Eastern Pike vs. Southern (Sectional Final) 3.2.10

[beaverlover]

Congrats to Southern on there Sectional title! And congrats to the Eagles on a fine season!

[G.W.A.]

Soc fan, that is true. One of the starters has MONO and did not play, he only warmed up. Good luck next week to the purple t's.

[iwearblacknikes]

Good luck Southern!!!!

thats nice from an soc supporter. Guess I should have rooted for te Burg....lol

I really could care less if you rooted for the Burg. Most of SEO was rooting for them and Oak Hill was the only place that wanted Oak Hill to win. I am friends with one of the players from southern and their family. I don't know anyone from the SOC 1

anyways congrats southern on the sectional title! See ya at the Convo!!!

[Eaglesnest]

The boys played very hard tonight..congrats to the Eagles on a fine season ans a big congrats to Southern on there sectional title! The diffrence in tonights game imo was coaching.2 very even teams and I really thought Coach Caldwell showed he is the much better coach than Fitch tonight.The final play of the game..I thought Fitch over thought the play and tried to set up a miracle play.The best thing to do in that situation is to give the ball to your scorer which was McVey and let him go get a shot.3.8 seconds is enough time to throw the ball in bounds from where they were and let Mcvey take the ball down and get a decent shot but instead we throw a desperation pass that didnt have much of a prayer of gettin through.Also leaving Montgomery on the bench half the game wasnt wise imo either.But whats done is done and we seen that Caldwell's experience was definitely an advantage tonight and he proved he was the better coach.Good luck to the Tornadoes and good job to the boys of Eastern...You guys had a nice season.

I have a couple of comments I'll share:
1. Congrats to the seniors McVey,Lawhorn, Wheeler, Selbee, and Montgomery on a fine season. You exceeded most everyone's expectations!

2. I am a fan of Beaverlover and most certainly a fan of Coach Caldwell! BUT, Caldwell is gone so comparisons of coaches will not help boys basketball at Eastern. Caldwell is an excellent coach. I believe Fitch is a good coach (less experience than Caldwell at this time) that will continue to get better.

3. IMHO, the difference of the ball game was Southern's forwards outran Easterns forwards/centers down the floor for at least 10 points worth of layups. Montgomery seemed to really struggle with the speed of Southern.

4. Through 3 quarters, the Eagles perimeter players did not shoot well at all. You will have games like that! I am not sure what the stats indicate, but could not have been a very high percentage from the line or floor.

5. Too many passes were forced inside and too many shots were forced when the post was doubled IMO.

6. The last play looked like a busted play to me. I seen McVey cut but did not get the ball on his initial cut. Montgomery launched a full court pass to avoid the 5 second call IMO.

7. Down 1 point with I think 20 seconds left and Southern at the line for a 1 on 1. The player misses the free throw but Southern comes up with a long rebound. Had the Eagles got that rebound, they would have had the ball down 1 with plenty of time for a winning shot. The ball bounced in Southerns favor.

This years team reminds me of Caldwell's 2007 team that shared the SOC title with western. No 1000 point scorers, but lots of heart and different guys stepping up every night. They just fell short on this night but it wasn't from lack of effort.

Good luck to the Eagles next season! Some young players are really going to have to step up for the Eagles to be solid next year.

[Ryanexpress]

The boys played very hard tonight..congrats to the Eagles on a fine season ans a big congrats to Southern on there sectional title! The diffrence in tonights game imo was coaching.2 very even teams and I really thought Coach Caldwell showed he is the much better coach than Fitch tonight.The final play of the game..I thought Fitch over thought the play and tried to set up a miracle play.The best thing to do in that situation is to give the ball to your scorer which was McVey and let him go get a shot.3.8 seconds is enough time to throw the ball in bounds from where they were and let Mcvey take the ball down and get a decent shot but instead we throw a desperation pass that didnt have much of a prayer of gettin through.Also leaving Montgomery on the bench half the game wasnt wise imo either.But whats done is done and we seen that Caldwell's experience was definitely an advantage tonight and he proved he was the better coach.Good luck to the Tornadoes and good job to the boys of Eastern...You guys had a nice season.

I am thinking that Beaverlover did not actually write this post....
If he did then I believe that he must have been hitting the kool-aid after the game last night....Only reason I say this is because I read his post all the time & this just doesn't seem to be his writing...I will speak with him today & find out & if he did not write it then I will let him know that someone is posting under his username.

[Eaglesnest]

Ryanexpress,

I agree with you and hope someone posted this under his name. This is not a "typical" beaverlover post. But, after a tough loss, I guess emotions can run high? Please pm me and let me know what you find...

[twenty-two]

Congrats to the Eagles on a great season! That was one heck of a game & hate to see the season end. Can't wait to watch you guys next year!
Hold your head high, you have nothing to be ashamed of!

Congratulations to Coach Cladwell on the big win & best of luck from here on out in the tourneys!!

[SOCFAN1430]

Eaglesnest. I agree that the seniors had a fine season and nothing should be taken away from them. They are a great group of kids, and the undefeated league championship is an awesome accomplishment. I'm not sure if they exceeded alot of expectations though, they are far more talented and deeper than most teams in the conference. I personally and probably not alone, expected nothing short of a trip to the convo. The boys had everything in place and everything in there favor to make a good run. Granted the Wellston sectional is not weak by any stretch, but I think this group was capable of possibly playing for a district title.

