Dublin Coffman 2019

WEEK 4

Gahanna vs. New Albany - Louie Line is welcomed back in full force as he has been running his numbers for a bit over a week now Welcome back and thanks for the work Drew . LP Line Gahanna - 4

Gahanna has one of the most arduous schedules in Ohio and many other states I' sure. I mean a big strong Elder team , followed by a very good Coffman team , Hartley who I believe will have a really good look at a state title in D-3? Cut the crap . NA is the 'Soft" touch to start the season and they are now D-1 and a play-off team most of the time lately. . Westy C and Pick C follow ? Is this some sort of cruel joke? Bruce it's OK to mix in a non guaranteed play-off caliber team every so often.

Gahanna was inside the 10 last week later 4th quarter and while they might not have won the game it would have appeared closer and given them more to build on , but I think the Lions know that they have one of the toughest 4-5 schedules in D-1 . Lions have won the last three including last years triple OT thriller with a miracle throw to Justus Harris forced OT and the Lions came back to win it eventually . NA is a solid team dealing wit their coach recovering from a scary situation with his heart. On paper which tells some of the story it is clear that NA has given up some big plays to athletic teams , including the Westy South Ibbies { 48-21} and Scioto { Held on 28-24} . Beat overmatched Licking Heights last week.

Lions have some of those type athletes that have hurt NA. Whitaker ran the ball for over a hundy last week and is a good versatile back , Stillwell had a big play last week and Thomas is a smooth athlete who can sling it pretty well at QB. Lions are the choice here to get their first win before they dive back into the Central Ohio Iron pool . I believe at some point they may be the best 1-5 team after 6 weeks in the state .


Lions 34 NA 20
 
WEEK 4 Cont.

H Darby vs. H Bradley - LP Line Darby - 13

This line looks as heavy as those two twins in the Guinness book of World records who made their motorcycles literally disappear and look like your first tricycle after they somehow got onto them. Enveloped isn't a strong enough description . Anyway I saw a grossly obese man getting onto a motorcycle recently and it reminded me of the fattest twins pic . Better stop now , haven't had breakfast quite yet.

Looking at Darby who had some players back and is a good solid program who has had very good regular season success especially it appears they aren't a separation team. Coughed up that 4th quarter hairball vs. Davidson and their punting woes continued last week ? Looking a the numbers vs Lancaster it is hard to imagine them winning by 14 points . Gaels as I pointed out ran 21 more plays had the ball almost 12 more minutes was better on third down. The keys were Lancaster losing steam in the 4th quarter and not being able to run the football . They throw it more now and did a decent job getting 130 yards in the air on 24 attempts completing 14 of the throws.


Bradley outgained Davidson and their problem was not finishing drives and getting stopped once inside the 3 yard line . They did give up 4.7 a rush however and that is a concern along with the fact that they have to face two only runs the ball teams in a row . That feels lie a dam break type situation may be. Bradley is a work in progress but they have some athletes that should be able to produce more than 9 points when they gained almost 300 yards vs Davidson. Defensively they have been without a couple studs and that has hurt them including Mich. State recruit Mayfield at DE/OLB .

Bradley in desperate need of a win here no question. Could turn their season around as they start their last OCC Ragu slate{ They head into a tougher conference next year to say the least} . That still makes me chuckle a bit I must say . The poster Kramerica coined the phrase that denotes that the loop contains a bunch of tomato cans{ Boxing term that describes hand picked opponents with little skill or chance to win but can take a beating} . Bradley has been a force the last few years but have taken a step back this year. There isn't a big gap if much of any between these programs this year.

Will Bradley be 0-4 ? May be but I'll grab the 13 here and feel that at the very least that backdoor may be ajar as the Jags throw it into the end zone late.

HD 20 HB 16 - , Bradley got stopped inside the 3 last week and had chances to get real close but never really got over that hump . I think they can win here but the 13 is a nice insurance policy against a bleed the clock is one of the 10 commandments type team.
 
I agree. I watched Bradley last week and I don’t think they are a typical 0-3 team.

Week 1 was a bad matchup as Springfield team with a lot of returning players going up against a bunch of new starters. Bradley just wasn’t ready.

Bradley has a real chance, IMO, to win out all of their league games. Obviously, with Darby and Jerome being the question mark games.
 
Funny you mentioned the OCC Ragu, with re-alignment next year it's very interesting that Bradley is stepping up to play with the big boys, yet Darby continues to cower in a division with D2 schools and some of the worst D1 programs in the OCC the past few years. At least they are realistic and understand they cant run with real D1 programs on a yearly basis.

Louie has some other interesting items on the site, some which make me question his methods. He has Tangy's win over Miamisburg as the #11 single team performance in the entire state so far this year. That seems highly dubious. Coffmans win over Jerome is #17 and Jeromes win over DeSales is #9.
 
KramericaIndustries said:
Funny you mentioned the OCC Ragu, with re-alignment next year it's very interesting that Bradley is stepping up to play with the big boys, yet Darby continues to cower in a division with D2 schools and some of the worst D1 programs in the OCC the past few years. At least they are realistic and understand they cant run with real D1 programs on a yearly basis.

Louie has some other interesting items on the site, some which make me question his methods. He has Tangy's win over Miamisburg as the #11 single team performance in the entire state so far this year. That seems highly dubious. Coffmans win over Jerome is #17 and Jeromes win over DeSales is #9.
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I would not blame Darby for that or Credit Bradley for "stepping up". While the Principals and AD approve the changes they are not necessarily all on board with what is done. Hence the reason when schools that would like to see some rivals return/maintain conference/division connection do not get that there is the talk of a new league.
 
bluepride1990 said:
I would not blame Darby for that or Credit Bradley for "stepping up". While the Principals and AD approve the changes they are not necessarily all on board with what is done. Hence the reason when schools that would like to see some rivals return/maintain conference/division connection do not get that there is the talk of a new league.
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FWIW, Bradley actually voted against the new realignment. Given Jerome's sustained growth and the overall strength of their athletic department, I would say that they would be an ideal candidate to be in same division as Coffman. In Ralph Young All Sports, Jerome has finished second (to Darby) in 2016-2017 and first (w/ Darby second) the last two years. At any rate, your point is well-taken.
 
