Courtland (8-2) vs. King George (5-5)
- Thread starter DEVILSLB99
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Well, plenty of page looks but no takers. I guess I'll state the obvious, and that is I firmly believe that Courtland has an enormous chip on their shoulder (probably directed mainly at themselves) for losing to the Foxes a couple weeks ago. The fact they channeled that energy into a complete dismantling of a very good James Monroe team, and then blanking Caroline for their third shutout of the season leads me to believe that the Cougars are very focused on redemption and putting on a very good show at home. I'd really like to think that maybe losing to KG was a "blessing in disguise" and will motivate the Cougars to a very deep run in the playoffs.
I would think with Courtland's talent that revenge the 2nd time around will be sweet and the margin large.
Agreed, probably will get ugly quickly. I still think Courtland is for real and that King George's style of play on both sides of the ball was a perfect storm that first game. Courtland will be ready this time. KG is good, but they've already peaked.
Just asking...why was it a perfect storm a few weeks a go, but not now? I haven't seen either play yet this year. Is it a match-up issue? Does KG just match-up better against Courtland? From what I remember, it's not like they just squeaked one out the first time they played. Didn't KG pretty much take it to them, or am I wrong about that?
Courtland beat themselves. They had several fumbles after having corrected that problem in the Massaponax game (a game they actually dominated, but couldn't finish off because of self-inflicted wounds). KG played a great ball game and was very fast around the edges. The score was 19-14 and if one of the Courtland backs didn't fumble in the 4th quarter, which resulted in a recovery and run for a score, Courtland would have eeked by with a 14-12 win. It should have never even been that close. The Cougars were flat and quite possibly complacent.
so you're basically saying if Courtland coughs it up 2 or 3 times, KG can beat them again
KG's defensive coordinator is Breck Hall, Courtland Coach JC Hall's brother. It's his first year at KG after spending last year at Louisa. He runs the same defense as Courtland. I think the game was a mix of little brother finally beating big brother, great execution by KG, and miscues by Courtland. From the stats, every Courtland back racked up yardage in that game, but KG made the stops when they had to. After losing to Chancellor and getting crushed by JM, I think they've peaked and Courtland now probably sees more possibilities to exploit them than they did before. Courtland might also pass more in this one since KG has been hapless against it. It should be interesting!
Sure--turnovers can kill you. If you give up the ball and it immediately turns into points for the other team, it's very hard to win.
Interesting indeed. I would love to see Courtland actually run Jabari Allen and Nick Grant on the same side at the same time with crossing routes, etc. It could be absolutely devastating if they actually dialed it up. I guess if you have three backs who'll get you 1000 yards a season each it's a higher percentage call to run it, but as a person who has watched the team religiously for three years, you just have to love the athletic grace that #4 and #1 carry themselves with. I'm going to watch both of those young men next year at Towson and UVA.
But according to the FLS, Courtland only fumbled twice in the first KG game, not "several" times, and lost the one that was scooped and scored.
One other shout out I'd like to make is for Courtland's Defense! They only gave up 103 points all year, posted three shutouts, and have been dominant throughout the year. Many times the Cougar offense unfortunately put the defense in a very bad position, but usually rose to the occasion and did what they needed to do. (Full disclosure: I'm a little biased because my son Ben Beatty is an anchor on the defensive line and I'm as proud as I can be on the kind of season he's had and the way he's carried himself this season).
Courtland was sloppy and complacent. It was sort of like the way they got off the bus at GW last year in the playoffs--asleep. They never fully woke up against KG.
If Courtland mixed in more spread looks utilizing those guys, especially on first or second downs, they'd be nearly unstoppable. They have thrown it a few times on first/second downs this year.
This is the kind of chatter I wish everyone could have on these boards all the time.
Same thing against Dominion last year and Sherando and Pulaski two years ago. I wish someone could find a way to consistently fire them up right off the bat. I don't know why they're like that.
You're right, but the word "playoffs" should have any kid on a good team fired up and ready to go.
Agreed--I appreciate that.
Courtland's QB Chet Wilborne is a very serviceable QB and could sling it if he was given the chance. Heck, their most successful passing play is to throw it up in the air and let Jabari use is 6'-4" and fantastic leaping ability to just go snag it at the highest point. It's a little frustrating to not see them utilize the talent they have.
Just depends sometimes.....kids don't like change. Playing on a Saturday changes the mindset of some kids.....I always hate it when games are on early-dismissal days at school...players get out of their routine and it can affect them mentally for whatever reason
Lots of seniors on this squad--maybe they recognize their careers might soon be over and really bring it. Honestly, the first game this year where I saw Courtland play to their potential for all four quarters was against James Monroe. They were angry, focused and refused to be denied. It also happened to be Senior Night, so maybe seeing the end coming soon might be the motivator they need. Who knows?
Even Allen or Grant just running jet sweeps would be tough to stop.
Courtland has lost two games this year do to self-inflicted wounds. Mostly fumbles and that has been something worked on and improved upon but it is still happening a lot (in the first two games alone they fumbled 11 times). Certainly more than other Courtland teams. The other issue is they are extremely slow starters in games. They always seem to run the same script. Yogi Berra said, "it's like Deja's-vu, all over again". That's Courtland and defenses are ready for it. Hence the slow starts.
