North Star vs Divide County

[vikingman]

I didn't go to this game, nor did I listen on the radio. So I waited until the team got back so I could watch the video.

Granted, you can't argue with the result that DC achieved, and it doesn't matter HOW you get your yards, but watching the video of the DC offense could have put a meth addict to sleep. It took over 3 quarters before I saw a 'legitimate' offensive highlight to include. Another thread mentioned how DC was running all over NS--I didn't see that at all. Yes they had a long drive on their first possession, and in the 4th quarter they finally had some break-away runs, but for 9-man football, certainly nothing unusual. NS had some good runs as well, but they didn't run it nearly as often. It would be interesting to see yards/carry stats (excluding the 90+ yard run). With the sizes advantage that DC had and the impressive scoring output that they've had all year, I thought NS did a pretty good job against the run in holding them to just 3 TDs in regulation.

The game was very similar to last year in that either team could have won with one break. I saw on the video that a ref DID throw a flag on the 'disputed' 2-pt conversion, but the video didn't indicate what became of that flag. Obviously the points counted. In the second OT, Grande appeared to make a TD catch, but then disappeared from camera view, and the refs ruled it incomplete. It must have come loose when he hit the ground. It would have been another great catch for him. Given the short field for OT, DC's grind-it-out running game would have probably prevailed in the long-run anyway.

Anyway, here are some highlights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an6yw3dDRYg

[Flip]

just curious how many passes did DC complete?

[HONKER]

One. The 2 pt. conversion.

[AC-DC]

Too bad highlight reels don't win games.
Anyone see the Sioux highlight goal last night?

[DCFan2]

Isaac Jacobs DC - 36-253yds 2TD's 7 yds/carry
Lance Knudson - 29-190yds 3TD's 6.5 yds/carry

Hagler- 18-33 192yds 3td's 2 INT'S
Williston Herald has good article on game. And I could watch DC run over people all day. 3 of last 4 teams are predominately run teams. Very good game. DC prevailed.

[AC-DC]

Isaac Jacobs DC - 36-253yds 2TD's 7 yds/carry
Lance Knudson - 29-190yds 3TD's 6.5 yds/carry

Hagler- 18-33 192yds 3td's 2 INT'S
Williston Herald has good article on game. And I could watch DC run over people all day. 3 of last 4 teams are predominately run teams. Very good game. DC prevailed.

Awesome picture in the article. Pretty much sums it up.
Once again, great game DC!

[whitefire]

you take away jacobs 95 yard run and dc still has a good amount of run yardage.north star played very well dc was able to the secondary quite often but were stopped from making the "highlight reel play" by shoe string tackles. the disputed two point conversion was whether or not the receiver was eligable. seeing as how hes a tight end there never should have been a flag and the refs made the correct call by picking up the flag and ruling it a no call. it was a great game with two very contrasting offensive styles. Wish North Star the best of luck in basketball.

[Flip]

What about illegal man/men downfield on the 2 pt conversion? seems like that should have been a penalty

edit: read some clarification in a different thread

edit 2: seems like a legal play to me after watching it again

[sportsking]

Congrats to Divide County! Saw a few of the highlights, looks like North Star got beat down, its tough tackling bigger guys all game! NS had a good year, just need to except the fact that they can be beat at any sport, and really need to learn to take a loss and move on. Just like state basketball last year, too much crying, not enough playing. Get over it, it happens to everyone, Good luck DC vs TGU, should be a good game.

[mediaball]

North Star's fan showed how much class they have with their childish heckling of the ref's after every play. I cannot stand people that complain about calls made on the field. People that do that just don't understand football big picture wise. What the ref's are asked to do is very difficult. And fans always have a knee jerk reaction to every call, as if they could do a better job themselves.

