While our offense struggled in the jamboree last night, that certainly wasn't the case for our defense. We held Alfred's to one touchdown and that happened on the second play of the scrimmage. After that we put the clamps on their offense and did not allow a lot of yardage. Nick Martin, Ashton Grant, Conley Bone, Josh Hannan and Jake Tyler really stood out. Each of them were in on almost every play. I was very proud of how our defense played. Now let's just bring that kind of effort on Saturday when we play that same Alfred's team.

Offensively we had to go against what will be the best defense in the league in YMA. They are big, fast and very aggressive. When they tackle, they do not just try to get you down, they want to jar your teeth. They did that to us many times last night. Our offensive line allowed way too much penetration and we didn't do a very good job picking up their blitzing linebackers. To our credit we didn't run some of our main plays much at all. When we did, we gained yards. We did not want to show a whole lot last night as the Alfred's coaches were watching from the bleachers. We will work in practice the next few days to improve on what we did wrong and be ready for Saturday's match-up against the Pirates.

The NCR Tigers opened up their season in a big way on Saturday with a convincing 33-13 win over the Alford's Carpet Pirates. First of all I would like to thank Kevin King for filling in for me this past Saturday. I was out of town and sure hated to miss, but it couldn't be helped. Again a big thanks to Kevin, who did a great job with our running backs and QB on Saturday.

          Alford's opened up the game taking the ball and in four downs went no where. Jake Heston made a couple of nice solo tackles to stop the Pirates from getting much yardage. We took the ball and our offense went right to work. After a couple of plays for no gain, James Clayton took the hand-off from Tatum Lomon and scampered 56 yards for the first TD of the season. Tatum failed on the 2-point conversion and just like that it was 6-0 Tigers.

          Alford's then fumbled the ball on their second play of their next offensive series and we recovered. It was hard to tell who recovered the fumble on the videotape, but it might have been Josh Hannon or Nick Martin. Our offense wasted no time in getting us back on the board. Jackson King took the hand-off and darted 37 yards for another Tiger touchdown. Jordan Fenner converted the extra point and with 5:45 left in the half we held a 13-0 lead.

          Our defense refused to let Alford's get much going on their next possession. Good plays from Josh Hannan, Jake Tyler and Jake Heston would stop anything the Pirates tried to get going. On 4th and short, our defensive line stuffed them once again and the ball would go back to our offense. Just like before our offense would strike in a hurry. James Clayton once again went un-touched for his second TD of the game. This one was a 47 yard scamper. After Tatum Lomon converted the extra point, our lead had grown to 20-0.

          The Pirates finally got on the board on their next possession. Their running back found a hole and darted 60 yards for a quick touchdown and suddenly it was a 20-7 Tigers lead. On our next possession we went to the air, as Tatum dropped back and found a wide open James Clayton. James caught the ball and did the rest, out running the Pirates defense for the 65-yard TD scamper. Jordan Fenner once again converted the 2-point conversion to make the score 27-7 as the half drew to a close.

          We got the ball to open the 3rd quarter and wasted no time putting this game away. After a fumble on our first play from scrimmage, that we recovered, we then once again gave the ball to James. He broke several tackles, threw a good stiff arm and rumbled 68 yards for his 4th touchdown of the game. We did not convert the extra point but this one was all but put away as we extended our lead to 33-7.

          The Boys Club mercy rule was now in effect, which means the clock does not stop the rest of the game. Alford's got the ball and put together a nice drive, scoring on a 17-yard touchdown run as the final buzzer sounded to end the game. This was a nice opening win, but things get much harder next week when we face the Webb Energy Wildcats. Webb Energy comes into the game riding a 15-game winning streak. They have went un-defeated the last two sesons winning the league with a perfect 7-0 record both in 2007 & 2008. It will be a good test for our team to see where we really stand.

Rushing stats from this game:

James Clayton       4 carries - 171 yards - 4 TD's

Jackson King         1 carry - 37 yards - 1 TD

Tatum Lomon was 1 for 1 passing for 65 yards and a TD.

