Hemingford

[CoeJollins]

I thought it might be interesting to try and put into perspective how good Hemingford's defense is this year. What I've done is took the halftime scores from every game except the Blue Hill 2nd Round playoff game, where I knew the starters had played all 4 quarters (halftime score was 0-0, final was 12-6). Through 11 games, Hemingford has outscored their opponents 575 - 38 by HALF TIME! That averages out to be 52 - 3 per game at halftime over 11 games. If you add in the Blue Hill score for the entire game, it is 587 - 44.

Hemingford has played 6 teams that have qualified for the state playoffs (Twin Loup, Perkins County, Shelton, Blue Hill, Sutherland, and Fullerton). In those games, the halftime scores were a combined 263 - 32. That averages out to be 44 - 5 at halftime per game. Again, if you add in the entire Blue Hill game it is 275 - 38.

The Bobcat starters have only allowed 7 touchdowns and 1 2-point conversion all year.

I just wanted to share those stats as I found them to be stunning. What do you think?

 

[BlueBud10]

I think you guys are pretty good. But you don't have to come on here posting stats to prove it, let the kids do it on the field. Which they have been doing and I think they will continue to do this week.

 

[SPbObRT]

not wanting to call anybody out here but does anybody remember what SAKHUSKER just went thru when he tried to do this. it wasn't pretty, and I agree with the above poster, let the kids play it out on the field not on a message board so they can toot their own horns so to speak.

 

[CoeJollins]

My apologies. But, honestly, the kids ARE doing the talking. They have been for the past two years. I'm just trying to shed some light on their achievements this year. I'm not coming on here to say that they are going to beat Elm Creek. Anything can happen at this point in the season. Elm Creek didn't get to the semis on accident. It was a great quarterfinal match-up last year and proves to be an even better semifinal match-up this year. I was just shocked to go back and see exactly how dominant they've been and thought that you guys on the message boards would enjoy the stats. Especially since most of the people that use this message board are from the eastern part of the state and don't get to see this group of guys until the playoffs. I simply found the stats to be interesting and wanted to share.

Elm Creek had an awesome showing last night against Creighton. Defense was a HUGE factor in their victory. Creighton hadn't scored below 36 points all season. Elm Creek's defense was able to cause turnovers at just the right time, when Creighton would get into the red zone. I'm really looking forward to this semifinal game between two great defenses in Class D1. Good Luck to both teams!

 

[EC junky]

I saw Hemingford last year in Elm Creek and Overton, It is same team didn't loose much. Going to Be a good game, Just remember to turn heat on outside that day, it was alittle to cold in Creighton. GOOD Luck to Both teams.

 

[fat and happy]

Pretty impressive stats CoeJollins. I am not really sure how this got blown out of perspective by the others.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[atlanta_ace]

As a neutral, third party let me say that I more than impressed with Hemingford in Fullerton. You can spew all you want about Ethan Skinner (and he's the real deal; I told Stu Pospisil that he'd start for Grand Island Senior High and it's not even close), but they have some many good parts around him. They are like the perfect 8-man team. Big, but quick lineman. A decent back. A QB who can throw if called upon. Excellent football team, no question.

 

[Breakaway05]

CoeJollins, thanks for the stats, very impressive. Here is a compliment for the Hemmingford crew. I live probably as far away from Hemmingford as anyone in the state and I have heard how good they are!! Thanks for the stats, and they are definitely doing a good job of making a name for themselves!! Good Luck to all teams that are still playing!

 

[fat and happy]

Are you from GI atlanta_ace?

 

[DarinGarfield]

Well written post by CoeJollins. This was not anything other then informing people of some of the very eye opening stats that Hemingford has put up. I absolutely am biased in saying this because I used to coach in Hemingford, but I would say that Hemingford has not gotten as much credit as they deserve. Im in the eastern part of the state now, and many people don't even know that this is the returning state runner-up team that returns a huge part of last years team. CoeJollins did not say anything negative about Elm Creek or Fullerton, or any other team. Hemingford is a very well coached team with a lot of players that are playing with a chip on their shoulders after coming oh so close last year to a state title. A state title by the way which would be the first state title of any kind for Hemingford High School. Keep those stats coming CoeJollins! And keep cheering on those Bobcats, because I will be doing the same! #GUBN

 

[atlanta_ace]

Originally posted by fat and happy:
Are you from GI atlanta_ace?

