Point/Counterpoint - Cypress Bay vs. Miramar

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Point/Counterpoint.

Instead of hearing from me (which you do enough of anyways), I brought in 2 student journalists to state their case for why each team, Cypress Bay or Miramar, will win Friday’s key game in District 12-8A. I left their arguments in their original form, so that the passion was not lost by my editing.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the arguments.

Why Cypress Bay will win

by Jake Marsh

            Cypress Bay vs. Miramar. A rivalry in district 12-8A that has plenty of its own history. This Friday, a new chapter will be written at Miramar’s own gridiron, as the Lightning and Patriots will clash yet again.

            At the end of the day, I think the final result will have to strongly deal with who overhauls in the matchup between the Lightning’s offense in its effort to take down four-star linebacker Jermaine Grace. With the way Cypress Bay running back Matt Dayes has been playing lately, (averaging 5.8 yards per carry) I believe he has the physical ability and confidence to run over Grace and the Patriots’ defensive line. The Lightning’s offense line, led by center Jason Rae, will be able to refrain Grace from attacking quarterback Jaranta Lewis into as much pressure as he can get. However, Lewis MUST step it up and have a huge game. This is a statement game for the Lightning. It could decide whether or not they have the ability to become legitimate contenders for both a district and state championship. Lewis hasn’t totally been on top of his game lately, and that’s why I think he is due for a big one this Friday. We all know that his favorite target is Alex Montgomery, a 6’1’’ receiver headed to Wake Forest in the fall. This will be the game where both of them break out and the primary reason that Cypress Bay will prevail victorious.

            On the other side of the ball, linebacker Nico Marley along with the rest of the Lightning defense will have interrupt the consistency of the Patriots’ offense. Unlike Cypress Bay’s run-heavy offense with Dayes and Josh Kaiser, Miramar head coach Damon Cogdell seems to balance it out either on the ground or in the air with quarterback Nick Jeanty. Marley and the rest of the defense will be able to stop the rushing attack of both Alex Lee and Cameron Rigby, who each have three rushing touchdowns on the year. Senior cornerback Boaz Joseph will hold Patriots wide receiver Sean Avant from having a monumental game. Joseph, who is being looked at by 20+ schools, definitely has the ability to shut down Avant, Geonte Smith, and the rest of the Miramar receiving core.

            Both the Patriots (2-2, 1-0) and the Lightning (3-1, 1-0) have similar offensive numbers as a whole. Between the two teams, there is only a two point difference in total points scored through four games. In the end, Cypress Bay and head coach Mark Guandolo will get its revenge on the team that beat them twice and eliminated them just a year ago. It will be a total team effort, and players on both side of the ball will equally contribute to the victory.

FINAL SCORE: Cypress Bay 26, Miramar 24

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Jake Marsh is a Junior at Cypress Bay, and is one of the students who runs the Cypress Bay Athletics Twitter account (@CB_Athletics). You can follow Jake there, or at his personal Twitter, @JakeMarsh18.

Why Miramar will win
By Nash Williams

          In no disrespect to Cypress Bay or their opponents, Cypress Bay has played only one "quality" opponent this year. That of course being St. Thomas Aquinas. In that game the Lightning had lots of trouble getting their offense rolling. How will the famed Darkside defense of Miramar match up. To get a better understanding we'll do a position by position breakdown.

          The defensive line HAS to get to Cypress Bay QB Jaranta Lewis. Lewis is a dual-threat QB who can make plays with his legs, already totaling for 178 rushing yards and 4 rushing TD's. If he is hurried the passing game slowly starts to shut down making the offense more one-dimensional.

          If the passing game is shut down then the Lighting may have to rely on North Carolina State commit and starting RB Matt Dayes. Miramar star LB Jermaine "Country" Grace and defensive beast Ryan Samuels, who are known for their sideline to sideline ability,  have combined for 57 tackles on the year will be key in helping shutdown the running attack.

        The playmakers of the Miramar secondary, the G-Unit (Andre Godfrey and D'Kambui Greaves) have been ball hawking this season. I think Miramar Coach Damon Cogdell will make the right calls to stop the talented Cypress Bay WR Alex Montgomery who has racked up 338 receiving yards on the season.

        But In my opinion the offense is what will lead to Miramar to a victory Friday night. The Miramar Patriots have a rushing attack like none other in Broward. They have accumulated 745 yards on the ground. They even gained 194 rushing yards against one of the top defenses in the country the Manatee Hurricanes.

       I've seen the Cypress Bay defense in action this season. The defensive line has some questions. So coach Cogdell will look for his offensive line to open up some big holes. But once you get past the front four the defense is stout. The linebackers and secondary are all athletic. When Miramar is running the ball they average 5.5 yards a rush, getting chunks of yards at a time. With the weak defensive line of Cypress Bay I think that sort of success will continue.

      But when it comes to the little things, statistically Miramar has the advantage. By little things I mean the penalties. When I saw Cypress Bay play Deerfield Beach in Week 1 I watched them claw to a 29-6 victory. They could have won that game by a much larger margin had they stopped bad mistakes, late hits, holding, block in the back. Things that are unnecessary.  Miramar has 27 penalties compared to Cypress Bay's 30.

    With all of these components I think Miramar has the recipe for success, and I predict the Patriots will come away with a 28-24 victory.
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Nash Williams is a Freshman at Zion Lutheran School, and a contributor to a variety of Sports Websites. You can follow him on Twitter @Nashwilliams1.


Special thanks to Jake Marsh and Nash Williams for being our guest contributors this week.

Those are THEIR thoughts. 

What are yours?


Until Next Time,


Jake Marsh, Cypress Bay Athletics
Nash Williams, Freelance Contributor


Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

Game Preview - vs. Cypress Bay

District play continues this week, as the Football season hits its halfway point. Teams are starting to find their identity, and build their resumes for the playoffs. Also, as the season continues, Rivalry Games will be coming pretty frequently now.

And for the first major Rivalry Game in District 12-8A, I present to you the teams who have won this District (or any District they’ve been members of) for the past 6 years. Two teams who have a long history of fierce competition in many sports, but most of all Football.

Cypress Bay.

Miramar.

