10/5 Lincoln 24 - Pulaski 41

We've returned too many kicks this year.

When the Ships came out of halftime down just 17-14, they looked like they had the energy to and enthusiasm to destroy Pulaski in the second half.  Then they gave up a touchdown on the kickoff and that was that.  I'm not sure why it was kicked deep (the Ships' kickoff coverage has been even worse than its defense) but sometimes things just don't make any sense.  Sometimes a team can get down on itself and things spiral out of control.  You end up performing worse that these guys.  Long touchdowns have been the Achilles heal of the team this year (as they would be for any team).  If they continue this week, the season is over.  Simple as that.  I still believe in this team.  I just hope the players still believe in themselves.

Gentlemen, tomorrow may be your last game this year.  For the seniors, it may be your last game ever.  For those of you who love football, losing it will leave a void that you'll never quite be able to fill.  So go out tomorrow and give it everything you have.  Let all of your emotion - hate, anger, joy, love - flow through and out of you.  Savor every moment.  And promise yourself that 10 years from now, you won't have to wake up some Fall morning, look yourself in the mirror, and know that you didn't go all out in your last football game.  Do that, and it won't be.  For what it's worth, I think we're going to win.  This team hasn't had a winning or losing streak all year.  We're not going to start now!

9/7 Green Bay Preble 49 - Lincoln 14

The highlight of the night?

42 points at halftime.  295 yards rushing by one running back.  At halftime.  I'm not quite sure how to write about getting shellacked.  It just stung to see all those fine young men getting steamrolled by a team that was more prepared, intense, and fundamentally sound.  And it happened at home.  We can't come out and play like this cat sounds.  And we won't.  Because if sports teach our youth anything, it's that you must learn from your mistakes; you are not judged when you fail - we all fail - but how you respond to that failure.  If I know anything about this team, it's that they will tackle, block, and be otherwise fundamentally sound Friday night.  And if they do that, I wouldn't want to be a Jaguar lining up across from them...

8/31 Lincoln 49 - Sheboygan North 12

It was a B.E.A.UTIFUL night for football!

Indeed.  That was the way this team should have played last week!  They had it all goin' on against North - Lefty had 180 yards passing, Muscles had around a buck fitty rushing, and the starting defense would have had a shutout had they lined up correctly on North's TD run.  That was an exemplary performance.  Let's get right to it!

Still Doing It All

That's how it should look.

They say the first time is always the hardest.  I think Lefty will back me up when I say that he looked a little tentative out there at times, mostly when he was trying to decide whether to run or create more time for his receivers to get open.  Statistically, it'll be his worst game of the year - 3 INTs does not a healthy stat sheet make.  But one ball was picked because he was smacked from his blindside by an unblocked OLB as he threw, the second one was tipped, and the third one... well, he was told to throw to a receiver that couldn't possibly be open, so he did, and was rightly picked off.  But he ran for about 60 yards and a TD on 7 carries (though I believe the 7 sacks he took will diminish those numbers) and had 11 completions for around 110 yards.  Not bad.  Oh, and he punted and played CB too.  Of course.

Even The Rock Can Get Tired

Why so far away from the QB, Austin?

The Rock had a sack and another TFL.  He destroyed some guys playing tackle, but had some difficulty keeping his assignments straight while on offense.  Overall, it was a pretty good start to what figures to be a dominant senior year.

Do Two Halves Equal A Whole?

Looks like that DT is shaking the crap outta you, J.

The Short Order Cook isn't just doling out pancakes anymore.  He's playing defensive end opposite The Rock vying for TFL's, sacks, and supermans.  He had another steady day and was the only offensive lineman who did not consistently miss his assignments.

8/24 Lincoln 10 - Green Bay Southwest 20

Yup.  I count Two and a Half.

That. One. Hurts. There's no way around it - effort alone cannot win a football game.  Execution is everything. When the QB audibles to a QB sneak on 1st and goal from the 1, you have to hear that call (or you have to say it louder).  If you're a TE and you're assignment is to block the outside linebacker on a 5-step drop pass play, you have to at least touch him, or the QB might throw an interception as a result of getting hit.  When the coaches take a timeout and tell you a screen is coming, you cannot lose the FB in the backfield.  And, above all else, you have to know your lane assignments on kickoff and stick to them.  Gentlemen, the effort was there. The game was exhilarating to watch.  But that is no way to lose a football game.  The good news is that you got that one out of the way.  The good news is that when you woke up Saturday morning, you realized you probably played your worst game of the season.  And, without a garbage pick-6 with 30 seconds left in the game, you lost to the conference favorites by just 3 points.  Which means that any one of the aforementioned plays could have changed the entire game in your favor.  You are right on the precipice, gentlemen.  This week you'll take the leap.  As frustrating as that loss was, I know greatness is coming.

