Week 2: Cleveland John Hay at Canal Fulton Northwest

• NWIndianNation01

  

  I don't even know where to start...:mad:
  
  Should be a boring week of posting as I highly doubt John Hay has any fans on here.
  
  With that said, does ANYONE know ANYTHING about their team this year.
  
  Other than always getting destroyed by Glenville every year and just being a very good team, I don't know a whole lot about them. I had heard that they are on an upswing though.
  
  If anything, this thread will give the NW posters some time to rant about game 1 and talk about what needs to change. I will have to give my thoughts later once I have formed them fully....just so disappointed with the week 1 performance.
• believer

  

  As an outside observer, do you think Northwest's week 1 performance has anything to do with the levy failure and the subsequent exit from the NBC? Just askin'......
• Brutus

  BELIVER, no not at all, we were taken out of our game plan. Orrville is a good team. we have the talent we have the kids we just need to put it together.
• skiisme753

  believer;875716 wrote:As an outside observer, do you think Northwest's week 1 performance has anything to do with the levy failure and the subsequent exit from the NBC? Just askin'......

  Numbers are down from where they were in the past. Levy turned some athletes away from playing here but exit form the NBC doesn't have anything to do with how a team plays and certainly doesen't provide an excuse for some of the worst coaching I have seen.
• skiisme753

  Honestly what needs to change is the coach. This 5 wide offense is nothing but ignorance from a coach who has lost it. We switched to it when we didn't have the size on the line to run the ball......It worked OK the first year when you had a mobile QB and some serious burners at WR. Now you have a pocket QB with a receiving core that is extremely slow and has no size at all. You need a special mobile QB and 5 quality WR to run a 5 wide spread offense. There is no running threat with NW in the spread. A 10 year old girl could game plan against NW.....5 wide= pass and any other formation = run.....There is no guessing or element of surprise in this offense. Why not run 3 receiver looks? You don't have the time to check down to your 4th or 5th receivers so why not put them in the backfield?
• skiisme753

  FYI John Hay lost 26 to 8 to a Berea team that broke its 19 game losing streek last week
• BEAST 0332

  

  NW will score at least 40 points this week!
• ajwahoo2k2

  

  Just looking for the boys to play as one and work hard this week to gain the win on Friday night. I will eat crow (actually Mexican Chicken) for last weeks postings. John Hay looks to be a solid team with a few D1 looks. Should be a good game for both the Indians and Hornets this week.
• NWIndianNation01

  

  Okay...time to vent...I have a very similar take to skiisme753...especially considering we were sitting by each other at the game...just minus the desire to get rid of the coach. I think that is a little premature...especially give the fact that there is no way we will get a better coach.
  
  As for the game against Orrville, we looked just plain terrible (not trying to take anything away from Orrville because they were great).
  
  I agree that play-calling was extremely suspect. From everything I have heard about this years' team, we were supposed to have a VERY balanced attack that could strike from all angles and adjust to the defense that was thrown at us. During the game, never once, did I see us adjust our offense based on ANYTHING. Like skiisme said, if we were 5 wide, you knew no matter what that we were throwing, then anything else was going to be a run. No imagination or creativity. I truly believe that if we would have passed out of the I formation, or any other formation that was not 5-wide, we could have won this game. Again, as skiisme stated, we do not have the talent to be running 5-wide every play (which is what we did after the 4th quarter). Although Riley is a good QB, and will most likely be picked up by a D1 school, he doesn't have the legs to make the spread work. Then for our WR's, I don't totally think that speed is the problem, as much as height. You have to have 5 tall AND fast receivers to pull off that offense...and we have the shortest receivers I have ever seen. Two last thoughts on the offense... First, although our line is much bigger, I was NOT impressed at all. Didn't seem like they could open holes for our few running plays and it seemed that there was ALWAYS a few guys from Orrville in our backfield. Finally, what was up with throwing to ONE reciever 90% of the plays. I understand that some guys were having serious issues with cramps, but come on...you have to switch it up.
  
  As for the defense, FREAKING HIT SOMEONE. I thought they were out there playing patty-cake or something. Our defense hits like Glenville...they just go up and try to should "tackle" or push them over. IT IS BAD! What happened to the Northwest teams that the players would crush the other team on every hit. We just looked plain soft. I don't think you can put the whole game on the defense though because they were constantly on the field due to the poor offense and 7 second drives. Yes, we had TWO 7 second drives in the second half...why...because we threw the ball every play.
  
  If we don't learn to mix things up and learn how to hit someone, we won't win a game, let alone make the playoffs.
  
