D-1AA Bowl matchup
- Thread starter SDDons
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Interesting that very little credit given to Freedom who took the best team in the SJS to the brink of elimination.
Freedom had a great season amd the NCS was very very strong in 2016
Freedom had a great season amd the NCS was very very strong in 2016
I think Freedom deserves a ton of credit. They played great. I am excited to see Ronnie Rivers play at Fresno State next year!
That's a warped way to look at the game - consider Superbowl 50 where defense controlled the tempo of the game shutting down the vaughted Newton offensive team.
To say that the Panthers were a "vaunted offensive" team is a slap in the face to historically vaunted NFL offenses.
Somebody around these parts claims that he is slow.
Good news for St. Mary's is that he'll back next season.
Freedom gets a ton of credit they were a good football team!! In the end though Freedom at its best couldn't beat SM at its worst! I've seen every game SM has played besides bosco game and that was there worst game by a long shot!! Congrats to SM because they showed the heart of a true champion! You don't see the heart and determination until things don't go your way(turnovers and bad calls etc...). On to the next @ Sac state Fri night. Bring home a championship boys!!
I believe I called it that St. Mary's would score over 40 and Freedom would score less than 40. I probably should have said 40 or less. But, I did say it would be close. St. Mary's had 5 turnovers, shot themselves in the foot several times, yet still won. 3 of those 5 turnovers were INT's, including one for a pick six. Gotta credit Freedom's secondary for those picks. They did a great job reading Dunniway's eyes and anticipating where the ball was being thrown. Working the chains, I can tell that those Falcons were quite fired up. Likewise, watching the game play out with some of the best seats in the house, the Rams were just as fired up despite all of the stuff not going their way. In the end, their was great sportsmanship. Kudos to Freedom again for making this game exciting! The Falcons QB played very well, better than St. Mary's this past Friday night and Rivers is fun to watch. However, Frampton is even more fun to watch, especially considering how slow he is perceived to be by some folks from the south.
The Dons will get to see just how "slow" he is. They will get to see what St. Mary's got to see in 2008, a fairly decent size line and some kids who play with much heart, especially the Freight Train his teammates call hillbilly.
The Dons will be bringing to the game a good running game, a dual threat QB, and a WR that is quite tall and will present a challenge for St. Mary's secondary. I anticipate this state championship to be a shootout, just like 2008, just like this past Friday's night game vs Freedom. Only I believe the Rams will have more bullets in their guns. Let's just hope they do not shoot themselves in the foot again and make the mistakes like they did vs Freedom. If the Don's secondary is susceptible against the pass and Dunniway can shake off this last game of his, it could be trouble for the Dons. I'm predicting the Rams will score over 50 and the Dons will score 50 or less. It should be an exciting game, especially being a rematch of 2008. Only this time, the Rams have the bigger line on both sides, along with the RB that is going to tear it up. GO RAMS! Beat them Dons!
The Dons will get to see just how "slow" he is. They will get to see what St. Mary's got to see in 2008, a fairly decent size line and some kids who play with much heart, especially the Freight Train his teammates call hillbilly.
The Dons will be bringing to the game a good running game, a dual threat QB, and a WR that is quite tall and will present a challenge for St. Mary's secondary. I anticipate this state championship to be a shootout, just like 2008, just like this past Friday's night game vs Freedom. Only I believe the Rams will have more bullets in their guns. Let's just hope they do not shoot themselves in the foot again and make the mistakes like they did vs Freedom. If the Don's secondary is susceptible against the pass and Dunniway can shake off this last game of his, it could be trouble for the Dons. I'm predicting the Rams will score over 50 and the Dons will score 50 or less. It should be an exciting game, especially being a rematch of 2008. Only this time, the Rams have the bigger line on both sides, along with the RB that is going to tear it up. GO RAMS! Beat them Dons!
I'm not so sure that wasFreedom at its best but the ability to overcome six turnovers was huge for St Mary's
Some highlights from the Cathedral Catholic vs Narbonne game: http://www.latimes.com/92096588-132.html
Cathedral's starting QB, Tate Haynes, is the son of NFL hall of famer, Michael Haynes, who played for both the Patriots and the Raiders. Cathedral actually has five players on its roster whose fathers played in the NFL: Haynes, John Lynch, Eric Allen, John Carney and Rick Mirer.