We have a new staff photographer for this season.  His pretty pictures are after the jump.

10/28 Hamilton 27 - Lincoln 24 OT - Level 2

One last time...

Well, that happened.  The Ships were on the wrong side of a thriller for the first time this season, but they did not go gently into that good night.  Down 21-7 with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Ships did not hang their heads.  They did not feel sorry for themselves.  They raged.  Oh, indeed, they raged.  Tanner stepped up on his biggest play of the season, completing a huge 4th down pass to Pistol by stepping up and GUNNING the ball for a 10-ish yard gain and a first down.  Suzuki later ripped off an 18 yard touchdown run, led by a great block by the Island of Austin Morreau.  On the ensuing kickoff, The Mayor leveled a hit so vicious, the Charger (who fumbled immediately) was down for 7 and a half minutes (somehow, he returned to the game - how his ribs weren't cracked, I'll never know).

While the Ships failed to score on that drive, Lincoln got the ball back after an excellent three and out, plus a failed punt-fake by Hamilton.  After a false start (thanks student section), the Ships had to pass on 1st and 15.  Interception.  But all was not lost.  The defense bore down, again, forcing another three and out.  After an actual punt, Lincoln went to their best play - HB option pass.  The Swiss Army Knife completed a rainbow to Pistol for 40 yards (Pistol - you were even held coming out of the blocks... how'd you get so far behind them!?!)  After a couple of failed runs from inside the 5, Suzuki, led by another fantastic block by the Island of Austin Morreau, scored a touchdown to seemingly tie the game.

Now, I say "seemingly" because an extra point isn't a sure thing and the coaches may have wanted to go for a 2-point conversion.  The coaching staff, correctly, played the percentages and opted for the extra point.  Mr. Vance's kick, however, was the lowest line-drive PAT I've ever seen make it through the uprights.  I swear, that ball was almost under the crossbar when it ricocheted up and over, clearing the sticks for the extra point.

Sure, OT sucked.  You'll hear no argument from me.  Just remember that only one team in Division 1 ends the season with a win.  The odds were against you.  You had a great chance but, really, a coin-toss was all the difference.  You had a great season, one that you will remember for the rest of your lives.  Heck, I saw two former Ships from the 80's wearing their old jerseys this weekend, and they don't have rings, either.  So, congratulations on a great season.  Let's get to the pictures.

10/21 Milwaukee Madison 0 - Lincoln 42 - Level 1

It's always a great night for a game.

The Knights never had a chance.  We knew it.  They knew it.  But we had to go through that charade all the same.  The Milwaukee public schools just don't have the resources to compete, to say nothing about having enough kids without jobs to field a team or schedule practices that everyone can make.  Nope, this game was always going to be just like that scene in American History X - a complete curb stomping.  Gentlemen, this was and will be your first and only playoff game that was over before halftime.  Time to switch gears and get ready for a capable team.  But first, let's take a look at the action.

The Ring Is The Thing

You know you want it.

It's a new season.  That's no cliche.  The playoffs are different in every way from the regular season.  I've been through this five game grind and, as you can see above, I know what it takes to succeed in it.  You have to dig down deep and find the best of you.  You have to ask yourself, each day, what you're willing to sacrifice in order to play in Camp Randall.  It's not going to be easy, but it'll be a hell of a ride.

Rather than try and break down the playoff bracket or offer advice to defeat a team I've never seen play, I'm just going to offer some wisdom gained from my own experience trying to win a state championship:

10/15 De Pere 14 - Lincoln 34 - Senior Night

I'm not sure why a bunch of white, teenage girls love Mexican men but, whatever.

Undefeated regular season!  That is impressive.  Great job to everyone on that team.  We've really enjoyed the ride and can't wait for the playoffs.  But before you worry about the playoffs, take the weekend and enjoy 9-0.  Don't worry about 0-0 yet (that'll come Monday).  Take it from me - live in the moment of this.  What you've accomplished with all those countless hours in the gym, practice field, and classroom - it's just awesome!

