vet93
12-06-2002, 10:33 AM
I have not heard a great deal of talk about this game. Should be a great game by all indications. I have good reasons to pick either team in this game. I have not been able to see Sweetwater play this year so I am a little handicapped in that area. I have been able to see Greenwood twice this year and have been very impressed. They have improved tremedously from the beginning of the season. The thing that impressed me the most was the play of the offensive line on offense and the front 7 on defense. They are disciplined, well coached, and play smart football. They are not huge but very quick and athletic. Audus is a quick, tough runner who can hurt you from anywhere on the field. Wilbur (sp) is the one that really makes things go on offense. He is not as shifty as Carillo but may be a little more physical. He an Audus can both break tackles and make big plays. Wilbur is also a huge asset in the kicking game. He kept us bottled up on our own side of the field all day long last week. In my opinion their most glaring weakness is pass defense. A team with an efficient passing game can get some yards on them. Decatur could have exploited this weakness better than Sweetwater. Sweetwater brings to the table a very good run offense. If anyone thinks that Carillo is the whole deal, they are mistaken. This year in particular, they have been able to spread the field much more with Squires and company. Another improvement over last year is an underrated defense which has proved to be pretty stingy. Carillo has a pretty accurate arm on short passes...I really think that they could stand to pass maybe 5-10 times per game. Having a balanced offense becomes increasingly important the further you go in the playoffs. Sweetwater has an advantage at having more playoff experience in big games. They went pretty deep last year losing a heartbreaker to Kennedale. Playoff ball is real funny...many times it depends on who is "on" during that week. Ballinger was on against Kennedale and pulled off the upset against a very talented team. The same week, Greenwood was "off" against Canyon and it almost cost them the game. Greenwood was hitting on all cylinders last week against Ballinger. Ballinger was not playing the way they played against Kennedale and the result showed. I would venture to say that if either team comes in flat...then they will not be playing next week. At the beginning of the year I picked Sweetwater to win the region based on last years performance and returning starters. I am going to dance with the one that brung me and pick Sweetwater by 4. It would be pretty spineless for me to go against a team that I picked before the season started. This pick is out of no disrespect to Greenwood. Having seen them play twice and beat my team by the same margin I know how good they are. They could very easily win this game. I am going to go out on a limb and go ahead and pick Greenwood as my team to take the region in 2003. That is how much I respect the team and the job that coach Purser has done. Good luck to both teams...either team will represent the region well!!