Friday, August 29, 2014
#GameDay Southport
Thursday, August 28, 2014
#RockReport Harrison Freshmen
The Rocks freshmen kicked off their football season Wednesday, August 27th, making the trip to the marshy field of the Harrison Raiders in Lafayette. The frosh squad was chomping at the bit, as the originally scheduled game had been postponed twice due to lightning. After the lightning, the young men of Westfield brought the thunder with them. From kickoff until the clock read zero, the protagonists of the game ran the field at a blazing tempo, scorching the Raider defense numerous times and laying the hammer down defensively.
The Rocks were led offensively by players of the game Nate Froelich and Cameron Nance. Froelich, a running back, set the tone offensively, storming his way down the field for a 70 yard touchdown while mowing down any defender who stood between him and his goal. Nate continued to pound the ball every time he touched it, willing the offense down the field. To complement Froelich’s thunderous running style, Laveal Gibson stepped in and provided his lightning quick skills in running the football, giving the Rocks their second touchdown of the day. Cameron Nance showed the poise of a veteran quarterback. The field general called his own number and ran the ball in for a touchdown and the Rocks’ third score of the day. Between his bursts running the ball, the dual-threat quarterback also assaulted the Raider D through the air, connecting with the speedy slot receiver Kaleb Pettijohn for two more touchdowns. Jacob Miner contributed at multiple positions, coming up with big grabs to keep the seemingly mechanized offense rolling downfield, while the offensive line stood firm in the face of daunting pressure, and acted as five blocks of granite in their protection of Nance and the others.
Defensively, the Rocks rolled over the Harrison protection, and plugged the holes on the runs. Playing against the flexbone option of Harrison, the defensive line led the charge, with Conner Henderson pile driving the Harrison quarterback one time, and Matthew Robinson another, ending a strong first half. Logan McClurg, playing on his island at cornerback changed the game by darting for an errant pass and intercepting it, bringing it past the fifty and into Harrison’s own territory. The linebacking crew was stout, and big plays by Welch, Lickfeldt, and Noyes helped secure the game. Eli Akers also hammered the nails into the Raiders’ coffin by picking off the football as the game wound down.
Coach Myron Burr called an excellent game at special teams. The kicking squads were always aggressive and flying down the field. Nate Froelich displayed that he has a golden toe to match his swift feet. Booting the ball deep down the field, he and the kickoff squad pinned Harrison deep into their own territory. The return teams led by Laveal Gibson always stormed hard upfield, giving the Rock offense an easy path to the end zone.
Students, parents, and fans of all ages: kick off your three day weekend, and come see your freshmen Rocks compete this Saturday, August 30th at home as they take on the Cardinals of Southport High School.
The Rocks were led offensively by players of the game Nate Froelich and Cameron Nance. Froelich, a running back, set the tone offensively, storming his way down the field for a 70 yard touchdown while mowing down any defender who stood between him and his goal. Nate continued to pound the ball every time he touched it, willing the offense down the field. To complement Froelich’s thunderous running style, Laveal Gibson stepped in and provided his lightning quick skills in running the football, giving the Rocks their second touchdown of the day. Cameron Nance showed the poise of a veteran quarterback. The field general called his own number and ran the ball in for a touchdown and the Rocks’ third score of the day. Between his bursts running the ball, the dual-threat quarterback also assaulted the Raider D through the air, connecting with the speedy slot receiver Kaleb Pettijohn for two more touchdowns. Jacob Miner contributed at multiple positions, coming up with big grabs to keep the seemingly mechanized offense rolling downfield, while the offensive line stood firm in the face of daunting pressure, and acted as five blocks of granite in their protection of Nance and the others.