As for the game, well, we've been spoiled.  This was a 34-14 and I got the sense that some people were disappointed.  That's just silly.  Coming into the game, the Ships were averaging 38 points per game in conference play while giving up 10 per game.  So, yes, 34-14 is slightly below average.  But they were playing an opponent who averaged 16 points per game in conference play, but was giving up just 12.5 per game.  We held them below their average in points scored and we wrecked their defensive average.  Oh, I think it also should be noted that there were only two teams in the conference that gave up less than 14 points per game (Manitowoc and Green Bay SW).  Also, there was only one team (Manitowoc) that averaged more than 34 points per game in conference (Ashwaubenon was second, scoring 28 per game).  It was a good game but a long game.  I guess you'll have that when the other team has 45 pass attempts (please, coaches - pretty please - put in a man cover 2... you have the athletes, just use them).

As always, the story is best told in pretty pictures.  So sit back and put down the remote.  I heard the camera clicking a lot this game...

10/8 Pulaski 37 - Lincoln 40 - Homecoming

The new sign.

(Update - for the Parade, Click Here; for the Pommers, Click here).

I kinda feel like like David After Dentist.  Seriously?  Did that just happen?  Did I dream that game?  I mean, as a sports fan, you watch hundreds of games - baseball, football, basketball, hockey, cricket, whatever - just WAITING and HOPING you get to watch a game like this.  You want to share in that experience, that MOMENT.  Because when it happens... Wow.  This was a once-in-ten-years-game.  This was MJ in Salt Lake draining the 19 footer over Bryon Russell.  This was 4th and 26 for Eagles' fans.  This really was "The Catch."  But now it's the new Catch.  I can't believe that Mr. Vance had two interceptions, a huge tackle on 3rd down late in the 4th, and it's foolish to even consider him for player of the game honors.  That's how incredible Eli's game was.

The game started out a little funny: Pulaski's kicker, who had been kicking 50 yard FGs during warm-ups, ripped a line drive on the opening kickoff that bounced into, and out of, and into, and out of, the Hammer's hands.  Pulaski recovered the fumble and it cost us 3 points.   Pulaski's kicker tried the same kick again on the ensuing kickoff: he was trying to nail someone on our front line and have the ball bounce back to a Pulaski player - an unconventional onside kick.  On the second kick, Eli snagged the ball out of the air.  Now, try and understand how difficult that is - the ball was kicked 15 yards away, right at Eli, with the kind of velocity you get from a kid who can hit 50 yard FGs.  It was an athletic play, which is an understatement, and it gave us excellent field position.

(Interesting side-bar: Eli's game wasn't perfect - it only seemed that way - he dropped an easy interception on the opening drive that would have saved 3 points.  But, really, I couldn't care less - Eli played as good of a game as you'll ever see a high schooler play.).

As we all know, the Ships went down 0-10 but roared back, scoring the next 20 points - halftime score 20-10.  Our touchdowns were scored on a Suzuki sweep right, a blocked punt by Eli recovered by Bubba for a TD, and a 40 plus yard TD reception that Tanner put right on the money to Eli.

We all know how the game ended: after going up by three scores, Pulaski realized all they had to do was pass (away from Mr. Vance, of course).  They erased the deficit and took the lead with 2 minutes left in the game.  Tanner promptly threw an INT (trying to force it to Eli) but the defense held.  And I gotta say, I was pissed off when I saw people leaving the game after Tanner's interception.  They deserved to miss the big finish.

Lincoln got the ball back with about 70 seconds left and 79 yards to go.  They got two first downs on receptions by Nick (yeah buddy), another on a crazy scramble by Tanner, and the final one on a pass interference penalty.  With 4 seconds on the clock, Coach D called a play that had 4 WRs from the shotgun formation.  Pistol split wide left and Nick was in the slot.  Eli was split wide right and some (sorry - I forgot) was slot right.  Nick and Pistol crossed (I couldn't tell if they were running post/corner routes or modified if they were modified) on their way to the end zone.  I'm pretty sure the same happened on the other side, but the HTR makes it sound like Eli ran a drag route.  Anyway, Pistol was the primary receiver and Tanner drew back and fired it into the 25 MPH winds... but the ball landed at least 7 yards from its target - Pistol.  Thank God Eli was also 7 yards from that target.  (How did the HTR miss that part of the story?  And, Tanner, did you even see Eli?  I hope you didn't, because that makes an even better story!)

One other note before we get to the pretty pictures: Pulaski got absolutely hosed by the refs.  Hosed.  I'm not complaining, of course, and you take the victory any way you can, but there was a fumble that was never called (Big Cat), a phantom pass interference that was called on Pulaski and shouldn't have been called (D. Dixon), on the final drive, the refs took far too long getting the clock going, giving our players more time to figure out what the hell they were going to do in the hurry-up offense.  I mean, sometimes the refs have a bad day, too.  We got lucky this time.  Very lucky.  Celebrate.  Enjoy the Conference Championship.  But recognize that if you don't fix that pass defense, someone is going to surprise you in the playoffs.  And we don't want that.  Now, let's see some pretty pictures.

