Special Thanks to Bret Sims for his pre-game analysis, post-game analysis, and Knights Round Table weekly column.
Game Stats: Milford vs. Kings
Coach Olds Corner: Coming Monday
Game Slideshow: Mindseye Photography
(available for purchase on-line – % of proceeds supports Kings Football)
Newspaper Coverage: Pulse-Journal
WKNG Radio: Re-play Podcast
Putter’s WKNG Player of the Game: Jamard Lewis – 4 catches for 142 yards, long of 59 yards and 2 touchdowns all in the first half! Putter’s congratulates Jamard Lewis! Great Game!
WKNG TV:
vs.
Contributed by Bret A. Sims, WKNG Radio
Kings and Milford look to start the season at 2-0 in what is expected to be a high scoring affair for both teams.
FAST FACTS
Head Coaches: Andy Olds (Kings); Shane Elkins (Milford)
Elkins is in his first year of coaching Milford
Milford is 2-13 in the Buckeye Division since joining the conference.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Knights’ running back Jamire Westbrook started his junior season off with a bang in a performance which saw Westbrook rush for 170 yards and three touchdowns as well as a 41-yard TD reception in a 34-21 win over Lebanon. Exploding onto the scene was sophomore Nick Collado had an electrifying 90-yard kickoff return but is very solid as a defense back as well.
Nathan Termuhlen is the monster running back for the Eagles. Termuhlen rushed for over 1100 yards and 20 touchdowns last year and is off to a great start to repeat or beat those numbers. Nathan rushed for 220 yards and five TD’s in the first half alone against Hughes.
KINGS’ KEYS TO VICTORY
The Knights displayed a well balanced offense in their first game of the season which had to please Coach Olds as this was considered the strength of this team by the media in the preseason. With Jamire Westbrook in the backfield and Jemard Lewis & Justin Crull on the sides the Knights have a solid one-two punch. This season the Knights are using a quarterback tandem of Jonny Brewster and Jensen Gephardt that keeps defensives off balance with their different styles. They will need all of their offensive firepower to stay ahead of the Eagles.
Blake Bates leads a linebacking crew that also includes Sean Horan and Austin Copeland that anchors the middle of the field. Bates and fellow teammate and defensive end Tommy Schnee can bring the heat when the Eagles decide to try their passing attack. The Knights need to shut down Nathan Termuhlen and make Milford’s passing game beat them.
EAGLE’S KEYS TO VICTORY
The Eagles game plan is pretty simple. Student body left, student body right, up the middle with Nathan Termuhlen seems to be working well for Milford. Termuhlen is an extremely hard runner that can pound it in the middle or break it to the outside. To make sure the Knights aren’t putting eight men in the box quarterback Frank Sullivan will be called upon to pass just enough to his favorite receiver Shawn Taylor to keep the defense honest.
Kings will have their hands full up front with Nick Sharp who can disrupt any backfield while senior linebacker Adam Chacksfield will be called upon to lead an inexperience group of linebackers.
FINAL TAKE
Both teams have a very talented running back that can put points on the board in a hurry and based on their first game of the season fans can expect to see more of the same. It may take at least 35 points to win this slug fest. The Knights appear to have a little more on the defensive side of the ball but their special teams needs to be better than it was against Lebanon. Knights win in a tight one 35-31.
Keeping up with the FAVC Cardinal: Week 1 results courtesy of Tri-State Football. Everybody put Wilmington puts up a W in Week 1.
Coverage Begins 7:15PM Friday Click WKNG Live to listen or click the WKNG Radion icon above.
Game Summary: Game Stats
Coach Olds Corner: Tale of Two Halves
WKNG Radio: Game Re-Play Podcast : Post- Game Interviews – Head Coach Andy Olds – Defensive Coordinator Chad Seymour – RB/CB Nick Collado – Safety Spencer Rosekrans
Pulse Journal: Slideshow
Contributed by Bret A. Sims, WKNG Radio
On a night when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky the Kings Knights brought a combination of Thunder (Jamire Westbrook) and lightening (Nick Collado) to defeat their arch nemesis to the North, the Lebanon Warriors 34 – 21.