Only one can win. Let’s look at the teams:

Cypress Bay Lightning (3-1, 1-0 District 128A)

Cypress Bay has always been a tough team to play. Led by Coach Mark Guandolo, a veteran whose teams won multiple State Championships when he was at Chaminade-Madonna, the Lightning are a tough, disciplined, and opportunistic team who can present problems for their opponent in all 3 phases (Offense, Defense, Special Teams) of the game.

This year, Coach Guandolo got rid of the only offensive attack he’s ever used: the Wing-T, and replaced it with a hybrid I-Formation/Spread offense.  This has opened up the field for the Cypress Bay skill position players, and made the game a little more interesting for players and fans alike.

The offense is led by Senior QB Jaranta Lewis. Lewis, a 3 year starter, has pressured defenses for years with his dual threat (running and passing) abilities. Lewis has had a strong start to the year, but the passing game took a step backwards last week vs. Flanagan. Cypress Bay could only muster 59 yards passing on the night, and looked out of sync. Lewis will need a big game throwing the ball for the Lightning to be successful.

Lewis’ #1 target is Senior WR Alex Montgomery. Already committed to Wake Forest, Montgomery  is a large target (6’2”, 208lbs) who has become the headliner at receiver for Cypress Bay. His numbers are already impressive, with 12 catches for 338yards (28.2 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns. He is one of the top skill position players in the District, and his production will be integral to the success that the offense will be able to enjoy.

The third leg of the triangle that is the Cypress Bay offense is Senior RB Matt Dayes. Another 3 year starter (along with Lewis and Montgomery), Dayes looks to add to his impressive resume at the expense of the Patriot defense. Dayes’ numbers are also impressive through 4 games (376 yards, 4 td), and that production on the ground has been the centerpiece of the efficient and effective Cypress Bay offense.

Complimenting Dayes is Senior RB Josh Kaiser, who seems to have a penchant for scoring long touchdowns. Last year, I remember reading recaps of games seeing Kaiser as having scored from 70+ yards multiple times. Already this year, he’s scored long touchdowns against St. Thomas Aquinas and South Broward. He doesn’t get many touches, but don’t let that fool you. Kaiser is a player. Watch out for him.

The offensive line is one of the best units in the State. Led by Senior C Jason Rae, the Lightning look to create lanes for their skill players to succeed in space.  The offense around them may have changed, but the offensive line, and their hard nosed mentality, remain the same.

The Defense is stingy, and full of solid players. WR Alex Montgomery pulls double duty as the starting Free Safety, and RB Maquese Dudley-Gordon is another 2-way star. Linebacker Nico Marley, grandson of Reggae music legend Bob, and CB Boaz Joseph are Division 1 recruits with multiple offers. The Defensive Line is largely unproven, and will face the uneviable task of containing the potent Miramar running game.

The defense is allowing an average of 17.75 points per game, but that stat is slightly misleading. Apart from St. Thomas score 43 points against them, Cypress Bay has not allowed more than 12 points to any opponent this season. They will need to have another good night, playing fast and hitting hard, to stop the Patriots and emerge victorious.

Why Cypress Bay Might Win:

We’ll get to that later.

Miramar Patriots (2-2, 1-0 District 12-8A)

The Miramar Patriots got back in the win column last week, defeating West Broward 48-3. That game, our first in the District this year, featured a solid effort in all 3 phases of the game. For more reaction to that game, check my Game Recap here: http://miramarsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/2012-game-recap-4-west-broward.html

The Patriots still need to find a consistent rhythm and identity on offense. They are averaging 335.5 yards of total offense and 25.25 points per game. Lackluster scoring performances against Bradenton Manatee and Northeast were balanced against high scoring games against Ely and West Broward. Miramar will need to find a way to play like the latter games, not the former.

Leading the passing attack is Junior QB Nick Jeanty, who has completed 71.8% of his passes, for 559 yards, with 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Jeanty has been very effective completing short passes, and deadly in the screen game (3 of his 4 touchdowns have come on screens). I would still like to see him stretch the field vertically a bit more, but when you’re completing nearly 3 out of every 4 passes, you have to be pleased with that efficiency out of the QB.

The running attack is the heart and soul of the offense. Averaging 186.25 yards a game, and with 6 solid players who contribute, Miramar has shifted to a ground and pound team overnight, after years of spread football with 30+ passes a game. The coaching staff has made it a point to control the line of scrimmage and dominate the running game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Patriots eclipse 200 yards rushing in this game. This figures to be one of the focal points to the offensive gameplan.

The Lightning Squared backfield of Alex Lee and Cameron Rigby has combined for 488 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns through the first 4 games of the season. They are each adept at finding holes and using their speed and shake to leave linemen and linebackers grasping for air in the secondary. Both will need to bring their “A” games to Branca Stadium on Friday night.

Other players who figure to see time in the backfield for the Patriots are Juniors Khalil Lewis and Eric Pittman, Sophomore Alex Anderson, and Senior Malik Mapps as both the FB and single back.

The Receivers have done a good job so far this year, and many of them have contributed to the team’s success offensively. 11 different players have caught passes to this point of the season (although I don’t expect OT Damone Thompson to have any more catches this year). With a 10.14 yards per catch average, this group is nearly a guaranteed first down every time they get the ball. They, like their QB Jeanty, are looking for a breakout game.

Leading the 11 players who have caught a pass are Senior Sean Avant and Junior Geonte Smith. Also contributing to the passing attack are Tanares Robinson, Delano Whitehead, Khalil Webster and Kwasim West. With all that talent at receiver, it’s mildly surprising that 3 of the 4 touchdown catches have gone to running backs, with the Alexes (Anderson and Lee) and Cameron Rigby each having one.

The Darkside Defense has been one of the best in the State for years, and they look to build on their already impressive track record this season. They shut down Bradenton Manatee for the better part of 3 quarters, stifled Ely for most of the night, held Northeast to -17 yards of total offense, and outside of 2 Keenan Thompson runs from the Wildcat, completely shut down West Broward. This unit is full of playmakers, and they figure to bring their normal championship caliber effort .

Special teams, like offense, would like to have a strong game this week. There are many players who are fighting for playing time, and they might catch the eyes of their coaches with a solid play or 2 in the 3^rd phase of the game.

