Friday Night Lights 2009: 11-3
If you can help out finding articles on any of the commits, e-mail me, and I'll try to include your contribution.
MI QB Devin Gardner
Last week: Pregame fluff from the Detroit News. Inkster pounds Dearborn Edsel Ford 51-19 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs. Gardner completed 4 of 7 passes for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also running 6 times for 98 yards and another pair of scores. mgoblog was there, and thus provides you with rockin' HD highlights:
As you can see, his first 4 pass attempts were completed. Add to that the fact that 2 of the incompletions were Hail Marys and one was a perfect fade to a receiver whose toe was on the line, and you have a pretty good passing day.
This week: Inkster (6-3) @ Redford Thurston Friday at 7:00 in Round 2 of the State Playoffs.
| Devin Gardner 2009 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
| Game | Result | Comp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | % | Yds/Att | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Pioneer | L 32-35 | 10 | 14 | 97 | 1 | 0 | 71.43 | 6.93 | 16 | 113 | 1 | 7.06 |
| East Kentwood | L 33-52 | 19 | 30 | 389 | 3 | 1 | 63.33 | 12.97 | 10 | 102 | 2 | 10.20 |
| St. Edward | W 14-7 | |||||||||||
| Highland Park | W 27-22 | 9 | 16 | 127 | 2 | 2 | 56.25 | 7.94 | 11 | 74 | 2 | 6.73 |
| Bay City Central | W 27-20 | 7 | 13 | 132 | 1 | 0 | 53.85 | 10.15 | 15 | 95 | 1 | 6.33 |
| Muskegon CC | W 34-19 | 4 | 9 | 110 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 | 12.22 | 99 | 1 | ||
| St. Ignatius | L 20-49 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| Steubenville | W 36-29 | 14 | 25 | 275 | 4 | 0 | 56.00 | 11.00 | 11 | 55 | 1 | 5.00 |
| Regular Season | (5-3) | 63 | 107 | 1130 | 12 | 3 | 58.88 | 10.56 | 63 | 439+ | 9 | 6.97 |
| Edsel Ford | W 51-19 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 57.14 | 7.29 | 6 | 98 | 2 | 16.33 |
| Totals | (6-3) | 67 | 117 | 1181 | 14 | 3 | 57.26 | 10.09 | 69 | 537+ | 11 | 7.78 |
SC QB Conelius Jones
Last week: Spartanburg falls to Boiling Springs 35-39.
the Vikings marched down inside the Boiling Springs 30-yard line in the final minutes, but a fourth-down run by quarterback Conelius Jones, another Shrine Bowl pick, was stopped short
For Spartanburg, Jones ran for 77 yards and a touchdown and threw for a score to Alton Miller.
And what is this "Shrine Bowl" you speak of? It's the North v. South Carolina High School All-Star game. Jones was selected to play as a wide receiver. Interesting quote from the article:
Spartanburg quarterback Conelius Jones, committed to Michigan as a defensive back,
To the best of my knowledge, he's coming in to Michigan as a quarterback, with a potential move to DB down the road.
This week: Spartanburg (3-7) @ Dorman.
| Conelius Jones 2009 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
| Game | Result | Comp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | % | Yds/Att | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Dorman | L 7-20 | 7 | 24 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 29.17 | 1.75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Union | W 35-0 | 7 | 8 | 88 | 1 | 0 | 87.50 | 11.00 | 9 | 57 | 3 | 6.33 |
| Northwestern | W 20-10 | 125 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||||||
| Sumter | L 21-24 | 17 | 26 | 189 | 1 | 1 | 65.38 | 7.27 | 21 | 59 | 1 | 2.81 |
| Greenwood | L 9-21 | 15 | 25 | 219 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 | 8.76 | 19 | 36 | 1 | 1.89 |
| Gaffney | L 7-14 | 18 | 30 | 184 | 0 | 1 | 60.00 | 6.13 | 21 | 60 | 1 | 2.86 |
| Byrnes | L 6-49 | 9 | 24 | 106 | 1 | 0 | 37.50 | 4.42 | 13 | 94 | 0 | 7.23 |
| Mauldin | L 27-46 | 7 | 14 | 92 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 | 6.57 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0.70 |
| Hillcrest | W 31-20 | 4 | 6 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 | 9.00 | 10 | 90 | 2 | 9.00 |
| Boiling Springs | L 35-39 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 1 | |||||||
| Totals | (3-7) | 84 | 157 | 974+ | 6 | 2 | 53.50 | 6.20 | 103 | 403+ | 10 | 3.91 |
MI RB Austin White
Last week: Stevenson defeats Northville 21-7 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
Stevenson put two touchdowns on the board, including a 1-yard run by Austin White...
