Day After Report: Battle Ground 42, Heritage 0
The Tigers got a big crowd for a Thursday night game, improving to 4-1. This is what happens when a program starts winning. Are they a playoff team? We’ll find out in a few weeks. But we know for certain they are contenders.
BATTLE GROUND 42, HERITAGE 0
The offense has scored 111 points in the past two games. The defense got its second shutout of the season. That’s a quality combination.
Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed:
His name is Reed Thompson. Only, you have to add a few more e’s to his name when he does good things on the field. A bunch of e’s when he does things like he did Friday night in a 39-second span of the second quarter.
With Battle Ground ahead 21-0, Thompson intercepted a Heritage pass with 1:51 to go in the first half.
Oh, what the heck, might as well stay on the field and play some offense, too. (Thompson is one of three running backs the Tigers use on a rotating basis. He made the best of this turn in the backfield.)
After an incomplete pass and a penalty on the Heritage defense, it was all Thompson.
He caught a pass for a 13-yard gain.
He ran up the middle, using a juke move more commonly seen in a video game, to break free for a 35-yard gain to the 1-yard line.
Then the Battle Ground coaches rewarded Thompson with the ball on the next play: A 1-yard TD run.
Interception. Reception. Long run. Short run. Touchdown Thompson.
Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!
Mad Max:
Actually, I don’t really think Max Randle is mad. He just plays angry. As in, get-your-hands-off-my-football angry.
His second touchdown reception of the game would have sent the nation into a buzz had it been in an NFL game.
First, he had to battle for the ball. It was kind of like a jump-ball situation. Randle and the defender. Both went up, Randle came down with the ball.
That was impressive enough.
But wait, there’s more.
Another defender came in for the tackle, while also trying to strip the ball away from Randle.
As the kids say these days:
Nope.
Randle used his strength to hold on to the ball and also dragged said defender with him, eight yards into the end zone.
Take that, Timberwolves, he might as well have been saying. You just were Maxed.
Statistically speaking:
Longtime readers know I love taking football stats, charting every play, making sure every yard is accounted for at any game I cover. During timeouts, I’m often double-checking my numbers. If I’m off a yard, I can find it, because I write down the result of every play and chart the stats.
I would say I’m among the best in the world at doing this. (Hey, what an accomplishment! I can count!) Seriously, it is more than just counting. One must know the statistical rules for football, and they do differ depending on the level of competition. (A sack, for example, is rushing yards in high school, but team passing yards in the NFL.)
Still, even though I am pretty darn good at this, I’m not perfect.
(I will wait a few seconds while you all recover. Most of you just fainted, I’m sure.)
(Still waiting)
(OK, you good?)
Anyway, I was five yards off for my original game report. The worst part, there was nothing glaring at me to say I was off, so I never double-checked the numbers. That’s because I correctly charted the number of yards on one play for one receiver, but then noted the line of scrimmage incorrectly for the beginning of the next play. So what I thought was a 13-yard reception on the next play actually was an 8-yard reception. (Dang! I listed the ball on the 32 when it was the 27.)
Fortunately, I have taught a few people over the years the art of statistics. One of those people just happens to work for Battle Ground football. He stats the games, too. He noticed we were off five yards. One of us had to be wrong.
So he texted me, and I went back to the play in question, and sure enough, it’s there in my notes. It says the ball is on the 32, but it should have said 27.
Thanks for the help, mystery man who used to run a popular website that featured high school football.
By the way, I fixed the numbers online.
Next:
Battle Ground, 4-1, and 2-1 in the 4A GSHL, travels to Doc Harris Stadium in Camas to take on the Papermakers. Camas is 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state. So yeah, kind of a big deal.
