Big VIII taking it one hit as a time
Daily dealings with coaches on any level, in any sport will inevitably produce plenty of coach speak. You know, "Take it one game at a time, give 110 percent," etc.
So, when virtually every Big VIII coach filled my notebook with references to their new league as the most physical around, I sounded like classic coach speak.
After watching Norco's Big VIII opener against Riverside Poly on Friday night, I don't think the coaches could have put it any more eloquently.
It's not that the kids in the Big VIII are all mammoth beasts - although they have their fair share of beheomoths - they just seem to have a different mind set regarding contact. All of them. There isn't a hint of fear entering a collision, not a moment's hesitation to hurtle head first into an oncoming train. Watching Poly's 16-0 win from the sidelines last week, the soundtrack alone was worth a million words. I mean the cringe-inducing impact on every play, not the trash talking.
A coach once described a defender's slight hesitation prior to making a tackle as the 'fear factor.' The Big VIII is obviously not familiar with that term.
There were many from which to choose but Norco's Daimion Stafford delivered the most punishing hit of last week's 16-0 Poly win when the 6-foot-1, 215-pound strong safety hit Poly's 5-7, 160-pound Evan Rising so hard he blew the running back's helmet off.
But the highlight reel plays weren't what jarred me, it was the ramarkable consistincy with which these kids knocked the stew out of each other.
Norco defensive line coach Reiny Klein likened the Big VIII to the old black and blue NFC Central division with the Bears, Vikings, Packers and Lions in the late 60s and early 70s.
I guess that means the hits will keep on coming.
About Clay
Clay Fowler has been covering high school sports for six years in California and Texas. He was born in Dallas, attended the University of Texas and worked in Central Texas before joining the Daily Bulletin staff in 2006.
Email Clay here
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