  So disappointed. (Not in the players, because they worked their butts off, but in the play calling and coaching.)
• NWIndianNation01

  

  As for this week...
  
  Work and practice hard boys!
  
  Prepare for battle!
  
  Play together!
  
  And play on fire!
  
  GO INDIANS!!!
• skiisme753

  I can't see NW making the playoffs this year....or even having a winning record....
  
  Would have to consider NW serious underdogs against Padua, New Philly, Poland, St. Charles, and Canfiled
  
  Canton South and Barberton should be wins and Aquinas and Joy Hay could go either way.....
  
  
  I hope the players don't underestimate John Hay and come out and play hard until the final whistle...good luck, but I'm sick watching the same stupid coaching year after year.....its like the coaches lost their playbook and had to start over.....what happened to the physically dominant NW team that ran it down teams throats and still passed with a balanced offense?
• Doverbuck

  N.W. 56 John Hay 12
• NWIndianNation01

  

  Does anyone know anything about the John Hay players that are getting D1 looks? Position, size, etc?
• Struthers Fan

  

  NWIndianNation01;875651 wrote:I don't even know where to start...:mad:
  
  Should be a boring week of posting as I highly doubt John Hay has any fans on here.
  
  With that said, does ANYONE know ANYTHING about their team this year.
  
  Other than always getting destroyed by Glenville every year and just being a very good team, I don't know a whole lot about them. I had heard that they are on an upswing though.
  
  If anything, this thread will give the NW posters some time to rant about game 1 and talk about what needs to change. I will have to give my thoughts later once I have formed them fully....just so disappointed with the week 1 performance.

  Not only won't you find them here, you won't find them at the game. We played them in basketball in the regionals this year in Canton. Struthers had a nice following. John Hay had maybe a dozen fans there. You could easily have had mid-court seats anywhere on their side. They had about three students there.
  
  Don't expect much. It's a home game for you guys.....that's about it. And I don't think any of the Cleveland schools bring anyone to any of their games. I was watching the Friday scoreboard show on wfmj.com. When they show the John Adams' side at cavernous Bo Rein stadium in Niles, you see maybe a dozen people there. No fan support whatsoever.
  
  This game should be a "blowout"
• ajwahoo2k2

  

  Robert Thompson #96, 6'-2", 330 lbs. DT
  Chris Collins 6'-4" 245 lbs. DE
  
  This is from Scouting Ohio.
  
  They might act like a typical inner-city school.
• J-Dover

  

  "As for the defense, FREAKING HIT SOMEONE. I thought they were out there playing patty-cake or something. Our defense hits like Glenville...they just go up and try to should "tackle" or push them over. IT IS BAD! What happened to the Northwest teams that the players would crush the other team on every hit. We just looked plain soft. I don't think you can put the whole game on the defense though because they were constantly on the field due to the poor offense and 7 second drives. Yes, we had TWO 7 second drives in the second half...why...because we threw the ball every play."

  I know this is hard to hear after the week you just had, but..... The spread can and will work for you. It's not as easy as the Power game is for the first few weeks of the season. Coach Vic Whiting is a winner, period. He has proven himself time after time. Let him work the bugs out with the team play. However; with spread teams the "Defense" always seems to be more sissified. Not something I am very fond of, being Dover does nothing but throw the ball and I love a mean aggressive defense. I think it's because I am a stark county boy and stark county is the home of hard hitting defenses. Don't get me wrong you will have a few kids that are just mean and nasty by nature, but not all 11 will have that drive. I am sure its mainly because they don't line up with a 2x12 six foot long and just tie up on each other anymore, because the Offense takes so much time to perfect. You are feeling the pissed off pain that I feel every year with Dover's defense.
  
  Good things will come back to NW. Just give it a little time, new league, new(er) Offense. Things will click. This week should be much easier, build some team confidence and look forward to the rest of the schedule. At least it is football season.........
• NWIndianNation01

  

  J-Dover;877932 wrote:I know this is hard to hear after the week you just had, but..... The spread can and will work for you. It's not as easy as the Power game is for the first few weeks of the season. Coach Vic Whiting is a winner, period. He has proven himself time after time. Let him work the bugs out with the team play. However; with spread teams the "Defense" always seems to be more sissified. Not something I am very fond of, being Dover does nothing but throw the ball and I love a mean aggressive defense. I think it's because I am a stark county boy and stark county is the home of hard hitting defenses. Don't get me wrong you will have a few kids that are just mean and nasty by nature, but not all 11 will have that drive. I am sure its mainly because they don't line up with a 2x12 six foot long and just tie up on each other anymore, because the Offense takes so much time to perfect. You are feeling the pissed off pain that I feel every year with Dover's defense.
  
