Things learned, observed in Pacific high school football Week 6.0
Published: September 30, 2012
Musings, mutterings and the occasional schmahts as Ornauer says yet another prayer for the folks on Okinawa who suffered through the worst tropical cyclone to hit the island in five years:
Should anybody wonder why this pontification on high school football so close to the tail end of what was a disastrous weekend on Okinawa, I pen this with a very heavy heart. Though I spent the weekend distant from my beloved home, this writing finds me beside myself with concern for those who suffered damage to home or injuries to selves, the more than a quarter million buildings that lost power, all the trees, power lines and power poles that snapped like so many twigs. Here’s hoping the island gets back on its feet soon.
That said, and in no way making light of what occurred on Okinawa, football and other sports did take place around the rest of the Pacific, and some milestones were achieved along the way:
-- Division II race on ice: As expected, the Far East Division II race for berths in the Nov. 10 title game hinged entirely on Saturday’s outcome in the Edgren at Daegu High game, and that’s exactly what occurred.
Big plays dotted the landscape as the Eagles, in their first appearance at Kelly Field since winning the 2007 D-II title game 27-6 over the Warriors, improved to 2-0 on that turf, beating Daegu 30-8. Tristan Jefferson tossed two touchdown passes, Louis Murphy ran for one and Santiago Fleming returned an interception for a score.
With the victory, Edgren dethroned two-time champion Daegu and slammed the door on Korea for the first time since the Far East playoffs’ inception in 2005. Neither Daegu nor Osan American will play for the title. It’s entirely between Zama and Edgren (each 2-0 vs. Korea), with the only lingering mystery being which school will host the title game. Zama visits Edgren on Oct. 5 and the Trojans host the Eagles on Oct. 19.
Zama won the 2009 title game and has been to the last three, losing the last two years. Edgren hasn't been to the D-II championship game since winning from 2006-08.
Against common opponents, Edgren outscored its two Korea foes 70-15, while Zama had a 64-14 edge on Osan and Daegu. Almost identical. A question now of which group of standouts will stand out taller in these two showdowns, Jefferson, Murphy and Khalil Williams for Edgren and Andre Encarnacion, Mitchell Harrison, Holden Limas, David Coleman and RayVaughn King for Zama.
-- Mustangs back on track: After their uncharacteristic 0-2 start, American School In Japan football suddenly finds itself having righted the ship, winning its last two with everything clicking on all sides of the ball.
Evident in ASIJ’s 24-8 victory at Zama on Friday, the Mustangs are taking much better care of the football. David Hernandez, who stepped into some big shoes vacated by three-year quarterback star Hayden Jardine, is making solid decisions and his receivers are benefitting.
This could make Friday’s game pitting the Mustangs at Yokota very interesting in terms of who owns the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools. Yokota finally exorcised the ghost that was Mustang Valley in last month’s 27-21 victory; could it be that the shoe is on the other foot this time and the Mustangs give the Panthers fits on the Bonk Field turf?
-- “Killer B’s” keep Panthers rolling: Backs whose names begin with the letter B have been instrumental in Yokota’s drive to 5-0 this season, and Friday’s 49-20 win at Kinnick was no different. What has been different the last two weeks is the preponderance of big plays run by the Panthers, more known for their grind-it-out style that made the Panthers known as the “Ground Machine.”
Raymond Butler, Morgan Breazell and Donavan Ball combined for 364 yards and five touchdowns, all on plays of 24 or more yards. Stanley Speed got in on the action as well, running 54 yards for a touchdown and gaining 114 total on three carries. All told, Yokota racked up 511 rushing yards on 32 attempts.
-- Division I race still tight: Yokota’s victory put the Panthers in a tie, for the moment, with Kubasaki atop the Division I standings. Though a game ahead of Kadena and two ahead of Kinnick, the chase for berths in the Nov. 17 title game still remains alive.
Folks might have seen the Yokota victory over Kinnick coming. Others might have been surprised to see Kubasaki edge Kadena 14-7 in the rain and wind vanguard of an advancing Typhoon Jelawat.
But save for Seoul American, every other D-I team has a shot at one of the two championship game slots and control their own destiny.
Key to Tyler Smith, Jarrett Mitchell, Winston Maxwell, DeQuan Alderman and the fortunes of Kubasaki will be how the Dragons do in the second go-round at Kadena on Oct. 20, then the big home clash with Yokota on Oct. 27. And despite the one-sided loss to Kadena in September, Kubasaki will face a whole different Kinnick team in terms of attitude come Oct. 13.
Yokota faces a rematch with Kinnick, and its Nov. 3 home game against Kadena could prove pivotal in the same manner as Saturday’s Edgren-Daegu game was. Should Joseph Hermon, Joey Dyer, Justin Sego and Kadena win out against Yokota and Kubasaki, it stands a good shot at hosting the title game.
Even Kinnick, at 0-2, still has a shot if they win out. Kind of a tall order since they have to visit Yokota in October, but still possible. And given how the Marcus Boatwright, Quinton Holden, Dustin Wilson and the Red Devils didn’t quit even after falling behind 35-0 midway through the second quarter, it appears as if Kinnick has learned how to rise after falling.
-- Guam High rides high atop IFL: Champions in 2010, runners-up in 2011, Guam High has finally accomplished something no Panthers team has done in its 15 years in the Interscholastic Football League: Clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
And as they have much of the season, juniors Tegan Brown and L.J. Aguon did much of the heavy lifting, Aguon throwing two touchdown passes and Brown coming up big on both sides of the ball in the Panthers’ 14-3 home win over Father Duenas Memorial on Saturday.
That made the Panthers 5-0, with their regular-season finale against Southern on Saturday for homecoming at 7 p.m. Then, it’s two weeks off while the Panthers await the winner of the fourth- vs. fifth-place game on Oct. 13. Guam High hosts that semifinal at a time to be determined on Oct. 20.
