Brian,

Just like last week, could you please give me the exact score of the upcoming game this weekend?

I want to make some more bets....

Thank you.....

I'll give it my best shot, but there are more factors involved with this game than the last. Last week was easy - Belgrade is not good. This week should be much more of a challenge for me to prognosticate and for the Cowboys to win.

Keep in mind that I never pick the Cowboys to lose.

If Kramer plays, my guess would be Cowboys 22, Laurel 17. If he doesn't, Cowboys 28, Laurel 10. Either way, I doubt the Locomotives will be able to run on Miles City the way they've grown accustomed.

Laurel really doesn't pass much, and when they do, it's just to keep teams honest - short passes to the slot and running backs. It will be interesting to see how the Locomotives adjust if they have to pass the ball.

Of the four teams they've played, only Butte Central could really be called better than mediocre. The Cowboys will be the biggest team they've taken on this season and are easily the most accomplished.

I have a feeling that the Cowboys will play sharper football than they have in the second half of games so far this season. And they'll need to. Laurel hasn't been smacked in the mouth yet this season, and if there's one thing the Cowboys have shown that they're good at doing over the last few seasons, it's smacking teams in the mouth.

If I get time this week, I'll post some tidbits.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (9/20/2011)]

And here be some tidbits ...

Through the four games of his high school career, Ben Herzog has passed for 583 yards and 10 touchdowns. His yardage total is already greater than the leading passer's final numbers in all but 20 seasons of Cowboys football - the entire history of Cowboys football, not just since 1978. The Cowboys' single season passing yardage record holder is Jordan Bryant, who threw for 1,363 yards (in 13 games) in 2008. Bryant had 429 yards in his first four games (it should be noted that Bryant capped his career with the best postseason passing run in CCDHS history, throwing for 513 yards and 9 touchdowns in the final three games of the Cowboys' championship season).

The best per-game passing average by a Cowboy quarterback was 141.9 ypg posted by Adam Sanchez in 2000. In nine games, Sanchez passed for 1,277 yards, including 724 over the first four games of the year. He is the only Cowboy quarterback to pass for more yards over the first four games of a season than Herzog, who is presently averaging 145.8 ypg. Sanchez was a senior and a two-year starter. Herzog, as you may know, is a sophomore. Should Herzog pass for more than 100 yards against Laurel on Friday, he would tie Sanchez's team mark for consecutive 100-yard passing games. The single-season record is 7, shared by Gary Lucas (1982), Jace Wagner (1995) and Bryant (2008).

In terms of touchdown passes, Herzog is off to an even more impressive start. He is just the 12th Cowboy passer to reach double-figure touchdowns in a single season. The team record is 19, currently held by Chris Morford (1997).

Herzog is also on pace to match Bryant's single-season marks of 149 attempts and 81 completions (established in 13 games) ... by the time the regular season is over.

The sophomore is not the only Cowboy currently rewriting records. With his 28-yard touchdown reception against Belgrade, Reid caught the 11th scoring pass of his career, tying him with Pat Bergman (1981-83) and Dustin Frize (1994-95) for the team career record. Reid has six touchdowns through four games, having caught at least one in each contest this season. The single-season record for a Cowboy receiver is 9, which was set by Frize in 1995 and subsequently tied by Scott Malloy in 1996. Reid has already caught 14 passes this season, just one fewer than his total in 12 games last year. For his career, he has 29 receptions, putting him within 9 catches of the Cowboys' top five all-time receivers. The present record for career receptions is 53, by Brennan Haughian (2006-08).

Reid has 513 career receiving yards, which is 101 of the all-time top 5. With averages of 3.5 catches of 54.4 yards per game (totals which were dragged down by his early exit from Friday's game), Reid stands an excellent chance to eclipse the single-season records for catches (31 - Chris James, 1993 and Malloy, 1995) and yards (614 - Sam Hould, 1995). It should be noted that all three of the aforementioned standards were established over the course of 11-game seasons.

Side note: I think it's too bad C.W. isn't still with us for this football season. With Herzog no longer a freshman and not yet a junior, this campaign would provide ample opportunity for Mr. Wilcox to air his distinctive way of pronouncing the word, "soffahmore."

good stats as always

I'm guessing that Laurel is keeping tight-lipped about their quarterback, Dylan Kramer, and whether he will play. I saw at the Gazette prep page that he currently leads a couple stat categories in the Eastern A.

The only thing I had heard - and this was during the post game coverage of the last Cowboy game vs. Belgrade, so it might just be unreliable hearsay for all I know - is that Kramer left last week's game against Billings Central in the 3rd quarter and was on crutches after that. Maybe he'll play, maybe he won't.

other than that, I'll just say that Herzog's performance has been pretty impressive considering his age. While he's made some mistakes in the form of bad throws and such, he also seems to make up for them my intercepting a pass or 2, as well. Just think what kind of an athlete he could develop into by the time he's a senior! Time will tell.

Even if Kramer plays, I can't imagine they're going to let him run wild and risk hurting himself further. This is the first conference game for both teams - why jeopardize the team's chances unnecessarily?

If he plays, he'll be doing a lot of handing off and might actually pass the ball more than 10 times.

If the Cowboys treat him the way they treated J.T. Linder (Dillon QB), he'll not want to stay on the field.

My two concerns for the Cowboys: the health of Dalton Ried (left the game early against Belgrade), and the timing with Herzog and Begger? Hopefully they got that figured out this week in practice. Begger is a big target, but I'm not sure he is as fast as Ben's other options.

Kramer being injured only effects 1/2 of Laurel's Claim to fame...How many points they can run up on you. It would be foolish to try and hang our hats on that hook, and not focus on the other half of the equation. Cowboys are also facing a team that hasn't allowed a single point so far this year.

