September 26, 2019
DENHAM SPRING RADIO/INTERNET BROADCAST
The Jackets host Assumption HS on Friday, September 20 (tomorrow night). You can catch all the action on Family Radio, 91.9 FM, Baton Rouge and on the Internet at JonFineProductions.com. Air time is 6 PM with Sport N Center Jackets Warmup
Josh Ward, Andy Duckworth and Jon Fine are on the call.
DENHAM SPRINGS INTERVIEWS
Jamie Chustz-Felder, 2019 Inductee to the Denham Springs HS Athletic Hall of Fame will be interviewed on Sport N Center Jackets Warmup. Jamie was a standout girls basketball player at Denham Springs HS and starred on the 1996 Undefeated state championship team. Her brother, the late Joey Chustz, is also a Hall of Famer for his exploits as a great football player for the Jackets… Randy Smith will be a half-time guest on North Oaks Health System Half-Time Report. Randy will talk about the 1969 Denham Springs HS Football team. A popular contributor to Yellow Jackets Memories, a feature on Denham Springs HS Football Broadcasts, Randy owns Smith Accounting.
GOLDEN TORS FOOTBALL
Sulphur hosts Acadiana HS tomorrow night. You can tune in at 6:45 pm on Sports Radio 1310-KEZM-Sulphur/Lake Charles or online at KEZMOnLine.com. Bruce Merchant and Patrick Frey are on the call.
LSU, SAINTS AND MUCH MORE
ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, our EBay store, sells media guides. programs and baseball cards. Please visit JonFineProductions.com and click on icon to get to the store. Check out a full array of New Orleans Saints media guides and LSU media guides and programs and publications from much of the entire sports world. Over 6,200 publications listed.
HOUSTON ASTROS BASEBALL
Catch Houston Astros Baseball on SportsRadio-1310-KEZM-Lake Charles.
WE THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR UTMOST TO PATRONIZE SPONSORS OF OUR PROGRAMMING. THIS HELPS US TREMENDOUSLY IN SUSTAINING OUR WEEKLY LINE-UP AND WILL ASSIST US IN ADDING MORE PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE. KINDLY MAKE AN EFFORT TO LET SPONSORS KNOW YOU HEARD THEIR BUSINESS MENTIONED ON OUR BROADCAST(S)
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
We are a third of the way through the LSU football season, so let’s play good news, bad news.
The good news is that LSU is 4-0. The bad news is that this was the easiest part of the schedule.
The bad news is that injuries are piling up. The good news is that LSU has an off week this week and good depth at most of the positions that have been his by injuries. We all need to hope that we aren’t talking about an injury to Lloyd Cushenberry at any point this year.
The good news is that the passing game is the best in LSU history. The bad news… well this doesn’t count as bad news, but the passing game will need to continue to develop. The freshman running backs need to develop in pass protection. LSU needs to develop the quick passing game and screen game for teams like Florida, Auburn, and Alabama who will certainly get pressure on Burrow.
The bad news is that the running game has not created explosive plays. The good news is the running game looked as good as it has this year against Vanderbilt and should only get better. There is more good news. Ed Ingram is coming back to the team and, at the least, that means more depth on the line. Also, I fully expect there are more aspects to the running game that will be developed over time. We know Burrow can run, the pistol formation has been used sparingly, and other little wrinkles will be used when LSU isn’t able to throw the ball for 200 yards each half.
The good news is that the defensive play calling was much more aggressive against Vanderbilt. I really liked the game plan. There were multiple pre snap looks, pass rushers from different angles, and regular substitution patterns to keep defenders fresh in the front seven. The bad news is the execution was poor at times.
The bad news is that the defense is dealing with a number of injuries. The good news is most don’t appear to be serious and almost everyone is expected back for the Utah State game or Florida. Also, the depth is growing along the defensive line which is clearly necessary with the speed in which the offense is scoring points.
The bad news is that the tackling has been terrible all year. Coach Orgeron talked about it in the preseason, and after every game he has continued to talk about it. I watched a lot of football last Saturday. Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, and many other highly thought of teams tackle very well in space. LSU does not. But, the good news is that we have seen these same defenders tackle better so logic says this issue can be resolved.
I hope I am not pouring orange juice in your Cheerios, but the Saints win in Seattle was the product of many numerous circumstances that were outside the Saints control. Meanwhile, aspects of the game that are within the control of the Saints were poorly executed.
The defensive backs continue to have poor situational awareness at the end of halves. It should have cost the Saints at the end of the first half, but time ran out on Seattle. The Seahawks had an easy touchdown in the fourth quarter, but somehow Wilson overthrew Lockett. Finally, I am thankful for the special teams touchdown and defensive touchdown, but if that is what it takes to win, you can’t count on winning many games. Very soon, the Saints are going to have to figure out a way to be more productive on offense and stop giving up chunk plays on defense.
What sticks in my mind is how poorly the Saints close games on defense. If the Saints don’t get the defensive touchdown or Wilson completes the pass to Lockett, then the Seahawks have the ball at the end with a chance to tie or win.. The Saints seemingly can’t stop anyone at the end of a game. I wish they would give some of the young defensive backs a chance in those situations because poor AJ Klein just can’t do anything in those situations.
