'm just one of the majority that finds myself looking at what the folks with the 'eye' and skills produce in the moment with their cameras and simply marvel.  Since we began the blog heading into the 2010 prep football season we've been especially grateful to a number of outlets and individuals that have been incredibly generous in allowing BCF4S to use their work as an impacting visual complement to the posts we've written.  Words can only say so much and I'm smart enough to know that a great picture can mean so much more.

Throughout last season we were fortunate to have the resources of the News & Observer prep sports photographic contingent on board, and as we did last season, we'd like to extend our thanks once again to those that provided us with that incredible opportunity.  In a few words, their work is incredible!  The photographs that many of us see on that Saturday morning after Friday Night Lights in the morning edition, accompanied with many more incredible shots on-line, are some of the best you'll find and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to provide another outlet to highlight the hard work of the staff.  For those that may not be aware of the vast on-line repository that the N&O has at their website, follow the link that follows to start looking at some of their most recent work [Link to Recent Millbrook Official Practice Photographs].  You'll notice that any of the photographs you see can be purchased - so be sure to check the N&O's site out each new week as there is a great chance you'll find that incredible shot that would be great on the wall or desk.

We've also been blessed to have the opportunity to utilize photographs from Don Callahan.  Recently, especially in our Beast of the Hill articles [Article One, Article Two], you've seen a number of incredible shots of members from the PAC-6 and the visual impact has been impressive in adding to the content we've tried to provide to our readership.  We look forward to our continued relationship with Don and hope that you will enjoy these photographs as much as we do when we are putting together our posts.

Earlier this summer we also had the opportunity to work with Dallas Jackson of Rivals.com and Marques Burnett of iHigh.com and both provided us the opportunity to use some of their photographs of both Hillside and Southern Durham at the Byrnes passing tournament.  As more teams from the local area engage in regional and national events I'm sure that both Dallas and Marques will cross paths with our local prep student-athletes and we'll look forward to working with them to bring that visual element to the local fans and supporters back here in North Carolina.

Finally, we'd like to thank some local individuals including Jeff Clark over at Jordan High School for providing us with a few photographs from their recent Holt Foundation Passing Tournament Championship.

As much as we deeply appreciate the opportunity that each of these sources provided over this past year and in some cases will continue to provide, we find ourselves moving into the 2011 prep season with the prospect that our resources overall will be much fewer than what we had this time last year.  It is at this crossroads that we call on any aspiring or perhaps established sports photographers for your support.  Whether it's a hobby or something that is financially your cornerstone, we could use your help!  If you would be interested in allowing BCF4S to use your work in association with the various stories we create throughout the year, then feel free to contact the DFBFan at durhamfbfan@gmail.com for additional information.

Again, thanks to all those that helped in the past and a special thanks to those that are continuing to help the blog into the future!  It is greatly appreciated!

Hillside Takes Six Slots in HSOT Pre-season All-OT

Courtesy Don Callahan

The Hillside Hornets may have lost a number of players off of the 2010 4A State Championship squad, but judging from HighSchoolOT.com's pre-season All-OT team [Link to HSOT article] it's safe to say that the reigning PAC-6 champs are simply reloading as opposed to rebuilding.  The Hornets snagged four first-team selections, the most of any area team.  The PAC-6 picked up two additional selections for a total of six out of thirty-two first team selections.  Six additional PAC-6 athletes made the second-team, with an additional six making honorable mention.

Highlighting the All-OT team from Hillside is the Defensive Player of the Year in defensive end and linebacker Jamal Marcus.  Marcus was a dominate force last season on one of the more formidable defenses in the state and has excelled throughout the off-season at a number of college camps and combine events.  Joining Marcus on the first-team are returning starter Casey Perry (offensive line) and dynamic running back Khris Francis (athlete) and one of the top returning corners in the area in Aaron Krah (defensive back).  Only Person and Jordan nabbed first-team selections in addition to the Hornets, in the form of returning starter and highly touted offensive lineman Casey Lawson (Person) and safety/wide receiver Phil Williamson from Jordan.

