I'm a county guy, too, and I ALWAYS root for the Wayne County area schools in the playoffs, just as I was rooting on Orrville last week! Just because I pick against them doesn't mean I don't want them to win. And just 'cuz my score was wrong doesn't mean I have any crow to eat. I'm hoping for a repeat performance this week from Orrville to get another 'W' and advance to the state championship!
Here are my thoughts after seeing Chagrin Falls in person on Friday.
First things first, they are a VERY well-rounded team on offense and defense. Going into last week their leading rusher had something like 500-some rushing yards with the second leading rusher with 400-some. However, don't let this fool you. They spread the ball to a number of people in their offensive attack, very different than Genoa. Chagrin Falls' #33 was a speedy kid who ran a lot of toss sweeps and caught the ball well out of the backfield. They also have a 6'4" 200 lb. wide reciever/tight end who made a number of big plays down the field, so they're not afraid to stretch the field. They did absolutely whatever they wanted in the first half against Manchester, running and throwing. But to give perspective, though, Manchester's defense this year hasn't been spectacular. It's been their offense that won games for them. Having said that, the Panthers were lucky to get a few first downs through the first three quarters when they had the ball.
On offense Chagrin Falls' most common formation was shotgun with a RB on each side of the QB. They ran and threw equally out of this formation with a lot of motion from slot receivers. They did have a number of different formations they used throughout the game, though, but primarily stuck with the shotgun 2 RB set. Unlike some teams who run the same type of runs all game, Chagrin ran a number of different plays from the backfield, with some power runs straight up the middle, misdirection and counters, toss sweeps, and the like. The QB didn't run that much at all, though. If he didn't hand it off to any of 3 RB's in the backfield or in motion, he was most likely throwing the ball. In Chagrin's passing game, they were just as diverse as their running game, throwing a number of flat passes, screens, mid-range balls in the middle and outside of the field, as well as stretching the ball down field through the air. One thing's for sure: Orrville will need to guard the whole field and use the athletes they have at every position to slow down Chagrin's offense.
The main thing I noticed about Chagrin Falls' defense is that their DB's are VERY athletic, were right in the pocket of Manchester's fastest kids all night allowing little to no breathing room during routes, and had some good instincts and timing (and some "mad ups) to deflect jump balls and otherwise well-thrown balls. Not all Manchester's WR's were as good as Orrville's, but for the most part they couldn't get open other than a few flats passes which still had to be perfectly thrown. Their DB's were definitely their strength, IMO, since Manchester seemed to do pretty well running the ball up the middle and to the left side (I don't think they ran to the right side once all night); but that could have been because Manchester came out throwing against them and tried to throw all night, thus opening up the run game a little. I'm not sure why they didn't stick to the run more than they did. Either way, Chagrin Falls' defense is still very good all around and kept Manchester in tough 3rd down conversion situations. Chagrin Falls has good team size and team speed. Their offensive and defensive lines looked big and pretty athletic, but nothing that Orrville hasn't seen before. Chagrin Falls will blitz on just about
every play!
Having talked a little bit about Chagrin Falls (I'm not "praising" them, just saying what I observed Friday night), here are my thoughts on the match-up with Orrville:
Run the ball! I really think the Red Riders will be able to open a few holes against the Chagrin Falls' D-line. Manchester only had 1 big play all night, so the LB's did a nice job of cleaning up around the 4-5 yard mark, but they were getting some yardage. Simpson and Monheim are going to be a much better backfield tandem than what Chagrin Falls saw last week, since Manchester just kept Noble in the backfield and didn't use Logan much at all (1 rush). Monheim up the middle and Simpson stretch the width of the field will make Chagrin Falls' defensive front think. I really think the Red Riders can do some damage on the ground, if they keep up what they've been doing. Then I'm sure that Brenner, Turner, Pirman, and company will be able to do some damage in the passing game. CF ran lots of man-to-man coverage in the defensive backfield against Manchester, but they may or may not be able to do that against Orrville. Time will tell how their DB's react. Manchester only threw the deep ball when the game was in the bag (lots of flats passes and mid-range game), so they didn't really stretch the ball as much as Orrville will be able to on any down in any situation. Chagrin Falls had some pretty athletic kids in the return game and will need to be contained. They seem like they could break a big return at any time, but their return guys are nothing compared to Turner. LoL!
Manchester's defense was tough all year, but they were not nasty. If Orrville shows up with their "swag" and a nasty attitude on defense and makes Chagrin Falls punt a couple times in the first half, the Red Riders will be right where they want to be. On offense, if they can establish the run against Chagrin Falls, that should hopefully open up some breathing room for Orrville's WR's against Falls' good cover corners. Early in the year after I saw Orrville and Manchester for the first time each, I really thought both teams were about equal in all phases of the game (with a slight edge to Orrville on defense). Now I see a HUGE advantage to Orrville on the defensive end. They'll need to step up on defense and slow down Chagrin Falls to win this game. And as we've seen many times in the past, they can do that in the big game!
I think I will wait until later this week to make a prediction (I have no problem making predictions), but this is definitely a game Orrville can win. No doubt! But obviously, since any team at this point in the tournament is pretty darn good, the Red Riders will need to play a complete game!
Good luck, Red Riders! You have your hands full again this week (
much better team than Genoa, IMO), but Chagrin Falls has their hands full, too.
Thanks for those kind words! Sounds like the three of you (Red Rum, Miyagi, Bloody) had a great time at the game, haha.
