Published: September 05, 2008 11:12 am            

Clark: My gut says Mings would do it again

By JACK CLARK

jackclark@mvn.net

I've noticed over these last few years that whenever there is a situation resulting from a questionable call in a local sporting event, that instantly becomes the primary subject of discussion.

At work. In the restaurants. At the gas station. You know what I'm referring to. That all-consuming thing that everyone has an opinion on.

Sometimes those opinions are well thought out. Other times not. This week would be one of the nots.

Last Friday night, the Mt. Vernon Rams and Belleville East Lancers hooked up on the gridiron in the Metro-East.

For three-plus quarters, neither team seemed to be able to get any real traction.

Don't get me wrong, each team also had scoring opportunities. As a matter of fact, the Rams actually had two field goal chances, with each being deflected by a Lancer hand. But, at the end, Ram fans and their Belleville counterparts were seeing a 0-0 score on the board.

Now here would be where opinions of what happened next might not have been completely thought out by some.

In overtime, Mt. Vernon scored with its possession after the Lancers had won the coin toss and had elected to get the ball last. This moment gave Rams coach Dan Mings cause for reflection, as he was undoubtedly thinking about the blocked field goals earlier.

Mings did what he thought was best for his football team, when he opted to go for a two point conversion, rather than maybe have an extra point kick blocked.

Why is that simple little scenario so hard for some to understand?

If they deflected two other kicks, what would prevent them from being successful a third time?

Unfortunately, the Rams couldn't convert and Belleville East scored on its possession. Their extra point kick was good. End of story.

Mings said after the game that he figured that decision may be second guessed the rest of the season. Unfortunately, he might be right.

But, my view is of a coach who considered the possibilities and went with his own intestinal fortitude to make what I consider to have been the correct choice, because, after all, if the kick hadn't gone between the uprights, the Rams would still have had only six points.

Under the same circumstances, I would expect that Mings would make the same call again.

        

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