Lastly, no current Miramar player has EVER lost to Cypress Bay. Not on JV. Not on Varsity. I’m sure they don’t want the game on Friday to be their first experience tasting defeat at the hands of the Lightning. The whole team, to a man, will have to give his absolute best effort for the Patriots to extend the 6 game winning streak (including JV) against the rival Lightning.

Why Miramar might win:

Again, we’ll get to that later.

What to Watch for:

Cypress Bay

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Miramar

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Wondering where the “Why (insert team here) might win” section went? Well, I left that analysis up to 2 student journalists. One representing Cypress Bay, and one representing Miramar. For their analysis, and picks to win, check out the special feature “Point/Counterpoint” right here: http://miramarsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/pointcounterpoint-cypress-bay-vs-miramar.html

Until Next time,

Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

Alumni Report - 9/26

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means! It’s time for an update of how former Miramar High Patriots are doing at the next level!

West Virginia – Win over Maryland 31-21

QB Geno Smith – Completed 30 of 43 pass attempts for 338 yards and 3 TD, 6 carries for a gain of 8 and a loss of 24, sacked twice

WR Ivan McCartney – 1 catch for 5 yards

WR Stedman Bailey – 6 catches for 55 yards, 1 kickoff return for 17 yards; 72 total all-purpose yards

WR Terrance Gourdine – Did Not Play

RB D’Vontis Arnold – Did Not Play

WR Devonte Mathis – Did Not Play

Florida Atlantic – Lost to Alabama 40-7

DL Trevon Coley – 4 assisted tackles, 0.5 tackles for a loss of 1 yard

DB Anthony Hamilton – Did Not Play

University of Hawaii – Lost to Nevada 69-24

DB Marrell Jackson – 1 solo tackle and 1 assisted tackle

Morgan State – BYE WEEK

LB Stepehen Blissett

Florida State University – Win over Clemson 49-7

WR Rashad Gholston – Did Not Play

Syracuse University – Lost to Minnesota 17-10

CB Keondrick Lyn – 3 solo tackles

University of Massachusetts – Lost to Miami (OH) 27-16

OL Vincent Westcarr – No Stats Recorded

University of Central Florida – BYE WEEK

LB Mark Rucker

Utah State University – Win over Colorado State 31-19

CB Quinton Byrd – Did Not Play

Louisiana Tech – Win over Illinois 52-24

WR Ahmad Wallace – No Stats Recorded

University of South Florida – Lost to Ball State 31-27

DB Trevon Griffin – Did Not Play

Northern Illinois – Win over Kansas 30-26

LB Jamaal Bass – 1 solo tackle, 1 assisted tackle, 1.5 tackles for a loss of 2 yards

University of Minnesota – Win over Minnesota 17-10

S Steven Montgomery – No Stats Recorded

University of Miami (FL) – Win over Georgia Tech 42-36 (1 OT)

WR Malcolm Lewis – 1 catch for 12 yards

CB Tracy Howard, Jr. – No Stats Recorded

QB Ryan Williams – No Stats Recorded

Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Lost to California (PA) 26-24

WR Sean McVay – Did Not Play

Florida A&M – Win over Delaware State 24-22

LB/DE Derrick Conner – No Stats Were Available

Howard University – BYE WEEK

OL Kevin Gonzalez  

North Carolina Central – Win over Savannah State 45-33

OL Clevonne Davis – No Stats Recorded

New England Patriots – Lost to Baltimore Raves 31-30

DT Justin Francis – Not Active

If you know of any players that graduated from Miramar High that are still playing college football, please e-mail with their name and the college at georgeharvey225 [at] yahoo.com with the subject “The Alumni Report”.

Until Next Wednesday,

George “Sports Nut” Harvey

Miramar Sports

This Week in Miramar Sports - September 24th

Here is your weekly schedule for YOUR Miramar Sports

Monday, September 24th
Boys and Girls Cross Country vs South Plantation @ Heritage Park, 4pm
Girls Volleyball @ Everglades, 4:30pm

Tuesday and Wednesday, September 25th and 26th
No Games

Thursday, September 27th
Boys and Girls Swimming vs. Stranahan and South Broward @ Stranahan 4:30pm
JV Football vs. West Broward 6:30pm

Friday, September 28th
Varsity Football vs. Cypress Bay, 7:00pm

Have a great week, Patriots!

Until Next Time,


Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

2012 Game Recap #4 - @ West Broward

After an uneven start to the season, the Miramar Patriots got back on the winning side of things, defeating West Broward 48-3 in the first District game for both teams.

Without any further ado, let’s get to what happened

West Broward

It was clear from the start at the Bobcats were outmatched in this game. The team, buoyed with hope after Miramar’s loss to Northeast, came in with good intensity and hoped to pull off a major upset. Unfortunately for them, that would not happen on this night.

It was clear early on that West Broward just didn’t have the athletes to match up with the Patriots, and the hopes for a miracle upset were quickly dashed. Miramar sprinted out to a big halftime lead, and never looked back.

For the Bobcats, there were only a couple of players who stood out as positives for coach Chris Wagner. First of all, Senior WR/DB Keenan Thompson was clearly their best player. The 6’1” speedster wasn’t able to get the ball when he was split wide, so Wagner moved him to QB in a sort of Wildcat formation. It was here that Thompson found his success.

On his first snap at QB, Thompson found a seam on the right side of the offensive line, and raced down the sideline for a 68 yard gain. He showed vision, quickness, and speed, and would have scored if not for a great effort by Darren Wilcox to track him down. Thompson fumbled on the next play, and the one credible scoring chance went by the wayside for West Broward.

Junior K/P Anthony McGill was a busy man on this evening. He punted 8 times, and made a 25 yard field goal, which proved to be the only points the Bobcats would score. He has a decent leg, and very good technique. He should be proud of his effort from this game.

Senior QB Brandan Stedfelt did not have the game he hoped for. Completing less than 40% of his passes, Stedfelt was constantly harassed by the Miramar defense. He did display a decent arm on a couple downfield throws, but his accuracy (perhaps a result of the pressure he was facing) was less than stellar.

The West Broward defense played hard, but they could not stand up to the physicality, or speed, of the Patriots.

