Here are tidbits from Salwan Alvi at Tristatefootball.com
#6 WINTON WOODS AT #3 LA SALLE
"A top ten matchup between the best Division II has to offer locally, it does not get better than this. Both teams played well in their debut games. The Warriors pitched a shutout against Trotwood Madison while the Lancers looked impressive in a win against Colerain "
I agree that these are the best two DII teams in R8
"These teams have similar styles as both lean on the run game and on the opposite side of the ball, stopping the run game. The Lancers now look to have a two-headed monster with Gi’Bran Payne and Jaylen Grant. Grant ran for 107 yards on 14 carries in Week 1 and Payne added two rushing touchdowns of his own."
Disagree with this statement. Payne may not even play. The two headed monster is Grant as mentioned above but the second head is Davay Hill who aveaged 10.1 yards per carry with 81 yards on 8 carries. I could see a triple option happening here with Mattingly, Grant, and Hill
"On defense, senior JJ Ruffin led the way with 11 tackles with 3 tackles for loss. This is a team that will get drastically better each with due to their gauntlet of a schedule, so they will be ready week in and week out. The Warriors did it in a unique way in their first game, generating two safeties. With a new head coach, quarterback, and replacing stars on defense, it will take Winton Woods some time to mold into form. Having Tyreke Spike’s big-play ability helps. The Warriors will look to force Lancer quarterback Mason Mattingly to throw the ball. He was an unimpressive 9 for 19 and 72 yards through the air last week. The Lancers will look to take Spikes out of the game and make the other Warrior players beat them. Field position and time of possession will be the deciding factors in this game. La Salle’s experience could ultimately take over this game and put them over the top."
Mattingly runs the ball a lot to keep the defense off balance. Will he run the ball or throw the ball. A defense has to prepare for both. He did average 3.8 yards a run last week. Good luck at getting safeties against the Lancers who certainly have a better offense than Trotwood. I agree this is a good time to get Winton Woods with a new coach and new offense in only their second game of the season. I said it earlier in this thread how important time of possession will be in this game. Last week the Lancers had the ball for nine minutes more than Colerain. I look for similar disparity in TOP this week.