  Good things will come back to NW. Just give it a little time, new league, new(er) Offense. Things will click. This week should be much easier, build some team confidence and look forward to the rest of the schedule. At least it is football season.........

  It sure didn't come together last season. I guess the reason it makes me most mad is because from everything I was told, we were supposed to be balanced and shying away from the spread crap! I am not trying to disrespect anyone or any team, but when was the last time a Spread offense won the state title...I personally can't remember one.
• skiisme753

  [h=1]FROM FRIDAYNIGHTOHIO....
  
  Scouting report: Cleveland John Hay at Northwest[/h]
  The teams The 2011 season couldn’t have started much better for the Northwest Indians last week, at least the first couple of minutes. Ronnie Beers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, then scored on a pass from QB Nick Riley to stake the Indians to a 14-0 lead less than four minutes in. Orrville then proceeded to outscore Northwest 41-13 the rest of the way in a 41-27 win. Still, the Indians were in the game, trailing just 27-20, midway through the third quarter. Coach Vic Whiting will look for a more balanced effort out of his offense, which didn’t produce much on the ground last week. Riley has proven he can throw the ball, but a solid running game will only help open things up more. Beers did a little of everything last week, but the Indians have other weapons in J.C. Pawlyk, Jackson Shultz and Kyle Harris. Defensively, the Indians were hurt by big plays against the Red Riders, as well as the absence of linebacker Jay Strelecki.
  
  The John Hay Hornets are in the process of rebuilding a football program. This is just the third season the school has had football since reopening as a magnet school in Cleveland’s University Circle area in 2006. Coach Rodney Decipeda, who played at Chardon, is in his third season at the school. The Hornets finished 6-5 last season, losing to Rhodes for the Senate Athletic League title. The Hornets are young this year after losing 11 starters, including nearly every skill position on offense. The inexperience was evident in last week’s season-opening 26-8 loss to Berea, which snapped a 19-game losing streak for the Braves.
  
  The key matchup After not being able to establish much on the ground last week, Northwest will want to avoid becoming too one-dimensional by getting Beers and its other runners established early. That should only help the play-action passing game and open the field more for Riley.
  
  Streaks, stats and facts Backed by his 88-yard kickoff return, Beers piled up 249 all-purpose yards in last week’s loss. He finished with 122 receiving yards. ... Northwest’s running game managed just 9 yards on 19 attempts last week. ... Riley was 17-of-38 passing for 235 yards, two TDs and two interceptions against Orrville. ... Northwest might have to tighten up the defense after allowing Orrville 154 rushing yards and 265 passing yards last week. ... John Hay does have some experience back on the lines, led by 6-foot-2, 235-pound tackle Jonathan Rodriguez.
• NWIndianNation01

  

  Now executing what is mentioned above will be key....:-/
• tinman 36

  

  skiisme sounds like he had trouble with vic, his kid prob sat the bench. if it's that bad, why dont you stay home on friday. you seem like a real my personallity, rippin on high school kids. 3 of the 5 WR are at least 5'10. when did NW have all these giant WR. i've been at games since the early 80's, guess i missed them. go to films on monday, you might learn something
• sonofsam

  

  We (Indian Creek) have played them the last two years... They are an inner-city school with potential and a really good coach, but lack of effort by the players. They have some BEEF on their line last year and they had speed... Only problem was they couldn't do anything with it. We won both years with last years game being extremely close 7-6. During the game, a JH coach tried to pick a fight with one of our players. At the end of the game, that same coach went on a free-speech rampage of how they were cheated. The police did step in, but nothing came about. They dropped us from the schedule so we picked up Cleve. John Marshall in their place. After John Hay found this out, they asked their fellow conference mate to drop us, which they did.
  