Stevenson then ran out the clock as White, who finished with a team-high 117 yards on 19 carries, racked up three first downs...
“He (White) is the type of back that can also be patient,’’ Ladach said. “He can nickel-and-dime you, too. Stevenson has a good offense. We did a pretty good job, but obviously we didn’t do enough.’’
This week: Stevenson (8-2) @ Detroit Catholic Central Saturday at 7:30 in Round 2 of the State Playoffs.
| Austin White 2009 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
| Game | Result | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Franklin | L 7-21 | 14 | 64 | 1 | 4.57 | - | - | - | - |
| Howell | L 14-28 | 16 | 119 | 2 | 12.44 | 4 | 59 | 0 | 14.75 |
| Salem | W 34-7 | 2 | |||||||
| South Lyon | W 37-0 | 8 | 173 | 3 | 21.63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Northville | W 31-0 | 22 | 164 | 2 | 7.45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Novi | W 14-7 | 28 | 133 | 1 | 4.75 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 10.33 |
| South Lyon East | W 47-20 | 16 | 234 | 5 | 14.63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Canton | W 36-27 | 31 | 165 | 3 | 5.32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Churchill | W 42-10 | 19 | 211 | 1 | 11.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Regular Season | (7-2) | 154 | 1263+ | 20 | 8.20 | 7 | 93 | 0 | 13.29 |
| Northville | W 21-7 | 19 | 117 | 1 | 6.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Totals | (8-2) | 173 | 1380+ | 21 | 7.98 | 7 | 93 | 0 | 13.29 |
TX RB Tony Drake
Last week: Skyline downs W.T. White 62-3. Drake had just 4 carries, but they went for 50 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown.
This week: Skyline (9-0) @ Sunset on Thursday.
| Tony Drake 2009 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
| Game | Result | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Kimball | W 51-2 | 8 | 69 | 1 | 8.63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Bowie | W 35-27 | 13 | 92 | 1 | 7.08 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Plano East | W 45-19 | 15 | 167 | 1 | 11.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Lake Highlands | W 42-27 | 19 | 226 | 2 | 11.89 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Molina | W 65-0 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 54.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Richardson | W 36-7 | 13 | 102 | 0 | 7.85 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13.00 |
| Berkner | W 39-7 | 9 | 43 | 1 | 4.78 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 32.00 |
| Creekview | W 62-10 | 16 | 139 | 1 | 8.69 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 7.00 |
| W.T. White | W 62-3 | 4 | 50 | 1 | 12.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Totals | (9-0) | 98 | 942 | 9 | 9.61 | 7 | 79 | 0 | 8.78 |
TX RB Stephen Hopkins
Last week: Game preview pregame fluff . Marcus defeats rival Flower Mound 63-39.
Hopkins broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown scamper on the ensuing play. It was the first of many long runs for Marcus.
Hopkins ran 21 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which covered 44 yards. Hopkins photo by Louis DeLuca of the Dallas Morning News.
