Pleasant Grove (13-0) vs. Melissa (12-1) @ Paris

[waterboy]

Seeing as nobody from these schools posts on here that I'm aware of, I thought I would throw it out there and see what people familiar with these teams think.

This "could" be a good game if Melissa can get on a roll. The thing is, PG's defense is very good. Melissa will have to be able to do short passes with regularity to move the ball. The only thing that keeps me from saying PG rolls is they have been known to put the ball on the ground at times, and sometimes it takes them a while to get rolling.

What say ye?

[orange machine]

Seeing as nobody from these schools posts on here that I'm aware of, I thought I would throw it out there and see what people familiar with these teams think.

This "could" be a good game if Melissa can get on a roll. The thing is, PG's defense is very good. Melissa will have to be able to do short passes with regularity to move the ball. The only thing that keeps me from saying PG rolls is they have been known to put the ball on the ground at times, and sometimes it takes them a while to get rolling.

What say ye?

Melissa by 14, I think Gilmer is better than PG and should have beat PG.

[hollywood]

Melissa by 10

[waterboy]

Melissa by 14, I think Gilmer is better than PG and should have beat PG.

Uuuhh, no. Gilmer wasn't better than PG. The Buckeyes played their best overall game of the year against PG at home and still came up short. Gilmer shot themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers against Melissa. I've seen both play, and I think PG's defense will be the biggest difference in this one. If Melissa is able to pass effectively early, it will be game on. Otherwise, I think the Hawks will win by a couple of scores. I've been wrong before, but...

Pleasant Grove by 13

[d0tc0m]

Just discovered this thread buried down at the bottom of the page. Sad we don't have any posters from either side (save one for Melissa) here on the DownLow. Smoaky sure is alive and well with the two. But all you get over there is a bunch of nonsense, a terrible east Texas slant and a jarring lack of grammar and punctuation ... and, if I'm being completely honest, a little entertainment.


But, I'll say this, Melissa is going to have to play as well as they've played all year. I was very, very impressed with Pleasant Grove. They honestly reminded me of the Celina teams of yore, a la 2005-2007 era. Just absolutely brutal on defense. People have talked all year long about the Hawks' front seven, and for good reason. They whipped Celina's offensive line all night long. Several, several snaps, our big ol' boy on the left side was on his back. That just can't happen. It made it virtually impossible to get anything going, offensively. And, with no time to throw at all, PG was able to leave their secondary in 1-on-1 situations without a whole lot of concern. That allowed them to bring even more pressure to shut down the passing attack, while also having an extra hat to dominate the run game. It just compounded Celina's offensive woes. I have not seen a team just physically impose its will on Celina like that ... maybe ever. The closest thing I can remember is Lovejoy in 2010. The other thing is PG just flat out out-athleted the Bobcats. Celina played hard, and, defensively, we were in position all night long to make plays. But the Hawks ball carriers just ran through tackles and made big plays. I think I said this last week, but one of Celina's broadcasters said it during the game, 'PG won this game during the offseason.' They were just bigger, stronger and faster than Celina. It wasn't for lack of effort on the part of the Bobcats.

Again, Pleasant Grove is just so sound. On top of that, the kids just flat out believe they can win. Beating Gilmer in the regular season, I think, was what this group needed to fuel the confidence that they've been touting all year long. It's similar to when Celina pretty well dominated Argyle in 2015. Celina knew they had a good squad, but that win reminded them just how good they were, and it carried them to the title game. I think PG's win over Gilmer is doing a similar thing for the Hawks.


Now, all that said, I think Melissa is the exact type of team that can beat PG. They are big, fast, athletic and balanced. If the Cardinals' offensive line can give the QB some time to throw, I think Melissa wins this game by two TDs. Melissa's WRs are just great athletes, and they'll be mismatches for the Hawks DBs. If PG leaves their guys in 1-on-1 coverage, they'll get beat up and down the field, in my opinion, because the Melissa QB can put the ball on a dime. If the Cardinals have success throwing the ball, even if it's just short and intermediate routes — which could be the case if the weather turns south — then they could put up some big numbers, because as they loosen that PG front seven, the Cardinals little sophomore RB will chew up some big yards. On defense, Melissa is good enough up front, and athletic enough in the secondary, to at least slow the Hawks down. I still think PG will score some points — more than Gilmer was able to, actually — because they are so strong on the line, and their backs run extremely well. And, I think they can pass well enough to keep teams honest. Melissa won't have anyone on the line that's as good as the DE #45 for Celina. He's a monster, and despite PG's solid offensive line, he lived in the backfield and singlehandedly kept the game closer than it should've been. But, the Cardinals' have a pair of ends that are really, really good. They are fast off the ball, and they do a good job of getting pressure, or setting the edge and keeping contain and/or making plays on backside pursuit.


At the end of the day, this one is almost a pick 'em to me. But, as I said, if Melissa gives their QB time to throw, it's no longer a pick 'em, and I like the Cardinals by 14. If PG is able to keep the pressure on him, though, and not give up much through the air, then all of a sudden, I like the Hawks by 14. For my dollar, though, I'll take Melissa by 5 in a shootout.

