Outside of the start of the season, this is Blitz’s favorite part of the year.
Every Friday from here on out, we are handing out postseason hardware around the state.
Win or go home. Show out or the season is over.
It is the pressure more than anything that excites Blitz. Who performs well with the spotlight on them and who doesn’t?
For each sectional championship matchup in the area, Blitz is identifying which is the key matchup. It could be individual v. individual, unit v. unit or a combination. There are so many factors that play in to if a team wins or loses, but Blitz is here to point out one in particular.
6A: CARROLL AT HOMESTEAD
KEY MATCHUP: CARROLL DEFENSE V. SPARTANS ON THIRD & FOURTH DOWN
Pretty specific, right? But look, this game isn’t going to be decided in the teens. Carroll is going to score points, and it is Homestead’s job to match the Chargers on the scoreboard.
To do that, the Spartans need to avoid empty possessions. It had the ball 12 times in the regular-season matchup on Oct. 2, with just two of those resulting in points. Homestead went 4-of-13 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down the first time around, a convincing 45-14 Carroll victory.
The Spartans have not scored more than 20 points against their rival since they dropped 70 on the Chargers in 2020. In Blitz’s opinion, Homestead has to score 30 or more to have a shot on Friday.
5A: SNIDER AT WARSAW
KEY MATCHUP: SNIDER’S DEFENSE V. WARSAW’S CHUNK PLAYS
Wyatt Harman’s 95-yard touchdown run with a little over two minutes to play in Warsaw’s 33-30 victory over Snider in Week 1 was the final exclamation point in a game that saw the Tigers gash the Panthers on six runs of 25 or more yards. That can’t happen on Friday.
The problem with facing Coach Bart Curtis’ flexbone offensive attack is that you may defend it well on seven or eight out of 10 plays, but the few plays you get torched are the ones that decide the game. Snider’s defense did a really solid job say 85 percent of the time in Week 1, but it just had a few too many breakdowns even before Harman’s epic run.
Tucker Reed did not play for the Tigers last week against Wayne, but is expected to be back in the lineup this week. He is one of a multitude of guys who will need to be properly defended on every snap by the Panthers.
5A: LAFAYETTE JEFF AT HUNTINGTON NORTH
KEY MATCHUP: HUNTINGTON NORTH’S DEFENSIVE LINE V. TRYSTEN BENNETT
Huntington North has been held in single digits in just one game this season – Week 7 at Leo – so we know that the Vikings can score.
The problem has been slowing down teams with dynamic offenses, and Lafayette Jeff may just have the best one that the Vikings have seen all year.
Say what you want about Lafayette Jeff’s strength of schedule, it averages over 51 points per game. It has a quarterback that has thrown for close to 2,000 yards, a running back who has rushed for a thousand yards and a wide receiver with 18 scores through the air.
It begins up front, and Huntington North HAS to get a push with its defensive line. Jeff quarterback Trysten Barrett has thrown seven interceptions this year, in two games throwing three each. The Vikings must make Barrett uncomfortable in the pocket, but keep him from scrambling and buying time.
Without a huge night by Huntington North’s defensive line, this will be a tough one for the Vikings to win.
4A: BISHOP DWENGER AT EAST NOBLE
KEY MATCHUP: AUSTIN PHILLIPS V. BISHOP DWENGER DEFENSE
Last year, an undefeated East Noble team hit the road to Shields Field to take on Bishop Dwenger in the sectional championship.
The Saints earned a 32-0 victory and held the Knights to 38 yards rushing.
East Noble was a much more balanced team offensively last year with Rylee Biddle behind center. It gained 54 percent of its yardage on the ground and 46 percent via pass. Biddle still threw for 175 yards in that sectional loss.
But this year’s Knights rely on the run much greater to move the chains. East Noble’s running game is responsible for 67 percent of its offense against 32 percent with the pass.
Sophomore Austin Phillips is East Noble’s offensive centerpiece, having rushed for 1,038 yards and 17 touchdowns. Aaron Perlich and Ian Ramey are effective as well, but Phillips is the guy. He HAS to be able to find running room on Friday, because the chances of East Noble winning this game through the air are not strong.
