Special treat tonight. A poem from Birmingham wide receiver De'Von Flournoy.

THE MIND
The mind is a symbol of life, because a mind can get you places luck can't even get a sample of. A mind is that first invisible step that starts your marathon. If you develop yourself into the mode of mind first then action, you will be unstoppable in whatever you do! so except your mind and use it for positive and it will do wonders for you. The mind is like the mouth, it feeds you the good stuff and the bad stuff and the stomach filters it.

WHAT WILL YOU FEED YOUR MIND !?

By De'Von Flournoy

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's two ways of looking at tonight's 30-10 victory over Dorsey:

1. This is the last important game Birmingham will play until December.

2. This is the first important game Birmingham has played all year.

Both are true.

Basically, this is the last game Birmingham will play until December where the opponent was expected to give them a real challenge. No disrespect to the other West Valley League teams, but it's become clear that Birmingham is the class of the league and no one else is even close. All the other teams should be competitve with each other. Right now, I'd have a hard time even predicting who will finish second.

But to me, the biggest thing to come out of this game was the first look at Birmingham's two-quarterback offense. If tonight was any indication, it seems like coach Croson will be using both Exavier Johnson and Morey Croson all year long. Tonight, Morey played about 70 percent of the time and Ex got in for the rest. Morey is running the Patriots' ``power offense'' and Ex is running the ``spread offense.'' Both looked good. Morey has grown by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year. He's smart, poised and manages the game very well. Ex has a rocket arm, great scrambling ability and is a dynamic playmaker.

I think the percentages will change from week to week, some weeks Ex might even start. But it'll be interesting to see how the constant changes affect the team's chemistry and flow. Both QBs are well liked by their teammates. Morey has earned their respect from his solid work in Birmingham's big victories over Long Beach Poly and Notre Dame. Ex has earned their respect from his time as Taft's QB for two years and flashes of brilliance in practice.

I was really wondering how coach Croson would handle the situation. On the one hand, you don't want to mess wit something that's been working, and Morey has been working. On the other hand, Ex is such a dynamic player, it's hard to keep him off the field.

It looks like it'll be a fun experiment to watch play out over the rest of the season...

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 2:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, we finally got our first look at talented senior QB Exavier Johnson tonight. I'd been hearing Ex would play a little QB this week, but didn't think he'd do much since he still had a little trouble gripping the ball just 6 weeks after breaking a knuckle in his right hand. He played about four series, mostly in the first half and I have to say, WOW. Very impressive. His stats won't look like much, and people will point to the interception he threw on his very first play as evidence of rust, but once he got it going a little, it was impressive.

I knew Ex was a good scrambler, but hadn't seen him do it much in the few games I saw him play at Taft over the years. But he ran several times tonight and I really don't know if anyone is going to be able to bring him down. At this point, I'd put him right up there with the best scrambling QBs in the area... Dayne Crist and Chris Potter.

I caught up with him in the fourth quarter, as he and most of Birmingham's other starters were taking off their shoulder pads. He was walking a little slow and gingerly.

``You alright?'' I asked.

``I'm kind of sore actually,'' he said, smiling.

Running back Milton Knox was nearby and overheard the conversation.

``I told you running back isn't easy,'' Knox said. ``Toughest position on the field.''

Ex nodded. He wasn't about to argue.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 2:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We'll have video of this in the next couple of days, but for those of you not at Rancho Cienega Park tonight, you missed one of the biggest hits I've ever seen. Birmingham safety Okechukwu Meke absolutely crushed a Dorsey receiver tonight.

I was talking on my cell phone at the time and my friend on the other line HEARD the hit. Crazy. She was like, ``What just happened there? It sounded like a car accident?'' I swear, I'm not making this up.

I asked Chukwu what it felt like to hit someone like that. I'm always surious how it feels and sounds. Like, can you hear the other player wince? Can you feel his body crumble?

``You know,'' Chukwu said. ``When you hit someone like that, you don't feel a thing. You just see 'em fall. But it doesn't even feel like you hit something.''

Interesting. It kind of reminds me of baseball/softball. When you really hit the ball on the nose, it doesn't feel like anything. You feel like you barely swung. ...

Check back on Sunday for Justin's defensive highlights from the game. Chukwu's hit is really that big.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are certain times in a game when you find out what kind of coach you've really got. Time and time again, Birmingham coach Ed Croson has showed that he's not afraid to roll the dice.

The first time came near the end of the first half. Birmingham was up 7-0 with about two minutes to go. It was 4th and 6 from the Notre Dame 35-yard line. Most coaches would pooch kick, hope the defense can hold and take the lead into halftime. Not Croson. He went for it and his son, junior QB Morey Croson made him look good. Notre Dame blitzed, Morey made the hot read and found Kyle Lard up the seam for a 23-yard gain. Milton Knox scored a 16-yard TD two plays later.

