As worried as I was beginning the semester, I am very proud of our young men and how they started off the second semester.  Now, we still have about 20 players above a 3.0 GPA, but now we only have 3 under a 2.0 GPA.  There were even a few on the FAST program that got their grades over a 3.0! 

Academics are important, not only because it reflects the level of learning of our young men—and will most likely be their meal ticket later on in life—but it also reflects the discipline and hard work they are willing to commit to something that is not always easy.  I am very proud of our student-athletes that continue to excel, but perhaps even more proud of those who are turning around their habits and working to improve their academic standing.

For those of you who choose to attend the games to cheer for our young Broncos, I thank you, as always, for your support.  It means a great deal to have that support behind us.

Now for the games.

The Freshman bounced back from a few week skid, by playing hard and coming from behind to top a solid Ramona freshman team.  Although they were down at half-time, 12-7, these young Broncos kept battling, and managed to tighten up their defense by taking care of their assignments, and made some big plays on offense to move the ball, including a gutsy 4th down conversion pass.  I really enjoyed watching this game, as I could see the team’s competitiveness and joy of playing come through in the second half.

The JV game was disappointing.  As I have mentioned before, our staff really likes these young men, as they work hard in practice, and had a good week preparing for Ramona.  But for some reason–whether it was the cold rain, or the long road trip, or just general lack of focus–we made many assignment errors in the first half; and though we eventually settled in and played hard, we could not surmount the deficit.  If these young men continue to focus on the process–staying focused, doing their jobs, playing hard, supporting each other–they will be fine.

The Varsity game, despite the elements, was another positive step forward for the team.  We had a rushed warm-up, it was cold and wet, and we were playing a physical Ramona team with nothing to lose.  But our boys put together a solid performance, playing the full 48 minutes, and almost certainly ensured their entry into the play-offs.  After the game, we were very proud of the way our young Broncos played.  This morning we gave the team these grades:

PLAY HARD: B+.  There were some really valiant efforts Friday night, including a bunch of players who overcame injuries to put together gutsy performances.  And other than a few instances of our O-Line not playing as physically as they can, we in general played very hard and very tough.  We knew this was going to be a fist-fight of a game, and were very proud of their effort.
PLAY SMART: C.  I know I must sound like a broken record, but we are still making too many assignment errors–including defensive lineman not controlling their gap, defensive backs getting beaten,  and offensive Lineman not stepping the right way.   The frustrating thing is that these are very simple assignments that are being blown, and these mistakes are keeping us from being the great team we can be.   But there were some up-sides: No turn-overs in a rain soaked game, and only 3 penalties.  Those two areas continute to be an area of strength for us.
PLAY TOGETHER: A. For the second week in a row, we played like a true team, which is such a great thing to witness.  I love seeing our guys support each other, hearing our guys pick each other up, and watching lots of guys contributing to the victory.  Friday night was a true team effort.

We have a very important week approaching.  First, it’s Poway week.  Enough said about that.  Second, it’s the last regular game of the season, which is also Senior Night.  Third, this game is actually for the League championship.  And last, it is on Thursday (at 7:30), which means we have less time to prepare for a very good opponent.  I hope our boys are focused this week and are ready to have a great few days of practice.

And as always, thank you for your support of the teams.  Looking forward to seeing you on Thursday!

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.

Freshman Team
60% of our boys have over a 3.0GPA.
27% have a 3.5 or over.
1 player has a 4.0 or over (Mr. David Arevalo…well done!)
Unfortunately 6 players have under a 2.0 GPA.

JV Team
50% have over a 3.0GPA.
25% have a 3.5 or over.
3 players have a 4.0 or above (Jack Wagner, Scott Taylor and Alan Nonaka)!
But unfortunately 5 players have under a 2.0GPA

Varsity Team
An amazing 72% have a 3.0 GPA or higher.
48% have a 3.5 or above.
7 players have over a 4.0 (Brian Riley, Michael Ralph, Nolan Johnson, Tyler Gilliland, Daniel Fitzgerald, Charles Ensley, Phillip Duong)!
And only one player has under a 2.0 GPA.