Congratulations to Derek,Kevin,Doug,Jordan and Kole on a Good Senior season.

[live4sport]

[Dundas]

Congrats Southern! Nice win for the TVC!!!

[jumparound]

Congratulations to Eastern on a great season. SOC champs isn't too bad !! Congrats to Southern for a game well played!! Good luck at the Convo... ... .

With that said I believe both teams were about evenly talented and it came down to coaching. I do think you can compare coaching experience. Southern's team was very prepared on how to stop Eastern's offense and to put pressure on our guards. I didn't know why Montgomery was sitting so much toward the end of the game... I'm not going to sit and name every occasion during the game, but there are several occasions that just came down to coaching. . Poor coaching for Eastern and good coaching for Southern. . I don't really care who objects to my opinion because this is what this site is for... to post congratulations/opinions/beliefs about a game.

[live4sport]

[Hardwood]

Great game! I will give Eastern credit, their kids didn't lay down when they were down by as many as 11. If Southern could have made a few more free throws at the end it wouldn't have been so stressful. Maybe now our players won't have to hear how weak the TVC is from other coaches and fans. Good luck Tornadoes at the CONVO!

[Out of Bounds]

Congratulations to Eastern on a great season. SOC champs isn't too bad !! Congrats to Southern for a game well played!! Good luck at the Convo... ... .

With that said I believe both teams were about evenly talented and it came down to coaching. I do think you can compare coaching experience. Southern's team was very prepared on how to stop Eastern's offense and to put pressure on our guards. I didn't know why Montgomery was sitting so much toward the end of the game... I'm not going to sit and name every occasion during the game, but there are several occasions that just came down to coaching. . Poor coaching for Eastern and good coaching for Southern. . I don't really care who objects to my opinion because this is what this site is for... to post congratulations/opinions/beliefs about a game.

From where I was sitting it was a sloppy game both ways. Maybe you can contribute that to the defense. Maybe it was preparation. Maybe it was two evenly matched teams that really aren't that great. It was a very competitive game to watch and both teams played very hard and as a fan, that's my favorite part of high school ball. Watching the kids go all out! As far as Montgomery sitting.......it was clearly because of the defensive end of the floor. Fitch was not happy with him on several occasions. Not knowing the game plan, it looked to be he was missing an assignment.

Great competitive game, good luck Racine and great season by the Eagles.

[SOCFAN1430]

live4sport i hope your not selling the players short as it seems in your post. i doubt anyone would laugh in my face if in the summer i told them the eagles would be tough to beat and have a great chance to win the league. At least someone who knows anything about this team and how they were a good bit better than every other team in the league. SV would be the only exception since they have a pretty talented group and Tibbs is tough. Its fine if you and Coach Fitch are buddies or whatever, but you still have to have talent to have success. Coaching and talent have to go hand in hand to have a great team and a great season

Great Job Eagles and Good Luck Southern

[Futurebkstar]

I remember hearing someone say that the SOC1 was better than the TVC hocking. Well, it proved last night that the #2 team in the TVC beat the #1 team in the SOC. If Southern hits their freethrows down the stretch they win by 15 points. Dont know why the big man sat so long. Yes, Southern was pushing the ball but Eastern should of contolled the tempo of the game. They played their offense on one side of the court. They needed to reverse the ball quicker to get open shots. I know you guys are going to say well SOuthern beat South Gallia by 20 but I can tell you one thing.....We didnt have the horses that you guys had yet. They will be on the court next season. This year was a great experience for all those sophmores. All my family is from Racine, good luck to Southern the rest of the way. Reedsville also beat Symmes Valley...GO TVC!!!

[live4sport]

[Ryanexpress]

I have yet to get ahold of Beaverlover yet but I still do not think that he wrote the post...If by chance he did, I am just curious to why he is an idiot??? He gave an opinion on coaching...While I know coach Fitch well & think he has done a fine job I also agree with Beaverlover on the last play of the game...Put it in Mcveys hands at half court & let him try to creat a three...If he hits the jumper & it goes to overtime then you are without Thornsberry & Lawhorn. I like my chances on chancing a three to win it...But hey, I am no coach...Just my opinion, if I am an idiot as well...Then so be it I guess....
As far as coach Fitch getting no support...Where is that coming from??? I have heard compliments on him all season long & was you there last night...The entire Eastern community seemed to be there in support as well as several Waverly, Piketon & Western faithfull also there showing support....
Congrats to coach Caldwell & Racine on the win!
Congrats to coach Fitch & Eastern on a very fine season!
Nothing at all to be ashamed of....

[live4sport]

[SOCFAN1430]

I have not bashed Coach PJ Fitch, read my previous posts. Check everyone and then tell me ive bashed. Everyone knows the SOC1 is way down this year and at times it has been way down for a while. The Eagles were pretty evenly matched with Southern so why can't it be a disappointment for either team to have lost. Evenly matched teams ANYONE will expect there team to win, maybe coaching had a little to do with it, maybe not. I can't figure out why anyone with an honest opinion is either bashing a coach or an idiot.