One important agenda item is a vote on revisions to the Gridiron Club By-laws. Those planning to attend the meeting are encouraged to review the proposed revision to the by-laws prior to the meeting. The club’s Articles of Organization are also available for review.

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The JV team also played hard, but again, too many mistakes early on that proved too much to overcome despite their second half rally to pull them within a few points of Westview. It’s important for them to remember that their goal shouldn’t necessarily be to win games.  Instead, it is to constantly improve so that they are ready to contribute next season on the varsity level.  And I know they will.

The Varsity squad managed a come-from-behind win on Friday night to help the program avoid a series sweep.  Although we played pretty well in the first-half–putting together some long drives and making many defensive stops–we were still behind at half-time.  But our goal this week was to finish games strong.  In our last two, against Torrey and Mt. Carmel, we played well enough to win, but couldn’t maintain the focus necessary to do so.  But against Westview, our offense came through with some clutch toughdown drives, and defense made a few key stops at the right time to hold off the 5-2 Wolverines.  So, despite still making some mistakes, we maintained our focus under pressure and finished strong.  Our grades for the performance:

PLAY HARD: B.  Overall, I believe, we were the more physical team, and played hard throughout.  It was only a few instances of some players not going as hard as they could that prevented us from earning an A.  There is room for improvement here, and really no excuse not to be playing hard all the time.
PLAY SMART: C. Still too many mental errors.  We had blown assignments on offensive line, wide-receivers running wrong routes, linebackers missing their reads, and some bonehead mistakes on special teams.  Once we start playing smart, we will be much tougher to beat.
PLAY TOGETHER: A. Our first A of the season.  Our boys were fired up to play, and stayed positive all night.  We felt that they were playing for each other on Friday, which is a great thing to see.

We got a little closer to making the play-offs on Friday, but we feel that we’ll need one more victory to ensure our place.  So this week against Ramona is big.  And they will be ready to play.  They are a well-coached team and always play hard.  It will be a good test and challenge for our young men.

As always, thanks for your support, and hope to see you up in Ramona!

[On a side note regarding the Freshman: It saddens me to say that a few of our players have made poor decisions affecting not only their standing at RBHS but also their participation with the football program.  As a community, we need to do all we can to make sure these young men are trying to do the right thing, and not make decisions that are detrimental to themselves or their team.  And as Head Coach, that is all I will ever ask of our players.]

The JV team continues to impress the coaching staff.  Unfortunately, they came up short, but battled all 48 minutes against Torrey Pines.  As usual, we are so proud of the way they work in practice, and play on Friday’s.  Regardless of the score, these young men are doing it the right way, and if they keep striving for excellence, they will find it.

Friday night’s game was special on several fronts.  It was homecoming.  It was being broadcoasted by 1090AM.  And it’s opponent was Torrey Pines…a team that most of us loathe almost as much as Poway.  But although the game got off to a great start for us, we could not finish the way we would have liked.  Up 21-7 at half, the staff believed the players had put together probably their best half of football all season.  Although they still made several assignment errors, they were flying around, playing physically, and being enthusiastic (easy when you’re having success).   For some reason, however, that same team was no where to be found the last 24 minutes.  Out came even more mental mistakes, and they definitely played harder than us.  But most discouragingly, when we allowed Torrey to gain momentum, we stopped fighting.  They hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t hit back.

On Saturday, we gave the boys these grades:
PLAY HARD: C.  Our effort in the second half was tough to watch.  Teams overcome adversity and challenges when ordinary individuals give extraordinary efforts.  But in thte second half, we were the nail and not the hammer.
PLAY SMART: C.  We saw way too many mental mistakes for week 7.  For us to not be doing our jobs at this point is beyond frustrating.
PLAY TOGETHER: C.  The first half, great team effort.  But when bullets were flying over us in the foxhole in the second half, I didn’t see too many examples of players stepping up for their brothers in time of need.

We also talked to the players about this as a learning experience.  Sometimes things don’t go your way in life.  Sometimes things are out of your control.  But what is always under your control is how you respond.  Whether you keep fighting, like men, or cave is up to you.

So, our weekly quote for them this week is appropriate, I think.  Coach Grundon came up with it, but it is attributed to James Corbett, a heavy-weight boxing champion: “Fight one more round.  Fight even when your arms are so tired you can hardly lift your hands to come to guard.  When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black.  Fight one more round, for the man who does is never whipped.”

