The Armchair Quarterback loves a team that never gives up

By Ralph Hitchens

It was AQ’s wedding anniversary, and custom dictates spending it somewhere other than sitting in the stands at Walter Johnson High School. So I wasn’t there to see our gritty Falcons come charging back from a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter to send the game into overtime last Friday, where they would not be denied. The Gazette, whose sportswriters had voted 5-1 against Poolesville in their weekly predictions, published a fine article in their Saturday online issue that well captured the drama of this victory, albeit with different stats than the Washington Post’s AllMetSports game summary. So although the Armchair QB loves his stats, it really doesn’t matter all that much if the Falcons’ stalwart running back Nikolay Henze carried 28 times for 147 yards (Gazette) or 26 times for 137 (Post), or whether QB Kirby Carmack completed 12 of 19 passes for 126 yards (Gazette) or 9 of 18 for 117 yards (Post), both lads and their teammates came through when it counted. Henze scored the final TD in regulation play, while Carmack had no fewer than 4 TD passes and a clutch 2-point conversion to tie the score and send the game into overtime. Once again the Falcons were lucky and capitalized on it – a late 4th quarter Wildcat fumble set up our final drive in regulation, and the overtime period ended with a botched snap on 4th and goal, killing Walter Johnson’s desperate attempt to tie the score and keep the game alive.

Next up for the Falcons is a home encounter this Friday against a real powerhouse – the Rebels of South Hagerstown High School. Bringing in a 4-0 record, the Rebels have outscored their opponents by a staggering margin of 147-27. The Falcons’ defense will surely need to rise to this occasion. To date they’ve given up way too many yards (288 at Walter Johnson, against our offensive production of 291 yards), and we’ve seen far too many missed tackles both at the line and in the secondary. No doubt we’ll also need every bit of that “smash-mouth offense” that our Dawsonville neighbor the “Big Prognosticator” praised on MoCoVox.com last week. But for now, the Armchair Quarterback is savoring a hard-earned victory, a 3-1 record, and a Poolesville HS football team with a renewed sense of confidence.

Poolesville Day – What Did You Think?

I’m on the Poolesville Day Committee and we are meeting next week to go over what worked and what didn’t, what did people like a lot and not so much, what needs to be improved and what can remain the same, what should be eliminated and what should be included. I would welcome your thoughts. As good as this Poolesville Day was, it can always be improved.

Meanwhile, take a gander of this photo I just got of the crowd at Poolesville Day. This is one of the best shots I’ve seen of the crowd at the fair.

LINK

The Armchair Quarterback exults in victory while noting that it was closer than the score would indicate

By Ralph Hitchens

Last year the Williamsport Wildcats blew the hapless Falcons off the field, so this year it was fitting that the scoreboard last Friday night had Poolesville up by double digits as the gun sounded. Indeed, the Armchair Quarterback is pleased to report that the Falcons earned their victory, capitalizing on a fumble or two, snap errors, and some fortuitous penalties. But we should not forget that it was Williamsport that jumped to an early lead, with a long TD pass on the second play from scrimmage. Saints be praised, just as our worst fears loomed, just as we were thinking “Oh, Lord, here it comes again,” our hearts soared as Nikolay Henze raced the length of the field on the ensuing kickoff, tying the score.

The Falcons then put together a series of drives to ice the game by the end of the third quarter. It was a well-balanced offense that we saw: Nikolay Henze ground out 80 yards on the ground, running for two TDs including the aforementioned kickoff return. Quarterback Kirby Carmack was a dual threat, completing 4 of 6 passes for 86 yards and a TD while rushing for another 29 yards and a TD. Andre Butler grabbed two completions, including a TD. Early in the fourth quarter the Falcons were able to put together a long, clock-killing drive that put the game out of reach for the Wildcats. But while the final score was reassuring the stats were anything but — Williamsport quarterback T.J. Boyer was far and away the best passer the Falcons have faced lately, gaining an incredible 298 yards through the air with two TD passes. Two Wildcat running backs, Jack Kelly and Jordan Stonebreaker, together added another 105 yards. Against this total of more than 400 offensive yards the Falcons barely reached half that number. Still, the Falcons controlled the tempo during most of the game and showed good ball-control along with taking full advantage of Wildcat errors to build and sustain an insurmountable lead. But will 200 offensive yards be enough against future opponents, like Wheaton next week?

