Salem ranked 6th nationally for midsize schools
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Thanks for posting this video. I watched it again. Salem made a bunch of big plays and they allowed LT no big plays except for the punt return for a TD that was called back (bad call in my opinion). A few bad calls went against LT. The PI towards the end of the 3rd qtr was really bad.
The LT QB had a bad night also. I was counting and he only made one decent throw in the game. The receivers made the other receptions and gave them no opportunities for YAC.
The Salem defensive game plan was better. The Veer yielded little and the zone confounded the QB. The Salem offensive game plan was better. Despite a lack of yardage, everything they kept in their back pocket, other than the reverse, worked. The Spartan QB wasn't particularly good either as a passer but he was very composed, made right choices and managed the game well. No errors.
Salem had to play almost perfect to win. They did. I still think LT wins 8 out of 10 of these contests but it was the Spartan's night. They were the better team. Well done again.
The LT QB had a bad night also. I was counting and he only made one decent throw in the game. The receivers made the other receptions and gave them no opportunities for YAC.
The Salem defensive game plan was better. The Veer yielded little and the zone confounded the QB. The Salem offensive game plan was better. Despite a lack of yardage, everything they kept in their back pocket, other than the reverse, worked. The Spartan QB wasn't particularly good either as a passer but he was very composed, made right choices and managed the game well. No errors.
Salem had to play almost perfect to win. They did. I still think LT wins 8 out of 10 of these contests but it was the Spartan's night. They were the better team. Well done again.
The Salem QB is much better than LT made him look. Their secondary is awesome, he was working hard to not make a mistake. He is a good runner when he needs to be as well. Great job for his 1st year. He should be even more confident in his Senior year.
This has already been discussed many many many times and only 1 of the 3 flags thrown on the return was a bad call. The 2 block in the back calls were obvious. The return was coming back regardless so you can't say that was a "bad call" that went against LT. I agree the PI call against LT was definitely questionable but I would argue that the PI call against the Salem DB on the last drive of the 1st half was even more egregious and was no question more impactful in deciding the outcome of the game.
The worst call of the game, if I can weigh in on this pointless post-mortum, was the overturned interception on the next-to-last play of the first half. It looked like an interception live, and both video and still shots have confirmed that it was an interception, as I believe the official closest to the play ruled. Yet it was somehow overturned, LT got one more play and scored their first TD, almost completely changing the complexion of the game.
Also consider that for the entire game, Davis had two heaping handfuls of Tucker's jersey, and got called for holding exactly once, IIRC. I'd say that, on balance, LT had nothing to complain about.
One would hope that this postseason in 4A would have put several myths to rest. One, as discussed in another post by Matt Gilliam, is the "southeastern superiority" myth. Another should be the myth that said "Salem gets all the calls." The Spartans had a wide-open receiver wiped out on a post pattern by an official against John Champe (and Champe intercepted), and what appears to be a clear interception called back in the title game. After those two extremely egregious officiating errors, the fable that Salem always gets the favorable calls has evaporated into the ether, for any reasonable observer.
Either way, I've got a cap that my wife gave me for Christmas that has "2015 4A State Champions" sewn into it, and I don't think anyone's coming to pull out the stitching.
Salem earned the victory and are most deserving state champs. IMO the officiating was not great either way and it pretty much balanced out for a net non effect on the game. As far as the fable about favorable calls it is going to take a lot more than a couple in one season to balance that scale. As long as photos of the Spradlin catch exist there will be somebody to disagree with you. ;-)
Plenty of interpretations of the Spadlin catch/non-catch. Some here see that ball contacting the ground. Some here have seen it as a catch. In my opinion, even NFL instant replay would not have over turned that call without definitive proof and I don't see that.
I also think the refs did a decent job and was balanced both ways. They did not win or lose the game for either team.
I still think the East and LT play a different brand of football and have better athletes than the West. I don't recall anyone ever saying Salem always gets the calls. That's a new "myth" to me.
But Salem played a damn near perfect game. LT got out Coached and the Titans did not deliver one big play on the day. That's only happened one time in the last two years and you have to give Salem all due credit for it. So many times, it was like the Spartan's knew what was coming and they stuffed the run with extreme prejudice. The Titan's did adjust to more of a passing game but perhaps that was Salem's plan and it worked because the only reason the Titan QB had any success at all was because his skill players were so good. Poor kid really had a tough day. He had plenty of time but the zone clearly frustrated him.
The Spradlin catch was YEARS ago against Amherst and there isn't a replay official alive that would not overturn that call. Even the guy who made the "catch" has conceded as much in print and public conversations.
That "myth" has been prevalent for years. It provides nice, easy fodder to needle and get under the skin of Salem fans, nothing more or less. The reality is good teams and good players, more often than not, get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to officiating at virtually all levels. IMO the gap in athleticism is closing and by the time kids like Deangelo Ramsey and Tucker are seniors I don't believe this will be a major point of discussion any longer. LT was bigger along the lines and Ewell, Carney, etc. get a lot more publicity and ratings. The smaller less heralded Salem linemen held their own, in my opinion, and the reasons for that could range from better technique and scheme to conditioning and/or some of the big LT kids playing more both ways. This is not intended to knock any of the kids on either side just more to my opinion that the gap between West and East, which most would agree I have long touted on these boards, was not nearly as substantial on the most recent championship Saturday between the two teams on the field. As the old saying goes, its not really a competition until both sides have claimed victory, can now be discussed in earnest, in my opinion.
I got that now. We were talking about different catches. Not remembering who the kid was made me assume you were talking about the catch/non-catch by the Salem defender in the second quarter of last week's game. My bad.