On a sadder note, a former Bronco, Kris Domeij, class of 2001, died fighting for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan yesterday.   I actually was a coach at RB when Kris was a senior.  He played the game how it should be played–with great passion, not only for the game but for his teammates.   He was a terrific Bronco, and an outstanding American.   His passing is a good reminder for me that football, though just a game, builds a strong connection with whom we sweat and toil.   I hadn’t spoken to Kris since that season, but because of our shared journey on the gridiron, he will be missed because he is part of our Bronco family.

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As I put the stats together from this game I came to realize that this was one of those games where a few things stacked up on us and the end result looked a lot worse than it actually was.  Looking at the stats paints a different picture than looking at the score, and watching the game video supports that point.  There was actually quite a bit in that game that we did well.  Unfortunately, it was all offset by things we did poorly.

So this week I thought I would take a balanced approach to the recap and present the good with the bad.

First Half:

Good – We controlled everything but the score in the first half, winning the field position game, driving the ball, and controlling the clock. 

Bad – We controlled everything but the score in the first half…

Good – We put together a 14 play opening drive and controlled more than 7 minutes of clock time driving the ball down the field.

Bad – Instead of throwing a pass for a TD at the end of the drive, we threw a pass for an interception at the end of the drive…..

Good – The Mission Hills offense only saw the field two times in the entire first half. 

Bad – They scored in each of those possessions…..

Good – Big Blue Defense stopped a two-point conversion attempt after Mission Hills’s second touchdown.

Bad – It was Mission Hills’ second touchdown…..

Second Half:

Good – Sam Fennelson’s opening kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, denying the Grizzlies a chance for a return.

Bad – The grizzlies’ first play in the second half was an 80 yard touchdown run….

Good – Andrew Parker blocked a Mission Hills PAT kick in the fourth quarter.

Bad – PAT stands for Point AFTER Touchdown……

Good – We had eight first downs and more than 90 yards passing in the second half.

Bad – The only ones to score on a Bronco pass in the second half were the Grizzlies…..

Good – Coach Valez’s kickoff return team amassed 67 yards for the game.

Bad – They had way too many opportunities to return kicks…….

As I was searching for something encouraging to say to our Freshman Broncos about this experience, I remembered my own high school football coach’s mantra: “You have to be COMMITTED to winning – every game!  Every Play!”  To illustrate what he meant by commitment he used to say: “The chicken gives an egg and contributes to breakfast to make it better, but the pig is COMMITTED to breakfast and makes it complete.” 

So boys, don’t play like chickens next week! (Those are my own words of wisdom)

Next week brings another opportunity to test our commitment to winning.  We host the Mount Carmel Sundevils at 5pm.

 GO BIG BLUE!

Our JV game was perhaps the highlight of the week for me.  Although they lost 6-0, these young men never stopped battling.   And although they struggled to consistently move the ball, they kept playing hard from snap to whistle, and that is something all the players should be proud about.  In this game, that can beat you up pretty good sometimes, you must play this game with honor–and always compete until the final horn blows, no matter how steep the hill is in front of us. 

The Varsity game Friday night was tough.  Really tough.  Our boys worked so hard during the week–they put together some of the best practices they’ve had all season–and the coaches prepared equally hard, which is why the loss was such a bitter pill to swallow.   We knew going into the game that Mission Hills (despite their record) was a very good football team–they are always well coached, they were big up front, they had athletes, and they were physical.  But we also knew that they were beatable, as long as we put together a solid performance in which we gave our best effort, and played mistake-free football.  Unfortunately, we did neither of those things.  After reviewing the film on Saturday, we saw some good things but more bad things.  We gave the team these grades:

PLAY HARD: D.  Too often, our OL did not get off the ball hard, and we didn’t maintain our blocks.  And most disappointingly, especially on defense, there were times when we flinched–we caught instead of attacked.  This game is physically demanding.  It is unforgiving to those who are more passive than aggressive.  And Friday night, the game was unkind to us, as we failed to accomplish our season long goal to be the most physical team on the field. 

PLAY SMART: D.  This continues to be the most frustrating aspect of our team for the coaches.  Still, too often, we are going the wrong way and are not doing the jobs we are asked to do for the team.   Against a good program like Mission Hills, we look like a below average team when we have this many blown assignments.  

