PAC - 7 Football

While not knowing a whole lot about the Pac 7 teams I will say at least for the next couple years Canton South will be a team to reckon with. They have a qb whos a sophomore and his top receiver is either a sophomore or junior. That has been the best part of their offense. While against the better teams in the ebc their defense has gotten gashed at times they are young and athletic. Not saying they are going to come in and dominate by any means just giving the Pac 7 props for improving your conference.
 
RG...what's your prediction in Navarre and Canal Fulton?
Since I've missed on just about everything this year, decided to look at CalPreps to see what they thought: Manchester by 1 & Triway by 2.

That's interesting, but it also calculates at a neutral field. Considering the injuries/absences that were mentioned in the game story about Triway last week, it's going to be hard for them to come back to 100% a week later on the road so I can see NW by at least 6.

For Falcons/Panthers was surprised a little. They usually are influenced by school size & win differential. Think homefield can flip it over in Falcons favor, but running game & defense always travels well. Fairless' best wins are over 4-3 Northwest & Sandy Valley. Manchester's win over Mogadore is better than that by itself. I will say this is the Panthers first "game" since Mogadore. We thought last week would be, but Triway was too depleted. Fairless has a lot of guys back who would like to get the taste of that shutout from last year out of their mouth. Also really like Sarbaugh, but to this point he's only proven his teams can win the games they're supposed to not the ones they need to.

Ok, talked myself into it. Going with the Panthers by 7. (taking #s for folks who'll want to blame me if they end up losing)
 
Manchester/ Fairless should be a good one. Will be interesting to see if the Panthers can run on the Falcons defense and not just between the 20's like most teams have done . Also can the Panthers stop the Falcons big play ability and have they seen this kind of offense to date. Something has to give, just don't see both teams trading scores with each possession and a shoot out. Could see a 7 to 14 game in either direction
Just to be clear - in games against teams with winning records Fairless (2 games) averages 28.5 points and Manchester (4 games) averages 24.5 points. Let's not make Fairless sound like Loyola Marymount on turf. Considering the Falcons were the only team to not score against Manchester last year (Rootstown & Edison are over there waving at you), might want to start with making the scoreboard turn before going any further.

Fairless should win. They should. But there's not a lot in recent history that convinces me they will.
 
RG never easy for any Pac team to go to France stadium and win. Keep in mind Fairless was down 5 offensive starters including Cambell. The Falcons have called off the horses in the majority of their games this year by mid 3rd and handed over to J.V.. Of the 10.9 P.P.G. they give up half of that is probably against the subs..make know mistake this will be a tough game for the flock
I don't want to debate last year's game (it was a bad bad look for Falcons), but let's all keep in mind that this year's Fairless team has 4 of it's 7 victories against teams that have combined to win 3 games. They've played 2 teams with winning records (both 4-3, not exactly powerhouses) and needed OT to beat 1 of those.

Trust me, I wanted to see Fairless be the dominant league team this year, but so far they are just a good team with a REALLY bad schedule. Winning tonight & next week (if Triway is healthy) are the only chances they'll have in the regular season to prove they are more than a scheduling champ. Once the playoffs get here, life's gonna get real real fast. First two weeks you could get one of these at home & one on the road - Glenville, Poland, Salem, West Branch, Gilmour, Ursuline . . . yikes.
 
It's been a while since a Pac team ran the table on the rest of the league right? I like the Panthers toughness and ground attack. Seeing the brlackfield in the T formation was pretty wild. Can the falcons sustain the repeated blows and slow demeaning march down the field all night? Can the Panthers keep up with the big play offense of the Falcons? I like this game. Wish I were going. One of these teams will earn some much needed points and muster after this one. It's ashame though that both play in a hopeless region!
 
Current postseason standings.
D4, Region 13
4. Fairless - Girard
15. Northwest @ Ursuline
16. CVCA @ West Branch

D4, Region 14
8. Triway - Lutheran West

D5, Region 17
8. Manchester - Berkshire
Updated with matchups. Lots will change in the last 2 weeks, but Fairless-Triway won't only decide PAC (both will win week 10), it will also determine how their playoff path. Triway could lock up 1 home game with win, Fairless should be good for at least 1 home game, but their region is STACKED.

Manchester probably has to win both of their final 2 to stay home in week 11. They are 8th currently, but there is less of gap to #16 than there is to #4 for them. 1 win might do it, but either way they're looking at a week 12 trip to Kirtland, S. Range, or Garaway.

CVCA & NW might only need a split in the last 2 to make the playoffs. That's the good news. The bad news will be found with where the bus stops in week 11.

Regardless, should be fun watching this all play out.
 
Do teams 12-16 even want to get in? Not specifically the PAC teams but in general. Lots of 3-5 or worse teams sitting in playoff spots right now across Ohio. I know this was already discussed at length when the OHSAA decided to include 16 teams, but it's interesting to see play out.
 
Do teams 12-16 even want to get in? Not specifically the PAC teams but in general. Lots of 3-5 or worse teams sitting in playoff spots right now across Ohio. I know this was already discussed at length when the OHSAA decided to include 16 teams, but it's interesting to see play out.
I know it's not very relevant to PAC teams, but go check D1 regions. I'm pretty sure the 16th team in R1 will be 0-10.
 
