Essex @ Northumberland
- Thread starter riversportsfan
- Start date
Is Essex the Galax of last year starting out getting beat 4 times then going on a run? I ask because I know their is a ton of talent and they have played a tough schedule. I've said it before they were probably the best team Galax faced last year and if they get it going they will be hell to face come playoff time.
Mt Fan, who know your football, and you know Essex. Now that Essex has finished
Their battle with all those 2A, 3A, and 5A schools, they are ready to concentrate on their
District games, which has to be more favorable.
Essex should win out, putting them at 6-4 going into the post season. Not many teams
Have faced a tougher schedule than Essex.
Their battle with all those 2A, 3A, and 5A schools, they are ready to concentrate on their
District games, which has to be more favorable.
Essex should win out, putting them at 6-4 going into the post season. Not many teams
Have faced a tougher schedule than Essex.
It's not even about the schedule Essex faced that has made them what they are......Their offense has only scored 47pts in 5 games.....They are prob avg 3-4 turnovers per game on offense as well. Now lets put things into perspective about their schedule.....KW, KG, JM, Deep Run & Goochland have yet to beat a team with a winning record. (maybe 1 team). Things can change but it is safe to say that Essex has regressed and that at this point Northumberland (if they utilize all their talent) has to be the favorite.
Dont be fooled, this is not a very talented crew from Essex, compared to the last 10 years. They are just big and physical. They make far to many mistakes to compete for a championship. They will do well in their district, which in my opinion is as weak as I've seen in 10-15 years, and that includes Northumberland that everyone is raving about. I dont see anyone of the 1A teams from the neck making much noise in the playoffs. Out of the 3 old region A districts, Northern Neck, Tidewater and Tri Rivers, the only ones I see capable of making a deep run at this point is Sussex and maybe Franklin. I would not be surpised to see a new district champion in the Tidewater, and it would be either Charles City or WP. But although WP is much improved they are still very young and may be a year away.
Are you saying you don't think Goochland, King George, Deep Run and JM are good teams? Those teams would give any team in 1A a run for their money and only the elite teams would stand a chance of winning. Both NND and 2x4 have a tough standard for 1A football, even though I totally agree Essex is off to a terrible start. 2x4 you say there are no good teams around, but follow that up by saying West Point is a year away. A year away from what?!?! A winning season? Come on man...From the records I would agree that Northumberland should be favored at home. The Trojans have to prove it on the field.
The combined record of Goochland, KG, DR and JM is 17-4. KG lost a tough close game to undefeated Louisa. Essex was only down 7-0 until KG scored 2 TDs in the last minute. JM is 4-1 with the only loss to 4A favorite Dinwiddie. It was 21-6 last night in the 4th and Essex had momentum until a fumbled punt. Goochland is 6-0 and that game was 0-0 until the 4th and when down 7-0 late Essex was in the red zone and gave up a pick six. The DR game was not a good game as Essex had trouble with the triple option. DR is 3-2 and while not a top 5A school would beat most 1A schools. With that said, Essex does need to cut down on turnovers. They had almost as many yards as JM last night but 5 turnovers killed them. They are also a relatively young team with all the top skill position players either sophomores or juniors. But they are battle tested from a murders row of a schedule and have yet to face a 1A school. They will this Friday and I am sure Northumberland will be fired up as this is arguably the biggest game in Heathsville in many years. This Essex team isn't as fast as some of the past Essex teams but still have speed and as stated above are very big and physical. Will they pull a Galax and run the table to a state title after a 1-4 start? That I don't know. Time will tell. But I still believe they are one of the top teams in 1A and a team that can make another deep playoff run. Only time will tell on that one.
Not saying Essex is the trash but why is there schedule being used as an excuse to lose? You say, "They had as many yards as JM but they had a lot of TO's", to that I say every game has it's story. I'm sure it's other teams out there saying the same "if" this and "if" that. Essex has potential but it's not beyond them to have a down year. Is there a magical offensive spell that will make them score more points? Every NND team is young except maybe Northumberland.