PLAY TOGETHER: C.  It is hard to play together when the score is lop-sided.  Likewise, it is really easy to get down, chip at one another, and stop playing hard.  The way we handled adversity in the first half was absolutely unacceptable.   We told the team all week we were going to be challenged on Friday night, and to respond with courage when it happens.  But after a series of mistakes, which put us down 21-0, our team stopped playing.  Instead of “bowing our necks” and rallying, we got quiet, hung our heads, and played with obviously much less effort.  The second half was better.  I heard much more from our sideline, and I thought several of our guys kept playing hard until they end–Michael Ralph, and Hassan Khalil in particular.

So, how to handle a loss like this?  Well, we tried to put things in perspective for the boys.  The season is only 1/2 way through, and we have a long way to go before we need to be at our best.  We showed them film from Friday of us doing some really good things–and when we play hard, doing our jobs, and trust each other, we can be pretty darn good.  But when we don’t give our best effort or don’t do our jobs, or can’t depend on one another, we become a very mediocre team.  The good news is that those things–our effort and our execution are under our control.  We just need to get better during the week.  The coaches are committed to helping our boys become the best team they can be.  And I know we will work hard to improve before we line up again vs. Mt. Carmel.

Again, thank you for your support and hope to see you next Friday.

 Last week we learned two important things about our freshman Broncos:

1. As Coach McCoy said in his blog on Saturday: Our freshman team IS mortal.  We had a few too many penalties and the opposition scored on us (albeit not until the second quarter).
2. Our team can play through adversity.  In spite of being denied a first down in the first half of the game by a formidable Escondido Cougar defense, our offense played every series in the half with determination and intensity, and our defense busted their butts, making two interceptions and 3 sacks in the half to give their team as many opportunities as it would take to even the score.

 As I was waiting for my son outside the locker room after the game, I overheard a couple of the boys talking as they passed by, and what they said made me proud: “Hey, it’s one game – we lost.  So you show up to school tomorrow and keep your head up.  We played hard.  Next week we play harder and get back to winning.”.  After soaking in these words of encouragement for a brief moment, his team mate replied: “Losing sucks!”. 

 It warmed my heart to know that they had learned an important life lesson in this experience….. losing does suck.  That being said, though, the sun came up Friday morning, and it will not be the end of the world as they know it.  And, as that young philosopher outside the locker room so aptly expressed: Thursday brings another opportunity to earn victory.

 This game was a battle on both sides of the ball all night long.  In a first half defensive clash the score boiled down to one big play early in the 2^nd quarter that resulted in an Escondido TD.  Punt teams and punt return teams on both sides on the ball got a lot of work in the first two quarters.

I’m not sure what the coaches had to say during half time, but I really hope they wrote it down…  In the second half the boys came out strong and played with vengeance.  The opening drive started with a 24 yard kickoff return by Nathan Powell and ended four plays later.  This time, however, the fourth play was a 27 yard run by Luis Castaneda for a Touch Down!  Even though we missed the PAT kick, we definitely set the proper tone for the second half right out of the gates.

 Escondido would answer back shortly with their second touchdown of the night with just 7 seconds remaining in the third quarter to make the score 14 – 6 Cougars, but as I said in point number two at the beginning of this post, we saw that our team can play through adversity.

 After a 21 yard kickoff return by Devon Goodloe, the Big Blue O went to work in the fourth quarter from our own 35 yard line and had one thing on their mind – TD.  Coach Elrod called in the aerial assault and the Bronco offense put together a six play, 53 yard passing drive that set the stage for an 11 yard draw play to Castaneda for the touchdown to make it a 12 – 14 game.  With just under eight minutes to play in the game, the boys set up for a two point conversion to even the score, but we would miss the game-tying pass by inches, leaving the score at 12-14 Cougars.

The Cougars would threaten again later in the fourth quarter with a big drive that put them at first and ten on our fifteen yard line with just under two minutes left in the game (See point number 2 above….).

The Bronco D bucked up and put a stop to that drive by tackling the Cougar running back for a loss on the first play, then on a second and 13 run by the Cougars, Blue D forced a fumble and recovered the ball on our 20 yard line with 1:47 left to play.

