Tuesday’s Monday Musings…I thought of, or wrote most of this stuff on Monday…
The play-offs get underway this weekend in both the PFC and OFC and in both cases the 1 vs 4 games won’t be worth paying much attention to as the Hilltops and Fratmen will coast to their title games in blowout wins over the Edmonton Wildcats and GTA Grizzlies respectively. The other two match-ups are must see though as there is little to choose between the combatants with all 4 teams an identical 6-2.
In the OFC the Beefeaters travel to Hamilton, with the Hurricanes earning home field as a result of a 19-16 win back in week 2. The PFC semi-final will take place in Regina as the Thunder host the Huskies after edging Edmonton 24-21 a month ago. While this weekend’s games will be closely decided, whichever teams advance to their respective conference championship will be a real threat to both the Saskatoon Hilltops and Windsor AKO Fratmen who will be waiting after not having broken a sweat in their semi-finals.
It wouldn’t be out of the question to see the 3rd place Edmonton Huskies travelling to the 3rd place London Beefeaters in the CJFL national semi-final when the dust settles.
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One team that won’t be seeing the post season after what no doubt was a bitterly disappointing season is the Winnipeg Rifles. After trading punches at home with the Hilltops for a half back in week 1 and then pounding the Colts in Calgary a week later, the pre-season optimism in Winnipeg seemed justifiable. Things never seemed to get in sync for the club after that though as they would go on to lose 5 straight and see their hopes of the play-offs fade.
To add insult to injury, the Rifles last game of the season in Regina, which might have served to help team-build for 2020 was cancelled as prairie winter reared its ugly head earlier than usual and didn’t allow the club to make that straight as an arrow Highway #1 trek. In 18 seasons the Rifles have just a single play-off win to their credit which seems so long ago, coming way back in the club’s 4th season when it finished first in the PFC and fell to the eventual Canadian Bowl champion Edmonton Huskies.
The Rifles are in a tough spot geographically as its proximity to Saskatchewan means that its schedule is generally Hilltop and Thunder heavy which no doubt explains why the club has finished no higher than 4th in 16th of its 18 seasons. The tough schedules the Rifles face aside, one can only shudder thinking about what its annual travel budget must be.
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I ruffled a fair number of feathers in Langley by questioning the validity of a single season TD (BCFC and/or CJFL) record that running back Andrew Pocrnic may or may not break this weekend in the club’s regular season finale against the 0-9 Kamloops Broncos.
First, despite what the Rams may assert, my intent is in no way to question or throw shade (that’s what they call it I Think?) on Mr. Pocrnic. He is a very good running back and by all accounts an even better teammate. If his club says “let’s set a record “why wouldn’t he gladly say yes? In my mind, it’s unfortunate the Langley Rams are putting their most valuable player in this position.
My reasoning for addressing the record is well, let’s be honest, for provocative content and to get people talking about junior football. If a team opens the door to give me a topic, yes I will take it, and in this case I’m merely pointing out that in the case of Tristan Jones and Andrew Harris it was running backs who largely put their offenses on their back and hit their marks over the course of the season. In this case it’s not exactly that.
If a record is set this weekend it’s at best tainted, at worst…well let’s not go there. The Rams have said records are made to be broken and that’s true. If a team or athlete gets close to a record, a little push to get it makes sense. In this case, the record in question was at least 11 touchdowns away with two games to play against drastically over-matched opponents… it wasn’t within site, it was abused and disrespected. Andrew Pocrnic didn’t reel off 6 easy touchdowns last week against the Valley Huskers to open up the possibility of a record this week against the Broncos, who let’s be honest, are easy fodder now. Against the ‘wack he fought for 84 yards on 17 carries, the last two of which were pounding runs inside the 8 yard line on the last series of the game when a running back of his stature wouldn’t normally even be on the field. His 4.9 yard average was actually his lowest of the season, these weren’t long touchdown runs busted off, they were ground out yards that weren’t necessary considering what’s ultimately at stake for the Rams this year.
Andrew Pocrnic pounded out runs because that’s the way Andrew Pocrnic plays and why he is so much fun to watch…because he will run over a lifeless corpse for yards. But as I said before, that puts the player and team at risk should he get hurt chasing a record that was anything but within grasp initially.
Now, why did I bring this record up again yesterday and today after last week’s podcast when I first questioned it? Because it comes back to the fact that the Rams feel the need to chase a record when they should be more concerned about other things…
Blame the Rams coaches, specifically my old friend Howie Zaron, the Rams head coach…I hope he still considers me a friend because you can’t only enjoy my rants when they are thrown in someone else’s direction.
