I agree with the spirit of your statement. Salem really needs to shore up the play in the defensive secondary to have a good chance at victory, not only this week, but also against the stronger playoff teams. The last three weeks, the secondary has developed an unsettling tendency to let guys run wide open for fifteen yard completions, after getting the opposing offense into third-and-long situations. So, that needs to be fixed, pronto.
As far as the numbers, I’m not sure they mean that much. In the 2017 regular season, the Spartans played five teams that finished the season with winning records. In those five games, Salem gave up an average of 32 points per game. But the defense - especially what was then a veteran secondary - got it together in the postseason, and Salem completed the three-peat. So, this year’s Spartans still have time to tighten down the bolts - though it ain’t getting any earlier.
Another thing that looks really bad on paper, but probably doesn’t mean that much, is Martinsburg’s schedule. So far, the Bulldogs’ seven opponents have compiled a record of 16-29. The only one of the seven with a winning record at this point is Academy Park, PA (outside of Philly), at 6-1. So take them out, and the other six teams Martinsburg has played are 10-28. Strictly my own opinion, of course, but I’d say five of those teams - the three from WV, and the two from DC - would qualify as anywhere from “bad” to “pitiful”, relative to Virginia Class 4 teams. I saw some of the Washington-Martinsburg game on YouTube, and Washington might give Craig County a good game.
So, aside from a couple of games against Virginia, or maybe Pennsylvania schools every year, Martinsburg’s schedule is almost completely laughable. So what? That obviously hasn’t held the Bulldogs back. They’re an excellent program that wins consistently against the better West Virginia teams, despite almost never seeing that quality of competition during the regular season.
