DO OR DIE BOWL VI is now officially in the books. And it was certainly a night to remember. Our biggest ever crowd (we are still tallying ticket sales, but Hannibal Coach Mark St Clair estimates we could be anywhere from 2100-2500 people, his biggest crowd at Porter since the 2006 Playoffs) Perfect weather (for a change) and a very clean, well played and exciting game. Could not have asked for much more....
With your indulgence, I have a number of thank you sentiments to extol. First and foremost, to all of our Players and Coaches who did an amazing job this week dealing with early mornings, travel hassles, position changes, conditioning woes, and all of the demands we put on them. I am not sure we've ever played host to, as a collective, a classier group of young men on the field and gentlemen on the sidelines. You can't imagine how much that helps us sell this game to our fans and patrons. Jimmy Tucker and Tom Little have been everything we could have hoped for as leaders for the young men who played in this game and we sincerely appreciate all that they and their staff have had to contribute to making this a huge success.
And speaking of patrons, it is their support that gives these young people a much deserved stage to show their football skills; some for the very last time in their lives. For the last six years, the great people at REFRESHMENT SERVICES PEPSI have indulged this dream and vision and allowed us to provide area kids this fitting "Senior Sendoff" by serving as our Title Sponsor. We could not ask for better partners in that quest. Lots of people are willing to jump on board and support a project once it proves successful. Roy and Ron and Randy at Pepsi stepped up to champion this cause when it was little more than an idea we put on paper seven years ago. And it comes on the same week as the Pepsi Little Peoples, which is no small commitment from the region's most philanthropic business.
Over the last two years, the guys at VW FUND RAISING have come on board and promoted this cause as passionately as anyone, and we could not be more appreciative. It has been a pleasure this year to welcome aboard the good people at HANNIBAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL, SHOTTENKIRK TOYOTA, MID-AMERICA WIRELESS, FIRST BANKERS TRUST and our next door neighbors at ACCURATE HOME AUDIO, who gave away a big screen HDTV during our halftime raffle. Please keep in mind their generosity with and support for you children when you go to make your purchases. Keep your dollars with people who care about and act as part of our community. And kudos as well to our friend at FIDDLESTICKS in Hannibal for their delicious contributions to our Players Banquet on Thursday Night.
A big thank you to Tim Tappe and KESSLERS, the official outfitters for the Do or Die Bowl, who give our kids the highest quality All Star Uniforms you will find anywhere in the nation.
We were honored to have the best PA Announcer in the business with us in Mister Frank Cash, who has now been given the job for the rest of his natural lifetime; whether he wants it or not. Also to Bill Shuler and Terry Ahern on KHMO and Keith Yex and Jim Worrell on WCAZ for broadcasting the game to those who could not attend. And all our friends in the media for giving these fine young men a little more of the "star" treatment.
I would be remiss if I did not profusely thank our staff here at KHQA for busting their tails to make me look good. It is all smoke and mirrors on my end. Mara Clingingsmith does all of the thankless hard so that I get to have all the fun. And let me not mince words, I am not exactly a joy to deal with. But as the ultimate show of appreciation for Mara, I vow to buy a new cell phone this month so she can actually get ahold of me when a crisis erupts. And I may even turn the ringer on. Delegating (my job) is the easy part. Mara is the "follow through" that makes this thing reality. And our staff of sales and support staff (Jayne, Vikki, Darlene, Carl, Matt, Angie, Brenda AND ESPECIALLY JULIE BAKER) work tirelessly to bring this thing off in capacities great and small. Also, this year, I really need to thank my wonderful son Carson for being perhaps the hardest working guy in the stadium on Friday. From delivering "high quality H20" to offering to help the janitors clean up after everyone had left, the kid did me proud. And my daughter Tayler "Vanna White" Duerr was a great help as well with our drawing and passing out prizes...when she wasn't scoping out cute boys. (I may not survive the teen age years, people)
Great work from our friends at NO WAKE. One rocking good house band. Catch them in Hannibal if you get the chance. It will be worth your dime.
