One of the strongest parts of South Charleston's game will be no factor in today's matchup with Bridgeport in the Class AAA semifinals at Laidley Field.
One of the strongest parts of South Charleston's game will be no factor in today's matchup with Bridgeport in the Class AAA semifinals at Laidley Field.
The Black Eagles have flashed an exceptionally tough pass defense all season, but that facet will not be necessary against the ground-bound Indians, who have attempted just 54 passes this year against 599 running plays.
"We've noticed on film that when the subs are playing, they spread the field and do some things,'' said SC coach John Messinger. "But it's no secret that they're going to do what they've done all year, and that's run the ball.''
Opponents have completed only 61-of-191 pass attempts against SC (31.9 percent) for 794 yards - an average of less than 67 yards per game. No one has thrown for more than 165 yards, that being Cabell Midland in the mud last month in Ona. The Knights tried 35 passes that day, hitting on just 12.
Only four teams have managed 100 yards in the air against SC, and opponents have thrown for just eight touchdowns in 12 games while being picked off 21 times. The Black Eagles have returned three of those interceptions for TDs.
Return to power
University coach John Kelley, who faces unbeaten and top-ranked Brooke in the other AAA semifinal tonight, thinks the Bruins have two things going for them in their return to power this season - the program's storied tradition and building on early momentum.
"I'm friends with several of their staff members,'' Kelley said, "and the first thing they did was get into the weight room in the offseason, which they hadn't been doing. The second thing is the community rallied behind the new coach [Tom Bruney] to bring back the tradition.''
Brooke appeared in the AAA title game seven times between 1980-92, winning thrice.
"After watching all their games - and this is probably stupid to say - but the Parkersburg game was key for them in their opener, that 43-42 game. They went for two at the end to win it, and got it. After they won that, it seems like they took off. If they'd lost that game, people might have started thinking, 'It's the same old Brooke,' and it wouldn't have happened.
"Without question, they've played the most difficult schedule in the entire state. I wouldn't want that schedule any year. The other thing is they play together and believe each other. At Musselman, they were down 13-0 with under eight minutes left, but scored twice to win it. Against Princeton [in their playoff opener], they were down 14-0, but came back with 30-some straight points. They never panicked.''
One of the strongest parts of South Charleston's game will be no factor in today's matchup with Bridgeport in the Class AAA semifinals at Laidley Field.
The Black Eagles have flashed an exceptionally tough pass defense all season, but that facet will not be necessary against the ground-bound Indians, who have attempted just 54 passes this year against 599 running plays.
"We've noticed on film that when the subs are playing, they spread the field and do some things,'' said SC coach John Messinger. "But it's no secret that they're going to do what they've done all year, and that's run the ball.''
Opponents have completed only 61-of-191 pass attempts against SC (31.9 percent) for 794 yards - an average of less than 67 yards per game. No one has thrown for more than 165 yards, that being Cabell Midland in the mud last month in Ona. The Knights tried 35 passes that day, hitting on just 12.
Only four teams have managed 100 yards in the air against SC, and opponents have thrown for just eight touchdowns in 12 games while being picked off 21 times. The Black Eagles have returned three of those interceptions for TDs.
Return to power
University coach John Kelley, who faces unbeaten and top-ranked Brooke in the other AAA semifinal tonight, thinks the Bruins have two things going for them in their return to power this season - the program's storied tradition and building on early momentum.
"I'm friends with several of their staff members,'' Kelley said, "and the first thing they did was get into the weight room in the offseason, which they hadn't been doing. The second thing is the community rallied behind the new coach [Tom Bruney] to bring back the tradition.''
Brooke appeared in the AAA title game seven times between 1980-92, winning thrice.
"After watching all their games - and this is probably stupid to say - but the Parkersburg game was key for them in their opener, that 43-42 game. They went for two at the end to win it, and got it. After they won that, it seems like they took off. If they'd lost that game, people might have started thinking, 'It's the same old Brooke,' and it wouldn't have happened.
"Without question, they've played the most difficult schedule in the entire state. I wouldn't want that schedule any year. The other thing is they play together and believe each other. At Musselman, they were down 13-0 with under eight minutes left, but scored twice to win it. Against Princeton [in their playoff opener], they were down 14-0, but came back with 30-some straight points. They never panicked.''
Seeds of discontent
Messinger thinks Bridgeport will have some extra motivation for today's contest with his SC team.
The Indians had a slight lead in ratings points over the Black Eagles heading into the final game of the regular season, and seemed to have the inside track on picking up the No. 2 seed behind Brooke for the playoffs.
However, SC beat a five-win Riverside team in its 10th game, while Bridgeport thumped three-win North Marion. That was enough to put the teams in a tie for second, and the Black Eagles won the tiebreaker. After both teams made it to the semis, that meant instead of taking the two-hour hike up Interstate 79 to Harrison County, SC got to play again at Laidley Field.
"They're 12-0 and we have a loss,'' Messinger said, "and they had us both ranked No. 2. I understand we won [the tiebreaker] by virtue of bonus points because they had double-A opponents. They carry a chip on their shoulder, no doubt, and feel like they should be No. 2.
"But right now there are four good football teams playing for the opportunity to win a state championship. Those [seeding] numbers are meaningless at this point, you throw them out. I don't think it means anything.''
Quick kicks
Perfect placements: Bridgeport's two place-kickers - Brian Kaufmann and Connor Kornbrath - have combined to boot 69-of-69 extra points and 5-of-5 field goals this season. SC's Dakota Sanders is 22-of-22 on PATs in his last four games.
Bridgeport has held seven teams to eight points or less, and SC five.
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
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