Jordan Fenner converted 2 extra points in the game.

Our offensive player of the week for the opening week of the season is James Clayton. James had 171 yards on 4 carries and scored 4 touchdowns in the game on Saturday. James also caught a touchdown pass in the game. He showed the rest of the league that he is going to be tough to stop this season. Great job James, we are very proud of you!

Our defensive player of the week for the opening week of the season is Jake Heston. Jake had 6 solo tackes in the game on Saturday and assisted in several other tackles. He was a big reason Alfred's struggled to get much going on offense in the game on Saturday. Great game Jake, we are very proud of you!

To say we got an ole fashioned whipping on Saturday would be an understatement. The Webb Energy Wildcats ran around, over and thru us for most of the game. On offense we were not able to get much going at all, with the exception of a long TD pass and another drive where we fumbled away our chance to score. The result would be a 41-6 thumping at the hands of the Wildcats, who will go un-defeated in the league for the 3rd year in a row. They will once again beat teams as bad as they want to and they did it to us on Saturday.

          The Wildcats got the ball to open the game and it didn't take them long to score. On the first play of the game, they darted 60 yards for a quick 6-0 lead. Our offense would try to answer but the Wildcat's speed on defense was incredible. We managed a couple of plays for short yardage on our first drive and would give the ball back to the Wildcat's offense after failing on a 4th and long.

          Once again it would only take the Wildcats one play to score, as their fabulous running back outran our defense for a 44-yard touchdown. They converted the extra point and we suddenly found ourselves in a 13-0 hole. Our offense once again could not produce any points. We missed a couple of key blocks and our offensive line broke down on a couple of plays. The result would be giving the ball back to Webb Energy with 3 minutes left in the half. This time our defense made a couple stops and forced them to a 4th and long. That's when they broke free on a 54-yard touchdown scamper to extend their lead to 20-0.

          We opened our driver with a nice 9-yard pass from Tatum Lomon to James Clayton and we looked to be in business. But a false start and a sack on our next play would bring a 3rd and long. We failed to convert on 3rd or 4th down and Webb got the ball back with 12 seconds left in the half. Those 12 seconds would be all they needed to take the hand-off and blaze down the sideline for yet another TD, making the score 27-0 at the half.

          At half-time we made a few adjustments and would get the ball to open the 3rd quarter. We sure opened it with a bang, as Tatum would hook up with James on a 60-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed and the score remained 27-6. The Wildcats struck once again on their next possession. This time they let someone besides #4 carry the ball but the end result would be the same. They put together a 5-play 60 yard drive to make the score 34-6. Our offense got the ball back and looked to be putting together a nice drive of our own. Several good runs from James Clayton would move the ball to the Wildcat 36-yard line. We would then get a high snap out of our shotgun formation and Tatum could not recover the ball. The Wildcats jumped on it with only seconds remaining in the game. They would get another touchdown on the final play of the game to make the final 41-6. Whew, I was never so glad to hear that final horn sound. We were totally outmatched in this one. I don't think I could tackle some of those kids that Webb Energy has running the ball for them. Once again they are the team to beat in the league.

          I'm proud of our kids for not giving up in the game. They continued to play hard despite the lopsided score. We will have a good week at practice and put this one behind us. Here are the few stats from the game:

Rushing stats from this game:

James Clayton       10 carries - 41 yards 

James also caught 2 passes for 69 yards and 1 touchdown

Jackson King         1 carry - 0 yards 

Jordan Fenner      2 carries - 2 yards

Tatum Lomon was 2 for 3 passing for 69 yards and a TD.

Our offensive player of the week for week 2 of the season is Jack Hannan. Jack has done a great job for us at center so far this season. He delivers the ball out of the shotgun better than anyone we have ever had. He would rather be playing defense but has sacrificed to play where the team needs him most. Keep up the great play Jack, we are very proud of you!

Our week 2 defensive player of the week is Nick Martin. Nick has done a great job this season on the defensive line. He spent a lot of time in the Webb Energy backfield on Saturday, but on most plays was just a split second to late. He had several tackles in the game and has really stepped up for our defense. Great job this week Nick, we are very proud of you!

