NCR Tigers: NCR Team News

Seems the two weeks of pretty tough practices paid off last night. Both our offense and defense shined last night in the Rinky Dink Jamboree. Our defense started off against Alfred's and did not allow a single first down for the entire 12 minutes they were on the field. Most of Alfred's plays resulted in a QB sack or a loss of yardage in the back-field. Several players really stood out. Conley Bone recovered two fumbles and had numerous tackles. Drake Gross, Jackson King and Landon Sloan also were in on several tackles. Josh Perkins, Tyler Armistead and Jake "the snake" Tyler also did a great job and made several big plays. It was a great effort by our defense all around.

On offense we opened up with a bang. Darin Davenport took the hand-off from Drew Yarbrough and scampered 59 yards before finally being tackled at the 1-yd line. Robert Marquet punched it in from there and just like that the Tigers had their first touchdown of the season. Darin would score on another long touchdown run later in the scrimmage. Robert had several runs of 10 yards or more. We got great blocking from our line and James Clayton out of the back-field. Now all we need to do is bring that kind of effort to the game on Saturday. Great job tonight Tigers. We are very proud of you! 

All I know is that our kids were ready to hit someone other than their teammate and it showed on Saturday against the Pirates. We came out in the opening quarter and our defense was flying all over the field, holding the Pirates scoreless in the opening quarter. Josh Hannan, Jackson King and Ryan Beallis made a couple of very nice plays to keep the Pirates offense at bay. Offensively we got a 25-yard touchdown run from Darin Davenport and a 53-yard TD run by Robert Marquet to give us a 13-0 lead after 6 minutes of play.

          The Pirates would get on the board in the 2nd quarter on a nice run by their quarterback and suddenly the score was 13-6. Our offense would respond right back, as we got a couple of nice runs by Darin Davenport and Robert Marquet would finish the drive with a 40-yard TD run. We failed to convert the extra point and the score was 19-6 at the half.

          The 3rd quarter would see our offense get the ball and go right back to work. After a short run by Robert for a 5-yard gain, Darin would once again find the endzone. He got a great block by James Clayton and some good blocking from our offensive line that allowed him to scamper 55 yards for his second touchdown of the game. We once again failed to convert the extra point and this one had turned into a blowout at 25-6.

          Our defense refused to let the Pirates get anything going on offense. After a nice tackle for a loss by Landon Sloan and Josh Perkins, Conley Bone recovered a fumble to give the ball right back to our offense. Once again it would be Mr. Davenport that would benefit from a nice block by James Clayton and Drew Yarbrough that allowed him to break free for his third TD of the game. This one would go for 38 yards and give us a commanding 31-6 lead. James Clayton converted the extra point and our lead was extended to 32-6 mid-way through the final quarter.

          Our defense kept the pressure on and made a couple of nice plays once again. Greyson Meyers and Tyler Armistead both had solo tackles in the Pirates backfield and Drake Gross would recover another Pirate fumble to give the ball back to our offense. I was wanting to run out the clock and tried to take my time in the huddle calling plays, but got warned by the referee to get the play in quicker. Anyway, we got a very nice run by Drew Yarbrough and a hard fought 6-yard run by James Clayton and we were back in business. With the clock winding down, Robert took the hand-off from Drew and darted 22-yards for his third touchdown of the game, making the final score 38-6 in this one.

          This one was an entire team effort. Our defense played very well and did not give the Pirates much of anything after that early touchdown. Great job to the entire defensive unit and coaches. Offensively, we pretty much did what we wanted. Our offensive line did a great job of keeping the Pirates out of our backfield, which allowed our backs to get the corner and after that it was over. Jack Hannan did a great job at center and the rest of his offensive line teammates held their own against the Pirates. Drew Yarbrough did a great job of running the offense and James Clayton threw some awesome blocks that allowed Robert and Darin to run wild most of the game.

          Things will get a lot tougher next week as we face a loaded Webb Energy Wildcats team that looks unbelieveable on both sides of the ball. It will be a challenge for our kids and we need a good week of practice to get us ready. Great job today Tigers. Your coaches are very proud of you.