This week: Marcus (5-3) @ Hebron.
| Stephen Hopkins 2009 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | |||||
| Game | Result | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Grapevine | W 62-28 | 13 | 87 | 2 | 6.69 |
| Plano West | W 35-25 | 28 | 128 | 3 | 4.57 |
| Katy | L 24-34 | 13 | 38 | 1 | 2.92 |
| Tyler Lee | W 17-7 | 22 | 118 | 1 | 5.36 |
| Lewisville | W 56-7 | 10 | 110 | 4 | 11.00 |
| Southlake Carroll | L 30-41 | 28 | 150 | 1 | 5.36 |
| Coppell | L 21-42 | 22 | 96 | 0 | 4.36 |
| Flower Mound | W 63-39 | 21 | 217 | 2 | 10.33 |
| Totals | (45-3) | 157 | 944 | 14 | 6.01 |
LA Slot WR Drew Dileo
Last week: Game preview. Parkview Baptist beats Baker 35-0.
Senior Drew Dileo scored on a 19-yard run with 9:16 remaining in the third quarter. Dileo passed to Johnson for two points and the final scoring of the game.
Dileo added 36 yards rushing on five tries.
This was a "pull the starters" type of game in bad weather, which partially explains the pedestrian stats.
This week: Parkview Baptist (7-1) @ Redemptorist on Thursday.
| Drew Dileo 2009 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
| Game | Result | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Christian Life | W 60-14 | 1 | 50 | 1 | 50.00 | ||||
| Arcadiana | W 31-14 | 14 | 77 | 0 | 5.50 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 35.00 |
| Church Point | W 54-0 | 2 | 40 | 1 | 20.00 | ||||
| Port Allen | W 32-7 | 11 | 65 | 0 | 5.91 | 3 | 92 | 2 | 30.67 |
| Dutchtown | L 15-24 | 13 | 24 | 1 | 1.85 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 10.67 |
| Northeast | W 41-27 | 7 | 44 | 1 | 6.29 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 18.00 |
| West Feliciana | W 23-7 | 50 | 1 | ||||||
| Baker | W 35-0 | 5 | 36 | 1 | 7.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Totals | (7-1) | 50 | 246+ | 4 | 4.92 | 11 | 267 | 6 | 24.27 |
MI WR Ricardo Miller
Last week: Pregame fluff. Pioneer bests Temperance Bedford 28-7 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs. MLive article.
Then midway through the final quarter Sorise capped a five-play drive with a 22-yard pass that bounced off a Bedford defender into the hands of Pioneer's Ricardo Miller for a TD...
Miller, who has verbally committed to play at Michigan, caught five passes for 70 yards after making just two catches for 16 yards in the first contest.
"We had to play a lot more Cover 3 because they went to a tight-end set with Ricardo Miller in the middle," Wood explained. "You can't let Miller run free down the seam, so we had to bring the safety over the top."
Big game for Miller, especially considering the inaccuracy by the Pioneer QB. Also, hooray for filling in stats for a game that had previously been blank on his season-long chart. Miller photo by Lon Horwedel of AnnArbor.com.
This week: Pioneer (8-2) @ Canton Friday at 7:00 in Round 2 of the State Playoffs.
| Ricardo Miller 2009 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | |||||
| Game | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Inkster | W 35-32 | 3 | 70 | 0 | 23.33 |
| Dexter | W 45-0 | 2 | 100 | 2 | 50.00 |
| Saline | W 36-17 | 3 | 48 | 1 | 16.00 |
| Arthur Hill | W 58-20 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Bedford | L 21-28 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 8.00 |
| Monroe | W 41-6 | 3 | |||
| Huron | W 23-19 | 2 | 48 | 0 | 24.00 |
| Chelsea | W 23-19 | 4 | 123 | 1 | 30.75 |
| Fordson | L 21-24 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 38.00 |
| Totals | (7-2) | 19 | 471 | 8 | 26.36 |
| Bedford | W 28-7 | 5 | 70 | 1 | 14.00 |
| Totals | (8-2) | 24 | 541 | 9 | 22.54 |
OH WR Jerald Robinson
Last week: Canton South continues its 1-game win streak with an upset over Carrollton 28-21. Robinson caught a 30-yard touchdown pass in the game.