Do teams 12-16 even want to get in? Not specifically the PAC teams but in general. Lots of 3-5 or worse teams sitting in playoff spots right now across Ohio. I know this was already discussed at length when the OHSAA decided to include 16 teams, but it's interesting to see play out.
Have been on record that I didn’t like the dishonesty of the expansion (just admit it’s for the money) and can see this being a big deal for a few years, but eventually it will pass. A few years from now when a perennial bad team hits 4-5 wins & makes it in they’ll have something special and there’s nothing wrong with that.

What I am REALLY looking forward to is being able to avoid the “omigosh this 9 seed coulda won state” & “ that 8 seed is so much worse than my team at 11” conversions on Yappi as soon as week 10 is over.
 
Have been on record that I didn’t like the dishonesty of the expansion (just admit it’s for the money) and can see this being a big deal for a few years, but eventually it will pass. A few years from now when a perennial bad team hits 4-5 wins & makes it in they’ll have something special and there’s nothing wrong with that.

What I am REALLY looking forward to is being able to avoid the “omigosh this 9 seed coulda won state” & “ that 8 seed is so much worse than my team at 11” conversions on Yappi as soon as week 10 is over.
Good point about this being a big deal for a few years then becoming the norm. No doubt there. Those conversations could have been avoided at 12 teams IMO, but I think we at least partially agree there.
 
Week #9 Triway v Fairless. Fairless can just about clinch an outright PAC title, this game may come down to who has the ball last but I'm going to go with the Titans to pull this one out. Northwest v Manchester. I could see this being a letdown game for the Panthers after coming up 1 yard short last week, but I think they find a way and beat the Indians by a touchdown.
 
Thanks to BTO for posting the Fairless-Manchester game. Was nice to get to rewatch it and make sure I saw what I thought I saw.

Now that the dust has settled a couple things stuck out to me:
1. Some will see this as a return to the crow buffet for me (it is), but KUDOS to Panthers. I think if you picked the top 10 "athletes" on the field, Manchester might have had 2, maybe 3 guys in that list. That's what I believed going into the game and nothing on the field or video changed my mind. That said - their effort level was tremendous. They out toughed the Falcons again and again. I rewatched play after play and focused on their line finishing block after block.
2. Fairless is SO close to a "special" season (thanks to @cuyahogacuse for coining that earlier in the year). An undefeated season & PAC title that would be awesome. That said, I don't think this team would have been within 14 points of the 18 CVCA or 18/19 Manchester & Orrville teams. But that's ok, they don't need to be.
3. I missed how often the Panther rush was half a step from getting home during the game. They're going to need to shore that up before playoffs or the QB is going to be in trouble.
4. Thought it Friday and still think it today - I understand going for the win, but I could still see kicking the PAT and playing OT. The OT rules shrink the field and would have minimized Fairless' big play potential. The way Manchester was running the ball you could literally go 3 yards a pop until Fairless stopped you (and they hadn't most of the night).
5. Until Fairless plays someone that can man up on their receivers they're going to be trouble. They are great at busting up zone coverage, especially underneath.

All in all, unless something crazy happens in next 2 weeks, this one is in the lead for PAC Game of the Year by a mile.
 
Thanks to BTO for posting the Fairless-Manchester game. Was nice to get to rewatch it and make sure I saw what I thought I saw.

Where was this posted? Wasn’t aware of anyone other than CVCA or Triway streaming this year.


2. Fairless is SO close to a "special" season (thanks to @cuyahogacuse for coining that earlier in the year). An undefeated season & PAC title that would be awesome.

You can only play who is on your schedule. They’ve won them all, so far.

The last big hurdle is tomorrow. Potentially in a rain game. Crazy things can happen. I’ve expect they get W #9. But we shall see. I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on it.
4. Thought it Friday and still think it today - I understand going for the win, but I could still see kicking the PAT and playing OT. The OT rules shrink the field and would have minimized Fairless' big play potential. The way Manchester was running the ball you could literally go 3 yards a pop until Fairless stopped you (and they hadn't most of the night).

I love that they went for the win. Shows a coach has conference in his players to get it. Hindsight is 20/20, but still like the aggressive decision.
 
I love that they went for the win. Shows a coach has conference in his players to get it. Hindsight is 20/20, but still like the aggressive decision.
Yep. What's the old adage - play for OT at home and go for the win on the road? Can't argue with going for the win, at that point they were playing with house money. Honestly thought if they did the 3rd back thru play they'd have gotten it.
 
Manchester got totally embarrassed on their home field by an average Northwest team 21 - 6. Out-coached, out-played, a total butt-kickin, NW was the more physical team the entire night. The manchester mystique is OVER ... mediocrity awaits Pantherland !
 
Fairless' quest for an undefeated regular season comes to an end at Triway. League title will be shared if both Fairless and Triway win next week, correct?
 
Looks like the "PAC Game of the Year" took something out of both teams...

Great win by Triway. Sure makes you wonder how that Manchester game might have turned out if they didn't have all those injuries/absences that week.

Congrats to Orrville for proving to be the fastest of the last 3 horses on the track.

Rivalry week begins . . .
 
Manchester got totally embarrassed on their home field by an average Northwest team 21 - 6. Out-coached, out-played, a total butt-kickin, NW was the more physical team the entire night. The manchester mystique is OVER ... mediocrity awaits Pantherland !
You sound pretty happy about that?
 
Looks like the "PAC Game of the Year" took something out of both teams...

Great win by Triway. Sure makes you wonder how that Manchester game might have turned out if they didn't have all those injuries/absences that week.

Congrats to Orrville for proving to be the fastest of the last 3 horses on the track.

Rivalry week begins . . .
Manchester was also limited against Triway, Fairless, and tonight
 
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