The state championship game is basically a match-up of 11 rocket boulders against big ol’ fireworks show. Like a good one, put on a guy named “Crazy Bo Jimmy” who is missing a thumb and an ear and talks really loud.
This game between Baptist Hill and Lamr has me pretty torn, to be honest. I’ve seen both in person now and had I not seen the Bobcats, I would not have given you two cents for their chances to beat the Silver Foxes. Sure, they score a bajillion points a game, but I didn’t think some flunky, fool’s gold spread offense stood a chance against the might and power of the Silver Foxes. Then I actually sat and watched them take apart a very good and very physical C.E. Murray team last Friday. First of all, put every thought you’ve ever had about high school spread offenses aside here. They don’t throw slip screens, bubble screens, tunnel screens, screen doors...they don’t have Dinky McCheckdown at quarterback, getting the ball out of his hands quickly on short routes. They do have a few screens in the old tool belt, but this is a vertical passing attack. They attack down the field in ways I’ve seldom seen high school offenses do…and they do it with great accuracy. Corey Fields is one of the best high school quarterbacks I’ve seen in years. He has a big arm, he makes smart decisions with the ball and he puts throws exactly where they need to be. He is also incredibly elusive in the pocket. Seriously, you’ll have him dead to rights and then someone starts playing “Yakety Sax” and you’re grabbing at air and falling on your face. The thing is, he often scrambles to throw, not to run for a few yards, meaning your secondary has to hand with his receivers for a long time. Speaking of his receivers (who only play receiver, an oddity in 1A football), they are adept at route running, have excellent hands, make great plays on balls in the air and have breakaway speed once they pull the ball in. They don’t run the ball. At all. Even a little. I saw three called running plays in their game last week. Now, Fields is very athletic and he’ll scramble for 70 or so yards a game, but that’s about it. It is a true revelation where 1A football is concerned. The offensive line isn’t huge, but they did the job last week. C.E. Murray had a tough time getting pressure on Fields without blitzing…and if you blitz Fields, you may as well light firecrackers and drop them in your own pants. It will work out about as well for you. Defensively, they are very active and have some athletes. They force a lot of turnovers but aren’t especially big up front and can be run on. Lamar is a total contrast. They mostly go the blunt-force trauma route on offense, with two running backs over 1,100 yards for the season in Tyrik Herion and Jazquez Lucas. Herion is a little bigger and has excellent cut-and-go ability. He does more of the between-the-tackles stuff. Lucas may actually be descended from lightning and cheetahs. Seriously, he is a big-time blazer…just consider that his 1,150 yards rushing has come on 94 carries. The X-factor for me is Jeblonski Green, a 225-pound battering ram who plays some running back, some fullback and tight end. Now, he’s dealt with injuries this year, so he hasn’t played as much on offense as past years. He’s focused mainly on defense, but still has five touchdowns and could be a match-up nightmare for the Bobcats. Lamar’s line is dominant and QB Rashard Coleman is sneaky good. His numbers aren’t huge, but he’s good for one or two big, game-changing plays a game. He also makes very few costly errors (two picks all year). Lamar definitely gets the edge in defense. They are so good, they don’t blitz, they don’t stunt much and they don’t do anything exotic in terms of coverage. They run a 4-3, they play you man-to-man and they physically whip the crap out of you. They also force a lot of turnovers (43). It’s not an exaggeration to say that they intimidate many teams and often walk onto the field with a 14-0 point lead because of that. They are that physical…not dirty at all, they are just better than you, whoever you might happen to be, and they’ll show you so. The thing is, Fields is so dadgum good, I think he forces Lamar to make some defensive tweaks. I don’t think he’s stoppable…Lamar needs to be able to get pressure on him with three or four guys, they have to tackle well and they have to minimize the damage from deep throws, some of which Baptist Hill will hit. I can absolutely see a scenario where Fields gets in a rhythm, hits a bunch of deep balls and uses his elusiveness to extend drives and frustrate the Silver Foxes. I can also see one where Lamar imposes their will on a less physical team and wins it going away. Here is my determining factor. As great a season as they’ve had, the team’s that have given the Bobcats trouble are physical, running teams. Cross dominated the time of possession against Baptist Hill and pile du big rushing yards but hurt themselves with turnovers in an 18-14 game. St. John’s, which mixed the run and pass well this year very well lost in a 50-42 shootout to the Bobcats. Lake View scored 32 points on them without their best player on the field and Baptist Hill struggled to put away a Green Sea-Floyds team (33-24) that does almost nothing but run the ball. If you can run the ball, the numbers show that you can move it on Baptist Hill, you can extend drives and frustrate them a bit. Lamar can run the ball as well anyone. Fields will make his share of big plays and this could go back and forth, but give me Lamar’s multi-faceted running attack and ability to force turnovers. I say in a game that will be close, that will be the difference. The pick...Lamar
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TravisI am Travis, the king 0f SC 1A Football Archives
November 2021
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