Massillon Scrimmage

[4GX]

I thought X looked dominant versus Massillon today, despite the 3-3 final score (after barely an hour of scrimmaging); there were several things that made the score appear closer than the underlying contest really was:
1) Several times, after Massillon was stopped on downs, play re-started with Massillon's offense getting the ball again; X never was afforded this luxury-- perhaps it was an agreement between the teams that if one team went "four and out", that it would get another series of downs, so that the opposing team's defense would get sufficient reps.
2) Massillon's only score came after a long (~50-yard) run, that initially looked stopped, then the back broke into the clear-- and was chased down at the ~15 yard line-- before and after that one play, Massillon did not move it much at all- and never threatened to score.
3) X's offense moved the ball almost at will-- with both the run and the pass-- moving down the field to within the 20 at least twice-- but X drew NUMEROUS penalties that ended up stopping several drives. That was the most notable thing about today's performance-- X's penalties (especially on offense) made the contest seem closer than it really was.

Overall, X seemed able to run to the left with great success-- Kellam easily ripped off 6-8 yards, every time he ran left-- there was a LOT of space out on that side. Importantly, X seemed able to easily complete passes on short to intermediate routes. I don't know if the long pass will be as available this year, without Clifford out there-- but there is enough variety in the passing game (and what appears to be a stronger running game) to make me think X will score a lot this year.

 

[2020Dad]

I thought X looked dominant versus Massillon today, despite the 3-3 final score (after barely an hour of scrimmaging); there were several things that made the score appear closer than the underlying contest really was:
1) Several times, after Massillon was stopped on downs, play re-started with Massillon's offense getting the ball again; X never was afforded this luxury-- perhaps it was an agreement between the teams that if one team went "four and out", that it would get another series of downs, so that the opposing team's defense would get sufficient reps.
2) Massillon's only score came after a long (~50-yard) run, that initially looked stopped, then the back broke into the clear-- and was chased down at the ~15 yard line-- before and after that one play, Massillon did not move it much at all- and never threatened to score.
3) X's offense moved the ball almost at will-- with both the run and the pass-- moving down the field to within the 20 at least twice-- but X drew NUMEROUS penalties that ended up stopping several drives. That was the most notable thing about today's performance-- X's penalties (especially on offense) made the contest seem closer than it really was.

Overall, X seemed able to run to the left with great success-- Kellam easily ripped off 6-8 yards, every time he ran left-- there was a LOT of space out on that side. Importantly, X seemed able to easily complete passes on short to intermediate routes. I don't know if the long pass will be as available this year, without Clifford out there-- but there is enough variety in the passing game (and what appears to be a stronger running game) to make me think X will score a lot this year.

I agree with your assessment. X moved the ball at will against Massillons defense and outside of the one big play Massillon really failed to move the ball despite spending significantly more time on offense. I couldnt figure out why Massillon kept getting the ball back after they went 3 and out so maybe there was some agreement between the coaches that they would get 8 to 10 plays on offense since they weren't going to do a full scrimmage. Other than cleaning up the penalties I thought the offense looked good. Defensively we looked good against the run other than the one big run. The pass defense against the deep ball however was lacking we still lack speed at the cornerback position so I am sure specht will figure out ways to provide help over top.

 

[Gardiner]

Varsity Football vs. Massillon

boxcast.tv

This is the scrimmage I watched.
I would not say either team moved the ball at will. That. Both defenses was getting to the QBs

 

[4GX]

Varsity Football vs. Massillon

boxcast.tv

This is the scrimmage I watched.
I would not say either team moved the ball at will. That. Both defenses was getting to the QBs

I guess you missed the first two series for X's offense, when X moved the ball down the field expeditiously, before penalties inside the 20-yard line stymied them. It was one-sided enough that the Massillon coach called an early time-out (not sure I've ever seen time-out called in a scrimmage before)-- and screamed profanities at his defense (which we could hear all the way across the field, at the top of the home stands) about their need to stop the run.

X's QB was quite comfortable on those first couple of series, completing the majority of his passes for sizable gains; Massillon's first QB was largely ineffective, and was forced to try to run (but lost yardage), when he dropped back to pass, more than once-- and was sacked on the first series of downs (which drew a loud complaint from the Massillon sideline, that the refs had not blown the whistle, before the tackle-- after that, the refs blew the whistle any time a defender got near the QB). It looked like the second Massillon QB had a bit more success, because of his increased mobility, as he rolled out to get more time-- but passing accuracy was still a problem. Most of Massillon's offensive yards came on the one long (~50-yard) run; other than that, Massillon probably had less than 20 yards of offense (other than penalties on X's defense-- which is something X really needs to work on-- both on offense and defense).

 

[4GX]

I agree with your assessment. X moved the ball at will against Massillons defense and outside of the one big play Massillon really failed to move the ball despite spending significantly more time on offense. I couldnt figure out why Massillon kept getting the ball back after they went 3 and out so maybe there was some agreement between the coaches that they would get 8 to 10 plays on offense since they weren't going to do a full scrimmage. Other than cleaning up the penalties I thought the offense looked good. Defensively we looked good against the run other than the one big run. The pass defense against the deep ball however was lacking we still lack speed at the cornerback position so I am sure specht will figure out ways to provide help over top.

It was stated (in another post elsewhere) that the rules of the scrimmage gave each team a series of 10 offensive plays-- and since Massillon was being stopped on 4 downs, they were then given the opportunity to get the ball back, and run additional offensive plays-- whereas X was sustaining drives, such that X did run off 10 consecutive plays without being stopped-- so the ball was then turned over to Massillon after each of X's possessions.

I agree with you on the defensive secondary coverage, on deep pass plays-- it is the usual issue-- X's DBs are trailing the receivers (who are usually faster)-- and even when the X DB is in the vicinity of the receiver, the X DBs NEVER look for the ball-- it would be a real improvement if the X DBs would at least turn their heads to look for the ball, when the receivers' hands go up to try to catch the ball (which is often underthrown, anyway)-- there are numerous occasions when the X DBs could knock a pass down, if they made that small modification in their pass defense.

 

[Gardiner]

https://massillontigers.com/2021/08/12/Massillon-battles-st-xavier-to-a-draw-in-scrimmage-action/