Game #6: Tallmadge 27, Springfield 0

A great win for A Team Gold against the host Springfield Spartans. This game was punctuated by new wrinkles to the A Team Gold attack, including Bobby C. at the fullback position in the power-I formation, and the great kicking of Tyler "The Toe" C. Quinntin T. scored his first TD, and Cheese kept everyone pumped at the line of scrimmage! A Team Gold even attempted a point-after kick. It was close, but not quite there!

There are so many highlights in this game, that we are posting all four quarters for your enjoyment!

Game #5: Ellet 13, Tallmadge 12

A disappointing loss by A Team Gold on the road against the Ellet Raiders. This was a game that shouldn't even have been so close, but errors on both offense and defense, as well as some awful refereeing contributed to this loss.

As A Team Gold received the kickoff to begin the game, but three plays later fumbled the ball to give the Raiders possession on the Tallmadge 35 yard line. However, the mighty Devils' defense held the Raiders to a quick four downs, aided by this Bobby C. stop behing the line of scrimmage:

At this point A Team Gold begins an impressive drive beginning on their own 27 yard line. A few plays later, Andrew S. finds the soft spot in the Ellet defense on this sneak to the Ellet 48:

Three plays later, on 3rd and 12, Andrew S. again finds room to run on the perfect boot:

Two short plays later, Kane advances the ball to the Ellet 1 yard line with this 25 yard run:

With this, the first quarter came to a close with no score showing on the board.

The second quarter begins with Andrew and the O-Line pushing their way into the end zone for A Team Gold's first touchdown!

Unfortunately, the extra point is no good but A Team Gold has taken a 6-0 lead over the Ellet Raiders.

After the kickoff, the Ellet Raiders begin their next drive from the Tallmadge 49 yard line. Five plays later (and several missed illegal shift and illegal procedure calls from the Ellet-friendly referees) the Raiders found themselves in the endzone tying the game up at 6-6.

On the next possession, Andrew S finds a huge hole behind left tackle an moves the ball for a big gain deep into Ellet territory. But again, the referees curse the Devils' drive with a terrible holding call on the offensive lineman, bringing the ball back to the Ellet 49 yard line:

On the next play, A Team Gold fumbles, giving the Raiders another possession. Once again, the Raiders move downfield, again aided by no calls on illegal shifts and illegal motion by the left guard (he was bobbing his head up and down and his butt up and down while set). Despite a great play by Andrew S.:

the Raiders were soon in the Tallmadge endzone, and with a good conversion, had a 13-6 lead over A Team Gold, and the first half ended with this score.

Good fortune smiles on A Team Gold as the second half begins when Bobby C. creates a fumble and Andrew F. recovers it to give the Blue Devils the ball at the Ellet 24 yard line:

Six plays later, A Team Gold again puts the ball on the ground and Ellet takes over. But again, Bobby C. makes big things happen, and on the very next play steals the fumble from the Raiders:

This gives A Team Gold the ball at the Ellet 43 yard line, and Kane makes them pay with this hard run for six:

Once again, the referees are unable to see the ball cross the plane of the goal line, and the score becomes a tight 13-12 in favor of the home team. But Andrew S. would not allow the Raiders to have good field position on the ensuing kickoff:

A Team Gold's defense steps up big on Ellet's next possession, as the third quarter comes to a close with the Raiders up 13-12.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Nate B. and Kane team on this huge fourth down stop of the Ellet runner:

And on the next play, Kane gains 15 yards for a first down at the Ellet 36:

However, the Tallmadge drive stalls and Ellet again takes the ball as time begins to run out on A Team Gold. Again, the Devils' defense comes up big with as they drive the Ellet runner out of bounds on this fourth down play with about 1:35 left to play:

But the Ellet clock operator does not stop the clock! An with time running out, A Team Gold's young offense makes a brave attempt at controlling the clock for a final drive. But luck (and whomever else) was just not on the Devils' side today as the ball is once again fumbled and the Raiders recover to seal the game with a 13-12 win over the good guys.

A tough and demoralizing loss for A Team Gold. Next week, the final road game of the season against the Springfield Spartans:

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Game #4: Tallmadge 12, Cuyahoga Falls 6

A complete team effort by A Team Gold as they travel to Cuyahoga Falls and leave town with a 12-6 victory over a pesky Black Tigers team.