I said they definitely need to cut down on the turnovers. Hard to beat anyone when you have that. Was just saying without the turnovers things may have been different. Yes that is part of the game and while this is not the best team Essex has fielded they are still no pushover and am pretty sure no team is gonna want to see them on their side of the bracket come November.
Essextrojan1, are you guys ready to take on your district schools, i.e. Northumberland. Those
Guys are unbeaten and you play them on the road. Now is the time for Essex to start playing
Like they have in years past. What is your take on this week's game?
Guys are unbeaten and you play them on the road. Now is the time for Essex to start playing
Like they have in years past. What is your take on this week's game?
well said kwhs95fan. Essex has played a brutal schedule against all strong teams and did themselves no favors with all of their turnovers. Essex has a great D like against power Goochland. Essex is talented and has some huge kids. Essex could very well win out, maybe not...
However, Northumberland should prove to be their toughest NND opponent by far. You are right, this upcoming battle in Northumberland County may be the biggest football games in a long time, certainly one of the biggest in the last 20 years or so for Indian football.
I'll give more info on this great season for NHS in a bit. Anyone who does not like this possible Cinderella underdog story, well to each his own.
Trinity came in expecting to destroy Northumberland. By the looks of the size and skills, it was worrisome indeed for the Indian faithful.
Someone from the Titans even said before the game, "I here you guys are 4-0. Y'all are not used to that around are you?" They were not so cocky and happy near the end when that got that --- handed to them...lol.
Heart, teamwork, a tenacious defense, intensity and some skill players that Trinity had no answer for....won that day.
As for Essex, they think they may win by 4 TDs or more....I guess will just have to see won't we.
However, Northumberland should prove to be their toughest NND opponent by far. You are right, this upcoming battle in Northumberland County may be the biggest football games in a long time, certainly one of the biggest in the last 20 years or so for Indian football.
I'll give more info on this great season for NHS in a bit. Anyone who does not like this possible Cinderella underdog story, well to each his own.
Trinity came in expecting to destroy Northumberland. By the looks of the size and skills, it was worrisome indeed for the Indian faithful.
Someone from the Titans even said before the game, "I here you guys are 4-0. Y'all are not used to that around are you?" They were not so cocky and happy near the end when that got that --- handed to them...lol.
Heart, teamwork, a tenacious defense, intensity and some skill players that Trinity had no answer for....won that day.
As for Essex, they think they may win by 4 TDs or more....I guess will just have to see won't we.
The people who support Northumberland sports are excited about this great start and the possibility of success against Essex, in the NND, and having continued success in the playoffs. They deserve to be able to enjoy this great run.
Northumberland has had just two winning seasons in the last 17 years, an 8 and 6 win two seasons. Northumberland has just one win against Essex since like the mid 1990s. Average win total by Essex was by about 30 points. That win was in 2011 and doesn't really count in my book as Essex had almost collapsed from a coaching change and basically took a year or two off to regroup.
I don't blame people from being skeptics, so we shall see what happens soon. Essex may indeed win but Northumberland has a huge chance to change their football fortunes. A winning culture is developing.
Northumberland has a good mix of youth and seniors. Plus maybe a couple of the best skill players in the league. Should be exciting!
Let's hope the massive storm Matthew veers away from the coasts!
Northumberland has had just two winning seasons in the last 17 years, an 8 and 6 win two seasons. Northumberland has just one win against Essex since like the mid 1990s. Average win total by Essex was by about 30 points. That win was in 2011 and doesn't really count in my book as Essex had almost collapsed from a coaching change and basically took a year or two off to regroup.
I don't blame people from being skeptics, so we shall see what happens soon. Essex may indeed win but Northumberland has a huge chance to change their football fortunes. A winning culture is developing.
Northumberland has a good mix of youth and seniors. Plus maybe a couple of the best skill players in the league. Should be exciting!
Let's hope the massive storm Matthew veers away from the coasts!
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I remember the Magerko led teams from the mid 90s with the run and shoot with all those fast receivers and Eric Harcum (RIP) at running back. Was a fun team to watch as back in those days nobody around here passed the ball much.
