EBC Football 2023

Go_Green said:
I just watched West Branch and Alliance. There is no way a QB headed to Oklahoma should be running the football as much as he does. Sure he’s a great athlete but throw the ball…
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They can’t block long enough for him to throw it. A subpar o-line can make a great QB look average.
 
ghostoflennyd said:
What do you think is causing the team to under perform?
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I haven't seen enough Alliance games to know for sure but when I saw them last week against Carrollton the defense was puzzlingly bad. Getting lined up late, out of position a lot, missing tackles, etc. For reference, tonight Salem (1-7) held us to just 21 points and it was only 7-0 at half. That wouldn't sit right with me
 
ghostoflennyd said:
What were your expectations before the season started? I’m not being an idiot I’m genuinely curious what you feel this team should be capable of.
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9-1…8-2 at the very least. 10-0 was a stretch with the talent we lost. Everyone knew it was either us or west branch. I can genuinely say I’m shocked at the other 3 losses.
 
0U81w said:
The D was fine till this year, I heard they gotta new cordinator this year. I’ve seen a couple games they aren’t exactly aggressive on defense either , like they don’t ever blitz or nothing . Minerva and Marlington left on the schedule, they’ll for sure beat Minerva but will the Dukes be able to pull of an upset?
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New coordinator on Defense. They make little to know adjustments. It’s like they just expect the other team change their game plan. Injuries don’t help but we definitely need a new coordinator. Awful I tell you
 
Marlington could absolutely win. We have the talent but not the coaching. I don’t think the next couple years is gonna be any better. West branch has great numbers as does Carrollton. It’s hard to watch us lose games that we should win every week.
 
Here's the breakdown on the big EBC showdown between Carrollton and West Branch next Friday night at Clinton Heacock Stadium, with the winner getting at least a piece of the EBC title. West Branch has won 12 straight meetings against Carrollton, which is the longest winning streak by one league member over another in the history of the NBC turned EBC. West Branch also leads the all-time series with Carrollton, 35-9.
 
I think Carrollton has massively overachieved this season but next week is a huge ask of the group. It's on the road and this is obviously the worst stylistic mismatch for us year in and year out that you could have. It's gonna take 4-5 long, time consuming, scoring drives and at least a few turnovers for it to go our way. The rays of hope is the Alliance performance, can we match that and force West Branch to play catch up most of the game? Will a less mobile QB than what they've had in the past play into our hands?
 
I thought the Alliance /WB game could go 3 ways. A convincing win by WB , a close win by WB or a close win by Alliance. The game had a little bit of everything. When the Warriors went up by 3 scores I thought it was over but credit the Aviators for never quitting. Alliance’s receivers made some big time catches all night.
 
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ShootNation said:
I think Carrollton has massively overachieved this season but next week is a huge ask of the group. It's on the road and this is obviously the worst stylistic mismatch for us year in and year out that you could have. It's gonna take 4-5 long, time consuming, scoring drives and at least a few turnovers for it to go our way. The rays of hope is the Alliance performance, can we match that and force West Branch to play catch up most of the game? Will a less mobile QB than what they've had in the past play into our hands?
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That would be the recipe to beat WB. Score first, long drives, and win the turnover/penalty/mistake battle. Ridgewood executed this game plan and was nearly successful.

Beau is less mobile than Dru was but he’s huge and hard to bring down. He avoids pressure better than I expected he would at the beginning of the season.
 
Go_Green said:
Beau is less mobile than Dru was but he’s huge and hard to bring down. He avoids pressure better than I expected he would at the beginning of the season.
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Don't get me wrong, he's probably the second best QB the kids will see all season, but they hemmed in Zurbrugg pretty well last week and they've shown this season that if the QB isn't torching them with their legs they can keep games tight and this kid isn't the runner Zurbrugg is. But I wonder if the abundance of weapons that West Branch has will open up more for them on that front than it did for the Aviators
 
ShootNation said:
I think Carrollton has massively overachieved this season but next week is a huge ask of the group. It's on the road and this is obviously the worst stylistic mismatch for us year in and year out that you could have. It's gonna take 4-5 long, time consuming, scoring drives and at least a few turnovers for it to go our way. The rays of hope is the Alliance performance, can we match that and force West Branch to play catch up most of the game? Will a less mobile QB than what they've had in the past play into our hands?
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It's going to be a tall task but for Carrollton to be playing for a shot at the league title this year is a testament to their coaching staff.
 
ShootNation said:
Don't get me wrong, he's probably the second best QB the kids will see all season, but they hemmed in Zurbrugg pretty well last week and they've shown this season that if the QB isn't torching them with their legs they can keep games tight and this kid isn't the runner Zurbrugg is. But I wonder if the abundance of weapons that West Branch has will open up more for them on that front than it did for the Aviators
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WB does have a lot of weapons. The RB set the school record against Marlington with a 99 yard run and they set the record for longest pass with a 96 yard strike this week. It will be interesting to see if Carrollton can slow them down.

What are Carrollton’s strengths? One of my Aviator friends said that they dominated Alliance up front.
 
ShootNation said:
Don't get me wrong, he's probably the second best QB the kids will see all season, but they hemmed in Zurbrugg pretty well last week and they've shown this season that if the QB isn't torching them with their legs they can keep games tight and this kid isn't the runner Zurbrugg is. But I wonder if the abundance of weapons that West Branch has will open up more for them on that front than it did for the Aviators
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West Branch's scheme is light years ahead of Alliance. I was at that game last night and it's hard to get pressure on WB because the QB gets rid of it so fast or scrambles a little, throws it away and goes to the next play. The opposing defense gets wore out and then Mullinex takes over in the run game late in the 2nd half. The recipe to beat west branch is to score early and often. Alliance had nice long drives in the 2nd half, then WB would get the ball and score in a minute. I think they are more explosive than they were last year. It seems like WB is actually still pretty young, they have a nice thing going over there. But their defense still struggles.