As an observer from both sidelines, be careful about accusing just one sideline of childish heckling. I heard the same heckling of the refs from the DC sideline when I was on that side of the field. What disappointed me more than that was the fan heckling of the NS players when the play happened to go to that side of the field. I heard nothing of the same from the NS fans towards the DC players when on the other side of the field. I agree, reffing is not an easy job and they are doing the best they can (or at least we always hope they are), but fans heckling teenage football players who are giving their all every down is uncalled for.

[nordstde]

That's too bad. You are right, no room for that crap.

[ballfan]

What's done is done. Good game to both groups of boys and good luck to DC going into semi-finals.

[forthree]

TGU is a much different kind of team then NS, should be an entertaining semi-final.

[ndpreps09]

To vikingman. North Star had 9 guys in the box on every play and DC still ran for 500 yards. How is that not running all over a team? Grande did not have a foot in on that TD catch, it was even close. Grande complains to the ref's like an NBA player. Get up and go back to the huddle like everyone else kid, you're not that important.
North Star's fan showed how much class they have with their childish heckling of the ref's after every play. I cannot stand people that complain about calls made on the field. People that do that just don't understand football big picture wise. What the ref's are asked to do is very difficult. And fans always have a knee jerk reaction to every call, as if they could do a better job themselves.
Football is decided by the players and coaches. North Star passes, DC runs. DC did a better job running the football than North Star did passing. And that is why DC won, pretty simple.

By this comment you have displayed that you are a complete bias fan and most likely don't have a great knowledge of the game of football. I was told before the game that DC is a very hostile environment, tough to play and even worse to have to travel that far in a bus, not making excuses just pointing out facts. So right there North Star is at a disadvantage. And than you have refs who have most likely reffed DC all year. When you come to play in Cando, I think we tend to get a call here or there, so do not try to stick up for the reffing because there is no doubt in my mind there was a bit of bias from the refereeing. I wasnt even at the game, I just know that in 9 man high school football especially this far into the playoffs, refs know people from that town, they make friends from that town, they know the kids.....they dont want to be the one that the town will hate because chances are they will be visiting that town many more times, where as I doubt they will ever be making a visit to Cando, atleast not to ref. Deny it all you want, refs have personal lives too and develop these connections. Football is NOT solely decided by the players and coaches, most unintelligent thing I have ever heard. If the refs do not decide anything, why was the NFL in an uproar because of the replacement refs? Unbelievable. Between this and the comment by the guy who said "North Star needs to learn how to handle a loss" I am really starting to question what the world is coming to these days. The most ridiculous part about it is that if NS wins this game and a ref gives them a big questionable call, I would bet a lot of money that these roles would be reversed, and the thing about it is I don't really even see a NS fan ripping the reffing. I had quit coming on this site for multiple reasons, comments like this and that other one are big reasons. Because of the absurdness of these comments and a little bit of how bored I am today, I felt the need to come out of retirement. Thanks and God bless

[vikingman]

and all of those arguments could be used to say that DC should have won the game last year. Last year THEY had the long bus ride and the refs were from the Cando area.

As I said earlier in the post, either team could have easily won either of these 2 playoff games (2011, 2012). It wasn't because one coaches game plan was that much better than the other's, or that one team executed that much better than the other. Both games were a tossup. Watching the video last night, I saw that NS had 2 chances at loose balls that looked like they had a better chance to recover it than DC. If they would have recovered just ONE of the two, that might have made the difference. And I'm sure DC could also find breaks that could have gone for them instead of against them, both in last year's game and yesterday's.

The two teams have just been dead-even for the past two seasons.

[ndpreps09]

Congrats to Divide County! Saw a few of the highlights, looks like North Star got beat down, its tough tackling bigger guys all game! NS had a good year, just need to except the fact that they can be beat at any sport, and really need to learn to take a loss and move on. Just like state basketball last year, too much crying, not enough playing. Get over it, it happens to everyone, Good luck DC vs TGU, should be a good game.

