Endzone August 30, 2019 the Endzone the Official Newsletter of Londonderry Youth Football and Spirit
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The EndZone The Official Newsletter of Londonderry Youth Football and Spirit Breaking Camp Wildcats had a wild week with the parade, Jamboree, OHD, and much more By Jim Loiselle – EndZone Editor - e-mail: [email protected] Question – Who cooked 600+ cheese/hamburgers; 500 pounds of fresh- hand-cut fries; 300+ hot dogs; 150+ pounds of chicken fingers; 60+ pounds of sausage; 125+ breakfast sandwiches; 16 pounds of taco meat for 100+ walking tacos; and bushels of grilled (and yes deep fried – and it was yummy!) corn-on-the cob. NOT even to mention the cases of Gatorade, soda, and a pallet of water……candy, snacks, and other goodies Answer – The Londonderry Wildcats Concession Stand! It started Thursday with concession managers Jay Twardosky and Shaun Sawyer pulling the Wildcat equipment from storage, setting it up on the town common for Thursday Kids Night and Saturday OHD. The Wildcats broke down concession Saturday night and then set it all up on the par-5 fields for the Sunday jamboree. It took an army of volunteers over 50 strong to help set-up, cook and breakdown/setup the concession. The line was almost back to the cannon on the common – but our volunteers kept the line moving and the crowd well fed. Jay tells the EndZone exclusively that he has something special planned for our next home games on September 8th which is National Date Nut Bread Day! Fisher Cats – On Thursday August 22nd the Wildcat Cheerleaders performed before the Fisher Cat game with Wildcats taking part in the on-field activities and after-game fireworks. We just love the muffin man! Again this year a special call-out to the muffin man who donated ALL the bread and rolls used by the concession stand. Do YOU know the muffin man? Special thanks to our newest Wildcat sponsor – Comcast! Follow us on Twitter - @LWcats & on FaceBook EndZone August 30, 2019 The EndZone The Official Newsletter of Londonderry Youth Football and Spirit Old Home Day Parade – Londonderry’s very special OHD Parade celebrated the 300th birthday of Londonderry. Showing Wildcat support we held a “Throw-Back” Parade. Some of our Wildcat cheerleaders and football players wore old throwback uniforms from the Panthers, Titans, and Jr. Lancers. One lucky Wildcat got to wear the 1979 National Championship Football jacket, that proudly hangs in our office shed. You can see some of our cheerleaders in throwback uniforms – who is that tall cheerleader on the right in the back? Lopsided Score Rule – Updated 2019 By Kevin McKenzie – Football Director - e-mail [email protected] Good sportsmanship takes many forms – one of them is the AYF lopsided score rule employed by AYF to protect both the players and the integrity of the game. Here are NEW UPDATED for 2019 details of the lopsided score rule from New Hampshire AYF rules. Section XXI Lopsided Scores Slaughter Rule: The lopsided score is attained when one team is ahead by 35 points or more a mandatory midfield conference will be held between the 2 head coaches, home/host field director in charge and the head official. Tone it Down: When the score becomes lopsided, tone it down, horns, sirens, and other noisemakers will cease to exist. Coaches should not stop coaching, but criticism and praise should be muted and restricted to the sidelines. Mid-Field Conference: Once the lopsided score is met, the game is stopped for a mandatory conference at mid field between the 2 head coaches and the home field Director in charge and the head coach. The score is recorded and this will be the final score of the game. • There will be no Kickoffs – ball is placed at 40 yard line for teams to go 60 yards. • The team on the losing side of the lopsided score will determine the remainder of the game and has the following options: Follow us on Twitter - @LWcats & on FaceBook EndZone August 30, 2019 The EndZone The Official Newsletter of Londonderry Youth Football and Spirit A. Running Clock for remainder of game with clock only stopping for injuries or rules questions. B. Keep clock as is in typical games. If choosing this option, the losing coach can ask to begin running clock at any time. • If games are running behind start times, the 4th quarter shall be running time – TBD by game officials and home field director. • All players that have not completed their MPRs at time of lopsided score must immediately be put into the game and kept in the game until minimum plays attained. • All turnovers are blown dead. There will be no