Spartandad

I also think Boyle/SW would be a great game. I'm not going to argue the winner of that one. Boyle definitely played a better game against FD than SW did. I think there are a few reasons for that. First, I think FD came into the Boyle game thinking that they were the top team in the state and had no idea what was waiting for them. In the same way that the LCA game made Boyle better, I would think that FD's loss to Boyle made them a little better too. The other reason I think Boyle had more success on defense is their pass coverage. I think Boyle has a significantly better secondary as compared to South. That's where FD had all of their success in the championship game.. However, I think South's run game might be a little better.

Beechwood is a great team, but they wouldn't have beaten South Warren. The reason is mainly due to Beechwood's offense. In the state championship game, Beechwood had only 58 passing yards. Against Mayfield, they passed for 47. When they played Covington Catholic, they had 37 passing yards. Beechwood is a rushing team. The only way to put points on the board against South is through the air. In the last 4 games of the season, South Warren allowed 47 rushing yards by Frederick Douglas. 47 rushing yards from Woodford County (with 2nd string in for 1+ quarters). 49 rushing yards from South Oldham. 5 rushing yards from Bowling Green. Beechwood would not have rushed for more than 50 yards against South Warren. No way possible. I highly doubt that they would've been able to pass for more yards than they did against Covington Catholic, South's defense is much better than CC's. So, we are realistically looking at under 100 yards of total offense from Beechwood. South would probably beat Beechwood by at least 3 scores. I'm not disparaging the coaching at Beechwood. They definitely have a great coach. I think the players are highly skilled too. South is just a bigger school and has more students to draw talent from. I also think that the matchup based upon offense and defense styles highly favors South. I do think Boyle would give South a lot of problems though.

Yeah, I'm with you. I was expecting a lot more from FD's defense. I would say their defense was probably just a little above average. SW played at least 3 teams this season with better Defenses. There wasn't much of a pass rush from them and South moved the ball fairly easily the entire game. Now FD's offense was tremendous. They didn't have a lot of success with the run, but they did amazing through the air. I knew that was where the Spartans would be vulnerable. Good QB and great receivers. They had some really big plays. FD definitely had more size and more talent. I think the coaching and discipline from SW was what won them the game.

Dane Key is the real deal. Most talented player that South has seen this year Snell and Burton stole the show though.

I'm really interested in the LB matchup between SW and FD. I know both teams have great defenses, but I think the contrast in linebacker play might be what is most different. South's LBs are much more aggressive. I believe that Burton and Snell from SW are probably the most under-rated LBs in the state. For perspective, in the last 4 games, Snell has had 29 tackles, 8 TFL and a couple sacks. In those same 4 games, Burton has had 23 tackles, 5 TFL and 2 sacks. Looking at the last 4 games for FD, Caden Johnson had 19 tackles and no sacks. I don't see anything for Joyner. I know both of them are the top ranked LBs in the state. First question, has Joyner been hurt? Will he be playing Saturday? Secondly, FD's defense must be much different than South's. Do they not rush LBs nearly as much? It seems like they might be more pass focused.

Congrats to Key. It might be hard to argue against him being the top recruit or talent in the state, but he is far from the most impactful player. Key doesn't make the top 30 players in 5A for scoring or top 5 for receiving. Chandler Godby from Pulaski had 75 receptions for 1061 yards. Zach Schofner from Bullitt Central had 39 Rushing Touchdowns on 2184 yards and 1 Rec TD. I don't understand how either of those phenomenal performances wouldn't put them in the discussion. Again, I'm not discounting how talented Key is. Probably most coaches would pick him as the best talent in the state. I don't think that the Hornung award is necessarily just based on stats though or how valuable a player might be to the team.

FD had a very impressive win against Owensboro. I think this was probably the first good team that they have played and beaten this season. I wasn't expecting this much of a blowout. They will definitely be ready to play on Saturday. SW dominated WC Friday night, beyond anyone's expectations. They really surprised the jackets. WC was not ready for what the Spartans brought. This week, I think the game will be different for both teams. I do not see a blowout happening. I think it will be within 2 touchdowns for sure. I think this game will come down to the passing game for both teams. FD will not have much success on the ground. Their O-line isn't as big or as talented as WC'S and South shut them down pretty easily this week. SW's D-line will have a few sacks and probably 8-10 tackles for loss. They will have to put a tremendous amount of pressure on FD's QB. If he has time to pass to Key often, then South will be in trouble. The Spartan secondary will probably give up a few big plays. The real question is how well Conyers and Bell can cover the highly talented FD receivers for an entire game. For SW, passing is also key. Veltkamp is as talented as Lanter. I would say that South's receivers are as good as Boyle's or better. Unfortunately, I don't think that the Spartan O-line is as good as Boyle's. If they can hold off the FD rush and give Veltcamp time, South will put up big numbers in the air. In the end, I think FD just won't be able to handle South's defense and balanced offense. I expect the Spartans to win 34-20