9/30 Linoln 38 - Sheboygan South 6

Suzuki was the star of this game, even if the student section gave Mr. Vance MVP honors.  In the 38-6 route, Suzuki ran 18 times for 198 yards, scoring twice.  With Tanner completing just 3 of 13 passes (not all his fault), someone needed to give the offense a boost.  With 11.0 ypc, Suzuki did just that.

Since this blog is read mostly by football players, let's get to the pictures:

What a night for a game!

He's a RUNNING BACK.  You have to hand him the ball.

That's more like it.  And it was Suzuki's first TD of the night.

The defense got an early boost from Bubba, who plucked this baby out of the air and took it to the house.

The Ships still haven't fixed their biggest problem on defense: too many receivers get behind them.

Let's just hope they don't run into a QB who can complete these passes.

After a long option run by South for a touchdown, the Mayor rejected the proposed extra point plan.

Bongo Bongle did not appreciate that scoring drive.  "UNACCEPTABLE!"

The line did a nice job here for Tanner on a 2 yard QB sneak for a TD in the second quarter.

Coach Dixon is more subtle than Bongo Bongle.

Way to climb the ladder for the pick, Mr. Vance...

But you're not Prime Time.  Tuck that ball in!

Only in high school sports: A father calls a play for his son to pass to his other son.  Touchdown.  I loved it.

Some good hits in this one, but Eli didn't have the best.  That honor goes to:

The Mayor's new city revival project involves the decapitation of Redwings.  Honestly, this hit was SICK.  It was so good, the refs didn't know what to do about it, so they threw a flag.  15 yards for being too awesome.

Lest we forget about the trenches, the Island of Austin Morreau was ready to erupt in the 3rd quarter.

Phew.  It would have been weird if this didn't happen.

No matter.  Suzuki enjoyed some great down field blocking (how do the center and tackle get 15 yards down field to block the safety?) for his second TD of the night.

Hmmmmmm.  That's not quite right.  Let's try this:

YEAH BUDDY!  Hammer time!

Mr. Vance had another interception, but I'm not going to show it because he held the ball like this again.  TUCK IT IN!

In fact, I think I'll just show the one you missed, too.

So.  Close.

9/23 Green Bay East 0 - Lincoln 51

This one got ugly quickly.  In the Ships' triumphant return to Rubick Field, East could not end their 329 game losing streak.  Sources informed me that it got a little dusty on the East sideline after the game.  I don't know what would have happened had, say, the offense completed at least 50% of their passes.  Or if any of the running backs broke a long run.  It was an odd game to watch: a blowout with no big offensive plays.  


We'll talk about Nick's second rushing touchdown, Jonah filling up on pancakes, and TFL's for Austin in later posts.  Let's just get to the action...

#Schmoozing.

Let's not forget that it was Parent's Night! Or that Pistol clearly thinks our staff photographer is a creep!

"Yeah, I think we have the best looking assistant coaches in the conference."

The Captains' Meeting and Coin Toss are the most underrated moments of Friday night lights.  If they can get everyone in the weight room this offseason, we should be seeing two and a half men out there next year.

This one's just for me.  I like that I caught the coin.

Tanner started out the game throwing into coverage...

And overthrowing the Pistol...

And, well, you get the point.

In other news, the Mayor has ended the city's feed the poor program:  NO SOUP FOR YOU!

Hall came to play.  First, forcing an intentional grounding penalty...

Then, on the very next play, cradling the punter to bring him to "safety."

Tanner doesn't ever miss Pistol twice in one game...

Aww hell.  I'll say this for our QB, though - he knows when to get his bad game out of the way.

Hey, Pistol - you aint' draggin' Fatty McFatters AND #54.  Just stop and don't hurt yourself.

It's always bromantical when the Ships score a touchdown.

I gotta give props to the Hogs, here.  I mean, just LOOK at that running lane.  Big A had no one to block.

Flying to the ball.  Literally.

The other underrated part of Friday night lights.

The backups came in shortly after halftime.  There's really only one thing I want to emphasize about their performance, which was excellent, by the way.

Check out the Big O chasing down the one player who could (would) have made a tackle on Clubber.

Without that block, Clubber doesn't score.  And he doesn't get interviewed for the paper, either.  So Clubber better give the Big O some love this week, cause that block was AWESOME.

Finally, how many points did East score?

Looks like a "zero" to me.