OVC PREDICTIONS

[SportsMom]

CG HAS NEVER REALLY PASSED VERY MUCH AT THE JR. HIGH LEVEL NOR THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL!!!!!! I'd like to see them have both so they can compete in the ovc and the state level!!!!!!!!
They should have a good season!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO GROVE!!!!!!!!!!

[earp]

Coal Grove pass?RIGHT!Lucas is first going to try to trap first.Then if you stop the trap he is going to ISO till he finds the weak link and exploit it.Remember the Fairland game that was 52-50?It was all ISO once the trap was stopped.They were even running the ISO play out of the Maryland I in that game leading a 300 lbs kid up in hole.Hyland had I think it was 408 yards or something??? It was one of the most unreal games I have ever seen!

[fuzzhead]

I'm not saying I want to see Coal Grove drastically change their offense, especially with all the talent they have in the backfield. Heck, I'm looking forward to seeing a pleasant mixture of thunder and lightning behind the QB. But it's nice when you can throw passes on first and second down sometimes and keep the defense guessing and make sure they have to keep in mind that the pass is a distinct and very possible situation.
With that being said, I know that Big Dad has confidence in his line and most of the time, they give him to reason to. Although a lot of times, they aren't as in shape as they often need to be they give all they have and show a good deal of heart. As I've said before, Lucas' offense has it's share of potential "Good Sides" - it can wear a defensive front out if it continually pounds it for yards and it is probably very demoralizing to know what a team is going to do and not be able to stop it.

[2trap_4ever]

I've said it once and I will say it again, does anyone remember what happened the last time we tried to "open it up" with our offense. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[SportsMom]

you can only go so far w/o a passing game!!! that's always CG weakness!!!!!

They need to fix what's broken and have both!!!! especially if they want to get anywhere come state time!!!!!!!

[theone]

[fuzzhead]

I've said it once and I will say it again, does anyone remember what happened the last time we tried to "open it up" with our offense. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

There's a big difference between "opening it up" (like Fairland does) and passing on first or second down every once in a while and running a plays designed for speed (options, reverses, etc) every now and then on first or second. I know they can work because I watched Coal Grove do them last year, especially the first part of the season.
Another thing you have to remember is that Coal Grove has some of the best athletes they've had for a while now, so the potential is there. To allow boys who have potential to run speed-based plays to just sit on bench just because you want to "do it the way it's always been done" is foolish.
Using 11 players on both sides of the ball all game when you're this deep is also unnecessary.

[2trap_4ever]

I can remember playing and we did run options because we had the players to do it, and there is a big difference in having the ability and having the talent to do it, if we have the kids that have the talent and ability to run some speed plays and to throw the ball every once and a while then we need to do it, but my thing is I went to almost all the games last year and I would see how defenses would crowd the middle of the line and it made me laugh when we would run right at them and they couldn't stop it. Now I will admit some did but most didn't, anyway I am not worried about offense, we don't need to be, we need to be worried about defense. Last year the two games we lost we lost on speed and speed alone. I will say it here and defend my claims, we were better than Minford and Fairland we just wasn't as fast as them and that concerns me, we need more speed than last year if we are going to go far this season.

[bucking red]

The dragons are still fast!

[greenandwhiteboy]

how was cg better than fairland when we shut cg down and we ate them up on offense we stopped there supposebly powerful ground game they couldnt do anything against us and we ate their defense wit the pass and the run it wasnt juss speed that helped us win it was talent

[fuzzhead]

