Week 13
Springfield vs. Dublin Coffman - LP line SFIELD - 7 CP S - 8
I opined that I thought the numbers would be 10 or a few less may be. That's where it fell . Having watched a handful of S-Field game tape on you tube this week I am impressed with their organization, their talent and their toughness. Their reputation is one of stud tough guys playing sound schemes with some real playmakers. The consensus seems to be Springfield is a bit too strong here . They will run the ball well and stop the run well. They certainly have the players to succeed and perform well in this game.
Smoot at QB the young Soph. is kind of smooth in a willowy type way, as he hasn't gotten his man meat yet. Slippery , and at times a deft passer with good tou9ch on the deep ball. He has a D-1 { Toledo?} Receiver Stephens who seems to get past people and has good ball skills . this is a huge concern for Coffman. Will they roll coverage and try to limit him and take their chances in man coverage vs their other guys? I think as I have said changing things up , some different looks might be a way to go as the young QB has had some bad throws I have seen on tape. You rattle the younger guy and you have a better chance at a turnover or two and victory as well.
Another Smoot is a bruising 220 pound RB who plays hard. REAL HARD. Hats to the ball . about 15 pounds or so bigger than Banks but his feet aren't as quick, HAVE TO GANG TACKLE this kid . Tolliver is a really good back and playmaker , 5-11 may be 190 or so ? He is a guy you want to limit in terms of letting him get started , take away as much space for him to operate as possible . He is a special teams monster as well , so I know the Coffman staff will proceed accordingly . Stephens can return punts really well They run a similar scheme offensively as Coffman does but throws the ball more and takes more shots downfield. Coffman will have to throw it more here as I am quite sure Sweet Mo and the defensive staff will try to take Threats and Mathews runs away or limit their usual damage
That will give the receivers { Williamson , Yousey , Chappa , Hedderly et al} some more room perhaps? Rocks will have to find match-ups that will work in the passing game. Move some guys around and use some formations or personnel groupings you haven't before . There is absolutely no reason not to use everything you have this week. l really believe that while Coffman is well known to NOT BE A TRICK PLAY team and offense this is the week that you can throw some wrinkles in and go for it.
Rocks need to step up their level and be able to concentrate and focus and play hard and fast for the full 48 . Nothing else will be good enough here . Relentless effort play after play no matter what happens . They have to play smart up front on the offensive line which is their strength , they know the blocking schemes are a smart unit who know exactly what to do and use the right angles and take the right initial steps to be effective . Can they do this consistently for the whole game?
I saw Wayne move the ball on this team quite well at times,. The Rocks have some personnel who can make some plays and I know the coaches have seen what match-ups might be ripe for success and yardage. I saw Centerville throw it well with their young D-1 Soph. QB Harrison . That's not what Coffman does offensively , they are more run oriented as we know , BUT you watch film to see what weaknesses your opponent might have in certain situations and certain modes of attack and you try to 'Copy" it a bit especially if you run basically the same type of offense of line up in the same way { One back , three to four wide } .
Springfield is a very good team, no question about it , but in no way should Coffman feel inferior or be intimidated to the point it affects your performance . It's funny that last week I opined that Whitmer had some 'tells in terms of their passing attack especially throwing into the middle of the field . Coffman coaches obviously saw it too as the Rocks had two picks had one called back and dropped another , all inside the hash marks, offensively I saw a few tings that I didn't mention for obvious reasons that I thought be utilized{ Mathews running after establishing Threats , screen game { Mixed results poor execution} etc.
I see some things with the S-Field defense this week that can be attacked , force them to make some adjustments may be? S-Field offensively I see some possible alignments and schemes they can use that will possibly confuse S-Field and may be force an error or cause them to make a physically unforced error because mentally they slipped a bit? it will be interesting to see if the Coffman coaches see the same things, I am quite sure they do .
I am going to take the 7 points here . The game really comes down to a few things IMO. Coach Steve Hale who has been real successful in the play-off the last 3 - 4 years is known to say 'How much do you want it, how much do you NOT WANT TIHS TO END , to keep playing , to have another week ? Are you willing to go through the mental and physical strain play after play for as long as you can. ?
Then it comes down to who is going to be a bit more focused , a bit more sound in what they do , whose going to be in the best positions to make plays and then make them ? What staff will make some quick adjustments on the fly and or notice something that they can exploit at the exact right time ? What player is going to step up and make a few difference making plays? Which team will take better care of the ball and be a bit sharper on special teams? Blocking and tackling goes without saying , who is a bit sharper ?
Lights get a bit brighter this week a few more fans than last week and a possible date in the final four? There are only 8 Big school programs practicing and preparing for a game this week and the Coffman Rocks and Springfield Wildcats are two of them . Which school wants to be one of only four still going to practice and preparing another week with their brothers ?
Does Coffman have a fanatical deeply focused performance in them ? I Hope so and think they do . Will it be enough ?
Coffman 23 - Springfield 21