Going Deep...
with Mike Bauer

The high school football season got off to a good start for the Raiders last Friday evening. The thing that most impressed me was the fact that there were as many fans from Emporium as there was from Brockway. And it rained the entire game!

The outcome didn't surprise me as much as most fans around the AML league and even District 9. I have been saying all along that this is going to be a special year for the Raiders and I truly believe it still today. The fans around this league still believe Coudersport and Curwensville are the teams to beat in their respective divisions and that may be so. The Raiders will have an opportunity to change that in the coming weeks, starting next Friday night at home with the Falcons and the following Friday in Curwensville. I have a feeling the Raiders are going to open some eyes in at least one of those two games. Just my thoughts.

This is a very committed group of kids. The coaches also believe that if they take it one game at a time and stay within themselves they will accomplish some goals that they have set. Remember, for the most part, these kids have been successful at just about everything they have done. I wasn't around them when they competed at the junior high level in football but I have been told they went undefeated.

Athleticism is the thing that jumps out at you when you watch this team perform. They have worked very hard in the off season and are determined to turn the football program around.

After watching the junior high game Thursday evening, there looks to be a very good group coming up next year to help fill in the void that will be left with twelve or so seniors that will be graduating this school year.

I told you last week about the D9 website that follows most high school sports and in particular the football season. Red Raider quarterback Jordan Crane was named to the district 9 honor roll for the week with his effort against Brockway. Each week the site names a "Player of the Week" and gives a list of players who meet the honor roll criteria.

I also had a chance to be a guest predictor on the site last week. There were 15 games on the list and I correctly picked 11 of them. My closest competition was D9 Co-editor Chris Rossetti with 9 correct. I took a chance by picking Sheffield to beat Kane and that backfired. Kane held on for a 14-7 win. It's the only game from within the AML league that I missed. I was the only predictor who picked Cameron County to win! And the Coudy vs. Curwensville game ended up 20-12 Coudy. I predicted 23-12. Not bad for the first week I think. My friend Rich Summers gets his chance in week 4 of the high school season. I hope he fares as well as I did or better.

I would be missing the boat if I didn't mention the Penn State vs Notre Dame game. I don't have a feeling on this game for some reason. Maybe it's too early. Maybe Saturday I will.

The Lions didn't look too bad last Saturday but then again they didn't show a lot. I'm sure that was the plan for Paterno and his staff. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead and cruised the rest of the way. The one thing that I did notice was the overall team speed. They lost a good bit of their defense to graduation last year but it looks like they picked right up from where they left off. We will see about 7 p.m. on Saturday evening. The Domers didn't look very impressive at Georgia Tech last week but they won 14-10.

One thing that I have not mentioned here before is the NASCAR season. A co-worker reminded me that he was going to Richmond on a bus trip this weekend to see the final "Race to the Chase" for the Nextel Cup. The top 10 drivers in the point standings or any driver that is within 400 points get to compete against each other in the season's final 10 races. I can't tell you all the drivers in contention but I do know that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still alive for a spot. I hope you read this Pete because I stayed up late to mention this for you!