ILWACO FOLDS FOOTBALL TENT THIS WEEK
Tonight's Ilwaco home football game against Kalama has been cancelled and the Chinooks will be credited with a forfeit victory, according to Ilwaco High School athletic director Nathan Plummer.
Ilwaco is coming off one its worst football losses ever, a 75-6 assault at Castle Rock, that has aroused the ire of fans in both communities. Strangely enough, Ilwaco was not alone last Friday night as there were a number of blowout games with point totals and margins of defeat topping 60 points on both sides of the river.
The Fishermen had a total varsity turnout of 36 players (including all freshmen) to begin the season after a few weeks were able to add three more. However, with accumulated injuries, including the loss of star running back Eddie Knick to a hip pointer last week, along with the usual academic and discipline suspensions and various illnesses, Ilwaco is missing a total of 15 starting positions. Only three seniors are healthy enough to play, a couple of starters who are able to play are nursing injuries and the remainder are inexperienced, physically underdeveloped sophomores and freshmen.
For safety reasons, Ilwaco High School's football staff and administration decided to cancel both the J.V. and varsity football games against Kalama, a team currently ranked #2 in Washington at the 1A level that beat Castle Rock earlier this season and defeated Toledo 88-0
Now, back to last week's debacle at Castle Rock. Yes, C.R. is about that much better than Ilwaco and Kalama is probably 88 points better than Toledo and there are many mismatches during the course of a high school season where one team could easily beat another by seventy points or more if they tried. But, what are you trying to prove after taking a 49-0 lead at halftime, Castle Rock? Many observers were put out that Castle Rock came out with their starters on the field and threw a pass on the first play for a touchdown. I will let them off the hook for that one, although if it were me, I would have my top guys, all-league guys, on the sideline to start the second half. After that score, it should have been second string and J.V.'s for the remainder of the contest, maybe leave a skill starter out there that hadn't had a chance to score.
And I don't care what kind of offense you run, you don't continue to spread the field and throw the ball. Even Mouse Davis has a goal line and short yardage package. Work on that. Run your vanilla offense and work on basic techniques. If you have the reserves on the field, throw the ball only on obvious passing downs, third and long. Do not go for it on fourth down under any circumstances.
You do not lay down for any opponent, ever! If you continue to dominate, so be it. The other team is accountable for it's inability to compete. But, there are proper ways to handle a mismatch like this. I wasn't there to witness this game, but judging by the outcry, it was a poor display of sportsmanship on the part of Castle Rock and their coach should be reprimanded, at least by his A.D. and principal and probably by the district commissioner and the W.I.A.A.
I am the last one who is going to say that a team should lay down or show pity to it's opponent. The second and third stringers have every right to go on that field and play hard. Intentionally sandbagging a game to me is more insulting than running up the score. I am also not a proponent of mercy rules or running clocks. Coaches should be required to substitute at a certain point threshold (lead over 35 points in the second half or over 42 points in the first half) and should be limited in their play-calling. Required running plays on first downs and second and less than ten is appropriate. The ball should never be thrown more than twice the distance to the line to gain and punts should be required on any fourth down.
According to Plummer, three starters, including Knick, are expected to be able to return by next Friday's road game at Stevenson.
Play hard and play fair. See you at the game!
Ilwaco is coming off one its worst football losses ever, a 75-6 assault at Castle Rock, that has aroused the ire of fans in both communities. Strangely enough, Ilwaco was not alone last Friday night as there were a number of blowout games with point totals and margins of defeat topping 60 points on both sides of the river.
The Fishermen had a total varsity turnout of 36 players (including all freshmen) to begin the season after a few weeks were able to add three more. However, with accumulated injuries, including the loss of star running back Eddie Knick to a hip pointer last week, along with the usual academic and discipline suspensions and various illnesses, Ilwaco is missing a total of 15 starting positions. Only three seniors are healthy enough to play, a couple of starters who are able to play are nursing injuries and the remainder are inexperienced, physically underdeveloped sophomores and freshmen.
For safety reasons, Ilwaco High School's football staff and administration decided to cancel both the J.V. and varsity football games against Kalama, a team currently ranked #2 in Washington at the 1A level that beat Castle Rock earlier this season and defeated Toledo 88-0
Now, back to last week's debacle at Castle Rock. Yes, C.R. is about that much better than Ilwaco and Kalama is probably 88 points better than Toledo and there are many mismatches during the course of a high school season where one team could easily beat another by seventy points or more if they tried. But, what are you trying to prove after taking a 49-0 lead at halftime, Castle Rock? Many observers were put out that Castle Rock came out with their starters on the field and threw a pass on the first play for a touchdown. I will let them off the hook for that one, although if it were me, I would have my top guys, all-league guys, on the sideline to start the second half. After that score, it should have been second string and J.V.'s for the remainder of the contest, maybe leave a skill starter out there that hadn't had a chance to score.
And I don't care what kind of offense you run, you don't continue to spread the field and throw the ball. Even Mouse Davis has a goal line and short yardage package. Work on that. Run your vanilla offense and work on basic techniques. If you have the reserves on the field, throw the ball only on obvious passing downs, third and long. Do not go for it on fourth down under any circumstances.
You do not lay down for any opponent, ever! If you continue to dominate, so be it. The other team is accountable for it's inability to compete. But, there are proper ways to handle a mismatch like this. I wasn't there to witness this game, but judging by the outcry, it was a poor display of sportsmanship on the part of Castle Rock and their coach should be reprimanded, at least by his A.D. and principal and probably by the district commissioner and the W.I.A.A.
I am the last one who is going to say that a team should lay down or show pity to it's opponent. The second and third stringers have every right to go on that field and play hard. Intentionally sandbagging a game to me is more insulting than running up the score. I am also not a proponent of mercy rules or running clocks. Coaches should be required to substitute at a certain point threshold (lead over 35 points in the second half or over 42 points in the first half) and should be limited in their play-calling. Required running plays on first downs and second and less than ten is appropriate. The ball should never be thrown more than twice the distance to the line to gain and punts should be required on any fourth down.
According to Plummer, three starters, including Knick, are expected to be able to return by next Friday's road game at Stevenson.
Play hard and play fair. See you at the game!
posted by Matt Richert at 2:13 PM
3 Comments:
I know for a fact that C.R. did not play their backup quarterback until the last 4 minutes of the final quarter. Strange indeed.
Strange? Don't pull any punches there, Anonymous. It's an outrage. There are plenty of people upset in Castle Rock as well as the Peninsula. How can Coach King justify this to the parents of the backup QB's? The Rock has a pretty good reputation and this bush league behavior is atypical. I know their A.D. Henry Karnofski is a good man and I trust this situation was addressed appropriately. I really believe that the individual districts or the state association should lay down some guidelines and be able to issue penalties in the future. Ending games early or running the clock only costs the kids the playing time they practice hard to get. If I were the parent of a kid who practiced his ass off and stood on the sideline in a driving rainstorm and didn't get to go into the game in a blowout, I'd be furious (remember Regis v. Warrenton last year?). Make sure that everyone understands how to appropriately manage a game in these situations and if necessary, spell it out.
I'm a former Kalama Chinook (now living in Ellensburg) who came to this site while searching for just why the game KHS/IHS game was canceled. Thank you for the info. I won't comment about the CR game since I wasn't there, but I would like to wish the Fisherman the best in the future and hope that this string of injuries has come to an end.
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