Week 8: Columbus St. Charles (2-5) at Jackson (7-0)

[ironman02]

Nice. Thanks, Madeira. Needed that!

[A-Town Big Dog]

St.Charles is definately better than the record shows and will push Jackson but I'll take the Ironmen in this one.

[Blackjack]

Most Southeasternohio preppers dont realize the kind of team that will be playing Jackson this week. Two weeks ago they went head to head with Columbus Desales. Desales has maybe one of the top five running backs in the country (not just Ohio) in Warren Ball. He will be attending the Ohio State University next year. This will be the best defense that Jackson has faced all year without a doubt. If Columbus St. Charles played Jackson's schedule then they too would be 7-0.

[Ironman92]

A couple of things in Jackson's advantage...

St Charles must travel 85 or so miles to God's country and as talented as they may be, they are way more used to losing than winning.

I feel it critical for Jackson to have great 1st quarter. We go 3 and out and they go busting down the field...we could be in trouble.

It appears their defense is much stronger than their offense.

[Ironman92]

And a -2 turnover differential.....can't have it

[Ironman92]

One consistency is that St Charles had consistently held their opponents under and often well under their scoring average. Jackson isn't going to score 42 and 28 may be a push, but St Charles also has not scored any more than the average team has against their opponents.

This game has a 28-21 feel to it.

Jackson should have a couple unused plays ready to unveil.

[ironman02]

Blackjack makes a couple good points. This St. Charles team has the depth, size, and strength of the Zanesville team that we faced in 2009. Obviously this isn't the same Jackson football team, but there are a lot of guys on this year's squad that played in that game. Because of that, they know just how big of a challenge this will be.

Also, Warren Ball is definitely a stud. If St. Charles was able to limit him, then their defense must be down right nasty. DeSales led that game against St. Charles 7-3 at the half before opening up a 27-3 lead in the second half. The Stallions have played an even more brutal schedule than St. Charles, so that simply reinforces the fact that the 2-5 record for the Cardinals couldn't be any more deceiving. It's not very often that a 7-0 team is the underdog against a 2-5 team, but that's certainly the case this week.

Jackson will have to play their best game of the season in every phase of the game...offensively, defensively, and on special teams. As Ironman92 said, no costly turnovers. I highly doubt if St. Charles travels very well down to Jackson, so our crowd needs to really create a home field advantage this week. This is a game that will show Jackson what it will take to compete in the playoffs. Playing a D1 opponent of this caliber will really show our guys what they're made of. Gotta work hard this week and get ready for a battle!

[pbuck]

I've gotta go with the Ironmen in this contest

[Ironman92]

Are their better athletes on defense? Zanesville had them on offense as well. St Charles has failed to rack up points offensively.

We have a lot of potential capabilities on offense. If their defense is stopping us completely we should have a few special things in the ready to go bin.

[ironman02]

I'd like to watch some film of St. Charles to get a better feel for them, but I do know that they don't really play anyone both ways. They have struggled offensively, but I'm not sure if that's because of any type of deficiency, or just because they've faced some ridiculously tough defenses. They have certainly lost to some teams that I think Jackson could beat, so I'm confident that the Ironmen can compete. There just isn't much margin of error. Gotta take care of the football, and execute the gameplan flawlessly in every facet of the game.

[ironman02]

Posted my playoff predictions in the "D3 Region 12" Rankings topic. If anyone wants to check them out, go ahead. Not sure how much they're worth, but I have also created an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything over the next couple weeks. We'll see what happens.

[Ironman92]

Do they have anyone that plays both ways some?

[ironman02]

Not sure.

I believe Coach Hall said on the radio after the Ironton game that they did not. Completely different units for offense/defense.

I was told that some members of the Jackson staff went to watch them during Week 5 and said that they're very athletic, in addition to being physical. Definitely the best team on Jackson's schedule.

[pappy1]

Tough opponent, don't be fooled by the record. Hoping for a Jackson win.

[seofan_via_dublin]

You don't want to over look them, but if Jackson comes in focused, it should be an easy win.

You guys are making St. Charles to be something they're not.
They could beat you if you don't take them seriously, but in reality, they're not that good.

Then again, maybe it's just me comparing them to other Columbus area schools. They're low in the pecking order.

[ironman02]

You don't want to over look them, but if Jackson comes in focused, it should be an easy win.

You guys are making St. Charles to be something they're not.
They could beat you if you don't take them seriously, but in reality, they're not that good.

Then again, maybe it's just me comparing them to other Columbus area schools. They're low in the pecking order.

No one is making them out to be something they're not. We're saying that the level of competition they have played has led to a deceiving record. Most teams in this area don't play a schedule like the one St. Charles has played. They're a D1 program that will have much more depth than Jackson, they dress almost twice as many kids as the Ironmen, and they've been competitive against several playoff caliber teams. Obviously they're not the cream of the crop in the Columbus area, but there's a reason why it's rare for a SE Ohio team to compete for state titles. Central Ohio football is very different from the football played in our part of the state, at least in most cases.

[Ironmannut07]

What kind of offense do they run?

[ironman02]

What kind of offense do they run?

I've heard they run a lot of read option, but I don't really know for sure.

I watched a couple YouTube videos that had some highlights, but most of that was from last season. I would assume they're still doing some of the same things.

[Ironmen44]

SC runs the spread.

[ironman02]

SC runs the spread.

Do do they actually throw it much or do they just spread you out to run the ball?

I saw a little of both in highlights online, but those are obviously just highlights.

Any details on specific players?