WEEK 4 Cont.


Pickerington Central at Groveport Madison - LP Line PC - 21

Have to feel good for GPM no doubt , 3-0 is 3-0 , but looking just briefly , the 3-0's in this case are slightly , OK Massively different . PC has played three solid teams with multiple major college type talent on the and GPM ? Well ? hasn't . No offense to the teams that the Grovers have beaten but not exactly a murderers row of HS Football teams. Westy North is well ? Westy North . Hammy T-Ship is down this year, quite a bit down actually as evidenced by 56-0 vs the Grovers and a close loss to Franklin Heights . Kilbourne with a new staff just isn't athletically or size wise on the same plane as many D-1 OCC teams.

They will go from taking General Math to Calculus without throwing in Algebra and Geometry classes. Making basic Scrambled eggs in a cooking class to being asked to prepare Beef Wellington the very next class . Reminds me of 2009 a bit when the Grovers were preparing to play Coffman at home and they had Leveon Bell as a Senior . Was a bit hyped as a must see game. Well looking at the teams it became quickly apparent that GPM wasn't going to match-up in certain key areas. Up front the Rocks were vastly superior that year to that team . Bell never really got a running start all game and while he had a few good runs , the game was over before it started really. Final was 51-7 . It was a 4 TD game before I even got up to get a Dog and coke.


Much antcipation and the Grover Lifers are talking 2007 when the Soph. Bell and the Grovers were close to the Tigers, dropping a tight decision. That was then this is now unfortunately for the hosts. That was a 1985 Movie based on a SE Hinton novel { the Outsiders was the more famous movie book} } which starred Craig Sheffer who was the quintessential 1980's cool yet dushy guy , and of course Emilio Estevez . Bet you didn't know that Emilio's Brother Ramon was in the cast ? Bit part of course . Ramon is kind of like Ramon Martinez being Pedro's brother , or a kind of Ozzie Canseco type guy{ Juiced Jose 's brother} . You know he exists but you can't really remember seeing them do anything of note . Speaking of Jose Canseco I just saw a clip of him having the ball hit his head in right field and go over the fence. Laugh out loud funny . Had forgotten about that .

He drifted back somewhat awkwardly for a warning track deep fly ball , put his glove up missed the ball completely { Well not accurate he didn't entirely miss the ball } and it hit him on top of the head caroming over the fence for a home run . Hilarious . Jose kind of laughing with this quasi dazed look as he blinks in that way he does. Would have been a highlight reel soccer header goal .

Off track , but the now ? Isn't going to be pretty on this night I am afraid for GP Maddie. Bigger line than they had circa 2009 vs. Coffman but too much Tigers here. Reality check time for the Grovers who get Liberty next . 3-2 isn't a bad start going forward.


PC 41 GPM 9
 
WEEK 4 Cont.

Ye Olde Tommy W VS. Worthington High Hard Road campus - LP Line YOTW - 4

Factoring the rivalry aspect is always a bit tricky but it is a real dynamic in this match-up and many other rivalry games. The crux of the matter here is Tommy W has more athletes and has competed better overall in the first three weeks of the season. Hung in against the Ibbies of Westerville S making some plays on offense . Kilbourne doesn't have that same capability really offensively. They also give up over 400 yards a game defensively and have given up 40+ points twice . Common opponent is the ibbies who blew out the Hard Roaders 49-6 while the Cards stayed a bit closer. IN the one game Kilbourne appeared to be close in it was probably more smoke and mirrors as they gave up 411 yards and were outgained by 160 in a 16-6 loss to Olentangy Orange.

4 is the proper number assignment to this contest and looking at the very recent history here it figures to be pretty close. WK won by a point in 2017 { Missed kicks doomed TW } and YOTW got the 25-20 win last year only their second in a decade in this series. WK coach has an offensive backround { PN} But is finding it frustrating to get the ball moving consistently without some of the type of weapons he was accustomed to having?
Should be a good competitive game but if all is relatively equal, { Mistakes turnovers et al} Ye Olde Tommy W has a few more plays in it and will be the difference. Sherron Phipps is a baller and I think he gets loose a time or two here . QB is a question as Gaiters sat last week but in think is available this week so Borghese goes back to the outside to hopefully make plays .

Rumor has it that there may be a buy one get one piece of Olde New England Cranberry pie coupon available with your ticket stub at the General store . Ye Olde Bag of Nails is also offering a free piece of Nesselrode pie with a Cards victory and the Chestnuts are freshly roasted same day .


YOTW 23 WK 16
 
WEEK 4 Cont.

Marysville vs. Grove City - LP Line M-Ville - 9

Could be a best bet blowout? A couple others look like they could get out of hand as well but have larger price tags than this one has . Marysville crushed Northland who is pretty far off where they were last year 49-0 and then thumped Delaware by three touchdowns before losing to Findlay last week 21-7. In the loss however the Monarchs gained 400 yards outgaining Findlay by 127 yards. tough to score but 7 points getting 400 yards of offense I must say.

Great win and very well deserved as they outplayed a down Central Crossing club . Close game at the end but GC was in control most of that way running the ball mostly and churning out 260 yards of offense . I see about half that output this week. M-Ville will be 4-1 when they open league play at Coffman stadium in week 6 . The real story may be the fact that the Hounds hadn't won in two years so the celebration probably lasted until 10 minutes ago . Tough to know how to handle success when you have no experience doing so . How do you react and move forward off abig rivalry game win? Well fellas ? UMMMM I think we should ahhh , " Lets have another victory toast boys" ? M-Ville pis2ed off after losing a game their first where they moved the ball very well in and couldn't score much , going against a hung over football team awash in the glory of their first win since instead of wearing a bright green puffy shirt and making a total fool of himself on dancing with the stars Sean Spicer was a professional ahh errr ok i'll keep my thoughts to myself in this space about that , but that flaming green get up was surreal.


M-Ville 35 Grove City 9
 
KramericaIndustries said:
Funny you mentioned the OCC Ragu, with re-alignment next year it's very interesting that Bradley is stepping up to play with the big boys, yet Darby continues to cower in a division with D2 schools and some of the worst D1 programs in the OCC the past few years. At least they are realistic and understand they cant run with real D1 programs on a yearly basis.