Defensively, the Rocks rolled over the Harrison protection, and plugged the holes on the runs. Playing against the flexbone option of Harrison, the defensive line led the charge, with Conner Henderson pile driving the Harrison quarterback one time, and Matthew Robinson another, ending a strong first half. Logan McClurg, playing on his island at cornerback changed the game by darting for an errant pass and intercepting it, bringing it past the fifty and into Harrison’s own territory. The linebacking crew was stout, and big plays by Welch, Lickfeldt, and Noyes helped secure the game. Eli Akers also hammered the nails into the Raiders’ coffin by picking off the football as the game wound down.
Coach Myron Burr called an excellent game at special teams. The kicking squads were always aggressive and flying down the field. Nate Froelich displayed that he has a golden toe to match his swift feet. Booting the ball deep down the field, he and the kickoff squad pinned Harrison deep into their own territory. The return teams led by Laveal Gibson always stormed hard upfield, giving the Rock offense an easy path to the end zone.
Students, parents, and fans of all ages: kick off your three day weekend, and come see your freshmen Rocks compete this Saturday, August 30th at home as they take on the Cardinals of Southport High School.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
#RockReport Harrison JV
The Westfield Junior Varsity football team started the season in impressive fashion with a 49-0 victory over Harrison High School on Saturday.
All phases of the game were performing at an optimum level. The offense started out with a quick touchdown drive, topped off with a short touchdown run by sophomore QB Andy Sweet. The offense scored 5 more touchdowns throughout the morning, three passes from Sweet to three different sophomore receivers; Evan Manley, Davion Gibson, and Nolan Rogers. Jared Bayha and Koby Hauser added to that total with hard fought touchdown runs.
The defense caused havoc in the Raider backfield all day. The highlight of the morning came when defensive tackle Austin “Tiny” Dollens tipped a pass by the Harrison QB and defensive end Brian Skelton intercepted the pass and ran it back 30 yards for a touchdown. Linebacker Zach Paterson caused another fumble later in the game and Safety Christan McCarron recovered, leading to an offensive score.
Special teams played a pivotal role in creating scoring opportunities for the offense as well. The Raiders first offensive possession ended with a punt, but Jared Bayha blocked the kick and set up the offense which scored two plays later. Kicker Will Harrison had a great day of kick offs and made every extra point attempt. Mitchell Aldrink flew around and made numerous tackles on special teams giving Harrison a long field to traverse to try to score.
The Junior Varsity football team will try to continue its winning ways next Saturday 8/30/14 at 10 am at Southport High School.
All phases of the game were performing at an optimum level. The offense started out with a quick touchdown drive, topped off with a short touchdown run by sophomore QB Andy Sweet. The offense scored 5 more touchdowns throughout the morning, three passes from Sweet to three different sophomore receivers; Evan Manley, Davion Gibson, and Nolan Rogers. Jared Bayha and Koby Hauser added to that total with hard fought touchdown runs.
The defense caused havoc in the Raider backfield all day. The highlight of the morning came when defensive tackle Austin “Tiny” Dollens tipped a pass by the Harrison QB and defensive end Brian Skelton intercepted the pass and ran it back 30 yards for a touchdown. Linebacker Zach Paterson caused another fumble later in the game and Safety Christan McCarron recovered, leading to an offensive score.
Special teams played a pivotal role in creating scoring opportunities for the offense as well. The Raiders first offensive possession ended with a punt, but Jared Bayha blocked the kick and set up the offense which scored two plays later. Kicker Will Harrison had a great day of kick offs and made every extra point attempt. Mitchell Aldrink flew around and made numerous tackles on special teams giving Harrison a long field to traverse to try to score.
The Junior Varsity football team will try to continue its winning ways next Saturday 8/30/14 at 10 am at Southport High School.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Rocks United Giveback
Friday is the home opener for us, and the theme is United. Players have been selling shirts, and we're hoping for the stands to be red, white, and blue. Also, we're always looking for good charities to serve, and we felt that the Wounded Warrior Project went well with the theme. To that end, we've set up a Rocks Football donation page if you are interested. Our goal is $1,000, but I think we should be able to easily achieve that and then some. Please consider giving to this worthy cause.Thank you to our troops for everything you do for us!