This week: Canton South (3-7) missed the state playoffs, and its season is over.
OH WR DJ Williamson
Last week: Harding defeats Akron North 63-24.
This week: Harding (6-3-1) will not make the State Playoffs, and its season has ended.
OH OL Christian Pace
Last week: Avon Lake defeats Amherst-Steele 34-6. You can watch the entire game at that link, if you so desire.
This week: Avon Lake (7-3) @ Maumee Friday at 7:30 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
OH DT Terry Talbott
Last week: Wayne defeats Springfield 40-13. No mention of either Talbott in the article.
This week: Wayne (7-3) v. Elder in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
PA DE Ken Wilkins
Last week: Trinity defeats Ringgold 24-10. Shockingly, that made them eligible for the playoffs, even at 4-5.
The Hillers were shorthanded entering the game, having to play without Michigan recruit Kenny Wilkens [sic], who was out with mononucleosis.
This week: Trinity (4-5) v. Mars in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
PA DE Jordan Paskorz
Last week: Hampton "roughs up winless Highlands" 59-0.
This week: Hampton (5-4) v. Chartiers Valley in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
OH LB Antonio Kinard
Last week: Liberty loses to Girard 12-19.
This week: Liberty (4-6) missed the State Playoffs, and its season is over.
FL S Marvin Robinson
Last week: Lake Region loses to Jenkins 7-34.
The Thunder are playing without starting quarterback Tavaris Carr and Division I prospect safety Marvin Robinson because of injury.
Word on the street is that Robinson might be able to play injured, but with his team doing so poorly, he doesn't want to jeopardize spring practice at Michigan by re-aggravating it.
This week: Lake Region (0-7) @ Bartow.
OH CB Courtney Avery
Last week: Game preview. Lexington falls to Ashland 28-31.
The loss tempered a career night by Avery, who has battled injuries all season. The Michigan-bound senior completed 32 of 42 passes for 313 yards and two TDs and rushed for a score.
“Courtney is a player,” said [opposing coach] Valentine. “There’s a reason everyone was behind him and he goes to Michigan. I look forward to seeing him play on Saturdays.”
This week: Lexington (6-4) missed the State Playoffs, and their season is over.
OH CB Terrence Talbott
Last week: Wayne defeats Springfield 40-13. No mention of either Talbott in the article.
This week: Wayne (7-3) v. Elder in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
WI P Will Hagerup
Last week: Whitefish Bay falls to Eisenhower 10-17 in Round 1 of the State Playoffs.
This week: Whitefish Bay (5-5) has completed its season.
2011 OH CB Greg Brown
Last week: Ross loses to Sandusky 0-30.
Greg Brown intercepted a Zak Esposito pass as Sandusky was going in to score, but set up in awful field position assisted Sandusky in forcing Ross to a three-and-out.
This week: Ross (5-5) missed the State Playoffs, and its season is over.
| Greg Brown 2009 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||
| Game | Result | Rec | Yds | TD | Avg | Rush | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Start | W 24-7 | 3 | 39 | 0 | 3.67 | ||||
| Whitmer | L 25-29 | 3 | 72 | 1 | 20.53 | ||||
| Columbian | W 49-35 | 3 | 98 | 2 | 32.67 | ||||
| Benedictine | W 28-21 (OT) | 6 | 99 | 1 | 16.50 | ||||
| Lahser | W 22-14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 5.67 |
| Findlay | L 40-43 (3OT) | 8 | 122 | 1 | 15.13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Marion Harding | L 0-21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 13 | 0 | 3.25 |
| Napoleon | L 14-28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1.00 |
| Lima Senior | |||||||||
| Totals | (4-4) | 24 | 430 | 5 | 17.88 | 18 | 91 | 0 | 5.06 |
Seasons Complete
MI WR Jeremy Jackson
Huron's (5-4) season ended without a playoff berth.