Southern Durham, a potential favorite this season to knock the Hornets off of the top spot, picked up three second-team selections.  All three returners are expected to lead the Spartans in their 2011 march, including two that played big roles offensively for Southern a year ago.  Wide receiver Darren Bullock and running back Akeem Judd (athlete selection) as well as defensive lineman Micah Martin secured selections on the second team.  Both Jordan and Person picked up two additional selections on the second team.  Jeff Clark, wide receiver from Jordan, will be one of the many offensive weapons the Falcons will put forth this season, while offensive lineman Spencer Carroll from Person will team up with first team selection Casey Lawson to help Coach Lou Geary in his second year as head coach in Roxboro.  Lee Williams, linebacker from Hillside, rounds out the second-team selections from the PAC-6.

Courtesy Don Callahan

Six players were selected for honorable mention from the conference.  Returning dual-threat quarterback Dorian Belcher from Southern Durham and Drew Davis, quarterback from East Chapel Hill were two of three quarterbacks selected for honorable mention.  Joining Davis from East Chapel Hill were two additional Wildcats, offensive lineman William Heine and wide receiver Alex Moore.  Another defensive back from Hillside, Keenan Stalls was selected as well as Riverside wide receiver Khourtne Whitted.  The only school in the conference to not receive any selections on the pre-season team was Northern Durham.

Breakdown of HSOT Pre-Season All-OT PAC-6 selections by school:

Hillside - 6 overall selections (4 - 1st; 1 - 2nd; 1 - HM)
Southern - 4 overall selections (3 - 2nd; 1 - HM)
East Chapel Hill - 3 overall selections (3 - HM)
Jordan - 2 overall selections (1 - 1st; 1 - 2nd)
Person - 2 overall selections (1 - 1st; 1 - 2nd)
Riverside - 1 overall selection (1 - HM)

Are You Ready 4 Some Football? 2011 Style

Courtesy Don Callahan

We are less than 24 hours away from the official start of the 2011 high school football season in North Carolina and local schools are gearing up for the push towards that first day of full-contact, quickly followed by scrimmages and before we all know it - the first Football Friday on August 19th.

Schools in the area have been hard at work throughout the summer in non-mandatory summer workouts and competing in a number of passing leagues [Hillside, Jordan, Southern Durham, Northern Durham, Person, East Chapel Hill, Wakefield, Leesville Road] in an effort to be ahead of the curve when midnight strikes this evening and the NCHSAA officially allows schools to begin the process of official practice.

Some schools, including Northern Durham and Riverside will take to the field literally at midnight.  The Knights have coined their start to 2011 under returning head coach Gary Merrill - MidKnight Madness.  According to their school athletic website for football, they'll get underway at Northern at 12:00 AM on Saturday (7/30/2011).  As for the Pirates, another PAC-6 school under new leadership, they'll have a cook-out on Friday evening and then hit the turf in earnest at midnight. Riverside will be looking to rebound in 2011 under new head coach David Hackney, a Jordan graduate that led the Falcons, years ago, as the starting quarterback [Pirates Suit-Up for Midnight Practice].

Southern Durham and Hillside are slated to start the season on Saturday, July 30th, with the Spartans beating the heat with an early morning practice according to their football-centric site.  Person will also begin the season on Saturday morning with an 8-11 AM practice [Person Athletic Site].  The Jordan Falcons will also try to beat the heat with a morning practice on Saturday beginning at 8 AM [Jordan Practice Announcement].

HighSchoolOT.com will be holding their pre-season get-together [Link to article on this event] with area head coaches and players from local schools later today to discuss what the site, WRAL and 99.9 The Fan and 620 The Buzz will be doing this upcoming 2011 season to support the Football Friday scene.  Representatives from each of these entities will be in attendance to give a break-down of what to look forward to this season.  Of course you can find all of the information about this event and any news that breaks at the event at HighSchoolOT.com.

PAC-6 Fields Five Squads in Beast of the Hill Tourney: Focus on Falcons

Courtesy Don Callahan

If you are interested in PAC-6 football, then this past Friday, the 4th Annual Beast of the Hill 7-on-7 tourney at the University of North Carolina was the place to be in attendance.  Five of the seven current members of the PAC-6 conference were participating, including Hillside, Person, Northern Durham, Jordan and East Chapel Hill. In an earlier post we discussed Hillside and their eventual run to the championship [Hillside and Wakefield Highlight UNC Beast of the Hill Tourney].  I was fortunate enough to get out in the 100 degree heat and take in most of the day and got to see a lot of squads in action including all five of the PAC-6 teams.  As I mentioned in the earlier post I was most impressed with the Hornets, but if you are fan of the PAC-6 or football in the area, then the prospect of some exciting football should make all fans excited to get the 2011 season underway.