Falls deferred the opening kickoff but A Team Gold was unable to mount a solid drive on its first possession. The Black Tigers took over and quickly drove into Tallmadge territory, but on 4th and 11 from the Tallmadge 26, Kane picks off the Falls pass:

The big run is brought back by a penalty, but soon, Mike B. finds daylight with this run to the 43 yard line:

Unfortunately, celebration turned to disappointment quickly as A Team Gold coughs up the ball on the next play for the first of their four turnovers, and the first quarter came to a close with no score on the board.

As the second quarter gets underway, Falls once again drives deep into Tallmadge territory. However, the Devils' defense held tough as the Black Tigers are unable to capitalize on a first and goal from the Tallmadge 3 yard line. Bobby C adds insult to injury as he sacks the Falls QB all the way back to the 17 yard line:

On the next possession, A Team Gold is able to gain positive yardage into Falls territory, aided by this 53 yard run by Kane from deep in Tallmadge territory:

Three plays later, Mike B pushes hard for another Tallmadge first down:

But again, misfortune looks down upon the Blue Devils as the ball is again fumbled and the Black Tigers take over.

On their next drive, the Black Tigers' QB finds Bobby C deep in his pocket on this sack!:

The clock ticks down on A Team Gold as they put together an impressive drive with Kane running hard for first downs, the second aided by a Nick C block:

But the clock runs out on A Team Gold as the horn blows on the Falls' 12 yard line, with a scoreless game going into the break.

As the third quarter get underway, the Devils' defense bends but holds, and then Bobby C blocks and recovers the Black Tigers' punt:

Finally, with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, Kane runs his sweep to perfection as he scores from the Falls 27 yard line:

The conversion fails, but A Team Gold has broken the deadlock to take a 6-0 lead.

As the Black Tigers take possession, they are greeted by the energized Tallmadge defense. Matt G makes a monster tackle on the running QB:

and Colten S. intercepts this bad Falls pass thanks to the QB pressure applied by Jake M.:

But once again, the Devils' drive comes to an abrupt end as the ball is fumbled and recovered by the Black Tigers. The third quarter ends with A Team Gold holding a 6-0 lead over Falls.

In the fourth quarter, Quinten T. gets the ball back for A Team Gold with this interception:

Mike B. runs hard for this first down into Falls territory:

And Kane makes the Black Tigers pay with this 28 yard touchdown run!:

Again, the conversion fails, but the lead is now 12-0 over the Black Tigers.

The lead would get smaller as Falls returns the kickoff for a touchdown and a 12-6 score. But Quinten T. returns the Falls kickoff to the Falls 44 yard line:

and Kane seals the deal on this first down run thanks to a nice lead block by Nick C.:

With 1:03 to go on the clock, and with no timeouts left, Falls can only watch as A Team Gold closes out this contest and a 12-6 victory!

Again, an all-around team effort by all A Team Gold players! Next week, A Team Gold is once again on the road as they travel to Ellet map to take on the Raiders.

My thanks to Mike Gray for videotaping the second half of this game!

Game #3: Green 7, Tallmadge 0

A tough afternoon for A Team Gold as they drop this one to the visiting Green Bulldogs by a score of 7-0.

The game began on an exciting note as Colten S. returns the opening kickoff 52 yards to the Green 8 yard line:

Unfortunately, A Team Gold was unable to punch it in and the Bulldogs began their drive from the Tallmadge 10 yard line. Green was steady in their attack and drove downfield. Bobby C. was able to hold them in check for one play as he drops the runner for a loss:

The first quarter came to a close with no score as the Green Bulldogs continue to advance the ball into Tallmadge territory. As the Bulldogs approached the Tallmadge goal line, Colten S. and Quinton T. hit the Green runner hard and Andrew f. recovers the fumble giving the Tallmadge offense possession of the ball at around their own 12 yard line!

Once again, A Team Gold's offense struggles to move the ball and is forced to punt from their own 15 yard line. Green blocks the kick and takes possession on the Tallmadge 14 yard line. This time, the Green offense is met by the staunch Blue Devils' defense and again, Bobby C. finds the runner behind the line of scrimmage for a loss:

A Team Gold is awarded one final possession before the end of the half, but again were met with a tough Green defense as the first half ends with no score on the board.

To start the second half, the Green Bulldogs begin their offensive attack at their own 41 yard line. This time, they are able to move the ball through the middle of the Tallmadge defense, and at the three minute mark of the third quarter, Green is able to find the Blue Devils' end zone. The conversion is good, and the Bulldogs take a 7-0 lead.

