*****Well, unfortunately, the time has come to pen the final Monday Morning Ramblings of the season. As sad as that might be, I want to state how proud I am of this Johnstown Trojan football team. Congratulations to the players and Coach Marabito and his staff for an exciting season. Obviously, following Trojan football is a passion of mine and I want to thank everyone involved in the program for giving all of the fans an exciting season.

*****Despite losing some real important cogs in this team (like Quadir Christian, David Istanich and Jon Maruizio to name a few) the team really looks like it has the potential to have another good season in 2009. Although many skill players are back, the heart and soul of every successful team are the lines on both sides of the ball and as they go, so does the team. Coach Marabito loses three excellent linemen in Istanich, William Claar and James Haggerty. Replacing them, and developing players with ability like those three will be Coach’s biggest challenge this off season.

To the backs and receivers, you know what you have with quarterback John Siciliano and he’ll only get better. I expect his passing ability to greatly improve next season. Not to say he wasn’t good this year, but I just think when you run the ball more, a junior, first-time starter at QB has a lot of room to grow. Quadir has some big shoes to fill at running back but I think a committee approach could step in and fill the void. At tailback, Quattrell Rose returns and he has some experience and you’ll have a few guys in Javon Vuckovich and Elijah Haselrig moving up from the freshmen squad. At wideout, Jefferson and Agurs will return for their senior seasons and although Wyatt will graduate, you have a player in Gervon Simon that’s just a sophomore that received very limited time this year but got his feet wet as a freshmen. Sisco and Anderson got a lot of valuable time at the wideout position as well. Also, the freshmen quarterback Mark Watson will be moved to his more natural position in WR. Another player to watch is Alkwon Williams. As a freshmen he looked like a senior at times on defense this year (this kid would have looked like a man amongst boys on the freshmen team). He didn’t play any on offense this year but was listed as a running back in the program so I’m sure there is more to come on that.

Defensively, it’s tough to replace Big Dave’s impact in the middle of that line but Daveon Simms and Dajour Morris are back as is Williams. So the front eight look strong and the secondary loses Quadir but not much else.

The big blow Special Teams-wise will be Jon Maurizio. We’ve been a little spoiled in Trojanland the past seven or eight years as Ben Landis played from a freshmen on and Maurizio joined the team when Landis suffered a season ending injury during his senior year. Replacing the skills of Maurizio in both the punting and kicking game will be huge. Hopefully someone is waiting in the wings, either on the football or soccer team to step up and take the reins. I don’t want the Trojans to become on of those teams that goes for two all the time. If I were Coach, I’d be looking for not only a soccer-style player, but I’d be auditioning my big dogs on the line and seeing if any of them has the ability to pull off the old straight-on style.

*****Now, to assess the season that was 2008. 8-4 and an appearance in the district title game is something I’ll take. This is the first step in that attitude the program has to have that they belong in and should expect to be in the district championship every season. Every year in November, our team should be expecting to play for those gold medals at Mansion Park and anything less is not good enough.

You hate to hear stuff like this, but really, this team is a few plays away from being a 10-2 team. They forced the overtime against Forest Hills and realistically could have won that game and the Westmont game was played in such horrible conditions and they still had more than one opportunity to win the game. The McCort game was a butt whipping and the Hollidaysburg game, well, as much as it was great that we hung with them in the first half, I truly think the better team won as the Golden Tigers separated themselves.

Coach Marabito and the staff have the program pointed in the right direction and I look for continued success.

*****The return to the postseason was fun and exciting to cover. It should be noted that since the Trojans joined the LHAC and subsequently District 6, they’ve only missed the postseason twice: last season and back in 2001 under Bill Cacciotti. Naysayers might say “so what, 6-AAA is weak.” Well, rebuttal time as I crunched the numbers (because that’s what I do!) and came up with this year’s breakdown. If all other things remained the same and the season shook down exactly as it did, the Trojans would have been in all three of the other classifications. In Class A, they would have finished with 1,030 points and would have been the sixth seed. At Class AA, they would have earned 890 points and been the sixth seed. Finally, at Class AAAA, they would have earned 610 points and been the fifth seed. The team has nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to apologize for. You play the schedule you are given and your enrollment is what it is.