The second key play came on the last drive of the game. Birmingham was up 28-21 with 1:20 to go in the game. 4th and 1 from its own 48 yard line. Most coaches would punt and try to pin ND deep in its own territory because if you go for it and miss, ND gets the ball near midfield with plenty of time to complete a few passes and go for the tying score.

Croson decided to go for it. Milton Knox picked up the first down and Birmingham was able to kill the clock and the game...

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 1:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. Keyshawn Johnson stayed for the whole game, signed autographs and posed for pictures. No word on why he was there, but afterwards, some of the Birmingham coaches wondered if he might be doing some advance scouting for his alma mater, next week's opponent, Dorsey.

2. John Walker, former Birmingham standout, USC defensive back.

3. Dennis Keyes, UCLA DB who starred at Birmingham in 2004.

4. Chris and Dana Potter. The Oaks Christian QB was up late the night before his big game with St. Bonaventure, supportin his godbrother, Milton Knox and his former Pop Warner teammates....

5. Crespi. Who do you think they were rooting for? The Birmingham wins over LBP and ND has made Crespi's Week 1 win over Bham look better and better.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not really.

Exavier Johnson got into the game for just three plays on Thursday night. He jumped offsides once, drew a pass interference call (+15 yards for Birmingham) and dropped one pass.

He looked a little frustrated on the sidelines, but honestly, it was a little quick to expect much production out of him. Exavier only began working out last week and practicing on Monday of this week. Look for him to play more next week, but probably still as a receiver since Morey Croson's done a fine job of steering the offense in his absence.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Birmingham is the underdog in this game, no doubt about it. At least a seven-point underdog I'd say. Then again, they were probably a 10-point underdog to Long Beach Poly two weeks ago and we all know what happened with that. ...

For Birmingham to win, they'll need to:

1. Hope it doesn't rain during the game. Normally you'd think rain favors the underdog, because anything can happen in a mud bowl. But in this case, rain negates Birmingham's biggest advantage: speed. The Patriots are faster than just about any team out there. The only way to stop twin terror defensive ends Malik and Marquis Jackson is to use their speed against them. But if it rains, the speed differential is completely different.

2. Have no fumbles. Turnovers have been a problem the first three games of the year, but even one turnover is probably too much against a talented team like Notre Dame.

3. Control the clock. Notre Dame can't score if it doesn't have the ball, and Birmingham has got the kind of running back --Milton Knox -- who can chunk off the yards and milk the clock. This was one of the reasons Birmingham was able to beat Long Beach Poly.

4. Involve its tight ends in the offense. Both Mychael Rivera and Rafael Lopez have committed to Division I universities. Both are big, strong guys with good hands. If they are involved, the defense has to pay attention to them. Since they're so big, it takes a linebacker to cover them, meaning there's one less defender in the box to stop the run. But in three games, they've combined for just four catches. Not enough.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And just in time for this week's nationally televised showdown with Notre Dame. ... One catch: He's expected to line up at receiver most of the night because he's not able to fully grip the ball yet.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Exavier Johnson that is. ... And the date is Monday. Hopefully.

The star QB plans to go to the doctor on Monday and return to practice with a clearance form. He's been working out this week, running and throwing lightly on the sidelines, but hasn't gone through any drills.

Even if he's cleared Monday, it's not certain that he'll play in Thursday's showdown with Notre Dame. For one, it's a short week so he will only have three days to prepare. Two, Morey Croson has done well in his absence and the team might not want to mess up the chemistry he's developed. But most importantly, as much as Ex wants to play, and as much as he'd help the team, it's more important not to rush him back to soon and risk re-injuring the throwing hand.

That leaves three possible outcomes: 1. He gets cleared and goes right back to being the starting QB. 2. He gets cleared and starts at wide receiver. 3. He gets cleared, but is held out for precautionary reasons.

No. 2 looks most likely at this point. But we'll have to wait and see. ...

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Man, was that ugly. There were some good plays, but Birmingham's 29-14 win over Valencia was one of the most disjointed games I've seen in quite some time. In the second half, it seemed like there was a penalty after just about every play.

This was a very lose-able game for Birmingham. Valencia isn't the dominant team it has been in years past, but the Vikings have several really good players and are obviously well coached. Birmingham led just 8-6 at halftime and it easily could've been 9-8 Valencia if not for some confusion with the play clock at the end of the half.

There are games like this in a season. You play well enough to win, but you made enough mistakes to lose. Good teams find a way to win these types of games. They don't feel good about it, but they feel better than if they lose.

Coach Croson has a great way of summing things up after the game and tonight he was particularly on-point.

``Guys,'' he said. ``Let's get our stuff and get out of here as fast as possible.''