  You guys will have no problem handling this team. Do not let your guard down, play your game and by the end of the night let the seniors enjoy watching the younger players get some...
• Brutus

  skiisme, my name is Jim Harris come talk to me about our undersized slow receivers, I would love to discuss alittle Northwest Football. I can go back to about 1977. the shortest receiver out there is my son. probally one of the top 10 fastest kids to EVER walk on our game field. i didnt realize that your size mattered more than heart and athelitic ability. the boys play there butts off win or lose. NO PLAYER OR FAN WANTS TO LOSE. support the boys. GO INDIANS
• Drums of War

  Other than being a bit rusty in the presentation, I must say that some of the points skiisme makes ARE valid. I believe that the 5W spread can be an effective offense like any other, but the key is balance. Why not keep someone in the backfield so that the D at least has to account for a possible run? Also one of the most effective plays for a spread O is the Delay/Draw. If the DL's can just rush full bore, and the LB's can sit in coverage with no risk, the skill of your QB and WR's is really hidden by the D being able to relax into coverage. I think we have a very talented team this year, but no matter the talent, if we are predictable we can be stopped. I think we have a beast of a running back, but again, we are missing a component if we just line him up as a WR for an entire half.
• Lockup Screen

  Orrville forced Northwest to stay 5 wide since NW fell behind in the 2nd q and NW's offensive line did not block well up front. Orrville will be a team to beat in DIV this year. 3 D1 prospects and a QB that can throw is a scary combo. Northwest WILL have a more balanced attack. I advise anyone on these forums (skiisme, nwindiannation01) to go to films on monday night with Coach Whiting @ 7:30. Maybe you will learn something rather than trash the coaching staff and kids.
• NWIndianNation01

  

  Oh boy...where to start.
  
  First of all...Mr. Lockup Screen with 6 posts...I am in NO WAY trashing the kids...they worked their butts off...but the play calling and hitting was very suspect. There is no reason that we should have went 5 wide for 3/4 of the game. There was no imagination in the play calling. Anyone can see that. Ask ANY Northwest fan at the game and they will tell you that we were predictable and the way things were called, there was no chance of us winning the game. I wouldn't call that trashing the coaches...just being real. I am sure that Coach Whiting can justify any and all mistakes, but that doesn't mean that it would have been best for the W. Just because you fall behind doesn't mean you have to put in an offensive scheme that is so one dimensional that you only take 7 seconds off the clock and your defense is ALWAYS on the field.
  
  BTW...I have always wanted to go to films to hear about the game, but always felt awkward about going. I am probably the biggest Northwest/HS football fan you will find and I understand that the kids make mistakes, run the wrong routes and things like that, but that doesn't mean the coaching staff made all the right calls...they are human too. Sure it is easy to sit back in the bleachers and whine, but the ideas and thoughts behind it are valid...and I know that all the fans are thinking it...it is just a matter of who is willing to voice it. I never knew HS football was a dictatorship where people couldn't question calls made by coaching staff. If that were true, we would still have some of the terrible coaches from the 90's at the helm of this team...and we all know that would be bad.
  
  NEXT... tinman36...I personally know skiisme, and he wasn't in trouble with Vic, nor does he have a kid in the program. He is a younger guy like me that is just frustrated with how the program is going. He is NOT a fan of the spread offense, even if you do have huge tall and fast receivers. It just is not that effective of an offense. State championship teams usually need to mix it up a bit, or have a BEAR of a running back that can just run over teams...with the addition of a defense that mows down the other team. We don't have that...at least not that I have seen. Like I said, our boys weren't hitting hard on Friday and didn't seem to KNOW how to tackle...again...that is coaching....unless the players just aren't listening to coaching, then they need better discipline.
  
  Oh...and I just read through the posts from skiisme...and I don't see ANYWHERE that he bashed the kids. Only coaching decisions, which he, as a fan, has the right to do last time I checked.
  
  Brutus (Jim) - Don't harp on the guy too bad...just from watching the Orrville game, it could look like the receivers weren't all that fast...but mostly due to TWO causes...first, a really fast Orrville secondary. A fast defense like that can make the fastest of offenses look slow. Second, our speedsters, were cramping all game...you can't run full out if you are cramping that bad. I pray that these kids stay hydrated today because tonight's game is going to be HOT! I do agree that our receivers are short, which hurts us, but it can't be the whole blame. I also agree that heart and athletic ability mean more than size, however, if a defense knows exactly what you are doing every single play, heart and athletic ability tend to go out the window...especially in high school.
  
  I hope skiisme continues to support the kids...because that is all that matters. I always hear from fans that they aren't coming back because the team looked bad or because the coaches didn't have a great game..but that is sad. I know at times I feel this way, but I will always be at every game I can. Support the kids, not the coaches.
  
  As for tonight, I hope the boys are ready for a hot one! If play to potential, the game shouldn't be close. But if we play like last week then it will be all too close.
  
  LETS GO INDIANS!
  
  PLAY HARD!
  
  PLAY TOGETHER!
  
  PLAY ON FIRE!
  
  PLAY WITH HEART!
  
  BEAT JOHN HAY!