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So they had a 21-13 lead on 4 and 15 from the 30 and they decide to call the âfastball specialâ Hail Mary pass instead of kicking a FG and making it a two score lead? Excellence indeed.
Let me get this straight. Valley Tech was leading Tilden by (presumably) 21-13. With possession on 4th-and-15 (or 4-and-15, rather) at the 30 yard line (or ~45 yard line, if youâre going by the art rather than the brainless announcer) with two minutes left in the game and time stopped by a confused referee who apparently thinks this is an NFL game, Luke Martinez calls NOT for a punt to bury Tilden deep inside their own territory but instead a pointlessly risky deep pass to run up the score. I think Martinez might have won his âMensa membershipâ in a church raffle or Happy Meal.
Oh, and the big X-Men allusion was all for nothing, and the amazing Fastball Special (much like the Thorp Special) turns out to just be a forward pass. Not exactly the Annexation of Puerto Rico; I canât help but wonder how profoundly unimaginative the standard play calls are for these teams when throwing the ball to a wide receiver is considered remarkable.
Coach Icarus wastes his âFastballâ when it could only affect his teamâs result adversely, via a Pick Six. All of Techâs future opponents have now taken note of this âspecialâ forward pass â surprise factor gone. But what does Tilden Coach Kim mean by âagainâ?
All of you questioning Coach Martinezâs play calling, where are your multiple state titles and PAC-12 MVP awards? Excellence! P3: Fist Pump Man and his bro see the writing on the wall, too, and have jumped from Milford to VT.
As long as weâre talking about the writing that make no sense, if Pedro Martinez is the only guy on the team who can throw a pass, why isnât he the regular quarterback instead of gathering splinters until a pass is needed? And wonât the other team recognize heâs only brought in to throw one?
For the sake of conversation, letâs say VT ball on the Tilden 30, 4th and 15. For a FG, the holder sets up 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage and the goalposts are 10 yards deep in back of the end zone. Hence, a 47 yard FG attempt. A HS kicker able to convert consistently for that distance is exceptional. Too close for a pooch punt? Perhaps. Say what you want about Lukey, with a one score difference, that was pretty ballsy.
Uh-oh, thereâs a flag on the play! The ref is checking Tyroneâs hands for some of that Lester Hayes âstickemâ. No way he one hands that catch from that positioning without the sticky stuff.
Ah, I get it â heâs running the Fastball Special in an early game so that GilPa will see it and plan for it; thus, when he tries to pull it off as the Highlander âTHERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!â endgame against Milford, it will be intercepted and returned for a late TD.
Change is inevitable, maybe Dagwood will even add a layer of tofu to his sandwich, Iâm enjoying the strip, thank you. (They can do what they want with Keri â keep Cookie HOT). Lost in all the 4th and the apocalypse hullabaloo: Has the comic strips ever featured other schoolsâ games? I recall a basketball star who somehow ended up a Mudlark, Anna Karenina, Mike the Knife Knapp and the reform school, but they all quickly arced back to good olâ MHS. Someone other than Marty Moon up in that broadcast booth, I like that. Ah, the comics world. Guess it still ends up with the big MHS-VTHS matchup, for some of the marbles. As long as Dennis remains a Menace, Iâm good.
We have to credit the Valley Tech athletic department for switching to black, orange and yellow when everyone else in the conference except Milford wears blue.
It would really make things easier for us astutely savvy sports readers if the writer had some semblance of football knowledgeâŠ..then again maybe heâs doing this on purpose to increase the snarky comments
My prediction was right: one panel of the QB, one of someone catching the touchdown. Thatâs the Fastball Special! But something we missed. The lady in the booth is not the stadium announcer. She is doing play-by-play. Which means she is broadcasting on the radio too, like Marty. Milford has yet another radio station that (I assume) exclusively broadcasts one high schoolâs games. Gonna be crowded in the booth when VT plays Milford.
And speaking of crowded, it might be crowded if everybody rushes to read todayâs Mopped Up Thorp at the same time.
The Milford/VT tilt is going to a high scoring affair! With the unstoppable Thorp and fastball specials leading to TDs every time, it may come down to the kicking game!
Open receiverâŠone handed catch?? Hotdog!Can I get the âExcellence. Itâs what I do.â t-shirt at the Valley Tech merch table during the nest game??
Hey Kool-Aid! Coach Shed, you da man! WOO-HOO! Time to share some of my excellent ice-cold, sugary flavors with Coach Kim and the boys after pulling the fast one and running up the score on Tilden. I see your pitcher grip is ready. You know you want it. Come and get it excellent one. Oh yeah.
Snarker formerly known as Rube Whigham over 2 years ago
Tyrone Anderson one-hands a Pedro Martinez fastball!
kdizzle over 2 years ago
So they had a 21-13 lead on 4 and 15 from the 30 and they decide to call the âfastball specialâ Hail Mary pass instead of kicking a FG and making it a two score lead? Excellence indeed.
jroggs over 2 years ago
Let me get this straight. Valley Tech was leading Tilden by (presumably) 21-13. With possession on 4th-and-15 (or 4-and-15, rather) at the 30 yard line (or ~45 yard line, if youâre going by the art rather than the brainless announcer) with two minutes left in the game and time stopped by a confused referee who apparently thinks this is an NFL game, Luke Martinez calls NOT for a punt to bury Tilden deep inside their own territory but instead a pointlessly risky deep pass to run up the score. I think Martinez might have won his âMensa membershipâ in a church raffle or Happy Meal.
Oh, and the big X-Men allusion was all for nothing, and the amazing Fastball Special (much like the Thorp Special) turns out to just be a forward pass. Not exactly the Annexation of Puerto Rico; I canât help but wonder how profoundly unimaginative the standard play calls are for these teams when throwing the ball to a wide receiver is considered remarkable.