The tournament was organized with four pods of six teams each and allowed for five games during the round-robin to establish a first and second place finisher.  The top teams from each pod were then moved to the elimination round in a four team championship.  The four second place finishers were placed in a lower level championship round to establish a second tier (lower flight) champion.  Both Hillside and East Chapel Hill moved through their pods undefeated, while Jordan tallied a 3-2 mark and both Northern Durham and Person finished at 1-4.  East Chapel Hill fell in the semifinals to Wakefield, while Jordan lost out on the chance to make either elimination bracket with a final round robin overtime loss to Hermitage High School out of Richmond, VA.  Both Northern and Person ended up near the bottom of their respective pods, but there were positives from both squads.

Jordan brought two squads to the event, an 'A' team and 'B' team comprised primarily of underclassmen and jayvee players.  The 'A' team was in a pod with eventual pod champ Hermitage (Richmond, VA), Leesville Road,  Great Bridge (Chesapeake, VA) and Northern Nash.  West Mecklenburg was also in the pod, but pulled out and provided each of the remaining five teams with a forfeit win.  The Falcons ended up 2-2 against the teams in attendance and 3-2 with the forfeit win against West Meck.  They opened up the tourney with an early morning loss to eventual lower level champ Leesville Road, 18-0 and followed it up with a 20-14 win over Great Bridge.  Prior to lunch they picked up another win against Northern Nash, 18-6, before falling in overtime to Hermitage in the final round robin game of the day.  The Falcons had a tough draw, with Leesville ending up with just one loss on the day to Hermitage in round-robin play and Hermitage going undefeated in round-robin play to eventually bow out in the semis of the championship tourney to an undefeated Hillside squad.

Falcons Soaring in Summer Events as They Prep for 2011

Courtesy J.Clark

The offseason has gradually changed over the years from a time once consumed with building the strength of the program through consistent strength work to a multi-tiered and organized season unto itself. Augmenting a typically intense strength program are extensive conditioning sessions, agility and speed work, and focused skill-development that in many cases is periodically tested throughout the summer at passing league events.  In years past, these events were primarily of the 'friendly' variety where events were held at a local school and a number of programs would convene and work what they had installed with coaches on the field and copious amounts of time allowed between reps in order to coach-up their team.  Over the past five to ten years, more 'competitive' 7-on-7's have hit the scene and it is not unusual to see schools mix up their passing league schedule with a number of the more coachable events with one or two tournament-centric events.  Although both types of event have their positives, the latter of these two events is a great way to strengthen what has been installed during the summer, while adding a bit more 'game-like' pressure and feel in a more Friday Night Lights type environment.

Throughout this summer the Jordan Falcons have been a great example of one of our area teams that has taken part in a number of passing league events, spanning both genres.  The Falcons, coming off a 7-5 campaign in 2010 where they pushed one of the top teams from Fayetteville to the brink in the first round of the playoffs, are looking to gain momentum from the performance they put forth against 71st and transfer it to the upcoming 2011 season.  The continued maturation of the 2011 Falcons has been evident in how they've worked as a cohesive unit this summer in their passing leagues.  The Falcons have participated in a number of events at local high schools, including Carrboro High and Northern Vance, as well as travelling to Greensboro for the Holt Brothers Foundation 7-on-7 and more recently the 4th Annual UNC Beast of the Hill competition.  Reports from all of the events have been positive for the Falcons as they work to adjust in many ways to the loss of an extensive senior class that was highlighted by current Tarheel, T.J. Thorpe.

One of the more impressive showings by the Falcons came just about a month ago when they participated with a number of Triad teams in Torry and Terrence Holt's Annual 7-on-7 Tournament.  More details on the Holt Foundation and associated camp and tournament can be found in a previous article [Falcons Invade Holt Brothers 7-on-7].  The Falcons, after going 4-0-1 at the Carrboro event just prior to the Holt Tourney turned in a solid performance from all accounts in posting an undefeated record and capturing the championship.  The Falcons picked up wins against George Washington Danville High School (Virginia), Greensboro Page, Eastern Guilford, Southern Alamance and Burlington Cummings.