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

High School Football

---

Videos:

9/7: Birmingham vs. LB Poly: Defensive Highlights

9/7: Birmingham vs. LB Poly: Offensive Highlights

9/7: Birmingham vs. LB Poly: Post-game reaction

9/7: Coach Croson talks to the team

9/7: USC coach Carroll at the game

Behind the Scenes: Quarterbacks

It was strange being on the Birmingham sideline during the game. Actually, it was eerily quiet. Sort of like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter where no one talks to him until after the final out.

The quote of the night came from young Mr. Croson, who was all smiles after the game as teammate/parent/coach/friend came by and gave him a little tap on the shoulder pads to acknowledge the solid game he'd turned in.

Asked whether Poly was bigger/scarier/faster than he anticipated, Morey said, ``Honestly I think they were bigger last year. But then again, I was skinnier.''

Linebacker Donovan Carter was also good for a soundbyte. Asked whether everyone on the team thought they had a chance to win on Friday, Carter joked, ``I think a lot of people were just hoping it'd be close.''

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 2:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ex was at practice yesterday wearing a black, support brace on his broken hand, but didn't have the hard white cast on.

His hand is feeling a lot better, he said, and he's hoping to be able to start throwing again next week, although it's wildly optimistic to think he'd play next Friday against Valencia. At this point, even the Notre Dame game the following week is a bit of a reach, but that's the game he's shooting for.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are two schools of thought on how you handle a disappointing loss. One says that you throw the game tape away, tell the guys to erase it from your memory and quickly move on to the next challenge. The other says you dissect the game tape with surgical precision, torture yourself with replays of missed tackles and bad decisions, then find a way to learn from it without completely beating yourself up.

Birmingham chose the latter option after its disappointing season opening loss to Crespi last week.

We found the team in a rather subdued, but focused mood on Wednesday. They'd spent the last few days trying to learn from everything that went wrong last Friday and finally seemed to be in the mood to move forward.

Coach Croson doesn't mind that his team has to deal with failure so early in the season. In fact, he prefers it that way. Coach said that when he first came to the school in 2000, the schedule was so easy early on that the team never had a chance to find out who it was and learn to deal with adversity. When the playoffs came, and things got tough, the team unravelled too quickly.

This week, the Patriots have ordered another plate of adversity in the form of Long Beach Poly.

I've heard conflicting things about Poly this year. Some think they're just an average LBP team, which, inand of itself, is pretty darn good. But the Birmingham staff thinks LBP is great this year.

Said one assistant coach, ``They're not normally a great passing league team, but they were winning them this summer.''

Still, no one was questioning the logic of playing them.

Said assistant coach Kevin Thomas, ``Something happens to the team after we play Long Beach Poly. It's like once we play them, no one is scary. It changes the team after we play Poly. They become fearless.''

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel like I'm going to lose 10 pounds on this assignment. Never a
bad thing. But not so good for my neighborhood McDonald's
establishment.

Friday, Justin and I showed up to hang with the team during their
pregame meal. I'd already been warned by former player Dennis Keyes --
now the starting corner at UCLA -- that coach Croson is something of a
health nut. So I thought I'd try and be respectful of the team's
policies whenever I'm around them. Unfortunately I remembered that
after I ordered my 10-piece Chicken McNugget meal and medium diet
coke, which went into the trash bin, half-eaten, on my walk into
campus.

I have to say, the spread Birmingham's parents put out for the
pregame meal is pretty impressive. Every Friday, a group of about 10
parents meets around noon to cut and prepare enough fruit salad, green
salad and rotisserie chicken for the entire team and coaching staff.

It takes about two hours to get it done and it has to be done by 2
p.m. because once the players start filing into the multipurpose room,
you're best served by getting out of the way.

Most of the players seem to like the healthy eats if you judge by the
condition of their plates afterwards. But a closer inspection reveals
that it's an acquired taste.

"You get used to it, I guess," one player told me. (I'm omitting
the player's name to protect him from future windsprints) "I don't
really know if it makes me play better. But it couldn't hurt and I'm
used to it."

Still, it's pretty shocking to see a bunch of teenage boys eating
like this, without protest. For most kids their age, the only greens
they're willing to eat are green peanut M&Ms or sour apple flavored
gummy sticks.

But this just shows how much this team buys into Croson's message. It
may not always seem like it during team meetings, when at least two
guys are fidgeting with their iPods while he talks, but they're
hanging on his every word and seem to trust him implicitly.

I haven't been around long enough to completely understand the
dynamic, but Croson seems to have a Phil Jackson kind of quality about
him. He can talk about things that his players can't quite relate to,
and might even think are weird, like healthy eating and visualization,
but they trust him enough to give it a try and follow along.

Posted by Ramona Shelburne at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)