Overall, this team will have some hard times ahead as they continue to build towards being a competitive team in a very tough district and classification. Coach Wagner seems to have a plan, and hopefully he’ll have the time needed to continue the slow ascent to respectability.

Miramar

Miramar, looking to rebound after a tough loss at Northeast, came out with a vengeance, and left no doubt from the first snap of the game as to who the better team was.

The Patriots started out by going back to basics: running the ball with great success. The first 2 plays of the game were runs by Alex Lee that went for 21 and 48 yards, the second of which went for a touchdown. Lee would finish the game with 5 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown in just 1 half of work.

Adding in to the rushing attack were Cameron Rigby (20 yards and a TD), Eric Pittman (44 yards and a TD), Nick Jeanty (25 yards and a TD), Gernald Hawkins (14 yards and a TD), and Khalil Lewis (5 yards and a TD). All told, Miramar rushed 27 times for 196 yards (7.26 per carry) and 6 touchdowns.  Pretty efficient if you ask me.

The Quarterback play was solid complimenting the rushing attack. Nick Jeanty was 11/14 for 139 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions, and Gernald Hawkins was 2/3 for 35 yards. The overall numbers (combined QB efficiency rating of 181.86) were decent, but there is still room for improvement. The intermediate and vertical passing games are not fully polished yet, but they should continue to improve over time.

8 players caught passes on the night. Delano Whitehead (2/47 yards) made a nice move up the sideline on a quick screen that went for a big game, and Cameron Rigby (2/12 yards) had the only receiving touchdown, an 8 yarder midway through the 3^rd quarter.

On defense, the Darkside continued their strong play that has become standard operating procedure. Start players Jermain Grace and Telvin Arnold played so few snaps on the night that their white #2 and #53 jerseys were crisp and clean, even after a game played at the sloppy, muddy atrocity known as Everglades field.

Leading the way in their place were Junior LBs Kaywon Davis and Ryan Samuels, and Senior DL Ja’Quan Smith and Darius Young. Davis ended the game with 7 tackles (4 solo, 3 assist), a forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries. His best play was the defender trifecta: a solo tackle in space, forced fumble on a strip, and fumble recovery. The only thing that could have added to that play would have been a return for a touchdown, but it was still a great effort.

Samuels, the starting Middle Linebacker, had 5 tackles (2 solo, 3 assist) along with 2 tackles for loss. His steady play against opposing running games has been one of the keys to the success of the defense, and we should continue to see good things from him as we continue through this season.

Smith dominated the line of scrimmage all game long. His stats (6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 QB pressures, and a forced fumble) are even more impressive when you consider he played only a little more than 1 half of football. He was an absolute terror on the interior of the defense, and his continued dominance will be a key as the Patriots move towards the meat of their schedule.

Teaming with Smith was Darius Young, whose stats (6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 QB pressure) were nearly as impressive. He must have taken a 5 hour energy before the game, because his motor was running on a level that we haven’t seen before. He was motivated and disciplined, and played a major role in stifling the West Broward offense. This performance is one he should be proud of.

In the secondary, Darren Wilcox made the most out of the few plays that he was involved with. He showed remarkable acceleration and recovery speed in chasing down Keenan Thompson late in the 2^nd quarter. Needing to make up some 25 yards, Wilcox turned on the jets and chased him down at the 4 yard line, saving a touchdown. Tackles aren’t ordinarily the highlight plays for cornerbacks, but this was no ordinary tackle.

The G-Unit of DKambui Greaves and Andre Godfrey had another strong game from their Safety positions. Greaves (3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and a forced fumble) was disciplined in his pursuit, and consistent in his tackling. It was he who forced Keenan Thompson to fumble on the play after Wilcox ran him down at the 4. Very nice play from #11.

Godfrey was arguably the defensive MVP of this game. He had 7 tackles (3 solo, 4 assist), 1 tackle for loss, and a sack. He hit anything that moved in his area, and hit it hard. After this performance, I think he’s primed for a signature game. Outstanding job.

Special teams were solid all around. Kick and punt returners seemed to find open lanes, and coverage units allowed minimum yardage against them. Shawn Stephens added in the Special Teams play of the day: a blocked punt that Kaywon Davis recovered and returned to the 5 yard line. It was a great move for Stephens to get by his blocker and block the kick, and hopefully something he, or another Patriot, can replicate in future games.

Overall, this was the most complete game that we have played this year, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. On the heels of the loss to Northeast, and before key games against Cypress Bay and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Patriots needed an effort such as this to steady their season, and give us momentum as we go to face our toughest opponents.

Co-Players of the Week

• Kaywon Davis - 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumbles recovered
• Ja'Quan Smith - 6 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 3 QB pressures

Where do we go from here? - Review

Let’s look at how we did with the issues to address for this game.

Issues to address:

1. Offensive gameplans and efficiency: Grade: A-. We controlled the game from the very outset, and had very few issues. There were a couple of things (missed receiver down the seam, false starts, holding penalties) that we could clean up to get an A or A+, but this was a much better showing from the offense.
2. Quarterback-Center exchange. Grade: A. Only 1 bad exchange, and that was more on the QB missing the ball than on the Center not getting it there.
3. Details. Grade: B+. While penalties remain our biggest issue, the majority of the other issues were effectively addressed.
4. Protect the ball. Grade: B+. 1 turnover on the aforementioned QB-Center exchange. I would like to see 0 turnovers, but this was a great improvement.

Looking Ahead

Up next are 2 tough opponents: Cypress Bay and St. Thomas Aquinas. These are teams with whom we have a long history, and who both have an axe to grind after losing to the Patriots last season. There will be plenty of time for analysis and previewing both games, but suffice it to say that the next 2 weeks will go a long way to determining just how far this Miramar team can go.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Until Next Time,

Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports 

Game Preview - @ West Broward

GAME LOCATION UPDATE: THE GAME AGAINST WEST BROWARD WILL BE PLAYED AT EVERGLADES!!!! KICKOFF STILL AT 7PM!!! GOVERN YOURSELVES ACCORDINGLY!!

