McLean County Cougars: News Letters

October 28, 2009

2009 SEASON COMES TO AN END    

It seems only a few weeks ago that we began practice, handed out uniforms, held our annual pre-season cookout, yet we have all too quickly come to the end of the 2009 season.  The 2009 season saw another year of growth in our Tackle program.  This season we had 365 tackle players supporting 16 tackle teams, 90 flag players supporting 7 flag teams, and approximately 60 cheerleaders.     For the first time we had a Saturday full of games played at ISU, which was a great opportunity for both of Cougars players and the players from other communities, our opponents for the day, who were just as excited as our own players.  A special thanks to Sheahon Zenger and ISU for making that possible.  And at the time of this writing, we’re looking forward to our Sunday teams once again traveling to the Indianapolis Colts, to watch their game against the 49er’s, and then take the field ourselves to play other JFLOCI teams.  We’ve made this trip in the past, but this will be the first time at their new stadium.   So it’s been a busy year and season, definitely one full of new and changing activities, but hopefully enjoyable for the kids and entertaining for the adults.  I would like to thank all parents for ensuring that the players got to practice, were picked up promptly, and did what could be done to help ensure a successful season.  And an extra thanks to our Team Coordinators for all their support of their teams and coaching staffs.  It takes the full support of parents, coaches, and the Board to ensure that each season meets the expectations of both players and parents.

Your Cougars Director,

Jeff Callahan   

Remember to set your clocks back an hour Saturday night!!!!  

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR THE 2010 SEASON   

We will be holding pre-registration for the 2010 season, starting next week.  This allows families to ensure that they will be on a roster for the 2010 season.  We have already had several new families contact us about signing up for the 2010 season.  Each year there seems to be earlier inquiries for the next season.  Please take advantage of the pre-registration for the 2010 season.  It is the only way to ensure there will be a spot on a roster for you next year.  This year, unfortunately we were not able to allow some returning players to sign up because they chose to wait until the last minute (July) to try and register, and we had already reached caps at their divisional levels for each season. 

Pre-registration will be closed to new players until December 1^st, at which time it will be open to all interested folks, both new and returning.  We provide the month of November exclusively for returning players to take advantage of pre-registration.  The procedure will be the same as last year; fill out a pre-registration form and make a $40 payment.  Then when we hold our annual Kick-Off Registration (typically during the first half of April), you will need to attend registration to finalize your registration for 2010.  Remember, all the   pre-registration does is to ensure that your player will be on a roster for the 2010 season. 

Forms will be at the equipment returns and post-season ceremony, so please remember to bring payment if you plan to take advantage of this offer.  No forms will be accepted without payment.  Forms will also be available on the Cougars website after the post-season ceremony.  

EQUIPMENT RETURN

This year, equipment should be returned to the North Point facility during one of the following times:

November 2^nd - 5 00 to 6:30 PM                  

November 4^th – 5:00 to 6:30 PM  

November 3^rd– 5:00 to 6:30 PM                    

November 5^th – 5:00 to 6:30 PM

If a family does not make any of these dates, it is their responsibility to contact Jeff Callahan to make arrangements to drop the equipment off by his house.    Of note: BOTH SETS OF PANTS AND GAME JERSEY SHOULD BE WASHED BEFORE TURNING IN.  IF PANTS AND JERSEY ARE NOT WASHED, THEY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR CHECK-IN UNTIL THEY ARE WASHED. 

IF EQUIPMENT IS NOT RETURNED BY THE END OF NOVEMBER, THERE IS A $25 LATE FEE CHARGED FOR NOVEMBER, AND FOR EACH MONTH FROM THERE ON, FOR WHICH THE EQUIPMENT IS NOT TURNED IN AS REQUIRED.    

POST-SEASON COUGARS AWARDS CEREMONY  

Site:   Good Shephard Lutheran Church  

Date Saturday November 7^th, 2009  

Due to the size of our organization, this year we will again break out the awards ceremony.  In a sense, it will be four ceremonies in one.  We will begin the ceremonies with presentations for the following groups at 1:00 SHARP! 

Here’s our schedule for the banquet:

      1:00 to 2:00 - Squirt awards & cake  (coaches season recap and trophy presentations)

      2:00 to 3:00 –PW awards & cake (coaches season recap and trophy presentations)

      3:00 to 4:00 - JV awards & cake   (coaches season recap and trophy presentations)

      4:00 to 5:00 – Varsity & Senior awards & cake   (coaches season recap and trophy presentations)

8th Grade Dinner

The annual 8th grade dinner will be held at the Ozark House in Bloomington on Wednesday, November 4th at 6:30pm until about 8:00.    All 8th graders are encouraged to attend, it is a lot of fun for everyone, and a good chance to spend some time with fellow players that will be moving on to high school next year.  Senior level coaches are also invited to attend.    Parents are asked to drop off their child by 6:30 and pick them up by 8:00. Please make sure that your child is inside the Ozark House or with an adult before leaving.    The menu will consist of fried chicken, baked potato, green beans, apple cobbler and salad.  If anyone has any questions, please contact Leeann Palmer at leeann.palmer@mchsi.com or 309-750-9601   

GAME SOCKS   

Please keep your teal game socks to wear next season.  If your socks have holes in them now, or they were too small for you, you must turn them in with your equipment for us to provide you a new pair for next year.  If next season you’ve outgrown your socks, bring them back to us at that time and we’ll replace them for you.  If you do not turn in a worn out pair with equipment, nor have a pair next season, you will need to purchase a pair at that time.  

