Rowan had 200 yards rushing in the first half but got only 7 points.

Ben Maile can be a college football player at some level.

Covington Catholic routs Rowan County, 38-7

 

[h=6]Written by

[/h][h=5] Matt Mulcahey

[/h][h=5]Enquirer contributor[/h]

Teams that can’t make in-game adjustments don’t tend to last long in the postseason.

 

 

Covington Catholic proved its adaptability on Saturday, recovering from a sub-par opening half with 31 unanswered second-half points to dispatch Rowan County, 38-7, in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs.

 

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Ben Maile can be a college football player at some level.

 

My money is on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher, but he has as been quoted as saying he would love to play college football somewhere and the university that would take a chance on the young man, will indeed be grateful about doing so, as the kid has such an upside!

Before I read the game story and saw the game was tied at 7 at halftime, my first thought was CCH once again came out in the first half throwing it around instead of focusing on the ground game. Reading the game story seems to indicate that is true. For those at the game, is that the way it went? Did CCH get focused on running the ball in the second half?

 

I have said all year long that when CCH realizes they are best when running the ball and starts out games running it, then they will play better in the first half. Bir is obviously an excellent QB, but the strength of this CCH team is without a doubt running the ball with Gabe Gray.

Before I read the game story and saw the game was tied at 7 at halftime, my first thought was CCH once again came out in the first half throwing it around instead of focusing on the ground game. Reading the game story seems to indicate that is true. For those at the game, is that the way it went? Did CCH get focused on running the ball in the second half?

 

I have said all year long that when CCH realizes they are best when running the ball and starts out games running it, then they will play better in the first half. Bir is obviously an excellent QB, but the strength of this CCH team is without a doubt running the ball with Gabe Gray.

 

You can't have one without the other. The passing game works because of the running game. Gabe runs well because of the passing game/scheme. It's not like Dave is going Darryl Lamonica. He's mainly throwing passes that are short and low-risk.

My money is on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher, but he has as been quoted as saying he would love to play college football somewhere and the university that would take a chance on the young man, will indeed be grateful about doing so, as the kid has such an upside!

 

I have never seen Ben pitch at CCH but I would think a 270 pound pitcher could be pretty intimidating to the 9th Region and the like.

I have never seen Ben pitch at CCH but I would think a 270 pound pitcher could be pretty intimidating to the 9th Region and the like.

 

Solid pitcher. No question. I've heard that some schools are interested in both sports for him.

 

270 seems high though.

You can't have one without the other. The passing game works because of the running game. Gabe runs well because of the passing game/scheme. It's not like Dave is going Darryl Lamonica. He's mainly throwing passes that are short and low-risk.

 

Agreed, you must have balance but I would like to see CCH come out running the ball in the first half of games like they do in the second half. That would open up the passing game even more IMO.

Agreed, you must have balance but I would like to see CCH come out running the ball in the first half of games like they do in the second half. That would open up the passing game even more IMO.

 

I don't have PBP but they ran it a fair amount in the first half.

I don't have PBP but they ran it a fair amount in the first half.

 

Wouldn't you agree that CCH has been dominating in the third quarter of games by running the ball? It seems to me like they commit to the run more in the second half of these tight games.

Solid pitcher. No question. I've heard that some schools are interested in both sports for him.

 

270 seems high though.

 

Agreed on the weight from what I have seen but CCH has him listed at 281.....those are always on the money.

"For those at the game, is that the way it went? Did CCH get focused on running the ball in the second half?"

Short answer, "yes". Bir was not sharp, so in fairness to the play calling, CCH did run more than throw in the first half too, I'm sure it made sense to mix it up, but it seemed every time they got some momentum, the passing game stalled it. RC's best players were in the secondary, and had fresh legs in the first half, they sat back and read pretty much every pass...which added to the passing difficulty. No question that in the second half CCH just came out and ran, ran, ran. They had RC's backers running from sideline to sideline and forced them to come up and make tackles....then the occasional pass was wide open.

 

From my perspective though, I thought CCH 's defense made the biggest impact. RC is very good, the QB is not a great thrower but a really great, big/strong athletic kid..very talented. The running back is also an impressive runner / athlete...and their O line is BIG! First half, RC seemed to do what they wanted more than not...fortunately for CCH though, they turned the ball over and didn't finish. Second half, CCH D gave their O good fp consistently and got RC's D back on the field pretty quickly and often. I was impressed with CCH's D line playing with much more grit in the second half. I must add that CCH's corner people played extremely well, especially in the second half...Cleves, Guess, Reese come to mind, but they all did a great job of stringing everything out against some very athletic runners.

 

IMO, CCH needs to speed up their no huddle play calling and run the ball (they always seem to hurt their own momentum by standing their too long looking at their wrists)...maybe just script the first 20-30 plays, and let that running game put people on their heels before even thinking about throwing down the field.

 

While I'm at it...the D calls need to speed up too! More than a few times CCH is looking at the sideline and the O is ready to snap the ball.

 

With all that being said...I must say that CovCath's staff does an exceptional job of in-game adjusting and consistently makes the perfect call to break big plays...and, this D was a HUGE question when the season started...they have improved every week imo.

While I'm at it...the D calls need to speed up too! More than a few times CCH is looking at the sideline and the O is ready to snap the ball.

 

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RC was really getting plays off fast after the RFP whistle. A few times I wasn't sure if CCH was even down in their stance.

As just about always, CovCath one of the only places where a 31 point win gets such criticism. Dropped passes, Bir was not sharp, did not run enough.......unreal. Congrats to the Colonel players and coaches. One of the most fun teams to watch in a long time. Sad we only have 4 more games to enjoy them.