As the calendar switches from Summer to Fall, the schedule switches from non-district to district games for most teams. Like most Districts, with their longstanding traditions and heated neighborhood rivalries, District 12-8A usually delivers the type of hard hitting play that South Florida football fans have grown to love. I’m sure this season’s slate will live up to the standard of past experience.

The Miramar Patriots open their district schedule by taking on the West Broward Bobcats. The Patriots, 1-2, are aiming to capture their 4^th district championship in the last 5 years. A new school founded in 2008 with only 5 wins in their short history, West Broward will play the role of David to Miramar’s Goliath in this contest.

Enough of that. Let’s look at some of the keys to victory for this game:

West Broward Bobcats (0-3, 0-0 District 128A)

The Bobcats come into this game looking to be competitive, and hoping to maybe come away with the biggest win in their school’s short history.  If their history against Miramar is any indication, that may be too tall a task for West Broward to achieve.

West Broward enters the game having been outscored 104-38 by their first 3 opponents. While they have put up 14 and 17 points against McArthur and Key West, respectively, they have allowed 27, and 43 in return (with Cooper City also adding another 34 points). Their defense lacks elite players, and they have struggled so far this season. In their previous matchup with Miramar last year, the West Broward was on the business end of a 47-0 shellacking. The hope for the Bobcats has to be to stay closer than that score.

Taking most of the headlines for the Bobcats is Senior WR/DB Keenan Thompson. A fluid 6’1” athlete, Thompson uses his physical gifts of size and speed to make impact plays. Last season against the Patriots, Thompson appeared to have the talent level to compete with Miramar. For West Broward to spring the upset, he will have to have a very, VERY big game.

Trying to get Thompson and the other skill players the ball are a pair of Senior QBs: Brendan Stedfelt and Derek Victory. These players couldn’t be more opposite: Stedfelt stands 6’2” and is a pocket passer, while Victory is 5’9. They both figure to find the field on Friday, and the Bobcats hope they can build upon their scoring success from previous games.

On defense, the Bobcats are very young. From what I’ve been able to find, they have no less than 18 Freshmen and Sophomores on this side of the ball. That kind of youth is usually seen at the JV level, but, with a new school, young players are counted on to make plays with the Varsity team. While this experience could pay dividends down the line, it figures to make for some tough times in the present.

Overall, this is a program that hopes to one day be on the level of Miramar and others of that ilk. 

Unfortunately, that day is still a ways off in the future.

Why West Broward Might Win:

The Bobcats get a couple turnovers, and some luck.

Miramar Patriots (1-2, 0-0 District 12-8A)

The Miramar Patriots look to start District competition with a win following a 13-5 loss to Northeast. I’m not going to talk about that game again, but if you want to know the full run-down, you can check out my game recap here: http://miramarsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/2012-game-recap-3-northeast.html

The Patriots still need to find a consistent rhythm and identity on offense. They are averaging 324 yards of total offense and 17.7 points per game. Those numbers are enough to keep the Patriots competitive and will hopefully help us win plenty of games this season, starting with West Broward on Friday.

Leading the passing attack is Junior QB Nick Jeanty, who has completed 70.3% of his passes, for 420 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. While Jeanty’s completion percentage is very strong, his 6 interceptions are as many as he had his entire Sophomore season. Look for him to try to get on track, and in the end zone, against the West Broward defense.

The running attack is the heart and soul of the offense. Averaging 183 yards a game, and with 6 solid players who contribute, Miramar has shifted to a ground and pound team overnight, after years of spread football with 30+ passes a game.

At the top of the rotation at running back is Senior Alex Lee. Already with 300 yards and 2 TDs rushing (averaging 11.5 yards per carry), in addition to 65 yards and a TD receiving, Lee is proving his worth in multiple areas of the offense. Lee, like many others, struggled in the Northeast game. A bounce back performance would be nice to see.

Cameron Rigby was one of the few offensive players who had a strong showing against Northeast.  Already with 198 yards as the compliment to Alex Lee, Rigby should be able to find plenty of open space in the Bobcat defense.

Other players who figure to see time in the backfield for the Patriots are Juniors Khalil Lewis and Eric Pittman, Sophomore Alex Anderson, and Senior Malik Mapps as both the FB and single back.

The Receivers have done a good job so far this year, and many of them have contributed to the team’s success offensively. 11 different players have caught passes to this point of the season (although I don’t expect OT Damone Thompson to have any more catches this year). With a 9.21 yards per catch average, this group is nearly a guaranteed first down every time they get the ball. They, like their QB Jeanty, are looking for a breakout game.

Leading the 11 players who have caught a pass are Senior Sean Avant and Junior Geonte Smith. Also contributing to the passing attack are Tanares Robinson, Delano Whitehead, Khalil Webster and Kwasim West. With all that talent at receiver, it’s mildly surprising that 2 of the 3 touchdown catches have gone to running backs, with the Alexes (Anderson and Lee) each having one.

The Darkside Defense has been one of the best in the State for years, and they look to build on their already impressive track record this season. They shut down Bradenton Manatee for the better part of 3 quarters, stifled Ely for most of the night, and held Northeast to -17 yards of total offense. This unit is full of playmakers, and they figure to bring their normal championship caliber effort .

Special teams, like offense, would like to have a strong game this week. There are many players who are fighting for playing time, and they might catch the eyes of their coaches with a solid play or 2 in the 3^rd phase of the game.

Why Miramar might win: The Offense gets back on track.

The Darkside defense continues to do what they do.

What to Watch for:

West Broward

How much can Keenan Thompson impact the game?

Can the Bobcats match up with a bigger, stronger team?

What elements of Coach Wagner’s gameplan will prove effective?

Miramar

Is this Nick Jeanty’s break out game?

What will Alex Lee and Cameron Rigby and friends give us in the running game?

Can the Darkside sustain their excellence?

How does the Offense rebound?

Until Next time,

Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

Alumni Report - 9/19

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means! It’s time for an update of how former Miramar High Patriots are doing at the next level!

West Virginia – Win over James Madison 42-12

QB Geno Smith – completed 34 of 39 passes for 411 passing yards, and 5 TD; rushed 2 carries for 18 yards. Geno is now West Virginia’s all-time career passing leader. Geno has 8,191 career yards at WVU, while the former record holder, Marc Bulger, had 8,153 between 1996-1999.