Yes. But don't you ask for my address.

 

[fat and happy]

Since you are from GI. How do you think GI will do tonight vs a great Omaha North team?

 

[BlueBud10]

CoeJollins: Now that was an impressive statement! What a dominating 4 quarters of football, congrats to them!

 

[EC junky]

Looking at finals score and what Hemingford has done, Blue Hill and Elm Creek should be #2 and #3. West alot tougher than people thought. Congrats to Hemingford on great 2 yr run. Hope final ratings give little respect to west.

 

[Football2274]

1. Hemmingford 2. BDS 3. Blue Hill 4. GACC 5. Elm Creek. After watching all of these teams except GACC this is how I would rank the top 5. All very good teams and well coached. Congrats to all of them for great seasons. Now we can all start dreaming about next year.

This post was edited on 11/25 12:00 AM by Football2274

 

[hambenkbr]

Wow....did BDS have anybody hurt in yesterdays final? That was not the same team that just beat Heartland and GACC in the last 2 games. Hemingford played extremely well and you could see the power game overwhelmed BDS. GACC's two running backs ran all over them too, just couldn't get stops on defense. The wind played a factor yesterday too. BDS QB had game of his life throwing in the semis....wasn't pretty yesterday. All I can say is that it was total domination on the line and on defense by the Bobcats...great job of preparation in that game.

 

[Football2274]

BDS QB Grant Norder broke his hand on the second play of the game but continued to play but was not effective and Kale Klinscmidt, one of their starting backs sprained his MCL on the first series for BDS and wasn't able to go the rest of the game. BDS had terrible starting position inside their own 10 yard line all but a couple series all day. Not taking anything away from Hemmingford, because they played a very inspired game. Both teams should be proud of their seasons. It just wasn't BDS's day.

 

[CoeJollins]

Defense wins Championships, PERIOD! The Bobcat defense was too fast, strong, and aggressive for BDS to handle. Did it help that Hemingford had reason to be a little more motivated than BDS? Yes, but the Bobcats have been playing with that chip on their shoulders the ENTIRE season. Every play, every game! I love the fact that they were able to showcase that to the entire state yesterday. As for Norder and the conditions, the real reason he wasn't as productive was because he hadn't seen a defense like Hemingford's all year. The Bobcats attacked every play, instead of reading and waiting for the ball to get to them, they shucked their blockers to get into the backfield and disrupted the timing of the offense. Was it the same team that beat GACC and Heartland? Yes. Nothing less, nothing more. All credit goes to the Bobcats and the coaching staff that spent timeless hours preparing for this game, just like they do every game. Hats off to BDS for their tremendous season. The Eagles played hard and never gave up. The tough-nosed, knock-down drag-out character of every Bobcat was just too much for them to handle. Great job, Bobcats!

 

[CoeJollins]

Oh, and thank you, BlueBud for your comment! That is a very special group of seniors that will definitely be missed. But their display of hard work and attitude will live on through the program. They not only won a state championship, but also fueled a fire in younger generations in Hemingford.

ECJunky, I agree with you. I do believe that the West had tough competition. I just don't know if the media will see it that way. I hope they do, because the improvements that Blue Hill made throughout the year were impressive. Elm Creek is right there too. Those two games were AWESOME high school football games. Both teams deserve a lot of credit. I would guess that the final rankings would look similar to this in the end:
1. HEMINGFORD
2. BDS
3. Elm Creek
4. GACC
5. Blue Hill
6. Friend
7. Creighton
8. Heartland
9. Fullerton
10. Amherst or Burwell

This post was edited on 11/25 11:22 PM by CoeJollins

This post was edited on 11/26 4:44 PM by CoeJollins

 

[Football2274]

CJ, I would agree with you about everything except you assessment of Norder. I agree Hemms defense was the best he had seen all year but with all do respect the kid had a broken hand and played the whole game. Having watched him perform in the past, I can assure you it was a big part of his production, or lack of it. Their passing game is what opens things up for the run game. Again I'm not trying to take anything away from Hemm, but when a team is forced to be one dementional they become much easier to defend.

