I “watched” - if you can call it that; the NFHS subscription was money flushed down the toilet - on my iPhone. Others may disagree, but in my opinion this game was not quite as close as the final score would indicate. Salem dominated the line of scrimmage, time of possession, and pretty much had their way on offense. Not counting the last two possessions of the game on which substitutes played, the Spartans failed to score only twice. The first occasion was due to a fumble at the end of a long run on what had been a nice drive. The other occasion came on what I found to be a pretty puzzling play call of a long pass attempt on third and two from Salem’s own 23 yard line in the third quarter. C’burg hadn’t come close to stopping the Spartans’ running game to that point, so why not just get the first down there, pretty deep in your own territory? Anyway, my armchair coach quibbling aside, the Spartan offense was very efficient and workmanlike.
Christiansburg had very little in the way of sustained offense. The Blue Demons hit a deep pass for their first score. From what I could tell by watching the tiny, tiny figures on my screen, they did have one or two other plays where receivers got open deep, but couldn’t connect. Of course, the quarterback seemed to be running for his life on those plays as well. The other C’burg TD came following a long run with 1:04 left to play in the game, when subs were in for both teams.
Kickoff coverage appears to still be an issue for Salem. One kick appeared to be a pop-up that gave C’burg the ball at the Salem 48, but that looked like a designed play. On two or three other returns, the Christiansburg return man took it right up the gut for nice gains each time. So, that’s something that still needs attention.
Overall, it was a good, solid win for Salem over what looked to me to be a pretty good Class 3 team. Especially considering this was Salem’s second game in less than four days’ time, and only three days were available to prepare for today’s opponent. I’m sure the coaches will be glad to get back on the regular Friday schedule now, with Patrick Henry coming up next Friday.
Christiansburg had very little in the way of sustained offense. The Blue Demons hit a deep pass for their first score. From what I could tell by watching the tiny, tiny figures on my screen, they did have one or two other plays where receivers got open deep, but couldn’t connect. Of course, the quarterback seemed to be running for his life on those plays as well. The other C’burg TD came following a long run with 1:04 left to play in the game, when subs were in for both teams.
Kickoff coverage appears to still be an issue for Salem. One kick appeared to be a pop-up that gave C’burg the ball at the Salem 48, but that looked like a designed play. On two or three other returns, the Christiansburg return man took it right up the gut for nice gains each time. So, that’s something that still needs attention.
Overall, it was a good, solid win for Salem over what looked to me to be a pretty good Class 3 team. Especially considering this was Salem’s second game in less than four days’ time, and only three days were available to prepare for today’s opponent. I’m sure the coaches will be glad to get back on the regular Friday schedule now, with Patrick Henry coming up next Friday.
Last edited:
