An Open Letter to Reagan High School

Dear Reagan Raider Nation,

During the first week of the football season I was asked by WXII to cover your game against Glenn and provide some details for the highlight show.  I sat in the stands (live tweeting the game) and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and, of course, the football.  A week later, this little blog was born and I was off and running.

Fast forward 7 weeks and I am finally making my return visit to Pfafftown and I want nothing more than to showcase the Reagan Raiders and their incredible fans!  So this is my plea to you, dear Raiders.  I'm asking you to help me, help you.  Because you see, my friends, things have changed around these here parts.

Cheer of the Year, Part II

Now  that we know that the letters "N" and "A" spell "Na", we can move on to the other candidate for Cheer of the Year.  The Pit Bosses told me that they had a cheer for me to video.  So I took the video.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rollercoaster:

Cheer of the Year, Part I

Attention all student sections!

I love all the student sections I've seen and heard this season, but last night I heard the leaders in the clubhouse for Cheers of the Year.  Now, I also heard the waaaaay overplayed "Seven Nation Army" and "You can't do that", but I also heard two cheers that just made me laugh.

Note:  these may well have been stolen from someone else.  In fact, like all good cheers they probably are.  However, they are new to me and I had not heard them before last night.  Here is Cheer of the Year number 1a:

It starts with, "Gimme an 'N', Gimee an 'A'" and I'll let the Crew take it from there:

The Country's Top Pit Crew

I arrived on the campus of BMHS last night a good forty-five minutes before kickoff.  As I began the short walk to the stadium, I saw a vehicle surrounded by young people decked out in all white.  I instinctively knew three things about this football game:

1. They were the long-standing, world famous BMHS Pit Crew
2. The theme for the evening was a "white-out"
3. If the game got boring, I wouldn't be bored

Not in the slightest, as it turns out.  I talked to the kids before the game, and the ever-gracious seniors not only welcomed the opportunity to appear on camera and participate in an interview, but also invited me to participate, as well.  Now, THAT'S hospitality.

editor's note: That's twice in two Fridays that a student section from K-Vegas has welcomed Finally Friday! to their madness.  I am SO spending time in both student sections during basketball season.

Meet the Pit Crew:

and then:

Suddenly Saturday- Bishop McGuinness vs North Surry

On a night when Mother Nature dropped numerous hints that Fall was imminent, the North Surry Greyhounds dispatched previously unbeaten Bishop McGuinness 38-22 to improve to 4-0 on the season.  Led by junior tailback Blaze Acord (25 rushes for 230 yards, 2 touchdowns), the Greyhounds staked an early 17-0 league before the Villains began shaking off the initial shock provided by the North Surry offensive line.

Senior fullback Shawn Dehart augmented the Greyhound offensive attack, rushing for 45 yards on 6 carries and hauling in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Austin Handy in the second quarter.  Additionally, the North Surry defense demonstrated a cohesive and consistent physical attack that helped keep the Bishop offense off balance for much of the night.  Not to be overlooked is the impressive leg of Greyhound placekicker Carlos Flores, who booted a 31-yard field goal in the first half that would have been good from 40.

Following the game I had the opportunity to speak with both Acord and Dehart.  The messages from both were similar, which should make future opponents wary of the Greyhounds.  Said Acord, "I thought we did pretty good, we couldn't do anything without our linemen. They make the holes pretty big and easy to run through."  Shawn Dehart echoed his teammate when asked about the offensive line. "They are the offense.  Without them we couldn't do anything."

My take:  
This game was a warning shot across the bow to North Surry's future conference opponents.  On paper, it looks like all you have to do is stop one guy (Acord) and victory can be had.  In truth, you can't get to that guy without getting through the Greyhound offensive line- good luck with that.  When they needed one yard, they got eight.  On obvious passing downs, they ran power left and right.  Additionally, if you get a bead on Blaze Acord, the offense will just look to Shawn Dehart both on the ground and through the air.

Obviously, there was a discrepancy in size and sheer numbers last night against McGuinness.  Most of Bishop's roster plays both ways, and make up for their lack of size with sheer will and fight (the Villains never gave up, and fought like crazy to get back in the game. I won't forget that any time soon.).  Also, McGuinness were down a man as a result of losing RB/LB Greg Salomon during the course of the game.

I look forward to seeing this North Surry team when it matches up with a squad that is similar in size and athleticism.  My guess is that the Greyhound offensive line with equally problematic no matter who they face.