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Welcome to the home of the Rams
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****11-15-09 added the stuff below and other stuff
Since the football season is over fir The Rams be sure to checkout the basketball site for The Rams at www.leaguelineup.com/paolibball
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****THREE RAMS NAMED TO REGION 10 ALL-STAR TEAM***
Three Defensive Plyers from the Paoli Rams Football team were named to the 2009 Region 10 Football All-Star Team Representing The Rams on this team are:
Logan Laswell Free Safety
Cody Baker Linebacker
Jacob Randolph Strong Safety
****LASWELL NAMED TO 50 PLAYERS IN STATE BY IFCA****
Paoli Rams Senior Quarterback Logan Laswell was named to the top 50 All-State team by the Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA) Laswell was the only 2A Quarterback listed on the top 50 team and he was recognized as being a top 50 player in Indiana by 2009
Others Recieving Recignition by the IFCA
Jordan Cole: Was named Class 2A 1st Team All-State Offensive Lineman by the IFCA
Cody Baker: Was named Class 2A 1st Team All-State Offensive Lienman by the IFCA
Caleb Andry: Was named 1st Team Class 2A Junior All-State Linebacker by the IFCA
****BAKER NAMED 1ST TEAM ALL-STATE OTHER RAMS RECIEVE RECOGNITION****
Paoli Rams Senior Linebacker Cody Baker was named to the 2009 Associated Press Class 2A 1st Team All-State Football Team as a Linebacker for the 2009 Football Season...Baker lead the team in tackles during the 2009 season...in 2008 Baker was named
Honorable Mention All-State by the Associated Press
Other Rams Recieving Honorable Mention All-State Honors for the 2009 Football Season were:
Logan Laswell Quarterback: The Do It All Quarterbackl for The Rams was named Honorable Mention All-State Quarterback by the Associated Press after leading The Rams in rushing and passing...
Tyler Dillard: Was named All-State Honrable Mention at Runningback by The Associated Press...Dillard was second for the Rams in rushing and Touchdowns
Jordan Cole: Was named All-State Honorable Mention Offensive Lineman by the Associated Press...Cole anchored the Rams offensive Line
Caleb Andry: Was named All-State Honorable Mention at Linebacker by the Associated Press he was second on the team in tackles....
*****ATTENTION ALL RAMS FANS****
Thought I would pass the word on that The Rams are wanting to hear from their fans who happen to pass by this site or even frequently visit the site but would like to hear from all of the out of state or out of town Rams fans who don't have the opportunity to cheer on the Rams in person so if you happen to be a former Rams player or a Paoli graduate or if you have had previously coached within the Rams football program or in simple terms a Rams fan they would like you to sign the guestbook at the top of the page
Thanks
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****PAOLI FINDS LUCK ON FRIDAY THE 13TH BEAT EVANSVILLE MATER DEI 14-7 TO EARN TRIP TO SEMI-STATE***
PAOLI, Ind. — There's nothing unlucky about Friday the 13th for Paoli High School's football team.
Friday night the Rams held off Evansville Mater Dei 14-7 and won their first regional title and also won their 13th game of the year.
The Rams (13-0) will travel to No.2 Monrovia — a 20-15 winner over Indianapolis Ritter — for next weekend's Class2-A semistate.
“The kids have played so hard all year long,” Paoli coach Brian Balsmeyer said. “I couldn't be prouder of them. (Winning the regional) means we're playing again.”
With Logan Laswell hobbled by an early hit to his left knee, the Rams went to the air in the first half.
After that incident, Laswell — who normally plays free safety — didn't play defense the rest of the night.
“I'm not hurt,” Laswell said after the game as a smile slipped across his face. “I'm OK.”
Paoli missed out on a couple of scoring chances in the first half.
After Laswell hit Thomas Springer with a 49-yard pass, Paoli had the ball at the Mater Dei 2. Then Laswell fumbled the snap and the ball rolled to the 5, where Mater Dei's Andrew Wahl fell on it late in the first quarter.
On its next possession, the Rams again pushed the ball into Mater Dei territory and Paoli again fumbled, at the Wildcats' 28-yard line.
Mater Dei quarterback Dane Maurer completed a 59-yard pass to Dalton Brandenstein for an apparent touchdown, but a motion penalty brought the play back with 7:31 left in the half.
Maurer got the passing game going again a few minutes later, hitting Matt Fischer on a 33-yard play to the Paoli 5. On the next play, Cody Hess darted into the end zone untouched with 3:38 left in the half.
Then Laswell, still hobbling, took an option keeper and rambled 48 yards to the Mater Dei 17. Three plays later, the Rams were backed up to the 27 and called a timeout 3.5 seconds before the intermission. On the final play of the half, Laswell hit Tate Smith in the left corner of the end zone, making it 7-all.
“Tate (Smith) has made catches like that all year,” Laswell said. “It was a start-and-go and I just threw it to the corner of the end zone. The line really blocked well.”
