What are the thoughts on this one. My only thought is this isn't who we thought we would play so that puts a little fear factor into it. 7 out of 10 years the Buckeyes have been in the regional final. This is CM first trip. Hopefully experience pays off.
I was impressed with Townley, and I was impressed with the Fox defense in the second half. They made some adjustments and all but shutdown the Hawks attack. Townley looked like Vince Young-last-drive-against-USC on that game-winning drive and TD scamper against PG. Dude is a true game breaker. The kicker is Gilmer has one to match him in Tennison, who I think is actually the better passer of the two. But when you start to look at the auxiliary weapons around the QB, it's hard to find a place where Gilmer doesn't have a notch or two advantage over the Foxes. The Fluellens are game changers in their own right, and there's 3-4 other receivers behind them that are matchup concerns, too. I've been impressed with the Buckeyes rushing attack in the postseason, especially. Those little delayed handoffs were killer against Sunnyvale, who might get Gilmer in third-and-long and then poof, first down. Defensively, I'd say Gilmer gets the slight edge. They've matched up against a better schedule, in my opinion. The Buckeyes unit is opportunistic, and they may only need 2-3 stops to win this game.
The key is going to be can the Black Flag unit bottle up Townley, and can the Foxes defense get pressure on Tennison and keep him bottled up as well. Tall task for both defenses, and I see this being a fairly high-scoring game. Gilmer's going to have to clean up their penalties and turnovers (especially in the red zone), because giving Townley extra chances is a recipe for disaster.
The Buckeyes have all the experience, but the Foxes are just green enough that they may not know or care what they're up against. They knocked off a recent powerhouse and defending state champion, so the "belief" factor has got to be at an all-time high. If they're hanging around late in the game, look out. But if Gilmer comes out and asserts dominance and breaks their spirit right off the bat, then the Buckeyes will move on to the semifinals.
All said and done, my heart is leaning towards Caddo Mills. But I can't bring myself to go against the Buckeyes in December. Give me Gilmer in a 47-42 type game.
Caddo Mills has an excellent coach in Cody Crane. He was at Gonzales before CM and I think he did a bunch to get the program going in the right direction again.
i thought i had heard of that name before, Cody Crane. Now i know why.
Gilmer in a close one.
Pigskin Prep has Gilmer favored by 5.