Wow, this one was fun or at least for the offense. Both teams drove the ball up and down the field all game and neither team deserved to lose this one. So I guess it was fitting that the game ended in a 42 all tie. One more time-out or a few more seconds on the clock and we would have won this one. With us driving down the field, James Clayton was tackled at the 5-yard line as time expired in this one to preserve the tie.           

          We wasted no time getting the fireworks going in this one as we got the ball to start the game. James Clayton ripped off a 55-yard run to open the game but we were called for holding on the play. No problem, as Jackson King reeled off a 13-yard run and James Clayton broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run on the very next play. We converted the extra point for an early 7-0 lead. Simmons Steelers wasted no time in responding right back. On their very first play, they dashed 60 yards for a quick touchdown and suddenly it was all tied up at 7.           

          Our offense struck right back with a nice drive of our own. James started the drive with a nice 11-yard scamper. Tatum Lomon then faked everyone out as he rumbled for 10 yards for another Tiger first-down. James then looked to be gone down the sidelines but was tackled at the Steeler 1-yard line to set us up 1^st and goal. Jordan Fenner tried to blast us in, but was stopped short of the goal line. Tatum then QB sneaked his way across the goal line and after we converted the extra point we held a 14-7 lead.  Simmons once again wasted no time in tying the game. On the same exact play as before their lightening quick running back darted 60 yards as just like that it was all tied at 14.           

          On our next offensive drive we opened up the playbook a little bit, as we started the drive with a nice pass completion from Tatum to James for 13 yards. The Steelers were called for a facemask penalty which moved the ball to the Steelers 32-yard line. A couple of nice runs from James and Jackson would give us a 1^st and goal from the 5-yard line. Tatum then scampered in for his second touchdown of the day and after James converted the extra point, we held a 21-14 lead. This next drive it would take Simmons a little longer to score. A couple of good plays from our defense would hold them to a 3^rd and 10. But that’s when #23 would strike again for 60 yards to tie the game at 21.           

          We would once again put together a nice drive, sharing the ball around in the backfield. James and Tatum each had nice runs and another pass completion would move the ball to the Steelers 24-yard line. Tatum would then fake out the defense for a 24-yard touchdown scamper and a 28-21 lead. Simmons’ would take their time calling plays on their next drive as they were trying to run out the clock and not let our offense back on the field before half-time. They knew they could pretty much score when they wanted as we had not touched #23 all game. Sure ‘nuff, with 25 seconds left on the clock he blitzed our defense for another long touchdown run to tie the game at 28 with only 17 seconds left until the half. With only one time-out left we were not able to get the ball back in the end zone before the half and this one would end all tied at 28 after the first 12 minutes of play.           

          Simmons would waste no time taking the lead as they got the ball to open the 3^rd quarter. Their quarterback Chase Needham would break a few tackles and scamper 60 yards for a quick touchdown and a 35-28 lead for the Steelers. Our offense refused to let up. We put together a good drive with nice runs from Jackson, Jordan and James. We would then knot this one up as James Clayton broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 35. Our defense would then step up on the Steelers next possession. We got a couple of nice plays from Nick Martin and Jake Tyler. On a 3^rd and long, the Steelers fumbled the ball and Chad Sutton recovered for us. It was the break we needed! Great job Chad!

            I challenged the offense to take advantage of what our defense had done for us and they did exactly that. We marched down the field for the go ahead touchdown to take a 42-35 lead with 4:08 left in the game. Simmons got the ball back taking their time as they put together a drive of their own. They would score with less than two minutes to play and our offense would go back to work. We had a couple of nice runs from James and Tatum to move the ball to the Steelers 30-yard line with only seconds remaining. James would break free and for a moment looked as if he would score but was tackled at the 5-yard line as the final buzzer would sound, ending this one in a 42 all tie.

