Celina vs. Ft. Worth Nolan Catholic

[d0tc0m]

This game won't get much attention, mainly because Nolan Catholic is a TAPPs school, who has played a pretty cupcake schedule through two weeks. But, the Vikings have been impressive, nonetheless, in both of those games. Enough so that they're getting high-water marks in the TAPPs-I rankings. When I watch the Vikings on film, they remind me of a less athletic/explosive, but more disciplined Gilmer. Their QB/RB combo also remind me of Melissa. So, I'm really glad Celina schedule this game.

Nolan Catholic also has a TON of depth and several good playmakers across the field. They'll provide some decent matchup issues for the Bobcats, I think, but it'll be good to see. I was really disappointed Celina didn't get to play Liberty Christian last week, especially after they were able to go toe-to-toe with Melissa and put up quite a few points. I think that would've been a good week 2 matchup for Celina, but, oh well.

Celina will be the best team the Vikings have played in this young season, by far. And Nolan Catholic hasn't seen a defensive front/pass rush that they're going to see on Friday night. I'll be watching Celina's secondary on Friday night to see how they matchup with those four- and five-wide sets against some speedy sure-handed receivers. They'll see lots of screens, just like Gilmer runs, so I won't be surprised if the Vikings break a couple of long plays. I'll also be watching to see how well Celina's offensive line continues to progress, as well as our QB play. If the line keeps improving and gets Watson time in the pocket, we'll score plenty of points.

In the end, I think Celina's defense is going to cause a lot of problems for the Vikings, and I think the Bobcats cause a few turnovers and win this game by 12 points. This will be a good building block for Celina, either way.

[orange machine]

Should be a good game for about 3 quarters with Celina pulling away in the 4th. Celina will have to much depth and I concur Celina's defense will give them some issues.

[d0tc0m]

Should be a good game for about 3 quarters with Celina pulling away in the 4th. Celina will have to much depth and I concur Celina's defense will give them some issues.


Melissa should have another good matchup this week with Whitehouse. If the Wildcats have a good defense, they could pose a problem for the Cardinals. Still don't know if they can outscore them, but, who knows. A very entertaining Thursday game, at any rate.

[orange machine]

Melissa should have another good matchup this week with Whitehouse. If the Wildcats have a good defense, they could pose a problem for the Cardinals. Still don't know if they can outscore them, but, who knows. A very entertaining Thursday game, at any rate.

Melissa's games have been somewhat deceiving in that they appear score wise to be closer than they actually are. Melissa's first team defense gave up 17 points to Liberty Christian and 28 to Frisco High. The rest of the points came against backups. The good news is a lot of kids are getting to play. The bad news is the games appear to be closer, but only in score.

Whitehouse seems to be playing better than most originally thought. They have some really good wide receivers and running back. Qb is pretty good, not a strong arm but throws the ball well and not much of a threat to run. The big question I believe is can Whitehouse slow Melissa's offense down. Through two games Melissa's RB Jabray Young has 438 yards rushing, while QB Brendan Lewis has 281 yards rushing and right at 500 yards passing. So if they can stop them they deserve to win.

[regaleagle]

If both Celina and Melissa win this week's games against these opponents, then I would say that District 7 will have solidified itself for being the District of Doom in 4A-D1 this season.....and perhaps for as long as Argyle, Celina, and Melissa remain in the same district. I don't think Argyle will run into any major obstacles this week against a winless Chapel Hill team this season.....but you never know in Texas high school football. Chapel Hill lost to Crandall 40-20 in Week 1 and to Whitehouse last week 37-6. I look for a close game for Melissa against Whitehouse with lots of scoring. I will just assume Celina is ready for a good test against Nolan Catholic. I'll definitely be following all 3 games this week for sure.

[orange machine]

If both Celina and Melissa win this week's games against these opponents, then I would say that District 7 will have solidified itself for being the District of Doom in 4A-D1 this season.....and perhaps for as long as Argyle, Celina, and Melissa remain in the same district. I don't think Argyle will run into any major obstacles this week against a winless Chapel Hill team this season.....but you never know in Texas high school football. Chapel Hill lost to Crandall 40-20 in Week 1 and to Whitehouse last week 37-6. I look for a close game for Melissa against Whitehouse with lots of scoring. I will just assume Celina is ready for a good test against Nolan Catholic. I'll definitely be following all 3 games this week for sure.

Melissa plays tomorrow night and I think I'm going to watch Celina Friday night. Both should be fun games to watch.

[Celina8]

Enjoy your comments d0tcom about the Bobcats. I know you said they are a young team and still might be a year or two away from their full potential. Fort Worth Nolan always has a good team so I just hope for a victory Friday night but as regal said anything can happen and I know the Coaches are still moving players around trying to find the best fit for each position. Keep us updated Friday night as I will be here in the Austin . Good chance of storms Friday thru the weekend so that might effect games in my area.

[orange machine]

This will be a great barometer for where the Bobcats are. Word on the street is Nolan is pretty salty, but like I said earlier I think Celina will pull away in the end.

