Kansas 6A District 4

The playoff scenarios for our high school team's district are outlined here by Tod Palmer of the Star:

http://varsity.kansascity.com/tod+palmer/blog/5992

The standings in district play today are

Team                        Record  Point Differential
Free State Firebirds        2 - 0   +11
Olathe Northwest Ravens     1 - 1   + 7
Lawrence Chesty Lions       1 - 1   - 4
Olathe North Eagles         0 - 2   -14 

Just to give it an ONW perspective....

If ONW can win by a single point over Olathe North on Friday night, they would be 2-1 in district, moving to +8 on points.  Obviously North would be out of the playoffs at 0-3 and -15.

I wondered if there was any way that ONW would NOT make the playoffs if they won. I looked at several Lawrence-Wins-and-ONW-Wins-by-1 scenarios to answer the question, since those outcomes create three 2-1 teams at the top of the table.

• If Lawrence beats Free State by 1 point, the Lions, Firebirds, and Ravens would all be 2-1. Free State would be the #1 seed (2-1, +10) and ONW would be the #2 (2-1, +8). Lawrence would be out at 2-1 because their point margin would only climb to -3.
• If Lawrence scores a big victory against Free State (13 points or more being the max differential that is recorded in district play) then Lawrence could be the #1 seed at 2-1 +9. ONW with a 1 point win would be 2nd at 2-1 +8, and the Firebirds would be out, falling to 2-1 but all the way down to -2 on the all-important point differential.
• If Lawrence scores a 12 point victory over Free State, and ONW can beat Olathe North by just that single point, then Lawrence and ONW would be tied in point differential at the top of the district table. To break that tie, the head to head would be used, and ONW would be the #1 seed. Lawrence would at that point win the marginal point tiebreaker (and the head to head) with Free State. (Lawrence's magic margin number is 8... they need to win by that much to have ANY shot to get in if ONW wins.)

There is NO scenario I can see that keeps ONW out of the playoffs if they win on Friday night. Win and they're in. So in the immortal words of Al Davis, Just Win Baby.

A few other scenarios worth the knowing going in:

• Free State wins the district if they win over Lawrence.
• Olathe North can't win the district. They are the only team that can't win the district at this point. 
• The Eagles can be second and in the playoffs at the expense of ONW if they win by 11 or more and Free State wins by any margin. In that scenario, three teams are 1-2.  Lawrence's point differential would be no better than -5, while ONW and ON would be 1-2 and -4 on points. ON would win the head-to-head tie-breaker or point differential and become the #2 seed. Eagles fans have to root for Free State and hope their boys pound the Ravens.
• Olathe Northwest can lose by 10 or less and back into the playoffs IF Free State prevails, creating three 1-2 teams that have all beaten each other.
• If Lawrence wins and Olathe North wins, the two Lawrence teams are in the playoffs, and the Olathe teams stay home.
• Mathematically speaking, there are 676 potential outcomes that matter in terms of pairs of winners and the two games point differentials (1 to 13+). There are 169 point differential combinations for each winning pair outcome, and there are four potential winning pairs of teams. Using that info, the statistical likelihood of each team making the playoffs:
• Free State - 88.46%
• Olathe Northwest - 69.23%
• Lawrence - 36.54%
• Olathe North - 5.77%
• All that said - mathematics probably don't mean much. Without Strauss, Lawrence may not get to 8 points, much less beat Free State by 8. Olathe North has a serious chance to be the #2 seed in the district with a two touchdown win over the Ravens. 

So Olathe North fans will root for Free State. Lawrence fans will root for Olathe North. Free State will want to take care of business, think positively, and not care who wins the other game.

As a Raven fan, root for a 4 to 12 point Lawrence win if you're sure the Ravens will beat Olathe North. That will get us the #1 seed and a strong chance to win a playoff game for the first time in program history. Or if you're a glass-half-empty type, root for Free State and hope to trade touchdowns with Olathe North. Just stay within 10, and we're in the playoffs again.

Mostly though - Just Win Baby.

Final Sign Up for Ravens 2018

The fifth and final FCCJC sign up is today Saturday, July 25th, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., out at the Heritage Football complex at 162nd and Pflumm. Last chance to sign up to play football before middle school ball starts next year!

We had eight more players register at the fourth registration, bringing us to 45 so far. The 4th grade teams are at 46 players to date, so the race is on. Four more of our new 6th grade players are brand new to tackle football!  I've sent out some e-mails to the various new and returning team members about dates, times, and equipment, so if you're planning to sign up but haven't, check with me to be brought up to speed. At the bottom of this post find a list of those that have signed up so far in FCCJC.