I've said it time and time again - my biggest beef with Coal Grove is the fact that they play defense as if they were lining up against their own offense. That's why they always give up a million points a game to Fairland every year. Fairland does whatever they want on offense and the only way Coal Grove can usually stop them is on turnovers. The pass defense has been terrible year in and year out (refer to the Lawrence County and Fairland games last year).
Lat year, Fairland was putting 8 and 9 people in the box and Coal Grove kept on trying to run into that. They got into 3rd and long and then were forced to throw, when Fairland was expecting it.
IMO, Coal Grove was not better than Minford, but they stuck in the game and it should have gone to overtime but instead the game-tying drive ended on a stupid play-call. If you'll remember, Coal Grove started racking up yards toward the end of that game by running around the corners instead of right at the teeth of the defense.
The South Point Game was different. At the end of that game, South Point flat-out couldn't stop Delawder and he continued to beat them to death up the middle. But again, a questionable decision to go for it on 4th down at about mid-field should have cost CG, but it didn't b/c the very next play Weed from SP fumbled and CG recovered and ran the clock out.
The Rock Hill game was mostly about ball control, but lets not forget the 2 minute drill run to perfection by Coal Grove at the end of the first half to score the TD where CG PASSED to perfection and it saved them. The past two years, Rock Hill has been bad about playing into Coal Grove's advantage on offense - they run right at CG which is exactly what CG wants.

[robycop3]

Fairland's liable to have a totally-new offense with a new coach.

[sandman]

After last year's matchups, it appears to me that to take the OVC you are going to have to learn how to defend against speed and passing rather than rely on line size and strength entirely. I know that last year, SP tore up RV with speed to the point that it was hard to watch. They matched up fairly well with CG and RH and both games were reasonably close.

[robycop3]

Seems no one's giving Peake muchuva chance this year. Coach Davis has some newer assistants this year, & some boys from an outstanding middle school team are a year older. They're keeping things quiet right now, but I figure they'll be a force to reckon with when the season begins.

[robycop3]

At Peake, Cannonball is Davis' main asst. with Andy Clark & a coupla others also assisting. I dunno the name of the new Middle school coach, but several people who've met him say he can certainly "talk the talk", & a family friend who's one of his asst's sez he's simply outstanding. So, it appears Peake is in good coaching hands, but, as always, we'll just hafta wait-n-see how talented & committed the PLAYERS are. But I believe Peake will be competitive in every game all season.(Coach Davis is, I believe third behind Lutz & Lucas in total games coached. remember, he previously was head coach at old perennial Wayne Co. WV power Buffalo-Wayne before coming to Peake. he and Wayne's Harmon, & SP's Shilot are ole friends, except when their teams play each other.

[dragoncoach56]

I HATE TO GO THERE, BUT I WILL . THE OVC, WILL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE PLAYOFFS, UNTIL THEY START SCHEDULING BIGGER TOUGHER TEAMS. YOU SIMPLY CANNOT SCHEDULE THE OVC, AND .500 PROGRAMS TO BEAT, AND ADVANCE IN THE PLAYOFFS. JUST A FACT.

Stick to beating your chest on the Ironton posts. Nobody cares what Ironton thinks about the ovc.
Clayton Dement

[osufan76]

Oh my, I'm going to side with someone from Fairland......

Let's see.....SP plays Portsmouth and Burg, Chesapeake plays Wayne, WV, and RH plays West and Burg this season which I think are pretty tough non-conference games....

The Tigers should just worry about their own backyard...few years back it seemed that an OVC school(RH) was tied with the mighty Tigers at the half 14-14 even with their poor schedule....

The last few years not one team from Lawrence county can beat their chest over highschool football....

[osufan76]

If you knew anything about HS football you would know that West was D4 until last year by 1.....yes 1 boy and that WBurg is a heck of test no matter D5 ...D4....or even D3,...so you can sleep on that. Ironton gets in the SEOL...gets beat by the big dogs and picks on Canada...wow....

Last few years, Ironton hasn't made it that far 'Bait....I don't care who you all have been beaten by. Just for kicks, when was the last time the Tigers won the region?

[osufan76]

Anyway, wasn't the topic about OVC predictions?

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

i thought you'd see it my way. llok at say, rock hill last year. lost their last 2 games, and made it in, met number 1 seed. st. clairsville and got torched. though i'm proud when any local team gets in, and follow them. a more difficult schedule would have paid dividends. i'm not trying to argue. i've been asked these questions by many ovc fans , and i give my opinion. heck , size wise there are at least 3 teams in the ovc bigger than ironton. they should really be in that league. thats really why we left the seoal, that many years ago. the games then, were not even a test for the tigers. now it's grown, and has more depth, and i believe better teams. it's where wqe need to be.