MySpace Blogs
This will be quite lenghty, but I'm going to post all the blogs I posted on the Trojan Nation MySpace site here WITH THE EXCEPTION of today's. That one will be posted Friday:
Wednesday, July 5th - First MySpace Blog
I just wanted to put this out on the web. With so many people using MySpace as their main portal of web communications, we at Trojan Nation thought we'd get in the act to attract more viewers to our site.
In the upcoming weeks and months we'll be using the blog and bulletin features on MySpace to help communicate new features to the site and other happenings.
We all are looking forward to the 2006 season, thanks for looking.
Wednesday, July 12th - Post 2...
...and 20 friends and counting. I hope to keep adding more and more each day so if you know someone that you think would interested in following the happenings of the Trojan Nation by all means, send them our way.
One of the coaches recently posted on our message board and had some positive things to say about the upcoming season and the 2006 team.
I've posted the 2006 schedule on the profile in case you're going to the MySpace profile before the main Trojan Nation page.
In other site related news, I've come across a great web resource that will help me greatly in updating the Ken Lantzy page. I'll also add a spreadsheet with all the game scores since the first game back in 1971. One of the other projects being pieced together is year-by-year records for Boys' Basketball. I hope to at least have the shell of that up by the end of summer because once football season starts, all the efforts will be dedicated there.
Also, check out the Alumni Database. You can email me if you want added. Just send your name, email and graduating class.
Again, thanks for joining. With just about a month until teams in PA can start practice (August 14th) things will really start to pick up.
Later,
Kek
Wednesday, July 19th - Daily Content Review
In this week's blog, I'm going to do a small service to those of you new to the Nation. One of the things we pride ourselves in is that we provide new content on a daily basis.
As we've mentioned before, 2006 will be the second year that we will provide new content seven days a week. When the site was started in 2004 there was only new content Monday through Saturday. Last year, with the addition of the Sunday Report Card, we made that seven days a week.
What I'd like to do now is give a brief description of our daily features. This will be good both for those of you that are new to the site, as well as a refresher to our existing viewers.
MONDAY: Monday Morning Ramblings - This is a "catch-all" column that I like to write on Mondays. It can be pretty much about anything although many times it takes the tone of the something that happened Friday's game. Opinion and analysis of key plays, players, coach's calls, etc are all fair game for topics.
TUESDAY: Tuesday Trojan Trivia and A Look Ahead - On Tuesday I like to lighten things up a bit and see if the viewers have their thinking caps on. After that, the "Look Ahead" portion of this daily feature deals with the upcoming opponent. We'll highlight key players/match-ups and as we get deeper in the season we'll run down stats as well as won-loss records and prior opponents.
WEDNESDAY: Bullet Points - The first thing we do on Wednesday is answer the previous day's trivia question. After that, the bulk of this daily feature is to give props to the little guys. We'll run down to the best of our ability the previous week's result for JV, Freshman, 8th and 7th grade teams. We've had great cooperation from the coaches in the past few years and see no reason why that won't continue in the future. From time to time, at the end of the sub-varsity report, I'll throw in a few tidbits from high school football from around the state and beyond.
THURSDAY: Helmets and Sweats - this is the time of the week where we preview what the rest of the LHAC and District 6-AAA team are up to in the given week. We'll profile key matchups and give some thoughts and analysis on these games that indirectly affect the Trojans.
FRIDAY: Tale of the Tape - this feature breaks down the Trojans' opponent. We give you all the info you need to know. Where the school is located. What their enrollment is. What the name of their stadium is, their colors, etc. We give you their record last year and some historical data against JHS. We even give a weather forecast for the game.
SATURDAY: Saturday Game Report - Nowhere on the web is there a more in-depth report of the Trojans' game on a weekly basis. We give you all you need to know, in case you can't get to the game or if you want to read the account of the game you just saw.
SUNDAY: Report Card - School is in session. Each week we grade both JHS and their opponent on offense, defense, special teams and coaching. We give comments to follow that justify our grades. This year, we will start to grade the game officials as well.
Next week I'll give a rundown of our regular features.
Wednesday, July 26th - Regular features of the site
It's Wednesday so that means another blog posting. This week we'll take you through some of the regular features of the website:
Point/Counterpoint: This is one that I have a lot of fun with. Jason and I pick a topic, take opposites ends and post our side of the issue at hand. We are shooting for posting every other week at a minimum but we have enough topics to take us through the entire season.
Trojan of the Week: Amos put together a player profile survey last year and we will use it again in '06. Together with a picture of the player, we try to feature at least two new Trojans each week. This is just an avenue to get to know the players both on and off the field.
Viewpoints: This feature will be revamped this year. It will be Jason doing "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" each Monday following the game.
The Pick Sheet: This is a fun one that the entire staff of the Nation particpates in. Each week I'll pick eight games and the four of us will predict winners. The person with the best record at the end of the season will be crowned champion and get bragging rights until next year. Amos is the defending champ with a record of 52-20. He beat Jason by just one game last year. I expect another exciting season.