Being part of the football program means trying to do things right in all aspects of life, including the classroom.  So, we are very proud of these Broncos that have been able to balance academics with the demands of playing football.  And it’s something they should be proud of as well!

The JV team tried to overcome a few injuries and the loss of a key player, who had been brought up to Varsity, but unfortunately could not.  With a few players playing different positions, we struggled against their tough option offense.  But as usual, we looked really good at times, and competed hard, especially in the second half.

The Varsity game, like the freshman, was a heart-breaker, in which we lost the game on essentially the last play.  Except for one-stalled drive and one failed 4th down attempt, our offense was cooking–able to move the ball at will and put the ball in the end-zone four times.  And our Special Teams rebounded after an ugly performance last week as well, holding their kick-returners inside the 20 yard line on 3/5 kick returns.   It was our defense that struggled–as many teams do against this option offense with many good athletes to run the ball.  But although they could not stop Mt. Carmel during the first half, they really stepped up their focus in the second, and only allowed them to score one touchdown (which was on a 4th down prayer into the end zone).  Unfortunately, we could not stem their final drive, which included a 4th down conversion that got them into field goal range for the winning kick.  On Saturday, we gave the team these grades:

PLAY HARD: B.  This game was a tale of two halves.  The effort we opened the game with was not quite where it needed to be, but the way we played in the second half showed what we are capable of if we play our tails off on every play.  There were some great examples of wonderful efforts in this game, and that is what we need to do more consistently as we move forward.

PLAY SMART: C.  Unfortunately, as I seem to write every week, this is still our major weakness.  Too many assignment errors on defense, and still, for some reason, too many mental breakdowns on offense that caused a drive to stall and a failed 4th down attempt.   It is so frustrating because we have a chance to be a really good team if we execute our assignments.  But until then, we will not reach our potential.

PLAY TOGETHER: B.  If it wasn’t for an incident or two of what the coaches believe was selfish behavior, we would have given this team an A, for they absolutely competed very honorably until the final whistle blew.  They played like a true team, perhaps for the first time all season–and it was a great thing to see.  We were so proud of them for the way they kept battling.

As we told the team, we are proud of the way they competed on Friday night.  But this game, as short as it is, really measures which team can improve the most from the beginning of the season to the end.  As we head into our bye-week, we need to focus on us–playing hard and smart–so that when we compete against Torrey Pines, we are a better football team.

Thanks again for your support, and see you in two weeks at Homecoming!

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.

The JV game on Friday was another heart-break for them in a game that came down to the last drive, as they fell 19-14.  Our coaches are so proud of this JV team–they work hard during the week, and they are getting better.  They are playing solid defense, and beginning to move the ball consistently.  We all agree that it is just a few plays here and there that have kept this team from being 3-1 right now.  But as we’ve told them, if they keep working hard, the wins will start coming. 

The Varsity team capped off the series with the program’s only win, by beating a solid Escondido team 16-6 under the Friday night lights.  Our offense, again, showed signs that they can be extremely explosive and potent, but a few mental errors continue to end potential scoring drives.  Our defense picked up their game, and played extremely well overall, and our special teams continue to improve.   We gave the team these grades on Saturday morning:

PLAY HARD: B.  On Defense, our boys were flying around, hustling to the ball, and playing a good brand of tough Bronco football.  On Offense, we did not play as hard as we can, especially our O-Line and running backs.  Though at times, we are giving great efforts, we must be more consistent.
PLAY SMART: C.  On Defense, we mostly took care of our assignments, had only a few mental mistakes, and zero penalties.  On Offense, however, still way too many blown assignments and lapses in focus…again that are coming at bad times, which are ending solid drives we’ve put together.  But other than a few penalties, we’ve been playing disciplined football and have had yellow flags thrown our direction.
PLAY TOGETHER: B.  We were very happy with the way we played as a team on Friday.  A lot of encouragement and excitement, and playing as units instead of individuals.  Only a few selfish acts–late hit, players doing their own thing–prevented us from earning an A in this category.