Paoli's defense stiffened in the second half, allowing just 47 yards for the half and just 159 for the game.
“Our defense has played well all year,” Balsmeyer said.
The Rams manufactured enough points to win in the third quarter.
After Paoli's Jacob Randolph intercepted a pass at the Rams' 39, Paoli needed just three plays to take its first lead of the game.
Brian Wilson took a handoff from Laswell and scooted 28 yards to the Mater Dei 33. Then Randolph ran 11 yards to the 22.
From there, Laswell used an option keeper and found a hole, then lowered his head for the final 5 yards and plowed his way into the end zone with 8:27 left in the quarter.
“The line did a great job of blocking, especially on that play,” Laswell said. “It was just a huge hole. I tried to outrun them (early in the game on the 48-yard run when he was caught). I thought I'd try something different.”
Randolph ran the ball eight times for 53 yards, intercepted a pass and after Senior Linebacker Cody Baker smashed into a Mater Dei Reciever recovered a fumble late in the game, helping the Rams seal the win.
Paoli had a scare with 0.6 seconds left on the clock as Mater Dei tried the ol' hook and ladder play that was stuffed at mid field.
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***10 RAMS PLAYERS NAMED PLAC ALL- CONFERENCE***
Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (PLAC) Champions The Paoli Rams had 10 players named to PLAC All-Conference Team leading the conference in players named onto the teams. The following 10 Rams players were named to the team:
Logan Laswell: Quarterback
Tyler Dillard: Runningback
Tate Smith: Wide Reciever
Cody Raymer: Offensive Line
Cody Baker: Linebacker
Jordan Cole: Kicker/Special Teams
Thomas Springer: Defensive Back
Jacob Randolph: Defensive Back
Caleb Andry: Linebacker
Will Kimble: Linebacker/Defensive End
****RAMS WIN SECTIONAL 31 WIN FIRST SECTIONAL SINCE 1977***
For the third time in as many games in the past four weeks the PaoliRams found themselves in a precarious situation Friday Night, needing to come back again to keep their undefeated season alive.
With the Sectional 31 Championship on the line the 3rd Ranked Rams did what they did all year long. The defense refused to budge in the 3rd Quarter and the Rams put together a pair of scores together to turn the tide en eoute to a 21-13 victory over the Brownstown Braves.
The Rams managed a pair of first downs in the 1st Quarter but the swarming Brownstown defense kept The Rams on their heels as they made Logan Laswell look like he was running for his life throughout the first half and The Rams couldn't penetrate into Brownstown territory.
The Braves on the other hand didn't record a first down until the 2:16 mark of the 2nd quarter when they broke the ice with a 73 yard drive that was capped of by a 27 yard Touchdown Run by Caleb Silvers that gave Brownstown a 7-0 lead going into halftime.
"Offensively we knew it was going to be hard" said Rams Head Coach Brian Balsmeyer "They're going to man up and they're a good football team with good athletes and we we're just going to have to keep pounding and working to get the job done, and that's what the kids did. We got into halftime and made a few adjustments and the kids came out and excecuted and got the job done."
The Rams needed just five plays to reach the endzone in the 3rd Quarter as Senior Quarterback Logan Laswell followed Tyler Dillard through the line for gains of 23 and 13 yards before Dillard broke through and slid through tackles for a 27 yard Touchdown Run at the 9:37 the extra point by Jose Nunez tied the game at 7-7 the Paoli defense took over from there.
The Rams defense didn't allow a single first down to Brownstown in the 3rd Quarter and stuffing Brownstown's Kelley Wagner on 4th and 1 to keep the home team in the game.
Laswell who had 139 yards in the second half had runs of 37 and 14 on the Rams' next drive then Dillard added a 13 yard run before Laswell capped off the go ahead Touchdown on a 3 yard Touchdown Run at the 4:31 mark "We knew they were going ot put so many in the box but we just continued to fight and get the job done" said Balsmeyer
After the Braves turned the ball over pn downs at their 44 late in the period The Rams failed to geta first down and punted the ball back to the Braves which rolled out of bounds at the 3 yard line Brownstown picked up a first down at their own 44 when Braves Quarterback Ryan Shoemaker dropped back to pass Caleb Silvers was opne in the falt and right as Silvers recieved the ball Rams Senior Cornerback Tate Smith hit Silvers hard jarring the ball loose. An alert Cody Baker scooped up the ball and returned it 52 yards into the endzone for what would end up being the game winning Touchdown.
"I just happend to be there at the right time" said Smith "There was no way I was going to get the ball so I just ducked my head and hit him as hard as I could" Laswell doing is best Adrian Peterson impersination bulldozed through a Brownstown defender for the 2-Point Conversion.
The Braves got their passing game going late as they marched the field in a less than two minutes to score on a Shoemaker to Spencer Allman pass but on the ensuing kickoff Ram Trevor Axsom recovered the onside kick and The Rams used runs by Laswell to run out the clock and secure the Rams victory.
