Baytown Lee vs. PN-G at the Reservation

[PNGDAD15]

No one ever talks about the defense. Held Lee to -6 yards rushing in first half and only 28/116 yards total rushing for the game with one breakout play for 90 yards in 3rd. All this against a top state ranked RB. Very impressive. :clap:

 

[NDN06]

Our defense has played awesome all year! Every game I'm amazed at how much better this team can tackle. And that never-give-up attitude has brought them a long way. They use to say "defense wins championships", but these days it seems like it's all about the offenses. The Indians have the best of both worlds (along with a TEAM mentality), and if we can stay healthy, I think we'll make a good run in the playoffs this year.

 

[1989NDN]

No one ever talks about the defense. Held Lee to -6 yards rushing in first half and only 28/116 yards total rushing for the game with one breakout play for 90 yards in 3rd. All this against a top state ranked RB. Very impressive. :clap:

I could not be more pleased with the Indian defense. It is much better than what we had in years past. All 11 kids run to the football and get in position to make a tackle. #48, #41, #22, and #5 are always around the football. Not the biggest kids on field, but they stick their helmet into the chaos and wrap up. The scary thing is at one point last night in the 2Q, I counted 7 of the 11 on the field were JRs or SOPHs. That means our defense will only get better with more experience. Kids rotate in and out, and there is no drop off when that happens. The big play given up to Baytown Lee happened when a few back-ups were in the game, it was a busted play, and the kid from Baytown Lee deserves some credit too...he ran hard and fast. Our back-ups will get better with more playing time vs. Vidor, Lumberton and Ozen. Our secondary deserves some props. They are not the biggest group, but they cover pretty well and they don't get beat deep. Other teams may complete some throws against us because it just happens, but we have kids in position to make a play and they don't get beat deep, which is the #1 rule as a DB. Good coaching and good kids in the secondary.

It will take a good game from others to beat PN-G. Explosive offense and a solid defense and kicking game this year.

Injuries - go away and stay away!

Go Indians. Peace.

 

[bandkid]

5. The PN-G band is large and sounds great. The tempo of Cherokee has picked-up. That is a good thing.

Volume and tempo have been going up and down since I left. This year, though, it has been consistently fast and loud. It's also got that bold, brassy sound you hear in the old videos from the '70s and '80s back - a welcome change from all that woodwind sound I got used to in high school. Every highlight reel I've caught from a PN-G game, every time I've watched a video of a pep rally or the Marching I uploaded to YouTube or Facebook and every time I've overheard the fight song crackle in over the radio, I've loved what I'm hearing.

I've also heard that the band is somewhere in the ~230 member range this year, which is up 50 kids from the day I graduated, and the largest the band has been since at least the late '90s. Plus, both middle school programs are drawing in droves of kids - both are really programs again, functioning in lockstep with each other and producing quality freshman musicians simultaneously. When I was in high school, the hurricanes had sent both programs for a loop, and Groves in particular was dealing with all of the problems that going through four band directors in three years presents. Those two factors are undoubtedly big contributors to the stronger sound as well. A boost in confidence from three straight years of three straight ones in marching competitions doesn't hurt, either.

We've talked extensively on this site about the football program Faircloth is building and the talent we have coming up from the lower ranks, going all the way down to the Pop Warner teams. What we're seeing on the field right now is just the first iteration of what's to come, I believe (knock on wood). I think the situation for the band program is analogous; more kids are getting involved, they're getting better training at the fundamental stages and it's resulting in a stronger product at the varsity level. In both situations, this only serves to create compounding momentum; more success at the varsity level means more interest in the lower levels, which in turn makes that varsity success sustainable in the long term. All of that, in tandem, creates a better Friday night experience, that's set to only keep getting better from year to year.

And you know what that means? It means that if everything works out the way it looks right now, the PN-G you're looking at today is the first glimmer of a PN-G to come that will rival the PN-G of the glory days.