          It was a great game by both offenses and neither team deserved to lose this game. I was proud of our kids despite giving up so many points. Simmons has a great running back and they will tough to stop as long as he has the ball in his hands. We must improve on defense and be much more aggressive than we were on Saturday. We have good players on that side of the ball, but we are not playing with the aggressiveness we need to. See you all at practice this week.

Our offensive player of the week for week 3 of the season is Tatum Lomon. Tatum had a great game versus Simmons Steelers on Saturday. He had 7 carries for 50 yards and scored three touchdowns. He was also 2 of 4 passing for 21 yards and converted an extra point. Tatum has really become a leader for our team. Keep up the good play Tatum. We are very proud of you!

Our defensive player of the week for week 3 of the season is Chad Sutton. Chad made one of the biggest plays in the game against the Steelers on Saturday when he recovered a fumble late in the 3rd quarter. It looked like we were about fall behind in the game when Chad came up with the huge play. Our offense would then get the ball and score to take a 42-35 lead. Great job Chad, we are very proud of you!

Well, this one was a lot like last week. Neither defense could stop the other teams’ offense and it really came down to who had the ball last with enough time to score. Our offense continues to put up big numbers, averaging 29 points a game, but the problem is our defense is giving up an average of 34 points per game. We continue to struggle to just get a stop against the other teams’ offense. I think we have had a total of four tackles the last two games combined and that just won’t get it done.            

          The Bulldogs won the toss, took the ball and went right to work. On their first play from scrimmage they scampered 60 yards for a quick touchdown. Their extra point failed and only 15 seconds into the game, we were already down 6-0. Our offense responded the way I knew they would. We put together a 6-play 60 yard drive, capped off by an incredible 46-yard run from James Clayton to tie the game at 6. The Bulldogs struck right back at us quickly. After testing our right side on their first play, this time they would go around the left side for another quick score. Their extra point once again failed and the score remained 12-6. Our offense came right back at them. This time we would put together an 8-play 60 yard drive, which saw a 13-yard run from Tatum Lomon and several nice runs from James Clayton. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run from Tatum to tie the game at 12.                     

          The 1^st half clock was winding down, but the Bulldogs had just enough time to get another touchdown before the half. They put together a 3-play 60 yard drive, ending with a nice run from Treyton Dawson to give them a 19-12 lead. We got the ball back with 22 seconds left on the clock and tried to get in the end-zone before the half, but James was tackled at the 23-yard line on our last play of the half. After the first 12 minutes of play, the Bulldogs would lead 19-12. I told our offense at half-time that we had to keep scoring or this one was over. They were up to the challenge as usual. We got the ball to open the 3^rd quarter and went right to work. We once again pieced together a nice 9-play drive and survived a couple of holding penalties before James got us in the end zone on a short 1-yard run. We converted the extra point and once again the game was tied at 19.

          Both teams would then exchange a couple of quick strike touchdowns. The Bulldogs would score on a 62 yard run, but James Clayton would answer for us with a 60-yard touchdown run of his own to tie the game at 26. Ben Beckham would put the next points on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs with a nice 60-yard scamper to make the score 33-26. Our offense would once again answer with a 3-play 60 yard drive of our own. James would cap off the drive with a 48-yard run to tie the game at 33. To be honest, we scored quicker than I wanted. With about a minute left on the clock, I wanted to run it down and possibly score on the last play of the game, but what can you do. Tell the kids not to score if they get the chance. The Bulldogs got the ball and put the final touches on this one, with yet another 60-yard touchdown scamper to make the score 40-33. with 51 seconds remaining we got a nice run by James to take us to the Bulldogs 30-yard line, but that dreaded yellow flag was thrown on us for holding on the play. After a motion penalty by our offensive line, suddenly we were backed up to our own 30-yard line. We were able to get off a couple of plays before the final buzzer sounded but were not able to reach the end-zone as this one would end 40-33.            