Louie has some other interesting items on the site, some which make me question his methods. He has Tangy's win over Miamisburg as the #11 single team performance in the entire state so far this year. That seems highly dubious. Coffmans win over Jerome is #17 and Jeromes win over DeSales is #9.
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Darby 23, Tangy 13

And it wasn’t even that close.
 
I think he assigns some of the the best performances based on his numbers and the amount the team exceeded the number or prediction . He had Olentangy as a 4 point underdog and they won by over 30 . He had Coffman 12 points better than Jerome and they did won by 17 so it was a very good performance because Jerome is pretty good and got off to a great start but Coffman only exceeded his number by 5. Jerome obviously far exceeded the predicted margin over DeSales .
 
Olentangy lost a tough one to Darby last year fumbling deep late going for the win. this year they didn't play well on offense and they couldn't stop the run . The last year they had a pretty tough big D-Front they beat Darby by 21 . Big game for Darby this week. getting outscored by 24 in the 4th quarter by Davidson will be one of the most head scratching tidbits of the season. Yes I realize the blocked punts and bad snaps made it so but still. Darby winning by 14 at Lancaster looking at the numbers also makes you sigh. Big game this week vs Bradley , especially for Bradley .
 
Harrycrane said:
Olentangy lost a tough one to Darby last year fumbling deep late going for the win. this year they didn't play well on offense and they couldn't stop the run . The last year they had a pretty tough big D-Front they beat Darby by 21 . Big game for Darby this week. getting outscored by 24 in the 4th quarter by Davidson will be one of the most head scratching tidbits of the season. Yes I realize the blocked punts and bad snaps made it so but still. Darby winning by 14 at Lancaster looking at the numbers also makes you sigh. Big game this week vs Bradley , especially for Bradley .
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WEEK 4 Cont.

Westerville Central at Pickerington North - LP Line WC - 2

The antithesis of say Gahanna or even Pick North's schedule strength is Westy C who has emerged in this era as the best football school in Westerville. I sat that while it is arguable and he only played at Westy C two seasons , Upper Arlington transfer Jared Drake kind of ushered in the era of them overtaking South and of course John Magistro among others on his staff was a part of that as well .

Interesting match-up mostly because it is a must win for Pick North perhaps as they still have Pick C Coffman and R-Burg to play and they don't tend to do well vs. Lancaster either. It seems like they can lose 4 and still make the play-offs possibly,. They already have two losses . You get the drift here.

Westy C played three poor struggling teams. Whitehall and Northland both fell off big time from last year and Grove City is at the depths right now of where they have been in the past . It isn't easy staying on top or being consistently good each year. If wining was easy everyone would do it a former coach once said to us as he told us that our off-seasons won't be easy and once camp and practice starts it won't be easy.

Very talented offense that I saw play Coffman in the last scrimmage . Pretty good speed on defense as well. You can't gather much from these games but seeing them last year in the play-offs and in the scrimmage season it is clear they have high end talent and some hard working program kids. The first three games were as close to playing against air in the passing game as it can be . QB Holtzclaw basically kept the ball very clean as it never really touched the ground . They did what they wanted when they wanted to do it . PN has been pushed each game and may be depth shy but their game conditioning despite the lack of depth may be superior here.


Sawyer played QB and ran it more than threw but completed some balls { over 50 percent completion percentage } and the offense did enough to get the 21-0 jump o Orange who never recovered. .They did give up just under 300 yards to Orange including 200 yards rushing though. Westy C is more talented and explosive than Orange though . The elephant in the room is the fact that PN has WAXED WC 42-3 in 2017 with Jimmy Football under center { Oops that was a really out of date phrase} and destroyed them 52-7 last year. That was a bit of a fluke as the disparity wasn't that large at all in the end but on that night it was nightmarish for the Warhawks. Game has been been circled no question .


I see WC moving it on the ground if the Panthers sellout to stop it they get beat downfield. WC has a better chance of slowing down PN than vice versa . Revenge , some nice match-ups and a PN team that lacks the depth from smaller classes including a year without a Frosh team which catches up with you. It's one thing to have a Frosh team that loses games , quite another one to lack the numbers to field sed team. Kids in good programs get full years and change of football 'Growth if you are not playing on JV as a Frosh you lose that development piece.

WC may need a quarter and a half to adjust to not playing against just the gentle breeze and bright sun they were up against the first three weeks , but they will settle in and led by Hyatts who just verbaled to Kentucky and Holzclaw who will get D-1 offers at QB the Hawks get some satisfaction after being beaten up the last two years.


WC 31 PN 21
 
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WEEK 4 Cont.


Olentangy Liberty at Hilliard Davidson - LP Line HD - 1

Basically a pick em obviously and rightfully so . The narrative that Liberty is a team with loads back from a great team is simply not true. They lost a ton of Seniors {34} a some key performers. Davidson lost more starters especially on offense. Both teams come in at 3-0 and while that is impressive it may have a little to do with the competition . The programs they have both beat are solid overall , it isn't that but if you look a bit deeper, some are down from the level they usually reside .

Davidson over Grove City is a foregone conclusion , Darby is solid and had some folks back but isn't an offensive juggernaut by any means and entered the 4th quarter at Lancaster with zero. They did well running the ball { There is no real passing going on } . Yardage was equal in the Darby game but special teams were the difference in a 24-0 fourth quarter . Bradley got near 300 yards offense and scored only 9 as Davidson had a goal line stand and Bradley had long fields most of the night.

Davidson averages 240 yards a game { zero passing of course} and has given up 213 a game with the Grove City game skewing it a bit as the Hounds managed only 140 . Liberty has beaten some name opponents and has done well with a lot of new guys filling in . Pick North was a close game for 2 and a half quarters where Liberty made some big plays and Liberty's superior depth did in Pick North on that night.

Wayne is a bit down off of their normal level and they were ahead of Liberty entering the 4th where again the Patriots used their superior depth to control the end of the game . Last week Glenville committed 4 turnovers and got behind 21-0 early and never recovered losing 35-0 . Liberty had their lowest offensive output of the season gaining only 230 yards. They held Glenville to only 147 though. For the season the Patriots average 310 yards of offense and give up 240 yards. Hmm that's exactly what Davidson gets on Offense so far ? Magic number?


