Highlands vs. Johnson Central predictions

[Eta Rho]

Bluebird fans:

 

I thought I'd take the liberty of making the trip down to JC tonight to see them and what we'd be up against next week instead of watching our beloved Birds beat up on Ashland and here is what I came away with:

 

Offensively:

Passing:

Guidugli will pass ALL DAY on their secondary. The CCH receivers were so open it was unreal. If not for A LOT of dropped passes, Isler would have had every bit of 200 yards passing. If Guidugli is flushed out of the pocket, JC doesn't have the speed DEFENSIVELY to stop him from picking up big chunks of yardage if he decides to run it.

 

The Welch kid that plays DB WON'T be able to hang with Collinsworth. The HHS receivers should have a field day against the JC secondary.

 

Running:

JC is DECENT against the run but even CCH picked up long runs against them that the faster HHS running backs would have taken to the house. Crawford's speed and Conner's explosiveness will be tough for JC to contain. HHS should be able to open holes and run the ball with success.

 

Defensively:

The Birds may be in for a battle as the JC offense is good as advertised. JC will run the same offense as Colerain did and if the Birds had success stopping them, I really don't see JC scoring more than 14 considering they run that option no where near the perfection that Colerain does and don't have the same amount of size on the o-line. Their rb's don't have the same size, strength, or speed as those boys but if they get past the first level, they can take it the distance. The key for Highlands is winning the LOS battle. If they do this, which I'm almost certain they will, JC will really struggle to move the ball since they have ZERO passing game. They attempted one pass against the Colonels, on a flea flicker, and that resulted in an INT.

 

The JC backs run hard and have DECENT speed but if they can't get to the outside, they tend to get stopped for little to no gain. Almost all of their long TD runs against CCH came on off tackle options where they just out ran the CCH defenders because they were blitzing everyone and there was nobody at the second level.

 

My prediction? JC may be in for a long night with no passing game.

 

Highlands 42

Johnson Central 14

[Jason Bucklen]

Bluebird fans:

 

I thought I'd take the liberty of making the trip down to JC tonight to see them and what we'd be up against next week instead of watching our beloved Birds beat up on Ashland and here is what I came away with:

 

Offensively:

Passing:

Guidugli will pass ALL DAY on their secondary. The CCH receivers were so open it was unreal. If not for A LOT of dropped passes, Isler would have had every bit of 200 yards passing. If Guidugli is flushed out of the pocket, JC doesn't have the speed DEFENSIVELY to stop him from picking up big chunks of yardage if he decides to run it.

 

The Welch kid that plays DB WON'T be able to hang with Collinsworth. The HHS receivers should have a field day against the JC secondary.

 

Running:

JC is DECENT against the run but even CCH picked up long runs against them that the faster HHS running backs would have taken to the house. Crawford's speed and Conner's explosiveness will be tough for JC to contain. HHS should be able to open holes and run the ball with success.

 

Defensively:

The Birds may be in for a battle as the JC offense is good as advertised. JC will run the same offense as Colerain did and if the Birds had success stopping them, I really don't see JC scoring more than 14 considering they run that option no where near the perfection that Colerain does and don't have the same amount of size on the o-line. Their rb's don't have the same size, strength, or speed as those boys but if they get past the first level, they can take it the distance. The key for Highlands is winning the LOS battle. If they do this, which I'm almost certain they will, JC will really struggle to move the ball since they have ZERO passing game. They attempted one pass against the Colonels, on a flea flicker, and that resulted in an INT.

 

The JC backs run hard and have DECENT speed but if they can't get to the outside, they tend to get stopped for little to no gain. Almost all of their long TD runs against CCH came on off tackle options where they just out ran the CCH defenders because they were blitzing everyone and there was nobody at the second level.

 

My prediction? JC may be in for a long night with no passing game.

 

Highlands 42

Johnson Central 14

 

You are either a coach or a diehard Bluebirds fan to drive 3 hours plus to Paintsville to watch who the Bluebirds will be playing next week. You could also be nuts as most Highlands fans are. :laugh:

[Eta Rho]

You are either a coach or a diehard Bluebirds fan to drive 3 hours plus to Paintsville to watch who the Bluebirds will be playing next week. You could also be nuts as most Highlands fans are. :laugh:

 

Not a coach, but just a fan of good football and thought this might be a better game than the HHS-Ashland game, so I figured why not. I rode with a good buddy of mine that I work with who has a son that plays for CCH.

 

It will be a very exciting atmostphere for the Birds to play in. Fireworks before the game, a cannon to make us feel at home that they'll shoot off before, and music in between plays.

 

BTW, JC has a bird noise that they play before the game...not sure if they'll do it with HHS in town though. And their "mini cannon" is nothing compared to what Boom and the boys are working with. :ylsuper:

[Jason Bucklen]

Not a coach, but just a fan of good football and thought this might be a better game than the HHS-Ashland game, so I figured why not. I rode with a good buddy of mine that I work with who has a son that plays for CCH.

 

It will be a very exciting atmostphere for the Birds to play in. Fireworks before the game, a cannon to make us feel at home that they'll shoot off before, and music in between plays.

 

BTW, JC has a bird noise that they play before the game...not sure if they'll do it with HHS in town though. And their "mini cannon" is nothing compared to what Boom and the boys are working with. :ylsuper:

 

I was just giving you a hard time. Highlands fans are diehard. Some Beechwood fans are just as bad.