[orange machine]

Just discovered this thread buried down at the bottom of the page. Sad we don't have any posters from either side (save one for Melissa) here on the DownLow. Smoaky sure is alive and well with the two. But all you get over there is a bunch of nonsense, a terrible east Texas slant and a jarring lack of grammar and punctuation ... and, if I'm being completely honest, a little entertainment.


But, I'll say this, Melissa is going to have to play as well as they've played all year. I was very, very impressed with Pleasant Grove. They honestly reminded me of the Celina teams of yore, a la 2005-2007 era. Just absolutely brutal on defense. People have talked all year long about the Hawks' front seven, and for good reason. They whipped Celina's offensive line all night long. Several, several snaps, our big ol' boy on the left side was on his back. That just can't happen. It made it virtually impossible to get anything going, offensively. And, with no time to throw at all, PG was able to leave their secondary in 1-on-1 situations without a whole lot of concern. That allowed them to bring even more pressure to shut down the passing attack, while also having an extra hat to dominate the run game. It just compounded Celina's offensive woes. I have not seen a team just physically impose its will on Celina like that ... maybe ever. The closest thing I can remember is Lovejoy in 2010. The other thing is PG just flat out out-athleted the Bobcats. Celina played hard, and, defensively, we were in position all night long to make plays. But the Hawks ball carriers just ran through tackles and made big plays. I think I said this last week, but one of Celina's broadcasters said it during the game, 'PG won this game during the offseason.' They were just bigger, stronger and faster than Celina. It wasn't for lack of effort on the part of the Bobcats.

Again, Pleasant Grove is just so sound. On top of that, the kids just flat out believe they can win. Beating Gilmer in the regular season, I think, was what this group needed to fuel the confidence that they've been touting all year long. It's similar to when Celina pretty well dominated Argyle in 2015. Celina knew they had a good squad, but that win reminded them just how good they were, and it carried them to the title game. I think PG's win over Gilmer is doing a similar thing for the Hawks.


Now, all that said, I think Melissa is the exact type of team that can beat PG. They are big, fast, athletic and balanced. If the Cardinals' offensive line can give the QB some time to throw, I think Melissa wins this game by two TDs. Melissa's WRs are just great athletes, and they'll be mismatches for the Hawks DBs. If PG leaves their guys in 1-on-1 coverage, they'll get beat up and down the field, in my opinion, because the Melissa QB can put the ball on a dime. If the Cardinals have success throwing the ball, even if it's just short and intermediate routes — which could be the case if the weather turns south — then they could put up some big numbers, because as they loosen that PG front seven, the Cardinals little sophomore RB will chew up some big yards. On defense, Melissa is good enough up front, and athletic enough in the secondary, to at least slow the Hawks down. I still think PG will score some points — more than Gilmer was able to, actually — because they are so strong on the line, and their backs run extremely well. And, I think they can pass well enough to keep teams honest. Melissa won't have anyone on the line that's as good as the DE #45 for Celina. He's a monster, and despite PG's solid offensive line, he lived in the backfield and singlehandedly kept the game closer than it should've been. But, the Cardinals' have a pair of ends that are really, really good. They are fast off the ball, and they do a good job of getting pressure, or setting the edge and keeping contain and/or making plays on backside pursuit.


At the end of the day, this one is almost a pick 'em to me. But, as I said, if Melissa gives their QB time to throw, it's no longer a pick 'em, and I like the Cardinals by 14. If PG is able to keep the pressure on him, though, and not give up much through the air, then all of a sudden, I like the Hawks by 14. For my dollar, though, I'll take Melissa by 5 in a shootout.

Always a good read. However that little Sophmore runningback isn't really little lol 5'10 201. Also squated 500 lbs. Jabray is his name and he is a freak of nature Athelete.

[d0tc0m]

Always a good read. However that little Sophmore runningback isn't really little lol 5'10 201. Also squated 500 lbs. Jabray is his name and he is a freak of nature Athelete.

Haha oh, I know he's not little. I said that more tongue-in-cheek than anything. He is as legit as they come. Going to be a pain in the sides of many for the next two years. Actually, Melissa in general is going to be a pain in the sides of many for the next two years.

[Leopard4Life]

I have not seen a team just physically impose its will on Celina like that ... maybe ever. The closest thing I can remember is Lovejoy in 2010.

That was a heck of a game. I don't know if Lovejoy physically imposed their will on Celina, but that was a slobber-knocker. Lovejoy was a spread team that lost their QB, DB, and TE/DE to suspensions. They matched up man to man and ran Celina's own offense/defense against them. Lovejoy got a few breaks and scores and I think Celina blinked first, or gassed first. It was pretty cold that night, but even colder the next week. Lovejoy truly blew their chance of becoming a more established program that year. Losing the QB hurt, but the backup was a college ball player also, but losing the DB and especially the TE/DE is what really hurt. The next week Henderson went straight at the backups with a lot of success.

[stardog]

Have Tx Pleasant Grove picked in the state playoff brackets to be the SC !!!