To get signed up for football, you need

• Your son, for weigh-in and equipment fitting if renting
• Proof of age and grade. This can be
• His player card from a previous season, OR
• A copy of his birth certificate and a copy of a grade card from this year
• A credit card or check to pay the equipment rental fee ($60) at the sign up, if you will be renting equipment

You may optionally bring

• Your own shoulder pads and helmet if you are not renting. They must be checked by FCCJC before you can practice wearing them.
• An FCCJC Equipment Reimbursement Request form. If you are renting your equipment, and your family is suffering from financial hardship, you may be eligible for an equipment fee reimbursement. Turn in that filled out form with your rental check or credit card payment to apply for reimbursement.
• Funds ($165) to pay the league fee (credit card or check) if you wish to pre-pay. You will still receive raffle tickets that you can sell to offset the league fee, but many parents prefer to pay at sign-up time. If you choose not to pay at this time, the league fee check must be turned in to your coach or team administrator by August 3rd.
• Funds ($20) to pay for a physical examination at the sign up. You may also use your own doctor by getting them to fill out this physical form. The physical form is to be handed to the coach at or before the first practice.

Based on the other sign-ups, the lines really die down about 11:00 a.m. - you can pretty much get right through, very little waiting.

Returning
Signed Up 5/21
Trevor A
Thomas B
Jackson B
Peyton B
Colin B
Mitchell C
Tommy F
Will H
Hunter H
Grant H
Nile M
Jarid M
Parker M
Kawai P
Tyler R
Jared S
Ben W
Kyle W


Signed Up 6/11
Luke D
Alex D
Damon H
Michael N
Zach O

Signed Up 6/25
Eddie B
Alex B
Halen G
Brayden K
Jacob O
Hunter S

Signed Up 7/9
Ben H
Jake P
Jake E
Luke W


New
Signed Up 5/21
Jon B
Cody H
Logan I


Signed Up 6/11
Tyler F
Trevor J
Collin T

Signed Up 6/25
Logan B

Signed Up 7/9
Ben B
Noah G
Adonis K
Brandon Y

Fourth Signup This Saturday

The fourth FCCJC sign up is this Saturday, July 9th, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., out at the Heritage Football complex at 162nd and Pflumm. After this sign up, I will be putting together the e-mail distribution list for team members to hear about practices, equipment, dates, and so forth. SO... if you know you will be signing up, but need to wait until the final sign up on July 23rd, be sure to let me know so you won't miss out on important e-mails.

We had eight more players register at the third registration, bringing us to 37 so far. The 4th grade teams are right on our heals with 35 players to date. Two more of our new 6th grade players are brand new to tackle football!  We continue to monitor the numbers, but at this point it still appears that we will have four teams again (including Coach Swinford's in the Blue Valley league.)  At the bottom of this post find a list of those that have signed up so far in FCCJC.

To get signed up for football, you need

• Your son, for weigh-in and equipment fitting if renting
• Proof of age and grade. This can be
• His player card from a previous season, OR
• A copy of his birth certificate and a copy of a grade card from this year
• A credit card or check to pay the equipment rental fee ($60) at the sign up, if you will be renting equipment

You may optionally bring

• Your own shoulder pads and helmet if you are not renting. They must be checked by FCCJC before you can practice wearing them.
• An FCCJC Equipment Reimbursement Request form. If you are renting your equipment, and your family is suffering from financial hardship, you may be eligible for an equipment fee reimbursement. Turn in that filled out form with your rental check or credit card payment to apply for reimbursement.
• Funds ($165) to pay the league fee (credit card or check) if you wish to pre-pay. You will still receive raffle tickets that you can sell to offset the league fee, but many parents prefer to pay at sign-up time. If you choose not to pay at this time, the league fee check must be turned in to your coach or team administrator by August 3rd.
• Funds ($20) to pay for a physical examination at the sign up. You may also use your own doctor by getting them to fill out this physical form. The physical form is to be handed to the coach at or before the first practice.

Based on the first two sign-ups, the lines really die down about 11:00 a.m. - you can pretty much get right through, very little waiting.

The next available registration date is Saturday, July 9th.

Returning
Signed Up 5/21
Trevor A
Thomas B
Jackson B
Peyton B
Colin B
Mitchell C
Tommy F
Will H
Hunter H
Grant H
Nile M
Jarid M
Parker M
Kawai P
Tyler R
Jared S
Ben W
Kyle W
Signed Up 6/11
Luke D
Alex D
Damon H
Michael N
Zach O
Signed Up 6/25
Eddie B
Alex B
Halen G
Brayden K
Jacob O
Hunter S


New
Signed Up 5/21
Jon B
Cody H
Logan I
Signed Up 6/11
Tyler F
Trevor J
Collin T
Signed Up 6/25
Logan B

Joshua B

Life as a Noseguard Just Got Better

The NFHS (National Federation of State High School Association) is the body that writes the various high school sport rules that most states follow. They've made a change for football in 2011 that will make things a little safer, especially for defensive linemen.