The Knights opened the scoring using a combination of short passes and hard running by Westbrook to march 44-yards ending on a 2-yard plunge by Westbrook, much to the delight of the Kings faithful in attendance and listening on WKNGradio.com.
Not to be outdone the Warriors would step up and answer the call behind running backs Dylan Miles (finished with 169 yards rushing and 1 TD) and Aaron Abbott. Abbott who is only a sophomore displayed his talents and clearly will be the man for the Warriors in the next couple of seasons. Dylan Miles who only stands 5-foot-9 is one of the tougher running backs the Knights’ have seen in a while. Sophomore QB Luke Morgan would end a 9 play, 83-yard drive with a TD toss to wide out Nick Esposito to tie the game at 7-7.
Though the game was tied, it appeared that the huge offensive line that the Warriors brought with them was overwhelming the Knights front line. Miles and Abbott were biting off big chunks of yardage and had it not been for Justin Crull, Nick Collado, Mason Barker and Spencer Rosekrans in the secondary making several tackles the Warriors would have found the end zone more often.
Once the Warriors seemed to get in the red zone their inexperience showed as they were hampered by penalties that took them out of scoring position a couple of times in the first half which was something the Knights’ defense used to their advantage.
Jamire Westbrook came into the season wanting to top 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He managed to get 170 of those yards in tonight’s game to go along with 3 rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore Nick Collado brought the crowd to their feet with a 90-yard kickoff return after Lebanon had tied the score at 7. Collado virtually went untouched in route to the electrifying return and was a precursor of big plays for the Knights.
Kings coaching staff did a great job of making the necessary adjustments on both sides of the ball during halftime and it instantly showed when Jensen Gephardt hit Westbrook on a 41-yard touchdown pass that exhibited Westbrook’s natural ability to maintain his balance with Lebanon’s Nick Esposito hanging on him as he hauled in the pass.
While the Knight’s offense was clicking the difference in the game came on the defensive side of the ball where they seemed to shut down the rushing lanes that had been so open in the first half. Time and time again the defense rose to the occasion, leaving the Warriors frustrated and scoreless.
When Westbrook scored on a 21-yard run to put the Knights up 27-14 in the third quarter it looked like the young Lebanon team would bend to the will of the Knights. But Luke Morgan rallied his team with a combination of passes to all GWOC wide receiver Brody Wolf and smash mouth running by Dylan Miles. Morgan found Wolf in the corner of the end zone on a pass that should why Wolf is as valuable as he fully extended his body to make the diving catch and bring the Warriors to within six points.
Leading 37 to 21 the Knights defense went into more of a conservative mode instead of an attacking mode as they might have been content trying to run out the clock and rely on their defense that had found new life in the second half.
After turning back the Warriors and with time running out the Knights found themselves in a fourth-and-one situation on Lebanon’s 39-yard line. On a play that seemed very similar to the Super Bowl years ago between the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins when John Riggins of the Redskins bounced off tackle and took it to the house so did Westbrook. Westbrook’s score at the 1:21 minute mark sealed the victory for the Knights and the fans stood and applauded their efforts.
The Knights removed the 45-17 bashing they took last year at the hands of the Warriors and as the team ran off the field to the corner of the end zone to sing the fight song it was evident that this year things will be different. An early win can go a long way to build confidence in a young team.
Milford rolls into town next weekend after destroying Hughes and you can bet while the Knights were savoring the victory over Lebanon that their thoughts quickly turned to the Eagles and what would be required of them.
TV Coverage: Fox 19 Prep Rally Video : Blitz 5
Queen City High Coverage: Knights Get Revenge
Vote for Jamire Westbrook: Beacon Orthopaedics Primetime Performer of the Week (voting ends Monday at Midnight)
Fox 19 Cincinnati Bell Call of the Day – Blake Bates 1st series 4th down and 1 key stop.
Queen City High Gold Star Chili Star of the Game – Spencer Rosekrans
Putter’s WKNG Big Play of the Game: WKNG Re-play - Nick Collado 90 yard kickoff return
Andy Olds has to go back nearly two decades to find a player that compares to Blake Bates.
