Saturday, October 28, 2023
It was a BEAUTIFUL, crisp Autumn day just made for a Pop Warner opening round playoff game!
Thus Laurie and I were off to
Calabasas H.S. for a Noon Kickoff
It was a rematch of last Saturday's final regular season game between the Calabasas Rams Black vs. the Camarillo Stingers played at Ventura H.S.
Calabasas flexed their muscles but still showed great sportsmanship in winning 28-0.
A Gold Coast Youth Football League
2023 Sophomore Division Playoff Game
4 Wins - 4 Losses
# 8 Playoff Seed
Tied for Sixth Place in the Conference
at
8 Wins - 0 Losses
#1 Playoff Seed
First Place in the Conference
The Opening Kickoff,
the last moment that the
game was remotely close
In last week's game the Stingers kicked off only once and it was returned for a TD.
Uh-Oh . . .
. . . the ball was kicked to the same
return man and he returned it again
for a Rams Black TD
The Stingers rallied . . .
. . . to stop the ensuing two-point play
Jacob, #99, awaiting
the Calabasas Kickoff
Stingers Offense ready to fight
their way back into the contest
Stinger turning the corner
Attacking the right flank
successfully again
It worked to the right,
let's try the left side
Stingers take to the air
A no call was the correct call,
the Stingers receiver tripped
over his own feet
This wall of Rams Black blockers
on the edge would become more
familiar as the game wore on
Calabasas Toss Sweep Left
got to the edge too easily
Thank goodness for
the Stingers Pursuit
The Rams Black continued their
wide assault game
But the Stingers . . .
. . . Gang Tackling . . .
. . . was up to the task on this play
Another Stingers Kickoff Return
This Stingers LB was blitzed
into a much needed QB Sack!
An open field tackle here
was a MUST!
End of the First Quarter
Calabasas Black - 14
Camarillo - 0
The Second Quarter saw the same
Calabasas attack but with a twist
Just as he did in last week's game, the Calabasas Coach had no interest in running up a score or embarrassing the Stingers players.
In this second stanza, their coach held off on sending in a play as long as possible.
His goal was to have the clock run off as much time as was possible between plays and thus keep the score down.
That strategy did not stop the
Rams Black from playing hard when
the ball was finally snapped
I had no problem with that.
Each individual Stingers player
was still playing hard on each snap
against their clearly superior opponents
Pursuit was still a MUST!
Jacob was now in at Tight End
Jacob releasing on a Pass Route
He's OPEN!
Goodness, he's going out again
On both of these plays, the balls were thrown to the other side.
Back to the running game but what
is that yellow thing in mid-air?
Gracious sakes alive, I think it's
the HOLY GHOST!
Or maybe a penalty flag for Offensive Holding.
A good open field tackle
by this Rams Black defender
Pass Protection being tested
Unfortunately this is a tackle
after a Calabasas interception
Jacob about to take on the Rams Black
bread and butter play, the Toss Sweep
Good Stingers Defensive reaction . . .
. . . ended with great swarming tackling
My beloved, crazy legged
grandson in action
WR Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch is my all-time favorite Los Angelas Ram.
The Stingers players may have
been overmatched but they still
gave great effort
Calabasas got outside again
Calabasas Sweeping to the
right again
Maintain your leverage Jacob!
The Sweep Right was followed
by this Sweep Left of course
This looks BAD . . .
. . . but it ended in a fumble
that the Stingers recovered
Fighting to get out of the
Camarillo end of the field
At the Halftime Break
Calabasas Black - 20
Camarillo - 0
Another Stingers Kickoff Return
to start the Third Quarter
The Stingers tried to
Sweep to the Left Side
Camarillo has a chance for a
solid gain on this play
The Stingers take to the air
one more time but . . .
. . . but it was just a bit outside
Playing for Pride at this point
Another race to the edge
Great Outside Force by this Stinger!
This Rams Black player is
heading for that far away Goal Line
This young Stinger got another
chance to return a Kickoff
He actually did a splendid job returning all five of the Calabasas Kickoffs today.
This looks promising
Just out of reach again
This could have been another
long Calabasas run but . . .
. . . the Calabasas RB voluntarily
slid after about an eight yard gain
This was another example of the Calabasas coaching staff's efforts to keep the score down.
This is a much better look
by the Camarillo Defense
This does NOT bode well . . .
. . . neither does this
End of the Third Quarter
Calabasas Black - 26
Camarillo - 0
Jacob now at Wide Receiver
Turning this Rams Black run
back inside is a good thing
Lots of Defensive Stingers
in the area
Still playing hard, the Stingers forced
a Fourth Down turnover on Downs
deep in their own territory
We've got to get out of this play
Lots of Rams Black pressure
up the middle
Jacob walling off a Calabasas player
I believe the term is
"Ass Over Tea Kettle"
Fighting to avoid a
Safety on Fourth Down
I know that many would at least consider briefly Punting in this situation.
Not the Stingers.
The Rams Black graciously took a knee on the subsequent plays to end the game and not extend their lead.
Thank you Calabasas Rams Black coaches for your fine perspective on what youth sports should be.
The 2023 Camarillo Stingers
Sophomore Team Season was
finally over
Final Score
Calabasas Black (9-0) - 26
Camarillo (4-5) - 0
Next Saturday, the Calabasas Rams Black will be at home to take on the winner of the #5 seed Valley Rush (5-3) at #4 seed Saugus Spartans Navy (5-3) game.
As for us, it was a long season with lots of ups and downs. Through it all though, I think that Jacob again enjoyed practicing, playing and mostly bonding with all of his Stingers teammates.
On to basketball . . .
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