Patriots have won two of the last three meetings in this series and lost a one point decision last year as the Cats converted a key 4th and long in the 4th quarter to pull out the win . Both teams probably a bit surprised to be 3-0 but I do think their opponents may be a bit less than initially thought pre-season. Davidson uses two Sophomore backs in impressive Leo Nixon and UA Transfer Jonathan Weir . Sr. Thornton is a two way player and is used as the fullback at about 185 pounds . QB is a tall kid who doesn't seem to run much . No passing game at all so far .

Liberty has a veteran RB in Kenly who is quick and runs a bit bigger than he is , and they have some athletic receivers but this match-up isn't about a really athletic team chalk full of hot shots going against an inferior athletically speaking Davidson club. I saw some opine that Liberty should be a comfortable favorite and winner here. Liberty lost 4 regular season games last year before getting hot as usual in the play-offs. They lost a lot of those guys to boot .

A pick em line is accurate here I believe. I do think Liberty with more ways to move the ball and also extremely well coached is the play here but it isn't easy as playing Davidson never is . Liberty has a few D-1 lineman , one a higher level D-1 kid and some good athletes who are well coached of course and very disciplined in what they do. Davidson doesn't have that advantage in this game . Liberty can utilize the short pass to make it's way down the field and they can also run the ball successfully as well making them a bit harder to defend . Davidson believes in not giving up the big play so look for them to try to win field position battle and make them drive the field which is how they won the Bradley game . The difference in this one I think is Liberty is a bit more precise in their execution on both sides of the ball than Bradley is this year and with a similar performance it will be enough.

Should be a good one


Liberty 17 Davidson 13
 
WEEK 4 Cont.

Walnut Ridge at Eastmoor - LP Line WR - 6

Interesting in that it is always a play-off like game as these clubs can't lose too many if they want to qualify for the play-offs . Last year Eastmoor won 26-20 . Both team made the play-offs last year with E-moor winning a couple games including besting Hartley . E-moor is now at must win status having lost by 3 to ST Chuck's and 33-0 to Granville. Ridge can lose one game if they want to guarantee a berth so their margin for error is slightly larger. Ridge likely wins out with a loss and probably gets in so may be there is more urgency coming from Eastmoor but looking at the numbers i think even having more will, purpose .and urgency won't be enough unless Ridge throws up on themselves.

Ridge has some big time talent as well Magwood is a beast . Rare City league opinion


Ridge 34 E-Moor 12
 
WEEK 4 Cont.

Dublin Coffman at Olentangy - LP Line DC - 14

Tangy knows how to play vs. Coffman , it's been a good match-up for them overall. 2016 Coffman rolled 35-0 as they were just a more mature stronger team. Since then the play has been much more competitive. 2017 Coffman was leading by three mid third quarter , crossed mid field fumbled , scoop and score Tangy up 4 ,tacks on two 4th quarter TD's { One on a fumbled punt inside the 10 } and takes over the game winning 31-14 .

Play-offs round one Rocks dominate the first half up 10-0 , driving , they miss a wide open receiver with no one within 20 yards of him for a walk in TD , should have been 17-0 at the break , wasn't and then Tangy came back , but the Rocks took control going up 10 with about 5 minutes left and a complete collapse with a couple key penalty's much too conservative play-calling and of course the 34 yard heave in the final seconds to Freshman Middleton who will be out there tomorrow completed as excruciating a loss as I have seen watching this program .

Last year Rocks slept walked through the first half got sown 16-0 sowing almost no life. Played with heart and fire in the second half and came back to sin an exciting 23-16 game turning the tables on a really tough loss in a game Tangy like Coffman in the play-off led all the way until under a minute left.

Now this year Coffman appears to be the better team and I wouldn't dispute that but this series is tricky and for some reason it stays close save for that 2016 Rock experience and strength advantage year. Rocks still a work in progress in some areas and still not healthy in what was very experienced areas . Back in the day , the newspapers always covered injury reports and availability reports . You always knew the status of players. If it was a discipline problem they never said what it was just that the player was not going to play or was unavailable . . Tough to get that info unless you have a personal contact close to the family which is fine and their business but it used to be you got that info more readily.

Drennan played last week sparingly . I suspect he will get more touches this week . Defensive guys I have no idea but Tangy poses some challenges with tall receivers , a QB who gets the ball out quickly and a great scheme. Darby ran on them as that's what they do well. Tangy beat up a down Miamisburg team and controlled the game against a decent somewhat athletic Springfield Holland team . Coffman presents some challenges that those two didn't and obviously has a passing game with some weapons that Darby doesn't have or doesn't use anyway . Tangy didn't face Diallo last year and he is more of a load to bring down and they will have to defend Drennan in the slot more than last year.

They also didn't face the running threat at QB that the Rocks have this year . Mathews has running back like sensibilities and instincts and his cutting ability and penchant for falling forward will be a challenge . My guess is the Rocks will try to establish the run a bit then go upstairs so to speak. Defensive discipline is paramount against this team, a lot of misdirection, motion , PRO's and the Rocks need to be disciplined but not be flat footed. That is the crux of the matter against this team . I think in the end the Rocks like last week have a few too many weapons even though I can still see the game turning into a last man ahs the ball wins or last to make a play wins. In other words I wouldn't bet this game with my worst enemy's money . Solis is smart enough to pitch this game as a play-off entry ticket game. He wants to win the series { teams are 2-2} as the teams will likely not play for a while BUT also he will tell his team that they can basically punch a ticket to the play-offs with a win that would put them at 3-1 and they will get the D-1 Coffman points and Coffman will win a lot of games .

Crabtree can simply point out last years game and that should suffice to have them come out strong and focused. He can also tell them that they only have 10 guaranteed chances to show their stuff, ball out , show all the hard work they put in and they did put the work in . All the squats cleans and dead lifts which are hard lifts, hard work , no laying down for those but they are the ingredient to power balance and strength in the core and legs . This is why I always feel bad for kids who get hurt and have to miss chunks of games{ It happened to me broken collarbone , ankle sprains} . You work so hard to compete and play in 10 games and that's a limited opportunity to play and compete, show what you have in you and what you worked for.

