Thursday Grab Bag: Football Rankings
I left my phone on vibrate this morning and didn't hear the alarm, Sonic's credit card machine went down for 15 minutes, Aztec's boys soccer game moved from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m. to avoid sunset at Lydia Rippey, and Ole Miss is getting handled by South Carolina after three quarters.
Not much has gone to plan today. The same can be said for Aztec's football team early in the season. Look for the Tigers to try to unleash some of their frustration during their first road game of the year at St. Pius.
*****
Football Power Poll: The Tigers, No. 5 in Class 4A, will have to beat the No. 7 Sartans to avoid a nightmarish 1-4 start to their season. Still, I believe they have the inside track on District 1-4A with Piedra Vista playing worse than I expected and Kirtland Central still too inexperienced to beat them.
Week 5 Rankings
1. Aztec (1-3) -- The Tigers will boost their playoff seeding with a win this weekend against a fellow 4A contender. Aztec also needs to win to help the overall district. They likely will win out after this week, but 7-3 is much different than 6-4 overall, and the rest of the district looks weak with a 6-4 champion. The coaches ought to be eyeing three entries to the state playoffs, and a Tigers win Friday could help. (Previous: 1)
2. Kirtland Central (2-2) -- The Broncos, shaky the first two games, have propelled themselves to a clearcut favorite to be the district runnerup after winning their second straight game. KC, ranked No. 10 in 4A, needs to tighten up special teams, but their inexperienced players are getting better every week. (Previous: 2)
3. Bloomfield (1-2) -- The Bobcats returned to their familiar position of creaming their district opponents. They play No. 5 Socorro in another game with serious playoff seeding implications. (Previous: 3)
4. Farmington (1-3) -- The Scorpions have impressed doubters but remain frustrated. They aren't accepting moral victories, which is a good sign for them and could mean trouble for the rest of the district teams. (Previous: 5)
5. Piedra Vista (0-4) -- The Panthers have played tough competition and lost by wide margins, tempting me to move them to No. 6, but Shiprock hasn't played anything close to the same competition. (Previous: 4)
6. Shiprock (4-0) -- The Chieftains have a few weeks to get ready for the biggest two-game stretch for their football team in a long, long, time in Bernalillo and Kirtland Central. (Previous: 6)
7. Navajo Prep (2-2) -- The Eagles' shining moment is here. Their program gets a chance to shine with their stadium opener Saturday. (Previous: 7)
*****
Football rankings: Here are the football rankings from the coaches' poll this week.
Class 4A
1. Belen 119
2. Goddard 103
3. Artesia 95
4. Volcano Vista 69
5. Aztec 68
6. Silver 57
7. St. Pius 46
8. Valencia 24
9. Del Norte 20
10. Deming 16
10. Kirtland Central 16
Also receiving votes: Moriarty 8, Farmington 6, Grants 5, Roswell 4, Piedra
Vista 3, Los Alamos 1.
Class 3A
1. Lovington 96
2. Raton 87
3. St. Michael's 82
4. Bloomfield 57
5. Socorro 55
6. Portales 42
6. Albuquerque Academy 42
8. Cobre 39
9. Ruidoso 27
10. Robertson 17
Also receiving votes: Hatch Valley 8.
Class 2A
1. Texico 88 pts.
2. Lordsburg 80
3. Tularosa 75
4. Estancia 53
5. Santa Rosa 48
6. Eunice 43
7. Tucumcari 39
8. Capitan 34
9. Cloudcroft 16
10. Dexter 7
Also receiving votes: Cuba 5, Laguna Acoma 4, NMMI 3.
*****
Koogler still unbeaten: Koogler Middle School beat Heights 20-14 in a game between unbeatens, scoring with two late drives.
Koogler will face Bloomfield next week in a game that will decide the basin championship.
*****
Stokely and Jeter: Brandon Stokely's Week 1 touchdown that beat the Cincinnati Bengals has officially blown out of proportion.
