2011 Region 2

[ratman]

I know that nb vs cavalier is gonna be a huge game with some atmosphere. I'll take cavalier by just a score. Cavalier still needs to get their offense tightened up a little but Chrest is a huge threat running the ball. It seems the guys have learned to play physical from the bigger guys that graduated. They are vulnerable in the secondary on pass plays tho. Hopefully NB isn't too spot on passing wise and the tornadoes can keep up. Prediction: 30-24 cavalier

[Flip]

I know that nb vs cavalier is gonna be a huge game with some atmosphere. I'll take cavalier by just a score. Cavalier still needs to get their offense tightened up a little but Chrest is a huge threat running the ball. It seems the guys have learned to play physical from the bigger guys that graduated. They are vulnerable in the secondary on pass plays tho. Hopefully NB isn't too spot on passing wise and the tornadoes can keep up. Prediction: 30-24 cavalier

It seems every 9-man team is vulnerable against the pass.

[ratman]

i mean very vulnerable as far as 1on1 coverage.

[Sportsrube]

I know that nb vs cavalier is gonna be a huge game with some atmosphere. I'll take cavalier by just a score. Cavalier still needs to get their offense tightened up a little but Chrest is a huge threat running the ball. It seems the guys have learned to play physical from the bigger guys that graduated. They are vulnerable in the secondary on pass plays tho. Hopefully NB isn't too spot on passing wise and the tornadoes can keep up. Prediction: 30-24 cavalier

It seems every 9-man team is vulnerable against the pass.

I agree, playing man pass defense is one of the most difficult things to do, expecially if you have a QB who throws a good ball. Most of your incompletes in 9 man come from a poor pass or the receiver running a bad route, not the corner or safety making a play. It takes a real athlete to be a good cover corner at any level and most 9 man teams seem to put their best athletes at LB so they are involved in more plays and they don't have as much coverage responsibilities.

[Hinsa]

Week 2 picks:

Central Valley @ Dakota Prairie - CV
Hope-Page/Finley-Sharon @ Drayton/Valley-Edinburg - DVE
Cavalier @ North Border - Cavalier
Hillsboro @ New Rockford/Sheyenne - Hillsboro
Lakota/Adams-Edmore @ Thompson - Thompson

Hinsa...question for you...since you know Region 2 better than most others on this site. Is Dakota Prairie really that down?

I can't believe DP is that down. They return a lot of good athletes and some big guys in the line as well, but their first 2 game scores really have me scratching my head. My CV pick might be a little more with my heart than my head. I know a lot of those kids and I'm hoping they can pick up a win.

[GRIDIRON GURU]

Week 2 picks:

I can't believe DP is that down. They return a lot of good athletes and some big guys in the line as well, but their first 2 game scores really have me scratching my head. My CV pick might be a little more with my heart than my head. I know a lot of those kids and I'm hoping they can pick up a win.

I heard the Lakota DP game was close until a Dakota Prairie kid broke his leg then the wheels fell off the team in the second half.

[TheTruth]

[quote="Hinsa"]4 teams from each region will make the playoffs. quote]

I was told by a highschool coach that they changed up the playoffs and its only top 2 teams of each region... only 8 teams going to playoffs... is this coach on EDITED? haha

[Flip]

I was told by a highschool coach that they changed up the playoffs and its only top 2 teams of each region... only 8 teams going to playoffs... is this coach on EDITED? haha

yes

[ratman]

Cavalier comes up big and wins 20-14 over NB. Wasn't a pretty one. Cavalier with lots of penalties and NB had their fair share of penalties also. Overall it was a very close game. Luke sharp of cavalier had a great game and led the tornadoes on D. Great rivalry renewed.

[the freak]

LAE dominates in thompson. Didn't expect that out come at all. Thompson is way down from last year

[Football4life]

Dakota Prairie lost 5 very good seniors in Braydon Gourneau,Brody Henningsgard, Alex Herman, Kip Christofferson, and Manatua Lemaire. DP has all the right tools but size is a huge issue right now.

[Hinsa]

After the first 3 games, my impressions of Region 2 are changing. Thompson and Dakota Prairie are not as good as I thought and LAE and New Rockford are much better than I thought. Now that Cavalier has beaten North Border I can see them running the table in the regular season. Teams are starting to figure out Hillsboro and injuries are mounting. LAE has to be the pleasant surprise so far putting up so many points so quickly.