In addition to Tate Haynes, players to watch from Cathedral are RB #15 Shawn Poma and WR #4 Antoine Lee. At 6'4", Lee presents the deep threat for the Rams secondary. Haynes is a dual-threat QB who passed for 143 yards and one touchdown and ran for 79 in his game vs Narbonne. The bulk of Cathedral's scoring vs Narbonne occurred in the 3rd quarter with TD's scored after partially blocked punts. St. Mary's punter is also their QB. If there is a weakness St. Mary's has in their game, other than their secondary showing some breakdowns on big plays, it is their punting game because they rarely turn to it. A blocked Dunniway punt in the SJB game was the big momentum changer in that game.
St. Mary's has faced its share of dual-threat QB's this year, but outside of Nunn from Serra and Brookshire from CN, Haynes will be their toughest test against such a talented athlete. IMHO, I believe the Rams' D will do fine against the Dons' running game and even do okay vs Haynes. Not saying the Rams will completely shutdown the Dons' running game, but I believe they will get enough stops to force Haynes to throw the ball more than he is accustomed to. But, that's where I have some concerns. The Rams' secondary, which has been just fine in games prior, has given up some big plays vs Folsom and vs Freedom, including much penalties for pass interference vs Folsom. Facing 6'4" Antoine Lee is going to be a big challenge and could be a matchup problem as the tallest player in the Rams' secondary is #22 Tre Jenkins at 6'1. Also, the Dons are good at pressuring the QB, averaging nearly 4 sacks a game, and we also need to take into account the partially blocked punts they had against Narbonne. The Dons sealed their victory over Narbonne with a QB sack at their own 17 yard line on 3rd and 2 with 3.7 sec left in the game. But, I am confident in the Ram's o-line. If they can continue to dominate, it will be another big game for Rams' RB Dusty Frampton, and if the Dons' secondary is susceptible as report to the passing game, I am confident Rams' QB Jake Dunniway will bounce back and have a big game, as well. But, this is the championship game and defense wins championships. The Rams' defense stepped up big vs Freedom and Folsom, when it needed to in order for the Rams to win. Giving up 5 turnovers to 1 vs Freedom meant the Falcons had 4 more opportunities to score than the Rams. Yet, they lost by 2 scores. Gotta credit the Rams defense, even though it gave up 4 TD's vs Freedom (Freedom's other scores were on a pick six and a return for TD by Rivers against St. Mary's special teams). After securing a 28-7 lead vs Narbonne, Cathedral found themselves in a tied game with just over a minute to play before they scored the winning TD. If the Rams can play good defense against the Dons, they should have no problem winning this game, even though they are the underdog per Calpreps (35-34, the same projection the Rams faced vs Folsom). Their offense is just too good. Maybe a bit "slow" at RB, but I am confident the freight train will keep chugging along. Chugga chugga chugga chugga ... choo choo! All aboard the Frampton Express!
Cathedral's starting QB, Tate Haynes, is the son of NFL hall of famer, Michael Haynes, who played for both the Patriots and the Raiders. Cathedral actually has five players on its roster whose fathers played in the NFL: Haynes, John Lynch, Eric Allen, John Carney and Rick Mirer.
In addition to Tate Haynes, players to watch from Cathedral are RB #15 Shawn Poma and WR #4 Antoine Lee. At 6'4", Lee presents the deep threat for the Rams secondary. Haynes is a dual-threat QB who passed for 143 yards and one touchdown and ran for 79 in his game vs Narbonne. The bulk of Cathedral's scoring vs Narbonne occurred in the 3rd quarter with TD's scored after partially blocked punts. St. Mary's punter is also their QB. If there is a weakness St. Mary's has in their game, other than their secondary showing some breakdowns on big plays, it is their punting game because they rarely turn to it. A blocked Dunniway punt in the SJB game was the big momentum changer in that game.