          James Clayton had a record setting day for our offense. He carried the ball 28 times for 374 yards and 4 touchdowns. He carried the ball way more than I wanted him to, but to be honest, he was the only one in our backfield that could do much against the Bulldogs defense on the wet, muddy field. Our offensive line did a great job all game long, keeping the Bulldogs defense out of our backfield. Great job to that group, which includes Mark Thiele, Jack Hannan, Justice Spears, Gavin Clark, Caelion Murphy, Hunter Parker, Austin Walchli, Cody Pugh, Sam Johnson and Harrison Baschek. You guys were awesome on Saturday and are a big reason we moved the ball at will against the Bulldogs. Keep up the good work O-line! I also would like to say great job to Jack Hannan, who continues to be the best center in the league. He did not have one bad snap the whole game and we were running out of the shotgun for much of the game. As you all know the field was a disaster and the ball we were using wasn’t much better. Great job Jack! We will return to practice this week and get ready for an un-defeated YMA Cowboys team on Saturday. See you all at practice on Tuesday!   

Wow, what a game this young man had this week versus the National Family Bulldogs. James had 374 yards on 28 carries and scored 4 touchdowns in the game on Saturday. He put us on his back offensively and almost led us to the victory. James carried the ball way more than I wanted him to, but the Bulldogs could not stop him and he kept wanting the ball in the huddle. So I said, you tell me when you can't go no more and until that time, we'll keep riding your back all the way to the endzone. He set a team record Saturday, for most carries in a game (28) and most yards by a single back (374). Great job James, we are so proud of you!

The YMA Cowboys came into this game looking to cruise thru yet another victory. Things were looking like their game against Webb Energy in two weeks would be for the league championship, but our little tigers had other things on their minds. We came out and played a great game on both sides of the ball and put a kink in the Cowboys championship plans. Our offense was once again clicking on all cylinders and this week our defense came to play big time. We got a great performance from the entire defense, which allowed us to build a two touchdown lead for much of the 2^nd half. Let’s see how it all went down.

          We opened the game with the ball and wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. On the second play from scrimmage, James Clayton scampered 55 yards for a quick touchdown and after Tatum Lomon converted the extra point, we had a quick 7-0 lead. YMA’s offense came right back at us like we knew they would. After a good play from Jake Tyler and Jackson King on the first play, YMA would also score on their second play from scrimmage as they out ran our defense for a 60-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.

          We opened up our next drive with a 37-yard pass completion from Tatum Lomon to Jackson King which moved the ball to the Cowboys 23-yard line. After a run for no gain by Cade Grant, James Clayton would move the ball to the 8-yard line on a nice 15-yard scamper. The next play we would overload one side and James used his blockers to score his second touchdown of the game. Tatum once again converted the extra point and we held a 14-7 lead. YMA came right back at us. Once again after a nice play from our defense for no gain, they would dart 60-yards down the sidelines for another long touchdown run. Conley Bone then made one of the biggest plays in the game as he made a great open field tackle to stop their extra point and we held a slim 14-13 lead.

          We opened up the next drive going back to the air. Tatum found James for a 10-yard gain on a great catch by Mr. Clayton. We then were whistled for a mouthpiece penalty and a holding penalty to move the ball back to our own 35-yard line. That didn’t matter to our offense as James took the hand-off from Tatum and scampered 65 yards for yet another touchdown. We converted the extra point and held a 21-13 lead mid-way thru the 2^nd quarter. For the 3^rd straight time YMA would once again strike on their second play of the possession. After Jackson King made a nice open field tackle on 1^st down, YMA darted 60 yards down the right side to score and make this one a 2-point game at 21-19. Jackson King and Chad Sutton then stepped up and made a nice stop on the extra point try to keep the score 21-19.

          We got the ball back with less than 2 minutes left in the half and my plan was to use the rest of the time and not give YMA the ball back before the half ended. Jackson would open our drive with a nice 6-yard run. After a play that went for no gain, James would break free on the corner and out run the YMA defense for a 54-yard touchdown run to make it a 27-19 lead with just 30 seconds left in the half. We did not convert the extra point as Tatum was sacked on the play by the Cowboys defense. I knew if somehow our defense could get a couple of stops in the last 30 seconds of the half we could win this game. They did exactly that. Josh Hannan and Conley Bone stepped up big time and sacked the YMA running back in the back-field for no gain on their first play. Their next play the Cowboys would break free for a long run but it would be called back due to a holding penalty. On the last play of the half, it looked as if the Cowboys running back was in the clear, but Conley once again made a great open field tackle to save the touchdown. The buzzer sounded ending the first half of play with us holding a 27-19 lead. Way to step up defense!!!!