Once again, A Team Gold's offense goes four and out and the third quarter ends as Tallmadge kicks possession back to the Bulldogs on the Tallmadge 40 yard line.

The fourth quarter was again a defensive battle for A Team Gold as again they bent, but this time did not break. Quinton T. was able to find some air as he breaks up this Green pass:

and Matt G. is close to what the fans thought was a Bulldog fumble but was ruled down by contact:

With one final possession left at the one minute mark of the fourth quarter, A Team Gold is finally able to earn their only first down of the game on a hard run by Quinton T., who stepped in for the injured Kane:

Unfortunately, it simply was too little too late and the horn blew with the final score of Green 7, Tallmadge 0.

A tough loss the for the good guys at home! Next week, A Team Gold hits the road for Cuyahoga Falls and the first of three road games. Keep rooting for the boys as they look to bounce back from this weeks' loss! Finally, my thanks to Brian East for videotaping the second half of this week's game. Please let me know if you are willing to help out with this task!

Game #2: Mogadore 6, Tallmadge 12

They say any win over Mogadore is a good win. It could be argued that this week's A Team Gold victory over the Wildcats was a great win!

Mogadore began the contest with the ball and was able to advance, and despite some great defensive stops by Colten S. and Andrew F., the Wildcats were able to gain a first down. However, on 4th and 3, Kane made a big stop to give the Tallmadge offense their first possession:

A Team Gold also moved the ball with a couple of big first down plays. The first by Kane:

and on a 3rd and 4, Mike B. made a huge run to move the Blue Devils deeper into Mogadore territory as the first quarter came to a close with no score on the board:

Good fortune did not follow A Team Gold in the second quarter as they fumbled on the Mogadore 12 yard line to lose possession of the football.

The Wildcats were able to move the ball as far as the 30 yard line. However, A Team Gold's defense begins to push back with some key plays like this stop by Jake M.:

and this great stop by Andrew F. after Kane gets run over by the Wildcats' tailback!:

A few short plays later, Mogadore had to punt away and confusion turned to excitement as Kane made a spectacular return!

Two plays later, A Team Gold coughed up the ball again and the Wildcats began another drive. The Blue Devils' defense bent but did not break, and continued to hold back the Mogadore offense with a couple of tough plays:

Thus, the first half came to a close with no score on the board.

The Tallmadge players came back from the break determined to move the ball. However, disaster struck on the kickoff as the Blue Devils let the ball get away and the Wildcats recovered. But the Tallmadge defense was up to the task and again made some hard nosed plays which drove the Mogadore offense back. Bobby C. made his presence felt on a number of occasions, like this tackle for a loss:

and Jake M. followed suit by also dropping the Wildcats behind the line of scrimmage:

And finally, with 3 minutes left on the third quarter clock, Kane makes a gritty run from Mogadore's 42 yard line to paydirt, giving the Devils a 6-0 lead:

A Team Gold was unable to convert on the play, and the third quarter came to a close with Tallmadge ahead 6-0.

The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair. The Wildcats were able to pull off some spectacular plays.... but they only count when you don't get penalized! And so, A Team Gold took control of the ball, and Andrew S. led his team downfield with some fleet of foot of his own:

Three plays later, Andrew would see daylight and run up the middle for this 34 yard TD!:

the conversion again failed, but now A Team Gold was sitting on a 12-0 lead. Nick C. made a big tackle on the ensuing kickoff:

And on this offensive series, the Wildcats' offense stayed home as they scored on a long half back option pass (their fourth attempt) for a touchdown. However, Bobby C. rudely interrupted the Mogadore conversion attempt with this play:

Mogadore decides to trick the Tallmadge receiving team with an onsides kick. However, the Wildcats' kicker lifts the ball and Mike B. makes them pay with this 24 yard return:

Two plays later, Dylan S. rumbles up the middle with this 11 yard gain, effectively putting the proverbial nail in the Mogadore coffin:

After this, A Team Gold's offense went into the Victory Formation as the clock ran out and giving the Blue Devils a 12-6 victory over Mogadore and a 2-0 record for the year.

Again, our thanks to the A Team Gold Cheerleaders (the Golden Girls?) as they kept the crowd pumped!

Next week, the Green Bulldogs visit us at Overdale Field. Many of the A Team Gold players remember this team from two years ago. It was many of the players' first ever game as C Teamers and it was a defeat in the driving rain of the Katrina remnants on a muddy Green field. It'll be a great week of practice, and A Team Gold hopes to avenge that bitter loss!