The Rams will host Evansville Mater Dei next Friday for the Regional Trophy
Rams players Garrett Shepard and Jose Nunez combined are close
to setting the record for most extra points made in a season...Shepard has an outside shot of setting the individual record of 39 kicks made set in 2008 by Kris Molina.
With The Paoli Rams' shutout of Eastern Greene they set the school record for shutouts in a season with their 6th shutout
***RAMS STAY AT TO #3 IN LATEST AP POLL***
The Paoli Rams stayed at the #3 spot in the latest Associated Press 2A Poll The Rams also retained thier 3 first place votes from the previous poll
ASSOCIATED PRESS CLASS 2A POLL FOR 10-13-09
CLASS 2A
1. Indianapolis Ritter (9) 7-1 230,
2. Monrovia 8-0 184,
3. Paoli (3) 8-0 180,
4. South Spencer 7-1 146,
5. Wheeler 8-0 130,
6. Heritage Christian 6-2 106,
7. Fairfield 7-1 104,
8. Southridge 5-3 54,
9. Fort Wayne Luers 4-4 32,
10. Centerville 8-0 30.
***RAMS DO GOOD AT 7 ON 7 TOURNAMENT***
At the Indianapolis Colts 7 on 7 Tournament of Champions The Paoli Rams finished in 2nd in pool play and fell 31-17 to Ft. Wayne Harding in the tourney. The Rams defeated 2A State Champion Heritage Christian 27-21, defeated 1A State Champion Indianapolis Ritter 27-7 and fell to 3A State Runner-Up Evansville Memorial 27-7. Rams team members who participated are as follows:
#2 Brian Wilson
#4 Trevor Axsom
#5 Caleb Andry
#10 Logan Laswell
#17 Jacob Randolph
#21 Colton Phelps
#27 Garrett Shepard
#28 Channing Kameda
#51 Cody Baker
#65 Cody Raymer
#81 Logan Jones
#88 Devin Rutherford
***WHITE TO PLAY FOOTBALL AT INDIANA STATE***
Paoli Rams Senior Fullback/Defensive End Ethan White announced that he will be playing college football for the Indiana State Sycamores starting this fall. White was one of the pieces that keyed the Rams to a 10-2 record this past season
***LASWELL NAMED PRIME TIME 25 PLAYER***
Paoli Rams Junior Quarterback Logan Laswell was named a Prime Time Top 25 players heading into the 2009 Football Season by the Indiana Football Digest Laswell along with the other 24 Prime Time Players gathered at the Indianapolis Colts complex March 29th to get thier pictures taken for the cover of the Indiana Football Digest Magazine.
Paoli will be featured in the magazine and Laswell along wiht 9 other of his teammates will have their pictures in the Paoli Section of the Magazine
****BALSMEYER NAMED 2008 INDIANA 2A COACH OF THE YEAR***
Paoli Rams head football coach was named the Motoroloa Indiana Class 2A Coach of the year for the 2008 football season with this recognition he also recieved a $1,000 check from the Indianapolis Colts to go towards the football program Balsmeyer will also serve as an assistant coach on the North/South All-Star game
***3 RAMS NAMED ALL-STATE HONRABLE MENTION***
Three Paoli Rams Football Players were named Associated Press Class 2A All-State Honorable Mention Team for the 2008 Football Season
Logan Laswell Quarterback- Was the leading Rusher and passer for the Rams was named honorbale mention as a Quarterback and is in the running to be All-State next season
Tyler Dillard Defensive Tackle- Was recognized as a member of the honorbale mention team after leading the team in sacks for the 2008 season
Cody Baker Linebacker- Baker was the first 2A Linebacker mentioned on the honorbale mention team for linebackers after leading the team in tackles for the season
***8 RAMS NAMED PLAC ALL-CONFERENCE***
8 Paoli Rams Football Players were named PLAC All-Conference for the 2008 Football Season. Being Recognized as All-Conference members were:
Drew Owen- Offensive Line
Ethan White- Punter
Logan Laswell- Defensive Back
Tyler Dillard- Runningback
Cody Raymer- Linebacker
Cody Baker- Linebacker
Tate Smith- Reciever
****RAMS FALL SHORT OF A SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LOSING 28-21 TO BROWNSTOWN***
BROWNSTOWN — The Brownstown Central Braves and Paoli Rams have each had their share of big plays over the course of the 2008 football season and each continued that trend Friday night in the Sectional 31 championship game at Blevins Memorial Stadium.
The Rams, who hadn’t found themselves in a close game since their Week 1 victory over Salem, fought to the bitter end, but it was the Braves who made one more play to claim their fourth sectional title in the last six years with a 28-21 victory.
Paoli coach Brian Balsmeyer, who has led a dramatic turnaround in the program the past two seasons, was pleased with his club’s effort, but he was by no means satisfied with the outcome.
