I’m sorry, but the scorigami guy in me must know how the safety occurred. Thanks.

 

Mercer took the opening kick and drove down the field, only to run up against a strong goal line defense that caused them to turn it over on downs. Boyle took over at their 2 and Mercer made a good defensive play to catch Landen Bartleson in the backfield/end zone on Boyle’s very first offensive play. At least that’s how I recall it.

Mercer coming off a bye week came into the game well prepared and fired up as anyone playing the #1 team in your class should be. Boyle might have been a little flat and the Titans took it to them early. By the middle to late first quarter Boyle just took over and dominated the rest of the game. Had a running clock before the 3rd quarter ended and let the JV,s basically run out the clock while playing all of the 4th quarter. I think Mercer had negative yardage from the last part of second quarter on. Saying that, I think Mercer has some good players, is well coached and can win a couple of games in the playoffs. Boyle still has some people banged up, but should have 2 weeks to do some healing and get players back for the tougher games in the playoffs. Good luck to both teams.

Mercer coming off a bye week came into the game well prepared and fired up as anyone playing the #1 team in your class should be. Boyle might have been a little flat and the Titans took it to them early. By the middle to late first quarter Boyle just took over and dominated the rest of the game. Had a running clock before the 3rd quarter ended and let the JV,s basically run out the clock while playing all of the 4th quarter. I think Mercer had negative yardage from the last part of second quarter on. Saying that, I think Mercer has some good players, is well coached and can win a couple of games in the playoffs. Boyle still has some people banged up, but should have 2 weeks to do some healing and get players back for the tougher games in the playoffs. Good luck to both teams.

 

Mercer had 6 yards of Offense the 3rd QT and -6 the 4th QT so 0 for the second half.

I have watched Boyle quite a bit this season and I think it's pretty clear where their weakest area is. They still have enough weapons to overcome that weakness but here's where I think they better be ready to bring it in the playoffs:

 

Round 1: running clock

Round 2: vs. Western Hills (dangerous game)

Round 3: Belfry or Lexington Catholic (I like how Boyle matches up with both, although Belfry in the playoffs is always scary)

Round 4: Corbin (I like how Boyle matches up here, too; but, this would be a game to attend)

Round 5: Central is a bad matchup for Boyle if this ends up being the final; I like the matchup vs. anyone else

 

That's my unbiased opinion just based on watching them a lot this season.

 

On a personal level, go Rebels!

 

By the way, where would a hypothetical round 3 game vs. Belfry be played at?

 

As a Belfry fan...

 

Boyle is the worst possible match-up for this particular Belfry team.

 

Belfry's weaknesses against Boyle's strengths= Heavy advantage Boyle

Boyle's weaknesses against Belfry's strengths= Advantage to Belfry, but not nearly equal to what Boyle should benefit from

 

Belfry's best shot if this game comes to be (I am not convinced Belfry won't have a dogfight with LexCath), will be if the Pirates can slooooowwww the game down and hope that Boyle get's impatient and tries to force some things that leads to turnovers.

Mercer has a good run defense but I am pretty sure Boyle will face better run defenses in the playoffs than Mercer's. Boyle ran for 26 yards in the 1st half and to me had trouble running all night. Either Mercer didn't try to rush the passer or Boyle did a good job pass blocking but Mercer never came close to touching Boyle's QB all night. He had as much time as he needed on every pass attempt. The Boyle receivers never had anyone within 5-10 yard of them all night when they caught the pass. A lot of the passes were near the line of scrimmage without a Mercer defender within 10 yards of them. I think a team like Belfry or Central will shut Boyle's run game down without a problem. The key to beating them will be getting pressure on the QB and being able to slow down their passing game.

Boyle averaged over 5 yds per carry on 26 attempts in running the ball, with 2 of those runs being TD's. They were 18 of 19 in passing attempts. I am sure that you are aware that short passes are basically the same as running the ball. They had around 450 yds of offense. What point am I missing?

My point would be Mercer held them to under 3 yards a carry in the 1st half and Boyle couldn't move the ball except through the air. If a team can stop them through the air I would say they would have a good chance of beating them. My other point is I would think that Central and Belfry have a better defense than Mercer. I don't consider a pass to the sideline with a defender 10 yards away from the reciever the same as lining up under center and running the ball but maybe I'm missing something. There may not be a team in the playoffs that can stop their passing game but I am pretty sure they will face a better run defense than Mercer's and they could not sustain a drive on the ground against Mercer.

I hope the sideline official that got banged up on the Mercer sideline is O.K. He took a big hit as the Titans QB was chased out of bounds. I am not sure if he finished the game or not.

I hope the sideline official that got banged up on the Mercer sideline is O.K. He took a big hit as the Titans QB was chased out of bounds. I am not sure if he finished the game or not.

 

He did finish and as far as I am concerned, was the toughest guy on the field.

 

I had no idea it was coming, but was very pleased to hear Monty Wilkerson and Ervin Vanover announced as 1970 Captains and presenting the Robert Allen Yankey Award to Ned Stevens. I got to speak to Ned after the game. My Dad coached all three of those guys in 1970 and was very proud of them and their teammates.

 

If we can get everyone well and play consistently as well as we did the first quarter, we have a chance to be pretty good.

 

Good luck to Coach Smith and the Rebels the rest of the way!

I hope the sideline official that got banged up on the Mercer sideline is O.K. He took a big hit as the Titans QB was chased out of bounds. I am not sure if he finished the game or not.

 

He finished the game and the (1) Mercer fan who was cheering is a disgrace !!!! I do not condemn an entire fan base for the actions of 1 person. That is why I mentioned it was only 1.

He finished the game and the (1) Mercer fan who was cheering is a disgrace !!!! I do not condemn an entire fan base for the actions of 1 person. That is why I mentioned it was only 1.

 

Thank you for clarifying it was ONE person. The overwhelming majority of Mercer fans & Parents are wonderful and very supportive of our kids & team.

Thank you for clarifying it was ONE person. The overwhelming majority of Mercer fans & Parents are wonderful and very supportive of our kids & team.

 

I couldn't agree more.

He did finish and as far as I am concerned, was the toughest guy on the field.

 

I had no idea it was coming, but was very pleased to hear Monty Wilkerson and Ervin Vanover announced as 1970 Captains and presenting the Robert Allen Yankey Award to Ned Stevens. I got to speak to Ned after the game. My Dad coached all three of those guys in 1970 and was very proud of them and their teammates.

 

If we can get everyone well and play consistently as well as we did the first quarter, we have a chance to be pretty good.

 

Good luck to Coach Smith and the Rebels the rest of the way!

 

Pure Class Coach....go make some noise in the playoffs!

Mercer County got a great front 7, the backend was getting beat pretty bad.