[Eta Rho]

I was just giving you a hard time. Highlands fans are diehard. Some Beechwood fans are just as bad.

 

No worries. That's why our respective programs have some of the best, if not THE best, fans in the state. :thumb::ylsuper:

[Skunk]

This looked like a great match-up three weeks ago, this will be a fun game

[Guest Birdflu]

He is just so much fun to watch! He makes things happen under the ball. He can change speeds, change direction or even go backwards to catch a ball. And he does so under heavy coverage. But to key on Austin would be a huge mistake for any oponent. The other receivers are out there just waiting for their turn. :thumb:

 

Although I think Collinsworth is the best on the team, I feel like Buten is not far behind. He has many of the same attributes that Collinsworth has. Plus, they are both juniors.

[leatherneck]

Fans maybe, not the team.

 

Some fans maybe, but not all of us. This game is going to be a war. JC will come out and try to set the smash mouth tone, HHS will respond and not be intimidated, and it will be game on big time. It will be a close one.

 

And for those HHS fans that truly believe that we can't be beat by a one dimensional offense, I can point out specific games in our past (some in our recent past) where that has occurred.

 

Nothing but respect from this Highlands fan for JC (one of the very few HHS posters that has actually seen JC play in person this year and thus has some knowledge to support his post). This will be a very close game.

[jahearme]

I would love to see JC win this one, but I think the Bluebirds just have way too much fire power.

HHS 30

JC 20

[strongarmmg]

Good luck to both teams. I agree that the winner of this one should have a great chance to bring it all home. Highlands 35-21

[Qryche11]

I am really confused...:creepy:The announcer at Highlands tonight kept saying Johnson City...Which is it, Johnsonville or Johnson City?:creepy:

 

Dont worry, that guy has been calling games for 74 yrs and most of what I hear during the game is muffled.

[Patveep]

If Johnson Central runs the option the way Colerain does, it will involve a deep pitch back that requires extreme speed and the abilty to quickly pick a hole. Colerain backs can do this. The Williams kid from Colerain often received the pitch 5-8 yards behind the line and he had the speed to turn what looked like a potential loss into a gain. I question whether JC can do that. Someone else mentioned that JC plays smash mouth football and runs primarily off tackle. I think this is the way to go to beat Highlands, which sometimes over pursues.

Highlands passing game has reached a point where it can only be described as outstanding. The running game is solid but not as good as some past years. Guidugli will have to run more next week and probably will. He could have run for huge yardage last night, but his receivers were open so he took that option.

I think JC will be a far more formidible opponent than anyone other than BS and I expect a close game with the Bluebirds passsing attack providing a favorable end for them.

[Skunk]

Dont worry, that guy has been calling games for 74 yrs and most of what I hear during the game is muffled.

 

:thumb:

[Qryche11]

I think this will be a close game and probably the mini state championship if you will due to these being probably the best two 5A teams IMO. I am going to say it ends up 28 to 13 Birds on top. I just dont see how JC will be able to stop the Birds potent offense. The Bird defense has played superbly all year and will make adjustments to stop the smash mouth offensive explosiveness that JC brings to the table. Turnovers and ball control will be key in this game. Whoever has the least amount of turnovers and has the ball the most will win.

 

As far as CC being at the game, I can assure you he wouldnt miss it for the world.

[Proud Eagle]

Bluebird fans:

 

I thought I'd take the liberty of making the trip down to JC tonight to see them and what we'd be up against next week instead of watching our beloved Birds beat up on Ashland and here is what I came away with:

 

Offensively:

Passing:

Guidugli will pass ALL DAY on their secondary. The CCH receivers were so open it was unreal. If not for A LOT of dropped passes, Isler would have had every bit of 200 yards passing. If Guidugli is flushed out of the pocket, JC doesn't have the speed DEFENSIVELY to stop him from picking up big chunks of yardage if he decides to run it.

 

The Welch kid that plays DB WON'T be able to hang with Collinsworth. The HHS receivers should have a field day against the JC secondary.

 

Running:

JC is DECENT against the run but even CCH picked up long runs against them that the faster HHS running backs would have taken to the house. Crawford's speed and Conner's explosiveness will be tough for JC to contain. HHS should be able to open holes and run the ball with success.

 

Defensively:

The Birds may be in for a battle as the JC offense is good as advertised. JC will run the same offense as Colerain did and if the Birds had success stopping them, I really don't see JC scoring more than 14 considering they run that option no where near the perfection that Colerain does and don't have the same amount of size on the o-line. Their rb's don't have the same size, strength, or speed as those boys but if they get past the first level, they can take it the distance. The key for Highlands is winning the LOS battle. If they do this, which I'm almost certain they will, JC will really struggle to move the ball since they have ZERO passing game. They attempted one pass against the Colonels, on a flea flicker, and that resulted in an INT.

 

The JC backs run hard and have DECENT speed but if they can't get to the outside, they tend to get stopped for little to no gain. Almost all of their long TD runs against CCH came on off tackle options where they just out ran the CCH defenders because they were blitzing everyone and there was nobody at the second level.

 

My prediction? JC may be in for a long night with no passing game.

 

Highlands 42

Johnson Central 14

 

I know that many think that JC has no passing game but why would you pass when you are up big and the other team is not stopping the run? I hear this all the time on here but I for one think why show something to a future opponent when you don't have to. Just my opinion. :thumb: