NW4A-Final Week

having not seen watauga play but looking at the stats i see a team who can't sustain drives nor a defense that can get off the field. east burke and even south caldwell ran twice as many plays as watauga did. give acr that many at bats and ther will be a lot of points on the board.

 

Looks like every game already has it's own thread but here is how I see it

AC Reynolds @ Watauga This is a headliner. Watauga knows how to beat Reynolds but I think that quite honestly last year they caught the Rockets looking past them. Reynolds had just beaten Alexander Central in the 2nd round of the playoffs and had to rally to do it. Reynolds thought that they had escaped a challenge when they beat the Cougars and did not think that Watauga could play with them. They were obviously wrong and Watauga won. With all that said, I'll take Reynolds by 10 points even though it should be a great game to watch.

East Burke @ Freedom If Freedom is to have anything to salvage it's a win over East Burke. I think it could happen because this game often brings about the unexpected. East Burke might blow them out but I think it's close, East Burke by a td.

South Caldwell @ Alexander Central The Cougar defense has gotten better and better as the season has gone along. It will be a very emotional night in Taylorsville as they have a teammate that is hurting (Kori Kinnaird). It's the last home game for Josh Russell and I look for him to pass for 300 yards and the Cougars to win by a couple Touchdowns.

 

Picks

A.C. Reynolds Over Watauga by 8 The Reynolds Inside Linebackers could be the best pair in the Western part of the state. I look for the Rocket Defense to slow down the Watauga Offense like they did vs McDowell. Watauga will play gritty but the Rockets will not forget last years loss in the playoffs to Watauga.

Alexander Over South Caldwell by 21 The Cougar passing game will prove to much for the Spartans. And the Cougar Defense will play tough. The Alexander D was tough vs Reynolds, McDowell and East Burke. I do however think South has a weapon in emotion! If the Cougars make a few turnovers and mental mistakes look for the Spartans to be hard to Handle.

East Burke Over Freedom by 38 Freedom's Offense will not be able to stay on the field against the Cav's in this one. The Freedom Defense will have to play most of the night catching up. East Burke will win the game with ball control. The only time this year that their style of Offense hurt them was vs the Rockets. The Patriot O-Line will not pick up any Blitz package that East Burke throws at them. The Patriot Backfield will goof around like they have all year. I'm not sure that the Freedom Defense has the Heart or the Backbone to play smash mouth football with the Cavs. They will play hard for a while but will lay down when something goes bad. This is the thing over the years since, forever, you knew Freedom would do one thing and that was play hard and nasty on Defense, gang tackle, come at you from all sides and now they only play hard as a unit for half the game. That's why I don't buy in to what some of the fans are saying about the Defensive Coaching. The same coach's on Defense as in the past, just a bunch of soft players. Take away the Middle, Strong LB's and the D-Line and the Patriots have nobody! Now the Offense is different, I think the O-Line is slow and lazy and have not played a full game since Shelby. The Fullbacks are scared and lazy and will not run hard or Block. They need to take notes, because Shatley and Company are going to take them to School.

 

Stay Healthy

I know that we all do a lot jawing back and forth about our teams. I think most of it is done in good humor. Regardless of the outcomes tonight, I hope that every players come out of these games healthy. Good luck to all.

 

ACR @ Watauga
EB @ Freedom
SC @ Alex. Central

ACR BY ATLEAST 10. THIS GAME WILL NOT BE A CLOSE ONE. THEY ONLY HOPE THE PIONEERS HAVE IS TO THROW IT. IF THAT HAPPENS MAYBE THE PIONEER FAITHFUL DONT LEAVE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QTR. ACR HAS TO GOOD A DEFENSE AND TO EFFICIENT A OFFENSE AND SPENCER IS ON ROLL.

EB OVER FREEDOM BY 14. I WOULD PICK MORE BUT WE ALL KNOW THE EMOTIONS INVOLVED IN THIS ONE. IF FREEDOM HOLDS ONTO THE BALL LIKE I HAVE BEEN SAYING ALL YEAR IT MAY BE CLOSE. LOOK FOR A BIG DOSE OF IN YOUR FACE RUNNING WITH SHATLEY AND FROGGE. EB WILL DOMINATE THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE. DONT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A BLOWOUT LATE IN THE GAME.

ALEXANDER OVER SC- RUSSELL WILL LIGHT UP THE SKIES AGAIN LIKE EVERY WEEK AND THE PLAYERS ARE PLAYING FOR A TEAMMATE THIS WEEK. SC ALWAYS PLAYS HARD SO ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. COULD BE CLOSE OR COULD BE A BIG WIN-WHO KNOWS CERTAINLY NOT ME

GOODLUCK EVERYONE TONIGHT

 

Old Ref,

I think it may be closer tonight and I'm going with my heart on this one.

I think the kids will suprise you tonight, I know EB is good but our defense can be as well. It could be ugly but I believe it will be a good show for all.

We need to make them have some 3 and outs early, and control the ball. I look for a big night from Taylor Smith and our D-line and linebackers. If the O-line will block like they did against South(2nd half) and against AC then it will be very close. If they play like they did against ACR and WHS then we are in big trouble.

ANyway- good luck and we'll see. I hope the Freedom fans come out tonight!

 

Wow, I forgot to make my picks this week, even after posting the thread...


I would have gone 1-2 i know...

Great win for the Pioneers....


AC looked flat tonight, SC pulled the same trick that East Burke did with an onside kick after the initial drive.......AC was able to cut the lead to 14-6 but not able to do anything after that.....a few drives inside the 20 stalled due to penalties and such.......I really expected to watch an AC route of SC.....maybe the injured Cougar was weighing too much on their minds....

Oh well, on to the playoffs......who's in from the NW4A?

Watauga
ACR
EB
SC
AC

not bad.....

 

Is EB the only team going 4AA?

 

Watauga wins -- not a shock, but how bad they beat them might have been, good job guys

East Burke wins -- not a shock, but you never know in this match-up (kind like Ohio State vs. Michigan), good job guys.

South Caldwell wins -- a shock, keep play'n like that guys, good job

AC & ACR -- need to clear your heads, and put on your jock-straps next game, both are too good to play like that (sounds like both teams were beat, even before they stepped on the field) ...... get it together.

-----
Side Note:
I don't know if this has ever happened before (i extremely doubt it), but everyone of the NW4A playoff teams can win there first round playoff game. I have not seen the finished/official brackets yet (should be out later today - i think), but everyone of our teams have special kids and weapons that can demolish any team. Quit sucking wind and making excuses. You've got to know your winners before you become winners.
Are you winners ?

 

guess this can't happen now, ACHS @ Watauga 1st game

good luck to all