After the event I was able to catch up with two of the rising seniors for the Falcons, Jeff Clark and Nick Drew.  Clark will be one of the wide receivers stepping into a more prominent role offensively with the departure of Thorpe, while Drew will be looking to lock-down half of the field as one of the cornerbacks on the Falcons roster.

PAC-6 Order: Summer Style

Courtesy Marques Burnett/iHigh.com

There is no doubt that football fever is taking hold here in the Carolina's and I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready for things to get rolling!  So many story lines are present as we head into the 2011 campaign after the huge success of the 2010 Hornets and a strong conference and playoff push by the Spartans.  The biggest question being asked here in Durham is who will take the PAC-6 crown this season and which team may be the unexpected bunch to put in a strong push to be the 'Northern Durham' of 2011.

I'm not going to go into great detail in this posting, but I thought I'd put out a list of how I think this upcoming season may go from a conference perspective.  This list is based on taking a number of factors and pretty much throwing them into a big pot and giving you my gut feeling as we head into the summer.  Some things I felt pertinent to consider as I thought about this list included:  what I learned from last season, how teams were playing as the season progressed, who will be returning and what I know about the teams in a general sense, and what I know about the coaching staffs.

With that, I'll give you the list - but before I do that, feel free to post your comments after the story as I look forward to hearing what folks think about this upcoming 2011 season in the Bull City!

PAC-6 Conference Order:  Summer Style

1. Hillside Hornets - This is close between the Hornets and Spartans, but at the moment, I'll have to go with the team that downright dominated Durham a year ago - and yes, in many ways, that Hornet/Spartan affair wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated a year ago!  Check out a recent article on the 2011 Hornets

2. Southern Durham Spartans - This is the team that should make the move this year and if the Hornets play sloppy ball as they did a year ago against the Spartans - look for Southern to take the game and take it handily.  Check out a recent article on the 2011 Spartans

3. Person Rockets - What - Person?  Ya, you betcha!  The Rockets were a team on the move as the season progressed and I'll be honest I think Coach Geary has a solid chance to move that program to the next level.

4. Northern Durham Knights - I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled by the whole coaching change thing on Milton Road, but you can't deny the fact that they brought in one incredible 'replacement'!  Coach Merrill knows how to win football games and there is no doubt that when it comes to the in-game chess match he'll compete and compete at a high level.  There are a lot of questions in how the players will respond to the brand of football Coach Merrill has been successful with in the past - if you aren't familiar, it's a lot different then the finesse and spread you out ball you saw the last few years.  With those questions in hand, I see the Knights dropping a spot from a season ago, but to be honest, there isn't a thing wrong with that when you look at the high level of football being fielded in Durham of late.

5. Jordan Falcons - Honestly, with the loss of one of the best football players to ever step foot in Durham, in T.J. Thorpe (UNC), I find it difficult to see the Falcons do much better than a year ago.  They picked up three conference wins a year ago and with Person moving up and with Coach Merrill having Coach Briggs number (he hasn't lost to Coach Briggs) as well as a number of other items - I see the Falcons finding themselves middle of the pack yet again.

6. East Chapel Hill Wildcats - I see a lot of similarities between this Wildcat team and the Rockets.  They have a coach that understands offensive football and have a system that can put up points.  They also have a quarterback that has a year under his belt in a system that relies heavily on that individual making solid decisions.  Add to that the fact that through my 'aka grapevine' I've heard about some more athletes from other sports believing that playing in this type of system can be fun and thus - coming out.  Put those elements together and I think you have a team that can get a win in conference and quite possibly might be able to get one or two more.

7.  Riverside Pirates - There is no doubt that Coach Hackney will bring a solid level of excitement to the Pirate Nation, but the reality is that after years of being beaten down I find it tough to believe that they'll make a huge rebound in year one.  I personally think that as time progresses, there will be more wins on the gridiron for the Pirates and much of that will be as a result of battles won in the off-season.

There you have it - if you like what you see or not - make sure to comment and give it a +1 - As always, thanks for stopping by BCF4S - Greatly Appreciated!!

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