The Knights couldn’t even score last year against Bishop Dwenger with one of the top quarterbacks in program history behind center because it could not run the ball. If it can’t on Friday, it won’t be much of a game for the second-straight season.
3A: WEST NOBLE AT ANGOLA
KEY MATCHUP: GARRETT SORGEN V. WEST NOBLE’S LINEMEN AND LINEBACKERS
It was a spirited game in Week 8 when these two teams met, with West Noble earning a 14-7 victory. While the Angola defense did its job in limiting the Chargers’ ability to find the end zone, Angola was able to manage just a single touchdown of its own.
Angola junior quarterback had a tough night, as he only completed six passes while being sacked twice and throwing an interception. His 73 yards passing was nearly 70 yards below his season average. Giving Sorgen time and room to work will be important on Friday, and he must not let pressure rattle him.
No one is going to confuse the Hornets’ aerial attack with, say, Carroll’s. But Angola is at its best when the offense is balanced and can attack a defense with the run and pass. West Noble largely shut down that ability the first time around. Coach Seth Wilcox’s team must find a way to open opportunities downfield for Sorgen in Round 2 between these NECC foes.
3A: HERITAGE AT BLUFFTON
KEY MATCHUP: HERITAGE’S OFFENSIVE LINE V. BLUFFTON’S DEFENSE
While the final score was just 16-0, the level of Bluffton’s dominance against the Heritage offense was considerable back in Week 7. While Jaxton Litchfield did eclipse the 100-yard mark on the ground for the Patriots, the rest of the offense managed a total of 23 yards.
Quarterback Zeb Tigulis had a particularly tough night. Rarely did he have any time to do much with the ball when he didn’t hand it to Litchfield. He finished just 2-of-7 passing for 20 yards, was picked off twice and sacked three times. He had minus-10 yards rushing and a fumble in an all-around game to forget for the junior signal caller.
By the rules of football, you have to score points to win a football game. Heritage didn’t score a single one the first time it faced Bluffton this year. Litchfield has been a great story with his 1,100 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns, but he can’t do it alone. The Patriots up front must get a consistent push to open up opportunities for others to make an impact, namely Tigulis.
2A: EASTSIDE AT ROCHESTER
KEY MATCHUP: TRENTON MEADOWS & KALE SHOTTS V. EASTSIDE DEFENSE
Rochester is a solid team, but it is nothing spectacular. It allows 21 points per game and, if you like to play this game, lost to Northfield by 14, which lost to Fremont last week, which was thoroughly manhandled by Eastside way back in Week 4.
The only real hope the Zebras have is limiting Eastside’s possessions and scoring on nearly every single one of their own. Trenton Meadows is the quarterback and Kale Shotts is the top running back. Combined, they have rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The duo must keep the chains moving on the ground, where Rochester averages 255 yards per game. Keep the clock moving, put together long drives and capitalize with touchdowns.
It is Rochester’s only chance to make this a game.
1A: FREMONT AT SOUTH ADAMS
KEY MATCHUP: WES SUMMERSETT V. WHOEVER IS COVERING HIM
First off, it is tough to focus on a football game with the tragic passing of South Adams sophomore Gabe Steiner, who was killed after being hit by a driver who ran a stop sign on Halloween night.
Steiner will be on the minds of many on Friday in Berne, where the Starfires will look to win their third-consecutive sectional and Fremont is aiming for its first-ever postseason title.
Wes Summersett isn’t South Adams’ leading receiver, but he is the offense’ biggest mismatch. Big, strong and deceptively quick, the Purdue commit is incredibly difficult to deal with. Making it worse is the fact that you really cannot double team him, because you also have Jax Wanner and Colton Sprunger to worry about downfield at wide receiver.
Fremont will want to cover Summersett with one guy, but who is that? And if you need a second defender, what opportunities will that present with other guys for quarterback Zaden Baumer?
The simple math is that the Eagles don’t have enough defenders to shut down all of South Adams’ vertical threats. But limiting the biggest of them all is priority No. 1.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
Be the first to comment