[d0tc0m]

Enjoy your comments d0tcom about the Bobcats. I know you said they are a young team and still might be a year or two away from their full potential. Fort Worth Nolan always has a good team so I just hope for a victory Friday night but as regal said anything can happen and I know the Coaches are still moving players around trying to find the best fit for each position. Keep us updated Friday night as I will be here in the Austin . Good chance of storms Friday thru the weekend so that might effect games in my area.


They're young in spots, and veteran in other spots. Lots of really good senior leaders on this year's team, including Noah Ross, who played QB last year and selflessly moved to WR this season. He's a kid who, if they get him the ball in the open field, can take it to the house on any play. He's very athletic, moves well, sees the field well and catches the ball well, too. Kaghen Roach is another good one for the Bobcats. He's 6'5, 225 at DE, and very, very quick and strong. He's going to give the Vikings — along with every other team this season — fits. He's not just an edge/pass rusher, either. He disrupts the running game, constantly. He, along with linebacker Blake Bunell (sp?) — a transfer from Argyle — just destroyed Frisco Memorial in the season opener.

Ryan Nebeker at free safety is another one to watch for the Bobcats. Not going to blow you away with speed, but he covers well, reads the plays really well and has that ball-hawking tendency. He tackles well in space, too, and provides support in both the passing and running game.


Lots of other names I could throw out there, too.

[d0tc0m]

The more I watch film on Nolan Catholic, the more impressed I am with their team. Granted, they've played two not-so-great teams in Houston Kinkaid and Burkburnett. But they dominated both those teams from start to finish, like you'd expect a team to do with inferior opposition.

The Bobcats offensive line is going to be tested in a big way against NaNa Osafo-Mensah — a 6'4, 215lb DE. This guy held offers from Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor and several others, before committing to Notre Dame. He is extremely fast off the ball, and just completely bullies whatever o-lineman he goes up against. Nolan Catholic, from what I can tell, typically lines him up on the weak side. He's so fast, though, in his weak-side pursuit, that he's making plays on the strong side, in the backfield. He's going to get in the backfield quite a bit, I would imagine, and the Bobcats will have to find a way to nullify his rush. He's athletic/fast enough, that Nolan drops him back into coverage, as well. They play him like a weak side linebacker at times, in all honesty.

The young man on the opposite DE spot isn't going to get any big-time offers like Osafo-Mensah, but he's very good in his own right. Between the two, they could prove a tough assignment for the Celina offensive line. It's still a very young season, but from what I've seen on film of some other teams, this could be one of the better defensive lines the Bobcats will face. Osafo-Mensah will certainly be the best defensive end they'll see this season.

The Vikings run an even front on just about all of their defensive alignments, so the Bobcats will have to dip into the portion of their playbook where they feel they can have success against those four-man looks. I'd like to see them get some quick hits to Ross out wide in space to loosen up that pass rush a bit. I could also see them running some QB draws with Watson — who is big and athletic — as well as some screens to Logan Point — who will be the best RB Celina has had since Troy McCartney — to draw Osafo-Mensah in and let them over-pursue.

If they can have success doing that, it should definitely open up some lanes for Point to break off some big runs. And I'm telling you, this kid is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season and next.

[regaleagle]

Blake Bunnell from Argyle was an up-and-comer last season and by season's end was playing very strong on defense. Sorry to see him go to our rival's team. We sure could have used him on the D this season.

[orange machine]

Well I guess I have crow to eat, I didnt expect this outcome.

[regaleagle]

Saturday morning crow is not very tasty, but when the team that beat yours appears to be top-notch......then the crow goes down better......you don't get that pungent aftertaste, LOL.

[orange machine]

Saturday morning crow is not very tasty, but when the team that beat yours appears to be top-notch......then the crow goes down better......you don't get that pungent aftertaste, LOL.

I got a call this morning and was told it was not that Nolan was good, but Celina's lack of execution.

[d0tc0m]

It was a little bit of both. NC has a lot of really good athletes. But Celina’s youth at a few spots really showed. The QB and young receivers just never were on the same page. QB would read a stop or dig route and the receiver would read and run a go route. Happened over and over and over. That can only be corrected with repetitions. Offensive line struggled to get the NC LBs blocked. Their linebacker corps is very underrated. But Celina will get there. Celina has the kids. It’s not a lack of talent. If they played this game later in the season, the Bobcats would win fairly easily, I think. But they didn’t, and so you just hope the coaches and kids learn from a loss to a good team and move on and focus on improving and getting ready for the real season in a few weeks.

[regaleagle]

Some teams come into the season with more experience than other teams and play at a higher level from the gitgo. Other teams that may have a mixture of experienced and not so experienced athletes at this level may require 5 games to finally mesh offensively and defensively like the more experienced team......even though it appears they have the athletes that can compete for the district title and go deep in the playoffs. I suspect this was definitely the case with Waco La Vega......it appeared that this team has all the ingredients to win a State Championship with the talented personnel they have. Maybe Celina is one of these teams also.....it was only their 2nd game of the season. Of course......every team you face is improving each week also......even those teams that start off the season with alot of returning starters. But the gap for improvement is larger for some teams, and that gap could close quickly by the time district play gets underway.