Salem vs. Louisa County
- Thread starter Virginia HS Football Fan
- Start date
Louisa looks like a team on a mission. A lot has been said about their talent and how they seem to be slightly under appreciated. Salem is rolling like Oklahoma is now in college. They have put their game into a new gear and are playing with no pressure. Both teams are electric. I don’t expect Salem to get to 40 points not Louisa get held to 20. Hope weather will not be a factor.
Louisa travels very well
Louisa might bring more fans than the 2006 game, which still holds the record for LU state attendance at 14k+.
Today the home stands were full at 12:30!
That’s a lot, at LU side wasn’t filled. Amherst and Louisa still has the record of over 14.000 in 2006
I’ve been to every state game since 2006 and not one team has filled both sides during one game at LU
The only game with a hard time at these finals is the first game (1A/3A/5A). The others come whenever those are finished.
Back then it was 14,000 and Louisa and Amherst also had people on the banks. They have added since then but do not allow people in this top row seats
No way, Salem didn’t even have the visitor side of LU filled in 2015. I was there
Also in 2007 Amherst and Shernando was almost to capacity but not like Amherst and Louisa
Apparently you can't believe the VHSL website. It also says Region A hosts state semis
I dont believe that is true. Of course the 2nd game can't be played before or during the 1st, but there has always been set times and a LONG wait in between
Not even close... closer to 2,000 than 6,000 Salem fans will be in attendance. Over under set at 3,000
Not going to happen... won't even be close. Total attendance will be closer to around 8-9,000
There will be a very good Hopewell vs Heritage game before hand. Should be a good day of ENT!
Because they have contracts with the 3 schools. It has been many places over the years. Before WM it was Liberty, but they changed when some kind of issue came up
This thread starting going left. I'll keep it left for the first paragraph then try to get back right after. For the record, I don't see an underdog in this game. If I had to pick one, Louisa is the underdog here. Salem has a coaching staff playing in their 4th straight title game and 6th in 12 years. I want to say they've got 5-6 players who started on each of the past two state teams (Tucker, Mundy, Ramsey, Wade, Quinn, Cardwell) plus a slew of others who played in last seasons title game. To say this doesn't matter is foolish. Kid's knowing what to expect from perspective of the travel, routine, the facility and the overall focus it takes to win the title is very important and shouldn't be undervalued here. Sure Louisa has Smith and Thurston with FBS offers but Tucker has FBS interest and Ramsey is FBS talent on the field, off field things are holding him back. Both teams have a handful of guys that will be FCS players. Salem can't play that underdog role here IMO, you avenged the BBurg loss and you are a much better team right now than what you showed against Dinwiddie, a game you still had a chance to win. With all that said let's break it down.
I'd say I've got a pretty good feel of both teams. Game planned for both teams 2 weeks apart and played them both with the same health they currently have. The matchup everyone is talking about is the Salem run game vs the Louisa front 7. It is by far the most intriguing matchup of the game which leads me to believe it won't be the part that decides it. Salem will run on Louisa better than anyone else has and Louisa will hold Salem under their rushing average, it will be a push IMO.
The passing game is going to decide it IMO. Gladden vs Bell. Tucker, Quinn, Wade, Close, Hale, Ramsey catching the football vs Carter, Hunter, Jones, Turner, West, Sharpe, Whalen catching the ball. Neither team has a speed advantage outside over the other team. The big difference in the pass game is that Bell appears to be a better runner than Gladden if the pass play breaks down. I say appear because I haven't seen Gladden run much. Partially because he gets rid of the ball timely and partially because his coaches don't put him in running situations often. I remember old Salem teams running the naked boot with less mobile QBs but haven't even seen that from them this year. Gladden has the stronger and more accurate arm IMO but Bell isn't a slouch.
Both teams have the same defensive "weakness" IMO, the secondary against the pass. It's not that they are bad here but they are so good up front that the back end tends to give up the big plays and yards. Both teams like to play man to man outside more so than zone. Saw much more zone coverage from Salem than Louisa on different game tapes. Salem plays primarily off man while Louisa will play both press and off man.
I'm interested to see if either team goes into their bag of tricks at some point. Both teams are going to do what got them here for sure but if it's tight late and someone needs a spark, will we see something outlandish called by either team? An onside kick or a fake punt?
It's going to be a great game between two smash mouth teams. If I had to bet on someone, it would be Salem because this is what they do, they get to the state game and play better than they have all season and win. I would like to see Louisa win for Coach Fischer and for the Cville area drought of football State titles (Monticello 2006 or 2007 was the last).
Good Luck to both teams and congrats to both programs for tremendous seasons thus far. They both deserve to win IMO. Louisa was doubted all year and Salem has proven a lot of people wrong since two early season losses.
Exceptionally well written and I agree you may be the most qualified opinion on the board regarding this topic. If your prediction comes true that "neither team will be able to dominate the other upfront" then this game gets very very interesting. The thought of Salem and a Louisa having to go air born even 25% of the play calls will make this one a lot of fun and unpredictable.
I think it will boil down to finishing drives. I think both will have moderate success on the ground but I agree with you... it won't be enough on its own.
Have no dog in the fight, but Louisa is such an amazing story. This is what sports are all about. Win or lose, they are champions and Fischer is a living legend. Hopefully they TCB on Saturday evening.
The link for the Salem game in 2005 at Liberty, you can see the attendance for Salem at different times.
I believe that Louisa will bring more especially for the location. At Liberty in 2006, they filled the one side of LU and Amherst filled the other side, that has not been done since.
I was at the 2006 Rockbridge vs Richlands game and both sides were full for that game also. Granted, some may have been Amherst and Louisa fans but some of the late game fans may have been Rockbridge and Richland fans staying to watch more football.
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