1. Take their heart, take their soul
Know how you know when you have a heck of a running game? When you can get the ball back with a 3-point lead and almost 7:00 still on the clock and the opposing offense never even sniffs the field again.
Louisa did exactly that to keep the old Tastee Freeze (with its delicious Reese’s Pieces Freezees and seasoned-salt covered fries) in Lions territory for the eighth straight year.
Even with leading rushers Malik Bell and Job Whalen nicked up, trying to stretch out aches and pains after each play, the Lions kept converting on third-and-short on a 14-play drive that began on their own 30, took the final 6:54 off the clock and tore the Hornets’ hearts right out of their chests.
The sheer size of the Lions’ backfield comes in at a combined 706 pounds, with Bell the heaviest at 258 and Whalen the lightest at 215. Raquan Jones comes in at 235.
That much beef in a scheme that keeps most guessing who’s even getting the snap will go a long way in the playoffs, which are only two weeks away.
Add that to a defensive effort that limited Orange’s rushing attack to the point that DeAngelo Hunt was its only member in positive yardage in the first half and the Lions’ coaches have to be getting excited about more than Thanksgiving turkey with November right around the corner.
Hunt had 86 yards on the ground in the first half, with 44 coming on one play. Thanks in large part to 14 yards in negative plays, Trevon Smith was limited to zero yards on seven carries in the first half.