 

[huskerfan1414]

First of all, congrats to Hemingford on an outstanding comeback season after last year's heartbreaking loss. They are obviously the cream of the crop in D1 this season. I don't think anyone would have beat them. I was most impressed with their fullback and the coaching staff that got him the ball. He hit the holes hard.

Joe Collins, you are obviously a fan of Hemingford. There is nothing wrong with that. However, it skews your viewpoint of other teams. The qb from BDS having a broken hand (if true) and other injuries absolutely played into the blowout. He's the best quarterback in class D1 period and any injury (plus wind) would affect that.

If these state finals prove anything, it's that matchups matter. Different teams match up better with different teams. For example, Elm Creek played Hemingford much closer than BDS did. Does it mean Elm Creek is 30 points better than BDS? Heck, no. We don't know that Elm Creek would be able to match up with BDS' passing game the way Hemingford did. Or take Gacc. They played very well against power running teams like Howells and Friend, but then lost to BDS and from what I read BDS threw all over them but didn't get hardly any running yards. Gacc ran all over BDS just like Hemingford did. Gacc also beat Friend, who beat BDS. It's all about match ups.

Look at Heartland. A lot of people (including me) thought they were the team to beat in the East. Turns out that BDS defense plays well against spread teams, but not so much against power teams. I think a team like Howells or Gacc would have played Hemingford closer than BDS did, but Hemingford would have beaten anybody. Hemingford proved they are good against any style of team, from power running teams like Elm Creek to spread pass teams like BDS.

Heck, look at class A. Omaha Central would have played North way closer than Prep did. Again, it's about match ups. I've never really gotten into the whole east/west split thing being that big of a deal. Anyone who says Hemingford played nobody in the regular season is justified saying it. But Hemingford proves that doesn't matter. There are great teams west and great teams east. I would not argue with anyone saying that Elm Creek should be number two in the rankings, but the top four should be the semi-final teams, period. They earned it. And after all, what really matters is that title.

Now, if we could only get a re-match of Exeter and Hemingford lined up, we'd be in for some GREAT football! Wish it could happen! Two great teams that can win in tight situations! Congrats to all state teams on great seasons.

 

[Football2274]

Bravo Huskerfan 1414. That was a spot on reply. The season gave us some teams that surprised us and it confirmed what we suspected about other teams. The question now is, how will teams reload for next year? There are teams like Heartland and Hemmingford that are heavy with seniors. Will they have enough talent left to make a run deep into November next year and who are the teams that have a lot of young talent that will step up to replace a talent pool as good as any we have seen in recent memory. Next seasons champions will start their season now. It's a never ending cycle and the teams that understand that have an advantage on the rest of the field. Aw the circle of life.

 

[CoeJollins]

Huskerfan, you're right. Match-ups do matter. The Blue Hill game and Elm Creek games were tough match-ups because of sheer size. BDS was a tough match-up for Hemingford because of BDS' offensive scheme. They hadn't seen anything like it all year. I'm not trying to take anything away from what Grant Norder or BDS accomplished this season. They were a heck of a football team that didn't get to the State Championship by accident. I just think that if he or his teammates would've remained healthy that the outcome would've been about the same. There's no way to prove it. We will never know. All I do know is that he barely had enough time to hand the ball off to the backs before he was met by 2-3 Bobcat defenders. Would he have still produced the numbers that he did in the previous games without the injury? I don't know. But you can't assume that he would either if it were a calm day because there's no evidence to prove differently. Just speculation. The outcome is what it is. As for the rankings, you're also right. Semi-finalists should be ranked 1-4. They earned that. My opinion is a little biased (ok, maybe a little more than a little) because I witnessed how close the Blue Hill and Elm Creek games were. I just hope that the kids that deserve recognition across the state receive that recognition. It was a great football season. Exciting and history-making (first State Championship for ANY team sport in Hemingford).