Charks over 2 years ago
Coach Icarus wastes his âFastballâ when it could only affect his teamâs result adversely, via a Pick Six. All of Techâs future opponents have now taken note of this âspecialâ forward pass â surprise factor gone. But what does Tilden Coach Kim mean by âagainâ?
jslabotnik over 2 years ago
All of you questioning Coach Martinezâs play calling, where are your multiple state titles and PAC-12 MVP awards? Excellence! P3: Fist Pump Man and his bro see the writing on the wall, too, and have jumped from Milford to VT.
LawrenceS over 2 years ago
As long as weâre talking about the writing that make no sense, if Pedro Martinez is the only guy on the team who can throw a pass, why isnât he the regular quarterback instead of gathering splinters until a pass is needed? And wonât the other team recognize heâs only brought in to throw one?
Gil-doh! over 2 years ago
Excellence my *ss. Itâs more like rubbing it in and disrespecting your opponent in order to feed your ego, BHHLHM.
weikelk over 2 years ago
Tribune content agency. . . . .PLEASE GET RID OF THIS WRITER!!!!!!!
Gil-doh! over 2 years ago
Tyronâs one handed catch was excellent, not your play calling âbrillianceâ BHHLHM. Your hubris is off the charts.
bearwku82 over 2 years ago
For the sake of conversation, letâs say VT ball on the Tilden 30, 4th and 15. For a FG, the holder sets up 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage and the goalposts are 10 yards deep in back of the end zone. Hence, a 47 yard FG attempt. A HS kicker able to convert consistently for that distance is exceptional. Too close for a pooch punt? Perhaps. Say what you want about Lukey, with a one score difference, that was pretty ballsy.
dadjo over 2 years ago
Uh-oh, thereâs a flag on the play! The ref is checking Tyroneâs hands for some of that Lester Hayes âstickemâ. No way he one hands that catch from that positioning without the sticky stuff.
wesmorgan1 over 2 years ago
Ah, I get it â heâs running the Fastball Special in an early game so that GilPa will see it and plan for it; thus, when he tries to pull it off as the Highlander âTHERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!â endgame against Milford, it will be intercepted and returned for a late TD.
jslabotnik over 2 years ago
You can practice those 4 and 15 situations all you want, but thereâs nothing like gaining real game experience of them.
Goshen over 2 years ago
Change is inevitable, maybe Dagwood will even add a layer of tofu to his sandwich, Iâm enjoying the strip, thank you. (They can do what they want with Keri â keep Cookie HOT). Lost in all the 4th and the apocalypse hullabaloo: Has the comic strips ever featured other schoolsâ games? I recall a basketball star who somehow ended up a Mudlark, Anna Karenina, Mike the Knife Knapp and the reform school, but they all quickly arced back to good olâ MHS. Someone other than Marty Moon up in that broadcast booth, I like that. Ah, the comics world. Guess it still ends up with the big MHS-VTHS matchup, for some of the marbles. As long as Dennis remains a Menace, Iâm good.
James St. John Smythe over 2 years ago
We have to credit the Valley Tech athletic department for switching to black, orange and yellow when everyone else in the conference except Milford wears blue.
Irish53 over 2 years ago
P 3: He does modesty too
jribbing over 2 years ago
Am I the only one who now reads the strip to see what level of absurdity/poor storyline is going to take place?
chiphilton over 2 years ago
These two coaches are not yet on a first-name basis?
Irish53 over 2 years ago
Fist pump man goes to the VT games now too.
hifirick1953 over 2 years ago
Gets one over?? Does that mean they were fooled by a forward pass?? Does that mean it was the end of the game? So many questions
BrandonMayhew over 2 years ago
It would really make things easier for us astutely savvy sports readers if the writer had some semblance of football knowledgeâŠ..then again maybe heâs doing this on purpose to increase the snarky comments
Twainrdr over 2 years ago
P-2: Tyrone Anderson is obviously a transfer student from Milford. Please note: he is tackled by his own shadow.
Mopman over 2 years ago
My prediction was right: one panel of the QB, one of someone catching the touchdown. Thatâs the Fastball Special! But something we missed. The lady in the booth is not the stadium announcer. She is doing play-by-play. Which means she is broadcasting on the radio too, like Marty. Milford has yet another radio station that (I assume) exclusively broadcasts one high schoolâs games. Gonna be crowded in the booth when VT plays Milford.
And speaking of crowded, it might be crowded if everybody rushes to read todayâs Mopped Up Thorp at the same time.
https://moppedupthorp.wordpress.com/
metals24 over 2 years ago
What happened to the yellow stripes on their jackets, Rod?
metals24 over 2 years ago
And yesterday #7 was behind the center. Maybe Pedro was behind the end just like the Thorp Special!
Irish53 over 2 years ago
Apparently, every forward pass thrown by either Milford or VT is some kind of âspecialâ
Snarker formerly known as Rube Whigham over 2 years ago
The Milford/VT tilt is going to a high scoring affair! With the unstoppable Thorp and fastball specials leading to TDs every time, it may come down to the kicking game!
Sluggo's Eloquence Coach over 2 years ago
Open receiverâŠone handed catch?? Hotdog!Can I get the âExcellence. Itâs what I do.â t-shirt at the Valley Tech merch table during the nest game??
Kool-Aid Man over 2 years ago
Hey Kool-Aid! Coach Shed, you da man! WOO-HOO! Time to share some of my excellent ice-cold, sugary flavors with Coach Kim and the boys after pulling the fast one and running up the score on Tilden. I see your pitcher grip is ready. You know you want it. Come and get it excellent one. Oh yeah.