In the past, a chop block was a "delayed" block at the knees or below on an opponent that was already engaged with the blocker's teammate. The classic example involved the center pass blocking a nose tackle. The left guard, after setting for a pass block and checking for blitz, would then turn his attention to the nose, already working against the center. If the guard attacked the knees of the nose tackle at that point in time, it was a 15 yard penalty for chop blocking.

But if the center and guard were instead double-team blocking for a running play, things were quite different.  If the guard shot out to cut the knees of the nose tackle even if the nose had already engaged the center it was not considered a chop block, because the guard's block was initiated simultaneous to the center's block.

This type of blocking was known as a form of 'high/low' blocking, and was not illegal in high school football last year. It was a controversial style of blocking, and some (I hope most) coaches refused to teach it... but it wasn't illegal. As of 2011, this type of block will now fit the definition of a chop block, and should draw a flag.

You can read the NFHS statement about the change here: Chop Block Rule Redefined in High School Football, but a chop block is now defined to be

"a combination block by two or more teammates against an opponent other than the runner, with or without delay, where one of the blocks is low (at the knee or below) and one of the blocks is high (above the knee)."

Let me unpack this a little. In the past, the language said that a chop block was

"a delayed block at the knees or below against an opponent who is in contact with a teammate of the blocker in the free blocking zone."

Note that in the past, the requirements for a chop block were

1. a delayed block 
2. at the knees or below
3. thrown against an opponent that was in contact with a teammate of the blocker
4. in the free blocking zone 

In the new definition, we must have

1. A combination block by two or more teammates against an opponent (other than the runner)
2. with or without delay
3. where one block is low (knees or below)
4. and another block is high (above the knees)

The 'in contact' requirement of the old rule is gone. So NFHS appears to be telling officials, for a chop block there must be two or more guys throwing a block at the same defender.* If one of the blockers is pulling away and not engaging the defender himself, and is coincidentally contacted by that defender's upper body, that doesn't preclude a cut block in the free blocking zone by another blocker. In that case, the defender would actually be the one 'blocking' the pulling offensive player, and would not be protected by this rule. Who blocked whom becomes a defining factor.

*By the way, who fouls in the new definition? In the old rule, it was the blocker throwing the delayed block. In the new rule, is it BOTH guys? I suspect refs will name the low blocker as the guilty party.

Nevertheless, I think this is a good change, that should improve the safety of players. (In fact, I called for this change at the youth level two years ago, and am quite shocked that I've lived to see it happen.) The rule relieves umpires from having to determine whether a delay occurs between two blocks. Now these officials can simply decide whether a combination block was both high and low. I'm anxious to see how umpires interpret various blocks and situations, and whether or not the new chop block rule is ever called.

Watch closely in games with very tight offensive line splits. When splits are tight, it is very easy for blocks to appear to happen with adjacent teammates. That means that ANY cut block by an offensive player runs the risk of being a chop block, whether initiated at the snap or delayed. A defensive tackle can probably protect his knees simply by getting into the gap between two opponent's upper bodies and sustaining contact or continuing to attempt to split them. Once he's done that, I think most refs will determine that he can't be legally cut.

It works both ways though! The offensive linemen are now more protected than previously. Watch Gap Air Mirror defenses and other goal line arrangements, like defending extra-point tries. Any defense that runs two 'bear crawlers' into an offensive lineman's legs runs the risk of being called for a chop block. If the offensive blocker can get his hands on the upper body of ONE of those players, the other crawler can't initiate contact at the blocker's knees or below. If he does, that fits the definition of a a chop block, and should be a 15 yard penalty.*

* Many fans assume that blocking rules only apply to offensive players. This isn't true. The rules of blocking also apply to defensive players, with a few exceptions for tackling the ball carrier or shedding blockers. So for example, blocks below the waist by defensive backs designed to 'take out' lead blockers have long been illegal in high school football, however seldom called.

The 'wedge' play that many double wing offenses like to run should be improved, because a defense won't be able to crash into the offensive line's legs if those linemen are already engaged.

So this is actually a pretty big change if the rule is enforced. I suppose that like many rule changes in sport, officials will have an adjustment period where they will miss a percentage of these fouls because they aren't used to watching for them. There will also be some old timers who don't like the new rule, and will turn a blind eye, believing that they have a better understanding of the 'spirit' of the rule or some other such nonsense.

Finally, just like the many wonderful plays I draw on my computer, we won't really know how this will work until we start working with it on grass. But on balance, I believe this will be a good rule change, and I encourage coaches and refs to follow and enforce this new rule, and see how it works out for all of us.

Time to Get Motivated

Sometimes I have "Wow, I wish I'd written that" moments. This is more of a "I wish I'd said that" moment, but still...

