Handley at Salem
- Thread starter DinwiddieProud
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Salem's offense is rolling, averaging 62 pts a game over last 5 games. The defense shows signs of improvement (minus that debacle against Pulaski Co.) The playoffs will show if the defensive improvement is for real, or a product of playing not very good teams last few games.
I said Salem vs Handley would go down to the end last year and I was wrong (did not have VA preps, this was in my head lol). It is so hard to say who is going to win playing these teams that are more than an hour away from each other. Didn’t many people think Louisa was going to destroy Salem at Louisa 2022? Who would have thought cburg would knock off the undefeated 2009 Salem team? What dummy would pick Salem over Blacksburg in 2017 when Blacksburg beat them by about 40 points in the regular season. I did not expect Tuscarora to upset a great 2019 Salem team in Salem stadium.
Hope Salem wins, but matchups are going to be way different than last year. Some how Salem’s offense is even more explosive than last year. Defense is growing but who knows how they will be against Handley? Any comprable teams Handley has played?
Picking Salem here, but Salem has to go out and play as always!
Shout out to the mules this year. Have more size this year than they usually do (though not overly tall, they have some weight) and they have been physically strong all year. Got to keep it up this time of year!
Hope Salem wins, but matchups are going to be way different than last year. Some how Salem’s offense is even more explosive than last year. Defense is growing but who knows how they will be against Handley? Any comprable teams Handley has played?
Picking Salem here, but Salem has to go out and play as always!
Shout out to the mules this year. Have more size this year than they usually do (though not overly tall, they have some weight) and they have been physically strong all year. Got to keep it up this time of year!
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I picked Salem here. However, if freshman qb Darling can play on Friday he could have the ability to pick Salems secondary apart and could give Salem a run for their money. The Spartans will also have to play well up front on the defensive line, as Hassan Akanbi is the leading rusher in the Winchester area.
If Darling for Handley doesn’t play the Spartans should win with not much trouble. If Darling plays there could be an upset on the horizon
It is cool for me that Handley is playing Salem for the second straight year in the playoffs. I reminisce on my time sometimes that I spent living just about a mile from Handley. It was an awesome year and almost a half living up there.
True, I really just say that because it’s a lower seed beating a higher seed.
Does anyone know what his injury could be? I tried looking for information about it on the Winchester Star Sports page today but couldn’t find much about it. From looking at a previous post on this forum it sounds like an ankle injury.
Even with the improvement, this is Salem's worst scoring defense dating all the way back to 1982, which is pre Coach White's arrival
Now that I think about it with both these teams coming in with the same record, a Handley win wouldn’t really be an upset. The Spartans will have to deal with the big fella Offutt inside. He is a Wake Forest commit. Moves really well. I will say the Spartans have gone up against some highly talented lineman in the past such as Fletcher Westphal last year in the State Semis who is now a Florida Gator and Alex Birchmeir back in 2021 from Broad Run in the state semis who is now at Penn State. Birchmeir and Westphal both didn’t really have much of an impact in either of those games. Salem has done well against blue collar lineman like Offutt in the past. But, will this continue on Friday is the question
As a previous Salem mule, the bigger guys are, the easier they are to combo in gap scheme. Problem comes in pass block but interior OL have a lot of help, wouldn’t be worried about studs on d-line for run game.
The short, skinny strong guys at d line are the hard ones to block.
This fella may be an exception, more power to him if he is!
Yes, exactly. We will find out real quick if the improvement is for real, or just a mirage.
Canon arm , sprinter speed , and a Freshman plays like a senior.
JH actually has two Offutt brothers. One is a senior this year ( Wake Forest bound) the other is a junior. Both are big and strong. They both start on offense. One at left tackle, the other is either at left or right guard, depending on the package. On defense neither is a full time starter, they rotate in frequently, but through out the season and against Sherando, neither one played every down. At the high school level the older one can't be blocked one on one, Sherando double and triple teamed him at times. He can be reached and sealed off on zone run plays but he is a force. The back up QB for Handley was in the running to start before the season started. He is capable and is not a bad passer at all. He is not the runner that Darling is though.
Hassan Akanbi is fast and is tough to tacke in space, Sherando did a great job of slowing him down with the first tackler and then had great pursuit from there other defenders to clean things up. He will make people miss!
