Portsmouth 57 Valley 40

[mattash]

Thoughts?

[trojandave]

Just really don't know what to expect from the Trojans......Will PHS finally field a respectable defense? Can the offense produce playmakers besides Talyn Parker? Can the Trojans compete against the better teams on their schedule? Do they have enough depth to survive injuries? Can the kicking game make opponents go the long field? Will the Trojans utilize their overall speed on both sides of the ball? Will Portsmouth keep fighting when they are down on the scoreboard? Can Portsmouth refrain from committing costly penalties caused by undisciplined play (unsportsmanlike, late hits, etc.)?

Many questions to consider with no certain answers........but as always, GO TROJANS!!!

[Beergogglebluez]

Hard to predict this team from 2 a days and the preview. In theory we should be ok. But will our line hold up. Every team we plays know to shut down Parker so can we run a back up plan. Last year after Parker went down it was a train wreck. From the preview we had a ton of penalties. They are fast. Defense is fast. We have good backups that should help our starters catch there breath. It will be fun and interesting with this team. Hopefully Friday at waverly we see a bit more of the starters and game plan.

[Matt77]

Parker will get his. But he won’t be enough to beat a Valley team with a lot of returning starters. Portsmouth will have to have others step up to win. Mainly on defense. Valley 28-21

[Beergogglebluez]

I have the Trojans winning that one fairly easy. But anything can happen on Friday night. Valley seems a year or 2 away still. Being the 1st game of the season anything can happen.

[Beergogglebluez]

Thursday night I meant lol.

[Proud_Pirate63]

This is a close one. I’ll take Valley by 1 on a Trojan missed PAT.

[noreply66]

Will Portsmouth be in shape to last into the 4th

[trojandave]

noreply66 brings up a point that is very important.......CONDITIONING. I expect, not hope, that Portsmouth is in BETTER CONDITION than any team on the schedule. No excuse for not being in great shape.......and that does make a HUGE difference in performance. As a distance runner myself, I know what a difference conditioning can make. Poor conditioning is my #1 pet peeve in high school sports.

I really think the rebirth of winning Trojan football begins with conditioning.......and it's not up to the coaches to start a conditioning program from scratch. The kids have to want to get in great shape themselves. The coaches can then further enhance their conditioning if there's a strong base to start with.

Poor conditioning will result in poor performance. It doesn't take an exercise physiologist to figure that out.

[Beergogglebluez]

Conditioning is my worry too. We have speed. We are going to pound the ball and run. That’s going to take a lot of energy. We have backups to keep kids from playing both ways all the time. We have 8 days to figure it out lol.

[donaldtrump]

Portsmouth 35 valley 24

[Crab's Brother]

The difference in last year's game was the play of Issac Kelley. He was the reason Portsmouth controlled the game. Parker went down in the 2nd but he was being contained. Valley didn't lose much and they have some kids that have played a lot of football. I think this will be a very good ball game to kick off the season.

Valley 27
Portsmouth 21

[coop]

Valley may still be "a year away", but they have some kids who have played a lot of football(as Crabs Brother alluded to), and I think they will only get better and better as the season goes on.

The best thing about Lucasville is whether the Indians are 2-8 or 8-2, the community will come out and support, and the kids will play hard. Good Luck Indians!

Valley 26
Portsmouth 19

[BigBlueNation]

I'm going to say this game could go either way.

[Izladoom]

Went to the jamboree game Friday and valley looked greatly improved from last year. Shope finally looks like a qb instead of just a athlete playing qb and streeter is probably the most exsplosive kid in the county and can score from anywhere.

[Proud_Pirate63]

Doesn’t Valley broadcast/live stream their games? Where can I find it on Thursday?

[coop]

Went to the jamboree game Friday and valley looked greatly improved from last year. Shops finally looks like a qb instead of just a athlete playing qb and streeter is probably the most exsplosive kid in the county and can score from anywhere.

Heard the same thing! Looking forward to the kids competing.

[BurgGrad6]

Valley by 3 scores. Trojans don’t have the horses to go the distance. Go Indians

[Crab's Brother]

Doesn’t Valley broadcast/live stream their games? Where can I find it on Thursday?

Yes they do. We will have the link posted before the game.

[Dmp_404040]

Portsmouth 35-14. Faster stronger defense than last year. Offense is better and more balanced.