Rafterman

OCath runs the no huddle the entire game. I can't remember OCath huddling up at all in the past three or four years.

If Woody went down with an injury I think you might see Winklepleck take some snaps at qb. I just hope this doesn't happen. Woody is very ellusive and he slides instead of taking big hits.

OCaths recivers are not big but they are athletic with great hands. The unsung hero of this offense is Nick Norcia. He has turned into quite a player. When a team can put two very good receivers on the outside and then have tide end sit in the middle of the field they become very difficult to defend. Knock on wood, but Holland, Johnson, Ijames, Kamuf, Wright and Norcia have not dropped many passes this year. Very sure handed pass catchers. All of these names have also shown the ability and want to block somebody if they have to. Skill players blocking comes down to desire and these guys have shown great desire when OCath has the ball.

With rain and maybe snow in the forecast for Saturday, how will the weather affect this game. A wet ball is harder to hang on to. This applies to throwing, catching, handing off, and just hanging on when you get hit. Turnovers and fatigue will be huge in this one.

Catholics defense is kind of weird. A team can march all the way down the field and then get inside the red zone and they move backwards. OCath may give up 200 - 300 yards rushing but they may only allow 7 points. A lot of people like to talk about last years state game against Belfrey. Belfrey rushed for over 500 yards but only got in the end zone once in the second half. The Aces made two goal line stands to keep themselves in the game. The Aces defense is tested, tough, and gutty. Both of these teams average around 39 points a game, but I will guarantee neither gets there on Saturday. I don't remember what I predicted for the game on the deleted thread, but my prediction now is OC 28 Russell 14.

I was wondering how Russell compared to OCaths previous opponents. Is Russell like DeSales, Trigg, Fort Campbell, or anybody else on the Aces schedule? What do they do the same or differently? I know Russell lost a key player to injury, how does that effect there offense or defense?

It took me long enough to get in this post. The keys to this game are the same as the last three games. 1. Can Russel stay fresh throughout the whole game? If they play 8 or 9 guys both ways it will be difficult, but Russell has to have great athletes to be in the Pizza Box so I won't be surprised of they don't get tired. 2. Will OC make Russell pass? It's obvious Russel is a very good running team, and I would assume they don't want to have to throw. OC has made their last couple opponents, who weren't passing teams, try and pass the ball. Catholic can score very quickly and make a coach go to the pass more than he would like. Look at DeSales. They were not a good passing team and for some reason they got away from the run and decided to throw a lot more. 3. Catholic tackling. OC must tackle well to win. I have seen almost every OC game this year and very rarely have I thought the Aces were the better tackling team. The Aces better cowboy up and be ready to hit somebody if they want the hardware. My prediction:OC 35 Russel 20

From what I am reading I get the impression that DeSales has beaten teams by overpowering them not with blazing speed. Is this a correct assumption? How does DeSales use the pass? Is it as a last resort, or somthing just to surprise the defense if they concentrate too much on the run? I just haven't heard too much about DeSales and I want to get a grasp on what to expect.

That is what I am saying. Trigg and Fort Campbell don't really pass either, but they were forced into it because of the situation. Catholic wasn't giving up the long touchdown runs. Edge has the defense playing a bend but don't break style. The opposing offense has to run a lot of plays to score and therefore has more opportunity for mistakes.

After what Catholic has done againt two teams that were bigger and faster I think the Aces will win this one. While I haven't seen DeSales play this year I am certain they are very good. The Aces will score, my question is can they keep Desales out of the endzone? The Aces better not have a letdown after fort campbell, but I don't see it happening. The key the past two weeks, besides for the other team getting tired, is that the other teams have tried to pass with the Aces. OCath's dbacks are very good, they have a lot of int's. If Ocath scores a couple early then it might be a long night for Desales. My prediction: OCath 42 Desales 28

The biggest danger for Catholic is Johnson getting one on one with the smaller d-backs. If this happens a lot then FC might hit the 40's. The d-line and linebackers must hold their line and tackle better than they have all year.

Houston got hit hard against Trigg and he had trouble hanging on to the ball. FC will be no different so Houston better be ready. From the stands it looks like Wright is the most fearless and when he gets the ball he doesn't care if he gets hit. Wright is the guttiest player on the field. I am unsure of how many rush yards the Aces had against Trigg but I know every one of them seemed to be a struggle. The Aces may have to set up the run with pass this week to get the offense going. Trigg ran inside man coverage. If FC does the same then the Aces may not have to run. OCath's o and d- lines proved a lot against a good Trigg team but they'll have to do the same this friday to get the win. IMO Johnson is not the key to the game, it's the other FC running backs. This is not a knock on Johnson, but the other guys can make his night that much easier.

I remember 2 years ago everybody said to get there so early because the gates were a hastle but we ended up getting right in and had to sit for a couple of hours before the game started. There was some pretty good tailgating going on though.

I know Christian Co is still in but who else came into the playoffs as a 4 and is still playing?

Catholics defenders must make the tackle. There was one Catholic player who missed quite a few tackles and got saved in the pass game by a couple of poor throws. The Ocath linebackers need to play great to stop Micah Johnson. They aren't huge so they have to hit him low and hang on. I think Catholic will have enough offense to make FC think about passing the ball. I'm gonna pick OCath 33 FC 21, but I haven't seen FC play so they might surprise me with there ability to stop the pass. I keep thinking about the OHS game. If OCath turns it over a lot then their offense is very stoppable. If Catholic hangs on to the ball then I think my score might be right.

The floor plans for this place are unbelievable. The stadium will be complete with skyboxes, weightrooms, training facilities, coaches offices, and many other luxuries. Approximately 1900 seats will be added to the already existing KWC field. The stadium will have a brick exterior that matches the rest of the buildings on KWC's campus. While I will miss Rash stadium this new place will be awesome. Supposed to be ready for Owensboro Catholic's first home game against Owensboro High School. Great day for OCHS.

A press conference today at 2:00 pm cst at Kentucky Weselyan College will announce that OCath has signed a deal to play games at the new KWC field starting next season. OCath has played there last season at Rash Stadium. According to the people at KWC 2000 seats will be added to the east side of the field to accomodate the great number of fans OCath brings to their games. I was told that the stadium will model the one used by Trinity or St X. I forget which Louisville school it was. A great day for KWC and for Owensboro Catholic. I will be attending the 2 o'clock presser to gain more info.

Catholic 27 Trigg 21 Should be a classic. Both teams think the game is very winnable and very losable at the same time. I give Catholic a slight advantage just because they are at home. If the game was at Trigg I would pick Trigg to win. Catholic must play better than they did against Heath. If they have the same deffensive break downs then Catholic might be playin catch up. This will be the best team Catholic has played to this point in the season. I cant wait for kickoff.

It'll come down to Johnson, Burke, and Fidler. I haven't seen any of them play but from what i have heard everyone of them is a legitimate mr. football.