“It’s progress,” Balsmeyer said. “But what these kids have got to understand is we haven’t proven to be a champion yet. We were in a position to win the championship in the conference and we didn’t do that and we were in a position to win the championship here in the sectional and we failed to do that. Those are two important goals that we have and as a program or a community we can’t be satisfied.
“Moral victories aren’t going to get you anywhere. We’ve had a good turnaround, but we’ve got to pick it up and continue to get better and improve our game.”
After breaking a 21-21 tie with a touchdown late in the third quarter, the Brownstown defense came up with the biggest play of the night, keeping the Rams at bay four times from inside the 10-yard line with just over five minutes left in the game. Paoli quarterback Logan Laswell, who carried the load all night for the Rams, picked up six yards on first and second down, was stopped cold on third down and could not find an open receiver on fourth and goal from the four-yard line as the Braves rose to the occasion to preserve the win.
“They’ve got a heck of a football team and their offensive scheme gave us fits,” Brownstown coach Reed May said. “I bet we made four adjustments during the game just to try and figure out how to slow them down. Laswell is a heck of a runner and their fullbacks do a great job. Luckily we were able to stop them down here on the goal line and then we were able to pound them. But I commend coach for his offensive scheme. He does a great job with what they do.”
The Braves drew first blood midway through the opening period, going 78 yards on 10 plays for the first score. Senior running backs Blaze Hurley and Teddy Stucker did the bulk of the work, with Hurley taking a shovel pass from Cam Cockerham and rambling 38 yards before Stucker went in from a yard out at the 5:08 mark.
The Rams answered with a 19-play drive that covered 82 yards and chewed up more than eight minutes of the first and second quarters. Laswell carried the ball 11 times for 61 of the yards, including a fake punt that kept the drive alive. A quarterback sneak and an extra point by Kris Molina tied the game at seven with 8:53 left in the half.
Both defenses came up with big stops before intermission, but Cockerham hooked up with Coley Brown on a 42-yard pass play that set up a five-yard scoring scamper by Hurley that gave Brownstown a 14-7 lead with 37.3 left.
Not to be outdone, the Rams went to the air themselves. Laswell hit Tate Smith in the flat to move the ball into Brownstown territory and a face mask penalty added another 15 yards before Laswell ripped off a 20-yard run to set up the tying score. On second and goal from the 10-yard line, Laswell lofted a ball into the corner of the end zone and Smith hauled it in to knot the game at 14 with :01.8 on the clock.
“We felt we could get at least three plays out of the time we had,” Balsmeyer said of the final possession. “So we knew we had to run the fade route and it worked out. They were manned up on us, taking away the inside, so that’s what they gave us and we made the play.”
Tyler Dillard caught Hurley in the backfield to help the Rams’ defense come up with a big stop at the outset of the second half and the Paoli offense responded with a five-play drive that culminated with a 44-yard touchdown run by Laswell that gave the Rams their first lead of the night with 8:17 left in the third.
“He’s a competitor,” Balsmeyer said of Laswell. “He hates to lose more than anything in this world and that’s why he’s successful in all his athletics. He came to play tonight and you can’t ask for anything more.”
Cockerham completed three of five passes for 36 yards to set up a one-yard scoring run by Stucker at the 5:36 mark and Hurley went in from four-yards out with 2:33 left in the third to regain the lead for the Braves. Stucker finished with 152 yards, while Hurley added an even 100 on 16 carries as Brownstown improved to 10-1.
Laswell carried the ball 34 times for 228 yards against the Braves, who put 11 men in the box early on before the Rams went to their spread offense and worked the middle of the field.
“That’s about all we could do the way they were playing us,” Balsmeyer said of his offense. “We knew their outside backers, Stucker and Hurley, they’re tough guys and they’re so fast defensively. We felt our best shot was to run right at them and get after it. So that’s what we did. We kept pounding and tried to do it well enough that we could get some yards.”
The Rams, who were 0-10 just two years ago, finished with a 10-2 record.
“We’ve still got some things to work on,” Balsmeyer said. “We’re inching, but it’s a process and we’ve got to just keep plugging along. The kids fought to the end, but unfortunately we’re just not quite close enough yet.”
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****RAMS ADVANCE TO SECTIONAL FINALS AFTER DOMINATING VICTORY OVER MITCHELL***
PAOLI — Friday night’s Sectional 31 semifinal played out like a bad horror film for the Mitchell Bluejackets, who ran out of tricks early and watched as the Paoli Rams treated their fans to an offensive show on Halloween night.
In a game that saw junior quarterback Logan Laswell go over 1,000 yards rushing and also set a new single-season mark for touchdown passes, the Rams rolled to a 58-0 victory to advance to next week’s sectional final at Brownstown.
Paoli racked up 329 yards on the ground (172 by Laswell) and another 163 through the air, en route to a new high-water mark for wins in a season with 10 in 11 outings.