Escondido wasn’t giving up and going home just yet, though.  On the third play after two incomplete passes, the cougars would intercept a Bronco pass and regain possession at the Bronco 36 yard line with 1:27 left in the game.

 The Cougars ran out the final seconds of the game and claimed their victory 14 – 12.

 So on Thursday we travel to San Marcos meet a strong Mission Hills team, a little wiser and a little hungrier, with the wisdom of “losing sucks” to drive us to “play harder, and get back to winning”.

 Game time is 5pm.  GO BIG BLUE!

Freshman : Thursday, November 17th

JV : Thursday, December 1st

Varsity : Sunday, December 11th

More details to follow…

The Bronco offense, led by QB Tucker Reid, put together an impressive thirteen play, 71 yard opening drive, but were stalled by the Fallbrook defense at the 9 yard line.  With the exception of that stellar opening drive, both teams met with strong defensive opposition and struggled to make third down conversions throughout the first quarter.

Cameron Calhoun lit the fuse in the second quarter with an interception at the 50 yard line, swinging the momentum back to the Bronco side of the house.  The Warrior defense had other plans, though, and returned the favor seven plays into our drive, by intercepting a pass from Reed intended for Andrew Parker with just over three minutes remaining in the half, taking possession on their own 40 yard line after a 10 yard return.

The Bronco D took exception to this and came out fired up.  With a strong series by Ryan Huerta, Blue D put the Warrior offense in a fourth and eight situation in no time, forcing Fallbrook to punt once again.

Still stinging from the Warrior interception, Big Blue O took possession on our own 47 yard line with 1:28 remaining in the half, and set their sights on the end zone.  The first play from scrimmage was a pass up the middle to a wide-open Andrew Parker who made his defender pay by taking the ball to the two yard line.  After two unsuccessful attempts to run the ball, Coach Elrod again went to the air.  Tucker Reed hit Tim Gaylord in the end zone on a roll-out pass for the score.

The second half looked a lot like the first half – strong defensive showings on both sides of the ball resulting in very sparse third down conversions.  Punt teams and punt return teams got a good workout on both sides of the ball.  In the second half it was Nathan Powell setting the spark with a pass deflection on a 4^th down punt fake by Fallbrook that was looking like it would turn ugly in a hurry.  The deflection by Powell gave us the ball on our own 22 yard line and set us up for success.

After a pass interference call on the Warrior defense in the first play from scrimmage Blue O found themselves on the Fallbrook 11 yard line.  Again, with the Warrior D stopping the run, Coach Elrod called for the air attack and Tucker Reed found Tim Gaylord again with a roll out pass which Gaylord ran to the end zone for the score.

With 3:17 remaining in the game, the Warriors returned Sam Fenellson’s kick off all the way to our 41 yard line, threatening to break the shut out.

Once again, Big Blue D had something to say about that.  Two plays into Fallbrook’s drive to score, Tim Gaylord picked off another pass and returned it 4 yards to our 41 with 2:23 left in the fourth.  Bronco Offense managed to burn the clock down to 30 seconds in their final drive, but had to punt the ball away with 30 seconds remaining on the clock.  The punt team held Fallbrook to an 11 yard return and turned over the reins to the defense to finish the game and protect the shut out.

The Boys in Blue played penalty-free in the first half of the game and only incurred two penalties for ten yards in the game.  Tucker Reed was 16 for 27 in passing for 150 yards with two TDs and also punted for 138 yards.  Tim Gaylord had two receptions for touch downs.  We had a tough night on the ground against the Warrior defense with 23 rushing plays resulting in 50 yards.  Andrew Parker had the big play on offense with a 42 yard reception that led to a Bronco TD.

Defense was lights out again, incurring no penalties and allowing only one Fallbrook first down in the second half.  Ryan Huerta, Cannon Glover, and Luis Castaneda led the D in tackling with 7 each.  Tim Gaylord had two interceptions for the night and Kameron Calhoun had one interception.  Austin Lucht had a key screen pass deflection in the fourth, and Nathan Powell came through with a key pass block on a Fallbrook fake punt in the fourth that would set up the second Bronco touchdown.

Next week we host the Freshman Escondido Cougars on the field of battle. Game time is 5pm at Rancho Bernardo High School.

GO BRONCOS!