WR Ivan McCartney – 3 catches for 19 yards

WR Stedman Bailey – 13 catches for 173 yards and 3 TD. Stedman became the first WVU player to have 150+ receiving yards and 3 TDS in a single game.

WR Terrance Gourdine – Did Not Play

RB D’Vontis Arnold – Did Not Play

WR Devonte Mathis – Did Not Play

Florida Atlantic – Lost to Georgia 56-20

DL Trevon Coley – 1 solo tackle and 1 assisted tackle

DB Anthony Hamilton – Did Not Play

University of Hawaii – Win over Lamar 54-2

DB Marrell Jackson – Did Not Play

Morgan State – Lost to Akron 66-6

LB Stepehen Blissett – 2 solo tackles

Florida State University – Win over Wake Forest 52-0

WR Rashad Gholston – Did Not Play

Syracuse University – Win over Stony Brook 28-17

CB Keondrick Lyn – 1 solo tackle, 2 assisted tackles, 1 broken up pass

University of Massachusetts – Lost to Michigan 63-13

OL Vincent Westcarr – No Stats Recorded

University of Central Florida – Win over Florida International 33-20

LB Mark Rucker – Did Not Play

Utah State University – Lost to Wisconsin 16-14

CB Quinton Byrd – No Stats Recorded

Louisiana Tech – Win over Rice 56-37

WR Ahmad Wallace – No Stats Recorded

University of South Florida – Lost to Rutgers 23-13

DB Trevon Griffin – Did Not Play

Northern Illinois – Win over Army 41-40

LB Jamaal Bass – Did Not Play

University of Minnesota – Win over Western Michigan 28-23

S Steven Montgomery – No Stats Recorded

University of Miami (FL) – Win over Bethune-Cookman 38-10

WR Malcolm Lewis – 2 catches for 9 yards; 1 kickoff return for 39 yards, 48 all-purpose yards

CB Tracy Howard, Jr. – 1 assisted tackle

QB Ryan Williams – No Stats Recorded

Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Win over Lock Haven 42-0

WR Sean McVay – Did Not Play

Florida A&M – Win over Hampton 44-20

LB/DE Derrick Conner – 1 solo tackle

Howard University – Win over Norfolk State 37-36 (1 OT)

OL Kevin Gonzalez – No Stats Available

North Carolina Central – Lost to Duke 54-17

OL Clevonne Davis – No Stats Recorded

New England Patriots – Loss to Arizona Cardinals 20-18

DE Justin Francis – Was not active for game

If you know of any players that graduated from Miramar High that are still playing college football, please e-mail with their name and the college at georgeharvey225 [at] yahoo.com with the subject “The Alumni Report”.

Until Next Wednesday,

George “Sports Nut” Harvey

Miramar Sports

Spread Offense and Constraint Plays

If you've followed my twitter (@MiramarSports) for a while, you know that I've been reading a lot about the X's and O's of Football. I'm trying to learn as much as I can, because it interests me. And, I want to be as knowledgeable as possible when providing analysis/impressions from the game action that I cover, both here and on the other blogs that I contribute to.

I've come across some great blogs, the best of which being Football Study Hall, FishDuck (dedicated to Oregon Football), and the top dog: Smart Football. There is so much great writing about so many different topics in sports, there's really no reason for anybody who desires more knowledge about a subject to lack that information. It's out there, and it's FREE!!!

Apart from being the awesome, amazing, dynamic Choral Director that I am, and the insightful, coherent, informative blogger that I am (I know, humility is one of my strong points), I love video games. I've been a huge gamer since the original NES system, and that has not stopped just because I'm a "grown up" now. In fact, it may have gotten worse.

Now, what does my being a gamer have to do with Constraint Plays and Spread Offensive Theory? The link is actually quite clear: I run spread offense when playing NCAA13 (and it's previous iterations). I've created new playbooks (once they introduced that option) and I'm always tinkering with how to be the most effective I possibly can be. I've read (and tried to apply) these concepts to my gaming, with pretty good success.

So, now, that I've given you the long story long on what I've been reading, and how I've been using it, it's time to share with you some of the knowledge I've obtained.

1. All Spreads are NOT the same
Consider this for a second:

West Virginia has been running a spread since Rich Rodriguez was coach. When he was there, WVU ranked in the top 10 in rushing yard average per game in 6 of his 7 years as Head Coach. 

Now, with Dana Holgorsen (and to a lesser extent Bill Stewart) have taken Rodriguez's spread and made it a passing attack. With Geno Smith having the same number of INCOMPLETIONS as touchdowns to this point of the season (9 of each. Yes...really), I think that's a pretty clear shift.

Here's another one for you: Auburn with Cam Newton - Spread to run. (Insert school where Mike Leach coaches) - Spread to pass. Oregon - Spread to run. New Mexico State - Spread to pass.

Yeah, there are a LOT of different ways to run the spread.

2. Horizontal is more important than Vertical
Spread offenses are predicated on one central idea: getting playmakers in space one-on-one with a defender, where (presumably) they will have a speed or skill advantage.

Offensive playmakers usually have plenty of "shake" to them, or at least enough speed to quickly escape a defensive player. This happens through a variety of tricks, but mainly by SPREADING the defense wide across the field, taking away their leverage advantage.

While every spread offense must find a way to throw the ball deep, if for no other reason than to keep the defense honest, moving the ball wide, from side to side, is the thing that will inevitably create lanes for the skill position players to operate.

3. Tempo matters
Spread offensive is most effective when you run it at a fast tempo. When you have more plays, you have more chances to catch the defense out of position, or with a severe mismatch (think an slow linebacker covering Alex Lee or Cameron Rigby on a swing pass).

Basically, this is putting the quantity of plays over the quality.

4. Skill Players make all the difference
In an offensive system where you want to get mismatches with your supremely talented skill players, the quality of those players can mean the difference between a 3 yard loss or a 91 yard touchdown.

Don't believe me? Check out this video of Oregon RB/WR/KR/PR/Blur of light DeAnthony Thomas from the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin still hasn't found him.

Alright, so now, you're wondering "what in the world is a Constraint Play"? Basically, they're variations on staples you run that are specifically designed to make the defense pay for "cheating", or trying to guess what the offense is going to do.

