da raaaaaiders!!

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:33 am

As some of you know I’m coaching (not the head coach) a Pop-Warner team called the Raiders. I thought with this being our inaugural year, it might be fun to keep you guys informed on how we’re doing. This week we have Harrington they finished 2nd in the league, we scouted them last week and there’re good. They have a very fast back that is going to give our D a few problems. On D we think we can score on them, of course this was before our QB went down with a sprained ACL he’s out 2-3 weeks. We saw some holes we could exploit with our passing game, but know with our QB out we have to rely on the run. Our backs are very fast, but the o-line is slow, and a little timid, we’ll find out a lot about them come Sunday (they moved the game from Sat. to Sun. so I’m missing the game because I’ll be at FedEx). Anyway will update after I get the report from my son and the head coach and of course I have my wife taping it so I’ll see for myself.

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:46 am

Good Luck Brandon and the rest of the Raiders.

Jake · Post by **Jake** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 12:53 pm

I second that, JF. Good luck Brandon.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:54 am

We took it on the chin last week got stomped 27-7 We could not tackle and our tailbacks fumbled 4 times.

Worked on tacking all week our backs carried the football everywhere and served as tackling Dummies.

OK on the Dad side my son had a good day on O but he's got to tackle better!!!

We play Cape today so we'll see if practice paid off!

SkinsChic · Post by **SkinsChic** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:19 am

Good Luck Dad and Brandon !!! Let us know :-)

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:00 am

Well we lost another one...I was very proud of our kids though since they made a great comeback. Brandon had the best game of his young career!! We got down 19-0 with a little over two min. to go in the first half. Then we got a big run from our halfback off of (what I told Brandon was his best play of the game) a great block by Brandon. Then I guess they decided to try and get that score back before half...by throwing...Brandon picked off the a pass and took it 60 for a touchdown and then made a catch for two points cutting it to 19-14 at the half. The second half was about the same..our D couldn't stop them they went up 25-14 and Brandon picked off his second pass and return it to the 20 from there we punched it in but lost 25-20. As a coach I'm dissapointed we didn't "play" the whole game as a dad it was hard not to be excited about the game your son had. After the game I could see he was excited about his game but his first words were..It would have been so much better to have this kind of game if we had won. Needless to say I'm very proud of him!!

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:11 am

Good job Brandon. Keep playing your butt off and the wins will come.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:12 am

Wow didn’t realize how long it had been since I updated this thread. Well our season ended Sunday when we lost in the playoffs!! Yes the playoffs!! After losing our first four (remember we were a expansion team this was our first year in the league) we won four straight (the last three were shutouts!)

We played Cape at their place Sunday morning. This is a team we got beat by 6-0 on an interception return earlier in the season, so we felt good about being able to win this one. We lost 13-12 very good game. Two plays that really hurt us were…Our safety (my son) got hurt on a blocked punt play and missed a series on D, they threw a TD over our second string safety for a score. We stopped them late in the game and were driving for the wining score with about 3 min to go when our RB fumbled. We only had one timeout we burned it, they got a first...ballgame.

Their coaches addressed our team after the game and said they couldn’t believe the turnaround we had, they had written us off after September, and we gave them a battle today. It really didn’t makes our kids feel better, they expected to win.

I couldn’t be much prouder of being associated with such a great team; this was the most fun I’ve ever had with any team. Coming back like that was better then going undefeated. We are only losing one starter, we will be back!!

On a personal note…(I’m not one who really boast about me or my family) I just want to say how proud I am of my son, he battled all year learning a new position on D. He led the team in receptions/interceptions, anytime we needed a big pass play he stepped up. When our season was going down the drain he kept his head up… it him who made a big interception and returned it for a TD that sparked are first win and got us on a roll. But the biggest thing he did was to do all with dignity…I know he talks a lot of smack in the parking lot at FedEx, but on the field he was all class…always giving the ball to the ref…with all the extra points he scored this year no one hit the endzone as much as him and he always gave credit to his QB and line. The coaches will be meeting soon to plan our awards banquets and I have already heard his name mention as MVP. No, he’s not the best player on the team by any stretch; he’s only being mentioned because of the way he did it. As a coach I really appreciate players like him, as a father how can you not be proud?? Way to go B!!!

After the loss he cried big crocodile tears, he needed his dad not his coach. All I could do was hug him and tell him how proud I was of him. His mom and I had made the decision to let him go to the night game Sunday and let him be late for school on Monday (since his birthday is this week) I’m glad we did. A Skins victory over the Eagles was good medicine for him.

SkinsChic · Post by **SkinsChic** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:26 am

Awwwwwwwwww....Congrats Brandon !! We know you're a great kid with a lot of class. And I know your mom and dad are very proud of you. We at thehogs.net are too. Glad the Skins gave you a birthday Win !! Enjoy your day.

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:00 pm

Congrats Brandon. No matter how things go, carrying your self with pride and dignity makes you a winner.

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:16 pm

You telling your son you're proud of him, and tell him again. What a great thread and nice read - ah memories. I've never had so much fun as when coaching football. Those kids will always remember you. You'll be amazed when a kid comes up to you 15 years later and thanks you for your efforts. Dude, you made my whole day! Brandon's a lucky kid, so many fathers barely know what their kids are doing at all - much less getting involved on a daily basis.... beautiful thing here man!

Amberion · Post by **Amberion** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:12 pm

Well done Brandon and his dad