Offense needs to be up and ready. TAKE IT TO EM EVERY PLAY.

Laurel did get scored on last week!! I think the Cowboys will have to win this game with the Offensive Line and Defensive Line!!

Laurel has not played against a line like we have since we beat them last season. They will be tough but believe me they will get scored on and their QB will be very sore after this game if he plays.

Glenn - what you said isn't exactly wrong, but saying Kramer only affects half of the game isn't entirely accurate, either. If Kramer plays, they'll be able to run their preferred offense much better than if he doesn't. If they run their preferred offense, their defense will not be on the field as long and will be fresher. His presence affects more than 1/2 of the game.

With a healthy Kramer, the Locomotives are scary (think of the Cowboys last year with Cooley at QB - the 2012 Locos are a very similar kind of team). They're in a better position to dictate what they want to do. Without him, they are still good, but their options will be limited. That having been said, the Cowboys need to hit whomever has the ball hard and often. Red's defenses EXCEL at that.

Blayne - Dalton will be ready to go.

http://billingsgazette.co...a430f.html

(Yes, I know. Polls mean nothing. With that having been said ...)

While I am a shameless homer, I can't say that Dillon doesn't deserve to be ranked #1. They're loaded and are playing purposeful football.

Still, the Cowboys are the defending state champions, have one more victory than the Beavers and are undefeated. Moreover, they handed Dillon their last loss. At least Miles City has more first-place votes.

Take out any frustration you may have on Laurel, Cowboys. Methinks the Trainmen need to pay for the first-place vote they received.

Polls mean way less than nothing. Especially in a state the size of Montana. There is no way a coach (if it's a coaches poll) or a reporter (if it's a media poll) in Whitefish is seeing Miles City, or anybody else that is not in their division play every week. They are probably not even seeing division rivals play unless it's on tape. It's a popularity contest, nothing more. Being the defending champions, the Cowboys are not gonna get any love from anywhere in the state that is not in Custer County, nor should they. The only thing that should be on a players mind is school, his girlfriend, and this weekends opponent, and that order may be wrong. The only thing polls are good for is getting kids all riled up over something that means nothing now, and means nothing at the end of the year. The polls have nothing to do with who plays in the playoffs, thank God, so what's the point anyway? Personally, I think high school polls should go away. They serve no useful purpose at all. Even the assumed bragging rights are false blowing of smoke and puffing of chest.

(And here I was, thinking my simple parenthetical aside might ward off any rants).

I really wish you'd tell us how you truly felt about power polls, Matthew.

Am I wrong Brian?

I wouldn't say you're wrong.

But I do think polls can, do and have provided teams with some degree of motivation. Polls may not be important, per se, but they do help foster rivalries.

And what is high school football if not a celebration of rivalries, right?

Speaking of which, Glendive sucks.

I also am well-aware that the poll means nothing.

That said, I notice that Belgrade has honorable mention even though they are winless on the year so far, whereas 2 of the 3 other HM teams in Hardin and Sidney are unbeaten and Butte Central is 2-2...interesting.

The polls are no doubt used for motivation by block headed coaches everywhere. Coaches that need polls to motivating their team shouldn't be coaching. It tells me that they just don't get it. It seems to me that all the motivation any football team from Miles City should need is sitting in the trophy case. State Championship trophys are hard earned, and very cool, and they should want more. And you get more trophys by playing for your teammates, and your school, and your town. Not by being motivated by some useless ranking system. Once the ball is kicked off, your reputation isn't worth spit. Especially if that rep comes from coaches and/or sportwriters that have never seen you play.
Based purely on reputation, the Colts should be 2 - 0. And Detroit should be 0 - 2. Not so much eh?
I just hope the Cowboys don't put too much stock into the rankings. If you really believe that stuff, someday you will show up unprepared to play a cupcake, and get frosting all over your face.

"Polls are for strippers and cross-country skiiers!" Sarah Palin...whom I will NOT be voting for.

Matt - I don't think there is a coach anywhere who gives one whit about where his team ranks in the power poll. I was never referring to coaches when I was discussing a poll's motivational effects.

You are aware that high school players read newspapers too, right?

Case in point: When I was in high school, we played Laurel in the third game of the season. Both teams were undefeated. The Cowboys were coming off a runner-up finish the year before and had crushed the Locomotives in the semifinals to reach the championship game.

Laurel was ranked #2 and the Cowboys were ranked #3 when the teams met the following season and it was taken as a personal insult by several players on the Miles City team. I don't recall the coaching staff even mentioning rankings.

The Cowboys won that game, 41-0. Miles City would have won anyway, but making sure there was no doubt as to which was the superior team was on everyone's minds.

Sarah Palin would know that adage from experience, Shu.

And not from skiing.

[This message has been edited by Brian A. Reed (9/22/2011)]

Any update on the score of the game

14-7 locos

thanks

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

28-7 locos final

[This message has been edited by Marcy (9/23/2011)]

The game, in three words:

Sloppy. Uninspired. Thud.

The game, in Haiku form:

Unsynchronized 'Boys
Conference record: one-and-four
Unless lessons learned

As I've stated before, I never pick the Cowboys to lose. That having been said, if they show the same disappointing level of execution and hustle against Central next week, they'll struggle to stay within 30 points. Tonight's game was reminiscent of the 2007 game in Laurel, only without Brennan Haughian's fortitude.

ok men here it is I feel yes the cowboys are defending champs and their offense & defense are producing but until they defeat BC &the winner of the Dillon -Havre contest -polls are just that let the teams settle it onthe field (p.s may the best team win)

Odd timing, but sure.