Blame the Rams coaches because I finally watched the Rams 66-0 win over the Valley Huskers and that game has me shaking my head and disappointed in a program and staff that I have a lot of respect for. There is apparently no love lost between the teams after a vocal, apparently cocky Huskers club faced the Rams in a pre-season inter-squad game and did a fair amount of chirping. But what happened months ago in my mind doesn’t give the Rams an excuse for trying to embarrass, trying to demoralize a Huskers squad that will not make the play-offs. The game last week should have served to patch differences between the players, not inflame them. This game is supposed to be about life lessons as much as the game itself, and what players where taught on the field that night wasn’t healthy.
The Rams led 39-0 at halftime.
The Rams continually attempted 2 point conversions, only kicking converts three times.
The Rams didn’t punt, not once. One more than one occasion facing a third and long, they went for it.
Up 45-0 the Rams attempted a short kick-off.
The Rams ran up the score. That term gets thrown around too often, but the Rams ran up the score. That’s their right, but let’s not deny that’s what they did.
If the Saskatoon Hilltops had that mentality in last year’s Canadian Bowl they might have put 75 on the scoreboard, but they didn’t. They respected their opponent and they respected the game.
What occurred last week in Chilliwack was undisciplined football and could have led to undisciplined play from the athletes and injury to their athlete. Oh wait, Rams quarterback Duncan Little scrambled on a first quarter 2 point conversion attempt and left the game with an injured knee….yeah like that.
Late in the game a couple of idiot Ram fans created a confrontation by approaching and heckling the Valley Huskers bench…after watching Rams on field in your face performance, can you really blame the fans? They were following the “Fuck you” that was displayed on the field and supported their team in kind. That’s what happens in games like that, discipline breeds discipline and arrogance breeds arrogance.
The Rams are the most talented team in the BCFC, and that talent will be enough to get them past the Cullen Cup. My thought though is that what has crept into the Rams locker room is an attitude, a swagger that they think they are better than they are, and that’s a dangerous thing when a good opponent punches you in the mouth. That feeling may be subtle, the Rams players likely aren’t even aware of it, but it’s there if the team felt the need to roll the opposition like they did in Chilliwack.
The Langley Rams will not win the Canadian Bowl, talented, well-coached, disciplined team from Edmonton, Regina or Saskatoon will see to that.
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See you next week. If you have something I should know about around the CJFL, drop me a line canadianjuniorfootball2.0@gmail.com. Or direct message me on SM, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and our “Dieters CJFL Podcast” is on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify
The play-offs get underway this weekend in both the PFC and OFC and in both cases the 1 vs 4 games won’t be worth paying much attention to as the Hilltops and Fratmen will coast to their title games in blowout wins over the Edmonton Wildcats and GTA Grizzlies respectively. The other two match-ups are must see though as there is little to choose between the combatants with all 4 teams an identical 6-2.
In the OFC the Beefeaters travel to Hamilton, with the Hurricanes earning home field as a result of a 19-16 win back in week 2. The PFC semi-final will take place in Regina as the Thunder host the Huskies after edging Edmonton 24-21 a month ago. While this weekend’s games will be closely decided, whichever teams advance to their respective conference championship will be a real threat to both the Saskatoon Hilltops and Windsor AKO Fratmen who will be waiting after not having broken a sweat in their semi-finals.
It wouldn’t be out of the question to see the 3rd place Edmonton Huskies travelling to the 3rd place London Beefeaters in the CJFL national semi-final when the dust settles.
__
One team that won’t be seeing the post season after what no doubt was a bitterly disappointing season is the Winnipeg Rifles. After trading punches at home with the Hilltops for a half back in week 1 and then pounding the Colts in Calgary a week later, the pre-season optimism in Winnipeg seemed justifiable. Things never seemed to get in sync for the club after that though as they would go on to lose 5 straight and see their hopes of the play-offs fade.
To add insult to injury, the Rifles last game of the season in Regina, which might have served to help team-build for 2020 was cancelled as prairie winter reared its ugly head earlier than usual and didn’t allow the club to make that straight as an arrow Highway #1 trek. In 18 seasons the Rifles have just a single play-off win to their credit which seems so long ago, coming way back in the club’s 4th season when it finished first in the PFC and fell to the eventual Canadian Bowl champion Edmonton Huskies.
The Rifles are in a tough spot geographically as its proximity to Saskatchewan means that its schedule is generally Hilltop and Thunder heavy which no doubt explains why the club has finished no higher than 4th in 16th of its 18 seasons. The tough schedules the Rifles face aside, one can only shudder thinking about what its annual travel budget must be.
__
I ruffled a fair number of feathers in Langley by questioning the validity of a single season TD (BCFC and/or CJFL) record that running back Andrew Pocrnic may or may not break this weekend in the club’s regular season finale against the 0-9 Kamloops Broncos.