St. Mary's has faced its share of dual-threat QB's this year, but outside of Nunn from Serra and Brookshire from CN, Haynes will be their toughest test against such a talented athlete. IMHO, I believe the Rams' D will do fine against the Dons' running game and even do okay vs Haynes. Not saying the Rams will completely shutdown the Dons' running game, but I believe they will get enough stops to force Haynes to throw the ball more than he is accustomed to. But, that's where I have some concerns. The Rams' secondary, which has been just fine in games prior, has given up some big plays vs Folsom and vs Freedom, including much penalties for pass interference vs Folsom. Facing 6'4" Antoine Lee is going to be a big challenge and could be a matchup problem as the tallest player in the Rams' secondary is #22 Tre Jenkins at 6'1. Also, the Dons are good at pressuring the QB, averaging nearly 4 sacks a game, and we also need to take into account the partially blocked punts they had against Narbonne. The Dons sealed their victory over Narbonne with a QB sack at their own 17 yard line on 3rd and 2 with 3.7 sec left in the game. But, I am confident in the Ram's o-line. If they can continue to dominate, it will be another big game for Rams' RB Dusty Frampton, and if the Dons' secondary is susceptible as report to the passing game, I am confident Rams' QB Jake Dunniway will bounce back and have a big game, as well. But, this is the championship game and defense wins championships. The Rams' defense stepped up big vs Freedom and Folsom, when it needed to in order for the Rams to win. Giving up 5 turnovers to 1 vs Freedom meant the Falcons had 4 more opportunities to score than the Rams. Yet, they lost by 2 scores. Gotta credit the Rams defense, even though it gave up 4 TD's vs Freedom (Freedom's other scores were on a pick six and a return for TD by Rivers against St. Mary's special teams). After securing a 28-7 lead vs Narbonne, Cathedral found themselves in a tied game with just over a minute to play before they scored the winning TD. If the Rams can play good defense against the Dons, they should have no problem winning this game, even though they are the underdog per Calpreps (35-34, the same projection the Rams faced vs Folsom). Their offense is just too good. Maybe a bit "slow" at RB, but I am confident the freight train will keep chugging along. Chugga chugga chugga chugga ... choo choo! All aboard the Frampton Express!
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Dusty "do you feel like we do" Frampton?
Come on man I know you were thinking it, someone had to say it!
I actually was thinking more, Dusty "show me the way" Frampton.
Hey bulldogmgc, you are a true fan of the St. Mary's Rams football program and high school football in general. I'll be pulling big time for your Rams come this weekend. I know we've had our beef back in the day, day but I respect your passion and informative post for this game that we all love. Good luck and go Rams!!!
Fight On!!!
CT4L
Uh, that's what St. Mary's does, too. Just watch the SJB game or even when Dunniway punted vs Freedom the one time on Friday. However, there may be a point that SM won't need to punt vs Cathedral?
Congratulations on St Mary's earning a trip to state, I wish them well. My son shared a dorm room with Cutler Salmon his freshman year in college. Can you tell us about the season Cutler's younger brother is having with the Rams? I hear he's an outstanding football player and even better wrestler?
Ah gotcha.I saw the SJB game but it was so one sided after the first quarter how they punted didn't enter my thoughts
St.Marys line play on both sides of the ball was the difference in this game.Freedom actually seemed to have the better athletes at the skill positions, but Frampton running behind that line when he's already a load was just too much. Yes, SM had 5 turnovers to help make it closer,but they also got a little luck on that Hail Mary to right before the half. Better team won though, make no mistake.
I think this is going to be a great game and St Mary's may beat us but they will not score close to 50.
Actually, the luck on that Hail Mary catch just before the half ended was not with SM. A penalty for illegal man downfield was called against the Rams. However, the refs made a big mistake with this call, because the man downfield was non other than #21 Dusty Frampton, the RB. Check the tape (1:46.15 thru 1:46.35 mark on nfhsnetwork.com video replay of the game). For those of you who do not have a subscription, Frampton stayed with the line to provide extra protection, blocked his man near the line of scrimmage, separated from the line, and broke away to be open for a pass as a second option. No other Ram went past 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. So the luck on this play was really with Freedom. Freedom had the choice to decline the penalty and accept SM's TD or take the yards and replay the down as a final play for the first half with zero time on the clock. What choice do you think the Freedom coach took? Hint: SM did not score on replaying the down. Instead, both teams left the field with the score SM 28 Freedom 20.
I'm a true believer that defense wins championships so I hope the St. Mary's coaches put extra emphasis on defense this week. If they do, it's a wrap.
CT4L
Watching tape on Cathedral's Nate Haynes reminds me of Serra's Leki Nunn. Only Nate appears to be a slightly better passer and Leki a bit faster runner, but Haynes has wheels. Both have that tall slender look and both elusive. Not quite the same caliber as the QB at SJB, but still very, very good. Despite going up against quite a few teams with dual-threat QB, the Rams have their hands full with the BC commit. I'm more concerned about the match-up vs their tall WR Antoine Lee. The running game by CC's backs just means more to prepare for. Again, I anticipate a shootout. Both teams are going to score, just like 2008. It's only Monday. Friday couldn't get here any sooner. Win or lose, this is going to be a great game! Just praying for the refs to not get in the way and no one gets injured. Also, hoping for an unforced turnover free game, so we can witness both teams playing at their best. GO RAMS!!!
