NCR Tigers: 2007 Season

       Well we opened up the 2007 Rinky Dink season with a bang today. If you like offense, this was the game for you. Both teams went up and down the field at will for much of the game, but in the end our defense stepped up and made a big stop with 3 minutes left in the game to secure the 35-32 victory.

       Alfred's Pirates wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as they took the ball to start the game and scored on their fifth play from scrimmage. The extra point was no good and the score was 6-0 near the end of the first quarter. While Alfred's took almost the entire 1st quarter to score their touchdown, we would do just the opposite. Kohl Franklin scrambled 30 yards on our first offensive play and Alex Warren followed that with a 30-yard run of his own that found the endzone to tie the game at 6. Alex then converted the extra point and we held a 7-6 lead.

       Alfred's came right back at us on the very next play and the track meet was on. Their quarterback darted 60 yards for another touchdown and suddenly they were back on top at 12-7. Our offense wasted very little time giving us the lead back. After a play for no gain, Kohl Franklin outran the Pirates defense, going 60 yards for his first touchdown on the day. Alex converted the extra point and we held a 14-12 lead.

       On Alfred's next possession, our defense stepped up and gave us a much needed stop. Drew Yarbrough had a quarterback sack and Riyadh Ananda made a nice solo tackle on a 3rd and long play. Our defensive line, led by Garrett Clark and Jacob Freuh, really got a nice push on this series of downs and put a lot of pressure on the Alfred's quarterback. We held on a 4th and long, giving the ball back to our offense at the Pirates 45 yard line. Aaron Hubbard would then take a hand-off from Kohl Franklin and rumble 45 yards for another Tiger touchdown giving us a 21-12 lead.

       The 2nd quarter was coming to a close and I was hoping we could get another stop, but Alfred's offense had other ideas. On their fourth play of the series they scampered 50 yards for another touchdown, pulling them within 21-19 with only 7 seconds remaining in the half. On the sideline after the Alfred's touchdown, I told my running backs we had one play left in the half and who thought they could break one. Of course all of them wanted the ball, but I decided to run a quarterback keeper for Kohl and boy did it pay off! Kohl put a couple of moves on Alfred defenders and 60 yards later he had his second touchdown of the day. James Clayton converted the extra point, giving us a 28-19 lead at the half.

       We really challenged the defense to step up and give us another stop or two in the second half, but it sure didn't start out that way. Alfred's took the ball on the very first play of the second half and outran our defense for another 60-yard TD run and just like that our comfortable lead was over. Alfred's converted the extra point and this one was a game again at 28-26.

       Our next possession it took us a little longer to score. Two plays to be exact. After Aaron battled for 5 hard yards, Alex found a hole in the Pirates defense and rocketed 55 yards for second touchdown on the day. Alex would convert the extra point and we had our 9-point lead back again at 35-26. Alfred's refused to go away quietly, as they put together a long drive that would see them score again and pull within 35-32 with 5 minutes left in the game.

       Our offense then put together a drive of their own. We moved the ball from our 40-yard line, down to the Pirates 5 as the game clock was winding down. I stressed to the guys in the huddle to hold on to the ball with everything they had. Looking back I probably should have kept my mouth shut, because we muffed a hand-off and fumbled the ball back to Alfred's with 2 minutes to go in the game. This time though our defense was up to the challenge as we held Alfred's without a first down, giving the ball back to our offense with seconds remaining in the game. We then ran out the clock and celebrated the hard fought 35-32 victory.   

       I was very proud of the kids today. The offensive line did a good job of keeping Alfreds out of our backfield and our running backs and quarterback did the rest. We have some work to do on defense as the competition steps up big time this week. We will face a very good Webb Energy Wildcat team, who has 22 players back from last years team. We are really going to have to step up our game this week. Be ready for a couple of good practices this week guys. Great job today Tigers and congratulatons on a big victory.

