CUSD Middle School Season

[Bronco]

When does the season start for these little warriors ??

[All Star Kev]

Season starts this Saturday. Here is this season schedule for all schools. 7th Graders start @ 8:30am and 8th graders @ 10:45am

8/30/14
KASTNER
@
REYBURN

GRANITE RIDGE
@
ALTA SIERRA
CLARK - Bye

9/6/14
CLARK
@
GRANITE RIDGE

ALTA SIERRA
@
KASTNER
REYBURN - BYE

9/13/14
KASTNER
@
CLARK

REYBURN
@
ALTA SIERRA

GRANITE RIDGE - BYE

9/20/14
CLARK
@
REYBURN

GRANITE RIDGE
@
KASTNER

ALTA SIERRA - BYE

9/27/14
ALTA SIERRA
@
CLARK

REYBURN
@
GRANITE RIDGE
KASTNER - BYE

10/4/14
REYBURN
@
KASTNER

ALTA SIERRA
@
GRANITE RIDGE

CLARK - BYE

10/11/14
GRANITE RIDGE
@
CLARK

KASTNER
@
ALTA SIERRA
REYBURN - BYE

10/18/14
CLARK
@
KASTNER
ALTA SIERRA
@
REYBURN

GRANITE RIDGE - BYE

10/25/14
REYBURN
@
CLARK

KASTNER
@
GRANITE RIDGE

ALTA SIERRA - BYE

11/1/14
CLARK
@
ALTA SIERRA

GRANITE RIDGE
@
REYBURN

KASTNER - BYE

[GAS2]

8th grade Kastner boys were winners over Reyburn in Week 1....42-20.

Reyburn scored early on a short field (following botched kick to open) to make it 8-0 in first minute...then Kastner went on big run with 4 or 5 unanswered TD's...Reyburn didn't score again until mid-way through the second half, including a late TD in garbage time. 

Early days still, but this 8th grade T-Bird group looks much improved over their 7th grade iteration...the same group did sweep Reyburn last year...but one W was in OT and the other was by about 10...both hard fought games. This game wasn't really close like last years.   Looks promising for this group after some key grouping/position re-shuffling, not to mention some real physical growth by some of the boys since last year.     

[Bronco]

Any results ???

[GAS2]

9/6:

Kastner 8: Easy win over Alta...move to 2-0.

[BeastOfNorth]

Any results ???

Bronco 8th grade team still undefeated in their tenure at GR  :u:

[GAS2]

Bronco 8th grade team still undefeated in their tenure at GR  :u:

It's an athletic group and a good team...I know several of the families and kids....at least two (both starters) of those I know should be at Kastner BTW...but that's another matter. 

Anyway,  I did hear that one of their players claimed that they "got lucky" last week v. Clark....they won, so it doesn't matter...but any idea what played out last Saturday in that match up? 

[Coach Josh]

Bronco 8th grade team still undefeated in their tenure at GR  :u:

There gonna have a tough one against Kastner. GR lost Lil bit too. Big hit to the program

[GAS2]

There gonna have a tough one against Kastner. GR lost Lil bit too. Big hit to the program

Is/was he their difference maker at running back? 

I've heard some of the Kastner boys say he's injured or has moved on...but I really never know if the kids get it right. 

[BeastOfNorth]

They lost there RB last year who was a absolute stud for them!!!! but go watch a game and tell me if you see a difference? They rotate 3 backs and each one of them slammed Clark for 5-10 yards a carry up the gut...

The luck thing I cannot comment on as good and bad plays went both ways but if you dominate the running game and the game of the hitting at that level you will win every game... If anything Clark had some lady luck on there side by not losing any of there fumbles!!! Aside from that, any given team on any given day no doubt but that 8th grade team is special with or without any one player past or present.. They have back ups that could start on alot of teams in all honesty they remind me a lot of Kastners last years group of kids!

Now purely off watching games if they only threw the ball when they had to, which is only against the 8-9 man box they would be blowing teams out every week but hey I am not the head coach! Kids are going to win regardless of who coaches them scary to think how much better they would have been if their running back hadn't left! Good luck to all and hopefully its another good game this week!

[Coach Josh]

Is/was he their difference maker at running back? 

I've heard some of the Kastner boys say he's injured or has moved on...but I really never know if the kids get it right. 

He was the difference maker. Last yr GR didn't do a RB rotation. The handed the ball to McKinley Lee(Lil bit) and let him run. He's injured and transferring into the ET area. Kastner added a beast to the roster this season as well. 8th grader Jalon Leggett is a STUD!!! 6'0 170lbs fast and will hit you like a Mack truck. Thezs will be 2 good football games this yr.

[GAS2]

They lost there RB last year who was a absolute stud for them!!!! but go watch a game and tell me if you see a difference? They rotate 3 backs and each one of them slammed Clark for 5-10 yards a carry up the gut...

The luck thing I cannot comment on as good and bad plays went both ways but if you dominate the running game and the game of the hitting at that level you will win every game... If anything Clark had some lady luck on there side by not losing any of there fumbles!!! Aside from that, any given team on any given day no doubt but that 8th grade team is special with or without any one player past or present.. They have back ups that could start on alot of teams in all honesty they remind me a lot of Kastners last years group of kids!

Now purely off watching games if they only threw the ball when they had to, which is only against the 8-9 man box they would be blowing teams out every week but hey I am not the head coach! Kids are going to win regardless of who coaches them scary to think how much better they would have been if their running back hadn't left! Good luck to all and hopefully its another good game this week!