*****Since 2001, the Trojans are 4-5 in district postseason play and 4-6 overall in postseason (0-1 in PIAA playoffs).

*****I know a lot of people around the state are crazy about these districts and sub regions that have open playoffs where all teams, regardless of record, qualify. I’m with them, to a certain extent. While I give props to schools like Bellefonte that have policies that if you’re under .500 you don’t play in the playoffs, sometimes a geographic set up forces the PIAA’s hand. One thing I thought could be a possibility would be a sub regional in AAA between Districts 6 and 9. Both districts have four schools and the top four of those districts combined would have given you four quality teams with winning records. It would have forced Hollidaysburg to play week eleven and not enjoy a first round bye. It would have given the region a better team than Indian Valley in the first round. I know we’re stuck with the current set-up for another season but after that, let’s take a look at the numbers and put on a really good postseason again.

*****Did anyone else at the game Friday night detect a bias towards Hollidaysburg from the PA announcer? It’s not enough that the game was virtually a home game for them (don’t get me wrong, Mansion Park is where the district championship game belongs)! Isn’t the announcer supposed to be down the middle in what is essentially a neutral site game? This guy seemed to be REAL excited on big plays from the Golden Tigers and on the same types of plays from the Trojans the enthusiasm just wasn’t there. Heck, there were plays that Trojan defenders’ names were never mentioned on tackles they made. I know this is small potatoes but still, it was noticeable from the stands and should be addressed.

*****The LHAC was 2-2 in playoff action over the weekend. Here are how the other three teams fared:

Central Cambria 27, Tyrone 20

Another year and another upset of John Franco's Golden Eagles by the Central Cambria Red Devils. Andrew O'Saben was in his regular form, rushing the ball 32 times for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Bishop McCort 24, Bellwood-Antis 20

Back and forth affair at the Point Stadium but the Crushers ultimately prevailed. Dane Domonkos caught three passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, as well as booting a 42-yard field goal and all three Crusher extra points in the victory. Ken Salem's team improves to 11-0 and will play for the district title in one week's time.

Central 29, Forest Hills 26

Huge upset for the Scarlet Dragons as Lucas Runk racked up 154 yards on 22 carries including one rush that covered 94 yards for a touchdown as the former LHAC squad beat their one time sectional nemesis. Scott Mehall carried the ball 23 times for 160 yards in the loss for the Rangers, who end the season 10-2.

*****Up next for the weekend’s winners:

Bishop McCort, still undefeated, will take on Portage for all the marbles in 6-A. That contest will take place on Saturday, 11/22 at Mansion Park.

Also at Mansion Park, the night before, Central Cambria will take on former LHAC member Central for the 6-AA title.

With their win over the Trojans, Hollidaysburg advances to take on perennial 4-AAA champ Selinsgrove at Kemp Memorial Stadium in Shamokin, Friday night at 7:00.

*****Fans of WPIAL football have to absolutely LOVE the four match-ups that will be on tap Saturday afternoon on what will probably be a very chewed up field. Clairton/Monaca, Aliquippa/Beaver Falls, Thomas Jefferson/Blackhawk and Gateway/Bethel Park. What an outstanding day of football. Eight teams in what should be four great games. If you can’t get out to Heinz Field, check out the action on FSN.

*****Since the season is over, I thought I would post the Bullet Points updates for guys at the next level:

Geroy Simon caught five passes for 118 yards in the BC’s season ending 22-18 loss to Calgary in the CFL Western Finals. I’m unsure how CFL stats are kept and if postseason totals are separate or not so I’ll give you all of them. For the regular season, Simon caught 82 passes for 1418 yards and 10 touchdowns. In two playoff contests, he had 9 catches for 179 yards and 1 touchdown. Therefore, his grand totals on the year were 91 catches for 1597 yards and 11 touchdowns.

LaRod Stephens-Howling, Antwuan Reed and Scott Corson and the rest of the Pitt Panthers were off this week but have a big game this week at Cincinnati.

Forrest Harvey did not play in Westminster’s season ending 29-26 loss to Geneva. The Titans finished the season 5-5.

*****Quadir’s countdown: well, the senior fell short of the 1,500-yard mark but his 66 yards rushing against Hollidaysburg gave him a more-than-respectable 1254 yards on the season. Congratulations on a job well done #25. Your line gave you the openings and your legs did the rest!

*****I have to use this next to the last bullet point to apologize for the incomplete nature of my 1988 retrospective. The past three weeks or so have been crazy and have to get this done before Thanksgiving or it will never get done! I just haven’t had the time to contact Coach Davitch and give the series its due as of late. I’m not making any promises as to when, but I do plan on getting in touch with Coach. Stay tuned!

*****Last but not least, our Countdown to 600 fell one game short this season and the program ends the season with an all-time record of 599-373-56. One would think this mark will be achieved early in the 2009 season and the tracking to win #700 will begin.