Saturday morning thoughts, 10/16/10

TAKE 'EM ONE AT A TIME



Sure Napoleon had lost to Lima Senior in double overtime last week 27-20. Sure, the Wildcats may have been ranked higher in the AP poll than some of us thought they deserved to be if that antiquated poll holds any water anymore anyway.



But it's still Napoleon.



Yearly in the preseason we read and hear that the Wildcats numbers are down. We hear that they lost a lot from the previous season. We hear that Napoleon won't be as good as they were in seasons past. Some folks fall for that kind of talk.



But it's still Napoleon.



Last night our Little Giants faced the same kind of Napoloeon team we face year in and year out. Well coached, well disciplined, hard nosed kids who come out and play hard, every play, every down. They don't get down if they fall behind because they know they will be in the game at the end. And that's where they were last night.



But at the end those hard-nosed, disciplined kids ran into a Fremont Ross football team that refused to give in. The Little Giant offense struck first in an easy drive to take a 7-0 lead. But the Wildcats refused to be rattled and battled back to tie the score at 7-7.



That's when another hard nosed group of young men took over and refused to lose. That group was the Ross defense. Ross stopped Napoleon in the Ross red zone and led by a Drew Starks pick six, the D gave the Little Giants a 14-7 halftime lead.



In the second half the Ross defense was on the field more than they should have been but held the Wildcats on all but one drive. The 'Cats used that drive to tie the score and force the game into OT. At that point our kids looked tired. Could they stop Napoleon in OT?



Ross got the ball first and sputtered a bit before Wolf hit Drew Starks with a 20 yard pass to the Napoleon 5. Two plays later Tylor Trautwein bulled his way in to put Ross up 20-14. Gabe Tayar hit the PAT and it was 21-14 Ross.



Apparently that three plus minute rest the Little Giant defense had between the end of regulation and taking the field after the score was all that was needed. A pumped up defensive unit hit the field and stymied Napoleon forcing them into a 4th and 9 situation from the 19. Once again, Starks was there to bat down a pass ending the game.



The Little Giants are now 3-0 in the final season of the Greater Buckeye Conference and 7-1 overall. It's all out there for this team and it's fans. A GBC title, and a playoff berth. But we cannot, we must not look beyond Lima Senior. The Spartans are a much better team than their record indicates. Remember this. Lima has never beaten Fremont Ross in football.....ever. Coach Darnell Collins will have his kids ready next Friday night. The Little Giants and their fans must be ready too. No looking ahead, no big heads.



TAKE 'EM ONE AT A TIME.