I've got to tell you. The best part of this year's game may well have been the officiating. God bless Fred Steinway and his crew for knowing how to disappear into the backdrop and let the kids show their stuff. My sincerest thanks to Freddie, John Walter, Mark Brassfield, Ron Gengenbacher, Jerry Ison, Brent Clair and all our prayers and support to crew member Steve Haas.
Last, but far and away not least, I could not be more thankful for the friendship and support of Mark and MaryAnn St Clair. We could not ask for more generous, gracious hosts. The Familia St Clair have done yeoman's work to promote the cause of football and the city of Hannibal with their efforts to make this event a centerpiece for America's Hometown. They are godsends. And in their support Hannibal Booster Club, the lovely and talented Christine Charlton, and all of the ticket takers, cooks, security, cleanup crew...EVERYBODY...has been a treat to work with. Can't envision a better venue for this contest, which is a real credit to America's Hometown.
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DO OR DIE BOWL VI, BY THE LETTER
A is for....ATTENDANCE. Whatever worries I had about the switch from Friday to Saturday night were allayed when a record crowd of just under 2400 fans showed up at Porter Stadium to watch this game in near perfect conditions. We sold out of Event T-Shirts by halftime and nearly killed our supply of Pepsi Products along the way. It's a nice problem to have and I guess we will plan for a crowd of 2500 people next season
B is for...BOOTS. As in Quincy Notre Dame Linebacker Cody Boots, who earned Illinois Defensive MVP Honors with a game high eight tackles. The Quincy University signee also proved his worth dropping into coverage with an interception and two pass deflections, something he was rarely asked to do at QND. Boots was a kid who got a bit overshadowed among all of the Raiders considerable weapons last season. Here he stole the spotlight from the best seniors in Western Illinois, not a bad way to end a prep career.
C is for....CHINN. Less surprising was the West MVP turn by Monroe City Defensive Back and Northwest Missouri State pledge Joe Chinn, who posted 7 tackles for the West and a pair of pass deflections. Truthfully, I think a legitimate argument could have been made here for Palmrya Defensive Lineman Wilson Rigg, who had a terrific game in his own right. But at the end of the day, Chinn will go down as one of the best players ever to lace up cleats in this contest and his honor here is much deserved. But I gotta admit, a little freaked out by seeing both Joe and CJ Haden with Palmyra stickers on their Monroe City helmets. Talk about a distrurbance in the force...but one of the really fun tweaks in this game.
D is for...DOMINIC THOMAS. Our Montgomery County import only got seven carries on the night, but ended up 47 total rushing yards. Electrifying runner who looked at times to be the best player on the field and left a large portion of our fan base begging to see him get more red zone touches.
E is for....EFFORT OF A LIFETIME. Quincy High's Brad Bowen was hardly a household name coming into this game but talk about picking the right stage to go nuts with a Quarterback Sack and a Fumble Recovery. Great kid and watching him run off the field grinning from ear to ear was one of the high points of the night.
F is for....FLAGS. Or lack thereof. One of the cleanest All Star Games I have ever seen played with just three total penalties on the night and 15 total lost yards. These kids took this very serious and played this game like it was Week Nine of the season and a playoff berth was hanging in the balance. Very impressed with the coaching job (in just four days of practice) to get everyone on the same page.
G is for....GRADY. Hero of the night was East Defensive Coordinator/Brown County guru Eric Grady, who engineered his ninth and final shutout of a magical season. At the end of the night, the biggest reason that the East won this game was the outstanding play of an amazing collection of Defensive Linemen. Two of those kids were Grady's own Hornets, who set the proper aggressive tone right from the very beginning. The West simply could not get those kids blocked, especially in the red zone and rushed passes and hard hits resulted in a paralysis of the West's talented nucleus of weapons. And Eric's reward for this effort? I fired him after the game and told him he would never be invited back. Hey, offense sells tickets, kids.
H is for....HEATON. Touchdown catches in back-to-back All Star Games and pure domination of every defensive back whose tried to body him up. The Jacksonville Wide Receiver has the physical football maturity of a college junior and I would be stunned if he doesn't steal some reps right out of the gate at Quincy University. Give Bill Terlisner a lot of credit for going out and finding this kid, Cody Boots...and most especially....