Kohl Franklin         5 carries     155 yards      2 TD's

Alex Warren         3 carries       85 yards      2 TD's

Aaron Hubbard     4 carries.       82 yards       1 TD

Our week 1 offensive player of the week is Kohl Franklin. Kohl did a great job running the offense, while scoring two touchdowns on the day. He ended the game with 155 yards on 5 carries. Not a bad average per carry! He is a good leader in the huddle and plays the game the way it should be played, 110% effort all the time. Great job in the game today Kohl. We are very proud of you!

Our week 2 defensive player of the week is Drew Yarbrough. Drew had a good game today versus the Pirates. He had two quarterback sacks and several tackles in the game. He was one of the few bright spots we had on defense out there today. Great effort out there Drew. Keep up the hard work and challenge your teammates to step up their game to your level.

       The Wildcats showed Saturday why they're one of the best teams in the league this year. Their very fast and powerful defense shut down our offense for most of the game and their offense did just enough to get them the victory. Webb wasted no time in getting on the board in this one. They took the ball on the very first play of the game and scampered 60 yards for an early 6-0 lead.

        Our offense saw first hand while the Wildcats have the best defense in the league, as we were stuffed four straight plays and had to give the ball back to their offense. The wildcats would then out together a 45-yard drive in 5 plays to take a 13-0 lead. After holding our offense again, the Wildcats looked to be on the verge of scoring again, but a fumble at our 20-yard line would end their drive.

       After a couple of plays for no gain, Alex Warren then took the hand-off from Kohl Franklin and outran the Wildcat defense for the 85-yard TD. Alex got excellent blocking from James Clayton and Aaron Hubbard on the play. A missed extra point would make the score 13-6 at the half. We would get the ball to open the half and looked to be on the way to tying this one up. We marched down the field and was inside the Wildcat 20-yard line when we came up inches short on a 4th and 5 play.

       Webb Energy would then put this game away as they put together a long 80-yard drive that would lead to a touchdown and a 19-6 score. We would put together another small drive near the end of the game but would not reach the endzone as this one ended 19-6. The loss drops us to 1-1 on the season and puts the Wildcats at the top of the league standings at 2-0.

       We return to action next week, when we play the Simmons 1st Steelers at 10am. See you all at practice this week.

Kohl Franklin         7 carries        13 yards     

Alex Warren         12 carries     104 yards      1 TD

Aaron Hubbard     4 carries.        11 yards      

Our week 2 - Offensive Player of the Week is Alex Warren. Alex was the only bright spot we had on offense in the game this week versus Webb Energy. Our offense was stuffed for much of the game, but it was Alex who got us on the board with an 85-yard touchdown run on the last play of the 1st half. Alex finished the game with 104 yards on 12 carries and 1 touchdown. Great job Alex. We are very proud of you!

Our week 2 NCR defensive player of the week is Josh Perkins. Josh had a good game versus Webb Energy on Saturday. He had several tackles in the game and saved one touchdown when he caught a Wildcat running back from behind. On the very next play the Wildcats fumbled, giving the ball back to our offense. Josh continues to be one of our best players on defense because of his hustle and agressiveness. Great job Josh. We are very proud of you!

Well, this one sure didn’t turn out anything like we expected. But that’s what you get when you’re dealing with these 6,7 & 8 year olds. Our defense, who last week, looked so good in practice, forgot to show up to the game on Saturday. We didn’t manage to stop Simmons offense on one single possession and that proved too much for us to overcome. We gave up 40 points to one of the weakest offenses in the league and because of that, there will be some changes made in practice on Monday.         

          For example, the first play of the game we knew exactly what they were going to run, a quarterback draw up the middle. We had the players there to defend it but didn’t come close to making the tackle and the result was a 7-0 Simmons lead before we were even awake. Our offense would strike right back at them when Aaron Hubbard rumbled 60 yards on two plays to tie the game at 7. The first half would be back and forth, with both defenses struggling to stop the other teams’ offense. Simmons scored right before the half to go ahead 27-21 but left us enough time to only get one play off before the end of the half. Alex broke a few tackles and for a second it looked as if he would score, but Simmons was able to corral him to end the half.

