Bears - Buckskins Backyard Battle

OK, I know that the E-town/CV football game tonight isn't exactly a "backyard" game like the title says, but I was going for alliteration. Close enough.

Big game tonight for the Bears, but then, when you are 4-0 every game becomes a big game until you lose. This E-town football team is the talk of the town, and I'd be interested to know if the players and coaches are feeling some additional pressure from their record. Imagine if they are 8-0 going into the Central game on Oct. 26? Now's that's pressure. But true championship teams don't feel pressure. They just play their game and let the results speak for themselves.

Honestly, I think E-town should win this game fairly handily. The Bears have a presence about them now, and that could spook a young team like CV, who has a ton of sophomores playing. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this team seems to be playing with a purpose. Just talking to the players and coaches, they have a way about them that feels very focused and committed to playing every game, heck, every snap, like it's the last play of the state championship game. There is no letdown in this bunch. They're going to give you everything they have on every single play and, with the talent they have all over the place, it's working. Kudos to Jeff Polites and his staff on getting the team ready for battle every week, and props to the players for respecting the coaching staff and working hard to not let them down.

The question I'm asking myself is, can they go 10-0? Is it too early to talk about that as a possibility? I know Polites won't even think about that. He takes the season one game at a time, which is the best approach for doing something special. But what do you guys think? Tell me in the comments if you think they can go unbeaten, how far they might go in the playoffs, and who you think can beat this team.

If anything else, it should be a fun ride as we get into October.

EAHS field hockey

In case anyone was curious, the E-town - Ephrata varsity field hockey game slated for today at 4 was postponed due to lightning. It is tentatively scheduled for 4:15 tomorrow afternoon (Friday) at Jane Hoover Field at EAHS. If I hear anything different, I'll post it tomorrow.

This is a big game for this young E-town team. Ephrata is unbeaten in section play so far, and if the Bears can pull the upset, they will be just one game out of first place in Section Two.

I'll check in tomorrow with a look at the E-town - CV football game.

Welcome

Hello everyone out there in cyberspace. Welcome to the Chronicle's new Elizabethtown sports blog. This is my first entry, and the blog is very much still a work in progress. As time passes, I'll come up with some new ideas for the site.

For now though, I'll pretty much stick to blogging about sports around the Elizabethtown area. Admittedly, most of the sports coverage will be going to Elizabethtown Area High School sports, but I'll be sure to get into E-town College, youth and community sports as well. And every now and then I'll weigh on Division I and pro sports too.

Feel free to comment often here, and I'll do my best to address them as often as I can. This blog will be a place for me to include things that normally won't fit into the Chronicle, and it will also allow me to put more of my own spin on the E-town sports scene. If there is something you'd like to me write about, put it in the comments or send it to sports.etown@gmail.com. If we can get enough emails and comments, I'd like to do a monthly mailbag, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

So here's to a new venture, and hopefully a successful one. Check back often, as I'll try and post something every day. Of course, some posts will be longer than others.

Cheers.