Darin Davenport    5 carries     138 yards      3 TD's

Robert Marquet    7 carries     134 yards      3 TD's

Drew Yarbrough    1 carry        28 yards      

James Clayton      2 carries        8 yards 

Our week 1 offensive player of the week is Robert Marquet. He had a great game today versus the Alfred's Pirates. Robert rushed for 134 yards on just 7 carries and scored three big touchdowns. He also did a great job blocking for his teammates when called upon to do that. Robert's brother, Matthew, ran all over this league two years ago as an NCR Tiger. Robert looks to be well on his way to following in his brother's footsteps. Great game today Robert, we are very proud of you!!!

Our week 1 defensive player of the week is Josh Hannan. He had an awesome game today versus the Pirates. Josh had 4 tackles, including a couple of those in the Pirates backfield. He is only a 1st grader but sure doesn't play like one. Keep working hard in practice Josh. You had a great game today and your coaches are very proud of you!!!

I knew going into the game that Webb Energy had a very good team, but I'll have to admit I didn't think they were that good. I have been coaching in this league for 6 years and they are by far the best team I have seen in those 6 years. They have size, speed and quickness. They do not miss tackles and their offense can hurt you in the air or on the ground. We had no chance on Saturday and it showed early and often. I have not seen the tape of the game yet due to some video problems, but will be watching it tomorrow and can give more game details and stats after that. I will say that we were totally outmatched at almost every position on the field. I am proud of our kids effort. They did not quit and kept fighting until the very last play. I expect us to have a good week at practice and ready to put this one behind us. 

Darin Davenport    9 carries     44 yards      

Robert Marquet    4 carries     10 yards     

Drew Yarbrough    2 carries      4 yards      

James Clayton      2 carries      4 yards 

Our offensive player of the week for last week was James Clayton. Our backfield didn't do much, do to the speed of the Webb defense, but when we did make some yardage, it was James leading the way with his blocking. James threw some great blocks against Webb as he paved the way for his backfield teammates. So much of our success in the backfield depends on how well those guys block for each other and James has done a great job of that so far. We are very proud of you James!

Our defensive player of the week for week 2 of the season is Ryan Beallis. Ryan has done a great job at linebacker so far for us this season. He is one of the best tacklers on the team and always seems to be around the ball. He had several tackles against Webb in the game on Saturday and always is out there giving 110%. Great job Ryan. We are very proud of you!

On a rainy, stormy day at Hunts Park, the NCR Tigers and Simmons 1st Steelers traded TD's, fumbles and a few mud pies on the way to a 33-all tie. It was a game that both teams felt like they should have won, but were just not able to put the other team away. With us holding a 19-6 lead, we fumbled away a chance to put the game away but Simmons would return the favor late in the game. Let's see how it all went down.

     We won the toss and wanted the ball, hoping to put points on the board first. That's exactly what we did as Darin Davenport took the second play from scrimmage for a 62-yard touchdown run to make the score 6-0. The extra point failed and Simmons' offense would go to work. They wasted no time in getting points of their own with a 60-yard TD run and just like that it was all tied at 6.

     Our next possession, Darin opened up the drive with a 40-yard yard run to move the ball to the Steelers 20-yard line. Robert Marquet would then take the hand-off from Drew Yarbrough and scampered 20 yards to give us a 12-6 lead. Our extra point would once again fail and now it was time for our defense to step up. That's exactly what they would do! Jackson King flew thru the line and sacked the Steelers quarterback for a quick 5-yard loss. After a couple of plays for short gain, Josh Perkins would step up and sack the QB once again to give the ball back to our offense. We wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity our defense had given us. Darin Davenport took the hand-off and got a great block from James Clayton as he darted 40 yards down the sideline for his second touchdown of the game. Robert Marquet converted the extra point and suddenly it was 19-6 with 2 minutes left in the half. We looked to be in total control of the game.

     On Simmons' next possession, Jackson King and Josh Hannan would each get a QB sack and Simmons would face a 4th and 18. On the play their quarterback would fumble, but one of their running backs was there to pick-up the ball and scampered 68 yards for a touchdown. They converted the extra point and with 42 seconds left in the half it was 19-13. And if that wasn't bad enough, we would botch a hand-off on our first play of the drive, giving the ball right back to Simmons. They would take advantage of our huge mistake as they darted 40 yards down the sideline for another touchdown with just 2 seconds left on the first half clock. They converted the extra point and just like that a 19-6 lead turned into a 20-19 deficit at the half.

