I just want to go ahead and pull a racindan and get this out of my head. I posted this in the PH thread:
Look at the gap in PH's O line, and how we are lined up against it. PH exploited that gap relentlessly. We made it easy for them. On PH's final drive, they walked down the field running the same 3 plays. We knew how elusive Sikkar the QB is, and knew he's not a good passer, so we naturally....play our LBs 5-10 yards off the line and give him miles of space to take off and run. We also stayed in our man defense and kept giving them the open flats. Why that wasn't changed after the first 2 times PH attacked the flats for 6+ yard gains is beyond me.
2006 against Amherst: 3-5 defense against Amherst's triple option out of the Power I got exposed all game.
2010 against Broad Run: blitzing cover 0 pass defense got outrageously exposed for 32 points in the first half, no adjustments until halftime.
2015 against Hanover: 3-4 defense got exposed against their run-heavy option offense.
2017 against Salem: 3-4/3-5 defense exposed against the I formation. Coach Fischer regretted after the game his lack of adjustments.
2019 against Massaponax: same as the Amherst game, but good job against the QB.
I know this will just look like sour grapes, and again it's my opinion as just a fan, and I already know the potential comebacks at me, but it's something that has bugged the Louisa fans that pay good attention for a long time now. We have had as much talent as any team around in the years I mentioned, but with each loss it becomes clearer to me that we aren't going to win a state title until we become more flexible defensively and improve at making adjustments and countering good offenses on the fly. That's especially important against rushing offenses that are smart enough to keep running it until you show you can stop it, not the teams that will get away from it for the sake of "mixing things up". I would feel much better about the losses if we could say with certainty that we tried everything possible to counter the offenses, but it's hard to get over it when it's obvious that wasn't the case. It also saddens me to not see our best athletes get the ball much more often than they do, like Noah Robinson. He barely touched the ball against PH, but whenever he touches the ball, good things seem to automatically happen. See everyone next year, maybe.
What I was alluding to are lack of good in-game defensive adjustments, which IMO has been the common theme in most, if not all, of those teams' playoff defeats. To put it bluntly, our defense has gotten schooled by other (more experienced) coaching staffs. PH's coach completely took us to school. We have failed to make good in-game, on-the-fly, defensive adjustments, and it has become more obvious to me the more I've watched teams like Highland Springs live. I hoped that the 2017 Salem game showed us that running a pass-stopping defense against a good run-heavy offense just won't work, because it'll get exposed. Amherst exposed it in 2006, Hanover exposed it in 2015, Salem exposed it in 2017, Massaponax exposed it despite our win, and PH exposed it blatantly with their 3-yards a pop plays, and the entire 3rd quarter. Why Louisa has never even attempted to switch their defense to 4 down linemen in any of those games, and see what happens, is beyond me. I watched Highland Springs switch to different fronts on the fly all game against Manchester and Varina. Also, look at this:IMO, Louisa has now had 5 teams that were capable of winning it all, 2006, 2010, '17, '18, '19, and they couldn't get it done. To me, there's a glaring reason why...
Look at the gap in PH's O line, and how we are lined up against it. PH exploited that gap relentlessly. We made it easy for them. On PH's final drive, they walked down the field running the same 3 plays. We knew how elusive Sikkar the QB is, and knew he's not a good passer, so we naturally....play our LBs 5-10 yards off the line and give him miles of space to take off and run. We also stayed in our man defense and kept giving them the open flats. Why that wasn't changed after the first 2 times PH attacked the flats for 6+ yard gains is beyond me.
2006 against Amherst: 3-5 defense against Amherst's triple option out of the Power I got exposed all game.
2010 against Broad Run: blitzing cover 0 pass defense got outrageously exposed for 32 points in the first half, no adjustments until halftime.
2015 against Hanover: 3-4 defense got exposed against their run-heavy option offense.
2017 against Salem: 3-4/3-5 defense exposed against the I formation. Coach Fischer regretted after the game his lack of adjustments.
2019 against Massaponax: same as the Amherst game, but good job against the QB.
I know this will just look like sour grapes, and again it's my opinion as just a fan, and I already know the potential comebacks at me, but it's something that has bugged the Louisa fans that pay good attention for a long time now. We have had as much talent as any team around in the years I mentioned, but with each loss it becomes clearer to me that we aren't going to win a state title until we become more flexible defensively and improve at making adjustments and countering good offenses on the fly. That's especially important against rushing offenses that are smart enough to keep running it until you show you can stop it, not the teams that will get away from it for the sake of "mixing things up". I would feel much better about the losses if we could say with certainty that we tried everything possible to counter the offenses, but it's hard to get over it when it's obvious that wasn't the case. It also saddens me to not see our best athletes get the ball much more often than they do, like Noah Robinson. He barely touched the ball against PH, but whenever he touches the ball, good things seem to automatically happen. See everyone next year, maybe.
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