Here are some articles that do a better job explaining them that I could.

• How Chip Kelly wins with constraint plays - FishDuck.com
• Oregon's Mid-Level Read. They're really the best at "constraint plays" in my opinion. - FishDuck.com
• Film Study: Offensive Balance and Constraint plays - DownTheDrive.com
• Brian Kelly: Constraint Plays and messing with "Alley" Defenders - Maizenbrew.com
• More on manipulating "Alley" Defenders - SmartFootball.com
• Another example of a "Constraint" play - SmartFootball.com

So, basically, Spread Offense comes down to this:

1. What is your identity as a team? Run-based or Pass-based spread?
2. How are you manipulating defenders?
3. What tempo are you running your offense at? Regular, fast, or "Oregon"?
4. Do you have the players to take advantage of your leverage and space advantages?

Depending on those things, you may, or may not be successful.

Trust me, there's MUCH more where that came from. If you want more, you can hop on Google, or just ask me. I'll point you in the right direction.

But the articles above should give you a little better idea of what I'm looking at as I watch the Patriots play on Fridays, and also gives you a little more foundation to understand what I've been talking about in my recent recaps.

I'm a teacher for a living.

Hope you learned something.

Until Next Time,

Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

This Week in Miramar Sports - September 18th

Here's your weekly schedule of everything that's going on in Miramar Sports.

Tuesday, September 18th
Boys and Girls Cross Country vs. Ft. Lauderdale @ Quiet Waters Park - 4pm

Wednesday, September 19th
Girl's Volleyball @ West Broward - 4:30pm
JV Football @ Western - 6:30pm

Thursday, September 20th
No games

Friday, September 21st
Girl's Volleyball vs. Cypress Bay - 4:30pm
Varsity Football @ West Broward - 7:00pm

Enjoy your week, Patriots.

Until Next Time,


Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports

2012 Game Recap #3 - @ Northeast

The Miramar Patriots continued their 2012 season with a trip to Oakland Park to play the Northeast Hurricanes. After a defensive struggle, the Patriots lost by a score of 13-5.

There’s plenty to talk about, so let’s get right to it:

Northeast:

The Hurricanes came out with a simple game plan: Hold the Miramar offense under 10 points, and let Stacy Coley make a couple plays to win the game. In the end, this plan worked to flawless perfection.

Leading the charge was Coley. The 6’2” WR didn’t do much on offense, but he still found a way to impact the game. On offense, he had 1 catch for -4 yards. Northeast tried to get Coley involved often, throwing the ball his direction 6 times on the night. Coley’s athleticism and talent were apparent, even without much on the stat sheet for his primary position. But, that wasn’t the only position Coley played.

Coley, who is CLEARLY Northeast’s best player (and one of the best in the State) had a 65 yard punt return early in the game to energize his team. He nearly broke this play for a touchdown, further proving the point that Special Teams are a major issue for this year’s Miramar team. His biggest play, however, came on defense.

Playing Free Safety the entire night, Coley came up with an interception on a ball that went through a Miramar Receiver’s hands. After catching the interception on his own 5 yard line,  Coley went into offensive mode, and made a highlight reel 95 yard return for a touchdown, weaving his way through, around, and past the entire Miramar Offense. This play, Northeast’s second Interception returned for a touchdown, put the Hurricanes up 13-0 late in the 2^nd quarter. On this night, that lead would prove to be insurmountable for the Patriots.

Other than Coley, who basically won the game by himself, Northeast got good pressure on the Miramar running game from their defense. Constantly stacking 8 men in the box, even with Miramar in their traditional spread formations, the Hurricanes blitzed up the middle and dared the Patriots to beat them by throwing the ball. This was something that worked well for Northeast.

The other play that turned the tide was Zeffery Clark’s interception return for a touchdown. Sitting in the flat, Clark under cut an out route, and caught the ball that seemed as though it was thrown directly to him. 27 yards later, the Hurricanes had a 7-0 lead, and all the momentum they needed.

Apart from those 2 plays, and the constant stuffing the middle to prevent Miramar from running the ball, the Hurricanes didn’t do much of anything. Their offense ended the night with -17 yards of total offense. RBs Jamal Wallace and Timonte King had a couple decent runs in the 6-8 yard range, but that’s it.

In the end, it was not a team but a singular player who won this game. With his passion (heard SCREAMING at team mates on a number of occasions), football knowledge (it was he who called the defensive coverages, not the middle linebacker), and physical skills (which I’ve already noted), Stacy Coley dominated this game from beginning to end. That Northeast as a team won is only a side note.

This night, this game, and this victory belonged to one man.

Stacy Coley.

Miramar:

Let’s start with the good, before moving to the bad.

Jermaine Grace and the Darkside defense had another strong showing. They held Northeast to -17 yards of total offense, and limited Stacy Coley to 1 catch, and 1 run from the wildcat. All night long, the Hurricanes struggled to gain any traction on offense.

While Grace (8 tackles, 2 Tackles for Loss) had another strong game, the real stars were DTs Telvin Arnold and Ja’Quan Smith. Arnold (11 tackles,  3 TFL) provided constant pressure in the center of the defensive line. Smith chipped in with 6 tackles (1 TFL), and the two occupied the Northeast offensive line all night long.

With the line concerned with Arnold and Smith, the linebacking corps of Grace, Ryan Samuels (8 tackles, 2 TFL), and Sanka Harris (7 tackles, 2 TFL) were able to run free and find the ball, something they are obviously adept at doing.

The secondary stood up to the challenge of containing Coley. CB Tyrek Cole was primarily responsible for this task, as he shadowed Coley for most of the night. The Safties, Andre Godfrey and D’Kambui Graves, were good in both run support and deep coverage over the top of Coley.

When your defense pitches a shutout, holds the opposing team to -17 yards, and limits the touches of it’s All-American caliber player to 2 for the whole game, normally you expect to win.

That didn’t happen.

And now, for why that didn’t happen: the offense.

Northeast had a simple gameplan on defense: stack the middle, contain the lightning-squared running attack of Alex Lee and Cameron Rigby, and force Miramar to complete passes vertically. They accomplished the former, and with Miramar unable to do the latter, the Hurricanes looked like geniuses.