     Simmons would score their third straight touchdown to start the 3rd quarter and suddenly this game had turned in an instant. With us now down 26-19, I told the offense to focus and concentrate out there, despite the bad field conditions. We would then put together a 5-play, 60 yard drive that would be capped off by a Robert Marquet touchdown. Darin converted the extra point and this game was all tied at 26.

     After a couple of plays for short gain, Simmons would once again break free down the sideline for another touchdown, giving them a 33-26 lead with 3 minutes left in the game. Our offense begin to put together another drive but would once again shoot itself in the foot as we fumbled a hand-off, giving the ball back to Simmons at their own 20-yard line. I knew our defense had to step up or this one was over. We got huge plays from Jackson King, Josh Perkins and Josh Hannan to stop Simmons on a 4th and long. Our offense took over with less than a minute left on the clock and still down by a touchdown. Robert would then take the hand-off from Drew and got some great blocking from his offensive line, as he darted 12 yards for his 3rd touchdown of the game. Darin would convert the extra point and once again this one was tied at 33.

     Simmons got the ball back and tried to break a long one, but Josh Schoeppey and Ryan Beallis both made great solo tackles to save what could have been a long touchdown run. Tyler Armistead would then fall on a fumble in the Steelers backfield and give the ball back to our offense with 14 seconds left in the game. With no timeouts left I knew all we had time for was one play. I told Darin in the huddle to follow his blockers and get the corner like he had been doing all game long. He broke several tackles and looked to be on his way to the endzone, but was finally caught by a Simmons defender as the final buzzer sounded. This one would end in a 33-all tie.

     I told the kids after the game I was very proud of their effort out there today. Both teams played well at times, but also made mistakes that cost each other the win in this one. But hey, it's rinky dink football. All we can do is come out and get better at practice this week. See you all on Tuesday evening at 5:30.

Darin Davenport    7 carries     227 yards      2 TD's     

Robert Marquet    7 carries     56 yards        3 TD's     

Drew Yarbrough    2 carries      3 yards      

Our offensive player of the week for week 3 of the season is Darin Davenport. He had a great game this week versus Simmons Steelers. Darin had an incredible 227 yards on just 7 carriers. He scored 2 touchdowns and ran harder in this game than any back we have ever had. Simmons could not stop him all day. Great job Darin. We are very proud of you!

Our defensive player of the week for week 3 of the season is Jackson King. Jackson was all over the field this week versus Simmons. He had 4 tackles and spent much of the game in the Steelers backfield. He was shooting through the Steelers offensive line the entire game and kept the Steelers quarterback on the run. Great job this week Jackson. We are very proud of you!

It wasn’t quite high noon but close, as the Tigers and Bulldogs battled in what turned out to be almost like a track meet on Saturday morning. Neither team was able to stop the others offense until late in the 4^th quarter when the Bulldogs defense held us on a 4^th down that changed the game. It looked for most of the game that which team had the ball last would win the game. It almost played out that way.