A few observations and questions. First, congrats to WC on a great season. They definitely have a great fan base and some good talent. 71 and 41 are very talented players. Despite WC's lack of success in the first half, I will say that their O-line was by far the best that South has seen this year. Cook did really well at the line of scrimmage and they had a little more success running the ball than about anyone the Spartans have played. The stadium was extremely nice. However, I don't understand how you spend that much money on a facility and not have a play clock. What's up with that? WC seemed very surprised that anyone could kickoff a ball more than 30 yards. Is this something that they didn't see during the season? They didn't line up anyone to receive deep. Then their kicker always kicked very short. I was also really surprised at the lack of pass coverage. SW's receivers were pretty wide open most of the night. WC did expose South's secondary a few times. I guess they aren't really weak, but that is where the Spartans are most vulnerable. FD could capitalize. To be honest, it felt like WC was completely shocked by South's performance. They just didn't know what to do. I believe they are much more talented than what the scoreboard said. They just weren't ready for what the Spartans brought. It's almost like they never watched any film on the Spartans. Can anyone compare the O-line of FD to WC's? Just wondering what we will be up against next week.

Jackson is just under 6' weighs probably 240. Most likely he is overall physically stronger than anyone on the field though, does a legit 315 power clean.

I agree with you, whichever team controls the line of scrimmage is going to be the victor. WC definitely has the potential to overwhelm the smaller South D-line. South has got a lot of speed and agility waiting for them though. We'll see what happens. Jackson vs Cook is the age old question of what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object. Jackson is fast and strong, while Cook is a giant. One one one, if Cook gets good contact on Jackson, he can probably toss him around a few times. He outweighs him by probably 70 lbs. If Cook and the center double team Jackson (assuming he plays the 1 position), then WC will probably be able to run up the middle successfully. If Jackson is out in the 3 and the Tackle blocks outside, then I Jackson is definitely fast enough to get by Cook often.

I think you are very accurate in everything that you said. I believe BG played better during the playoff game as compared to the regular season and South was a little worse. WC has the most opportunity to do well against South's secondary as compared to trying to rush the ball, but they will get a lot of pressure on the QB from South's D. South is 1st in the state against the rush and that's with the 2nd string playing probably 15 quarters. There is no single lineman in the state that can stop Jackson from getting into the backfield and wreaking havoc. Burton, Snell and Hudson will all make tackles on the other side of scrimmage too. Nevertheless, I feel WC will have some success on the ground. They've got a big o-line that could wear down South after a few quarters. The big question that I have for you, Purple88, is "How good is WC'S defense?". Are they better than BG? As far as yardage, the stats don't show them to be amazing. I know you've seen them play, so what do you think? Especially their pass rush. If they aren't significantly better than BG, then I would see SW scoring at least 3 times, maybe 4. If South can put up 28, I think it will be hard for WC to put up more than that against SW'S defense.

South's offense is pretty balanced. 247 Sports has our QB as the top rated recruit in KY for the position. He's a WKU commit with offers to UK and other schools. The Spartans have one receiver that's a WKU commit and another in the class of 2023 that's a Power 5 athlete, according to the ratings. That being said, if he sees too much pressure, then the passing game will fall apart. South's offensive line hasn't been really tested. So we'll see what happens.

I would say most people would agree that South's defense is probably a half tier better than Franklin County. Central played both teams during the regular season and they were able to put up about 100 more yards rushing against FC. Franklin's performance against them in the playoffs was probably comparable to SW. This week, SW's 1st team defense held South Oldham's run game to probably less than 20 yards and they are a very run dominant squad. Last week,, Bowling Green had about 15 yards rushing. Woodford can expect a tougher matchup than what they saw with Franklin County. At the same time, South's D hasn't faced any KY teams with a top notch offense either. So, this might offer them a challenge too big to overcome. I'm not silly enough to say that South is going to dominate the game. The Spartans will be a handful for WC though. South will bring a crowd. It should be an exciting night.

I think this is going to be a wakeup call for one of these teams. Neither WC or SW have really faced anyone that has challenged them much (besides Hendersonville, TN). I really don't know which team is going to come out on top. I do know that South Warren is going to bring a defense that WC has never seen. Despite being very undersized (only 2 players on SW's defense are 6' or over), they will stifle WC's run game and put more pressure on the QB than WC has seen this year. The real key to WC's success will be their passing game. Can their O-line hold off the Spartan blitz? South is not that great in pass coverage. WC could put up big numbers in the air. For SW, they have to pass protect. If Veltcamp has time, watch out. Few QBs in the state can make the passes that he does. If South comes to the game focused, they can beat anyone in the state. If they aren't in the right state of mind, WC will end their season and probably win in the championship.

Boyle should have a running clock before halftime.