Of course some are going to D-1 schools and their careers are longer and more exciting, but for the majority of kids even those who play at smaller schools the atmosphere and playing for this school and your teammates is the top of the football experience. Enjoy it, play hard , show your stuff on the road against a good program. There will be a nice crowd over there for this one , the Braves fans know you are good , you are an attraction over there, keep them quiet and get the job done , impress the crowd. Show them the work you put in . Good luck and Go Rocks .



Coffman 31 Braves 14
 
Harrycrane said:
Ridge has some big time talent
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They have a nice OLB who started for Hartley last year throughout the regular season. Antonio Tucker. Great speed. Nose for the ball. Off the charts intensity. I think he probably gets some carries at Ridge, too. He would have been handy to have still enrolled in the school when the Hawks played Eastmoor.

MSROhio

Scouting Ohio's Future College Football Stars for Over 25 Years
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Harrycrane said:
Gahanna has one of the most arduous schedules in Ohio and many other states I' sure.
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I saw a serious lack of conditioning with them. They looked gassed in the second quarter.

Harrycrane said:
Whitaker ran the ball for over a hundy last week and is a good versatile back
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Explosive speed. He will gash many an offense.

Harrycrane said:
Stillwell had a big play last week
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Completely out-athleted the defensive back. Probably one of those plays that would get a hanky even though the coverage was clean, but he just reached over the defender and grabbed the ball away before DB knew what was happening. Shanked one punt, but looked like a solid kicker and punter.

Harrycrane said:
Thomas is a smooth athlete who can sling it pretty well at QB.
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I was impressed with his running and arm strength, but he wasn't very accurate. On one drive when it was still close, he threw two passes into the dirt. 9-28 overall. Had the two big throws and a good outlet dumpoff under pressure.

Harrycrane said:
Lions are the choice here to get their first win before they dive back into the Central Ohio Iron pool .
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You and I are both hoping they win out, but the schedule is a doozie.
 
Yeah Stillwell is an interesting athlete , I think he can be a D-1 Punter actually . Hit a moon shot that Coffman fumbled giving them the short field and their first TD. And set up another with a long run on a fake punt again putting the defense in a short field situation . Made a couple receptions as well. Whitaker was held under 100 rushing but made some nice catches out of the backfield . Thomas missed some throws as well vs. DC but he was harassed on some of them and took 3-4 'Big" shots and kept coming back until later in the game where the back-up played a series and half of another one .

WEEK 4 FINAL


Ran out of time for giving typed thoughts on these last three games i think are interesting but will give a score prediction.

Reynoldsburg - 27 Central Crossing - blowout city , R-Burg doesn't usually hold back much , 43- 9

Westerville South IB'S - 4 at Upper Arlington - should be a good one actually . tough call - Ibbies 23 UA 21

Jerome - 15 at Scioto - great number actually , can't decide ? Jerome 31 Irish 14


Good luck and good health to all
 
Looks like things went about as expected at Tangy, nice win for the Rocks. Have to get a plug in for the Berlin Bears who won their first ever conference game tonight over Delaware Hayes, down 21.10 in the 4th Q they came back and won 32.21. Hayes has some pesky athletes, but they really ran out of gas in the 2nd half of this game, which is normally Berlin's problem due to lack of depth. Not great news for teams looking for playoff points from Hayes, not sure how many more games they will win this year outside of the Worthington teams. Berlin had several execution problems yet again and has a ton of work to be playing anywhere near potential, but it was great to get that first W.
 
WEEK 4 Wrap

Congrats to Olentangy Berlin for wining their first conference game in it's history . Coach Nark Nori a former Boston College O-lineman and played in the NFL for 3-4 years before starting his coaching career at the college level is a great guy to start the program. I'm a long time Boston college fan and I remember coach Nori playing his last two years{ 1996 - 1997} with future NFL and now ESPN guy Damien Woody and QB Matt Hasslebeck .

Berlin showed their improvement with a narrow 3 point loss to Canal Winchester and now with this win by 11 over Delaware Lumpy Rutherford that was no fluke sets up a very winnable and likely win vs down Kilbourne off of a close rivalry loss sets them up for a big game vs Darby a team they did well against last year hanging in there against a superior opponent. Has that gap closed a bit? I know Cosmo Kramerica and probably even his assistant Darren will have a few things to say about this in a few weeks lol.

Shock ? Who had the Grovers staying close in this one? Looking closer I probably shouldn't have predicted as large a beating as I did but I thought that Pick C would be at full attention here. They kind of slept walked the last two years vs this program winning 33-0 and 33-7 . GPM was 0-10 just two years ago fellas . If someone told you from down there that " Well we have these Sophs. that are pretty good and you know what? In two years we will be 4-0 after beating PC I can assure of that . Well you would look at him tell him to set a spell and take his hoes off wouldn't you?
They were 5-5 last year but never beat a team with a winning record.

This game was no fluke . PC wouldn't run the football got outgained in total offense by 45 yards and the Grovers were better on third down . PC was only - 1 in the turnover battle and had 30 more penalty yards so not a huge issue. They simply got beat . Incredible . Not 1980 USA over Russia like upset because it's obviously not professionals vs College kids but is Buster Douglas Mike Tyson apt ? How will the Grovers handle success? Liberty is next and I was talking to a guy at Liberty who says the O-line is dinged up pretty badly and the QB went out last night and the week after playing Davidson even when handling them well like Liberty did takes something out of you physically if not mentally and can show the next week. May be that's a wash with GPM playing PC but it will be interesting and it looks as though it could be a really close game and definitely the game of the week in CO.

Not a great night for the mighty OCC Ohio . R-Burg a 27 point favorite over Central Crossing who just lost and was outplayed by Grove City who hadn't won in two years was outplayed by the Comets and luckily survived wining by 2 points . Who saw this coming? Not me obviously . How lackluster was the Burg's effort? Outgained by 75 yards they only ran 41 plays to the Comets 65 were out first downed 20-9 , and the struggling Comets were just under 50 percent on third down conversions to only 33 for the Burg. CC wasn't close against the only good team before this one that they played in Jerome getting their ears boxed in gaining almost nothing .