Now that I got that bit of fandom out my system, I need to talk myself into enjoying the position the Saints are in at this moment. Clearly, the team recognized the need to elevate their play with Drew out and maybe that is the spark needed to get this team going. Maybe they are used to being comfortable and waiting around for Drew to bail them out. A little desperation and sense of urgency never hurt.
The same is true for coaches. Recognizing the need to change things up a bit is a good thing too. There has been some talk of using Deonte Harris more on offense. Sign me up for that. Alvin Kamara was incredible against Seattle, but we can’t trade putting all the load from Drew to Alvin and expect to have a highly productive offense.
The Saints under Payton have always been at their best when everyone is being used. That was the case last year until they played Dallas and that stopped. The offense was Thomas, Ingram, and Kamara. It may be too much to ask, but I like the Saints chances against Dallas if they are able to spread the ball from Thomas to Kamara to Murray to Harris to Hill to Ginn to Cook.
Maybe Payton will really get crazy and run some tempo to slow down that Dallas pass rush. Now that LSU does it, the Saints might be the last team that in American that only runs tempo at the end of halves and games. Time to throw all we have at Dallas and pay them back for last year.
HEY REF
Before I get into the “meat” so to speak for this week I’ve got to share a couple things with everyone. Last Friday night I was on the mend, recovering from surgery, and my assignment was to run the game clock between the home standing Slaughter Community Charter Knights and the visiting Ascension Catholic Bulldogs. For those unaware and I doubt there are many the Bulldogs from Donaldsonville were very successful in hiring one of the best football coaches in Louisiana, Benny Saia, this off season.
And for their efforts in this very early stage of the season it appears all their hard work in landing Coach Saia is paying big dividends. I can only compare the couple of times I worked his games to what I saw this past Friday night. He has the Bulldogs playing as if they are in the middle of a playoff run. Against the Nights the game was “over” before we’d played the first twelve minutes. Two weeks ago senior running back Jai Williams was named the high school player of the week, a reward he was entitled to. So did he have anything to add this week?
All eyes were once again upon the 5’10” running back to see if he did have anything else to add from the prior week’s game. And boy did he have something to add. I realize that Slaughter is a team on the way up and are just a year or two from getting established but in less than 12 minutes Williams ran for three scores and brought an interception back for a touchdown. Four touchdowns in a single quarter! Many players don’t score four times in a complete season. Before we had time to loosen up the score was 35-0. And then “IT” happened, something you never see any more in this take no prisoners mentality in high school sports.
The “IT” was Coach Saia resting most of his starters for the rest of the night. This move by the Bulldogs’ coach did two things; of course it gave his starting eleven some much needed rest they’ll need for a long season but also because they aren’t deep in numbers. Slaughter was given the chance to see how their players would respond against a much bigger and faster team. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Knights never surrendered. The lone score Slaughter mustered was one of determination as the reserves from both sides didn’t quit until the final few seconds ticked away. My hat’s off to both coaches and teams because I’ve been witness to games of this type getting out of hand so fast you wonder if we’ll be able to finish without sending many players home for fighting and various examples of unsportsmanlike conduct.
While all eyes were on Williams you had to notice this mountain of a man playing defensive end for A. C. When I did inquire about him the broadcast team from the Bulldogs told me that number seven was just a sophomore! How could this be possible, I thought to myself. This mountain goes by the name J’Mond Tapp. He’s listed at 6’4” and a whopping 240lbs. Those 240 pounds are solid pounds too. He’s got more speed than most college runners. I can only hope he stays in school and graduates because he’s got that raw talent that many schools are looking for and need. Mr. Tapp please take the advice of somebody who thinks he knows something about football and stay in school, get an education. Remember the only friends you’ll need in your life right now are your TEXT BOOKS. And at the end of the day about the only thing that can’t be taken from you is an education.
Before I run completely out of time and room once again I’m at odds with those who think they’re special and know something about high school football in Louisiana, the LSWA. I’m not a member of the Louisiana Sport’s Writers Association and have never been invited to join but the polls released for the week of 9/24/19 prove you don’t have to know anything to be a member of this organization. My reasons are simple; in the 5A poll listed in the number 10 slot is Zachary with a record of a single win against two losses. The is another vote where they give credit for what a school had done in the previous year. Just not the right thing to do since the poll should reflect what that school has accomplished in the current year. If that was the case in 5A then Zachary wouldn’t be listed anywhere near the top ten programs for 2019.
The LSWA proves they are consistent in doing the wrong thing because they repeat their mistake in 3A by also listing a school, St. Martinville with an identical 1-2 record. Again in 1A they rank another 1-2 program, Oak Grove as being one of the ten best in the state of Louisiana. And they bestow upon them an unbelievable number four ranking in this week’s poll. But their most egregious mistake has to be in Class 2A where Many sits as the number ten team with, are you ready for this? Many hasn’t won a game in three weeks. Just so happens we’ve only played just three games and Many hasn’t won a single one of them! Yet these Einstein’s of sport’s knowledge decree that a team that hasn’t bested a single opponent is the fourth best team in our state? That’s enough to send me looking for my bottle of pink Pepto Bismol.
So, I’ll close till next week… …
DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
OUR EBAY STORE, ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-SULPHUR/LAKE CHARLES.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK FOR PAYJUNCTION AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE AND HAMILTON RELAY IN FACILITATING CONVERSATIONS FOR THE HARD OF HEARING