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News and Notes
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Editor's Blog) |
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Monday, August 28, 2010 @ 6:30 am
McQueen Wins Season Opener 12 - 7 on Strong Defense
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The
McQueen Lancers ventured into Northern California
this week, traveling to Grass Valley for their first
game of the season where they were considered
substantial underdogs, yet held off the 7th-ranked
Nevada Union in a defensive slugfest. The Miners of
Nevada Union have consistently led their Northern
California Division in recent years, taking last
year's coveted title in a 13-1 record season.
McQueen head coach Jim Snelling secured a two-year
contract to play the Miners both this year and next,
anticipating a match up of comparable
strengths between the teams, and allowing each to test
their mettle before turning towards their own
leagues for regular season play. Massey
Ratings, a popular football rankings engine,
predicted an easy victory for the Union with the
Lancers losing 17-38. MaxPreps also had a pregame
rating for the Union in the low 50's, far above
McQueen and somewhere near the placement Bishop
Gorman currently holds. Yet the Lancers blue
wall of steel was victorious.
Throughout the 12-7 low-scoring game, both teams
flexed their muscle and gave little ground to the
other, but the Lancers' special teams took advantage
of a blocked punt deep in N.U. territory during the
second quarter, allowing McQueen's Mike Harrison to
rumble into the end zone with the loose pigskin for
the first score of the night.
McQueen's backfield workhorse for the
evening, Nick Shephard, consistently pounded out
yardage for the Lancers and forced Nevada Union to
stack against McQueen's inside running onslaught.
Even so, Shephard continued to squeeze out small
chunks of yardage against the Miners
until late in the third quarter when, with a hard
cut, he powered through a hole created by McQueen's
offensive line and sprinted downfield virtually
untouched for the second and final Lancer score. Shepherd
amassed 138 yards rushing for the game, most of
them hard-earned in heavy traffic! Extra
points were difficult to come by for the Lancers
with starting kicker Eric Martinez sidelined this
game, but McQueen's defense continued to hold the explosive N.U. Miners down to a single score and contained
their last desperate drive, forcing an interception
and sealing the evening's victory.
The Lancers swept the entire series, securing victories at
all three levels and evidencing the underlying
strength of McQueen's overall football program. A
program first established by Hall of Fame coach Ken
Dalton, and now securely under the leadership of 2nd
year head coach Jim Snelling. Though early season
rankings showed the Lancers far down in the polls,
with the number of returning starters they have and the power
they exhibited in this early test - McQueen fans
should expect some thrilling matches and victories
ahead.
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Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 6:30 am
Renaming of McQueen Stadium Honors Former Coach Ken
Dalton
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| In a
pre-game ceremony at this coming Friday night's home
game, McQueen's John Robb Stadium will be renamed in
honor of Nevada Hall of Fame Coach Ken Dalton,
McQueen's former head football coach and Lancer
leader from its opening in 1982 throughout the 2008
season, Dalton led the school to twelve State Title
appearances and 6 Championships amassing more than
300 wins throughout his career.
Lessons
learned on the field under Dalton's tutelage
affected more than 2,500 athletes throughout his 28
years of coaching - and for most those lessons
extend far beyond
the borders of the field. Determination,
integrity, leadership, support and an unwillingness
to settle were just some
of the characteristics Dalton encouraged among his
squads, and a large showing of former McQueen
players is anticipated at the field. Come out
and join the Lancers as they take on the North
Valleys Panthers in the first league game of the
year, and join in the renaming celebration!
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Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 6:30 am
MaxPreps Erroneously Reports A Lancer Loss
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| The
MaxPreps website (a CBS Sports subsidiary that
provides popular online coverage for high school
sports and team rankings) reports the Lancers lost
their first "game" of the season to the Hug Hawks,
by a score of 14-9 in a non-league matchup.
Huhh??? Although I wasn't at that pre-season
scrimmage held August 21st ... McQueen's scrimmages
in Northern Nevada typically provide 25 offensive
plays to each team's first-string offense against
the opponent's first-string defense, in a structured
setting that allows full contact, but
lacks the kicking game ... extra points ... and
sometimes even a full field.
Reports
to LancerFan indicate that day provided four (4)
trips into the end zone for McQueen's leading
offense, whereas the Hawks were confined to a single
first-down and no trips across the goal line ... a
rather large discrepancy in this tale between two
teams.
In
fairness - MaxPreps reports on thousands of schools
and football games throughout the country each week,
and must rely on information they receive from local
contacts in most cases. The vast majority of
games are reported correctly - but Lancer fans are
bewildered how this result was provided to the
national scene. As a scrimmage, it shouldn't
be reported at all ... but it could effect the popular MaxPreps rankings for the Lancers all season.
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Monday, August 22, 2010 @ 7:30 pm
League
Re-alignment Makes Every Game Crucial
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The
challenges of a league realignment in the Northern
4A region add new pressure to its member teams and
allows little room for early-season mistakes.
Where there were two leagues before ... and several
warm up games that didn't count towards official
standings in years past - the Northern 4A region has
changed dramatically and been combined into a
single, 10-team league for 2010. For the first
time in decades, each game played against a Northern
Nevada opponent will affect team standings and
impact their chance of progressing into post-season
playoffs.
Four schools left the 4A ranks this summer (Wooster
/ South Tahoe / Fallon / Elko) forcing officials to
realign the remaining eleven teams together and
jettison their old scheduling methods. Now a
loss in Game 1 can affect a team
throughout the season and potentially shorten their
schedule. And with just two weeks of
full-contact practice on the field, coaches are
allowed little time to correct early season errors
or hone their team's performance, With so much
on the line, expect the intensity and competition to
become fierce early on.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 8:42 am
It Requires Tough Love To Become A Champion
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Daybreak wakes the morning sky above Reno and falls
early upon McQueen's weight room. Outside the air is
crisp and fresh, but as you enter the training room
you hear the familiar clank of iron on steel.
The pungent scents of metal and perspiration drift
past you, and the eyes of young men flare with
strain as they force their bodies against the
unyielding pull of gravity. A groan is
muttered somewhere in the crowd. Amidst the
thuds, clunks and scuffling shoes you hear words of
encouragement whispered among the ranks, willing
each other on. But there's something else
lingering in the air here. It's an intensity
and determination that produces energy you can feel.
Some call it "Lancer Pride" ... others call it
discipline. But whatever the title - it's a
regimen and mentality that's proven itself through
many seasons, producing results both on and off the
field for the athletes of McQueen High.
It includes "tough love" from trainers and coaches,
where the athletes are pushed to excel, driven
to surpass previous attempts, and never allowed to
relax their effort. It's a mental
determination embraced by the athletes as they
strive to exceed the accomplishments of those who've
passed through this room before them. That attitude
has become the backbone of McQueen's football
program, and though some casual observers may think
it harsh at times - the lessons learned here create
teamwork, an unwillingness to quit, and an ability
to overcome incredible pressure. Lessons that
will benefit these Lancer athletes not only under
challenges of Friday nights, but throughout their
lives.
The Lancers visit Northern California's Nevada Union
Friday evening, August 27th and will experience a
culmination of all those intense hours as they
explode into action from opening kickoff.
Whether its their speed, powerful running game, the
capable hands of their receivers or the blue wall of
steel taking position on the line ... McQueen
Lancers know what it takes to produce consistent
results week after week. And their particular
style of tough love will break the silence of dawn
once again the morning after. |
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