This could be quite a defensive struggle. Top-seeded Brown County has eight shutouts on the season. Tuscola has six and has given up just six points in the last five games.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
End of the road for Tuscola.
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I am going with Tuscola on this one. Simple, strength of schedule!
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Brown County wins this one. Defenses are comparable, but I think BC’s offense has far more fire power than Tuscola.
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Will Tuscola be at full strength this week?
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Tuscola is going to be down a linebacker for the game, but they were down one last week as well. The one who was out last week is back and another one is now out. I don’t know how long the second LB will be out. Just a week?
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Get after it Warriors.
Warriors win a close one 14-7.
Good luck Warriors.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
i was at the south piatt BC game and let me tell you i was not impressed with the hornets at all. if tuscola is close to as good as i think they are then they’ll win by 2 touchdowns. im not an angry sp fan either, i just honestly think tuscola should take care of business on saturday. 21-7 tuscola win
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Come on, Warriors. You can take these guys. They are all hype. They don’t play anybody over there. SP’s runningback had over 100 yards on these guys. You can win this.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Best of Luck to the Warriors. Go get em.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Go Warriors!!! Good luck!
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
man i don’t know what will be said on here if brown co. wins this one….where would that leave the okaw? i mean wow, tuscola smokes maroa and then gets beat by “a team that plays nobody’s”. interesting.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I think Tuscola has the toughest game for OVC teams this week. But I still see them winning but I see a shutout, maybe even a 3-0 game. But I will go out on a limb and say 7-0 Tuscola, just because they play in a great conference and know how to play in tight games! Go Tcola!
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Tuscola has not been playing at full strength all season. If Tuscola had been healthy all year, they would have run the table in the Okaw. Now their best LB is out for the season. They will still have a decent shot to beat Brown with out their starting QB,LB’s,Lineman, etc.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
South Piatt running back had 109 yards rushing with 5.2 yards per carry!!!! They passed for another 88 yards. I can see Tuscola moving the ball, finishing off drives my be another story. Even without our allstate middle linebacker, this team has not played at full strength all season. They have adapted to this as the season progressed. Chase Little would start for most teams offensive line in the Okaw, now he gets his chance to show why.
Tuscola 27
Brown Co. 14
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
TUSCOLA WARRIORS ALL THE WAY TO THE SHIP BABY!!!
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Knerr is out???
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
We have played without the LB before, we can again. We have been fortunate enough to have a number of people step up all year long in various positions. I saw highlights of BC/SP game and was not impressed, though it appeared BC had a few interceptions.
Tuscola just needs to play their game and take care of the ball on offense.
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Obviously Mt Sterling looks inpressive. 9 points all season. And they did beat the defending 1A champs Concord Triopia, but that was a 10-3 ballgame so pretty close. And come on Western Illinois Valley conference. I see scores in the 60’s 70’s and even 81 points one game. That’s rediculous! Either those teams hate each other or you’ve got some coaches trying to make a name for themselves. Anyway…I’ve seen Tuscola twice and they had the best defense in the conference! Great run defense but their only weakness is when teams start passing consistantly. I think that even though the game is at Mt Sterling Tuscola gets a tough win 28-26!
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Knerr is out?? Thats a big time loss. what happened?
none the less. tuscola dominates, 21-0
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
the defending state champions should be tuscola! and we all know that.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Clown from North,
This game will be a tough game for T-cola but I believe that Monticello has the toughest test of all OVC teams…..if they can pull the upset, the entire state will take notice!
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:44 pm
o&b - shoulda, coulda, woulda - DIDN’T happen
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:35 am
No doubt brown co. looks impressive..only 1 win against a quality opponent though..Triopia..a very close game..they havent been tested…this saturday they flunk!
Tuscola 20-13!
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 am
Well, I’ll say this. After last year’s heartbreaker of a loss to Triopia, if Tuscola wins it all it will be the ‘feel-good’ story of the year. IF they get by BC, I think the road to the title will be a clear shot for them.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 am
Astoria is solid as well. On one note, Brown County comes from a conference with the exact same conference format as the OKAW, except it constitutes of strictly 1A schools, 6 teams from their 2 6 team divisions made the playoffs, they went 5-1 in the first round, but were agianst teams from down divisions that all have low conference playoff records.
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The thing that stands out most to me is the fact that South Piatt had 200 yards offense. This was the 1A’s wosrt offensive team in the field of 32 for 1A. South Piatt made a tremendous amount of mistakes during this game and compounded it with turnovers at crucial times that either took points off the board for them and gave Brown County in return.