I did have Westy Central winning and covering the small number but didn't expect this type of beatdown. Two score and change win was reasonable I figured, but this ? 384 to 203 yardage edge large Time of possession edge, 23 to 8 in first downs and WC had a 46 percent 3rd down percentage to a poor 20 percent for North . North couldn't run the ball at all and has to use Sawyer at QB . Not a night to remember in the annals of Pickerington Football to say the least .

I had M-Vile waxing Grove City who I thought may be drunk from success after two years of futility. I was right , again not a great night for the Ohio as Grovetucky reverted to form losing by 30+ .

Another game I figured may go the way of an OCC Ohio member was Gahanna losing to NA as a small favorite . Gahanna it must be said looking how the second half went simply ran out of gas . Playing a physical Elder team followed by a very good { And still improving } Coffman team , an excellent Hartley edition and D-3 Title contender , all those teams can really pound the rock, may be this type of game was inevitable? I do k ow they are looking squarely at 0-7 right now. GAVE UP 507 YARDS OFFENSE!!, including 455 on the ground . Yikes squared .18 percent on third down . Warrior Travis Whitaker went for 220 in ths one as he continues to impress with his ability and toughness .

Wrap up to be continued .
 
Week 4 re-cap cont.

Gotta love West C head coach being quoted saying 'There was a 'rumor" out there that we hadn't played anyone " . hmm Well coach there was no rumor 'you didn't play anyone " it was basically air. Now as I have been saying from having seen your team , you are damned good. Playing three cupcakes, nailing three lay-ups doesn't mean your team isn't good, it just means that you haven't played anyone yet is all . Knew after seeing them in the 27-10 loss to Coffman in round one last year that with the guys back you would be good. Saw the then Soph QB in the scrimmage last year and knew he would be good this year as a Jr. Saw your team scrimmage Coffman this year and it was a good competitive scrimmage , you guys are good . Most people are overlooking them as R-3 contenders . I'm not , they can play with anyone in the region and can win it . Not saying they will and should be a big favorite but they will be a tough out . PN is struggling a bit and have some problems most didn't see before the season started but that was really impressive .

Called the Westy South Ibbies to beat UA but thought a bit closer than a TD. Bears if you look at the numbers could have won the game BUT while they racked up a lot of rushing yards with the Davidson coach { 347 yards and lost} and controlled the clock with double time of possession and 20 more yards offense. They did give up yards to outstanding back Mansaray who had 15 Td's after the first three games , 128 on 17 carries so about 7 and a half yards a pop. Ibbies were great on third down and made plays when needed to get the big win and a rare 4-0 start in this recent era.

Ibbies vs, R-Burg off a sleepwalking performance vs Central Crossing will be very interesting this week . I called the exact margin the YOTW win over struggling rival Kilbourne. WK with a new coach and era hung in as expected but Phipps and a few other athletes made enough plays to get the win. Ye Olde Tommy W faces Bradley who is dying for a win at 0-4 next followed by Jerome and Darby . OUCH .


I had Jerome winning by 17 and they only won by 8 vs, league and district Rival Scioto . I had it right snap for snap probably as Jerome controlled the action had 150 more yards but Tobias Thomas being back and their QB being back for Scioto was a bit more a factor than I thought . Jerome still held them to 177 yards.

Liberty did to Davidson what some thought they would using their size upfront even with a couple guys out . Kenley is a shifty tough back at about 5-10 180 plays big and was a difference maker. Davidson as I thought would have trouble moving the ball consistently against good defenses as has been the pattern when they are inexperienced . The Darby game scoring 30 was an outlier and made possible by very short fields { 208 yards offense} as they had only 6 points heading to the 4th before the Darby punting woes commenced.

Liberty moved the ball well most of the night but had two red zone turnovers that kept the game close throughout . My guess is that it will me more of the same vs PC this week as I think they may have trouble hitting 10 points offensively as in this game vs. Liberty they had ONE first down in the entire second half . Curious fake punt attempt by Davidson late though. Not attempting it per se but the fact that they called time out right before it on 4th and 3 in their own territory . Yes they needed to try everything they could to move the ball and get a first down but calling the TO and then White admitting he thought Liberty probably knew it was coming at that point and still went with the fake? Why not just run a REGULAR play ? A pass may be? You threw 2 times for 5 yards , you might have been able to pick it up the three ? Well they miss it , Liberty gets the short field and puts the game away 22-10 . Liberty never punted so the punt block option was not available on this night.

Staying in Hilliard , Bradley's woes continue as they played right with Darby but lost a close on 13-7 . I thought Darby would win but not by more than 13 certainly and that was a correct call here . Connor Jones as usual led the way with over 100 yards on the ground and Darby attempted zero passes as is their goal every game probably . Would anyone have thought that Bradley and Pick North would be a combined 1-7 ?

Re-cap to be continued
 
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WEEK 4 Re- Cap final

Congrats to Walnut Ridge who petty much punched their play-off ticket with a nice win vs Eastmoor who won't be returning to the play-offs odd of their great run last year in D-3. A win for me as well going 7-5 vs the Louie. after a very good week one vs the Cal Preps numbers I struggle badly in week 2 and was about 500 in week 3 before getting the LP line which was welcome.

Looking back at the excellent This Weeks Friday Night Live season preview I see that the top seven writers who cover the action always predict the champions of each conference. Well only one of the 7 picked Groveport to win the Capital division which isn't the strongest OCC loop by any stretch. 4 guys picked New Albany and two selected Canal Winchester. GPM will beat both of those teams I believe and finish at least 9-1 , if they can beat a banged up Liberty team this week ? They go from 0-10 just two years previously to undefeated and a high seed in D-1 R-3 ? They had gone more than a decade of beating a team with a winning record ? Incredible turnaround.

The panel of 7 also may have overlooked West Central I beleive. All due respect to Liberty but Westy C may be a different level this year than them and from what I have seen I believe they beat Liberty which we will find out in two weeks. 5 picked Liberty one picked Orange and one picked Westy C.

In the Cardinal 4 picked Bradley and three Darby . Now yes Darby has the leg up but it isn't inconceivable that Bradley could may be tie for a league title down the road as they should be able to play with anyone in the loop . But who had Bradley at 0-4? PN struggling like this?