The Armchair Quarterback continues to make interesting discoveries on the Internet. Seems that we have a loyal fan over in Dawsonville, a staff writer on MoCoVox.com named Marty who refers to himself as the “Big Prognosticator” among other sobriquets. The “Big Dawsonville Resident” confesses that in the last two weeks he twice predicted that his beloved Poolesville “Injuns” (yes, he’s one of those diehards who never got over the forced name change) would be blown out of the water, first by Richard Montgomery and now by Williamsport. He acknowledged his errors: “The Big Loud and Wrong has seriously slept on Poolesville,” and informed his readers of “a little known fact: the Injuns have won five of their last seven games.” He praised Coach Will Gant for bringing back “Larry-style” football (as in former coach Larry Hurd of fond memory), with “a serious smash-mouth offense.” For sure I’ll give “Big Dawsonville” a read in future weeks, and you should do the same.

Poolesville Day – One of the Best Yet

My family has not been to every Poolesville Day celebration but we’ve been to most of them and I think this year’s version is one of the best on record. Whether it was the wonderful, warm but not too hot sunny day; the warmth of the many people I met; or the amazing variety of music, foods and fun, I’m not entirely sure but the celebration was superb. I do know this, having served on this year’s Poolesville Day Committee. I have never seen a more supportive, “can do”, team spirited group of people in my many, many years of working on volunteer committees. They pulled together, their skill sets meshed beautifully and they pitched in without complaining wherever necessary. I think this did make this one of the smoothest celebrations we’ve ever had. I congratulate the entire group of people. You did a splendid job and I know everyone appreciated it. The community spirit I saw exhibited was fantastic and I know the Town was on stage in the most positive way possible. Congratulations to all on the Poolesville Day Committee. You did the Town proud.

Here are some pics from the day.

Poolesville Day – A Wonderful Day is Shaping Up – Schedule of Events

I’ve been on the planning committee for Poolesville Day over the last year and it has been a very good group of folks who’ve done a great job together to make Poolesville Day a great success. Here is the schedule of events. I hope everyone can attend. It should be a really great event.

LINK

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS for Poolesville Day 2012 (celebration takes place rain or shine!)

5K RACE 8:00am – 9:00am

PARADE 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
(Along Fisher Avenue – starts at elementary school & ends at intersection of Fisher Ave & Elgin Rd.)
GRAND MARSHAL: Jim Brown
NATIONAL ANTHEM: by JPMS Music Department

CHILDREN AND ADULT ACTIVITIES 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(In Whalen Commons Park/FALCON LANE)
Trackless Train, Gladiator Joust, Whirley Bird, Dixie Twister Swing , Kiddie Sea Park, Vertical Rush Obstacle Course, Mega Moonbounce, Calleva Rock Climbing Wall, Dunk Tanks and more.

KID’S KORNER (for children ages 8 & under) 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(New Location: Whalen Commons Park)
Mega Moonbounce sponsored by Bar-T along with balloon twisting by Mr. Clown.

PONY RIDES : Sponsored by Calleva 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
(Grass field in-between Poolesville Beer, Wine & Deli and Verizon Building)

LIVESTOCK/AGRICULTURAL DISPLAY 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(Field across from pony rides next to Whalen Commons) – Animals and Farm Equipment
Sheep Shearing Demonstrations beginning at 1:00 p.m.

ANNUAL CLASSIC ROD, CAR, TRUCK & MOTORCYCLE SHOW
11:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
(HealthWorks parking lot & near Old Town Hall) – Cars in place by Noon, Prizes awarded at conclusion of Tom Principato concert.