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Brown County is a good team, their numbers aren’t anything short of impressive, and their entire schedule was against 1A competition only. But the fact they haven’t been tested but only once this season is going to be an advantage Tuscola has over them and it could mean the difference between teams that are evenly matched.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 am
I don’t know anything about Brown County except what has been discussed on this Blog. It appears that these two teams may be more closely matched than their records and statistics may indicate. Looking forward to a great ballgame…..
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:30 am
I agree this should be a GREAT GAME! I have been told by a friend from Triopia that was at that game,and feels Brown Co. is definitely beatable…Warning was that Brown Co. played pretty dirty, with alot of late hits, and hits to the back….they keyed on ?Bradley? Triopia’s running back and he ended up with a slight concusion and sat out the next game for precautionary reasons …he said he hopes the Ref’s stay in control of the game.
Tuscola wins…just watch your back!
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
Mike T I agree, when I wrote this I didnt look to see who everyone was playing and I agree Monticello has the toughest game.
==
Knerr is out for breaking team policy. Not sure which one he broke, thats all I was told from a Tuscola native.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I too agree that Monticello has a big task in front of them. If either team wins, the state will take notice. Anytime a number 1 seed gets beat, it’s news, regardless of class. I think the difference may be, Carthage is being called unbeatable, people say Brown County can be beat. Either way, it will take a good game to beat either one of them.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Brown County’s D is getting no respect. The D-line is the best 1A line in the state. I don’t care who the competition is….9 points is impressive. Tuscola’s offense has been very inconsistent all year and will have to rely on the Defense to possibly get them a score on Saturday. I’m not saying BC offense will have an easy time though either. The game will come down to special teams and/or turnovers.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I wouldn’t be bragging about being the best of anything until you win! There’s a lot of good football teams left, and until one team proves they are “the best”, let’s just say they are one of the best. You may be surprised come game day.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Tuscola wins in a close one. Go OVC!
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I watched Tuscola vs. Cumberland,I hope Tuscola plays better this Saturday or Brown Co. will make them pay.Go Tuscola.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I don’t think Tuscola will be able to consistently stop Cross. Too big and too physical. I just don’t see the Warriors’ O moving the ball either. BC wins 14-0.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:16 am
WestistheBest - How big is Cross and the Offensive and Defensive lines?
November 4th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Wanted to ask the Tuscola faithful about a rumor that I heard. I was told that a certain former head coach for Tuscola may be interested in the vacated job at Cerro Gordo with Paul Workman retiring. Was just a rumor and I never put stock in a rumor but found this one to be interesting…has the Tuscola faithful heard this rumor blowing around town?
November 4th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Doesn’t surprise me one bit that this rumor got started. I really think we should be paying attention to the task at hand, which is the Tuscola vs. Brown County football game.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Joe Cross is about 6′0 200lbs. He runs extremely hard downhill and always falls forward for extra yardage. Offensive line is not overwhelming in size but Frank Price at Left Tackle is about 6′3″, 260…..
November 4th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Heard a rumor: Who did you hear this from? Was it a legitimate source? That could be huge for CGHS Football.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Sounds like the Tuscola lines and the Brown County lines are about the same size. Haven’t heard much about Cross, but if he runs like you say, could be a handfull. Good luck, let’s have a well played game on both sides!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
legitimate…depends on that definition of legitimate…to me legitimate means from the man himself or the school admin. I did not hear it from either one of those…
November 4th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I was at the game and B. County is very good. #71 on offense can hold or move anyone I have seen play DL all year he’s that good. #50 is as tenatious as a DL gets and 44 and 45 are faster and better than they recieve credit for as RB/ LB’ers, as 30 is the main stay here. They do a lot of initial dirty play and holding and live on the reactions is the game plan also, and Little is a good coach but does a lot of refereeing from the sidelines. Depending on Tuscola’s health issues and will they let the boy’s decide it BC would have beat SPW but everytime they got in the red zone the officials would give them two and three penalties at a time many of which were imagined, SPW needs to polish it’s game period but In time I think Elder will improve it was his first year and all new mindset. I’m biased but it was frustrating to watch the officials and I hated that for kids on both sides.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I think it will be an awesome game as well this Saturday and it may come down to who makes the bigger mistakes…South Piatt was a little out of control last week and I don’t think it will happen this week because I know Tuscola is a classy program…Sometimes seniors think they have nothing to lose once they know it’s their last game and that is when things get ugly…it’s a shame, but it happens