          I knew that the Bulldogs strategy would be to keep the ball as long as they could and keep our offense off the field. That’s exactly what they did in the 1^st quarter. The won the toss and took the ball, using up the entire 1^st quarter. They marched on a 7-play drive that would see them score on the first play of the 2^nd quarter to make the score 6-0. Our offense would not take quite as long to score. On our first offensive play of the game, Darin Davenport took the hand-off from Drew Yarbrough and out ran the Bulldogs defense for a 60-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Robert Marquet converted the extra point and just like that we held a 7-6 lead. The Bulldogs offense came right back at us as they drove 60 yards in three plays to take a 12-7 lead. Once again our offense would strike in a hurry. And once again it was Darin who darted 60 yards down the sideline for a 13-12 lead. Darin got a great block from James Clayton on the play, which allowed him to get the corner and the rest was history. We fumbled the snap on the extra point and the score remained 13-12 with 3:25 left in the first half. Like I said earlier this one was a track meet. The Bulldogs offense struck again on a 3-play 60 yard driver to take an 18-13 lead with 2:48 left in the half. I stressed to the offense to keep the pressure on them and that’s exactly what they did. This time it was Robert Marquet who got great blocking from James Clayton and Will Green to dart 60-yards for another quick Tiger touchdown. Darin converted the extra point on a hard run up the middle and we took a 20-18 lead. At this point in the game our offense had the ball for only about 20 seconds the entire game and had put up 20 points. But like good teams do, the Bulldogs came right back at us. They put together another 3-play drive that would result in a touchdown to give them a 24-20 lead with only 30 seconds left in the first half. This was the turning point in the game in my opinion. We got the ball and had a chance to score before the half, but for the first time all day the Bulldogs defense stopped us. On two separate plays, Darin and Robert both looked to have paths to the end-zone, but both times, the Bulldogs outstanding linebacker, Blake Massengale made the TD saving tackle. The first half clock expired and we went into half down 24-20.

          We got the ball once again to open the 3^rd quarter. That’s why that stop by the Bulldogs defense was so huge at the end of the 2^nd quarter. It kept us from getting a two touchdown lead. Our offense would come out fired up to begin the second half. Darin Davenport took the hand-off from Drew and got good blocking from his offensive line that enabled him to scamper 60-yards right up the middle for his third touchdown of the game. The extra point failed and we had once again grabbed the lead at 26-24. We really needed our defense to get us a stop but we just couldn’t. The Bulldogs quarterback broke one around the right side of the defense 40-yard run to give them the lead once again at 31-26. Then maybe the play of the game occurred. The Bulldogs huge defensive line broke through our offensive line for the first time all day and caused a fumble in our backfield. The Bulldogs recovered and we knew we were in trouble. Now our defense had no choice but to step up and that’s exactly what they did! We stuffed the Bulldogs on four straight plays and gave the ball back to our offense as the 3^rd quarter came to a close. Tyler Armistead, Josh Perkins, Dylan Scarborough and Josh Schoeppey all made great plays in holding the Bulldogs without a first down for the first time all game.

          Our offense went right back to work and looked to be in business as Darin scampered around the left end for a 9-yard gain. James Clayton threw a great block on the play once again! Robert would then get us a 1^st down our own 47-yard line. Then the Bulldogs defense stepped up and stuffed us for three straight plays, as we had trouble for one of the first times all day, with their two huge players they put over the center. We faced a 4^th and long and it looked like Darin had the corner but once again the Bulldogs linebacker, Blake Massengale saved the touchdown and kept Darin from getting the 1^st down by just two yards. The Bulldogs offense would take the ball back over and put this one away. With the clock winding down, they would break a long TD run to make the score 38-26. We got the ball back with only a few seconds remaining and looked as if we would get back on the board, as James Clayton broke a run and was in the free but tripped after a 20-yard pick-up. The final buzzer would sound before we were able to get another play off and this one was over. The Bulldogs would win this battle, 38-26.

          Both teams player really well. The difference was the Bulldogs played mistake free football and we made a few mistakes that cost us the game. The fumble early in the 3^rd quarter was a huge play. Then we missed a couple of blocks here and there that allowed Blake to make tackles saving sure touchdowns. He was the difference in the game in my opinion. He made some huge plays for the Bulldogs all game long. I am still very proud of these kids. They all player hard and have nothing to hang their heads about. We are a very good team and we will hopefully correct those mistakes before playing a very good YMA team next Saturday. Here are some stats from the game. 

Darin Davenport    7 carries     216 yards      3 TD's

Robert Marquet    4 carries      65 yards      1 TD

Drew Yarbrough    3 carries       4 yards      

James Clayton      1 carry       20 yards

Josh Perkins  10 tackles in the game!!!

Our offensive player of the week for week 4 of the season is Drake Gross. We had to move Drake from the defensive line to the offensive line this week to help battle the Bulldogs huge defensive line. Drake accepted the challenge and did a great job in the game versus the Bulldogs. Despite having two huge kids over him much of the game, Drake did not botch a single snap to our quarterback. He also did a good job blocking in the game. I love his attitude and how hard he plays. A few of our other players could learn a thing or two from him. We are very proud of you Drake!