defensive scoring. • The winning team does not have to sit their top players unless they have already played many plays but should not have them in their regular positions. What’s an MPR ? By Hector Ortiz – Football Director - e-mail [email protected] Every football player plays in every game. AYF tackle football (Wildcat 8U through 13U) at its heart remains an educational and instructional program. Yes, of course scores are kept and wins are tracked but that’s not the only thing we keep track of in AYF football. MPR or ‘Minimum Play Rule’ is a fundamental method for ensuring that every player gets to play in every game. We do this by counting the plays every football player is involved in until that player meets the minimum play requirement. You may have seen this on the volunteer sign-up sheets each week. For every game (home and away) we need 2 MPR volunteers. One volunteer goes on the opponents’ sideline and with a formatted sheet keeps track of the plays each player gets until that player meets the minimum requirement. They don’t do this alone. An MPR person from the other team is watching and assisting. On our side of the field it’s just the opposite. An MPR volunteer from the other team keeps track of the plays for each Wildcat player. The Wildcat MPR person on our side of the field watches and helps the other teams MPR volunteer. This trust but verify method keeps it fair and equal as both teams “watch” what each other is doing related to MPRs. With MPRs in play this requires some additional strategy from coaches. Each coach has their own style of managing to the MPR rule and making sure players get playing time. One old-time coach once told me he preferred to manage MPRs on the offensive side of the ball. As he remarked, “…if the offense makes a mistake they give up the ball. If the defense makes a mistake they give up a touchdown.” Many coaches will run their MPR players first. This is critical as all MPRs must be completed by the start of the 4th quarter. The game referees will actually ask the head coaches at the start of the 4th quarter if they have met their MPRs. If teams have not met their MPR requirement by the 4th quarter they MUST play kids on every down until they have completed their MPRs. Do all plays count for MPRs? YES, all plays count, all kicking plays and point after TD runs/kicks do count as MPR plays. Plays that end with a penalty assessed are not counted as MPR plays. What happens if a team does not meet their MPR requirement? Well first that should never happen. It is the responsibility of the head coaches to make sure the rules are followed. If at the end of the day a team has not met the MPR rule, this is forwarded to the state governing board for disciplinary action that includes fines and game- suspensions for coaches. So what are the minimum number of plays required. Well, that depends on the teams size, as in the number of players on the day of the game. (NH requires more MPRs than national or regional AYF) Follow us on Twitter - @LWcats & on FaceBook EndZone August 30, 2019 The EndZone The Official Newsletter of Londonderry Youth Football and Spirit 31 to 36 players – 10 plays 25 to 30 players – 12 plays 19 to 24 players – 14 plays 13 to 18 players – 18 plays So there you have the rule and some points around how coaches manage to this important element of AYF football. Any questions at all should be brought to the attention of your head coach. See you at the games !! WEEK ONE GAMES!! 10U Overpowers Manchester East Cobras By Woody Paige – EndZone Sports Beat - e-mail: [email protected] In all aspects of the game from offense, defense, and special teams the well-coached Wildcats were no match for the Cobras of Manchester. Starting with the ball the Cats would take off quickly with #89 Jordan Ball taking the opening hand-off 47 yards, and with 20 seconds off the clock the Londonderry squad would take the early 7 to 0 lead. They would not need another score. Left – with center #81 Owen Crafts on the ball the O-line gets ready for the snap. The Wildcat defense was stifling – not allowing a Manchester first down for the entire first half. #18 Eli Bettencourt lead all defenders with 3 solo tackles – all for a loss! – and one Manchester fumble recovery. #15 Brock Stgelais. #12 Sully Daron (below right), and #89 Jordan Ball each recorded 3 solo tackles. #36 Jayden Howard and #13 Dillon Doucette would each record solo stops. QB Daron was able to complete several passes including a 34 yard pass to #2 Will Hazzard mid-way through the first quarter setting up Jordan Balls 2nd score of the day a 2 yard TD run.