I think White's game on Saturday will show how he will play against good defenses. CC has only let up 30 points in 10 games.
That Jones to DB quote is very curious. That's something I speculated about a couple of weeks ago. He definitely has the physical tools to do it and I'm pretty confident that's where he'll eventually end up. That's not to say that he wouldn't be a serviceable QB, but rather that if he has the potential to be a good DB they should just get him started there from the outset.
They would probably prefer to do that, but I'm not sure there's adequate QB depth at this time to have Jones start his career at QB.
Hopefully Tate, Denard, and Gardner all look very good in spring, and that becomes moot.
Varsity Blue
Yeah, I think that makes sense. I was definitely speaking from the "ideal world" perspective, which as we all know right now we are very far from. That said, I can't imagine a scenario where if he's kept at QB that he doesn't redshirt, especially if Gardner redshirts. Thus, I'm not sure if he really plays into the consideration of how Tate, Denard, and Gardner look in the spring. In other words, I can't see them redshirting Gardner, but not redshirting Jones. Whereas if Jones is moved to DB my inclination is that he'd be less likely to redshirt because of his skillset and the overall lack of athletic talent at DB. Obviously this is all speculation on my part...
Regarding Ricardo Miller, I was there at the game, and honestly, I don't think it was a "big game for Ricardo, especially considering the inaccuracy of his QB" Ricardo was overthrown on a long ball once, and there was a poorly thrown screen that would have gone for no gain anyways, but honestly, Ricardo should have had much more if it hadn't been for drops.
Ricardo dropped a sure touchdown when Bedford had a breakdown in coverage on 3rd and 15, the corner tried to pass him off to the deep safety, who hadn't dropped nearly deep enough and let Ricardo behind the both of them. It looked eerily similar to the Iowa game and our safety play there.The QB hit Ricardo in his hands and he dropped it. Ricardo also had another drop on a 3rd down screen that likely would have resulted in a first down.
Overall, it looks like Ricardo is able to beat HS coverage simply due to pure physical ability, however, he doesn't strike me as athletic enough to pull that off often enough at the college level to make up for his tendency for drops, a la Braylon.
Of course, I'm no scout, so take what I've said with a grain of salt, but to me, Ricardo seems to deserve his three star ranking. He might be a contributor at the college level, but unless he fixes the drops he's not ready to be a star yet.
If you watch the videos from past Friday Night Lights features, Ricardo is consistently wide open, often for sure touchdowns, but his quarterback is either hesitant to deliver the ball, or does so inaccurately.
Miller is far from a perfect physical specimen (I would say a low-to-mid four-star ranking would be fair), but the vast majority of his lack of production is due to factors outside of his control. I didn't see him in this game, so I can't speak to that particular performance.
Varsity Blue
In regards to Ricardo being open a lot, yes he is, however, there are always going to be times when the WR is open but the QB doesn't get him the ball, especially at the high school level. Of course Ricardo's QB isn't perfect, but it's not like every other high school WR is playing with Peyton Manning either.
The main point of my post was to point out that Ricardo seems prone to drops, as I've seen him play 4 to 5 times now, and have come away underwhelmed because he has dropped multiple passes in most of the games I've seen.
makes me very happy.
"rock, scissors, rock, rock, paper, scissors, candle, rock, wait what candle(?) oops you scored a touchdown."
(See the entry on Ken Wilkins.)
Who wins this match-up? Sure, Mars is the god of war, but the Trinity is three, three, three gods in one.
I would have to say that, since Roman mythology has been usurped in the modern day by a number of religions, including Christianity, that the edge would have to go to Trinity.
Then you have to take into account that Trinity sucks and Wilkins apparently has mono, so Mars it is.
Varsity Blue
Nicely played. +1, my friend.
I go to school at Plymouth so I will definitely be there cheering Pioneer and Ricardo on because they killed us first round.