The Panel unanimously selected Coffman and Pick Central to with their leagues and that seems reasonable from what we've seen so far even with the PC loss .

Almost at the mid point of the regular season which is kind of scary how fast football seasons goes by at all levels really , as opposed to Marathon seasons in the MLB , The NBA , NHL and even the Premier league soccer season for those who care about that, Teams identity's and tendency's are becoming more pronounced and as I state above how wrong some perceptions of certain teams were.

Coffman sits at 4-0 which is certainly not a big surprise to anyone who knows about the team , but what is fairly alarming is how run heavy the squad is this year. I knew they had their best running QB they have had really as we saw him breaking off long runs for TD'S and first downs at the Frosh and JV levels and while most don't just run by people { or through them} as readily on Friday nights as you do on Saturday mornings, the potential was clearly there for him to bring that element of keeping plays alive and run for chunks of yardage.

Mathews running ability has exceeded expectations . He is a smart instinctive runner who sees the holes and hit them with crisp cuts and is very slippery running through traffic showing toughness. Falls forward . Broke a few long runs on Friday. Brian White would be salivating if he had him to run his option attack . Think a faster thicker bigger and a bit stronger version of Trubiano . How run oriented are the Rocks this year ? Through 4 games they have thrown 53 passes completing 28 for 261 yards . That's right this is Coffman 2019 . They average 13 passes a game completing 7 of them for 68 yards. I played in a wing T based system that was expanded upon because we had two good throwers my last two seasons and we averaged just over 100 yards passing and 16 attempts a game. This is Coffman who most think likes to just 'throw it around" a lot. Perception isn't reality the last few years .

Rocks have run it 170 times for 1070 yards . In addition to the QB they have Moussa Diallo who at 215 can be a punishing runner , and the MVP of the team Bryon Threats who got the bulk of the carry's on Friday night after Diallo carried the load the week before vs Jerome. More about Threats in a bit. Drennan who was the leading rusher after Diallo got hurt last year has not yet gotten started as he missed all scrimmages and played sparingly vs Jerome as he tries to shake the rust off and get in rhythm with the new QB and O-Line. Drennan has 40 offers and was the MVP of the team last year and they haven't missed a beat without major contributions from him yet. He is coming and will break out the next two weeks at home vs PN and Marysville I am sure but really impressive to be operating like this without him full time after a choppy week one Offensive performance { Defense was lights out save one 90 yard play} .

WR Williamson has also contributed some big yards and TD'S on jet sweeps . O-line with 4 new guys playing { 2 guys saw action last year but Wolfe plays defense as well so others get snaps has to be given props as well as it was a big question mark but has improved steadily and it is a smart group who while not as big as last years group is fundamentally sound and a few of them are strong physically and tough and Jr. Tackle Warnsman has college potential at 6-4 275 . 3-4 Juniors play a lot . The other rebuilding spot was Inside LB and two Juniors have done a good job so far as they learn to play at this level . A few mistakes in coverage on Friday as Olentangy's schemes can give experienced guys fits. Both will be better next year and the defense will have a lot of guys back .


Senior Corner Cam Kirk came back this week but played safety keeping the two progressing Junior corners to stay at their positions . Kirk will stay at safety probably in place of big recruit AJ Kirk who has yet to play ?.

Jr. Bryon Threats was the big story on Friday night as in addition to his key role on defense where he plays a hybrid LB - CB position . We called it the Monster back on my team. Some called it the Rover , or Hero . The 5-10 190 pound Threats has been the best football player on the team and it isn't close really . Threats transferred from Mifflin after his Frosh year and only played 5 games last year{ transfer rule} . He is the first City league player to come to Coffman where he started at LB on that squad as a Frosh as a 5-7 160 pounder . I noticed him right away last year and opined that he was probably the most versatile player on the team and he has certainly proved that this year where he has stood out like a sore thumb.

He carried 9 times for 127 yards and returned a squib kick - off at the end of the first half after Tangy got their first points to make it 21-3. 28- 3 was the score at the half after Threats took the kick made a cut, ran through a few kids and then took off changing into another gear outrunning everyone to the end zone . Ball game and a demoralized Tangy squad slumped to the locker room. Threats has some MAC offers and a GA Tech offer and just recently Fickell made the smart move to offer hi at UC . Very surprised Kentucky who usually gets on these kids from Ohio early hasn't offered yet .

I likened him to Bob Sanders who was a smallish safety at Iowa and played in the NFL in Indianapolis making a pro bowl or two. Sanders was a RB and DB at Nationally ranked Erie Cathedral Prep in Erie Pa in the late 90's. Threats is bigger than he is but has that attitude and energy that is contagious . If you caught the game account in the Dispatch or on -line you might have noticed Coach Crabtree was effusive in his praise of Threats ability versatility and attitude and that isn't usually coach's style to praise in that way publicly .


This is a kid who has made as many if not the most plays on the team this year and he is also the first guy to congratulate his teammates when they make a play . He has that infectious energy and attitude that coaches look for and rarely find in many players . His body language on the sideline and on the field is exemplary. Big time Colleges shouldn't sleep on the kid because he isn't ideal size. He isn't small and he plays bigger than he is . He will be the guy who is a leader on the field , get his work done n the classroom be one of the hardest workers in the weight-room, be a great teammate and have that attitude that will be can be contagious and invaluable to team dynamics .


Thought the PN game was going to be a monster match-up , I still think it can be competitive and that PN will eventually 'Get it" but Coffman is in Westy C's class and level and we saw what the Warhawks did to them . WC -Coffman scrimmage was a good one between two very good teams . Marysville coming in two weeks and they have some material as they did lose to Findlay but was kind of snakebitten in that one gaining a ton of yards . Play -offs for the Monarchs ? I don't think they stay with Coffman as long as they did last year almost beating them in OT on a Saturday afternoon matinee after the light problem on Friday night but the first league game is always interesting and the Monarchs don't fear the Rocks certainly .
 
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Well a few hours after I opined I was surprised that Kentucky hadn’t offered Jr. Bryon Threats , UK offered him last night . Well deserved and congrats on that Bryon . Jr. DE Hammond Russell also received a UK offer as well to add to his growing collection . ( multiple MAC and UC ? ) Keep grinding guys .
 