          The 3^rd quarter we got the ball to open the half and were driving down the field when a holding penalty would kill our drive. On a 4^th and 7, we missed a key block and Simmons held us for the first time all day. Their offense got the ball right back and drove it back down the filed on us to take a 33-21 lead with one quarter left to play. Our offense responded with another score to pull us within 33-27, but our defense just could not get us a stop. Simmons would add a final touchdown to put the final nail in the coffin and this one would end 40-27. The loss drops us to 1-2 on the season with a very tough game looming this week against the 2-1 National Family Bulldogs. Be ready for some changes at practice this week.

Our week 3 player of the week is Jeremiah Mathews. Jeremiah had a great game versus Simmons this past Saturday. He did a good job blocking and did not botch a single snap. He is the leader of our offensive line and has shown he can handle that role. Every play starts with a good snap from the center and Jeremiah has done a good job with that responsibility. Keep up the good work Jeremiah. We're very proud of you!

Our week 3 defensive player of the week is Drake Gross. Drake had a good game this past Saturday versus Simmons. He was one of the few bright spots we had on defense. Drake plays hard when he's on the field and gives 100%. As coaches that's all we can ask. Good job this week Drake. We're very proud of you.

I could tell in the pre-game that it was going to be a long day. Many of our kids seemed to be somewhere else in their mind and it showed on the field against the Bulldogs. We put in as bad of a performance as I have seen one of my teams put on in years. Now, give credit to the Bulldogs, who have their best team in years. They played a great game and their kids were very aggressive, while ours were back on their heals all game. This one is not worth even writing about, for us anyway. We were never in the game on either side of the ball and the Bulldogs dominated every aspect of the game in the 34-0 victory. I can promise that the intensity will go way up in practice this week. We are going to find out which kids are going to finish these final three games with the intensity and effort we are looking for and who is just happy to have a uniform.

After a tough week of practice  it sure was good to see the kids hard work pay off today with a big win over the YMA Cowboys. Just when our season looked as if it couldn't get any worse, our quarterback, Kohl Franklin, broke his hand at practice on Thursday night. So we went into todays' game with Brevon Harper at the QB position. Brevon had no practice at quarterback, other than he and Kohl working together at their house on Friday. Brevon did a great job and that along with our defense stepping up help lead us to the 13-7 win.

       The YMA Cowboys came right out at us in this one. After a couple of plays for no gain, they broke one up the middle for a 60-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Our offense struck right back and this one looked as if it would be an offensive shoot-out. Alex Warren took the hand-off from Brevon and scampered 16 yards for a 1st down at the Cowboys 44-yard line. Aaron Hubbard then had back-to back runs of 7 yards to give us a 1st down at the Cowboys 32-yard line. Alex then broke free around the end, darting 32 yards for a touchdown pulling us within 1 at 7-6. We didn't convert the extra point and we remained down by 1.

       The rest of the 1st half would see both defenses step up and what looked like a scoring fest quickly turned into a defensive battle. The 1st half would end with YMA holding a 7-6 lead. We got the ball to open the 3rd quarter and wasted no time in giving our team the lead. Alex outran the YMA defense on the second play of the 3rd quarter to put us ahead for good at 12-7. Aaron converted the extra point to extend our lead to 13-7 with 5 minutes still left in the quarter. Little did we know at the time, but that would be all the scoring in this one. The rest of the game would see a defensive battle with both teams stepping up to make big plays.