The running game, which had been the unquestioned strength of the Miramar offense, was subpar on this night. Alex Lee, who entered the game averaging 149.5 yards per game, was limited to 1 yard. He did lose 22 yards recovering a bad snap, which detracted from his total, but even still, he was not the electric player we had seen in the previous games.

Cameron Rigby found slightly more success. He finished with 67 yards on 11 carries, and had the biggest offensive play of the night: a 35 yard run shortly before halftime that put the Patriots at the Northeast 3 yard line. Inexplicably, the Patriots decided to throw the ball 3 times, and not run it, and were forced to settle for a 27 yard David Campbell FG.

Overall, Miramar could only muster 48 yards rushing on 32 carries. That number includes sacks and other losses, usually from recovering a bad snap. Whichever way you look at it, this level of production is not going to be good enough to win games.

While the running game had its struggles, the real issue facing the offense is the lack of a downfield passing game. QB Nick Jeanty’s numbers look fine on the surface (19/25, 167 yards), but upon further examination, they leave much to be desired.

There is an argument that there are issues beyond Jeanty’s control (more on this later), but there is no argument that his play can still improve. The first interception for a touchdown was just a bad read. Jeanty threw the ball to a defender who was in the flat playing cover 2 zone, and that was that. With the entire offense up the field, the Northeast defender had a clear path to the endzone, and a 7-0 lead. That throw was Jeanty’s fault. The other interception? Not so much.

Driving late in the 2^nd quarter, Jeanty looked to hit a receiver deep down the middle of the field on a post. The receiver (I forget which one) let the ball go through his hands, and the pass was intercepted by Stacy Coley at the 5 yard line. I’ve already detailed the rest of this play, so I don’t need to do that again. I will say that during this return, the offense did not hustle, did not chase Coley with any sense of urgency.  I know the pick wasn’t Jeanty’s fault, but somebody has to at least TRY to tackle Coley on that return.

Jeanty completed many passes (76%), but they were mainly underneath routes, and screens. You can’t run an effective passing offense with every throw being less than 15 yards from the line of scrimmage. Defenses are too good for that, even from a team like Northeast who, realistically, had no reason to be within 2 touchdowns of this Miramar team.

The offensive line could have been better. The bad snap was a scourge again, hindering the offense from getting or maintaining a rhythm.  The Tackles were repeatedly beaten in both running and passing situations, and the Patriots rotated 8 players up front. I know that having depth is key, but if we can’t find a consistent group of 5 linemen to rely on, this season may continue with problems and disappointment.

Now, to address a real hot button issue: play calling.

Many people have been talking about it, and I can’t ignore it anymore. The offensive play calling has been bad. In the Manatee game, we went away from the run, even though we were gaining huge chunks of yards on every play. Against Ely, I thought it was marginally better, but still not great. We basically just outmatched the Tigers physically.

In this game, it was abundantly clear that if we couldn’t run the ball up the middle our offense would struggle to do anything. Once that was taken away, there was no wrinkle, or adjustment, or constraint play to counteract what the defense was doing.  Here is an analogy that you will understand: it was like we were playing NCAA on Heisman Difficulty and only running 3 plays. Not gonna get very far with that.

Special teams didn’t help any either. Kicker David Campbell went 1/3 on Field Goals, making from 27 yards, and missing from 37 and 44. His leg is big enough for those kicks, but his technique is not consistent in game action.

Kick coverage was once again an issue. Coley had a 65 yard punt return that he almost took to the house, and another Northeast player had a 30 yard return on a kickoff. Both players were steps away from breaking loose for touchdowns. Following Rashard Robinson’s 96 yard kickoff return in the Ely game, and the 2 blocked punts at Manatee, and we have PLENTY of hard evidence that the systems we are running on special teams are greatly flawed. If they’re not changed, they will continue to cost us ballgames, plain and simple.

When you have only 1 of your 3 phases (Offense, Defense, Special Teams) that is positive, you can’t win games. We have tried this experiment twice so far this year.

I’m not sure how many more times we need to do this before realizing that we need some MAJOR changes to get back to competing to win games, let alone challenge for championships.

Where do we go from here?

In my opinion, this game is more troublesome than the Manatee game. This was a team that is not as talented as we are, save for 1 player. They had no business being on the same field as us, and we still found a way to lose, and look BAD losing. It’s time for real concern.

Issues to address:

1. Offensive gameplans and efficiency. I go to practice almost every day. I see what we’re working on and installing every week. I will say that I’ve seen no less than 8 different offensive concepts practiced EXTENSIVELY through the week, and not run even one time in the games. There are others, like the triple stacked WR look from the first play of the Manatee game, that have only been run once or twice TOTAL this season.
   
   We have become far too predictable on offense. If we’re going to only run our “staples”, the basic plays that our offense can rely on depending on the situation, then why are we practicing these other concepts so much? If we’re practicing them as much as we are (which is a substantial amount) why are we not running them in games? I have more questions, but you get the idea. The offense needs a lot of work, from the playcalling, to the passing game, to the revival of the running game, and the consistency of offensive line play. Lots to address here.
   
2. Quarterback-Center exchange. Bad shotgun snaps came back to haunt this team yet again. Something has to change.
   
3. Details. The Offense tried to “go on 2” a couple of times. Having little or no experience with that, the younger offensive linemen jumped early. The wide receiver from the 2^nd interception didn’t look the ball into his hands. Players jogged on that return, and on the 65 yard punt return, and didn’t wrap up when they made contact. Alone, the issues aren’t the bad. Put together, and the details made the difference. Gotta fix that.
   
4. Protect the ball. 7 turnovers in 3 games. Do I really need to say anything else?

In my game preview I said that Northeast would try to let Stacy Coley win the game singlehandedly. He came through for them in a way that Denard Robinson, Patrick Peterson, Jeffery Godfrey and others could not. I had never seen a Miramar team lose to 1 man.

Until Friday.

This season is at a crossroads. This team has to dedicate itself to playing a complete game each and every time out, or run the risk of being in this same position, questioning what went wrong, more times than they’d like.

Miramar Football. 1-2.

I still can’t believe it.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Until Next Time,

Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports