Which semifinal game are you most excited about?
- Thread starter LukeFeddersen
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Pella has been in semifinal 7 times in the last 10 years and has won the last 3 state championship.To me this is a unbelievable record for 3a football I'm not a Dutch fan or do I think they will win it all this year but I have to get them all my respect.
Very impressive, they all are. Not disparaging anything but Jay would need to go 217-10 over the next 17 years to match Coach Bladt. That's about .6 of a loss each year for 17 years. It's amazing what Bladt has done and for how long.
Pella fortunate to come out with the win. Blow out early, heck of a come back.
Pella is obviously the program you think of for recent success. But if you're trying to associate a term like dynasty in 3A, Harlan would be it. I think Murph and Andy even had a pole on their show on this today.
Saying that takes nothing away from Pella's recent success and dominance.
Pella is obviously the program you think of for recent success. But if you're trying to associate a term like dynasty in 3A, Harlan would be it. I think Murph and Andy even had a pole on their show on this today.
Saying that takes nothing away from Pella's recent success and dominance.
Solon doesn't tackle at all like I thought they would I was way wrong with that prediction.Im going to be 0-2 for tonight games
What a tale of to halves! Pella dominates the first half and Harlan dominates the second. Harlan showed that they are a very good team with that gutsy comeback. Pella hung on to win.
Without a doubt, Harlan has a historic program and coach, but dynasties do not last forever. The Harlan program was a dynasty, but that was a fews years ago. If there is a dynasty team in 3A now it is Pella regardless of what happens next week. Xaiver would certainly be next in line.
Well, Harlan won the yard totals. I'm not sure I would say that they won everything by a large margin as Pella completely dominated the first 22 minutes of the game getting up by the large margin. Harlan made an incredible comeback and made it a very exciting ending. Was a chaotic, strange game to watch. Pella won the first half by a large margin and Harlan won the second half by a large margin.
I don't think I've ever seen the crowd from the team that won walk out of the dome looking like they had just lost. You'd have thought that Pella just lost the game. Was a very strange scene. Pella made enough plays to win it, but looked completely gassed at the end. But, Harlan looked pretty gassed as well. Lots of effort left on the field tonight. Lots of respect for the other side by both teams at the end of the game, that was very evident.
The overall stats--passing yds, rushing yds, total yds, first downs--were, by much, in Harlan's favor. They came up just short. I would say that CRX is a clear favorite next week if they play the way they did last nite.
If Lewis Central returns to 3A that could have a BIG impact on Harlan's playoff success. Geographically they will likely always be in the same district which could mean Harlan may be more likely to hit the road week 10 when they make the playoffs and obviously have to get past LC to reach the dome. LC taking down DM Valley in this years playoffs makes me think LC would be a serious threat in 3A.
Bladt is a great coach but at the end of his career and the LC coach (Duggan) is certainly no slouch either.
As far as next week.....I'd have to go along with Xavier based on last nights performance but would by no means rule the Dutch out and another Pella title would not surprise me. Looks like we got the right 2 teams playing for a title so hopefully it will be a good game.
Not saying LC won't be tough next year, but I wouldn't use Valley as the testing line. Newton hung with Valley in their district game, and Newton would not have made 3A playoffs this year. LC and North Scott will certainly raise the bar. It will be nice for SWestern Iowa to add another competitive team. Many years that quadrant has sent a less than competitive team to the dome. With Heelan in decline, I can see them becoming the next western power. If Solon and/or Assumption moves down 2A will feel similar tremors in the East.
Totally agree with you on Solon and Assumption going 2A. It will change the 2A landscape too.
Harlan could be facing a bigger issue next year. The proverbial 800 lb gorilla climbs into their district at the same time they loose their 2,000 yd rushing "beast" and their #1 QB. Both of whom were 2 ways.
Harlan had a very good season this year but there is no reason to expect this year is indicative of a return to their glory days. Couple of years ago they were 3-6.
Harlan could be facing a bigger issue next year. The proverbial 800 lb gorilla climbs into their district at the same time they loose their 2,000 yd rushing "beast" and their #1 QB. Both of whom were 2 ways.