Be sure to pack the house Friday (wearing something patriotic) as we honor those who serve and protect our great country.
#RockReport Harrison
Varsity Football opened the season with a solid win in swampy conditions over the William Henry Harrison Raiders, 35-14.Offensively, the Shamrocks marched methodically down the muddy field for most of the night. Brandon Karsnick led the way on the ground, with Ryan Pepiot connecting through the air to Milo Beam. Joe Krambeer had the big play of the night, setting a key block that allowed Nick Henderson to score a long TD.
The Rock Defense allowed an early TD, but then dug in and held firm until late in the game, turning back the Raider attack twice in the Red Zone. Matt Crupi led the defensive effort, with terrific pressure all night. The consistent play of Sam Trompen and Cameron Harrison kept the Raiders bottled up. The big defensive play came in the form of a Red Zone stand that deflated the opposing Raiders, and help set the Rocks firmly in charge of the game.
Shamrock Special Teams played well with Nick Dowd leading the way. A majority of his kickoffs found the end zone Friday night. Josh Tuffnell added consistent special teams play, and the big play was when the kickoff return squad nearly broke one for a TD, setting the offense up in great field position.
Special mention should be given to Hank Grenda, Ruslan Abamislimov, and Liam Jagow. These Rocks made significant contributions in preparing the team for the Friday contest. They really built it during the week, providing the best possible look for their fellow teammates.
Choose to be Great and support Rocks Football next Friday, when Westfield will host the Southport Cardinals for the first time at Red Stanley Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Friday, August 22, 2014
#GameDay Harrison
The 2014 Kickoff Counter shows under 9 hours. Football season is almost officially here. We are excited to open our season against the Harrison Raiders tonight at 7pm. Worried about how to get to Harrison? We've got you covered. Can't make it? We'll be live-tweeting @ShamrockFB.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Building It
Ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium was celebrated on Monday. There is a nice article in the Hamilton County Reporter by Don Jellison that I wanted to highlight. It starts on the front page and continues onto page two, with some photos on the following page.
Meanwhile, we've got our own hardhats on, preparing for our Friday contest against the Harrison Raiders. They've got a new head coach this year and looked good in their scrimmage film from last week. Though we are no longer in the same conference, we still want to go up there and start off our season right with a win. If we're going to have the best stadium in the county, we'd better play like we deserve it.
Meanwhile, we've got our own hardhats on, preparing for our Friday contest against the Harrison Raiders. They've got a new head coach this year and looked good in their scrimmage film from last week. Though we are no longer in the same conference, we still want to go up there and start off our season right with a win. If we're going to have the best stadium in the county, we'd better play like we deserve it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Story Behind The Ice Bucket Challenge
Since we currently have donation/voting going for which of our coaches will be taking the challenge, I thought it appropriate to share the story behind the challenge...
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| Taking Votes |
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
#GameDay - Ben Davis Scrimmage
As was tweeted earlier, tonight's scrimmage against Ben Davis will start at 7pm at Ben Davis High School. If you're looking for driving directions, we've got you covered. Here's the map (note: You may want to avoid the 31 construction, even though Google Maps appears to think it fastest.):
See you there!
See you there!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Few, The Proud
I have a tag for "Workday Wednesday" on here. Throughout most of the world, Wednesday is the very middle of the work week. Or, as the Geico Camel might say: Hump Daaaaay!
For high school football players, Wednesday is the very heart of our practice week. Typically, Monday represents a first look at Friday's opponent. Tuesday is a ramp up day, and Thursday a ramp down day, preparing for Friday. Wednesday is the peak, the last hard work day before Friday's contest. Hence, Workday Wednesday.
I like to use the tag to highlight some of the behind-the-scenes grunt work that our players put in. Football ranks very low in the contest to practice ratio. That is to say, a lot of preparation time goes into a single Friday night game, where other sports have more frequent contests. That means we're putting in a lot of work for a slim shot at our reward.
