Hard work is only part of the equation

Week 6 done. In the Columbia Heights game we took the win with a score of 50-14.

A different team played in front of the Orioles fans Friday night. It was the CH Hylanders Homecoming but we came out with determination and it paid off. Our defense allowed one touchdown in the first three quarters of the game and our offense rocked! Xaq had a career high of 5 touchdowns - the pure distinction between this game and games of the past - he finished his drives.

Now why the difference in how the team played in Week 6? CH had the same record we did but we played at a higher level. Some may speculate that it was due to a different defense and a change up of players and positions, others say it has something to do with the very secretive player-to-player talk on Monday (secretive because players aren't talking about what was said), still others will say the team started acting like a team and wanted to fight for every yard, drive, stop and point. Regardless of a single act or the combination of all - the coaches and players pulled it off and I like what I saw that night.

Week 7 started - we are up against Spring Lake Park and it will be a difficult game for us. Add in the potential forecast of mix of snow and rain and we've got ourselves a football game. The Orioles can do this - they have shown improvement over the weeks and can take this game. Time will tell...

Week 5 but ...season is far from over

Ok, so we are in the 5th week of football and the team record is 1 -4; this was not at all expected from this team. We have a number of offensive weapons on the team and they have been doing their job for the most part. Just this past week they switched up the defense so we are hoping for better things from that. Our offensive ranks #2 in the State and our Defense is ranked last...hmmm. We are our own worst enemy (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration).


Right now, Xaq has 611 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns and 199 receiving yards with 2 more touchdowns. He consistently has ranked in the number one spot for rushing in the conference but falls lower in the state ranking. How much does this mean if your team is 1-4; not to much to Xaq. If the team didn't win, he didn't win - no matter what the yardage says. In the last loss against BSM, he says he got his butt chewed by the coaches during film. Good! Every player needs to be called out and put on the spot if they are not doing their job as they are trained to do. What does this do to Xaq? It motivates him and makes him want to work harder - we will see if the coaching and feedback helped.


Next game this week is against Columbia Heights at their field. There is NO REASON the Orioles cannot pull out a win. The team needs to play like the first half of the BSM game consistently. Those who were not pulling their weight and doing their job need to do so this game and every game. The season is not over! This team should make it to the Sectional Finals on November 6th. I am a believer.


GO PARK!