Numberology: Jason is billed as the resident number cruncher of the Nation and this year I'm putting him to work. Each week, he'll breakdown the situation in District 6-AAA from a points perspective. You'll always know where the Trojans and the rest of the district stand when it comes to playoff talk.
We're less than a month away from camp and September 1 and Penn Cambria will be here before you know it.
Check back in next week as we'll talk about the rest of the sections on the Trojan Nation website.
Later,
Kek
Wednesday, August 2nd - Crash Course in Site Navigation
In this blog I wanted to go over the other sections of the site. We can call them reference points as they are not daily or weekly features. That being said, some are edited and update more than others.
We'll just along the top of the webpage and look at the headers:
Statistics: We were blessed with this info each week last year thanks to Cyndi Ahlborn. Unfortunately I wasn't always on the ball when it came to posting it. This year I promise to keep it updated promptly each and every week. We'll have game-by-game as well as cumulative stats posted.
Message Board: There is also a link to this on the homepage. I have a free message board from another service (VoyForums). The link will open in a new window. Please try to keep the conversation sports and/or JHS related.
Rankings: Each week during the regular season I do a top ten for big schools (AAAA and AAA) and a separate list for small schools (AA and A) in Districts 5 and 6. They are updated each week. This info is also available at my PennLive blog.
Daily Features: Another place to get links to our daily features.
Standings/Scoreboard: The past two years I did the standings and scores for all schools in Districts 5-8. That proved to be too time-consuming. This year I'll simply do the LHAC and the 6-AAA points. There are other resources, such as ePaSports.com and MaxPreps, that have all the state's information
Schedules: Links to all schedules for JHS football. Not just varsity, but we'll keep JV, Frosh, 8th and 7th grade updated as well.
History/Traditions: Four different, cool pages here. Clicking on "Tradition" gets you words to the Alma Mater and Fight Song. "History" takes you to our Year-by-year archive of season win-loss records as well as all-time coaching records, Trojans that have been all state, Trojans that have represented JHS in the Ken Lantzy Game. There are also databases of Kamnikar Award Winners and Trojan Stadium Award winners. Some of these pages are incomplete and need blanks filled in so if you have any info, just email me. "Countdown to 600" tracks all schools in PA with 500 or more wins and helps us keep track as JHS approaches the coveted 600-win mark. "PIAA Past Champions" is simply a spreadsheet of past state champs since the current format began in 1988.
Links: Although this page probably needs cleaned up a bit, there are cool links to sites of interest to the viewer of Trojan Nation.
Contact Us: Just another place to find my email address and contact me with anything about the site you might like or dislike and ideas, etc.
About Us: This page has pictures, bios and email address of not only myself, but Jason Subich, Greg Keklak and Amos Myers. If you want to get in touch with us or just know a little more about us, this is the place.
Archives: I used to archive all content but I was running out of disk space and since there wasn't much traffic to old content, I decided to discontinue this feature. However, I left the page up because I wanted to let the viewers know that I have all the content from 2004 and 2005 saved so if there is something you might be looking for from years past, just drop me a line and I'll be glad to forward it to you.
Also, within the body of the homepage are the following:
Updates Page: As soon as content is added, or if I find an external link with a connection to JHS, I'll post it on this page with the appropriate date.
Alumni Database: Email me if you'd like to be added to our alumni database. Simply give me your name, email and the year you graduated from JHS.
From time to time there will be special, stand alone pieces. They normally appear at the top of the homepage in the blue highlighting.
That's all for now. Next week we'll have a little preview of camp as well as some talk of camps past.
Later,
Kek
Wednesday, August 9th - Camp is around the corner!!!
Two things that go hand in hand for me when it comes to mid-August are the AAABA tournament and the start of football camp. This mainly due to them being so close to each other timing wise.
I can remember thinking "the summer is just about over" once the national baseball tournament rolled around the fields of the Johnstown area. Some years the tournament was still going on when we headed to camp, in others it was over already.
A few weeks ago, the Tribune Democrat reported that JHS will go to camp at Antiochian Village for camp this year. In a move out of the ordinary, the team will go to camp during the second week of preseason training, opting to stay home at the friendly confines of Trojan Stadium for the first week.
Jerry Davitch used Antiochian Village, which is near Bolivar and was founded in 1978 by the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, back in the early 90s for a camp locale.
The Trojans returned to Antiochian during the late 90s with Corky McCabe. In between that saw stints at Mount Aloysius and Camp Mantowagon in Saxton.
Regardless of the venue, one thing is for sure: after two weeks of two-a-days, the kids can't wait to get back to school. At least then there will only be ONE practice!
Finally tonight, please check out the bulletin in regards to finding materials, photos, etc, to be used in conjunction with JHS' 1,000th game in program history.