Today, I wanted to reflect on how we began the season with our workman's attitude. Followers of the program know that our first day of official practice, we don't usually do "football" things. We're not holding drills or lining up or throwing passes. We like to begin with some down-and-dirty, team-building type activities.
This year, I mentioned that we let some Marines run our first practice. I wanted to give you a better picture of what that looked like.
Had you attended the first day of practice, you would have been confronted with a scene right out of the beginning of a war movie. Parking your car, you would have had to wait for a line of players on a rope to go by. A few seconds later, the mottled green and black Humvee they were pulling would pass, a camouflaged man yelling out of the driver side window. Only after shutting off your own engine would you realize that big machine hadn't been running.
Stepping from your nice, air-conditioned interior, a wave of heat would hit you. Despite the recent unseasonably cool weather, it was a normal Indiana August a few weeks ago. Humid. Hot. Distinctly unpleasant.
Walking toward the field, another group of players would jog by you, led by their own Marine. They're not quite in lockstep, or matching dual lines, but the resemblance to the typical basic training movie scene is uncanny.
To your right, the tackling dummies are being broken in. By broken in, I mean pummeled by players. While being "encouraged" by a Marine Drill Sergeant. Think Full Metal Jacket, but a little more PG. These marines were polite, if tough. They realized we weren't going to war. Not their kind of war, anyway.
As you make your way across the field, you would need to dodge managers running to and fro with water bottles. It's imperative to keep hydrated when you're working. The sounds of effort fill the air. Grunts. Shouts. Calls for coordination and encouragement. Dust from the dry field starts to tickle your through and, for a moment, you think about snagging one of those water bottles.
A young man with another player carried fireman-style across his shoulders crosses your path, dripping with sweat.
Nah, he needs it more.
It's very easy to imagine a field of mud and razor wire, soon-to-be Marines crawling beneath with live fire in the air for ambiance. We didn't go quite that far. There was no mud, or shots fired, or wire. Plenty of crawling, though.
As you stand there, taking it all in, you may wonder: Are they preparing to play a game or fight a battle?
Yes.
Is every other team doing something like this?
No.
Did any of them outwork us on that first day?
Not likely.
It takes guts to be a Rock. You better believe our players figured that out on Day One. Not everyone can be a Rock. But the few, the proud... well, they're not Marines. But for a day, they got just a small taste of what that might be like. I bet every other workday will feel like a piece of cake. One does not simply walk into Lucas Oil Stadium.
Go Rocks. Go America. Oorah.
For high school football players, Wednesday is the very heart of our practice week. Typically, Monday represents a first look at Friday's opponent. Tuesday is a ramp up day, and Thursday a ramp down day, preparing for Friday. Wednesday is the peak, the last hard work day before Friday's contest. Hence, Workday Wednesday.
I like to use the tag to highlight some of the behind-the-scenes grunt work that our players put in. Football ranks very low in the contest to practice ratio. That is to say, a lot of preparation time goes into a single Friday night game, where other sports have more frequent contests. That means we're putting in a lot of work for a slim shot at our reward.
Today, I wanted to reflect on how we began the season with our workman's attitude. Followers of the program know that our first day of official practice, we don't usually do "football" things. We're not holding drills or lining up or throwing passes. We like to begin with some down-and-dirty, team-building type activities.
This year, I mentioned that we let some Marines run our first practice. I wanted to give you a better picture of what that looked like.
Had you attended the first day of practice, you would have been confronted with a scene right out of the beginning of a war movie. Parking your car, you would have had to wait for a line of players on a rope to go by. A few seconds later, the mottled green and black Humvee they were pulling would pass, a camouflaged man yelling out of the driver side window. Only after shutting off your own engine would you realize that big machine hadn't been running.
Stepping from your nice, air-conditioned interior, a wave of heat would hit you. Despite the recent unseasonably cool weather, it was a normal Indiana August a few weeks ago. Humid. Hot. Distinctly unpleasant.