Not nearly as substantial a difference, I agree with. It's like when the Jets beat the Colts in 69. Nobody ever thought the AFC could do it against the NFC squads but it's been parity ever since. We'll see if that becomes the case. Salem has laid some ground work in how to beat LT that lots of folks will copy and frankly, there were no 757 State Champs this year. Perhaps parity is already here.
Not nearly as substantial a difference, I agree with. It's like when the Jets beat the Colts in 69. Nobody ever thought the AFC could do it against the NFC squads but it's been parity ever since. We'll see if that becomes the case. Salem has laid some ground work in how to beat LT that lots of folks will copy and frankly, there were no 757 State Champs this year. Perhaps parity is already here.
I would venture to guess that LT's opponents next year, will be studying salem's defensive scheme against LT's highly touted "veer" offense.
That's because the defense DID know what was coming. There were some pretty impressive defensive players who watched hours and hours of film to prepare. They read their keys well and knew how to fill. It was that way all year. You could see it against JF. I recall Navy Jones saying something like "it's like they knew where the ball was going." Yep! Salem defense rocked it this year. They played as a team and it wasn't just one star; it was a collection of excellent players doing their job.
If you say "the catch" in the Roanoke/Lynchburg area among HS football aficionados everyone knows what you're referring to. I would imagine it is to Amherst as "Cleatgate" is to Salem fans that go back a little over 20 years ago. Every team has at least one of those games at some point. If you can't win, at least you have a good story to share that galvanizes fans.
Doubt many on here have a clue what Cleatgate was, that was a long time ago against a team long gone from 4A. Nothing like having an entire coaching and equipment staff conspire to cheat in a game. Not a bad call from the refs or a cheap shot from a player, an entire set of adults deciding they couldn't win in a fair fight and making a conscious decision to cheat.
Wasn't just the coaches and equipment staff. If I recall correctly there was even speculation that the Richlands fire department watered down the field prior to the game. If true you would have to add the community into the guilty party on that list. I've been around a lot of high school football in my life and I'm not sure I've ever seen a more blatant form of cheating before. Hell they even wrote and produced a song about the game fittingly naming it "3/4 Inch Cleats".
For those that haven't heard the story here ya go.
http://www.swvasports.com/ipb/index.php?/topic/9694-yet-another-article-on-cleatgatepretty-good/
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Good to see them on the list. I don't want to look all of them up but I would be willing to bet they are one of the smallest schools on that list.
He keeps on ignoring that. He makes his comment and then tries to tell people not to discuss the officiating further, yet mentions it again in a new thread. Mentioning the PI on Davis without mentioning the PI on Wade, which were both equally bad and the Wade one was far more important to the outcome of the game is disingenuous. Same thing on the punt return.
On the PI's, these are absolute. The LT player was absolutely not guilty. The Salem player was absolutely guilty. Even the announcers, with the aid of replay, on the day of the game couldn't understand how the LT player got called. Just a great coverage play. There was also unanimous agreement, after 4 replays, that the Salem kid interfered. He did knock the ball away with his right hand but was supported by the left hand and arm wrapped around the LT receivers neck and shoulders.
I'll conceed the punt return even though I've watched it five times and can't find the blocks in the back. Too many kids in a bunch to for me to say definitively they didn't happen. I just haven't found them.......yet.
Again, in plays that last seconds and without the support of replay, the refs did a good job.
Lastly, as I've said in every post, Salem played the better game. They didn't just earn the title, they took it with better team play and better Coaching.
The play at the 13:32 mark of the video is not pass interference or anywhere close to it. It is every bit as egregious as the call on Davis and directly led to a TD. Then a few plays later Salem intercepts the ball and again gets the short end of the stick. If you take the announcers word, why not take it on the Salem interception that got called incomplete? You were definitive after the game that he didn't catch it yet all the replays and pictures prove otherwise.
There are two blatant blocks in the back on the punt return. Not being able to see that is incredible. Shoot, the last one comes closest to the football and you would have to be blind to miss it. I agree on the excessive force call being bad, but the play was coming back either way.
If you watch one of the videos from YouTube, you'll clearly see the blocks in the back, they are blatant.
You need glasses.
#1 Far right of screen. Player's back is initially to defender. Happens right in front of ref.
#2 Far right of screen. #2 for Salem is blocked legally by one player then illegally shoved down by the second. Happens right in front of ref.
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You must be watching some poor quality film to miss the blocks in the back on the return!
You know I'm just kidding with you. Also, after watching some targeting calls in the college bowl games, I can totally see why the officials threw a flag on the block to Ramsey on the punt return. I'm not saying I like the way targeting is called, but that hit was worse than some I've seen where the players were ejected on the college level.Gottem. TY. One at the LT 35. The other at the Salem 20. Really silly blocks too but you see this all the time and at every level. Brains sure seem to leave many players once they put the helmet on. Not even an emotional foul or heat of the movement foul. Just stupid, plain and simple. No excuse.You need glasses.
#1 Far right of screen. Player's back is initially to defender. Happens right in front of ref.
#2 Far right of screen. #2 for Salem is blocked legally by one player then illegally shoved down by the second. Happens right in front of ref.
Sorry, I stand by that one. PI Salem. That's what I see. Sorry, all the replays and pictures are inconclusive on the interception.You can make a case for either and no question the ball touches the turf. That's what the ref saw. Therefore, inconclusive and would not be overturned at any level.
We'll just agree to disagree on these. Regardless, Spartan's won. Congrats.
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The more I look at the hit on Ramsey the more I think the official called a high hit to the head and neck area. Saw north Carolina player called for similar hit and thrown out of game. The hit was high.
