Friday, November 18, 2011

Coldwater 28 West Jefferson Roughriders 6

High School Football
Home Team:
Coldwater Cavaliers
Visiting Team: West Jefferson Roughriders
Venue: Alexander Stadium (Piqua, OH)
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: Doug, Pops

OHSAA State Playoffs, Regional Finals - Division V Region 20

My buddy Doug usually goes to a MAC football game each week throughout the season. With Troy out of the playoffs, I was free to join him. It's always an interesting experience to go to a game without any rooting interest--I watch the game in a completely different way. That was doubly true tonight, as we stood along the fence at a corner of one endzone instead of taking seats in the stands, so I had a field-level view. I liked it, especially being able to see how the players line up and how the plays develop. But it's hard to see the depth of the plays, and that's a pretty significant downside.

Anyway, this looked at first like it might be a pretty decent game. West Jefferson got the ball first and drove down to take the early 6-0 lead, missing the extra point attempt in a stiff wind. That was pretty much it for them, though. Their defense held Coldwater mostly in check in the first half, trailing 7-6 at halftime, but that score was a little deceiving as Coldwater turned the ball over twice on the goal line as they were preparing to score.

In the second half, Coldwater started taking advantage of West Jefferson's inability to cover their receivers deep downfield. They went up 21-6 going into the fourth quarter (after giving up the ball again on the goal line), and that's when we headed out. The final score turned out to be 28-6, but if Coldwater hadn't had all those turnovers, it could have easily been 49-6.

And Piqua's stadium: ick. I'm sure it's my bias showing, at least a little bit, but it just looks chintzy. They do have a nice turf field, though.

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