There are no other words to describe this comment except for how stupid it is. What is your prerogative/reasoning for including stuff like this? Because nobody else in the sports world complains about anything, NS is the only team. Nobody else losses either, I think just NS does. Lost 1 game in basketball and 2 games in football, but they are the only ones to ever lose and than complain about it. Is complaining the right thing to do? Absolutely not. But it is part of the game. If no one complained the refs would think they are even greater than they already do and their ego would be larger than it already is (not all refs but quite a few), would you like that? As for yelling at kids, that is just unacceptable and in my sports life I have never heard one NS fan heckle a player from the other team. Funny how that isnt mentioned though by a DC fan, just a neutral fan (as I take it Mediaball is). People are bias especially in high school sports. Believe it or not (sarcasm) there are many bias people from Cando even. I dont care if your not even a DC fan, but obviously just a strong hater of NS. Im not saying everyone has to be a fan of NS, but atleast have a realistic viewpoint on the situation....and judging by your comments that would be like asking the Packers to develop a powerful running game.

[ndpreps09]

and all of those arguments could be used to say that DC should have won the game last year. Last year THEY had the long bus ride and the refs were from the Cando area.

Not once in my post did I say that NS SHOULD have one the game. I said they were at a disadvantage because of those reasons, and than proceeded to talk about the natural tendencies of refereeing at this level. I mean if we were talking about the game last year, than someone could have said those two reasons and I would have completely agreed. But no one has said anything about last year, all of it was about this year. That is why its important to have home-field advantage. I am not making excuses for NS losing, I am giving my thoughts on the non-realistic viewpoint displayed by select people.

[AC-DC]

Sometimes, you just gotta laugh!

[vball10]

To vikingman. North Star had 9 guys in the box on every play and DC still ran for 500 yards. How is that not running all over a team? Grande did not have a foot in on that TD catch, it was even close. edit
North Star's fan showed how much class they have with their childish heckling of the ref's after every play. I cannot stand people that complain about calls made on the field. People that do that just don't understand football big picture wise. What the ref's are asked to do is very difficult. And fans always have a knee jerk reaction to every call, as if they could do a better job themselves.
Football is decided by the players and coaches. North Star passes, DC runs. DC did a better job running the football than North Star did passing. And that is why DC won, pretty simple.

You must have been the one heckling the players when they were on the DC side. That or you are “really powerful” behind a computer screen because you are heckling Grande right now. He is pretty important to NS and if he were on your team I think you would find him pretty important also.

Just to be clear I am not complaining. I am simply proving a point. I know the game is over and nothing can be changed. I am assuming that you meant “he wasn’t even close” in your post. Well, you must have been on the other end of the field. Let me show you what really happened.

This picture is when Grande caught the ball. He’s still in the air at this point.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330188526369&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

This picture is when Grande touched the ground. Clearly inside the endzone.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330189046382&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

And just in case that wasn't clear enough...here is one zoomed in.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330199846652&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

ALL pictures are unedited. I don't claim these pictures as my own. A photographer for the local paper in Cando takes them.

[panthercub]

This was one of the best games Ive seen in the past few years! Its too bad a team had to lose this game, both teams played hard. After looking at the pictures there is evidence of a missed call by the refs, nobody is perfect! Congrats to NS on a great run the past few years and good luck to DC in the semis vs a very balanced and well coached TGU team!

[Flip]

how many passes did DC attempt?

[panthercub]

maybe 5

[classB4ever]

To vikingman. North Star had 9 guys in the box on every play and DC still ran for 500 yards. How is that not running all over a team? Grande did not have a foot in on that TD catch, it was even close. edit
North Star's fan showed how much class they have with their childish heckling of the ref's after every play. I cannot stand people that complain about calls made on the field. People that do that just don't understand football big picture wise. What the ref's are asked to do is very difficult. And fans always have a knee jerk reaction to every call, as if they could do a better job themselves.
Football is decided by the players and coaches. North Star passes, DC runs. DC did a better job running the football than North Star did passing. And that is why DC won, pretty simple.