First, despite what the Rams may assert, my intent is in no way to question or throw shade (that’s what they call it I Think?) on Mr. Pocrnic. He is a very good running back and by all accounts an even better teammate. If his club says “let’s set a record “why wouldn’t he gladly say yes? In my mind, it’s unfortunate the Langley Rams are putting their most valuable player in this position.
My reasoning for addressing the record is well, let’s be honest, for provocative content and to get people talking about junior football. If a team opens the door to give me a topic, yes I will take it, and in this case I’m merely pointing out that in the case of Tristan Jones and Andrew Harris it was running backs who largely put their offenses on their back and hit their marks over the course of the season. In this case it’s not exactly that.
If a record is set this weekend it’s at best tainted, at worst…well let’s not go there. The Rams have said records are made to be broken and that’s true. If a team or athlete gets close to a record, a little push to get it makes sense. In this case, the record in question was at least 11 touchdowns away with two games to play against drastically over-matched opponents… it wasn’t within site, it was abused and disrespected. Andrew Pocrnic didn’t reel off 6 easy touchdowns last week against the Valley Huskers to open up the possibility of a record this week against the Broncos, who let’s be honest, are easy fodder now. Against the ‘wack he fought for 84 yards on 17 carries, the last two of which were pounding runs inside the 8 yard line on the last series of the game when a running back of his stature wouldn’t normally even be on the field. His 4.9 yard average was actually his lowest of the season, these weren’t long touchdown runs busted off, they were ground out yards that weren’t necessary considering what’s ultimately at stake for the Rams this year.
Andrew Pocrnic pounded out runs because that’s the way Andrew Pocrnic plays and why he is so much fun to watch…because he will run over a lifeless corpse for yards. But as I said before, that puts the player and team at risk should he get hurt chasing a record that was anything but within grasp initially.
Now, why did I bring this record up again yesterday and today after last week’s podcast when I first questioned it? Because it comes back to the fact that the Rams feel the need to chase a record when they should be more concerned about other things…
Blame the Rams coaches, specifically my old friend Howie Zaron, the Rams head coach…I hope he still considers me a friend because you can’t only enjoy my rants when they are thrown in someone else’s direction.
Blame the Rams coaches because I finally watched the Rams 66-0 win over the Valley Huskers and that game has me shaking my head and disappointed in a program and staff that I have a lot of respect for. There is apparently no love lost between the teams after a vocal, apparently cocky Huskers club faced the Rams in a pre-season inter-squad game and did a fair amount of chirping. But what happened months ago in my mind doesn’t give the Rams an excuse for trying to embarrass, trying to demoralize a Huskers squad that will not make the play-offs. The game last week should have served to patch differences between the players, not inflame them. This game is supposed to be about life lessons as much as the game itself, and what players where taught on the field that night wasn’t healthy.
The Rams led 39-0 at halftime.
The Rams continually attempted 2 point conversions, only kicking converts three times.
The Rams didn’t punt, not once. One more than one occasion facing a third and long, they went for it.
Up 45-0 the Rams attempted a short kick-off.
The Rams ran up the score. That term gets thrown around too often, but the Rams ran up the score. That’s their right, but let’s not deny that’s what they did.
If the Saskatoon Hilltops had that mentality in last year’s Canadian Bowl they might have put 75 on the scoreboard, but they didn’t. They respected their opponent and they respected the game.
What occurred last week in Chilliwack was undisciplined football and could have led to undisciplined play from the athletes and injury to their athlete. Oh wait, Rams quarterback Duncan Little scrambled on a first quarter 2 point conversion attempt and left the game with an injured knee….yeah like that.
Late in the game a couple of idiot Ram fans created a confrontation by approaching and heckling the Valley Huskers bench…after watching Rams on field in your face performance, can you really blame the fans? They were following the “Fuck you” that was displayed on the field and supported their team in kind. That’s what happens in games like that, discipline breeds discipline and arrogance breeds arrogance.
The Rams are the most talented team in the BCFC, and that talent will be enough to get them past the Cullen Cup. My thought though is that what has crept into the Rams locker room is an attitude, a swagger that they think they are better than they are, and that’s a dangerous thing when a good opponent punches you in the mouth. That feeling may be subtle, the Rams players likely aren’t even aware of it, but it’s there if the team felt the need to roll the opposition like they did in Chilliwack.
The Langley Rams will not win the Canadian Bowl, talented, well-coached, disciplined team from Edmonton, Regina or Saskatoon will see to that.
__
See you next week. If you have something I should know about around the CJFL, drop me a line canadianjuniorfootball2.0@gmail.com. Or direct message me on SM, we are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and our “Dieters CJFL Podcast” is on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify
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