I hate "ifs" in game analysis but the important points here for the Cougars are to start quickly and keep the ball secure. If they can do that, Courtland should win the game. Of course, KG has some talented kids also who have already beaten The Cougars this season. They will be confident and motivated.
After beating JM, Courtland RB Cheathum said about the KG game "I don't know who those guys were last week but it wasn't us". We'll see who shows up Friday. GL to both.
I hate "ifs" in game analysis but the important points here for the Cougars are to start quickly and keep the ball secure. If they can do that, Courtland should win the game. Of course, KG has some talented kids also who have already beaten The Cougars this season. They will be confident and motivated.
After beating JM, Courtland RB Cheathum said about the KG game "I don't know who those guys were last week but it wasn't us". We'll see who shows up Friday. GL to both.
I don't know if they need to go spread and I know the Courtland playbook. There are plenty of passing plays in it. They practice their passing a lot. But they really don't use it often. Besides, if I saw Courtland throw a pass on first down, I'd have a heart attack.
Well put--I agree with your analysis completely. If the Courtland boys who played JM show up Friday, the ride back to King George will be painful.
There were two fumbles by Courtland in the kg game and kg lost 1 fumble. When KG is disapline on defense and can remember the plays on offense they can play a very good game. When u struggle at both u loose 50 to 14. KG puts a lot of good athletes on the field and when they play with fire its hard to beat them. It is also hard to beat a good team twice. KG has to put there best athelete out there for all 3 parts of the game.
I think this game may be closer that a lot of folks think. KG beat them the first time which should give them some confidence. Brek Hall (KG DC) knows how to stop the wing-T. He QBed the same wing-T his brother did at Courtland when he played there, so he knows the offense inside and out. KG has to score first and keep the game close. When the game is close late in the game is when Courtland makes mistakes - it happened against Massaponax and KG this year. It happened against Sherando in the playoffs last year (I think it was). All that being said, you can't pick against Courtland at home. They have the better team and will be fired up. I think it will be close at the half and Courtland will pull away a little in the 2nd half - kind of like their game with Chancellor.
All about turn-overs....if Courtland turns it over it might be close. I don't believe any coach "knows" how to stop anything.....if that were true everybody would pay them a lot of money for their knowledge. You either have the players that can stop it or you don't. KG wont "stop" Courtland unless they fumble it away
I also agree with that being part of the equation. This is the playoffs. At least in 4A East, everyone is capable of beating another on any given night. Great plays, costly mistakes, frustrating disappointments and perhaps a miracle or two. That's what we'll see the next 5 weeks. Everybody better bring their A game because to get to this point with an opportunity to do something special is what it's all about. GL to all.
Just as there are different offensive schemes (Wing-T, single wing, spread, ...) there are many different defensive schemes. There are definitely coaches who know what defensive schemes to use against various offensive schemes. Some coaches are more well versed as stopping one scheme more than others. I think Brek Hall, as a former QB in a wing-T offense (and having been coached by HOFer Ken Brown) knows the defensive schemes that work best to stop the wing-T. He can only do so much though - he can tell them where they need to line up and what they need to do - he can't do it for them! I think that's part of why they had success against Courtland the first time - they were in the right spots to make stops. They got some help from the fumble and I've heard Courtland was a little flat. They did hold them to 14 points, which may have been a season low for Courtland. You don't hold a team like Courtland to 14 points if you are not doing something right.
There is coaching and executing. Both have to go hand and hand for it to work. It's amazing how good a team can look one week and how bad they can look another. I think with the exception of a couple of teams most of the area teams have comparable talent. Utilizing your players where they can succeed and not fail is key. Keeping your up and coming troops in a good program is key to success over years.
I agree with this. Most of the teams have comparable talent. Coaching and the program they build can make consistent well performing teams. That should be the goal. But sometimes you get exceptional players and that's where you have to make your run. I have never seen a State Champion or a Final team without one or more exceptional players that get them there.
That's a true statement, you can put a solid product out on the field every year with consistent GOOd coaching in place. But, you better have couple or more studs if you want to get to the final dance.
I know we're both on the same page here Hammy but we're gonna' catch flack for this one so I'm just going to let it ly.
I'm grateful to say that it turned out like I had hoped and thought it would. Courtland showed up in a big way and completely shut King George down in all phases of the game. It may have come at a fairly high cost--Blair Lawson went out early in the game with what looked like an ankle injury. Jason Hokenson came in and had a whale of a game in his place. Once again, the defense was the story of the game--the fourth shutout of the season. KG couldn't get anything going. Really looking forward to next Friday against Eastern View and to see just how much gas this Cougar team has in the tank!
Is it a week to week thing or out for playoffs type thing? I hope for Courtlands sake, it is day to day, losing Lawson would be a tough blow....
Lawson is a tough blow if he's out and I hope the injury is not too bad. Not for the team but for the kid.
Bottom line here. Courtland owns EV. Always has. Never been beaten. Always a blow out. Of course, this is 2015. GL to both next week.