You must have been the one heckling the players when they were on the DC side. That or you are “really powerful” behind a computer screen because you are heckling Grande right now. He is pretty important to NS and if he were on your team I think you would find him pretty important also.

Just to be clear I am not complaining. I am simply proving a point. I know the game is over and nothing can be changed. I am assuming that you meant “he wasn’t even close” in your post. Well, you must have been on the other end of the field. Let me show you what really happened.

This picture is when Grande caught the ball. He’s still in the air at this point.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330188526369&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

This picture is when Grande touched the ground. Clearly inside the endzone.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330189046382&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

And just in case that wasn't clear enough...here is one zoomed in.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4330199846652&set=a.4199430697505.2162189.1036891271&type=1&permPage=1

ALL pictures are unedited. I don't claim these pictures as my own. A photographer for the local paper in Cando takes them.

Hmm. Appears to be 2 separate feet "in" on this post. One on the field and another in a "mouth". I bolded a statement that is kind of ironic.

[fusion]

That's too bad. You are right, no room for that crap.

What? Do you remember saying this? Grande complains to the ref's like an NBA player. Get up and go back to the huddle like everyone else kid, you're not that important.

I beg to differ with you. He is important, very important, all these kids are. If you knew this kid for one minute you would realize real fast that as good as he is as a player he is 100 times better as a person.

There is no room to heckle kids at ball games and there definitely is no room to heckle kids on the world wide web.

[kramer85]

I was at the game on Saturday as a neutral observer. I stood on both sidelines at different times and both sets of fans were on the officials. Name a playoff game this weekend where fans were not on the officials. Divide fans did ride some of the North Star players, nothing serious, but were talking to them when they were on their sideline. Two teams with totally different styles and one team quite a bit bigger than the other and they used that in their game plan, why wouldn’t you? Extremely gifted athletes on both sides that gave everything they had. The game was very well played with very few penalties. The officiated was poor at best. The officials appeared to be very unsure a majority of the game and the biggest issue they had was spotting the football. Here are some examples of things I didn’t quite understand, and I am a basketball person not a football person, so I do not know all the rules so keep that in mind and most of these things did not change the outcome of the game.

1) North Star intercepts at the 5 yard line and moment carries him to the 2 yard line where he is down? Does the ball get spotted at the 2 or the 5?

2) My personal opinion neither 2 point conversion should have counted in the 1st OT. Divide fumbled, very close to the goal line, I believe one poster said he was 2 feet into the end zone, I believe he exaggerated by 2 feet 1 inch. NS receiver caught the ball on his knees in the end zone but leaned forward to catch it and the ball was outside the end zone.

3) Grande caught two balls in the end zone in the exact same corner. The one in regulation the officials looked at each other, which I guess they should do, and gave him the TD. In the 2nd OT, same play and catch, officials again looked at each other and waved this one off. The posted picture, if that is from the 2nd OT, looks like a good catch. The officials got one right and one wrong. That is 50%, if they were weatherman we would give them a raise.

4) Divide’s 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter. Looking at the picture number 78, 41, 72, and 75 were all in the end zone. I don’t know the rule but I find it hard to believe that all four with those numbers can be eligible.

5) Is it legal for the entire team to run onto the field after a TD? Divide did this twice, three if you count the end of the game, which I assume would be legal.

6) And finally spotting of the ball. Many times it looked like the ball was spotted too far ahead or too far behind. I suppose it is tough with one team running all the time and the bodies that are at the line and the other team passing and the officials trying to get down field to get the correct spot. Again fortunate for both teams it didn’t cost them the game.


In sticking up for the officials, and to me it would be just like the replacement refs in the NFL, how many games have they officiated where the talent level was so high. Have the ever seen a team like North Star that passes the ball like that and has gifted receivers with great body control? It is too bad that when a game is so well played that the officiating couldn’t keep up.