“Eric Louallen made a jump from his junior to senior season in the early 1990s so remarkable that it still stands out in my mind as the greatest jump in performance that a player has made in one year during my time at Kings,” Olds said. “Blake has matched and surpassed that this year.
“He has transformed himself into a Division I prospect in one offseason, and I mean that sincerely. He got in the weight room, understood that this was his last chance and jumped at it. He will be a difference maker for us on defense.”
Check out the rest of Scot Hayes article at the Pulse Journal.
Not only is Coach Old’s noticing Blake’s transformation but his hard work paid off this summer, check out this summary from OhioVarsity.com on his performance at the National Underclassmen Combine in Columbus where Blake was a Top 20 Standout/All-Combine Team member:
Bates builds on strong combine performance
Steve Hare
OhioVarsity.com
Your Kings Knights will open up their 2010 campaign in a battle of possible epic proportion against long time and dare I say the disliked but respect Lebanon Warriors of the north. This matchup reminds me of the show “The Deadliest Warrior” where experts evaluate what type of fighting skill would prevail in a one on one confrontation. Well throw out last year’s records as they mean nothing and you can’t measure the heart of a Warrior or a Knight so kick back, turn up the dial on WKNG radio and get ready to rumble…
Overview: Kings will be looking to build on last year’s season (3-7) which saw a young team grow up and play better than what their record revealed. Gone is the senior leadership of Drew Esler, Trey Knecht and Jake Gibson and Matt Koerbel. While the Knights have a lot of returning players there is nothing like the senior leadership to help bind a team.
Lebanon lost a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and the Warriors come into this season with a lot of unanswered questions that Coach Shawn Lamb hopes to have answered. The Warriors are coming off an 8-2 campaign and winners of the GWOC South and still managed to miss the playoffs.
When Kings has the ball: The Knights have a lot of offensive firepower and it starts behind center. Whether it is senior QB Johnny Brewster or junior Jensen Gebhardt running the offense the team will be in good hands.
Kings is blessed with a crowded backfield that is led by Jamire Westbrook who looks to break that 1,000 yard rushing mark this season. Joining Westbrook are fellow teammates junior Brian Huffman, senior Ben Bennett and sophomore Nick Callado. The “Four Horsemen” will be a handful to keep out of the end zone.
On the outside you have the lethal combination of senior WR Jemard Lewis, junior Nick Bird and sophomore Justin Crull who are all capable of stretching the field and breaking a long one if they find a crack in the defense. This group should help the running game by preventing 8 & 9 men in the box or they could get burned.
When Lebanon has the ball: The Warriors are a good team that believes in their system so when one player graduates or is injured they are able to have someone step in and fill the role. Gone from last year’s team are senior QB Dusty Isaacs and WR Chase Cochran who were the heart and sole of the team. It will be interesting to see who can step up for the Warriors to cover the QB spot.
Junior Aaron Abbot will be expected to carry the load on the ground and his success is in good hands with all league OL Nick Stotts. Abbot is a tough runner who isn’t afraid of contact and can be a bull to bring down. Lebanon may go to Abbot often to try and keep the game a low scoring affair.
Brody Wolf is in his senior year at WR and this is his time to shine. Wolf was part of a very good passing game last season and is often seen seniors step their game up as it is their last year in high school and I’d expect nothing less from Wolf. Brody could become a big part of this game if the Warriors find themselves playing from behind.
Defenses: Both teams are very solid at the linebacking corps and could be the key to the game. The Knights will be counting on their trio of Blake Bates, Sean Horan and Austin Copeland to control the running game as well as the intermediate passes that are sure to come their way.
Lebanon has a good set of senior linebackers Alex White and Chris Benton that are known for their ability to hit and their love for hitting opposing players. Both White and Benton have been deemed “head hunters” by their teammates in the sense that they can hit you so hard that you will feel like you have had your head separated from your body.