Harlan had a very good season this year but there is no reason to expect this year is indicative of a return to their glory days. Couple of years ago they were 3-6.
Not sure it was easy.........definitely did not see college level front seven. Schulte is a good runner, but not big and not crazy fast and seemed to have no problems finding seams certainly has good vision. Lbaum got doubled often, but there were time he was being handled by one. LInebackers were also struggling. Maybe they froze in the dome, but I was expecting way more.
I had heard a lot about that front 7 and thought they might top the 53 points Regina gave up in 2010, 14 games. I realize it was 2A but they did beat the 3A champs that year as well. Surprised that Xavier got 35 like that.
Is Solon even in the discussion of dropping to 2A? Are they losing enrollment numbers?
I guess answering my own question, by this year's BEDS next year's 2A/3A cutoff would be around 337 and Solon is at 342, so they're in that area. I realize things can change quite a bit from year-to-year, but they were 323 the year before, so the trend seems to be up and not down.
I got the Dome in time to watch the second half of Pella-Harlan. Harlan's defense was just playing lights-out in that half; they'd just dug themselves too big of a hole in the first half. It was fun seeing them open up the playbook - the hook-and-ladder worked perfectly, the halfback pass not so much. It turns out that blocked extra point in the third quarter was a big deal; it made Harlan try for two (and fail) a couple of times. In the end both teams scored six touchdowns, but Pella kicked five extra points and Harlan was only able to get three. There was your difference.
So I was just talking with my brother in-law who happens to be an assistant coach for Harlan, and he said that on the two-point play at the end of the game, the reason for the fumbled snap was that one of the Pella D-linemen or LB's yelled cadence (ie "SET, HUT!") which caused the center to snap it before the QB was ready.
That sucks if it's true.
He said multiple players came to the sidelines saying that's what happened, so I'm inclined to think that it is.
That sucks if it's true.
He said multiple players came to the sidelines saying that's what happened, so I'm inclined to think that it is.
Could see that maybe pulling someone into a false start, but I played center through college and I can't imagine getting my QB's cadence messed up with any other noise /dummy call's going on in the field and snapping the ball. The direction of the sound is easily distinguished. QB was also under center, which makes it harder for me to believe. Wasn't the first time in the game that the QB/center exchange was muffed.
i quess it happens ,. center and qb....thought as long as these guys have played...u wonder.....there was too many mistakes and turnovers for the cyclones ..they hurt themselves...all the linemen that jumped the gun.....but it like that all season...listen to games all seaon.....allways someone jumping the cadence
Yeah, not saying it definitely happened, just figured a message board like this was an appropriate place to share what I heard.
The part that I don't get is that if a Pella player did actually imitate the cadence of Harlan's QB, why wouldn't Harlan make a big fuss about it and at least try and get the refs to give them another shot (pretty sure it's a penalty to actually do that so they would move a little closer). The only reason I could see is if it just happened too fast and people weren't sure what actually happened right away until they played it back in their head. I don't know.
I think the psychology of momentum can have unusual swings in big games. Appeared to me that Harlan had to come out and try to will their way back into the game, which they did successfully. Whereas Pella trying to hold on to the lead. Harlan did not necessarily pound Pella in the 2nd half but killed them with big plays. Hook and Ladder, blocked punt for TD can significantly impact emotions by the type of big plays they are. They also made some big gains on 4th down and long conversions, which in normal game situations they are not going for. So Pella was on their heels, gassed and could not shake that dynamic. When your are down 4 scores and have nothing to lose, you can begin to play more freely, especially when you have great coaching that can scheme well.
Kudos to Harlan for making it a game,
Will the schools have more capacity or not? In district, out of district doesn't really matter.
Lol... you must be a politician. Can't give a clear answer to a simple question. The answer is 'yes'
I believe that I asked you. You decided to live up to your name. I asked a yes or no question and you chose to go into a vague explanation.
I am a simple man, when I ask a yes or no question I expect a yes or no answer. Not a big fan of the explanation of the answer without giving the answer. You do live up to your screen name quite well and I am sure it amuses you so keep it up.
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