GAME 7 RECAPS

Squirts 

SQ Teal

Congratulations to the Squirt Teal squad as they ran their record to a perfect 7-0 on Saturday against a very fast and physical Morton squad with a hard fought 6-0 victory. This was by far the most difficult test of the season for Squirt Teal.  It was clear from the outset that this would be a defensive battle and a low scoring game. The team with the fewest mistakes would probably come out on top.  The Cougars won the toss and took the ball to begin the game. The Cougars broke a long run for a touchdown on the first series but unfortunately it was called back on a holding penalty. After that both offenses had a hard time moving the ball due to the outstanding defense. The game was still scoreless with a little over a minute to go in the first half.  Morton tried to surprise the Cougars with a pass; however the linebacker read it perfectly and made the interception with a clear path to the goal line.  Only an outstanding individual play by a Morton defender to catch the Cougar player at the 10 yard line saved a touchdown.  On the next play from scrimmage Morton had the quarterback wrapped up in the backfield but he was able to use his strength to still make a pitch to the fullback who read his blockers perfectly and made it into the end zone for a 6-0 lead.   The second half was more of the same, defense.  The Cougars did an awesome job of containing Morton’s speed on the outside and a late touchdown saving tackle sealed the exciting 6-0 victory for the Cougars and their sixth shutout of the season. Way to go Defense!!     Keep up the great job guys and let’s make it an unbeaten season this Saturday at Peoria Manual.  

PEE WEE 

PW Black

PeeWee Black played their last game of the season.  It was the second week in a row our boys had to overcome a shortage of players.  A couple of our players played the whole game and many had to play positions they have not played.  Our boys handled the pressure and triumphed, beating East Peoria(Maroon) 12 - 0.  The Cougar defense showed up strong on Saturday.  East Peoria worked the outside most of the first half.  Gaining next to nothing the whole first half.  The second half they switched gears running up the middle and passing.  At most they gained 30 yards on the day, never making it to the red zone.  Offensively the Cougars moved the ball well.  Our first touchdown came in the first half.  Black offense's tailback scored on a pitchout that was sprung by the wide receivers block and he scampered for about 60 yards and the score.  We have used our tight ends to gain yards all year, and our wide receiver screens have worked well.  Saturday our black offense quarterback connected with our wide receiver on an out and up for a 45 yard scoring pass.  Everyone played great, the offensive and defensive lines had another great day.  They had it tough being outweighed greatly.  East Peoria had 2 kids that weighed over 135.  Great job boys your coaches are truly proud of you.   

PW Grey

The Marshall  County Cyclones traveled to Bloomington this Saturday to play the Pee Wee Grey team at Northpoint field.  While the clear blue skies was a sign that there would be no Cyclones in the forecast  for this afternoon’s game, the Pee Wee Grey team was determined to calm any storm that may try to develop on the football field.  The Cougars won the toss and pounced on the Cyclones with a sustained drive, hitting pay dirt early  to lead 7-0. A forced fumble by the Cougar defense got the offense right back on the field and they continued where they left off. Another aggressive offensive attack drove the ball down field and into the end zone to extend the lead to 14-0. The stunned Cyclones tried to slow down the Cougars with some aggressive blocking up front and linebacker blitzes and were able to force a Cougar punt. The Cougars relinquished the football but for only a short time as the defense forced another turnover to regain control of the pigskin. The offense continued to  pound away at the Cyclone defense with a series of runs and passes but the Cyclones turned back another offensive drive. The Cougar defense continued its relentless attack on the Cyclone offense and continued to force turnovers and punts. Late in the second half, the Cougars struck again to take a 20-0 lead at the intermission.In the third quarter, the Cougars offense was in “first and goal” status. The offense opened up the play calling and took to the air to try to pick up large  amounts of real estate. A disciplined Cyclone defense grounded the air attack with some key interceptions which kept them in the hunt. Despite the interceptions, the Cougar defense would not allow the Cyclone offense to capitalize on these turnovers. Early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars tried to run a trick play deep in their own territory  but a mishandled hand off was fumbled and covered up by the Cyclone defense. The Cyclones capitalized on this mishap and scored on the ensuing possession to close the gap to 20-6.  As the clock dwindled in the fourth quarter, the Cougars made some personnel changes on offense and put some new running backs in the backfield. The players did a good job moving the ball  despite taking some jarring hits by the Cyclone defense. The Cougars took a knee in the final minute to seal the win 20-6.The Coaches were proud of the total team effort on both sides of the ball. The offense did a good job sustaining blocks which was key to successfully running the ball. The defense was relentless in their pursuit, forced and recovered several fumbles, and forced numerous punts which prevented the Cyclone offense from establishing any ground game or momentum.  We now need to focus on our last opponent this week in practice to close out our successful season. GREAT GAME PEE WEE GREY!  

JV

JV Teal

The JV Teal team hosted the unknown Marshall County squad on Saturday in wet and chilly conditions at NorthPoint Field.  The Bloomington-Normal Plague depleted the Cougars team this week.  As a result, several players were asked to play the full game with little to no rest and/or in positions they didn’t normally play.  This challenge deemed too difficult to overcome as Marshall County dominated the game on both sides of the ball and won the line of scrimmage battle.  With a first half score of 24-0, the coaches and parents were very proud to see an undaunted Cougars team in the 2^nd half.  Although the Cougars didn’t manage a score, they did hold Marshall County scoreless in the 2^nd half and didn’t commit any penalties the entire game.  The Cougars are anxious and excited to put together 4 quarters of solid football for their last challenge of the year!  The 4-3 Cougars will travel to Peoria next Saturday to take on the undefeated Peoria Manual team.  Have a great week of practice Cougars!  Good luck!