Final thoughts: While the first game of the season isn’t the most critical it can go a long way to help build confidence of a young team and both Kings and Lebanon would benefit from that. The game itself could be one for the ages or it could be one that is riddle with penalties as the two teams try to do too much to prove themselves. In the end the three headed monster that Kings has on offense will be enough for the Knights to pull off their first win of the season and redeem themselves for the 45-17 bashing they received last year at the hands of the Warriors.
The Cincinnati Enquirer previews the FAVC Cardinal with coaches voting predicting the Knights to move up to second behind Turpin. Hum… Turpin’s last home loss was to the Knights 41-10 on Oct 3rd 2008… This will be the Knights first trip back to Anderson Township since that win…
Here’s what the Enquirer says about our Knights:
Kings
Division: II
Coach: Andy Olds (100-33)
Last year: 3-7 (2-3)
Fun fact: Junior RB Jamire Westbrook has a scholarship offer from UC.
Players to watch: Westbrook, senior QB Jonny Brewster, senior OLB/TE Blake Bates.
Other key players: Junior OLB Sean Horan, sophomore WR Justin Crull.
Outlook: The cycle that had Olds replacing 27 seniors and 21 starters last season has the veteran coach welcoming 18 starters – just three of them seniors – from his first losing season in 12 with the Knights. Brewster returns for his third year as the starter after throwing for 1,203 yards last season. Olds hopes to improve a defense that yielded the most points and second-most yards in the division.
Check out the entire FAVC Cardinal Division Coverage at the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Above Senior Spencer Rosekrans shows why he’s leading the Secondary at Safety.
Get a taste of the Pulse Journal Coverage:
“We fell on tough times last year,” Olds said. “But that makes us more hungry
to go out and chase a championship this year.
“I think we had so much success here over the years that the players, coaches
and fans started to take that success for granted. Now, there’s a fire in our gut
to renew those championship ways.”
Click Pulse-Journal to read the entire article.
Mt. Healthy becomes the 8th Fort Ancient Valley Conference schools that is already playing on a Motz Group 24/7 field. The other schools include Loveland, Anderson, Turpin, Little Miami, Winton Woods and Edgewood.
Contributed by Bret A. Sims
I won’t justify the ignorant statement that was recently made by someone in a position of power in collegiate sports that referred to cheerleading as not a sport and cheerleaders not being athletes. Apparently that person has never gone through the rigors of being a cheerleader.
When one looks out at a cheerleading squad they need to more than just pony tails, pom-poms and big smiles. They should see dedicated young ladies that have put in many hours of hard work and are dedicated to improving and promoting the sport.
Cheerleaders have always combined strength with artistic moves but now they have developed into more well rounded athletes as dictated by the advanced level of moves required of them.
Even the tryouts to make the varsity squad must be performed at a high level of competency that while most people would scoff at would not be able to perform themselves. Tryouts often include a group cheer, chant and dance. Individually, the girls perform a chant, jumps, a standing back handspring or back tuck, and a running tumbling pass. The cheerleaders should be well rounded, but it is not always necessary to have tumbling skills to make every varsity squad.
Many believe that to truly be a great cheerleader that one needs to combine both the mental and physical aspects of the sport. Obviously, without the physical skills, these girls would not be cheerleaders. There is also a mental commitment. The girls are always in front of the crowd. Therefore, they do not have the option of having an off night.
When the football season starts this fall, take a moment to actually watch what these young ladies do on the sidelines. You might find yourself with a new respect for them as they do multiple back handsprings on an asphalt track without any net or assistance. They are no less brave attempting that move than the quarterback is standing in the pocket during a blitz.
Click to listen to King’s TriState Football Neighborhood Preview taped Monday Night at Willie’s Sports Cafe in Mason. Dan Clasgens and Greg Shoemaker interviewed defensive coordinator Coach Seymour and Linebacker Sean Horan and Max DeMumbrum as well as offensive coordinator Coach Little along with offensive players Jensen Gebhardt, Jonny Brewster and Justin Crull.
And upcoming opponents podcasts:
Week 1 – Lebanon
Week 4 – Loveland
Week 6 – Little Miami
Week 7 – Walnut Hills
Week 10 – Turpin