As well as his offense played, Paoli coach Brian Balsmeyer was just as pleased with the defense, which pitched a shutout for just the second time this season.
“I’m real proud of the kids,” Balsmeyer said. “They came out and played hard. We’ve talked about defensively, if we’re going to advance, we’re going to have to play better defense than we’ve been playing. We played well tonight, and we want that attitude to continue.”
There were no ghouls to be found and the only gobblin was done by the Paoli offense, which went 78 yards on 18 plays, chewing up nearly eight minutes before putting up the first score of the contest. After methodically moving the ball down the field — thanks to some hard running from Tyler Dillard, Ethan White, Jacob Randolph and Laswell — the Rams used a 25-yard pass from Laswell to Randolph to move the ball inside the five-yard line.
Mitchell senior Jamal Morgan came up with a pair of big hits and the remainder of the Mitchell defense stiffened to force a fourth-down play, but Laswell found Randolph again for the score with 4:09 left on the clock.
“We wanted the ball, because we felt we could score,” Balsmeyer said. “With the way we did it, we shortened the game and their kids were playing offense, too, so we thought we could wear them out. We kept running and running, so it was good.”
Mitchell coach Todd Tanksley was happy to see his club stand its ground and force the Rams to pull out all the stops to find the end zone.
“That was fine with us,” Tanksley said. “We wanted to shorten the game with long drives that chewed clock on their part and on our part and I thought our defense really stepped up and played well in that first quarter, especially on that first drive. We were bending but not breaking. We didn’t give up the big play, but we just have to get better at putting a stop to it when things start getting away from us.”
The Jacket offense failed to convert a first down until late in the first half, and the defense paid the price as the Rams got a four-yard TD run from Dillard and a 27-yard dash from Laswell to build a 22-0 lead at the half.
“In that first quarter especially, I thought our game plan was going exactly how we had envisioned it,” Tanksley said. “We were thinking 7-0 or maybe 7-7 early in the game and hopefully we could keep it there and see what happened in the second half. But we made a couple silly mistakes there in the second quarter and gave them a couple scores and went in 22-0. Then in the second half it just got away from us.”
After controlling the ball and the clock in the first half, the Rams wasted no time extending their lead in the third quarter. Laswell scored from seven-yards out less than three minutes in, then hooked up with Tate Smith on an eight-yard scoring strike that gave him a new school record of 20 for the season.
“I hate to single out anyone,” Balsmeyer said. “There are a lot of linemen that have a lot to do with that, but he’s a pretty special player. He does a great job with the offense and we’re pleased we’ve got that. But we’ve got a lot of guys running hard and it’s good that we’ve got a lot of people involved. Those guys up front have done a great job and continue to work to get better, so we’re real proud of them.”
The Jackets muffed the ensuing kickoff and Laswell found Smith down the sideline for a 40-yard gain before adding a 23-yard TD run that was capped off by a Randolph block at the 10-yard line, giving the Rams a 44-0 lead with 5:37 left in the third quarter.
“We’re real pleased with our offense,” Balsmeyer said. “It’s done a good job all year. We’ve got some kids that are able to understand what we’re trying to accomplish and get it done.
“We had kids step up and make plays when they needed to and this is the time of year to do that. So we’re proud of the kids for the way they responded and the way they came out in the second half.”
Mitchell managed a first down early in the fourth quarter when junior Jordan Randolph broke free up the middle and rambled for 21 yards, but Paoli sophomore Caleb Andry came up with an interception three plays later and freshman Brian Wilson scampered in from 29-yards out to make it 51-0 with 8:20 left.
Thomas Isom had a fourth-quarter interception for the Jackets, but Mitchell committed four turnovers in the final nine minutes to finish the season with a 2-9 record.
“Give Paoli credit,” Tanksley said. “They’re a good football team. They’ve done the work in the offseason. They’re well prepared and they’re strong kids and hopefully our underclassmen that were here tonight understand that we have to do the work in the offseason if we’re going to compete at this level.”
The Rams (10-1) will head to Brownstown to take on the 11th-ranked Braves (9-1) in the sectional final Friday.
