Getting Started with Kutztown’s Football Data
Right, so this thing started kinda simple. My nephew Jake plays for Kutztown High, right? We’re at the BBQ last Sunday, burgers sizzling, and his dad, my brother Mike, is goin’ on and on about the season. “Yeah, but who’s actually putting up numbers, Mike?” I ask. He shrugs. “Dunno exactly, gotta look it up somewhere… maybe?” That itch got me. Figured I’d take a crack at it myself.
First step? Findin’ the darn info. Easy peasy, I thought. Just hop online, find the school sports page, grab the stats. Ha!
Hunting Down the Numbers
Checked the school website first thing Monday morning. Big goose egg. Schedules? Sure. Scores? Some, yeah. But player stats? Nothin’. Like pulling teeth. “Fan stats” sites popped up next. Some had scores, kinda, maybe incomplete? Felt like I was chasing squirrels through the woods. Finally stumbled across this one local sports page buried deep in my search results – bingo! Seemed like it had the goods, or close enough anyway. Took me flipping through pages and pages, felt like forever.
Digging into the Meat & Potatoes
Alright, screen captured the whole mess – offense, defense, special teams. Just dumped it all into a spreadsheet. Names, positions, yards, touchdowns… the works. Tedious? You betcha. Typing away, wondering if my eyes were gonna cross. Here’s the juice for the offensive side after cleaning it up:
- Smith, Liam (QB): This kid’s slinging it! Threw for crazy yards – we’re talking over 1500. 18 TDs? Yeah. Led the charge big time. Real field general.
- Johnson, Marcus (RB): The workhorse. Pounded the ball straight up the gut all season. Topped 800 yards rushin’, found the endzone 10 times. Legs just kept churning.
- Davis, Ethan (WR): Liam’s favorite target, hands down. Over 600 yards snagged? And 7 touchdowns? Felt like every big catch went his way. Slippery guy.
Defense wasn’t messin’ around either:
- Miller, Noah (LB): Tackling machine. Felt like he was in on every single play. Nearly 100 tackles? Insane motor, never quit.
- Williams, Carter (DE): Quarterback nightmare. Got home for sacks 8 times? Kept offensive coordinators up late drawing up ways to stop him. Beast.
- Brown, Jayden (DB): Ball hawk. Snagged 5 picks? Always seemed to be right where the ball was gonna be.
Making Sense of the Wins & Losses
Team results were scattered all over too. Piece ’em together like a puzzle. Final tally? Went 8-4 overall. Started kinda rocky, 1-2, figuring things out maybe? Then bang – won 7 straight! Felt like they just clicked. Strong finish for sure. Won their division, punched their ticket to playoffs… but got bounced in the first round. Tough way to end after that hot streak.
Wrapping it Up & The Why
So yeah, slapped it all together finally. Got the key guys identified, their numbers looking legit, see how the season played out.
Why bother digging through all this crap for a high school team? Jake’s a big part of it, sure. But honestly? It hit me different. This little project started right after Mom passed. Kinda numb, y’know? Needed something to just… focus on. Something concrete to do. Typing names and numbers, organizing stuff, zero thinking required beyond the data in front of me. Weirdly calming. Felt like I was piecing together something real, for my family, while dealing with something way bigger. Plus, Mike printed it out for the coaches and they actually used it? That felt… solid. Better than staring at the walls anyway.