Week 7 Football Preview: Tigers set to face Blue Lions; HHS hosts Astros
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
McClain (2-1, 4-2) at Washington (3-0, 4-2)
This week is another tough challenge for the McClain Tigers as they are set to take on their toughest road test to date in the Washington Blue Lions who enter the game with four straight victories. MHS enters the game with two consecutive wins.
This matchup is up in the higher echelon of rivalries in the South Central Ohio League, as both team have equal overall records, with common wins over East Clinton and Adena this season, but it is the Blue Lions (No. 9 in Region 12) who have the better SCOL mark at 3-0, with MHS (No. 11 in Region 12) trailing at 2-1.
Washington this season has scored 177 points but have allowed 200, with SCOL wins of 42-41 over Madison-Plains, 28-7 over London and 46-43 over EC. In those three SCOL games, the Coach Corey Dye-led Blue Lions have outscored their league counterparts 116-91, with two of those wins coming by a combined four points.
"They (Washington) play great offense," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "Their running backs and quarterback run the ball very well, and offensive line does a great job opening holes.
"We just hope we can play well enough to be in a position to win at the end of the game. We have to keep it a low scoring game."
The Blue Lions' offense is led by Josh Williams, Tye Smith and Travis Leisure, to name a few.
For the Tigers, their experience on the gridiron is starting to show on both sides of the ball, especially on the defensive side, as the Tigers are coming off a 36-0 shutout win over the London Red Raiders (the Tigers' first shutout since Week 3 of the '04 season). In their past two games, the Tigers have allowed 14 points, as in the previous week, the Tigers defeated EC 21-14.
Last week against the Red Raiders, the Tiger defense held LHS to -16 yards rushing and 43 yards passing for a net total of 27 yards.
One standout on defense for the Tigers the past two weeks is Thomas Schrader as he has three interceptions, one for a touchdown and one being one yard short of being six points.
Offensively, the Tigers last week totaled 380 yards (236 rushing on 51 carries).
"Each week brings another set of challenges and need for focus on the opponent of the week," Closson said. "I think we are improving offensively. We have been healthy, which creates more consistency in what we are doing.
"We have a lot of guys who are multi-year starters and really understand what we are doing defensively. They are playing fast, and we are getting a lot of guys to the football."
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[[In-content Ad]]East Clinton (0-3, 1-5) at Hillsboro (0-3, 0-6)
This game involves two teams in Hillsboro and East Clinton who have one combined win and no wins in the South Central Ohio League … but none of that matters this Friday as one of the teams will gain either their first SCOL win of the season, or in Hillsboro's case, both their first win and league win of '12.
Last week for HHS, they had to face their toughest task of the season at Clinton-Massie, but did score a first-quarter touchdown …. which was something the first two SCOL teams who faced the Falcons were unable to accomplish.
"I think at this point, any team that is looking to still get a win feels the pressure of simply not having a win (or league win)," HHS head coach Brian Spicer said. "Nobody likes losing. You try to keep the focus on what you have to do to win and emphasize that the 'winning ingredients' are the same for everyone ... execution and no mistakes. These two things are in your control, not the opponent's."
This season, the Indians have shown flashes of productivity in the first half, but the second half (as they are playing from behind) hasn't been too friendly to the HHS squad as they have scored just 12 points in 12 second-half quarters this season, with all 12 points coming in one game.
As for the scoring of both teams, HHS has totaled 51 points of offense, while allowing 303. The Astros have scored 148 points and allowed 177 as they have three consecutive losses coming against Miami Trace (35-13), McClain (14-7) and Washington (46-43).
"We need more of those plays, obviously. We have had too few big plays," Spicer said. "The excitement they create is something that you feed off of, and every team needs those type of plays.
"We need to create scoring opportunities. We have had too many drives end in the red zone without scoring any points. On defense, we need to not give up the big plays, as momentum is always a big factor on both sides of the ball, and we need to create those situations for us and eliminate them against us."
For EC, their main offensive runner is Max Morrow, who has rushed for over 900 yards.
"They (EC) are running the ball well but throw effectively," Spicer said. "Anytime the running game is working ... play action passes are usually working as well."
In the past three weeks for HHS, they've totaled 24 points with Kordell Ford scoring three TDs and Kyler White scoring the other TD.
Spicer spoke how the Indians match up with the Astros.
"We have four more weeks of football against opponents that have had similar ups and downs as we have, and EC is one of them. They have some good football players, and I know they are working hard trying to come up with some wins, just like we are," he said. "We are very similar in many aspects. The one thing that unfortunately has been against us, and likely will be all year, is our lack of size.
"This week is no different. EC has some big kids up front, and we have to find ways to handle that. In our earlier games, I thought we did a good job against some teams in the beginning quarters, but then we seemed to slow down later in the game. I think the bigger bodies that we go against eventually take their toll on us. This is why we need to get up early and create those momentum shifts to help carry us through the full four quarters."
This week is another tough challenge for the McClain Tigers as they are set to take on their toughest road test to date in the Washington Blue Lions who enter the game with four straight victories. MHS enters the game with two consecutive wins.
This matchup is up in the higher echelon of rivalries in the South Central Ohio League, as both team have equal overall records, with common wins over East Clinton and Adena this season, but it is the Blue Lions (No. 9 in Region 12) who have the better SCOL mark at 3-0, with MHS (No. 11 in Region 12) trailing at 2-1.
Washington this season has scored 177 points but have allowed 200, with SCOL wins of 42-41 over Madison-Plains, 28-7 over London and 46-43 over EC. In those three SCOL games, the Coach Corey Dye-led Blue Lions have outscored their league counterparts 116-91, with two of those wins coming by a combined four points.
"They (Washington) play great offense," MHS head coach Randy Closson said. "Their running backs and quarterback run the ball very well, and offensive line does a great job opening holes.
"We just hope we can play well enough to be in a position to win at the end of the game. We have to keep it a low scoring game."
The Blue Lions' offense is led by Josh Williams, Tye Smith and Travis Leisure, to name a few.
For the Tigers, their experience on the gridiron is starting to show on both sides of the ball, especially on the defensive side, as the Tigers are coming off a 36-0 shutout win over the London Red Raiders (the Tigers' first shutout since Week 3 of the '04 season). In their past two games, the Tigers have allowed 14 points, as in the previous week, the Tigers defeated EC 21-14.
Last week against the Red Raiders, the Tiger defense held LHS to -16 yards rushing and 43 yards passing for a net total of 27 yards.
One standout on defense for the Tigers the past two weeks is Thomas Schrader as he has three interceptions, one for a touchdown and one being one yard short of being six points.
Offensively, the Tigers last week totaled 380 yards (236 rushing on 51 carries).
"Each week brings another set of challenges and need for focus on the opponent of the week," Closson said. "I think we are improving offensively. We have been healthy, which creates more consistency in what we are doing.
"We have a lot of guys who are multi-year starters and really understand what we are doing defensively. They are playing fast, and we are getting a lot of guys to the football."
- - - -
[[In-content Ad]]East Clinton (0-3, 1-5) at Hillsboro (0-3, 0-6)
This game involves two teams in Hillsboro and East Clinton who have one combined win and no wins in the South Central Ohio League … but none of that matters this Friday as one of the teams will gain either their first SCOL win of the season, or in Hillsboro's case, both their first win and league win of '12.
Last week for HHS, they had to face their toughest task of the season at Clinton-Massie, but did score a first-quarter touchdown …. which was something the first two SCOL teams who faced the Falcons were unable to accomplish.
"I think at this point, any team that is looking to still get a win feels the pressure of simply not having a win (or league win)," HHS head coach Brian Spicer said. "Nobody likes losing. You try to keep the focus on what you have to do to win and emphasize that the 'winning ingredients' are the same for everyone ... execution and no mistakes. These two things are in your control, not the opponent's."
This season, the Indians have shown flashes of productivity in the first half, but the second half (as they are playing from behind) hasn't been too friendly to the HHS squad as they have scored just 12 points in 12 second-half quarters this season, with all 12 points coming in one game.
As for the scoring of both teams, HHS has totaled 51 points of offense, while allowing 303. The Astros have scored 148 points and allowed 177 as they have three consecutive losses coming against Miami Trace (35-13), McClain (14-7) and Washington (46-43).
"We need more of those plays, obviously. We have had too few big plays," Spicer said. "The excitement they create is something that you feed off of, and every team needs those type of plays.
"We need to create scoring opportunities. We have had too many drives end in the red zone without scoring any points. On defense, we need to not give up the big plays, as momentum is always a big factor on both sides of the ball, and we need to create those situations for us and eliminate them against us."
For EC, their main offensive runner is Max Morrow, who has rushed for over 900 yards.
"They (EC) are running the ball well but throw effectively," Spicer said. "Anytime the running game is working ... play action passes are usually working as well."
In the past three weeks for HHS, they've totaled 24 points with Kordell Ford scoring three TDs and Kyler White scoring the other TD.
Spicer spoke how the Indians match up with the Astros.
"We have four more weeks of football against opponents that have had similar ups and downs as we have, and EC is one of them. They have some good football players, and I know they are working hard trying to come up with some wins, just like we are," he said. "We are very similar in many aspects. The one thing that unfortunately has been against us, and likely will be all year, is our lack of size.
"This week is no different. EC has some big kids up front, and we have to find ways to handle that. In our earlier games, I thought we did a good job against some teams in the beginning quarters, but then we seemed to slow down later in the game. I think the bigger bodies that we go against eventually take their toll on us. This is why we need to get up early and create those momentum shifts to help carry us through the full four quarters."