I is for....INTERCEPTION. The Do or Die Bowl has produced some pretty spectacular highlights over the years. Lamor Hickman's 99 yard touchdown run. Myers Hendrickson's 81 yard TD a year earlier. The J.D. Holeman falling down touchdown catch in year one. The killer hit on Justin Gumm. I am not sure any of them resonate any better than Nathan Goudschaal's pick this year while simultaneously having the helmet pulled from his face by the face mask. Seriously, who makes that play? Considering that Goudschaal was a medical uncertainty coming into this game after a season-ending baseball injury (so much so that the coaches made him sit out half of Monday's practice) his performance was remarkable. Seven tackles, two quarterback sacks, and that ridiculous pick. All the kid does, week in and week out, is make spectacular plays and to this day I am not sure I saw a better football player this season. Forget undersized or small school pedigree, Nathan Goudschaal was probably the most productive player on the entire field Friday night (and that was a pretty loaded field) and he will spent the next four years making believers of coaches who look at him and see nothing but "less than ideal" measurables. Special, special kid and it has been a joy watching him the last four years.
J is for...JACOB SCHMUDLACH. The lone Division One Scholarship Player in our game (cleared to play anyway, I got legit beef with Jerry Kill and Northern Illinois over the "no go" given to Mat Sims) and the kid who I have heard the most buzz about since the game ended from both college coaches and fans. Given all the weapons that exist at Illini West, not to mention the usual lack "recruitable" college prospects that come out of Jim Unruh's program (remember Willie Thompson, Ashton Gronewold, Wyatt Green, and Michael Lafferty could not get decent offers from larger schools coming out of Carthage) I get the sense people were stunned to see a kid with these kind of dimensions and this kind of athletic ability trot onto to the field in a Charger Uniform. Lets be honest, Tight End isn't exactly a stable of Jim Unruh's Wing-T. I was talking to a college coach when the East Squad entered the field and you should have seen his neck snap around when Schmud walked by. Maybe Jacob's tenure at Drake will finally make bigger colleges take notice of the kids being exported out of Hancock County.
K is for....KEENAN GILLASPY. Outside of getting his bell absolutely rung by Tim Yex in the first quarter, I thought the Knox County quarterback had one of the most impressive weeks of anyone from Monday through Friday. Wished he would have gotten more run on Friday in the second half, but I think Jimmy Tucker's hands were tied with situational substitution and trying to attack what he thought was the soft part of the East Defense via the air.
M is for....MYRICK/MOON. Macomb Defensive Lineman Anthony Myrick and Clark County Center Neal Moon earned our annual "coaches scholarship" in recognition of their leadership and inspirational play all week. M is also for MASH UNIT because this was the first year in which any Do or Die Bowl Player suffered a significant injury. Macomb Wideout Matt Gordy broke his hand during the course of the game and is now on the shelf for six weeks. Also, Palmyra Running Back Adam Wright had to sit out the game with strained ligaments in his knee. The only real downside to our game this year.
N is for...NEXT YEAR. Too early to install East Squad as a prohibitive favorite to repeat. Jacksonville skipper Mark Grounds will likely have Ser Whitaker, Daniel Weiman, Brad Dinsmore and Michael Tonry to run the football, Nick Lonergan, Kramer Barnes and Seth Wickert at Quarterback and perhaps ten overall players from a powerhouse QND program to build around for starters. The West Squad could counter with Mark Twain's Skyler Jameson at QB, Mark Nemes at Running Back, South Shelby maulers Shane Smith and Ethan Decker in the trenches, and one of the best Defensive Backs in area history in Matt Brown from Bowling Green to name a few. Still working to hammer out a West Coach for you, but we could have that announced in the next few weeks. East Squad coaches are already targeted into 2014 as we have our sights set on Don Bigley, Rich Thompson, and Bill Reed leading us into the tenth anniversary game.
