DI State Semifinal: Lakewood St. Edward vs. Hilliard Bradley

[Ohioriverboy42]

Obviously Hilliard Bradley played tough for all four quarters. They were well coached and disciplined. The young QB didn't flinch and made some plays to keep it interesting. Good luck to them moving forward.

And congratulations to the Eagles who move on with a chance to make history.

Despite the win, I don't think this was a very good performance by the Eagles. Once again, the pass D presented concerns. Yes, they won the game and didn't give up a TD, but looking ahead where they'll try to control the ball on offense, stopping the pass to keep Springfield at bay will have to be a top priority.

Rushing 3 and covering with 8 against a freshman was a head-scratcher for me. That might have been a sound strategy going into the game facing Fleharty, but with him out it would seem pressuring the freshman would be the better approach. When Eds did blitz, the young QB was just overwhelmed. Yet Eds stayed in that "8 in coverage" scheme most of the game. That approach seemed to allow the WRs to settle into any hole in the zone and effortlessly catch the ball. There didn't seem to be any aggressive attempts to play the ball even with help from behind. I guess I just don't get it.

I recognize Eds didn't have their best player on D (Logan Thomas) last night, but his absence and possible unavailability next week, suggests we're going to have to be a lot more aggressive or Springfield will play simple pass and catch all night against soft coverage. That's death by 1,000 cuts.

On offense running the sophomore 40 times just seems crazy. That kid is a talent, but he has more miles on him than George Blanda in his last year with the Raiders. That kid will be watching the Ohio State Michigan game from an ice tub.

Also, Eds is caught in a real predicament at QB. Even when fully healthy, Bullock's skills as a percentage passer are marginal. He's a phenomenal runner in the read option (when healthy), but he's always been more miss than hit with play action. While he didn't have Kyan Mason last night, and there were two noted drops, he only completed two passes all night. Bullock's struggles in the passing game can be attributed to his injury and missing a good chunk of the season and playoffs. The junior backup Csanyi just seems to be more of a natural passer and the WR's seem to flourish more with him on the field, but Csanyi is not as big or as tough as Bullock and can't really run the read the option as a running QB the way Bullock can.

So the Eagles have a challenging week of practice ahead. They're going to have to find a way to get some passes completed next week as I don't think they're going to be able to bludgeon Springfield with the run like they did with Bradley. And they're going to have to make the Springfield QB uncomfortable.

I certainly thought the opponent would be Moeller, but I'm a horrible prognosticator. Go Eagles!

Everyone said Moeller would be your opponent. And, just so you know, SHS regularly alternates 2 qbs, Upshaw and Scott. They seem to use Scott for run plays inside the red zone. Also, last night for the first time, they moved Norman to WR which was very effective actually. I read about your sophomore RB phenom and that's gonna be a big problem. Sounds like we have an epic showdown for the ages part 3 state title game coming up. It would be so nice if SHS finally snagged the gold trophy. Best wishes that everyone for both teams will be 100% healthy and full strength next week.

 

[EaglePride01]

Obviously Hilliard Bradley played tough for all four quarters. They were well coached and disciplined. The young QB didn't flinch and made some plays to keep it interesting. Good luck to them moving forward.

And congratulations to the Eagles who move on with a chance to make history.

Despite the win, I don't think this was a very good performance by the Eagles. Once again, the pass D presented concerns. Yes, they won the game and didn't give up a TD, but looking ahead where they'll try to control the ball on offense, stopping the pass to keep Springfield at bay will have to be a top priority.

Rushing 3 and covering with 8 against a freshman was a head-scratcher for me. That might have been a sound strategy going into the game facing Fleharty, but with him out it would seem pressuring the freshman would be the better approach. When Eds did blitz, the young QB was just overwhelmed. Yet Eds stayed in that "8 in coverage" scheme most of the game. That approach seemed to allow the WRs to settle into any hole in the zone and effortlessly catch the ball. There didn't seem to be any aggressive attempts to play the ball even with help from behind. I guess I just don't get it.

I recognize Eds didn't have their best player on D (Logan Thomas) last night, but his absence and possible unavailability next week, suggests we're going to have to be a lot more aggressive or Springfield will play simple pass and catch all night against soft coverage. That's death by 1,000 cuts.

On offense running the sophomore 40 times just seems crazy. That kid is a talent, but he has more miles on him than George Blanda in his last year with the Raiders. That kid will be watching the Ohio State Michigan game from an ice tub.

Also, Eds is caught in a real predicament at QB. Even when fully healthy, Bullock's skills as a percentage passer are marginal. He's a phenomenal runner in the read option (when healthy), but he's always been more miss than hit with play action. While he didn't have Kyan Mason last night, and there were two noted drops, he only completed two passes all night. Bullock's struggles in the passing game can be attributed to his injury and missing a good chunk of the season and playoffs. The junior backup Csanyi just seems to be more of a natural passer and the WR's seem to flourish more with him on the field, but Csanyi is not as big or as tough as Bullock and can't really run the read the option as a running QB the way Bullock can.

So the Eagles have a challenging week of practice ahead. They're going to have to find a way to get some passes completed next week as I don't think they're going to be able to bludgeon Springfield with the run like they did with Bradley. And they're going to have to make the Springfield QB uncomfortable.

I certainly thought the opponent would be Moeller, but I'm a horrible prognosticator. Go Eagles!

Very good assessment, and I agree with much of what you said. Bradley could not run the ball, and their only chance to move the sticks consistently was through the air. The three-man front was not able to generate any pressure on its own, giving the freshman ample time to wait for a receiver to get open. When we sent the LB’s he was completely out of sorts. My concern is not with our pass defense (there is plenty of talent in our secondary), but with our inability to get pressure in Thomas’ absence. I pray he is able to suit up next weekend. Otherwise, a different approach must be taken against a far more athletic Springfield team with dangerous receivers.

Offensively, I am still baffled at our refusal to throw underneath or over the middle. Everything is deep or out to the sidelines, the lowest percentage areas to complete passes. Couple that with Bullock not being the most accurate passer, and it’s no way to make a living through the air. Maybe Mason’s absence played into the play calling as he is typically the guy we run the short and middle stuff to, but there is no reason we can’t scheme guys open underneath more consistently rather than just having them “out-athlete” their defender down field.