Third Registration Saturday

The third FCCJC sign up is this Saturday, June 25th, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., out at the Heritage Football complex at 162nd and Pflumm. Both Coach Roediger and I will be out there this Saturday. Coach Roediger is covering the afternoon, and I have the mid-day slot starting at about 11 a.m. So if you have questions about 6th grade football, Saturday is a great opportunity to sign up!

We had eight more players register at the second registration, bringing us to 29 so far. The 4th grade teams are next closest, with 20 signed up to date. Three more of our new 6th grade players are brand new to tackle football!  We continue to monitor the numbers, but at this point it still appears that we will have four teams again (including Coach Swinford's in the Blue Valley league.)  At the bottom of this post find a list of those that have signed up so far in FCCJC.

To get signed up for football, you need

• Your son, for weigh-in and equipment fitting if renting
• Proof of age and grade. This can be
• His player card from a previous season, OR
• A copy of his birth certificate and a copy of a grade card from this year
• A credit card or check to pay the equipment rental fee ($60) at the sign up, if you will be renting equipment

You may optionally bring

• Your own shoulder pads and helmet if you are not renting. They must be checked by FCCJC before you can practice wearing them.
• An FCCJC Equipment Reimbursement Request form. If you are renting your equipment, and your family is suffering from financial hardship, you may be eligible for an equipment fee reimbursement. Turn in that filled out form with your rental check or credit card payment to apply for reimbursement.
• Funds ($165) to pay the league fee (credit card or check) if you wish to pre-pay. You will still receive raffle tickets that you can sell to offset the league fee, but many parents prefer to pay at sign-up time. If you choose not to pay at this time, the league fee check must be turned in to your coach or team administrator by August 3rd.
• Funds ($20) to pay for a physical examination at the sign up. You may also use your own doctor by getting them to fill out this physical form. The physical form is to be handed to the coach at or before the first practice.

Based on the first two sign-ups, the lines really die down about 11:00 a.m. - you can pretty much get right through, very little waiting.

The next available registration date is Saturday, July 9th.

Returning
Signed Up 5/21
Trevor A
Thomas B
Jackson B
Peyton B
Colin B
Mitchell C
Tommy F
Will H
Hunter H
Grant H
Nile M
Jarid M
Parker M
Kawai P
Tyler R
Jared S
Ben W
Kyle W
Signed Up 6/11
Luke D
Alex D
Damon H
Michael N
Zach O

New
Signed Up 5/21
Jon B
Cody H
Logan I
Signed Up 6/11
Tyler F
Trevor J
Collin T

Second Registration Saturday

We had 21 register at the first FCCJC registration for 6th grade football. That was by far the most of any grade in our area. Three of those players are brand new to tackle football! We are monitoring the numbers, but at this point it appears that we will have four teams again (including Coach Swinford's in the Blue Valley league) though the teams may be a little larger than they were last year. At the bottom of this post find a list of those that have signed up so far in FCCJC.

The second FCCJC sign up is this Saturday, June 11th, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., out at the Heritage Football complex at 162nd & Pflumm.  To get signed up for football, you need

• Your son, for weigh-in and equipment fitting if renting
• Proof of age and grade. This can be
• His player card from a previous season, OR
• A copy of his birth certificate and a copy of a grade card from this year
• A credit card or check to pay the equipment rental fee ($60) at the sign up, if you will be renting equipment

You may optionally bring

• Your own shoulder pads and helmet if you are not renting. They must be checked by FCCJC before you can practice wearing them.
  
• An FCCJC Equipment Reimbursement Request form. If you are renting your equipment, and your family is suffering from financial hardship, you may be eligible for an equipment fee reimbursement. Turn in that filled out form with your rental check or credit card payment to apply for reimbursement.
  
• Funds ($165) to pay the league fee (credit card or check) if you wish to pre-pay. You will still receive raffle tickets that you can sell to offset the league fee, but many parents prefer to pay at sign-up time. If you choose not to pay at this time, the league fee check must be turned in to your coach or team administrator by August 3rd.
  
• Funds ($20) to pay for a physical examination at the sign up. You may also use your own doctor by getting them to fill out this physical form. The physical form is to be handed to the coach at or before the first practice.

Based on the first sign up, the lines really die down about 11:00 a.m. - you can pretty much get right through, very little waiting.

The next available registration date is Saturday, June 25th.

Coach Todd Dain of Olathe Northwest will be the head coach of an FCCJC football camp out at Heritage Park next week. Seems like it will be a fun camp. You can see the brochure by clicking this link.

Signed Up 5/21

Returning
Trevor A
Thomas B
Jackson B
Peyton B
Colin B
Mitchell C
Tommy F
Will H
Hunter H
Grant H
Nile M
Jarid M
Parker M
Kawai P
Tyler R
Jared S
Ben W
Kyle W

New
Jon B
Cody H
Logan I