Here's how I see the region finishing as of today:

1. Cavalier
2. North Border
3. Hillsboro
4. LAE
5. New Rockford/Sheyenne
6. Thompson
7. Drayton/St. Thomas/Valley/Edinburgh
8. Central Valley
9. Dakota Prairie
10. Finley-Sharon/Hope-Page

[classB4ever]

Was under the impression from last year's results and earlier posts in this thread that FSHP was bringing back a strong nucleus and was going to be in the hunt. Did they lose that many players or did something else happen?

[GRIDIRON GURU]

Was under the impression from last year's results and earlier posts in this thread that FSHP was bringing back a strong nucleus and was going to be in the hunt. Did they lose that many players or did something else happen?

Their stud running back Ihry, broke his wrist in a preseason scrimmage.

[footballmaniac]

In response to Ratman's post, I would hardly say Cavalier "came up big" against North Border as the game literally game down to the last couple minutes......and this was after a VERY controversial call.....NB came up short and I heard wasn't running full strength that night missing a Brown kid. Hopefully we'll see a rematch in playoffs somewhere along the line between the two of them.

[winner-within]

In response to Ratman's post, I would hardly say Cavalier "came up big" against North Border as the game literally game down to the last couple minutes......and this was after a VERY controversial call.....NB came up short and I heard wasn't running full strength that night missing a Brown kid. Hopefully we'll see a rematch in playoffs somewhere along the line between the two of them.

They could meet up again in the playoffs and I'm sure Brown would make some difference.
Fact is at 3 and 0 Cavalier is stepping up pretty good considering loosing 10 seniors...also you have to remember NB had the home field....which ever team becomes more disciplined as a whole and which ever team has their Impact players grow the most, will be the better team in the end, barring no major injuries....I think people (not opponents) in general underestimated the tornadoes coming into the season.....believe me the tradition is still evident.

[winner-within]

Taken form the GF Herald

CAVALIER, N.D. — In its first season of 9-man football, Cavalier has developed into a bomb squad.

The Tornadoes keep defusing the explosive offenses they’re meeting.

Cavalier, a former 11-man power, is off to a 5-0 start as it transitions to 9-man due to the school’s declining enrollment. A major reason for that success is a defense that has allowed only 60 points.

“In 11-man, you see more of teams working the ball downfield, controlling the ball and having long drives,” Cavalier coach Sandy Laxdal said. “In 9-man, you have a lot of 50-, 60-yard plays that you don’t see as much of in 11-man. You have to be assignment sharp. If one kid blows an assignment, you’re probably going to give up a big play because you don’t have the luxury of having two extra kids out there to cover up mistakes.

“We’ve given up some big plays, but we haven’t allowed them consistently. I don’t know that our defense has been a surprise. These kids have bought into the team concept we’ve stressed.”

Cavalier, the lone unbeaten left in Region 2, hasn’t allowed more than 16 points in a game. After the 60 points given up by the Tornadoes, the next-stingiest team in the region is North Border, which has allowed 96 points.

“It’s surprising,” junior lineman Spencer Robbins said. “We didn’t expect to be holding opponents down this well. The big thing is we’re playing as a team, getting everybody involved and getting to the ball.”

Of the seven touchdowns the Cavalier defense has allowed (special teams also allowed one), four were on plays covering five or fewer yards.

“The speed factor is a big thing,” Laxdal said. “We’re extremely quick, and aggressive, at all nine spots. And we’ve made plays in key situations. We’ve had kids running ballcarriers down from behind in the open field.”

The Tornadoes’ strong defense has come with a new look. The lone regulars back from a year ago are linebacker Alex Hartz and Robbins. The 2010 Tornadoes, who finished the regular season undefeated and reached the Class A state semifinals before being eliminated in the playoffs, allowed 56 points in their first five games.

“Last year we had some standouts, kids who accumulated a lot of tackles,” Laxdal said. “We had three, four kids who dominated our tackling stats. This year it’s more of a team attack on defense. We’re getting more kids to the ball.

“You love to see a lot of kids getting to the ball. We’re forcing a lot of turnovers, something we didn’t do a lot of last year. With more kids active and around the ball, you’re going to get more takeaways.”

If anything, Laxdal said, the surprise has been an offense that has scored 38 points in every game but one, a 20-14 win against North Border that is the Eagles’ lone setback.

But with the defense Cavalier has played, the burden is off the offense.

“We try to score on every drive,” Robbins said. “But we know our defense can hold teams. It takes some pressure off the offense.”

