Posts of the Week

I’m especially PUMPED for this game because my son, football buddy and United States AIRMAN will be there with me!! Can’t ask for a better WELCOME HOME than Friday Night Lights at the Reservation on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11!!

This game was a tale of two halves. And the tale of the second half was sloppy.

That second half was the first time in the Joseph era at PN-G that I've been disappointed in the way the Indians played. There were way, way, way too many penalties. That was just as true of Crawford as it was of PN-G, and I gather that Crawford instigated a lot of the bad behavior and mental errors on the field that took yardage from PN-G. But I have become accustomed to, and come to expect, discipline from the Indians under Joseph's tutelage--especially when the opposing team is cutting up. I thought last week showed a lot of improvement since the season opener against Memorial. This week, it looks like we took several steps backward.

This is also a rare moment when I have been disappointed in the play-calling during the Joseph era. Ordinarily, I'm one of the last people on this site to criticize play-calling. In fact, I'm most often the one here defending the play-calling. And, I've had no real reason to criticize the play-calling since Coach Joseph arrived at PN-G. So, I hope the rarity of this expression on my part clearly signals its sincerity. I have to call out the decisions to throw the ball on 3rd and 6 from the Crawford 15 on the second-to-last PN-G drive of the game, and to throw it again on 3rd and 5 from the Crawford 10 on the last drive of the game. Both times, running the ball would have all but guaranteed at least a few years and the most likely outcomes were either a 1st and Goal or a 4th and short. In the latter case, we would not have been locked into a passing down on 4th down and we would have had more options available in the playbook on the next play. I can see at least a possible rationale on the last drive given we were trying to conserve clock at that point, but in the earlier case, we were trying to chew clock and running the ball would have better served that objective. Earlier in the Joseph era, our play-calling was much more conventional and run-heavy early in the season and became more elaborate, more versatile, and more pass-friendly as the season wore on. It seems like we've departed from that philosophy this season and I'm at a loss to understand why--it's served us very well in the past, as I always reminded the critics who stressed how boring they thought that modus operandi was at the time.

I was not concerned after the loss to Memorial. I am very concerned tonight. I believe the Indians can still pull it together and make this season another one for the history books. Jackson is coming along very well and made some stellar plays tonight--I think he just has a little fine tuning to do with his hands to perfect his game. Henry and Montgomery both look fantastic running the ball. Gholke and Benkert are playmakers. Ashworth is showing a lot of poise and maturity in key situations, and I think his passing game shows tremendous promise for improvement with a little better decision-making. And the highlights of the night, in my opinion, were the four interceptions our defense hauled in and all their backfield penatration and gang-tackling. But on the other hand, we forced four interceptions in a ballgame and still found a way to lose.

There's a ton of work to be done in practice.

Ok lets get it started. Coach Joseph has an ask. Per the Alumni broadcast, he is asking for a full house tonight. Please, please if you can come to the game. He wants a packed house. Please ,again, come to the game if you can . Bring a friend, bring some family, or bring a co-worker. My son works in Louisiana and his co-workers are all intrigued when they hear about PN-G football. He has brought several to see it for themselves. They have all left with their minds blown. Many now Indians fans from a far. Lets do our part and show Crawford what playing at the Reservation means. Their coach even told his team that they have played in big games, but they have never seen anything like they will see this week. Lets make his statement come true. Show up, be loud, stand up for Cherokee, and be loud when the plays dictate it. We only have a small part but lets maximize that small part we can do. Ill see you at the Reservation. Go Indians. This is not a must win game, but it definitely could be a huge confidence builder for the young players and the team as a whole. After studying the region, PN-G has as good of a chance as anyone in our region to fight our way through it. It starts with playing these tough preseason games and preparing these kids for district. Then using district for playoff seeding and then preparing us for the playoffs. I love seeing coach working every week to put the very best team on the field. Tonight will probably be no different. He will continue to improve his starters, backups, packages, and a finished product that is ready for district, then a polished product for the playoff's.

prepballfan said:

Ok lets get it started. Coach Joseph has an ask. Per the Alumni broadcast, he is asking for a full house tonight. Please, please if you can come to the game. He wants a packed house. Please ,again, come to the game if you can . Bring a friend, bring some family, or bring a co-worker. My son works in Louisiana and his co-workers are all intrigued when they hear about PN-G football. He has brought several to see it for themselves. They have all left with their minds blown. Many now Indians fans from a far. Lets do our part and show Crawford what playing at the Reservation means. Their coach even told his team that they have played in big games, but they have never seen anything like they will see this week. Lets make his statement come true. Show up, be loud, stand up for Cherokee, and be loud when the plays dictate it. We only have a small part but lets maximize that small part we can do. Ill see you at the Reservation. Go Indians. This is not a must win game, but it definitely could be a huge confidence builder for the young players and the team as a whole. After studying the region, PN-G has as good of a chance as anyone in our region to fight our way through it. It starts with playing these tough preseason games and preparing these kids for district. Then using district for playoff seeding and then preparing us for the playoffs. I love seeing coach working every week to put the very best team on the field. Tonight will probably be no different. He will continue to improve his starters, backups, packages, and a finished product that is ready for district, then a polished product for the playoff's.

Click to expand...

I’m MORE than excited I’m able to FINALLY make it to THIS game I’ve been in Air Force training the last 6 months and leave for Germany in early October,So trust me I’m gonna be making some NOISE you’ll probably hear me all over the stadium!

Underrated mistake. High snap on the FG try and missed it to the right. We make that FG the ending is different. Ashworth made some good throws tonight and the receivers made some big catches. In the end there was hardly a run game and the protection was suspect at times. Play calling at the end was not up to PNG standards. All of the penalties killed us in the end. They will learn from it and come back stronger in my opinion. Go Indians.

After having a few days to think about Friday night's game, I've come away with a different opinion than what I've seen from some people online.

Yes, the muffed punt and muffed kickoff were costly. Against a team like Memorial, you can't hand away possessions and field position and expect it not to hurt you. But I also don't think this game can be reduced to "PNG lost because of mistakes." Both teams made mistakes, and Memorial helped PNG with penalties and missed opportunities of their own.

For me, the more interesting story was what was happening schematically.

The Front Seven Dynamic:
One thing that stood out was PNG's defensive front. Compared to some recent seasons, the defensive line appears younger and not as physically imposing. Because of that, the linebackers often had to be more involved in helping close interior running lanes.

That's fine against most opponents.
The problem is Memorial's speed.

When linebackers are forced to trigger downhill early to help against the run, it naturally puts more stress on the secondary. Safeties and corners end up having to make more open-field tackles against some of the best athletes in Southeast Texas.

And that's exactly what it felt like was happening throughout much of the night.

The gaps were there at times. The edge looked vulnerable at times. Honestly, I expected PAM to attack those areas more aggressively than they did.

Whether that was because PNG adjusted, Memorial was comfortable playing with the lead, or they simply liked what they were already getting offensively, I don't know. But I walked away feeling like Memorial did not fully exploit some of the opportunities that were available.

One reason I'm not overly worried is because this defense is playing under Jeff Joseph.

As most if not ALL of you know. Joseph's background is rooted heavily on the defensive side of the ball, with experience at Austin Westlake, Southlake Carroll, Texas A&M, and other successful programs before arriving at PNG. Since taking over, he's led PNG to a state final appearance in 2022, a state championship in 2023, multiple district titles, and one of the best winning percentages in school history... I have gone back over the past three years and watch ALOT of his old film.

What I've noticed about Joseph's teams is that they don't necessarily depend on being the most athletic team on the field.

They're built around:

• Discipline
• Assignment football
• Player development
• Sound defense
• Physical run game

PNG typically plays a loose zone defense with players who understand leverage, trust their responsibilities, and execute their assignments. That's why I think this defense has room to grow significantly over the next several weeks.

A young defensive line in Week 1 can look completely different by district play.

The Most Encouraging Part of the Night? Honestly? The offensive line.

Coming into the season, there were legitimate questions about replacing experience and size up front. Yet against a very talented Memorial team, PNG still ran the ball effectively and remained competitive throughout the game. Even with quite a few mistakes and not working great together on blocks, they ran that rock!

That shouldn't get overlooked.

If PNG can run the football against Memorial while breaking in a newer and smaller offensive line, that's a good sign moving forward.

The fourth quarter also showed something.

After being held scoreless in the second and third quarters, PNG responded with 20 points in the final period and continued fighting until the end.

