article Collins Notebook 10/22/14

Friday night’s game at North Oldham is so important for Collins that you could say it is Titanic. That is because, after Collins’ 48-6 win over Waggener, the Titans are just a win over North Oldham away from winning their 5th straight district title and hosting 3 out of the first 4 playoff games at Titan Stadium. However, a loss would create a 3-way tie for first place between Collins, North Oldham, and Spencer County. A 3-way tie would most likely make Collins the 3 seed and have them playing on the road throughout the playoffs.

Last Friday Collins had no trouble with Waggener, even after getting out to a slow start. Freshman QB JR Lucas was 14-22 passing including a 30 yard TD pass to fellow freshman Naseasn Roseberry. Roseberry also scored an 11 yard rushing touchdown later in the game. 6 different Titans put points on the board as Bushy Wells, Levi Brown, and Leland Cardwell each recorded rushing touchdowns, Bennett Becherer returned an interception for a touchdown, and Blanton Creque made field goals of 25 and 47 yards. Collins’ run defense was suffocating, allowing just 18 yards on 26 carries.

This week, North Oldham poses a much bigger threat to Collins than Waggener. The Mustangs are 5-2 coming into Friday night’s game with losses to CAL and Spencer County. In their loss against CAL, North Oldham put up 21 points, by far the most anyone has scored against the undefeated Centurions this season. North Oldham is led by senior RB Arien Beasley, who has rushed for 851 yards and 17 touchdowns in 7 games. He is also averaging well over 10 yards per carry. Matt Clark is the leading receiver for the Mustangs with 11 catches for 213 yards and 2 touchdowns. The quarterback position hasn’t been consistent for North, with 4 different players having at least 2 pass attempts. Taylor Heckenberg leads the QB’s with 18 competitions for 204 yards and a TD.

One thing is for sure; Collins will have to find a way to slow down Arien Beasley Friday night. If not, the Titans will have a tough time keeping up with the Mustangs on the scoreboard. Collins must continue to get improved play out of their quarterbacks and must be able to slow down the run game on defense. This is a must win for Collins in terms of the district race, and North Oldham would love to get some revenge after all of the loses they have suffered against the Titans the past couple of years. With a district championship on the line this should turn out to be another great Collins/North Oldham matchup. Hopefully history will repeat itself and the Titans will find themselves on top once again.

Good luck to my good friends/coaches at Collins and their team.

Good write-up. Good luck to Collins. Who gets the 1 seed if NO wins tomorrow night?