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***Paoli Rams Ranked in the Top 10 in 2A Football for first time since 1997***
ASSOCIATED PRESS CLASS 2A FOOTBALL POLL FOR 10-15-08
1. Heritage Christian (8-0)
defeated Park Tudor, 48-7
at Indianapolis Ritter (8-0) Friday
2. Fairfield (8-0)
defeated Churubusco, 41-30
at Culver Academy (4-4) Friday
3. North Putnam (8-0)
defeated Speedway, 35-32
at Cloverdale (2-6) Friday
4. Fort Wayne Luers (6-2)
defeated Fort Wayne Elmhurst, 40-0
vs. Fort Wayne Dwenger (8-0) Friday
5. Lewis Cass (7-1)
defeated Maconaquah, 69-0
vs. Western (8-0) Friday
6. Oak Hill (8-0)
defeated Blackford, 14-7
at Elwood (2-6) Friday
7. Southridge (7-1)
defeated Pike Central, 41-6
at Gibson Southern (4-4) Friday
8. Jimtown (6-2)
defeated Bremen, 17-7
vs. Triton (5-3) Friday
9. Wheeler (8-0)
defeated Hammond Noll, 59-27
vs. Calumet (7-1) Friday
10. Paoli (8-0)
defeated Eastern Greene, 49-24
vs. Perry Central (8-0) Friday
***LASWELL AND BAKER AMONG STATE LEADERS***
Paoli Junior Quarterback Logan Laswell is in the top 50 in the state of Indiana in rushing yards.
Paoli Junior Linebacker Cody Baker is also among the state leaders in tackles.
***RAMS TO FACE EASTERN (GREENE) IN SECTIONAL
The Paoli rams drew the Eastern (Greene) Thunderbirds for their forst round sectional opponent in the 2008 IHSAA playoffs. The Rams couldn't have asked for a better draw if they defeat Eastern (Greene) they will face the winner of Eastern Pekin (0-7) and Mitchell (1-6) with a chance to go into the sectional Finals
***RAMS RETURN TO GLORY**
PAOLI — When Brian Balsmeyer arrived in Paoli three years ago he had a tough sell on his hands. He had to peddle Paoli football to the school’s best athletes, and that wasn’t exactly as easy as selling Sarah Palin posters at an NRA convention.
The Rams, after all, had nearly been 0-for-the-2000s. That’s a tad of an exaggeration, but Paoli football was a mere 11-40 since 2000 and there were two 0-10 campaigns in there.
It took some big Balsmeyers to take over such a wreck, but the hulking Brian and his brother, Mark, came to the rescue. Brian came in from the legendary program at Jasper, where he’d been an assistant. His ego took an immediate smackdown after Paoli endured one last 0-10 season in 2006, but then came a 6-5 mark in 2007, and now the Rams are soaring at 6-0 and close to cracking the Top 10 in the Class 2A rankings. Paoli will be big favorites to clip Corydon this week and down Eastern Greene in Week 8, which means they would head into the regular-season finale against Perry Central unbeaten. Both teams would likely be undefeated and each 4-0 in the PLAC.
The Paoli athletes, and its populace, are sold.
“At 0-10 that first year, it was questionable whether or not it was going to happen,” Balsmeyer said, managing a chuckle. “But we kept plugging away and now we’re getting there. Credit that to the kids for buying into the system and working hard to get there.
“We had some talent, but we had to get them to believe in us and believe in themselves.
“That first year I tried to do too much. I was coming from Jasper and my ego told me I was going to come in here and save it and turn it around the very first year. So we’ve had to learn along with the kids, and my assistants have done a great job of coaching these guys.
“Coach (Wes) Whitfield, coach (Derek) Newkirk and my brother, Mark (who has since moved on) did a great job last year of getting the offense going, and now we’ve added R.J. Hartsfield (the former Salem and Franklin College star) in Mark’s place, and he’s full of energy.
“And coach (Aaron) Hannan and coach (Billy) Vincent and myself are doing the defense, so we’ve got three offensive coaches and three defensive coaches, and we know our responsibilities and get the job done.
“But the biggest thing is the kids buying in and the work ethic from them has vastly improved. We have a poster that charts our summer workouts, and we set the criteria at 80 percent the first year and only had 10 kids meet it. Then we moved it to 90 percent our second season and had 13 kids make it.
“This year we kept it at 90 percent and had 33 kids meet it, and that shows you if you put in the time good things are going to happen. Last year’s seniors made the choice that they were going to work and compete and win, and they did it. Then the kids started believing. It’s a mindset. Early on people asked me the difference between Jasper and here, and I say that the kids at Jasper expect to win and the kids at Paoli hope to win.
“Now the kids at Paoli are starting to expect good things when they step on the field.”
The Rams are averaging 40.3 points per game and giving up just 13.8 per game, and as one coach once put it, it isn’t always about the Xs and Os, sometimes it’s about the Jimmys and Joes. Good players make the schemes work, and the Rams have them starting with junior quarterback Logan Laswell, who has Balsmeyer’s option attack humming.
Laswell leads the Rams in rushing with 69 carries for 550 yards and six touchdowns, and also has passed for 740 yards and 12 TDs with only one interception while completing over 60% of his passes. For good measure, he averages 38.5 yards a punt, and all those statistics have him on the state leaderboards.
“Logan has a lot of the intangibles that make a good leader,” Balsmeyer said. “He’s intelligent and he’s a competitor who hates to lose. We put a lot on his shoulders, but he does a great job of running the offense and making good decisions.