WEEK 5

Incredible that I am typing week 5 . Same song and same dance every year as the season flies by because it's so much fun and that goes for every aspect of football which for me is a huge part of my life and a lot of what I do for sustenance . Anyway as the saying goes it's on to week 5 and the games this week are very compelling in different ways but very interesting as we head to quasi play-off games as teams either sheet or get off the pot , ascend or decline and look towards next year. It's decision time or the moment of the season that will help define you and your 2019 season either positively or negatively.


Hilliard Davidson at Pickerington Central . LP Line HD - 3


Last year's R-3 finalists , where a shorthanded HD battled the Tigers into the 4th quarter and ultimately came up short. First game was won in OT by PC in a hard fought battle that Davidson could have won . Playing without some key guys in the rematch turned out to be to be too tall a task for the Cats as they fell 20-13 . Series has contained slobber knocker closely contested contests that go to the 4th quarter with the game in doubt , save the 2011 Regional final where Davidson had trouble getting any first downs falling 24-0 to a strong PC team that lost to Iggy in the finals after beating ST X in the semi's.

PC claims that they weren't surprised at all by the close game and loss to GPM, or that is the spin . No the reality is it is an ego bruise for this proud bunch. No question they were surprised to not being able to run the football much. When did this team get so stout and sound? Not sure really , I means they even lost a very good LB to PN transfer Johnson who I can't imagine thought this is how the season would turn out so far. They have some heavies up front , some wide loads , some athletic kids as usual , but just when did they have the stuff to stand toe to toe with this team after not wining a single game two years ago and not beating a single team who ended up with a winning record for over a decade?


PC nationally ranked by a publication, consensus by a wide margin as the king of Central Ohio and a prime D-1 state title contender? ? Got outplayed legitimately by this club. How do kids who were canonized, beat some quality out of state programs react to being beaten by a program they had beaten 239 straight times ? Mostly by large margins? Are we as good as we thought ? HMM may be not , but teams lose multiple games and contend for state titles is what the smart supporters will say. And they would be accurate. ST X won a title with a bunch of losses { 5} Liberty went to a state semi losing 4 just last year.

Both teams know each other well really in terms of style and schemes as they play each other for the third time in 14 months. No need to go over numbers in some of these games this week as I might in other weeks . Sometimes at this point of the season it becomes a sales job trying to get your teams psyche right. . In this game It comes down to which staff gets their team off the mat after a pretty ego bruising loss. Davidson got pushed around up front by Liberty , no other way to put that unfortunately . They got gashed by Liberty's run game and they could only muster ONE first down in the second half vs. the Patriots. Game was close until about 6 minutes left not because Davidson was going toe to toe but rather they got two red zone takeaways that kept it within a prayers range. Unfortunately that prayer wasn't answered in the form of a blocked punt { Liberty never punted} or a first down in the second half s they resorted to a badly executed fake punt after calling a timeout where even the cheerleaders knew it was coming .

So does PC lose a bit of it's swagger ? Probably not , does Davidson thin that they may be had been living right the first few weeks vs Bradley and Darby ?{ GC doesn't count.} Could creep into their mind as they know damn well that PC and Liberty are probably better than those clubs this year. { HDARBY H BRAD}


White has mentioned injuries multiple times and I am not saying it isn't valid but heusually doesn't do it , he did this week as his team was outclassed by Liberty , he knows this edition has a real chance to be outclassed this week so he mentioned it again in the press . You don't head as successful a program and a two time state D-1 title winner in the state of Ohio without being an incredibly competitive guy as White is . He senses another loss I am thinking so even though we all know it's NOT going to be his coaching that is going to be the cause of a loss this week he can't help but lament that he may be doesn't have all his guys and they aren't good enough to overcome it .


PC fighting mad , Davidson hoping for the best ? I like the team with a bit more confidence and better players here and getting 3 points?


PC 20 Davidson 6

BEST BET Number one { May be as many as three}
 
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WEEK 4 Cont.

Groveport Madison at O-Liberty Powell LP line OLP - 19

Lets delve into the opposite coaching mind set here . The two teams that vanquished the mighty Titans ? OK Liberty has certainly established themselves as a program not feeling inferior to anyone really . Both teams off of big wins , one kind of expected and another one well ? No need to go into the history again , lets just say one was a very good solid win and one was well ? Historic?

GVM is a real story and a pretty solid football team that is well coached as I have been told by a couple trusted sources . Feel good story's are always good for the soul . GVM is a physical team that can line up and compete up front as has been proven . Liberty is a upper middle class community working man's hard hat wearing like program that you don't see all the time . They don't go only run of course because they don't think they can win that way , BUT they like to grind and wear on you and also hit passes that cut through zone's and out scheme you .

Their defense is always in the right spot and will make you just beat them athletically and execute perfectly . Can GPM execute stay focused and be motivated enough to beat this team on the road? NO is my quick answer , BUT the Liberty QB situation is iffy , and as I have always said the Davidson game for any opponent affects most teams the next week physically and mentally .


Really interesting dynamics and match-up . 19 points ? about 6-7 too much?


Liberty 20 GPM 12
 
Harrycrane said:
PC claims that they weren't surprised at all by the close game and loss to GPM, or that is the spin . No the reality is it is an ego bruise for this proud bunch. No question they were surprised to not being able to run the football much. When did this team get so stout and sound? Not sure really , I means they even lost a very good LB to PN transfer Johnson who I can't imagine thought this is how the season would turn out so far. They have some heavies up front , some wide loads , some athletic kids as usual , but just when did they have the stuff to stand toe to toe with this team after not wining a single game two years ago and not beating a single team who ended up with a winning record for over a decade?
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I don’t recall anyone saying that we weren’t surprised by the loss to Groveport. We expected to win... but I think we also expected a battle. Despite winning 33-0 last year, the game felt closer. Groveport played us tough. And according to the This week pre-season preview they returned 18 starters.

Going back to 2016 each season my Tigers have lost a game they probably shouldn’t have lost (Upper Arlington ‘16, Trotwood ‘17, Lancaster ‘18) and bounced back. Maybe this game was just one of those games, but I can tell you that watching Groveport up close and in person, they are good. They’ll be no worse than 9-1 or 8-2 and a tough out in the playoffs.
 
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