Stokely caught a tipped pass intended for Brandon Marshall, ran 87 yards, and before he scored a touchdown, skirted the goal line to take time off the clock.
It was as spectacular a play as you'll see during the end of a game. Stokely is a likeable guy off the field and a great receiver in big situations. That being said, anyone would've made that play. Your uncle with the beer belly would've caught that ball, hovering softly right at Stokely's hands, and any NFL wide receiver would've scored on the play.
Sure, taking time off the clock was smart, but it had little if any affect on the probability of a Broncos' win.
The media coverage of the event reminds me of Derek Jeter's famous flip in the 2001 ALDS.
Jeter backed up an errant throw near the third base line and flipped the ball to Jorge Posada, who tagged out Jeremy Giambi of the A's. The play boosted the Yankees to a 1-0 win and they eventually lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series.
The play has been canonized, thought to represent Jeter's greatness as a Yankee and one of the most clutch shortstops of all time. Granted, the flip was athletic and it cut down a run, but Jeter was just doing his job. The shortstop is supposed to back up the throw on that play. It's fundamental baseball.
In the end, it's the timing that made Jeter's play so memorable. Stokely's wasn't any different.
Here are my thoughts on that game as I wrote them to my buddy Ashton on Facebook, the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan I know and as obsessed with football as they come.
"Needless to say, a critical coup for the Broncos. As tenuous as their offseason was, both for their fans and inside Dove Valley, to lose late after their defense played its first decent game in a while would've been a travesty (for the Josh McDaniels era).
Their early schedule is soft and they still have major holes on both sides of the ball, so the feeling is they need to start 3-0. I could've seen them falling into turmoil where the team loses Marshall as an effective option, the fans destroy what little confidence Kyle Orton has left and the defense collapses under the pressure of no offense.
Bill B.'s clone, the coach, also needed to win to cure a lot of ills with the fans and a few people inside the building.
The play was huge, including Stokely's Madden move, but the timing was way more important."
*****
The 'U' back: Miami has a chance to make a major statement in the biggest college football game this week at No. 11 Virginia Tech.
Their athletic bunch has the advantage, I think, and should win if they can contend with the raucous road crowd. I'm picking Miami 28, Virginia Tech 25.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Not much has gone to plan today. The same can be said for Aztec's football team early in the season. Look for the Tigers to try to unleash some of their frustration during their first road game of the year at St. Pius.
*****
Football Power Poll: The Tigers, No. 5 in Class 4A, will have to beat the No. 7 Sartans to avoid a nightmarish 1-4 start to their season. Still, I believe they have the inside track on District 1-4A with Piedra Vista playing worse than I expected and Kirtland Central still too inexperienced to beat them.
Week 5 Rankings
1. Aztec (1-3) -- The Tigers will boost their playoff seeding with a win this weekend against a fellow 4A contender. Aztec also needs to win to help the overall district. They likely will win out after this week, but 7-3 is much different than 6-4 overall, and the rest of the district looks weak with a 6-4 champion. The coaches ought to be eyeing three entries to the state playoffs, and a Tigers win Friday could help. (Previous: 1)
2. Kirtland Central (2-2) -- The Broncos, shaky the first two games, have propelled themselves to a clearcut favorite to be the district runnerup after winning their second straight game. KC, ranked No. 10 in 4A, needs to tighten up special teams, but their inexperienced players are getting better every week. (Previous: 2)
3. Bloomfield (1-2) -- The Bobcats returned to their familiar position of creaming their district opponents. They play No. 5 Socorro in another game with serious playoff seeding implications. (Previous: 3)
4. Farmington (1-3) -- The Scorpions have impressed doubters but remain frustrated. They aren't accepting moral victories, which is a good sign for them and could mean trouble for the rest of the district teams. (Previous: 5)
5. Piedra Vista (0-4) -- The Panthers have played tough competition and lost by wide margins, tempting me to move them to No. 6, but Shiprock hasn't played anything close to the same competition. (Previous: 4)
6. Shiprock (4-0) -- The Chieftains have a few weeks to get ready for the biggest two-game stretch for their football team in a long, long, time in Bernalillo and Kirtland Central. (Previous: 6)
7. Navajo Prep (2-2) -- The Eagles' shining moment is here. Their program gets a chance to shine with their stadium opener Saturday. (Previous: 7)
*****
Football rankings: Here are the football rankings from the coaches' poll this week.