SKATEBOARD PARK
Skateboard Contest – Registration 9:30 am; Contest 10:30 am

BIGGEST LOSER MEET & GREET 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
In Whalen Commons, Town Hall Parking Lot

“FALCON LANE”
(Fyffe Road next to Whalen Commons)
Come out and support local school group fundraisers

JOHN POOLE HOUSE – Open all day
The John Poole House (19923 Fisher Ave, Poolesville, Maryland) is the oldest building in Poolesville. The log structure was built in 1793 by John Poole, Jr. served as a trading post for traveling merchants, and families from the surrounding farms and plantations, and was the U. S. Post Office “Poole’s Store, Maryland” from 1810. The General Store Museum furnishings are based on authenticated period inventories. The Museum Shop features Civil War artifacts on display, antiques, collectibles, linen, notepaper, pottery, toys, books and local art.

OLD TOWN HALL AND MUSEUM and EXHIBIT HALL
Poolesville in the Civil War – Open all day
Presented by: Historic Medley Society – special guest lecturers, Jim Poole and Greg Shores. Features artifacts of the war, playing of the Emmy winning “Life in a War Zone.” Additionally, there will be living history CW re-enactments from CW Pennsylvania Regiments.

Entertainment Schedule (subject to change)

Main Stage
10:50 – 11:10 JPMS Phantom Players
11:15 – 11:25 Mrs. Sheppard’s Patriotic Singers
11:45 – 1:00 Rockville Swing Band
1:10 – 1:30 Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance (on dance floor in front of stage)
1:35 – 1:55 Kick’s Karate (on dance floor in front of stage)
2:15 – 3:45 Tom Principato

Stage 1 – Asian House of Poolesville (AHOP)
10:30 – 11:45 Doug Bell
11:45 – 1:15 Bar T DJ
1:15 – 2:15 Bill Euler

Stage 2 – Finders Keepers (10:30 am -2:15 pm)
10:30 – 11:30 Brian Gross
11:35 – 12:00 Poolesville Jugglers, Poolesville Zumba Demonstration
12:00 – 12:40 Smoke n’ Mangos
12:45 – 2:15 Bob Lauder

Stage 3 – Charles H. Jamison (10:30 am-2:15 pm)
10:30 – 11:30 Browningsville Cornet Band
11:35 – 12:50 Grubspoon
1:00 – 2:15 Nickel Moon

Stage 4 – Skate Park
10:30 – 12:00 Some Assembly Required
12:15 – 2:15 The Alliance/Redemption

The Armchair Quarterback thinks the Gazette sportswriters are sometimes clueless

by Ralph Hitchens

Home recovering from a bout of pneumonia, the Armchair Quarterback missed the Falcons’ road trip to play Richard Montgomery. He had noted the unanimous predictions of the Gazette sportswriters than Poolesville would lose. Still, clinging to optimism, he went to the Post’s AllMetSports website Saturday morning and was overjoyed to find that the Falcons had trounced the Rockets, 24-12.

We’re flying blind here, dependent on stats from AllMetSports and a fine article on the mocovox.com website, but the offense stayed mainly on the ground and apparently dominated the front line. Diminutive workhorse Nickolay Henze gained 140 yards the hard way, on no fewer than 28 carries; fellow tailback Charles Lyles picked up 49 yards on 10 carries, and each lad scored a touchdown. Josh Womack’s leg was as reliable as last season, with three PATs and a 35-yard field goal. Unlike last week, QB Kirby Carmack apparently had little need to carry the offense on his back; he completed 6 of 7 passes for 68 yards, and carried 13 times for a net of minus-4 yards. His rushing numbers suggest a few sacks and a difficult time getting around the corner as he’s proven able to do in the past, although he did add a score on a quarterback sneak. The Falcon defense gave up 267 total yards (10 more than the offense produced, if I’m reading the stats correctly) but forced two fumbles along with an interception to stall the home team’s drives at key moments. For the Rockets, QB Steven Burchett did a fine job in a losing effort, completing 5 of 8 passes for 124 yards, and gaining 101 yards on 5 rushes, with a touchdown.

It’s nice to have a solid win under our belts as we look at the next few games. Poolesville hosts Williamsport on Friday — a team that blew away the Falcons last season but has itself been hammered hard in losing its first two games. After that we face Walter Johnson, a team to which the Falcons gave away an undeserved walkover last season but has opened in relatively undistinguished fashion this year, with a 1-1 record and anemic offensive production. If the Falcon defense tightens up, we might look at a 3-1 record going into midseason. Maybe then the Gazette sportwriters will show us some respect.