That doesn't look like a team that's far away.
That looks like a team that's still developing.

I left the stadium with more questions than answers, but I wasn't discouraged.
My biggest concern isn't quarterback play, though I hope he can dial down that football. The receivers can't be going that high for the balls. It isn't safe and it a lot of the defenders will go up and get that over our boys.

My biggest concern isn't the skill positions.
My biggest concern is whether the defensive front can develop enough to keep linebackers from having to overcommit inside.
If that happens:

• The linebackers can play faster.
• The safeties can stay deeper.
• The secondary faces fewer difficult open-field tackling situations.
• The entire defense becomes more effective.

The mistakes mattered. The turnovers mattered. But I don't think they were the whole story.
My biggest takeaway was that PNG went toe-to-toe with a very athletic Memorial team while breaking in a younger defensive line and a rebuilt offensive line. There were weaknesses exposed, but there were also plenty of positive signs.

If this team develops the way Jeff Joseph's teams typically do, I wouldn't be surprised if the version we see in October and November looks considerably better than the one we saw in Week 1.

Good effort in game one. Another tuneup game next week as the Indians dial in the 2026 season.
First home game of the season!

That was unexpected but appreciated. Especially after doing it for 26 years. I’m glad that the website got some exposure and maybe more people will enjoy it.

Also appreciate being declared 4 years younger. (Not an ‘84 grad)

19PNGndn68 said:

A Few Takeaways from PAM

1. Expect our Experienced OLBs to set the edge and wrap up on RBs.

2. Braylon Valcin is a beast. A potential candidate to move from DB to a MLB. He has a nose for the Football.

3. OL appeared to handled Memorial DL bull rushes in pass protection. OL Footwork appeared to be too slow to trap or pull (many missed blocks) early in the game against a quick Memorial DL/LB corp. OL Appeared to adjust to the speed of the game later in the game. PNG OL conditioning showed up late in the game.

4. PNG WRs need to use their quickness to create space. PNG QB was having to thread the needle to get passes into the hands of a receiver. PAM has some College D1 DB candidates.

5. Impressed with WRs Waguespack and Bennett.

6. Concern that HB/TE Hansing not able to play. Big loss.

7. RB Henry is still the workhorse of the offense.

8. Special Team play needs to be coached up. You win or lose with all three phases of the game.

Click to expand...

Heard Hansing might be ready to play.

If the Indians win on Friday, it will be the first time a PN-G football team has ever defeated West Brook. Their record against us is 8-0. This will be the first time we have played them in this century. I attended all eight of those losses, but now that I live out-of-state, I will be watching our first victory over them remotely, via the Internet.

I like to think of those first two games in the series as a “Clash of the Titans” between two legendary head coaches: Doug Ethridge and Alex Durley. As we know, Coach Durley led Beaumont Hebert to a state championship in 1976, the year after Ethridge won it at PN-G. West Brook would become the first second-place team in a district to win a state championship, and they did it in their first year of existence. Prior to 1982, only the district champion advanced to the playoffs. Our first two games against them, under these two great coaches, were the only ones in the series that were actually competitive.

I remember our first game against them in 1982 very well. It was a lot like our game last week against PAM. We made mistakes early in the game that put us in a deep hole. Then we made a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, and almost won it. I recall talking to some West Brook people at the time who said they were really sweating bullets during that game, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. If we had defeated them, they would not have qualified for the playoffs, and would never have gone to state. The following year, in 1983, West Brook won on a late field goal, on the way to an unbeaten regular season.

Another thing I remember about that 1982 game was the hour-long halftime show! We were their homecoming opponent. After they crowned their queen, they paraded the previous year’s homecoming queens from Hebert and Forest Park around the track. The lengthy festivities delayed the second half of the game, which started at 7:30, and didn’t end until 11 o’clock. Also, I will never forget how the weather suddenly changed during the course of the game. When I arrived, it felt hot and very muggy. Later in the evening it cooled down considerably. Then the wind started to pick up, and it turned cold. That is the only game I ever attended where I arrived sweating and left freezing!

FYI, to the person who manages this website: under the History & Tradition All-Time Game Scores section, the years for the first three West Brook-PN-G games are labeled wrong. It says 1992-1993-1994, when it should say 1982-1983-1984. The scores are correct. Great work on compiling a century of football data for the fans!