Does Salem throw the ball well? Handley can be thown on. They have a really good linebacker in Josiah Johnson, he has a nose for the football and will make plays.
I think Salem wins this game, but i expect it to be closer than last year, even if they have to go with the back up QB.
Hassan Akanbi is fast and is tough to tacke in space, Sherando did a great job of slowing him down with the first tackler and then had great pursuit from there other defenders to clean things up. He will make people miss!
Does Salem throw the ball well? Handley can be thown on. They have a really good linebacker in Josiah Johnson, he has a nose for the football and will make plays.
I think Salem wins this game, but i expect it to be closer than last year, even if they have to go with the back up QB.
Akanbi played well last year in Salem. I know Handley didn’t have any points to show for it last year but I honestly thought the Judges played tough last year. They had big plays just couldn’t capitalize that with touchdowns. Salem can throw the ball, they don’t do it often but have had success with it when they do. I’ll take Salem 34-24. The Salem offense will score. I think they are going to have a hard time shutting down Akanbi and I do think he will get his yards. If he gets past the first line of defense, the secondary for Salem has shown at times this year they are vulnerable. I expect this to be a shoot out but I think Salem will do enough on offense to get it done. If Darling plays, I could see the Judges pulling it out. They still very well could with the backup qb but I just feel like if Darling can’t go and with the backup not being able to run like Darling can that will take its toll on the Judges offense. If Salem was going up to Handley and I knew Darling was going to play, I may have taken the Judges outright to win. With home field advantage and Darling being a question mark I took Salem in this one. I do think it’ll be a shoot out. though
You're playing Salem in the playoffs at Salem. If you win, it's an upset. They have 8 wins this year. Over last 40 years they average 10 wins per year. If Handley wins, it's an upset
Salem looks to have brought up every JV player. I'm not being silly. Check the BBurg film.
BOLD PREDICTION- QB 8 plays out of his mind and the Spartans win.
I'll be at the top under the Section A box. Come holler.
BOLD PREDICTION- QB 8 plays out of his mind and the Spartans win.
I'll be at the top under the Section A box. Come holler.
Darling playing or not seems like it may be a game time decision. Not sure if anyone has heard at this point any about his injury. If he plays I think Handley has a legit chance at pulling out a win. If he doesn’t they still can pull of the upset it’ll just be a lot more difficult.
Here's some highlights from the Sherando/Handley game if anyone wanted to watch:
Thanks. I’ve been trying to find footage of all these 4D teams and it’s very hard. Last resort would be NFHS but those are bad usually around here.
As with many flags there is leeway applied but by definition if a defender is airborne i.e. his feet aren't touching the ground, then he is fair game to be hurdled legally. Most refs just tend to call it based on whether a defender is attempting a low tackle (waist or preferably knees/ankles) or something higher, letting the former go and flagging a hurdle on the latter.
Noticed that the last few games Handley been giving up 3 or 4 touchdowns. I'll go out on a limb and say Salem will be the best offense Handley has seen. On offense Salem has speed from both backs and their receivers. Handley will have to score with Salem. Could be very possible. Salem has given up a lot of points to teams like Pulaski and Franklin County (neither are world beaters). Could be a shoot out determined by turnovers
Most likely scenario right here. ^. I thought Fleming would be a shootout too but that was just a weird game
Fleming is very very good on defense. Real shock them losing to Staunton River.
No way Handley beats Salem without the QB. They could possibly keep it interesting but I doubt it.
I would normally be very confident that Salem would handle things rather easily this Friday night. However, this has not been a normal Salem defense this season. You have to go back to the days before Willis White took over the program (1984) to find a Salem defense with this kind of performance. I think Salem fans are hoping that the defense has improved and will show that improvement in the playoffs. Me, I'm not so sure. Hopeful, but concerned.
You'll never see a less confident group of fans than you will with Salem. The "aw, shucks" routine wears thin after awhile.
The main keys for Salems defense on Friday I believe is to keep Hassan Akanbi in check. The defensive line needs to play sound assignment football and stop him before he can get to the next level. They also must get pressure on the qb no matter which qb the Judges go with on Friday.
Gotta score often and early too. Keep the high powered Judges offense off the field as much as possible. Can’t get in a shoot out though.
Gotta score often and early too. Keep the high powered Judges offense off the field as much as possible. Can’t get in a shoot out though.
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