Could care less what kind of offense Lucas runs, it is all about execution and defensively can Lucas defend the pass. Reason MAC schools succeed in the play offs is because so many teams they play in the play offs have no comprehension on how to defend a passing offense or how to throw the football effectively when their behind. This game comes down to basically can Lucas run the football and win the time of possession and defensively limiting Huelsman and Otte's big play capability.
So I am a huge Marion Local fan from across the state and have so much admiration for what they have been able to do. It's amazing. I am definitely rooting for the Flyers. To me they are everything a high school football program should be. Homegrown kids, community support, good in other sports, good in the classroom, etc. They literally have everything.
Having said that, I have also become very enamored with Lucas because of the double wing. In 2017 Lucas opened the season by defeating East Canton. My high school played East Canton later that year and the Lucas film led to us installing the double wing in 2018. For us, the double wing was a great equalizer. My school hasn't had a winning season since 2007 but running the double wing led us to a 5-5 record. We also completely dominated two of the games we lost (outgained opponents 658-377 in those games) because of multiple turnovers in the red zone. In all, 4 of our 5 losses came to playoff teams and we had a chance to win two of those games in the fourth quarter. We had more talent in maybe 2 of our 10 games.
In your post you mention that game comes down to can Lucas run the football and win the time of possession. Well, in my experience watching the double wing that is exactly what this offense does. In that Lucas video (which was awesome BTW) there is a line where the narrator says, "they just take anywhere from 3-8 yards a pop They just take your soul." Man, did that line ring true to me because I watched so many 14-15 play drives last year. I was often on the opposing sidelines because I take pictures at our games and I would watch the opposing coaches yelling at each other in frustration because they couldn't figure out how to stop the offense. There was no way to get penetration because there were no gaps. Our lineman lined up foot to foot and just created a wall of humanity. Unless you could just physically dominate our line we were getting a minimum of 3 yards a play and we would run the same play over and over and over again.
So what I am really enamored to see is how much of an equalizer is this at the highest level. Can Lucas hang with what we all agree is the most dominant football program in Ohio? Can Lucas put together 12-15 play drives and limit this game to 5-6 possessions for each team in the entire game? What is going to be the defensive game plan from Marion Local? How do they attack the double wing and if they can't completely dominate the Lucas' line physically do they have a scheme that stops this offense? Will the Marion Local offense have any rhythm if they go 7-8 minutes at a time without touching the ball?
I'm just really curious to see how this game plays out especially if Lucas isn't physically overwhelmed.
I remember how hyped that group was in 2013. Granted, this Marion team doesnt have the same weapons as then. This should be a fun game, I hope it's like the loramie game in reference to the suspense.