November 4th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Stan Wienke isn’t going anywhere.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
what happened to Silas Gabel of Cumberland? or Dalton Coventry of Maroa? or the St. Teresa runing backs? none had over 100 yeards and they all have amazing linemen. Warrior D is simply outstanding. If BC chokes decides to pass the warriors have a have better machups in the secondary. offense is finally setting in and warroirs win 21 7
November 4th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Look i think that you guys have the best rushing D i’ve seen in a long time but to be fair Coventry only had 7 carries and he had about 70 yards. MF had a horrible game and your defense was stout. Shutting out a good team like MF is impressive, but I was at the CAM game and when the Raiders had to go down the field with 1 min left your D went to sleep! CAM a running team had over 250 yards passing. Ouch! You have holes just like any other team. Your D is the reason why your team is where they are and you’ll have a tough test this weekend. Good luck and I hope you guys win.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Tuscola is going to be fine, they have delt with players being out for various reasons week after week. Scribner needs to play possessed on both sides of the ball. If Phillip plays like he has the last 4 weeks, with no turnovers, then Tuscola is going to be very difficult to beat. Coach R needs to get Gunner about 7-8 carries this game ontop of his 5-6 receptions.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:39 am
the warriors changed their pass defense after A&M. And the reason they started passing was once again, because the warrior D shut down the Raiders running game.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:40 am
We have been over this before. Coventry got about 68 of his yards on two carries and the rest went nowhere. They were couple of the first plays after halftime and the D made an adjustment. His running was a non-factor and he was shut down like all the rest. MF apparently learned and improved from that and are doing great now. Stats usually tell the story, but sometimes they hide the truth. The Tuscola D is fired up and ready for Saturday. Cross will be a challenge, but I don’t think he has seen anything like the Warrior D-line and LBs-even with one out, and the Warriors have shut down better. I think the first dry field in a month will give the O an opportunity to click. Good luck to all the Okaw teams. Go Okaw, Go Warriors!!
November 5th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Clown From Tuscola I did not post to fire anyone up I was just curious if people in Tuscola are hearing or is it just someone blowing smoke around central Illinois. I did not mention the coach by name and really have no feelings if that coach did or did not go somewhere else.good luck to the Warriors on Saturday, and all OVC teams for that matter.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Coventry wasn’t a starter on offense yet and didn’t touch the ball until the second half. By the time Jostes put him in the game Maroa-Forsyth had to pass a lot to attempt to get back in the game. Even if the big guy only had two long runs against Tuscola’s defense, he only had 7 carries. If 42 had more like he gets now he would’ve rushed for over 100 yards like he did against A&M. I think the Tuscola game finally opened Jostes’ eyes to make him a starter. I’ll give Tuscola a lot of credit. In the game they played against us they were more physical and dominated our line. They gave our team the wake-up call it needed. I’m sure their defense will hold strong and get them a victory. Good luck Warriors.
November 6th, 2009 at 7:16 am
Trojan Fan:
I agree with you about Conventry during the Warrior game, or at least from the perspective that he only touched the ball a few times. He did run hard that game, even in the runs where he produced just a few, but still. Going into that game he was a larger part of that offense was he not? It seemed like to me that Jostes was upsessed with getting Barnes the ball as much as possible, and on his first week back from his 3-4 week haitus. I wish we had Bismark-Henning as a second round matchup. You guys should have absolutely no problems getting there.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:56 am
This really will be a whale of a ball game and I’m looking forward to it…Goudschaal is an absolute beast on the defensive front and it will be interesting if the Tuscola O-line will give Meyer enough time to pass…the Warriors pass pro vs the Hornet rush might be where the game is decided
November 6th, 2009 at 11:38 am
I don’t see a team taking off in this game and winning by more than 10-12 points, nor do I see a team scoring more than three touchdowns. This should be a defensive struggle where one early score could loom over the field all day. I think Brown County has an incredible squad and I know the Warriors do as well. When it comes right down to it, it’s a tight one either way. I’m rooting for the Warriors, but I think Brown County clips them 14-12.
November 6th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Warriors….come out and pla-ay!…Okaw is where its at, and Brown has got to go down…they don’t deliver on Saturdays!…wrap’em up, and stamp it another Okaw win!
November 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
congrats Tuscola and heck ya Unity too GOOOOOO OKAWWWWWW
November 7th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
clown from the south says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:23 pm End of the road for Tuscola.