Should definitely be a huge game Friday night and this group of kids from Essex won't come in thinking it'll be a walk in the park I can assure you. Northumberland definitely got everyones attention across the state last night with their win. Was huge for them and it's very obvious their coach has them believing and headed in the right direction. I'm sure all of Heathsville, Callao, Reedville and everywhere else in Northumberland County will be there Friday night.
Should definitely be a huge game Friday night and this group of kids from Essex won't come in thinking it'll be a walk in the park I can assure you. Northumberland definitely got everyones attention across the state last night with their win. Was huge for them and it's very obvious their coach has them believing and headed in the right direction. I'm sure all of Heathsville, Callao, Reedville and everywhere else in Northumberland County will be there Friday night.
KW is going to win the Tidewater until further notice. The NN is down but the Tidewater has 3 or 4 of the worst teams in the entire 1A east region in their district. Go look at the power points for the region, Middlesex, Mathews, King and Queen and Charles City are all at the bottom.
I don't think Middlesex should be included as the worst teams and I don't think Northumberland thinks that either.
I'm still rolling with my Trojans. I saw some good signs in the game against James Monroe. I know, I know.....some of you might be saying what good can I get out of a 35-6 beating. Guess you had to be there lol. Just cut out the turnovers. This is a statement game for both. Northumberland wants to show they are legit and Essex wants to show all of 1A that they are still a force.
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I hope that the rains hold off and that there is a fantastic crowd in Heathsville. Northumberland crowds are not that accustomed to getting really loud and boisterous but players feed off a fired up crowd pulling for them. While the Monday night crowd was not huge, it got excited in the 2nd half to help the Indians pull of the upset (crowd excitement and support does work!).
Yes, Coach Cutler and staff did a great job preparing for Trinity. The team showed much improvement and the skill players got lots of touches spread around. The encouraging news is that Northumberland by no means played a perfect game yet still were able to achieve victory. The Indians lost 3 turnovers and racked up 88 yards in penalties. Of course, must clean those issues up. The snaps were much better but still need perfecting.
Main thing to me that NHS needs to work on is fixing some special teams issues (all phases had some major glitches) and keep improving blocking assignments. I know and understand many coaches use special teams to let the bench players get some time and rest the stars. For the Essex game, I would put only the top players in the game. Special teams can win or lose games as we all know.
Overall though, awesome job all the way around! A perfect start at 5-0 for the Indians!
Yes, kinda surprised Northumberland did not crack the top 10. Especially as strong as the NND historically has been. Oh well, let it feed the hunger!
I think Virginia Preps just used the same poll as last week as none of the top 10 changed from the previous week. I'm not sure if they even waited for Monday night games to be completed. I did my own personal opinion top 10 on another thread on here and I have them on mine
Essex Trojan1, you are indeed correct about this being a statement game. One team really wants to prove they have become relevant in the top tiers of 1A football. The other really needs to prove that they remain not only relevant, but still one of the major powers.
I hope that the big game will live up to its potential.
Essex wins northern neck and king William wins tidewater. If WP can't beat surry, Lancaster, Washington and lee then they can't beat king William.
Old region A top ten - Sussex, Franklin, Essex, Northumberland, then who cares, its a mess of mediocre to pathetic football teams.
Old region A top ten - Sussex, Franklin, Essex, Northumberland, then who cares, its a mess of mediocre to pathetic football teams.
Well KW just lost to a Caroline team that was riding a 25 game losing streak. Nothing is etched in stone. Charles City lost to Franklin by just 8 and Colonial Beach by 6. Middlesex and Mathews both have athletic qbs who can change a game.
Hey Essex Trojan 1, give us some updates on the big game with Northumberland.
Tell " Big Nasty " to play tough. You guys need a good win, and hold on to that darn
Ball! Good luck My Friend, and I hope those Trojans play well and stay injury free!
Tell " Big Nasty " to play tough. You guys need a good win, and hold on to that darn
Ball! Good luck My Friend, and I hope those Trojans play well and stay injury free!