[Flip]

Cavalier 7-0
North Border 6-1
Lakota-A-E 5-2
Hillsboro 5-2
New Rockford-Sheyenne 5-2
Drayton-ST-V-E 3-4
Thompson 2-5
FSHP 1-6
Central Valley 1-6
Dakota Prairire 0-7

Remaining games
Central Valley (1-6) @ Thompson (2-5)
North Border (6-1) @ Drayton/Valley-Edinburg (3-4)
Hillsboro (5-2) @ Hope-Page/Finley-Sharon (1-6)
Dakota Prairie (0-7) @ New Rockford/Sheyenne (5-2)
Cavalier (7-0) @ Lakota-Adams-Edmore (5-2)

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg @ Central Valley
Hope-Page/Finley-Sharon @ Dakota Prairie
New Rockford/Sheyenne @ North Border
Lakota-Adams/Edmore @ Hillsboro
Thompson @ Cavalier

I'm trying to figure out how the battle for the 2,3, and 4 spots. Let me know if I'm way off on this. Assume no huge upsets.
If Hillsboro and NRS win out it will probably be NB #2, NRS #3, and Hill #4. It will be a 3 way tie, but this is the most likely outcome.
If LAE loses to Cavalier, beats Hillsboro by more than 2, and NRS loses to NB. It would be NB #2, NRS #3, and LAE #4.
If Hillsboro beats LAE. It would be NB #2, Hillsboro #3, and NRS #4. This assumes NB beats NRS.

[Run4Fun2009]

Interesting article from the GF Herald (10/5/11) pertaining to Drayton/V-E for next season.

Blue Knights moving toward JV schedule

Drayton/Valley-Edinburg is facing a numbers crunch that could result in the football team playing a junior varsity schedule in 2012.

The Blue Knights have suited an average of roughly 17 players per game, with 10 seniors on the roster. The program has only two juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen.

“Going to a JV schedule has nothing to do with wins and losses,” said Andy Currie, the athletic director of the Drayton/Valley-Edinburg football program. “It’s a safety issue.

“If we have to throw those young kids out there against older kids, they could get frustrated, turned off to the sport and quit. Then we won’t have a program.”

Said football coach Murph Thompson: “We want to save our program. If the young kids have to play against those older kids, I don’t know if they’ll all come out. We don’t want to have to fold the program. If you do that, it will be tough to get it started again.”

Currie said the Blue Knights playing a junior varsity schedule next season is a strong possibility. But the hope is that Drayton/Valley-Edinburg will be back playing a varsity schedule in 2013. “The kids will mature physically, get stronger and will safely be able to play against juniors and seniors,” he said.

[dyhardballa09]

With teams having no room for non-confernce games, either Region 2 will play one less game than the rest of the state or they will play a non-region game against another team in their region I suppose. I doubt teams want to play a non-region game against each other....

[Run4Fun2009]

With teams having no room for non-confernce games, either Region 2 will play one less game than the rest of the state or they will play a non-region game against another team in their region I suppose. I doubt teams want to play a non-region game against each other....

It'll be interesting to see how they work that next year...

[Flip]

With teams having no room for non-confernce games, either Region 2 will play one less game than the rest of the state or they will play a non-region game against another team in their region I suppose. I doubt teams want to play a non-region game against each other....

or vs a MN team

[Run4Fun2009]

With teams having no room for non-confernce games, either Region 2 will play one less game than the rest of the state or they will play a non-region game against another team in their region I suppose. I doubt teams want to play a non-region game against each other....

or vs a MN team

That's more of a possibility...they should do a ND/MN 9-man crossover at the Alerus Center or something like that. Maybe a two day thing?

[dyhardballa09]

Playing a MN team would make sense for some teams in the region...but couldn't really do a 2-yr game contract, which most teams schedule (home/away). I would doubt they would do anything radical like an event at the Alerus Center with re-alignment coming after next year. Both of these wouldn't work with re-alignment after next year. Can't really schedule games if your not sure if you will have a full region schedule the next year.

[ndlionsfan]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is at least one team in region that is very low on numbers that is questionable if they will field a team next year. I'm guessing the NDHSAA went to the 4-10team regions because they are at the max for 9man right now, figuring that by the next round of the fball plan they would probably be down a few teams. then they wouldn't have to make any radical changes and the regions that are down a team will probably just play an 8 game schedule. Before going to 10 team regions, a lot of teams only played an 8 game schedule instead of the 9 game max so its really not that big of a deal.