â– beardog says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm I am going with Tuscola on this one. Simple, strength of schedule!
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Clown from the south’s first post—WRONG!
Beardog- right on the money!
Congrats on a terrific win!..Go Okaw!
November 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Great win for the Warriors! 21-18. Sounds like it was a dog fight. Now what are some things that are brown…. HAHA! Okaw 4-1 so please whoever said “mark my words only 2 Okaw teams after Sat” you need to check yourself and try to realize that Okaw is the best. I know most Tuscola people hate being in the Okaw but ultimately it helps playing good 2 and 3A teams only helps them in the playoffs.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
great win warriors way to represent, stay focused and run this!!
November 7th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
why would they hate being in the okaw? if they didn’t have injured players left and right, they would have beaten everyone except tolono. great game vs. brown co. - they shouldn’t have too much trouble in the quarters, should make the championship. lexington or dakota will be a tough one, but you never know…
November 7th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Great Win Warriors! Way to battle through adversity. Good Luck in the next round.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
I don’t think anyone from Tuscola “hates” being in the Okaw…..glad to face quality competition every time out & happy to be best prepared for the post season in all sports.
November 7th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Great win for the Warriors! Playing four quarters all year showed up today. BC was the real deal, great team, well coached congrats on your season.
Tuscola needs to start thinking about SF now and don’t celebrate anything until the Saturday after Turkey Day.
Focus…no penalties…team…team…team
November 7th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I’ve heard complaints especially after the A&M game from parents about how they shouldn’t be in this conference anyway. I don’t know if it’s frustration, or the travel, or not going 9-0 every season but I’ve heard complaining the past two years. I agree that no one from Tuscola should hate being in this conference because playing high class 2 and 3A teams all year only helps in the playoffs. And injuries did hurt their team during the season. If this team is fully healthy in the next two weeks or anywhere close they should be in Champaign. I want some details on the game though how did the Warriors win? WAND-TV doesn;t do too good of a job of re-capping the game.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Other than the travel, moving to the Okaw was the best things for Tuscola athletics. Better competition and full JV/Freshmen schedules for the development of younger teams. Though we do miss the old rivalries from when I was in school against Arcola, VG and Arthur, and we still have had great games against these teams, the development of our younger squads was hurting.
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It was stated earlier that Brown Co. would have the toughest O-Line and D-Line Tuscola has seen. Their D-Line manhandled Tuscola’s O-Line in the first half and I was in agreement with these comments. I am not sure what adjustments were made at half-time, but whatever it was it work.
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Defensively Tuscola remained strong. Good penetration by the D-line and pursuit, Onstott and Yoakum were huge hitters today.
Keep Moving On, Warriors!
November 7th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Thrilled to be wrong about my pick in this game. Congrats to Brown County on a tremendous season and good luck to the Warriors next week at home against Astoria. At first glance, I think the Okaw will have three teams playing the semifinals in two weeks.
November 7th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
It was definitely a story of two halves. I agree with Tuscola dad that Mt Sterling line was just kicking our rears for the first two quarters. Total yardage in the first half was probably on the order of 150 - 75 in advantage of Mt. Sterling and then that flipped to Tuscola’s advantage in the second half.
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Tuscola coaches made great adjustments. Can not give enough credit to the coaches about the adjustments that the staff made and preparation that was made for this game was in Tuscola’s favor. So great job Tuscola Staff.
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Phillip Meyer is beginning to turn in “all state” like performances. I can not not even fathom just how well this kid has developeds since earlier in the season. He is becoming a special weapon for Tuscola. He was running over, through, and around Sterling defenders all day long in the second half.
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Great game Warriors, and what a great playoff resume for the Mighty Okaw!
November 7th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Nice job, Warriors. Great victory.
So where are all the “west is best” dorks now? hahahaha.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
It appeared to me that the difference here was conditioning. Tuscola flat out wore Brown down in the second half.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:02 am
Yes, you could see early in the 4th Q that Brown Co was gasping with their hands on their hips. It was foriegn terrority for them and for many of their starters this season Brown Co has enjoyed running clocks often by haftime, even when they don’t they are winning 34-0. Being battle tested is a big integral to becoming a well conditioned team.
November 8th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Way to go Warriors, great game played by all! I watch each game of football and see the efforts put forth by every player. Why is it that the guys on the line don’t get much credit? Some of these big plays would not happen without a talented line. It is very disappointing to pick up any newspaper and not see credit given where credit is deserved.