The Upcoming Vote on Maryland’s Redistricting Plan

I posted a piece a few weeks ago about Maryland’s redistricting plan. I made the point then that no matter which party offered a plan like Maryland’s, it should be rejected because it is so crassly drawn that many of the districts have almost no “community” connection at all. One district even looks like a “blood spatter from a crime scene” to quote Phil Andrews, one of our county council members.

The plan is so bad that even many Montgomery Democratic leaders are urging that voters reject the plan when they have the chance to vote on it on November 6th. As I noted in my previous blog, and as the Post editorial emphasizes today, the highly political map is not only harmful to any Republicans standing for office – it hurts Democrats too. All political parties – and our democracy – benefit from competition in elections and the competition of ideas and debate. When one party – Republican or Democrat – dominates in a state as is the case in Maryland, everyone loses. Political leaders become crass and uncaring because they don’t have to worry about reelection. They gradually lose touch and become arrogant. We’ve seen that in Maryland.

We’ll see how the ballot measure does but the fact that Democratic leaders in our county are speaking out against the plan speaks volumes.

The Armchair Quarterback thinks the Falcons weren’t quite ready for the Wolverines

By Ralph Hitchens

Proven beyond a shadow of a doubt last Friday night: the best-drilled squad on the gridiron was the Poolesville Poms. Second-best were the Wolverines of Watkins Mill High School. The poor Poolesville Falcons just barely made the short list. Chalk it up to playing in August, which given our recent weather may not have been a great idea. C’mon, it’s still a couple of months away from the end of baseball season — the Armchair QB misses the good old days when “to everything there is a season.” (At least it was encouraging that MCPS required some official’s time-outs for water breaks during the game.)

Hand it to the Wolverines, though — they brought their A-game. Credit where credit is due, the troika of QB Patrick Schlosser and running backs Prodige Kitwata and Quinton Littlejohn proved way too much for the Falcons to handle. Unaccountably, Watkins Mill has yet to submit any individual stats to the Post all-met website so I have no numbers for these three gents, but impressive they surely were. Schlosser was also one of the best local high school placekickers Armchair has seen lately, lofting six PATs with ease. He also (with his coach’s blessing, no doubt) proved himself a very good sport. When Falcon defenders, in desperation, twice committed personal fouls in vain attempts to prevent the Wolverines from scoring and 15-yard penalties were assessed on the ensuing kickoff, Schlosser boomed his kicks well beyond the end zone, allowing the Falcons to start from the 20. He didn’t have to do that and could easily have tapped lightly to pin us deep, but it was gracious instead to give the outmatched home team a fighting chance.

The Falcons failed in nearly every department. The Poolesville defense missed far too many tackles, arms flailing helplessly as white jerseys skittered past them. They simply could not contain the Wolverine running backs and receivers once they got outside. Coach Will Gant, as we’ve observed on several occasions, made his bones as a defensive coordinator under the best Poolesville coach in recent memory, but he clearly has some work to do. On offense, all too often the Falcons were utterly predictable. On nearly every series, you could bet money that on first down it would be poor Nickolay Henze, in his fourth year as a starting workhorse, trying to hammer his way inside and getting at most a couple of hard yards. He gained only 26 yards on 12 carries, but showed his stuff with two pass receptions for 20 yards. The Armchair Quarterback has admired this gritty, undersized running back since his freshman year, and still expects to see him pull off some great performances as the season progresses. The Falcons’ other running back of whom we have great expectations, Charles Lyles, did somewhat better by finding opportunities to cut outside, picking up 28 yards on 8 carries. But the top Falcon rusher was none other than quarterback Kirby Carmack, who ran a successful option and scrambled well out of a collapsing pocket. He picked up 90 yards on a dozen carries, including a touchdown, and completed 4 of 8 passes. We need to see a lot more of this flexible offense. Carmack also proved to be the fastest man on the squad, so far as I could see — the only one able to run down a speedy Wolverine defensive back after giving up his one interception.

Look, it’s early season and way too soon to write off the Falcons, who until the final games of last season haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years. But yeah, keep bringing on the Poms with their own A-game.