Class 4A
1. Belen 119
2. Goddard 103
3. Artesia 95
4. Volcano Vista 69
5. Aztec 68
6. Silver 57
7. St. Pius 46
8. Valencia 24
9. Del Norte 20
10. Deming 16
10. Kirtland Central 16
Also receiving votes: Moriarty 8, Farmington 6, Grants 5, Roswell 4, Piedra
Vista 3, Los Alamos 1.
Class 3A
1. Lovington 96
2. Raton 87
3. St. Michael's 82
4. Bloomfield 57
5. Socorro 55
6. Portales 42
6. Albuquerque Academy 42
8. Cobre 39
9. Ruidoso 27
10. Robertson 17
Also receiving votes: Hatch Valley 8.
Class 2A
1. Texico 88 pts.
2. Lordsburg 80
3. Tularosa 75
4. Estancia 53
5. Santa Rosa 48
6. Eunice 43
7. Tucumcari 39
8. Capitan 34
9. Cloudcroft 16
10. Dexter 7
Also receiving votes: Cuba 5, Laguna Acoma 4, NMMI 3.
*****
Koogler still unbeaten: Koogler Middle School beat Heights 20-14 in a game between unbeatens, scoring with two late drives.
Koogler will face Bloomfield next week in a game that will decide the basin championship.
*****
Stokely and Jeter: Brandon Stokely's Week 1 touchdown that beat the Cincinnati Bengals has officially blown out of proportion.
Stokely caught a tipped pass intended for Brandon Marshall, ran 87 yards, and before he scored a touchdown, skirted the goal line to take time off the clock.
It was as spectacular a play as you'll see during the end of a game. Stokely is a likeable guy off the field and a great receiver in big situations. That being said, anyone would've made that play. Your uncle with the beer belly would've caught that ball, hovering softly right at Stokely's hands, and any NFL wide receiver would've scored on the play.
Sure, taking time off the clock was smart, but it had little if any affect on the probability of a Broncos' win.
The media coverage of the event reminds me of Derek Jeter's famous flip in the 2001 ALDS.
Jeter backed up an errant throw near the third base line and flipped the ball to Jorge Posada, who tagged out Jeremy Giambi of the A's. The play boosted the Yankees to a 1-0 win and they eventually lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series.
The play has been canonized, thought to represent Jeter's greatness as a Yankee and one of the most clutch shortstops of all time. Granted, the flip was athletic and it cut down a run, but Jeter was just doing his job. The shortstop is supposed to back up the throw on that play. It's fundamental baseball.
In the end, it's the timing that made Jeter's play so memorable. Stokely's wasn't any different.
Here are my thoughts on that game as I wrote them to my buddy Ashton on Facebook, the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan I know and as obsessed with football as they come.
"Needless to say, a critical coup for the Broncos. As tenuous as their offseason was, both for their fans and inside Dove Valley, to lose late after their defense played its first decent game in a while would've been a travesty (for the Josh McDaniels era).
Their early schedule is soft and they still have major holes on both sides of the ball, so the feeling is they need to start 3-0. I could've seen them falling into turmoil where the team loses Marshall as an effective option, the fans destroy what little confidence Kyle Orton has left and the defense collapses under the pressure of no offense.
Bill B.'s clone, the coach, also needed to win to cure a lot of ills with the fans and a few people inside the building.
The play was huge, including Stokely's Madden move, but the timing was way more important."
*****
The 'U' back: Miami has a chance to make a major statement in the biggest college football game this week at No. 11 Virginia Tech.
Their athletic bunch has the advantage, I think, and should win if they can contend with the raucous road crowd. I'm picking Miami 28, Virginia Tech 25.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
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