Paladin

Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Sports

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Seven names, facts, teams, and topics from the week of LBCC football:

It was definitely a strange week of football. Missouri being upset by Oklahoma State, Florida putting up 51 points on an LSU squad that only allowed 64 points all year, Arizona beating Dallas in overtime on a blocked punt, after a 52-yard game tying field goal sent Dallas into the extra period.

In the spirit of confusion, let us begin by pondering on this: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4 minutes and 32 seconds, 7-0 Vikings. The rest of the game: 55minutes, 37 seconds, 33-0 [1] Grossmont. For the Viking faithful it was like taking a hot girl your friend recommended out on a date and then having her leave you after eating the appetizers.

Brandon Bogotay [2], Grossmont's kicker, had a big game for the Griffins. The freshman had four field goals and scored 15 of his teams 33 points, missing a 59-yard field goal by inches. More importantly, he gave the Griffins the edge in the field position battle hitting four of his seven kick-offs for touchbacks.

The game could better be understood as a big time blockbuster movie that starts out fast, gives up the plot in the first 15 minutes and then is a dud. This year's Hancock with Will Smith comes to mind…

Practice. Practice. Practice. [4] Specifically, special teams practice. Two tipped punts, one attempted fake punt run to no avail, and one fake punt pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Last week's edition of the Slant challenged the Vikings special teams to make big plays. That didn't happen. Instead, they gave those big plays over to Grossmont. You can't play special teams like that if you want to win the conference [5].

Prior to the game I asked Coach Reisbig the key to the game, he said it was the kicking game… It certainly failed against Grossmont and was one of the prevailing factors in the Viking loss.

This year is the inaugural year of the Southern California Football Association [6].

The Vikings play in the Southern Conference of the Association, which is arguably the best in the state. After looking at the standings, if LBCC wants to win the conference, or be considered for the state playoffs, they will have to win out and/or get some help from other teams around the conference.

The way I see it, a bad break here and a good break there and the Vikings are 4-1 and contending. They will be hard-pressed to win out.

Extra Point

This week's extra point is all about protection because without protection, you can't kick that point after successfully.

With the evolving style of football going over to faster defenses and smarter pass rushers, it is imperative that the offensive line works to protect the quarterback. This past weekend the LBCC offensive line [7] gave up nine sacks.

After the game, Viking quarterback Josh Powell was grimacing as I spoke briefly with him about the game. Let's hope that this week's game against perennial power Saddleback College proves to be different. Saddleback is ranked 17th in the state sacking the quarterback. They average just fewer than two per game.

I have the Vikings winning a close one 31-28.

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