That perception couldn't be more wrong!
Sure Ubly did get down 8-6 early, the first time they trailed all season, but responded by shutting out the Eagles for the rest of the first three quarters, en route to a 50-8 lead.
At that point, Ubly coach Bill Sweeney called the dogs off and coach Jim Becker put in "last team defense," which I would believe is the third string defense (someone correct me if I'm wrong).
However, the Eagles, clinging to playoff life (although they're getting in at 5-4 if they win next week), left their first team in and started cutting into the lead.
It started with a TD pass, a recovered onside kick followed and then another score, which cut it to 50-22 at that point.
The Ubly offense came in and coughed up the ball, which led to another TD for the Eagles, cutting the deficit to 20 points (50-20).
The first team Ubly offense came in and scored in 0:35 seconds to take the 56-30 edge.
Deckerville got the ball back and converted a 4 and 6 near midfield when Ubly got called for pass interference. The next play, Justin Cleary picked off a pass and nearly took it back for a score, but another P.I. call went against the Bearcats.
Which opened up the door for Deckerville to pass for one final TD to cut the deficit to 56-36.
The Bearcats got the ball back and kneeled, but Deckerville used one of their two remaining timeouts, forcing Ubly to run for a first down so they could kneel and end the game.
My two cents: I'm sure people will once again hold this score against Ubly, but it was a dominant defensive effort.
I truly expect those who know little about Ubly and vote in the state polls to use this close game to drop the Bearcats further in the state polls.
As for the game, I can see keeping the first string in a bit to keep them sharp and work on the pass game, but much like the Harbor Beach game earlier this year, I felt this got out of hand. One onside kick fine, maybe two, but beyond that...
Coudl they really have expected to win? Then to call timeouts during a kneel down...that broke a cardinal rule.
Had it been me, I would have either thrown the ball or ran it with the intention of scoring one more time to make a point. Kudos to Bill Sweeney for being a bigger person and not really being bothered by the late scores.
In stead he just cares about finishing the season with one more win and getting ready for the playoffs.
2 comments:
Regarding Deckerville calling a timeout while Ubly was taking a knee:
Don't your think Bill Brown might have been trying to get another score...sure they could never win, but if you are beaten by a state-rated unbeaten team 56-44, rather than 56-36, it builds the morale of your team. I think it was more for the psychology of Brown's team heading into the playoff's (I think they will get there), rather than for making Ubly look like a worse team. Of course, you are from Huron County and close to the Bearcats and I grew up in Deckerville (although live far away), so we have different perspectives on the motives.
To me it is a question of sportsmanship.
Ubly took it easy on Deckerville, playing their second and third strings for around 10-12 minutes, beginning with about 4 minuts to go in the third and then the last defense getting in a couple minutes later.
They called off the dogs.
Had they wanted to, they could have played both their first offense and defense and made this much more lopsided.
You noticed when the first offense returned with three minutes to go or so, they scored in 35 seconds.
Sure it is great for Deckerville to try and tighten the score, which is what they did the first or second time they onside kicked.
If we are talking playoffs, what kind of momentum does Deckerville get from putting up points on Ubly's third team? None.
If anything, this games exposes some big concerns about the Eagle defense, which couldn't stop the Bearcats in this game.
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