Wheelersburg @ Federal Hocking 1/3/09

[kcarth305]

Nice game played by both teams, congrats to Burg. Keep your heads up Lancers, you played well!

[Steely Dan]

This was a five point game with under five minutes left. Fed Hock led by 8 points half way through the third quarter, but Wheelersburg ratcheted up their defense, and combined with some bad ball management decisions by Fed Hock, were able to close the score by the end of the third.

Ball management and shot selection continued to haunt the Lancers in the fourth quarter, and the Pirates pulled away. This was an enjoyable game to watch, hard played for 32 minutes by two very well-coached teams. First time I've got to see the Pirates play up-close, and I really enjoyed their coach and his intensity.

The young lancer squad played hard, but just couldn't pull it together at the end. Nothing to be ashamed of at all, a great effort. Wheelersburg has two big difference makers in #32 and #14. The big boy is going to be something else if he keeps working hard on his game. His agility and especially his footwork, are very impressive. The freshman (#14) is going to be something else, especially if he continues to grow. Nice shot, and great court presence. All of the pirate players played with class. Nice team, you should be proud. Now for the lady pirate in the front row that they were ready to throw out, that's another story....

Congrats on your win and good luck the rest of the season.

[kcarth305]

[quote="Steely Dan"]Now for the lady pirate in the front row that they were ready to throw out, that's another story.... [/quote]

Steely-
Agreed.......

[drrabbit]

At least she behaves for her daughter's games... So I guess we will keep her.

Now to the actually game:

A lot of the Burg kids were off their game tonight--especially early--but as a whole did enough to get things done. Andy Stegman worked hard in the first half for the points he got but really got going in half way through the third quarter and ended with a double-double as well as contributing several blocks, steals and assists. Zaide Whitley was hitting from outside the arc. Cole Miller shot 50% tonight. It was good to see Brandon Schankweiler hit his last three shots of the game. He had been struggling from the field and they finally started falling for him.

I was impressed with #33 Justin Stanley's defense. He really clogged up the middle and made it hard on the Pirates' young forwards. The Lancers had very balanced scoring--especially in the first half. They worked and waited for the high percentage shot and it stood them well for the first several quarters. I expect that we will see them at the Convo if not this year, maybe next year.

First quarter, Lancers led 17-14.
Half time, Lancers led 26-24.
Third quarter, Wheelersburg led 37-36.
Final Wheelersburg 56-43.

[drrabbit]

The other observation I wanted to make was why is that group of guys allowed to stand along the base line when there are tons of seats available. There were even a couple of people who pulled out chairs and set them along the other end line. I thought it looked like a potential injury waiting to happen. The guys on the one end at least would act as padding against the wall and they would be the most likely to get hurt but the chairs could be hazardous to the players in a collision.

[Steely Dan]

Well, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to meet up with Alabama Mike or Dr. Rabbit tonight. After talking to Coach E, I found out that I was within a shout of Alabama Mike. GW and I would have enjoyed a conversation with you.

Dr. Rabbit, just would have liked to talked to you about your photography and love of HS track. I appreciate all of the photos that you have sent to me over the last couple of years from your efforts of taking excellent track photos.

[Steely Dan]

That right there is a band of thugs that I don't know anything about!!! And yes, maybe wall-padding is their best use!!! LOL!!!

And no, I'm not in that photo, Dr. Rabbit. You missed me by a few minutes, before I went back to my spot in the stands........Oh, and as for the guys on the chairs, you need to talk to the AD about that. It is a tradition, and no one has ever been hurt.

WWE isn't real big up the Sturt way...........

[drrabbit]

Sorry I did not catch up with you too. I did run into 93bulldog and he is just as erudite in person as I had figured.

As for the chairs, when I saw them, I just had visions of the cart at the Marshall football game this year. That cart had traditionally been there for years too but it won't be there again after the guy broke his leg on it. Word is that it is going to cost Marshall a pretty penny.

http://ballhype.com/video/houston_wr_breaks_leg/

[93Bulldog]

erudite ....? Gotta search my dictionary for that one ... Hope it's a positive jab at Ol '93 ...

Game wise .... I thought it was a great high school basketball game ... Exciting, competitive, spirited .... had the slight belief that an upset may occur .... I give it an A-. And the A+ for the players effort, they all played their butts off.

[g w mclintock]

The people sitting in the chairs against the wall are the team doctor (Ramsey) and his significant other. Actually there is quite a bit of room in that corner which is near the trainers room.

