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I have always believed football is the greatest team game ever. I contend, that unlike other sports, just one player cannot score a point without their teammates in a football game. Our week 3 game, Northwest at Louisville, did however show how one player can invigorate and motivate the rest of the team to play better. Connor Satterfield, a linebacker and running back from Northwest did just that for his team. Gaining momentum by scoring a TD just before half enthused the whole team but Satterfield
was a one-man wrecking crew the second half in leading his team to victory. He was a man at running back, gaining over 100 yards and consistently gaining more yards than what appeared available but it was on defense that he actually made plays all over the field. Stats show he had 15 tackles and 3 sacks. He ran down the ball carrier or scrambling QB from sideline to sideline. It truly was one of the finest defensive performances I have witnessed in high school football.
After 3 weeks there are only 3 Stark County teams still undefeated, Canton South, Marlington and Massillon. Barely out of the county, Green is also 3-0. Isn’t that surprising, after only 3 games all but these 4 teams have already lost at least one game. That just shows how our area teams play a very competitive pre-season schedule. Now that league play begins area teams will start beating each other and staying undefeated will be even harder.
On Saturday I attended the Mount Union at Defiance football game and saw a unique play I want to share. On 4 th and 8 from midfield Defiance lined up with their offense to go for the first down. Before the snap they shifted into a quick kick formation to punt the ball – good plan, right? The attempted punt was blocked and popped up into the air and the punter caught it. He immediately threw the ball out of bounds. What’s the call? Where is the ball spotted? Well, everyone, including the officials, had to think
about it. What eventually happened was an incomplete pass was called and Mount Union took possession at the original line of scrimmage. To be sure I understood I called my good high school buddy and teammate Ron Fuller, one of the better and most experienced officials in our area. Ron concurred that the officials got it right. Since the ball was blocked and caught behind the LOS the ball carrier could run or throw the ball. He did throw the ball across the LOS and out of bounds so basically it was just an
incomplete pass and since it was 4 th down, Mount Union took over at the original LOS.
Every week brings about some neat stuff to look at and talk about. What will it be this week as we travel to Perry for the McKinley game? Stay tuned and we will discuss it next week.