“We have our quarterbacks learning the system and learning to make decisions at the line of scrimmage, not only with Laswell, but all of our younger kids, right down to the youth program. They do exactly what we do on Friday nights, and hopefully it will continue to pay off.”
Laswell has offensive help from Tyler Dillard, who has rushed for 479 yards and six TDs on 56 carries, while wide receiver Tate Smith has 364 yards and eight scores on 18 receptions. Ethan White has 227 rushing yards and Josh Reef adds 213.
The defense is led by linebacker Cody Baker who leads the team in tackles while Dillard has 11.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks from his nose guard spot.
Paoli should print a bunch of yard signs that say, “Rams Football” on them and have a big SOLD! stamp across them.
“We’ve gone from being in just one game our first year to being in every game and now, so far, winning every game this year,” Balsmeyer said. “Our defense is tough and fast, which is what I want on the field on defense, kids who can go get the ball. Our offense is versatile and tough to read, which makes it pretty hard to stop.
“We have to thank last year’s senior a lot because they could’ve easily said, ‘Playing Paoli football isn’t really cool, isn’t the thing to do,’ but they did it and did it well, and now we’re having some success. But we’re only as good as our next game, and that’s how we play it each week, like we’re 0-0 and scratching and clawing for our first win
“It would be nice for the fans and players if we can get these next two wins and be undefeated for Perry Central. It would be a nice night of football for everybody, but no matter what, I think there’s a lot of pride back in Paoli football.”
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***THE RAMS ARE ON RECORD SCORING PACE
With the Rams off to a 4-0 start and scoring 40 or more points in the last 3 games and in 3 of the first 4 games it puts them at a 157-139 points scoring advantage over the 1997 team through 4 games....on the flip side through 4 games in the 1997 That Rams teams only surrendered 12 points and were coming off of 3 straight shutouts...compared to the Rams who against North Harrison gave up that many points in one game
******With The Rams beating Salem and starting the season 1-0 it's the first time since 1997 they have started 1-0 in which the Rams went on to win 9 straight games...I also belivee it's is only the 3rd or 4th time since 1987 that The Rams have won at Salem.
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****WARNER AND ROBINSON RECIEVE MORE RECOGNITION
Paoli Rams Senior Linebacker Matt Warner and Senior Defensive back Daniel Robinson were named to the Associated Press Class 2A All-State Honorable Mention Team for the 2007 Football Season
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****RAMS FOOTBALL AWARDS NIGHT
The Paoli Rams Coaches hoored the 2007 Footbal; Team with the Annual Football Awards banquet followig are those who recieved awards at the banquet:
Tyler Dillard: Defensive Lineman, Defensive Production Award
Ben White: Superman Award
Matt Warner: Capatian's Award, PLAC All-Conference, All-State Honorable Mention, Red Zone Player of the Year Nominee, Most Valuable Player
Dylan Long: Mental Attitude Award
Andrea Saponaro: Special Teams Award
Daniel Robinson: Pancake Award, Defensive Back Award, Captain's Award, PLAC All-Conference, All-State Honorable Mention, Academic All-State, Hammer Award (Hardest Hitter)
Jordan Cole: Offensive Lineman
Caleb Andry: JV Defensive MVP
Logan Laswell: Offensive Production, Offensive Back award
Scotty Tedrow: Mental Attitude
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***WARNER,ROBINSON,COLE,DILLARD ,LASWELL RECIEVE STATE RECOGNITION
Paoli Rams Senior Linebacker Matt Warner was named to the Bloomington Herald Times All-State Honorable Mention team as a Linebacker for the 2007 Season. Warner led the Rams in tackles for the 2007 season.
Paoli Rams Senior Defensive Back Daniel Robinson was named to the Bloomington Herald Times All-State Honorable Mention team as a Defensive Back for the 2007 Football Season. Robinson was one of the top Defensive Backs for the Rams in 2007 and had alot of solo tackles as a DB.
Paoli Rams Sophomore Offensive Lineman Jordan Cole was named to the Bloomigotn Herald Times Junior All-State Honorable Mention Team as a Sophomore. Cole was one of the better Lineman in the PLAC and was one of The Rams Best Lineman.
Paoli Rams Sophomore Defensive Lineman Tyler Dillard was named to the Bloomington Herald Times Junior All-State Team as a Sophomore. Dillard led the Rams in sacks for the 2007 season was named PLAC All-Conference.
Paoli Rams Junior Quarterback Logan Laswell was named to the Bloomington Herald Times Junior All-State Team as a Sophomore. Laswell completed over 50 % of his passes for the 2007 season and was one of the leading rushers for the Rams
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***WARNER,ROBINSON AND DILLARD NAMED PLAC ALL-CONFERENCE
Paoli Rams Senior Linebacker Matt Warner, Senior Defensive Back Daniel Robinson and Sophomore Defensive Lineman Tyler Dillard were named to the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference (PLAC) All-Conference team for the 2007 Football Season. Warner was the leader on defense leading the team in tackles....Robinson was one of the better defensive backs on the team racking up alot of individual tackles....Dillard was the star Defensive Lineman leading the team in sacks.