       On one YMA possession, Aaron Hubbard saved what looked to be a YMA touchdown by hustling to catch the running back from behind at our 10-yard line. Drew Yarbrough then recovered a YMA fumble on the next play and a big sigh of relief was heard from our sideline. Riyadh Ananda, Joseph Wittig, Alex Warren and James Clayton all made some big plays in the half to help lead us to the victory in this one. All in all it was a good performance by the kids in this one. I was especially proud of the effort I saw out there on the field by our kids. Now the challenge is to bring that effort to both practices this week and to the game versus McCutchen next Saturday. See you all at practice on Monday.

With the injury to our quarterback, Kohl Franklin, in Thursday's practice, we had to throw someone right into the fire today versus the Cowboys. Brevon Harper was that guy and he stepped up big time for us! Brevon was very solid at the quarterback position today. He took very good care of the ball and got the ball in the hands of our playmakers. I was very proud of how he stepped up, while being put in a bad position. A big thanks to Kohl for working with Brevon on Friday, showing him the plays and helping to get him ready for the game today. Great job Brevon. We are very proud of you!

Wow, did the Riyadh that we have all been watching in practice finally decide to show up to the game today or what! Riyadh had a great game today versus the Cowboys. He had several tackles, including some big ones in the Cowboys backfield. He was agressive and made it very difficult for the Cowboys to do anything on offense. Riyadh had some help today also. The entire Tiger defense really stepped up their game today and lead us to this much deserved win. Great job Riyadh and the rest of your defensive buddies!

The NCR Tigers won their second game in a row today by defeating the McCutchen Law 49ers 19-7 to move to 3-3 on the season. We got started early in this one and while we hit a few bumps in the road along the way, we hung on for the victory. Aaron Hubbard and Riyadh Ananda made their presence known on the very first play in this one. Riyadh hit the 49ers’ quarterback in the backfield, causing a fumble that was recovered by Aaron and we got the ball at the McCutchen 40-yard line. It didn’t take long from there, as Alex Warren took the hand-off from Brevon Harper and scampered 40 yards around the end for the first touchdown of the game. Aaron converted the extra point and just like that we had a 7-0 lead.           

As easy as that looked, it would not come so easy the rest of the half for our offense. The next couple of possessions would see both teams exchange fumbles and the defenses started dominating for both teams. We had trouble stopping a couple of big guys on their defensive line and it really threw us out of sync on offense. Late in the 2^nd quarter, we would not convert on a 4^th and short at our own 20-yard line, giving the ball back to McCutchen in great field position. The 49ers would take advantage and score right before the half, tying the game at 7.           

We made a couple of adjustments at halftime on the offensive line and it didn’t take long for those adjustments to pay off. Alex scampered 15 yards for a 1^st and 10 at the 49ers 45-yard line and his partner in the backfield would do the rest on the very next play. Aaron took the hand-off from Brevon and found a hole to dart 45 yards for his first touchdown of the game. Our extra point failed and we held a 13-7 lead midway through the 3^rd quarter.            

Our defense really took over in the 2^nd half of this game. The held McCutchen to negative yardage for the half and allowed our offense to get the ball in great field position for much of the half. So many great plays by our defense was the key in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters. Riyadh Ananda and Aaron Hubbard had numerous tackles behind the line of scrimmage. When McCutchen did manage to get by those two guys, we had other players step up and make some big plays. James Clayton and Joseph Wittig both made some great plays on the corners and our linebackers also did a great job. Drew Yarbrough and Tyler Armistead also made a couple of nice plays in a second half totally dominated by our defense! Our offense managed to score late in the game to put this one away, as Aaron would score his second touchdown to make the score 19-7.           

We are very proud of the kids and the way they have really stepped up these last couple of weeks. We are finally bringing our practice to the games, especially on defense. We look forward to another good week of practice and will play our final game of the season next week versus a good Police Cubs team. See you all at practice on Monday @ 5:30.  