Indeed those kids  play assignment sound football, with good technique and solid fundamentals.  They may very well go undefeated even with the loss of their feature back. 

That said, I have see them play a bit and the loss of the back was apparent, at least to me, in that I didn't see the others backs breaking-off many long runs...something I know I saw consistently last year in the three+ games I saw GR play.  As you suggest, it may not matter if they can grind out 5-10 per and control the game in that matter.  Looking forward to seeing them play again. 

BTW, the difference I see with this GR group (which is athletic and sound fundamentally) and the 2 year undefeated group that just went through Kastner is overall team speed...not at all saying GR is slow per se...but  just not on same level as that Kastner group which had a lethal combo of across the board team speed AND athleticism that was really quite impressive (not to mention a massively able QB and passing attack to go with their impressive run game).  Will be fun to see how the battles shape up as classes mix down the road.

Anyhow...I share your sentiments...good luck to all these boys and may they stay healthy.   

[SCrubjay]

....at least two (both starters) of those I know should be at Kastner BTW...but that's another matter. 

CUSD has to tighten that up....  back when GR & CN opened the district let the boundaries be a sieve; they needed the enrollment.....  but, now that Granite Ridge is almost 22% LARGER than Kastner and Clovis West has become the smallest high school in the district.... they need to rethink how they handle those transfers...

[GAS2]

CUSD has to tighten that up....  back when GR & CN opened the district let the boundaries be a sieve; they needed the enrollment.....  but, now that Granite Ridge is almost 22% LARGER than Kastner and Clovis West has become the smallest high school in the district.... they need to rethink how they handle those transfers...

Agree...I've spoken to an administrator about this and he stated that denying requests simply needs to become the norm since population goals have been met.  He thinks it will.  It was and has been far too easy...but the 'bright and shiny new school fad' will fade in time as others have (see Buchanan).  But the numbers (I didn't realize they'd become that significant) do show too much movement or at least a boundary issue and that will require a claw back. 

I believe the current Liberty and Maple Creek split between K/GR divisions will be ending soon....that should help.   We're at WW Lake and probably equidistant to CN and CW...but we're proudly K and CW through and through. Some at Copper River go to VO then transfer to GR...I know of at least two that have done that...both start for GR in hoops (one will, other had to sit last year) and football...and both would probably start for both Kastner teams too.  I also know of at least one girl in hoops too...she was an FW girl and still lives down the street from CW...she's very good....but rumor has it she didn't want to be play (possibly 'be overshadowed' by) with at least two or three of the now K 8th graders (which have destroyed everyone for years)...so she claimed she needed a change of scenery and transferred (had to sit out in 7th) to GR.  As for the boys I mentioned, the families are good people and always note proximity for the move, which is kinda valid from the CR or even WW Lake...but I'm a big believer in playing for your designated area school and look at that as a cop out.  But it's not my life or decision...but hell, I'm free to judge...LOL.           

[GAS2]

9/13:

Kastner 8th:     24
Clark 8th:         20

Good win for T-Birds to move to 3-0.  But they suffered a big personnel loss when one of their top (difference-maker type) players on both sides of the ball went down late in the first half.  Think he's lost for balance of season if what I hear is accurate.  Shame.  Team will have to make some adjustments obviously going into GR game next week.  Should still be a battle. 

[CoachGuru77]

I'm hearing Rio Vista is holding it down for the 7th grade my co worker said that at the clovis carnival at buchanan Rio beat Kastner 6 touchdowns to 2 killed the T-Birds in the air? is Rio Vista that good?

[Coach Josh]

I'm hearing Rio Vista is holding it down for the 7th grade my co worker said that at the clovis carnival at buchanan Rio beat Kastner 6 touchdowns to 2 killed the T-Birds in the air? is Rio Vista that good?

NO Rio is not that good. Kastner 7th grade team is 0-3. Will most likely finish up 0-8. Huge issues starting with coaching staff. These boys are A LOT better than 0-8, but kids out of position etc. Honestly aside from the head coach I don't think the other 2 understand the playbook.

[Jazz]

Rio's 7th grade is very athletic.  Greely's little brother is there in the backfield.  They have some tall athletic kids on that team. 

I saw the carnival, and realized you can't gauge much from that.  One of the coaches only ran the same 6 plays the whole time because he didn't want anyone to see what he was doing.  The second string gets put in pretty quick for some teams. 

[All Star Kev]

NO Rio is not that good. Kastner 7th grade team is 0-3. Will most likely finish up 0-8. Huge issues starting with coaching staff. These boys are A LOT better than 0-8, but kids out of position etc. Honestly aside from the head coach I don't think the other 2 understand the playbook.

100% Correct Josh! These 7th graders at Kastner are much better than what they have shown on the field this year. It's 100% the coaching staff's fault from top to bottom. The assistant coaches are "Dads" who are trying to be coaches and the head coach doesn't seem to know how to run the offense. There is some great talent on that team however they lack speed. It's so bad that a majority of them want to quit. Players are frustrated. Parents are frustrated. Seem like the only ones that aren't frustrated are the coaching staff. The only Coach that seems to get these boys motivated is Coach Francis. It's a shame he isn't the head coach.

[CWClassof2007]

Why isn't Francis coaching & what's Rigby doing?

[CWClassof2007]