Walking toward the field, another group of players would jog by you, led by their own Marine. They're not quite in lockstep, or matching dual lines, but the resemblance to the typical basic training movie scene is uncanny.
To your right, the tackling dummies are being broken in. By broken in, I mean pummeled by players. While being "encouraged" by a Marine Drill Sergeant. Think Full Metal Jacket, but a little more PG. These marines were polite, if tough. They realized we weren't going to war. Not their kind of war, anyway.
As you make your way across the field, you would need to dodge managers running to and fro with water bottles. It's imperative to keep hydrated when you're working. The sounds of effort fill the air. Grunts. Shouts. Calls for coordination and encouragement. Dust from the dry field starts to tickle your through and, for a moment, you think about snagging one of those water bottles.
A young man with another player carried fireman-style across his shoulders crosses your path, dripping with sweat.
Nah, he needs it more.
It's very easy to imagine a field of mud and razor wire, soon-to-be Marines crawling beneath with live fire in the air for ambiance. We didn't go quite that far. There was no mud, or shots fired, or wire. Plenty of crawling, though.
As you stand there, taking it all in, you may wonder: Are they preparing to play a game or fight a battle?
Yes.
Is every other team doing something like this?
No.
Did any of them outwork us on that first day?
Not likely.
It takes guts to be a Rock. You better believe our players figured that out on Day One. Not everyone can be a Rock. But the few, the proud... well, they're not Marines. But for a day, they got just a small taste of what that might be like. I bet every other workday will feel like a piece of cake. One does not simply walk into Lucas Oil Stadium.
Go Rocks. Go America. Oorah.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Green-Gold Article
Usually I'll post the Rock Report on Mondays, but we didn't do an internal write-up for the scrimmage this week. Typically I mention all of our players of the week and such. When we start with that, it will be posted on here.
Instead, I thought I'd link an article tweeted to us on the scrimmage by Josh Ellis at the HC Sports Daily website. Got a couple of good pictures in there too.
We're preparing for our scrimmage with Ben Davis this Friday. It will feel good this week to hit a different color!
Instead, I thought I'd link an article tweeted to us on the scrimmage by Josh Ellis at the HC Sports Daily website. Got a couple of good pictures in there too.
We're preparing for our scrimmage with Ben Davis this Friday. It will feel good this week to hit a different color!
Friday, August 8, 2014
Green vs Gold Scrimmage
Saturday marks the end of our pre-season camp, and traditionally that means the Green vs Gold scrimmage. This year is no exception. We'll be holding the scrimmage Saturday night at 7pm. Come out and get your first sneak peek at this year's team!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Fundraiser: Chick Fil A
The season has officially started for us and our opening kickoff is a mere 16 days away! We're in the thick of our beginning of season camp... 2-a-days, lots of classroom time, and installing the basic plays that we'll build upon throughout the season. It's a hectic time to be a coach and player (especially when you enlist a small squad of marines to run your first practice!), but when we hit that first game and start rolling, it'll all be worth it.
I wanted to squeeze in a quick post today about a fundraiser going on at Chick Fil A. A portion of the proceeds today will go toward our football program if you stop by, eat, and mention Westfield Football. That's all. No flyer or coupon needed, just tell them you're eating for the Rocks. The fundraiser will run until 10PM tonight, so while I know this is late notice, there's still plenty of time to eat!
We're working hard to make y'all proud on the field. Eat some chicken for us!
I wanted to squeeze in a quick post today about a fundraiser going on at Chick Fil A. A portion of the proceeds today will go toward our football program if you stop by, eat, and mention Westfield Football. That's all. No flyer or coupon needed, just tell them you're eating for the Rocks. The fundraiser will run until 10PM tonight, so while I know this is late notice, there's still plenty of time to eat!
We're working hard to make y'all proud on the field. Eat some chicken for us!
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