Alliance did a nice job hanging in there, they could had given up but they made a game of it.
 
I thought Alliance did everything they could to win that game last night. A D1 caliber qb and some phenomenal receivers kept them in the game against an exceptional WB offense. People have gotten so used to this WB offense , they don’t realize how exceptional it is . I don’t see anyone stopping this offense until deep in the playoffs.
 
BillyTheKidder said:
I thought Alliance did everything they could to win that game last night. A D1 caliber qb and some phenomenal receivers kept them in the game against an exceptional WB offense. People have gotten so used to this WB offense , they don’t realize how exceptional it is . I don’t see anyone stopping this offense until deep in the playoffs.
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The few games that WB lost in the last few years wasn't because a lack of offense, they were just outscored. Their offensive scheme is ridiculous. I imagine it takes a lot of off season commitment to run that offense. The running quarterback that came in late in the game looks like a great athlete.
 
Interesting question to pose, Which of the last 4 WB teams was the best? Spanning from the 2020 Hillyer Team, 2021 DeShields Team, 2022 DeShields Team, or this years 2023 Alazaus team? How would they rank out?
 
SpreadItOut said:
Interesting question to pose, Which of the last 4 WB teams was the best? Spanning from the 2020 Hillyer Team, 2021 DeShields Team, 2022 DeShields Team, or this years 2023 Alazaus team? How would they rank out?
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I have seen nearly every game over this time frame. I’d rank them as follows:

1. 2022
2. 2021
3. 2023
4. 2020

This was hard though I changed it 3 times before I settled on this ranking. This 2023 team may be the most explosive. It’s deeper at the skill positions. It still remains to be seen where the 2023 team ranks. Hopefully they have a lot more football to play.
 
Here are the offensive points scored and defensive points allowed by EBC members following Week 8 action:

OFFENSIVE POINTS-PER-GAME:
1. West Branch (45.1 ppg.)
2. Alliance (37.00)
3. Marlington (31.3 ppg.)
4. Carrollton (24 ppg.)
5. Salem (13.3 ppg.)
6. Minerva (7.75 ppg.)

DEFENSIVE POINTS ALLOWED PER-GAME:
1. West Branch (20.5 ppg.)
2. Marlington (23.8 ppg.)
3. Carrollton (24.25 ppg.)
4. Alliance (28.5 ppg.)
5. Salem (32 ppg.)
6. Minerva (46.6 ppg.)
 
SpreadItOut said:
Interesting question to pose, Which of the last 4 WB teams was the best? Spanning from the 2020 Hillyer Team, 2021 DeShields Team, 2022 DeShields Team, or this years 2023 Alazaus team? How would they rank out?
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Hard to say which team was the best. DeShields was so good he made a very good team even better . This year’s team is probably the youngest team in school history and they get better every week . This crew of receivers is ridiculous and I think the defense is improved over any of the other years.
 
Well with Week Nine

EBC teams that are looking at the post season.

West Branch currently sitting at the 4th spot

Alliance currently sitting at the 15th spot

Carrollton sitting at the 16th spot.



Unfortunately I see Carrollton missing after a loss to West Branch because they will drop to spot 17 and then will get no points or help from the Lions.


Alliance could possibly seek elimination from the playoffs. If Dover and NDCL win out I could see them taking the 15 and 16 spot.

If Marlington wins out could they steal that last spot with the help from the Aviators win over Lake?
 
Beau Alazaus has somewhat quietly put up All-Ohio numbers in his first season at QB . Quite frankly , if you were a neutral observer and didn’t know better last Friday, you’d have a hard time figuring which QB is the D1 recruit. Alazaus is not flashy but he has far exceeded my expectations. With his size , arm strength and accuracy , if I was a college coach in need of a QB I’d give this kid a visit.
 
BillyTheKidder said:
Beau Alazaus has somewhat quietly put up All-Ohio numbers in his first season at QB . Quite frankly , if you were a neutral observer and didn’t know better last Friday, you’d have a hard time figuring which QB is the D1 recruit. Alazaus is not flashy but he has far exceeded my expectations. With his size , arm strength and accuracy , if I was a college coach in need of a QB I’d give this kid a visit.
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I agree. If he hadn’t been behind a D1 recruit and had been a starter last year, I believe he would have multiple offers. He has a big arm and is very accurate.
 
Go_Green said:
I agree. If he hadn’t been behind a D1 recruit and had been a starter last year, I believe he would have multiple offers. He has a big arm and is very accurate.
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If he attended camps this summer, he could’ve gotten offers without even playing a game. Idk if he did but that happens a lot.

also, the schedule is not doing him any favors .
 
Spread All Day said:
If he attended camps this summer, he could’ve gotten offers without even playing a game. Idk if he did but that happens a lot.

also, the schedule is not doing him any favors .
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I don’t know anything about Beau Alazaus other than he’s a great baseball pitcher and what I’ve seen on the football field this year. He may not even want to play college football . By what I’ve heard , baseball is his passion for college both playing and coaching. Good for him for being great at both sports . I agree that a few teams on the schedule is hurting him somewhat, playing half a game is limiting his stats.
 
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