Until next Wednesday, signing off,
Kek
Wednesday, August 16th - Hump Day for Week One of practice
Camp opened Monday and we hear that 62 boys came out for the Trojans this year. Obviously, some guys will not make it through camp, deciding that football isn't the thing for them however, that is a good number. If that means they'll head to the regular season with a roster of 50 that's great. Depth is always a good problem to have in any sport.
The first preseason scrimmage will be held at Trojan Stadium this coming Saturday at 10:00AM. Although this is always an exciting time because we know the season is right around the corner, it is important not to dwell too much on the highs and lows of these performances. Keep in mind, the schools participating will have just one week of practice under their belt.
Also, coaches aren't going to open the playbook too deep. There is no reason to show a future competitor that really neat trick play in a meaningless (as far as wins and losses) scrimmage. Like the NFL Preseason, the important thing here is to evaluate talent. Coaches always have to be thinking two and three levels down the depth chart and when the second teams go at it this is very important for evaluating.
Years past, prior to the Trojans joining the LHAC, we saw the Johnstown vs. Forest Hills scrimmage as a big deal. I recall back in '91 the teams were led by two standout quarterbacks in JHS' Brian Mangiafico and FH's Brandon Bailey (currently Head Coach and AD at Richland). The stands were packed and the atomsphere had the electricity of a playoff game.
In other years, the scrimmage was played at the Point Stadium and Fitchner Field at the Johnstown Middle School. People that saw the scrimmage in '92 saw what may have been the best individual play a Trojan ever made on the field as future Maryland Terp and CFL standout Geroy Simon gathered in a pass at the near sideline and juked past 4 or 5 defenders to the endzone.
In 1994, the Trojans beat the Rangers seven touchdowns to one. This was the year that FH advanced to the PIAA state championship game in Class AA. Johnstown, on the other hand finished the season 4-6 in the WPIAL and stayed home from the playoffs. This leads to the next point: you can't judge or predict a season by performance in the preseason.
A good example is the above mentioned Geroy Simon scrimmage. JHS handled FH that year and then went on to finish the season 1-7-1. Another case in point is just a few years ago with the Johnstown/Bedford scrimmage of 2004. Although Johnstown didn't look stellar, Bedford looked terrible. The Bisons went on to finish the regular season 9-0 and thus were the only LHAC squad that season to finish with an undefeated record.
So, the moral of the story with these scrimmages is this: don't put all your eggs in this one basket.
Kek
Wednesday, August 22nd - Back in Black
Yes, it is my favorite AC/DC song BUT... that is NOT what this is about!
I noticed from some of you guys' profiles that there appear to be new uniforms in the Trojan Nation this year. AND, it's a return to the familiar black jerseys (with a very nice blue stripe I might add). I'm not sure what the pants combos will be but any of you guys on the team, if you know, shoot me off a note when you get back from camp.
Now, if we could get a Trojan head on that plain black helmet we'd be good to go!!!!
If there is a black-on-black look with the home uniform, I'm sure I'll get a call from my brother. During my own playing days, he always told me how he thought it was odd that a team that played its home games on Friday nights wanted to wear all black. Well, it's not like we're out there riding bikes! Furthermore, I would much rather sport all black at night when it's cooler than under the hot sun of a Saturday afternoon.
I can only recall unis from the Jerry Davitch-era on. Mainly because my playing days started at the end of his era and many of his fashion choices were on display after he left. From 1985 through 1991 very few changes were made to the Trojan kit. The early helmet had no logos just striping but later, Coach Davitch added the Trojan decal that has come synonymous with Trojan football in some circles (and graces the homepage of the Trojan Nation website).
In 1992, Coach Fleming added his first mark on the uniform as the squad switched from white shoes to black. Also for that year, black tights were worn by the entire squad. This was done over the socks to create a head-to-toe black look, similar to the look of San Diego State at the time. In '93, the head-to-toe black look was scrapped. However, the tights made a few appearances, but the socks were worn OVER them for those games. In '94, Fleming made a major change introducing blue pants. They weren't worn for all games but they alternated back and forth throughout the season.
After that, let's just say my memory is foggy. Fleming shared with me an idea he had for a Trojan head wrap-around logo similar to the Seahawks but this never got to see the light of day as he was out after the 1996 season.
Since the McCabe/Caccotti era is a period of time I'd much rather just forget, it's no surprise that I don't remember vivid specifics of what the team was wearing during that time. The helmet had a few facelifts during that time. I recall a small Trojan head with the script "Trojans" above it, a simple block letter "J", and the block letter "TROJANS" similar to the New York Giants helmet prior to them going back to the "NY". I'm not sure of when the black jersey/blue pants was reversed but I thought all these years it has been a good move. That being said, change is always good and it'll be neat to see the team in black shirts this fall.
If I could throw my designer hat in the ring I'd always thought a copy of the Carolina Panthers uniform with a Trojan head on a silver helmet would look sharp but I don't ever see that happening. Mainly, because silver isn't a school color.
Well, that's all for now. I started it on a AC/DC theme, I'll end it that way:
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK......