          YMA would get the ball to begin the 3^rd quarter and our defense would tighten up some on this drive. Noah Baker and Jackson King made a nice play and Josh Hannan would follow that up with one of his own. On the next play, Josh would sack the Cowboys quarterback to bring up a 4^th and 20. Just as it looked like we had their running back contained he broke free and darted 55 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown. They then converted the extra point and this one was a game again at 27-26. I really challenged the offense to keep moving the ball and this game was ours. We did just that. Our offensive line done a great job keeping YMA’s big defensive line out of our backfield and we took advantage. After a couple of plays for short gain, we were called for a motion penalty and another holding penalty. Facing a 3^rd and long we then converted on the play of the game. I told Tatum to drop back and pass the ball right over the helmets of the YMA linebackers and James would be waiting there for the ball and that’s exactly what he did. It was a perfectly ran play and James caught the beautiful pass from Tatum and outran the YMA defense on his way to a 73-yard touchdown. We converted the extra point and extended our lead to 34-26.

          Our defense would then put the final touches on this one on YMA’s next possession. After a touchdown saving tackle by Josh Hannan on a 15-yard gain, YMA troubles would begin. Their fumbled on two straight plays in their backfield but recovered each time. After a short gain and 3^rd down, they would face a 4^th and 15 from our 45-yard line. Just when it looked as if they broke off a run to get the first down, Josh once again made a great play, tackling the YMA running back just before he reached the 1^st down marker. The ball went back to our offense and we would start milking the clock. With only 4 minutes left in the game I told our offense I did not want to give the ball back to YMA. We ran a lot of what I call “safe plays” eating up yardage but more importantly valuable time on the clock. YMA could not stop us and we ate up the rest of the clock ending this one 34-26.

          What a performance by our kids who refused to quit after a rough couple of games. I was so very proud of them and their effort in this game. We had a lot of stars in this one. On defense, Conley Bone and Josh Hannan both made several key plays in the game. Jake Tyler, Jackson King and Chad Sutton also made several nice plays and were really flying to the ball. Our defensive line did exactly what we wanted them to do. They plugged up the middle and did not let YMA get any big yards up our middle. Great job to the entire defense in this one. You guys were awesome!

          On offense, James once again led us with 254 yards on 13 carries and he scored 4 touchdowns. He could not have done that without the great blocking he received from his offensive line and fellow running backs. Jackson King and Cade Grant did a great job blocking for James and they made it awfully tough for YMA’s speedy defenders to get to James for much of the game. Tatum finished with 19 yards on two carries and connected on 3 of 3 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown. Our offensive line was very good today. YMA has an aggressive defensive line and we did not allow them to get to our backfield many times at all. Cody Pugh, Harrison Baschek and Jack Hannan were awesome once again in this one. Great job to all you little tigers and we’ll see you at practice this week!

With such a good performance by our defense it was hard to come up with our defensive player of the week, but we did narrow it down to two players. Conley Bone and Josh Hannan really stood out for our defense versus the YMA Cowboys. Both players made some good open field tackles and helped our defense to get a couple of stops against the high-powered YMA offense. Awesome job this week to both Conley and Josh, we are very proud of you both!

Our week 5 offensive player of the week is Jackson King. After a rough game last week versus the Bulldogs, Jackson bounced back on Saturday with a great performance versus the YMA Cowboys on Saturday. Jackson had one carry for 6 yards and also caught a pass for 37 yards. What he did do that doesn't show up on the stat sheet is a good job of blocking against a very agressive YMA defense. Jackson also played a couple of series on defense because we were short some players due to illness. He had several tackles and really made a difference for our defense. Great job Jackson, we are very proud of you!