The sections' representation for SBG championship games are as follows:
CCS: 3 teams of 5 slots - 60%;
CS: 2 teams of 6 slots - 33%
LAS: 0 teams of 3 slots - 0%
NCS: 4 teams of 6 slots - 67%
NS: 1 team of 4 slots - 25%
OS: 1 team of 1 slot - 100% (either 0% or 100%)
SDS: 4 teams of 6 slots - 67%
SFS: 0 teams of 1 slot - 0% (either 0% or 100%)
SJS: 4 teams of 7 slots - 57%
SS: 7 teams of 13 slots - 54%
CCS: 3 teams of 5 slots - 60%;
CS: 2 teams of 6 slots - 33%
LAS: 0 teams of 3 slots - 0%
NCS: 4 teams of 6 slots - 67%
NS: 1 team of 4 slots - 25%
OS: 1 team of 1 slot - 100% (either 0% or 100%)
SDS: 4 teams of 6 slots - 67%
SFS: 0 teams of 1 slot - 0% (either 0% or 100%)
SJS: 4 teams of 7 slots - 57%
SS: 7 teams of 13 slots - 54%
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Also interesting is that all of the CS teams that played in NorCal lost, while they won 2/3 in SoCal.
There are three Leagues in California's State Bowl Games represented by multiple teams:
CCS - West Catholic
Serra-San Mateo D2-A vs Sierra Canyon
Valley Christian D2-AA vs Madison
SDS - Coastal
Bishop's D3-A vs Oakdale
La Jolla Country Day D5-A vs McClymonds
SDS - Western
Cathedral Catholic D1-AA vs St. Mary's
Madison D2-AA vs Valley Christian
CCS - West Catholic
Serra-San Mateo D2-A vs Sierra Canyon
Valley Christian D2-AA vs Madison
SDS - Coastal
Bishop's D3-A vs Oakdale
La Jolla Country Day D5-A vs McClymonds
SDS - Western
Cathedral Catholic D1-AA vs St. Mary's
Madison D2-AA vs Valley Christian
Interesting connection between the head coaches from Cathedral Catholic and St. Mary's shared in an article from the (Stockton) Record.
The podcast between the Record's Thomas Lawrence and Coach Tony Franks is quite interesting, too, long but interesting, if you have the time.
In the podcast he pays a bit of respect and admiration for former Folsom coach Troy Taylor, when asked if he had to hand the reins over as head coach of St. Mary's, who would he pick. Coach Franks recognized that Coach Troy Taylor had moved on, but still picked him out of the bunch. He even had to go outside of the 209 area code when the question spoke to local coaches.
When asked who is going to win this Friday, I don't think his response would surprise anyone. Curious? Listen to the podcast.
Praying this game is even better than the 2008 game. GO RAMS!!!
The podcast between the Record's Thomas Lawrence and Coach Tony Franks is quite interesting, too, long but interesting, if you have the time.
In the podcast he pays a bit of respect and admiration for former Folsom coach Troy Taylor, when asked if he had to hand the reins over as head coach of St. Mary's, who would he pick. Coach Franks recognized that Coach Troy Taylor had moved on, but still picked him out of the bunch. He even had to go outside of the 209 area code when the question spoke to local coaches.
When asked who is going to win this Friday, I don't think his response would surprise anyone. Curious? Listen to the podcast.
Praying this game is even better than the 2008 game. GO RAMS!!!
Curious, wondering if the St. Mary's High School Rams cheerleaders are going to be at the game tonight? In 2008, the cheerleaders nor the drill team made the trip to Carson and the Rams lost. I think the Rams were the only team that didn't have their cheerleaders. St. Mary's, best step up! GO RAMS!!!
Wasn't petty but we got the win. Great job by the Rams, those boys should hold their heads up high. Bad decisions by the coaching in the RZ cost them the game. Great season for St Mary's and it was a nail bitter to the end.
We keep it "classy in San Diego" so I won't address all the comments and predictions above.
We keep it "classy in San Diego" so I won't address all the comments and predictions above.
It's all in good fun. There's really only one poster on here who's probably calling Larry's suicide hotline right now and everyone knows who he is. Great game though and congrats to the Dons!
Wow! Great game! Kudos to the Dons! Well deserved win. Way to hang in there and snatch the game away from us. God bless and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Like I said before the game.. I have no dog in this fight but I was pulling for St. Mary's tonight. That said, congrats on you guys win and have a safe ride back to Diego.
CT4L
Btw. I also very much admired how the Dons got on their knees and prayed going into OT. It worked. Again, Merry Xmas and safe travels back home.