November 8th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
While I agree that moving to the Big Okaw was a good thing for football, I don’t really think it was for all sports in Tuscola, especially the girls sports. I really don’t think the football team was suffering any from playing in the LOVC at all. If that had been the case they would still be rebuilding instead of winning. They were well coached when they were in the LOVC and they still are. If a team is well coached then they are ready for every situation. In fact many people seem to forget that they won state while they were IN the LOVC and the next year was their first year in the OVC and they were 2nd. Most of those players spent most of their time playing the kids from the LOVC not the OVC. During the years that they were in the LOVC they were consistently in the playoffs as were many of the other LOVC teams. I am not saying that the LOVC can compare with the OVC, but we definately can and have competed pretty well in the playoffs. Right now the biggest problem with many teams in the LOVC for football is numbers, not strength of teams. There was some pretty good football going on in the LOVC this year.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Way to go Warriors. Good Luck next round!!!
November 9th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I agree that the offensive and defensive lines get overlooked when it comes to pats on the back. It’s easy to recognize the players who run the ball, throw the ball or catch the ball because stats are kept and judgements can be made. Even on defense, where tackle numbers are kept, you very seldom see a lineman among the leaders. Their job is to control the line of scrimmage, which allows your linebackers to move freely and make the plays. Tuscola has very good line play. Sure they have breakdowns, what line doesn’t? But look at who they played this year and in my opinion, they either dominated or held their own in just about every game. I’m not minimizing the play of the other players at all, I’m just giving some long overdue credit to the guys in the trenches. Job well done!
November 9th, 2009 at 9:22 am
No one in the Okaw would disagree that Tuscola’s line play (both O-line & D-line) has been the most consistent (good) all year. Keep it up and everyone of them will receive the recognition that they truly deserve.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
StacyBeth - I will politely disagree and agree with your comments. I do agree that competition in the LOVC is strong and they consistenly field good teams in every sports. But I believe playoff success in recent years have not been great for any LOVC team, Tuscola included. I think Coach Wienke recognized it, as well, in football. He was criticized for running up the scores in football games, but his response was he needed to give his starters at least 3 quarters for conditioning, so they could play longer in the tougher games. That is what helped Tuscola win State their last year in the LOVC. I also think the example of last wekeends game showed Brown County not having that conditioning like Tuscola had during the season. We were used to four quarters of hard fought games throughout the season, where Brown County’s starters appeared to be dead in the second half.
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I will disagree with you about the move to the OVC not helping Tuscola’s girl sports. I feel it has. When my daughter played BB for Tuscola while they were still in the LOVC, she did not have any freshman games, and sometimes did not have any JV games. I think that hurt their development and the interest in the sport. I did not go to any volleyball games this year, but I believe Tuscola played a full freshman schedule against the OVC teams. PLus the non-football sports (both boys and girls) still get to play the LOVC teams and keep up some of those rivalries.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
TuscolaDad, then why are the numbers for the girls basketball falling. I graduated from TCHS and since the move to the OVC numbers have dropped. I played at TCHS in the late 80’s and we never had so few numbers as we do now. Besides, Wienke didn’t want to move to the OVC and the year (2006) they won state they only beat A-L by a touchdown during regular season play and beat CG by I think 10 points. Tuscola Volleyball is also down as is their Track team. I was on all of these teams and proud of it but the girls program has suffered. The only team that has not is the softball team, and I really don’t follow them as much because we didn’t have softball when I was in school. My senior year we were 24 and 4 in Volleyball and 20 and 6 in basketball. I know that after I graduated the girls programs were strong, very strong up until the year they moved to the OVC. I know that the next year several very good basketball players didn’t go out, and that that continues to happen. Maybe it is that time on the road, maybe girls in general are just not as interested in sports, I don’t know. I do know that when they were in the LOVC they were much stronger than they are now.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
One minor reason might be that there are more sports offered, and just in general, more things to do. It seems to me that the Okaw offers quite a few more opportunities, and not all in sports. I may be wrong, just wondering out load. You both bring up good points.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I cannot realy say why the girls numbers are down. I asked a couple of people that are more involved now and they said many of the girls feel the current girl’s coaches only favor one class and group of girls and they do not want to waste their time. They also said the VB team had the numbers, just not the talent this year, but that the new coaches hired the day before the season started did a good job with the girls.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Very well said Tuscola Alum! I am sure all of the young men on the lines will appreciate your comment.