Our defensive player of the week for week 4 of the season is Josh Perkins. Josh had an incredible game versus the Bulldogs on Saturday. He finished the game with an impressive 10 tackles. He was all over the field and really was around almost every play on defense. Several defensive players had good games, but Josh stood out above them all. He is the leader of our defense and we would be in trouble without him. Awesome job this week Josh. We are very proud of you.

Well I know this doesn't make the kids feel any better, but a break here or there and we could be sitting at 4-1 right now. Once again we made a couple of mistakes at key times in the game and our opponent took advantage. We moved the ball up and down the field all game long but only managed to get 6 points out of it. Let's see how it all went down.

     We took the ball to start the game and did exactly what we wanted to do on the opening drive. Keep the ball for most of the quarter and keep their high-powered offense off the field. Darin Davenport and Robert Marquet both had nice runs on the 7-play 60 yard drive. Drew Yarborough would cap the drive off with a 15-yard touchdown run to make the score 6-0 with 1:20 left in the opening quarter. Our extra point failed and YMA took the ball at their own 40-yard line. They would put together a 5-play 60 yard drive to tie the game at 6. Josh Perkins and Ryan Beallis both made a couple of nice solo tackles on the drive.

     Our offense got the ball and went right back to work. Darin and Robert exchanged short gains as we drove the ball down the field eating up yardage and the clock at the same time. YMA's speed on defense really caused us trouble all day, but on this drive, their spped would save a touchdown on several plays. There were at least three or four plays where we had the corner sealed off and it looked as if Darin or Robert may go all the way, when suddenly a Cowboy would come streaking across the field and catch us. With the clock winding down we moved the ball to the 9-yard line but would be stopped on the last play of the half. After the first 12 minutes of play, we would be all tied at 6.

     YMA got the ball and wasted no time in taking the lead for good in this one. On the first play of the 3rd quarter their running back would dart 60 yards for a quick touchdown. The extra point failed and just that fast we were down 12-6. The next drive would see us continue to move the ball with ease at times. We marched right down the field and had a 1st and goal at the 10-yard line. That's when our problems began. A 5-yard motion penalty and a fumbled snap would put us up against a 3rd and long. On the next play we would miss a key block on YMA's best defensive player and we would be sacked in the back-field for a 9-yard loss. On 4th and goal from the YMA 24, Darin looked to have one broke free but once again YMA's speed on defense would save a touchdown and give the ball back to their offense. I knew we were now in trouble big time.

     It looked for a second that our defense was going to step up and get us a big stop. But that's when YMA would put this one away. On a 3rd and long, they broke one up the middle for a 75-yard touchdown scamper. They converted the extra point and with 3:32 left in the game we were down 19-6. We got the ball and once again started driving the ball down the field. Darin had a nice run of 7 yards and then Robert completed a 5-yard pass to Darin. After a couple of short gains by James Clayton, Robert broke an 18-yard run to move the ball to the YMA 30-yard line. Darin would then go around the left side for a 12-yard gian as the final buzzer would sound. Congratulations to the YMA Cowboys on the 19-6 win.

     This one was hard to swallow. For the second game in a row I felt like we had the better team but just didn't make the plays we had to when it was crunch time. We will return to practice this week and hopefully correct some mistakes. We return to action next Saturday versus McCutchen Law at 12:00pm. 

Darin Davenport    15 carries     136 yards      

Robert Marquet     8 carries       41 yards      

Drew Yarbrough    2 carries       15 yards        1 TD  

James Clayton      3 carries        3 yards

Our offensive player of the week for week 5 of the season is Landon Sloan. We were short an offensive lineman for this game and Landon really stepped for us and did a good job. He had the responsibility of blocking YMA's best defensive lineman most of the game and did a really good job against him. We are very proud of the way Landon played. Great job big man!

Our defensive player of the week for week 5 of the season is Josh Schoeppey. Josh had a good game against the YMA Cowboys. He was in on several tackles and seems to really be flying to the ball. Josh usually plays the safety position on defense because of his speed. He has done a good job for us this season and is a pleasure to be around and coach. Great job Josh, we are very proud of you!