Upsets

[outspoken]

I am sorry, no disrespect to Hillsboro, but it doesn't make me mad that they lost. When I came on here before the season started all the posts were about how good Grothman and Hillsboro were going to be. Anything can happen in 9 man football. This is good and should make this an exciting season for ND 9 man.

[Johnny]

It does make Hillsboro and Richardton the hunter rather than the hunted. As in the NFL or most any sport, perfect seasons don't mean much but championships mean everything (ie. New England Patriots perfect season last year ending on a loss to a constantly improving New York Giant team).
The true measure of a team is how you improve as the season goes on and how you work on your weaknesses. Let's just see how Richardton and Hillsboro coaches and players bounce back and then we can talk.

[Ocho Siete]

Even after the loss, you're still going to hear me talking about Hillsboro and their chances, outspoken. And I think their chances are still pretty darn good. And I'm still going with my preseason pick with Hillsboro in the Bowl, let's just see how they bounce back after that game...

[outspoken]

I think there chances are still good too. I said...
"anything can happen in 9 man football.this is good and should make for an exciting season for Nd 9 man"
by this I meant that one team probably won't run away with everything, every game is going to be important, and fun for a fan like me to watch

[vikes705]

this post isn't directed toward any specific team or game, just upsets in general.

i think its better for a good team to have an upset or two during the season rather than going undefeated. teams that are undefeated have the mentality that they are unbeatable, and they won't work as hard in practice or during a game. the upsets will give the team determination and motivation.

[AC-DC]

I couldn't agree more. Divide County's opening loss to Williams County was probably the best thing that could have happened to them. They hadn't lost a regular season game in 4 years and the pressure was pretty intense. Getting it over in the season's first game has allowed them to settle down and play. Were now just looking forward to a play-off rematch.

[tommykramer]

I was at the Hillsboro - Richland game, and I'm just going to ramble on with some thoughts after watching the game - If Coach Bohl was at the game recruiting the older Grothman he was probably disapointed - Richland has always smacked people in the mouth and they did it Friday against Andrew. You could tell that Hillsboro really hadn't had to compete in their first two games because they dominated the first half and really struggled in the 2nd. Connor Johnson and Zach Grothman were the real stars in this game. Connor was nearly unstopable in the passing game, and probably had 20 tackles on defense. Zach is a Great running back, what really was impressive was his vision because at times Richland was there to stop him and he still made great yardage because of cutbacks, jukes etc... He also saved a couple long Richland runs from becoming touchdowns and was not afraid to lay some hits.
I would venture to guess that Richland and Hillsboro are probably two of the top teams on the eastern side. If Richland can devolop some depth and Hillsboro can learn from this game, I would not be suprised to see them in the East Region championship game.

A couple of other thoughts - What was Oakes doing scoring 56 before putting in the subs? I have always thought that Ihry was slightly overated, considering that he gets the ball 85% of the time and in last years case he was playing behind a pretty solid line - eventually teams are going to tee-off on him like last year in the playoffs. Why does Hillsboro constantly run the on-side? Against good teams this is going to really hurt (it did last Friday). Coaches could learn alot from Jeff Sheehan (Richland's coach). He is only got 19 kids out for football, but in the past if he had any kind lead he has given his 2nd team a chance to play against the other teams 1st, and it pays off EVERY YEAR. Lood at Richlands track record since they restarted the program - One losing season.

[busch3434]

Not to downplay Richland, they are a good team but they will be tested especially after losing a kid during the Hillsboro game. Does anybody have any information on this? But during the game you could see that Grothmann had the ability to put that team on his shoulders and he did time and time again but Richland exposed the pretty non-existent passing game of Hillsboro later in the game. They also exposed a pass defense that I believe can be suspect, there were alot of pass interference calls on Hillsboro's secondary during the night, especially in the second half. It's true, their season will hinge on health because of numbers but the key for them is the QB Jacob Erbes. Hillsboro got pressure on him time and time again but they kept losing contain and Erbes got loose. He also did a very good job avoiding the rush and buying enough time to find his receivers. I have a feeling the game between Richland and Wyndmere-Lidgerwood will be just as good. Both teams have quite a bit of speed and a few kids with good size, but the game will hinge on if Erbes can be contained in the pocket and taken down. If this doesn't happen, my alma-mater may have a problem on their hands.

[Johnny]

I look forward to Friday's game with Richland. Wyndmere has been improving and this is tough test. Richland's size and passing game gives them the advantage. If Wyndmere can limit the turnovers and hang in there into the 4th quarter, it could be interesting.

[Hinsa]

Richland has to seriously, absolutely, positively guard against a let down. They have to treat beating Hillsboro as just one step in their season, not as the highlight of their season.

Containing Erbes is huge. Hillsboro tried to do it with a basic 3-man rush and couldn't do it.

[pakkyzoo]

Richland has to seriously, absolutely, positively guard against a let down. They have to treat beating Hillsboro as just one step in their season, not as the highlight of their season.

Containing Erbes is huge. Hillsboro tried to do it with a basic 3-man rush and couldn't do it.

What type of offense is Richland running this year? Last year I remember they ran an "I" spread. Are they keeping it the same or our they going back to the 4 wide spread?

Is Wyndmere still an I team that runs a little option look off it?

[Hinsa]

I must admit I'm not an expert at formations, but Richland ran 3 wides about 50% of the first half, much more in the second half against Hillsboro. Bachman stays as the lone tight end and then sneaks out into the pattern. Hillsboro lost track of him for a short touchdown toss as well as the game-winning 2-point conversion.

[booyah]

Richland has to seriously, absolutely, positively guard against a let down. They have to treat beating Hillsboro as just one step in their season, not as the highlight of their season.

i agree 100%. there has been teams that have won a big game and then they think that they can beat anybody without going out there and giving it there all. lets hope that doesnt happen with richland.