Mister Bee wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:09 am
Why would they take much offense to this? Coach Devol feels like his team has progressed since last year (6-4) enough to go 8-2. Our 4 losses were to FF, Trimble, Valley who isn't on the schedule and Waterford. Anyone who follows Belpre football AND goes to the games knew that the FF and Trimble games were losses going into the season. But, everyone felt that the next 8 games were winnable IF we play like we are capable of playing. Warren was never viewed as a walkover. Belpre expects a close tough game, otherwise, the series would have not been renewed.
The mentality is that everyone marks Warren down as an automatic win. The 8-2 comment fits that narrative in a player's mind. So yes, there has been a feeling all season that they need to prove they aren't those past Warren teams. Words can motivate whether they intend to or not. That's why I cringe a lot reading this board when people throw out opinions as though they are facts. No point in stirring up an opponent.
Aside from all that, tell me about Belpre's line (both sides). From what I've seen/heard, they are big. Is that big and fast, big and tough, big and slow, etc?
How about depth for Belpre? I know they don't have a lot of kids out, but do they mostly play both ways every down? Warren has a small roster, especially for a D3 school, but they do get a nice rotation of 20 or so kids in and out.