Video mini-highlight: Roosevelt

Our first highlight from the 2014 season is here just in time for the new year. Forgive us for the blurry video, we had to use emergency video taken on an iPhone after the camera crashed from the wet conditions of the game. We will be posting more mini-highlights throughout the winter, and come spring full length highlights from each game will become available on a weekly basis.

I would like to personally thank both Coach Lewis and the players for allowing me to work with them this fall, it was a pleasure getting to know each and every player and learning all about what it’s like to be a General. With that being said, enjoy the video and make sure to follow us on twitter for a chance to be the first to view videos and stay up to date on everything involving General’s football.

2014 OSAA First Round Predictions

It’s finally here, the reason we play the regular season games in the first place, it’s playoff football time in Oregon. In past years there had seemed to be a top tier of three or four teams that had a shot at winning the state title. This year seems much different in my eyes as I would include seven or eight teams in the conversation of who has a legitimate opportunity to play for a state crown at Hillsboro Stadium come December.

Before I break down the last three weeks for the Generals and make my predictions for this week’s first round, I must say sorry about the absence of articles for the last couple of weeks; midterms for a double major are two weeks from hell, and there was little time that wasn’t spent studying.

The last three weeks have revealed a lot about our Grant Generals. We went from a four game winning streak, to a disappointing showing against what many who saw the game consider an inferior Sprague team, to holding on in a nail-biter against an athletic Roosevelt team.

Despite having Homecoming spoiled by the Olympians, bouncing back to limit a high octane offense under 20 points in completing an impressive turnaround from the 2-8 record of the 2013 season.  Adding in the fact that the impressive team performance clinched the PIL championship makes whatever happens in the playoffs icing on the cake for the Generals.  Now in no way does that mean this team will be satisfied with what the have done, as they truly believe they could make a run at winning the school’s first playoff game since their second round

But forget the missed chances, the what-ifs, as everything goes out the window once the playoffs start. November football in Oregon is a strange land where anything can happen as it’s win or go home every single week. Yes, top ranked teams such as Central Catholic and Tigard have a home field advantage by their performance in the regular season; but in the playoffs, a place where one play can make or break a season, we get treated to some of the most entertaining match-ups of the year, and some upsets nobody can predict.

Grant unfortunately took a tumble in the rankings as a result of Sprague, Lincoln, and Cleveland all losing last week, which means they will have top travel to West Albany in what could be the best game to watch in the first round. I will break down this match-up later this week, so for now I’ll make my picks for the other games that will be taking place this week.

#1 Central Catholic over #32 Thurston
#17 Grant over #16 West Albany
#9 Clackamas over #24 Lincoln
#8 West Linn over #25 Roosevelt
#5 Sherwood over #28 Roseburg
#12 Westview over #21 Lakeridge
#13 Oregon City over #20 McNary
#4 Sheldon over #29 Canby
#3 Grant’s Pass over #30 Barlow
#14 South Medford over #19 L.O.
#11 West Salem over #22 Beaverton
#6 South Salem over #27 Southridge
#7 Jesuit over #26 Gresham
#10 North Medford over #23 Wilson
#18 Sunset over #15 Sprague
#2 Tigard over #31 David Douglas

In addition to my own predictions, I have designed a bracket challenge for you to take part in this year. Simply follow the link at the bottom of this article, and use the following instructions to make your entry into our contest:

1) Once you click the link, click on the “Predict It!” link in the upper left under the list of hyperlinks above the bracket.
2) Create an account giving your name and email. We need at least this much info to keep our standings corrct and updated and to notify you if you are one of our winners. This part pnly takes 30 seconds to fill out.
3) The website will send an email with a password to the email address you provide. Follow the link in the email and login to make your predictions for the tournament.
4) Read the bracket challenge details under the bracket before making your predictions.

We will be updating the standings each week, and will announce our winner immediately following the state championship game. Stay tuned for updates on your Grant Generals and the rest of the teams in the state playoffs.

Bracket Challenge Link

What Has Happened to the PIL?

As we prepare to open the 2014 PIL season this week, the Portland-Metro community has several different topics on their minds. Will Roosevelt’s recent
success in 5A translate to wins at Oregon’s highest level of football? Will Benson be able to turn around their dismal 3-26 record over the last three years? Will Grant and Lincoln return to making deep playoff runs as we were accustomed to seeing over the majority of the last decade?

However, one question looms larger after the first two weeks of Oregon high school football; what is going on with the PIL lately?

Take a moment to reminisce on some of the talented high school football stars to come and go from the PIL over the last 15 years.

Names like Conner Kavanaugh, Kenneth Acker, Ndamukong Suh, and Alex Green come to mind. To the close observer, even names such as the Colasurdo brothers, John Sheffield, and Daniel Halverson bring back great memories.

We think of heroic single game performances like Michael Johnson having 17 tackles in Lincoln’s state championship loss to Jesuit, or of Paris Penn shredding defenses for the better part of three seasons.

Amazing battles between Grant and Lincoln with PIL championship implications on the line sear our brains with lasting images. Franticly played playoff games such as Wilson’s 2003 showdown with eventual state champions Tigard and, as previously mentioned, Lincoln’s epic battle with Jesuit for the 2005 state title in what many consider the best championship game in Oregon’s history. This is the PIL that was feared throughout the state at times.

Fast forward to present day and what are we left with? Over the last 5 years the league has shifted from having two teams playing in the quarterfinals in 2009, to only having two actual Portland-based teams in the league in 2011, to now; a league that went 1-17 in non-league play and is desperately trying to stay relevant in what is starting to turn into a high school football hot-bed in the state of Oregon.

Can this poor performance be chalked up to schools scheduling some of the tougher teams in the state? In the cases of Roosevelt and Grant, the answer is yes as both teams have played a top ten team in the first two weeks. If you glance at the rest of the league, the numbers start to look downright embarrassing.

Wilson has scored a combined 7 points against two 5A opponents. Cleveland has been blown out by Century and Aloha, not exactly who comes to mind when thinking of the Metro League elite. On average, PIL defenses have given up 42.3 points a game, while putting up a subpar 14.8 points a game on offense. If you exclude Lincoln, the only team in the league with a win this season, those numbers get even worse on both sides of the ball, at 44.8 and 12.3, respectively.

While it is inevitable that teams such as Lincoln, Grant, and Roosevelt will find their form (and by virtue of having to play other PIL teams, wins) it is self-destructive for these teams to ignore the fact that they are slipping towards the bottom of the state in terms of fielding competitive rosters. If there isn’t a resurgence of popularity in downtown Portland high school football, these numbers will continue to dwindle.

The PIL has some of the most unique and intriguing settings in the entire state to watch a football game, and some up and coming talent to try and change the ways of recent league memory. If these schools are able to combine their community and their teams to grow together, we could be looking at some serious growth in talent and competitiveness among the state’s elite.

Who says a PIL team can’t have sustained success like teams such as Lake Oswego, Sheldon, Jesuit, and Central Catholic? In many cases, it isn’t always the facilities or number of players on a team that results in on field success, but rather the attitude of the team and the community surrounding each school. A never back down, take on all comers approach has been what has hardened these powerhouses into what they are today.

Every school should be taking notes on the way these teams approach a game, how they seem solely focused on making themselves better no matter who their competition is during any given week. It is a fact ladies and gentlemen, that competition breeds excellence, and the sooner the PIL finds this out, the sooner they can return to the glory days of old.