Also, our Bronco Warriors for the week were Trent Sessions, Charles Ensley, Shawn Ng, Matt Ledesma, Jack Degesero, Chris Gill and Jay Hartmann.  They represented the team well and have performed like true Broncos.

Thank you for supporting us Friday night.  We have some homecooking next Friday against a well-known foe, Mission Hills.  We hope to improve this week, and put on a better performance the next time we tee it up.  Hope to see you all there.

The JV team is getting closer in putting things together for the first win.  Although they lost 14-6, again at times, they are starting to block and tackle really well.  Just a few big mistakes are the difference between wins and losses for them. 

The Varsity team was able to cap off the series with a 27-26 victory Friday night.  Playing in Fallbrook is always tough, especially after they were coming off of a bye–and ran a lot on offense that we haven’t seen.  But the boys played hard, and didn’t quit when their backs were against the wall in the second half.  With Fallbrook’s defense, we were going to hit some big plays, which we Glenn, Charlie and Jake have shown we can make.  On defense, we played solid Bronco defense, but a mist-tackle or mental breakdown here and there allowed their drives to continue.  Our Special Teams struggled a bit, and Coach Garnier will be making some changes to ensure it doesn’t happen next week.  Here were our grades on Saturday:
PLAY HARD: B.  Overall, our boys gave a really good effort on both sides of the ball.  On occasion, a few players let up on blocks or running to the ball.  But the coaching staff were very pleased with how hard they played.
PLAY SMART: C.  This continues to be our biggest challenge.  Still, too many of us are not doing our jobs or what we have been coached to do, which is really the cause of any breakdown we have on offense, defense or special teams.  Doing your job is an unselfish act that builds trust in teammates, and is necessary for us to be successful.  But until we are able to do our jobs to the best of our abilities and do what we have been coached to do, we will continue to have the breakdowns we have seen.
PLAY TOGETHER: B.  We improved from last week in that we supported each other more, even when times were tense at the end of the game.  I heard more from our sidelines, and saw a lot of encouragement among our players on the field.

We are on the road this week at Escondido, who is 2-1 and lost a close one to Scripps Ranch on Friday.  They are a solid program, and we need to have a good week of practice to fix our mistakes and make sure we take small steps towards improvement.

Thank you for your support up in Fallbrook, and hope to see you in Cougarland on Friday!

The JV game was closer than the score suggested.  The first and last quarter showed the coaches that they are improving–as we moved the ball and we able to shut down San Pasqual’s tricky offense.  But, like last week, too many big mistakes put the team in a hole that was hard to climb out of.  But, if I know these boys, they will show up to practice and work hard to perform better next week.

Unfortunately, the week did not end well with the Varsity game.  After the first quarter, I was convinced that we would ultimately win the game.  Our offense was having its way with San Pasqual’s defense, and we could have been leading 14-8 at the end of the quarter.  And though it was a close contest at half time, we failed to compete honorably in the second half.  Too many assignment errors cost us dearly as the half opened, and we were not able to rally when the chips were down.  Saturday morning, the coaching staff gave the following grades to the team:

PLAY HARD: C.  At times we played hard, but there were others when our young men did not give a great effort.  And San Pasqual was the more aggressive and physical team that night.  This was a tough fact to accept because one of our missions was to be the most physical team on the field every Friday night.
PLAY SMART: F.    Far too many blown assignments and mental mistakes.  Some of our players were not doing what they have been coached to do.  This was extremely disappointing, and we are determined to fix these mistakes. 
PLAY TOGETHER: F.  Our team character was tested Friday night, and we cracked under the adversity.  Too often we snapped at each other, offered negative comments instead of encouragement, and did not play with a lot of trust in one another.  This was even more disappointing.  I hope to goodness this grade improves next week.

Today was a low for our coaching staff.  But as we shared with the players, this season is a journey for the team.  Our goal is to get it all figured out by the time we get to League.  And the good news is–the source of all of our struggles is under our control.  If we approach next week with a fresh attitude to improve and compete everyday to be the best we can be, we will be fine.

As always, I appreciate your support of the program and our young men.

Hope to see you all in Fallbrook!