Our week 6 Offensive Player of the Week is Aaron Hubbard. Aaron had a great game this week versus McCutchen Law. Aaron had 5 carries for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game. When he wasn't racking up yards on the ground he was doing a great job blocking for his fellow running backs. Aaron also played on defense in the game and done an awesome job there too. Great game Aaron. We are very proud of you!

Our week 6 Defensive Player of the week is Joseph Wittig. Joseph had a good game this week versus McCutchen Law. He had several good tackles, including a couple of open field tackles that helped save a touchdown or two. Joseph has really answered the coaches challenge to step up his game the last few weeks. He is a big reason our defense has played so well the last two games. Keep up the good work Joseph. We are very proud of you!

Going into the last game of the season we really thought we were in good shape to reel off our 3rd win in a row and for a while it looked like that might happen. But as good as we played in the 1st half, we played equally as bad in the 2nd half. Three key fumbles and defensive breakdowns would turn a close game into a blow-out, as the Police Cubs ended our season on a down note with a 39-18 win over the Tigers.

       The Police Cubs jumped on us early in this one taking a 6-0 lead on their first offensive play. Our offense came right back at them and put together a nice drive that would end in a 39-yard touchdown run from Alex Warren to tie the game at 6. After another Cubs touchdown that would give them a 13-6 lead, our offense went back to work. This time it only took one play as we used a little trickery from our playbook and Aaron Hubbard scampered 60-yard for a touchdown. Our extra point once again failed and we found ourselves in a good one at 13-12. Our defense put up an awesome defensive stand to end the half, holding the Police Cubs out of the endzone and this one remained 13-12 at the break.

        The 3rd quarter would see the Police Cubs open the half putting together a 6-play touchdown drive to go ahead 25-12. We got the ball back and looked to be on the way to pulling within a touchdown but a fumbled snap would give the ball right back to the Cubs. They wasted no time getting back in the endzone and suddenly we were in a 32-12 hole. Our offense then once again looked to be putting together a nice drive but another fumble would give the ball back to the Cubs. After another Cubs touchdown, Alex Warren would scamper 59-yards on the final play of the 2007 season to make the final score 39-18. It was a disappointing end to a game that we thought we had a good chance to win.

       The wheels just came off in the 2nd half of this one. We couldn't hang on to the ball on offense and couldn't stop them on defense. The Police Cubs are a good team and they played mistake free football and we didn't. That would tell the story in this one. I was proud of the kids effort despite the loss. They never quit, even up to the last play. It was a frustrating season at times and we had to challenge these kids like we never had to a group before. These last three games they really responded like we wanted them to all season long. But today we just made too many mistakes and you can't do that against a good team. Hope to see all of you at the party in two weeks.

Our Offensive Player of the Week for the final week of the season is Garrett Clark. Garrett played a good game today versus the Police Cubs. He is a leader on our offensive line and has been all season long. Garrett wanted to play defense this season, but we had to move him to the offensive line earlier in the season because of all the problems we were having there. He responded like the champion he is and I am very proud of the way he played for us this season. We are certainly going to miss Garrett next season and look forward to hearing that he is doing well next year at Union. Great job today Garrett. We are very proud of you!

Our Defensive Player of the Week for our final week of the season is James Clayton. James played a good game today versus the Police Cubs. He made several good tackles and also did some things at his position that don't show up on the stat sheet. James started out the season at running back and did a good job there, but we moved him to defense mid-way through the season and he did a great job for us there also. Can't wait to see him next year and how much he improves in a year. His name will be called a lot on that loud speaker is my prediction.

Webb Energy Wildcats        7-0

National Family Bulldogs      6-1

Police Cubs                         4-2-1

YMA Cowboys                     3-3-1

NCR Tigers                          3-4  

Simmons 1st 49ers                2-5

McCutchen Razorbacks         1-6

Alfred's Pirates                   1-6

                      Carries           Yards                  TD's

Alex Warren                              62                    782                       10

Aaron Hubbard                           36                    397                       5

Kohl Franklin                               17                    259                       3