O is for...OFFENSIVE TWEAKING? I have wrestled with this question for the last 72 hours in the wake of this game. The Do or Die Bowl is one of the few All Star Games where we play straight up Federation Rules. No limits on schemes, blitzes, or defensive looks. A lot of All Star Games limit the defense to a single look (5-2 or 4-3) which they can't adjust out of and limit the number of blitzers, which invariably leads to higher scoring games. So I guess I ask you...what do you like better? Would you rather see more fireworks? Or would you rather we didn't tamper with the game and leave it as is? Let me know your thoughts at cduerr@khqa.com....
P is for....PHENOMENAL PASS DEFENSE. Goes to prove what I know. Based on the talent pool, I thought secondary play would be the softest spot on both squads this season. Instead, we were treated to some outstanding plays. It started with Patrick Flesner's jump ball swat to deny Ben Vogel a touchdown on the first series. That was followed up immediately at the other end of the field by North Shelby's Alex Daniel's near somersault interception (and mid-air fight) with Bryce Heaton in the end zone. Converted quarterback Jordan Cawthon delivered the night's second best hit in absolutely leveling Brad Vogel on a 2nd quarter pass play across the middle. And maybe the best pass defense of all was provided by a leaping Shannon Hall. The South Shelby senior leapt backwards to deny Jacob Schmudlach a potential touchdown catch. Hall told Jimmy Tucker this week he loved getting to play one-platoon football and didn't miss running the football one bit. How do you not like Shannon Hall???
Q is for....QND. Weird year in that we had only two Raiders in the mix this season...and the East still won. Not to be snobbish about it but big school talent tends to level the playing field and we find that, in general, our most bankable talent providers on the East are either QND or Jacksonville High kids. Not saying that they are the best players in the game (well, in except in the case of Jake Mills, who might be the best linebacker this game ever sees) just that every kid from those programs tends to be an "A" level performer. With 18 returning starters back, I am thinking the East will have plenty more Raider Representation in 2011.
R is for....RUSHVILLE/INDUSTRY. Zero wins in 2009. One stud contribution to the game in Mark Sullivan. Didn't see that coming but watching that kid win the respect of players and coaches from Illini West, Brown County and Quincy High remains my favorite twist on the 2010 game. Nice to see a kid whose final season was a complete wash in the win/loss column finally get to celebrate his first win...in June and go out a victor. That's what we are here for....
S is for...STICK. Best hit of DO or DIE BOWL VI goes hands down to Hannibal's Ben Dunn, who lit up Illini West All State Quarterback Michael Lafferty on a blind side blitz in the 4th Quarter. Dunn finished the game with six total tackles, none more spectacular than that signature moment in a game of signature defensive highlights.
T is for....TIM YEX. Illinois College Coach Garrett Campbell had only one player in our game this season and as it turned out, he outplayed all of the more touted recruits headed to the Blueboys conference rival Monmouth (believe me, I heard about that from the IC Skipper) Like Cody Boots, Yex bolted from the shadows of some of his better known Blueboy Teammates and showed that the 15 pounds of muscle he has put on this off-season will serve him well. I counted three tackles for loss and and six stops overall, though I think he was only officially credited for five. On Friday, he was playing as an undersized Nose Tackle. In college, he will likely be an linebacker and his work rate is very impressive.
U is for....UNSUNG HEROES. For the West, I'd pick Levi Miles, Josh Mesmer, Michael Ivey and Andy Greenley as guys who enjoyed great weeks without a lot of fanfare. For the East, Travis Hobby, Frank Price, Josh Twidwell and Jordan Cawthon were probably the best under-radar performers.
V is for...KRIS VINCENT. Congratulations, Cam Keller and Culver Stockton Football. You got yourself one heck of a player in this kid.
WXYZ...is for see you next year. And next month as I go on my annual July Hibernation. But I leave you with this, my bi-annual musical recommendation. Pick up a copy of The Gaslight Anthem's "American Slang," who may be the bes band on the planet at this very moment. Catchiest album I can remember in about 15 years, blending Jersey Springsteen poetry ethos with edgy garage punk guitar. If you don't love the title track or "Boxer" you don't deserve to listen to music. Just trust me on this one. (By the way, my last such recommendation was a band called "Kings of Leon" about six months before they blew up)
