ProfessorBriggs.com
THE Sports
Authority in Mercer County!
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Professor's Proverbs -- November 21, 2008
Two District 10 football teams will look to follow Strong Vincent (Class AAA) and McDowell (Class AAAA) into PIAA playoff action by winning District 10 titles this weekend. Both of this weekend's District 10 title games are rematches of lopsided regular season games. In Class A, Farrell will face Region 1 rival Linesville Saturday afternoon for the district crown. Saturday night, Slippery Rock and Wilmington square off at Slippery Rock University for the Class AA title.
As you know, Farrell earned a 27-0 victory over Linesville in the regular season while Wilmington picked up a 42-6 victory over Slippery Rock in the regular season. Last week, the district semifinals featured a pair of regular-season rematches. Linesville downed Mercer again while Slippery Rock avenged an earlier loss to Sharon by downing the Tigers, 27-10.
This year in the playoffs, the team that won the regular season game is 3-1 in the playoff meeting. Of the four regular season games, only the Sharon-Slippery Rock game had any drama in the fourth quarter. How will things shake down Saturday? Professor Briggs thinks that the trends will continue.
CLASS A
Saturday, November 22
Farrell (10-2) vs. Linesville (10-2),
Slippery Rock University, 12:00 p.m. (WLLF 96.7/WPIC 790 and 790wpic.com)
*Linesville and Farrell clash in a meeting of Region 1-A co-champions. This game
has been moved from Friday night to Saturday due to weather concerns. How will
adjusting from a Friday night kickoff to a Saturday afternoon kickoff affect the
teams? Professor Briggs had the chance to see Linesville last week against
Mercer and came away quite impressed. I felt that Mercer was the favorite to win
the district title when the playoffs started but Linesville disproved that
notion with a machine-like effort last week. It will take another similar effort
against a red-hot Farrell team. Farrell shut out a very explosive Saegertown
team last week, which is quite the accomplishment. That Farrell defense will
have to play well to contain Linesville quarterback Trevor Litwiler and tailback
Doug Farley. I have a hunch the Steelers will be ready.
PREDICTION: Farrell 22, Linesville 7
CLASS AA
Saturday, November 22
Slippery Rock (9-3) vs. Wilmington (11-1),
Slippery Rock University, 7:00 p.m. (WLLF 96.7/WPIC 790 and
790wpic.com)
*I had the chance to see Slippery Rock-Wilmington in Week Nine, which turned out
to be a Wilmington victory, 42-6. This might sound a bit crazy, but that game
was a lot closer than that score indicates. Slippery Rock had a couple of
first-half drives that resulted in field goals instead of touchdown. If the
Hi-Rockets had gotten "6" each time, the game might have gotten somewhat more
interesting. The Rockets were able to move the ball on the ground at times
against Wilmington but just couldn't finish off drives. It would seems as if
each team is playing its best football of the season. Slippery Rock downed
Sharon last week while Wilmington demoted General McLane down to Colonel, 35-7.
Both head coaches will have their teams well-prepared -- it will be a much
closer game this time around. Wilmington's big-play capability in all three
aspects of the game may be the deciding factor.
PREDICTION: Wilmington 28, Slippery Rock 14
> The Presidents' Athletic Conference held its first season-ending "Rivalry Week" in football last Saturday and by all accounts, it is and will be a smashing success. Two of the games were a bit lopsided (Bethany over Saint Vincent, 44-14, and W&J's 42-9 win over Waynesburg). In "The Game" Geneva held off Westminster, 29-26, as both teams finished 5-5 overall. (No word on whether this was played before the game. Had it been played under the lights, this would have more appropriate)
Grove City and Thiel battled for the Mercer County Cup with the Wolverines pulling out a 20-14 victory in the 25th annual game for the coveted trophy. Both teams showed a tremendous amount of enthusiasm, grit and heart in what was the best game of the weekend in the conference.
No doubt "Rivalry Week" will give teams something to play for, regardless of their record going into the game. Beating an archrival would be the perfect capper to a conference title. Or, beating an archrival and keeping them from a league title and/or playoff berth would be just as satisfying for a team out of contention. I am sure that at some point, two of the teams paired up in Rivalry Week may come in with undefeated records in the league or perhaps just one loss between them. In any case, it is a great addition to the conference. Personally, I think every conference should try to incorporate something like this.
The annual "Backyard Brawl" between Pitt and West Virginia is not the season finale for either team this year. Pitt then visits longtime gridiron rival Connecticut while WVU plays South Florida. I think that is kind of sad in some ways. With the season starting in late August and stretching all the way to the first week of December, one would think that all of the necessary games could be worked into the schedule so that the Backyard Brawl and the Cincinnati-Louisville game for the Keg of Nails could be played in the season finale.
The Big Ten (11) does it right in having its rivals play the finale. Ohio State-Michigan (if you haven't heard, it's kind of a big deal), Indiana-Purdue (for the Old Oaken Bucket), Illinois-Northwestern (for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk for the final time), Penn State-Michigan State (the inimitable Land Grant Trophy, which has to be one of the ugliest trophies in all of sport) and of course, Iowa-Minnesota (for the Floyd of Rosedale). The Floyd of Rosedale has probably become my favorite trophy in Division I-A football.
> You'll notice that Northwestern and Illinois are retiring the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk after this year as Illinois has been forced to eliminate any stereotypical references to Native Americans by the NCAA. Of course, Illinois' nickname is the Illini, which was a confederation of several Indian tribes in the 17th and 18th Centuries. A group that has tremendous ties to the area and a significant role in the development the state would be a logical nickname for the most prominent college athletic program in the state. However, Native American nicknames are a no-no in the NCAA's eyes if a school wants to participate in NCAA postseason play.
Personally, I am not offended by nicknames like "Illini," "Braves," "Seminoles," etc. What does offend me is that these longstanding, historical nicknames come under fire but other ones such as "Fighting Irish", "Fighting Scots", "Ragin' Cajuns" and "Vikings" do not. My ancestry is primarily Scottish and Irish. Notre Dame "Fighting Irish" does not bother me one bit. Nor does Edinboro "Fighting Scots." I know several people of Scandinavian descent -- "Vikings" doesn't bother them at all.
Now, a nickname like "Redmen" or "Savages" or "Injuns" is a different story. That would be analogous to schools having nicknames like "Krauts", "Micks" or "Polacks". Which would never happen, nor should it.
To me, it is disappointing that so many years of athletic tradition and heritage are being cast aside to appease a very small number of people. I know that Native Americans have been treated rather shabbily over the past 250 years or so in this county and that depictions of them being crazy loons who get sauced up on "fire water" are offensive. But a logo of Chief Illiniwek is not offensive in the least bit. Nor is a Tomahawk trophy.
Hopefully Illinois and Northwestern will be able to come up with something that is unique to Illinois. (Maybe Abe Lincoln's Log Cabin). It has to be better than the Land Grant Trophy.
> Keep the cards and letters coming at at ryanbriggs@zoominternet.net