As for the guys leaning against the wall, that's a rough bunch and I would not be the one to move them. I guess if it's okay with their probation officer then it's okay with me. They have paid their debt to society and now it's our duty to help them fit in. I'm sure you noticed the sheriff deputies standing close by.

Fun game to watch. The Lancers played hard but got a little sloppy in the 3rd quarter and Wheelersburg smelled blood. The 'burg is definately a well coached team. I was impressed with Coach Barrick as well as Stegman and Whitley. Also I thought the Pirate point guard (sorry did not get his name) did an outstanding job. Good solid defense for 32 minutes. With no seniors on the roster, this could become a very good team for Coach Barrick.

The Lancer defense is much improved from earlier in the year and the intensity level is much higher. I thought Justin Stanley played one of the best games I have seen him play yet. Duane Clark's defensive energy is amazing. Unfortunately we had no answer for Stegman. The Lancer lack of depth hurt them late in the game but they never backed down. This team continues to improve and is playing much better than the beginning of the year.

Congrats to young Coach Thompson and the Lancer JV squad on a nice win against the Pirates. Lance Sharp was on fire (22 points) and the team defense was very solid.

[jl724]

i thought wheelersburg was alot better than this.
fairland beat federal hocking 81-41.

[drrabbit]

i thought wheelersburg was alot better than this.
fairland beat federal hocking 81-41.

My understanding is that the Lancer coach benched his starters for part of that game? That would certainly make a difference. Also Wheelersburg is not a high scoring team. Holding teams to 40 points will happen but not putting up 80--at least not often.

The young doctor and his significant other were very nice--I talked to them briefly. But it is in my nature to look for hazards near playing surfaces. The Dr. in my user name is not honorary. And the chairs are in an area where a player may be chasing a ball out of bounds. With the chair back against the wall, the object will not be able to move backwards when impacted, unlike the chairs that the players sit on on the sides. Those chairs have room to 'give' when hit. Legs impacting the horizontal plane of chair seat can cause a high impact point that will break the leg--something that may not happen hitting a wall where the impact is distributed over a much broader surface area. A worse senario is that hitting the chair with the legs will retart the legs' progress but allow the upper body to continue into the brick wall head-first resulting in head and neck injuries. That said, the chairs are light and as long as the seated people jump out of the way, the chairs may flip or give when hit allowing some distribution of the energy in a less damaging form. Also athletes are very good about stopping or avoiding objects/people out of bounds. Better than 99.9% of the time nothing will happen, but if there was a collision of two players going for the ball in that area... But it does not really matter to me as I doubt that Wheelersburg will make a habit of playing there. It is only your players' and their opponents' safety that I made me mention it.

It is in my nature to look for such potential points of hazards around fields of play. For instance, I make sure I get to Wheelersburg soccer games early to check and move the football benches off the field if they have not been moved outside fence yet. And I will continue to do that so no one goes head first into those. And I will continue to mention if I see other changes could make our fields of play safer.

Bulldog: Erudite means 'learned'. I always thought your posts were intelligent and reflected a solid knowledge of sports and I was not disappointed by meeting you.

[beaverlover]

While I wasn't at the game, I agree with the good Dr. about the chairs. At least the guys standing against the wall are being useful as padding, but if there is seating available, I see no reason for them to be all the way out to the padding behind the basket. As for safety issues, I have yet to see anything that surpasses New Boston's concrete step in the corner of the court and the concrete "stairway to heaven" that starts at floor level and is not over 7 feet high until it is at least 20 feet down the floor. Last time I saw it I believe the edge wasn't even padded.

Agreed.......New Boston is a joke,the gym im referring too.........very unsafe for the players.

[satis5]

Good game for the pirates as they continue to grow. Stegman was solid and Whitley played well

[drrabbit]

Not particular great as far as photographic technique goes but I was amused by the shot. And if you were wondering, no foul was called. That said, the reffing was pretty decent overall.

[g w mclintock]

This just goes to show you how kind the kids at Federal Hocking are. Although you can't tell from the photo, the shooter was about to sneeze. Ryan is helping this player avoid sneezing so his shot will be more successful. To the untrained eye it appears to be a foul but it's really just another unselfish act of FH kindness. Thanks Ryan...

[drrabbit]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

[biggdowgg]

why would there be a foul calle don that?

its clear that he jumped right into his hand, should have been a foul on the offense if anything.