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****GOODMAN & WARNER AMONG STATE LEADERS
Rams Senior Punter Joe Goodman is once again among the state leaders in punting...Goodman was All-State Hinorable Mnetion as a punter last season
Rams Senior Linebacker Matt Warner is among the state leaders in tackles for the 2007 Football Season
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The Shool Board extended Head Coach Brian Balsmeyer's contract through the 2009 Football Season and through the 2009-2010 school year
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Some Did You Knows? about Paoli Football
Did you know that when the Paoli Rams defeated Perry Central in 2009 in came 10 years to the game of their last win against Perry Central and their last Conference Championship which both happens in 1999.
Did you know that Paoli Rams Quarterback Logan Laswell started at Quarterback in his first Sectional Game as a Freshmen in 2006 at South Spencer?
Did you know The Paoli Rams are the last team to shut out the Brownstown Braves in a game that occured back in the 1997 season when Paoli defeated Brownstown 53-0?
Did you know former Paoli Runningback Tyler White rushed for at least one yard in all of his varsity football games he competed in?
Did you know that the Paoli Rams outscored North Daviess 187-12 over a 5 year period? The Wins for Paol occurred from 1986-1990 and (the scores were: 33-12, 49-0, 64-0, 16-0, 27-0)?
Did you know that prior to winning a Sectional game in 2007 the last time the Rams won a Sectional game was in 1998?
Did you know current Head Coach Brian Balsmeyer once played in the Arena Football League?
Did you know that the Rams are 7-4 against the Mitchell Bluejackets in their last 11 meetings?
Did you know that former Ram player David McDonald played half a season in 1997 with a torn MCL?
Did you know that former Rams player David McDonald played major minutes at Linebakcer his Freshmen season?
Did you know that during the 2000 football season former Paoli Quarterback Josh Stevens would bruise his MCL but return 2 weeks later to lead the football team?
Did you know that former Ram player Michael Harmon was the starting Quarterback during the Rams 9-1 1997 season but was one of the star runningbacks for the Rams during the 1998 season?
Did you know that former Rams player Michael Harmon is the only Rams player to Rush for 100 yards and pass for 100 yards in the same game? It happedn during a game against Brownstown in 1997.
Did you know that former Ram player Josh Stevens was one of the main receiving threats in 1999 but was the starting Quarterback in 2000?
Did you know that former Rams player Josh Stevens is the only player in Rams history to return a punt 90 yards for a Touchdown and rush for a 98 yard touchdown? He accomplished the feat against Mitchell in 2000.
Did you know that former Rams player Josh Stevens is the only Rams player to Return a Punt for A Touchdown, Throw A Touchdown Pass and Run for a Touchdown? It all happend in a game against Mitchell in 2000
Did you know that Former Indiana All-Star LB Kyle Nichols started at Runningback in his first ever varsity football ever which was aginst Mitchell in 1996?
Did you know that in Former Rams Star Kyle Nichols first game at Runningback against Mitchell he rushed for 211 yards?
Did you know during the Rams remarkable 1997 season it took the Rams 6 weeks to score their first passing touchdown?
Did you know that during the Rams remarkable season in a game against Brownstown it was the only time a Rams team has had 3 plays of 90 or more yards go for touchdowns? the plays were a 98 yard run, a 97 yard run and a 91 yard pass all for touchdowns.
Did you know that also during a game against Brownstown in 1997 that the Rams had 5 or more plays go at least 66 yards for a Touchdown?
Did you know that in 1979 Former Ram Head Coach Tom Anderson became the first Ram coach to coach in the annual North/South All Star game as he was the Head Coach of the South All-Stars not only was he the first Ram coach but he was also the first coach to achieve this in the Mid South Conference and Class 1A?
Did you know that in 1997 the 9-1 Paoli Ram Football team had more rushing yards in one season (3,621) than Tyler White did in his entire career (3,273)?
Did you know that in 1998 Rebecca Florence became the Only Female in Paoli Football History to play Varsity Football?
Did you know that former Ram players Rebecca Florence (1998) and Aaron Florence (1994-1997) became the first brother/sister players to suit up for the Rams?
Did you know former Paoli Star Runningback Aaron Florence started on defense his freshmen year?
Did you know that the first season of football that the Paoli Rams didn't play a home game at Cook Field? They played their home games in the outfield of Jaycee Park's Softball Field?
Did you know that Mitchell was the very first football team that Paoli played?
Did you know that Springs Valley was the first away team to travel to Paoli to play a football game?
Did you know that in 1962 Paoli defeated Springs Valley 13-6 for their very first football win?
Did you know that Bob Walls scored the very first touchdown in Paoli Rams football history?
Did you know that John Cook scored the first home Touchdown in Paoli Rams football history?
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