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State Semifinal, Riverheads @ Essex

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TrojanFan22560

Sep 4, 2016
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A comparison

Riverheads
Scored 420 points and have surrendered 120 over 12 games
35-10 average
Signature wins over Luray and William Campbell
Strength of schedule 38.9 with a state rating of 60.1 (VHSL-Reference)

Essex
Scored 533 points and have surrendered 144 over 13 games
41-11 average
Signature wins over Thomas Jefferson -Richmond (#1 seed 3B) and Sussex
Strength of schedule 20.4 with a state rating of 55.5

Riverheads has played a substantially stronger schedule than Essex. While Essex is up this year compared to last, this team still isn't as strong as some of the past teams. Riverheads seems to be down compared to last year but are still a force to be reckoned with.

Keys to the game
Riverheads: On offense- Grind it out on the ground. Sustain long, time consuming drives keeping Essex's offense off of the field.
On defense- limit the big play potential of Essex, capitalize on any mistakes Essex has (turnonvers, penalties, etc.)

Essex: On offense-play to your strengths. Get playmakers the ball in space then deliver a healthy dose of Dameron when the defense loosens up. Have to score in the redzone.
On defense- get big stops on 3rd down. Done't let Riverheads sustain long drives. Force Riverheads out of their comfort zone. Come up with turnovers.

There's no surprises here. Whoever executes their plan best wins.
 
Fun Fact --- The last 5 season ending losses by Essex were to the state champ or the eventual state champ. 2012-2016
 
I disagree with Essex keys. This is not the normal speed and finesse spread team Essex is usually known for. They really dont have gamebreakers like in the past. They have a young QB. They are more of a running team now, and rely on their big and talented line to drive the ball down the field. That is the problem. If they cant hold onto the ball and methodically drive down the field, its gonna be a long day. One thing for sure, this will be a physical game. Hopefully no one gets injured
 
I think it will be a great game and will certainly test whoever wins it. I will be curious as to how either would react to going down early in the game. I don’t see a big scoring day from either based on th D that both possess but then again I thought the Sussex score would have been lower for both teams. I guess you truly never can tell.
 
Turnovers will win this game Riverheads has more they will lose if Essex’s has more they will lose if straight up no turnovers Riverheads wins 35-21
 
RedPrideNation_RollPride said:
I think it will be a great game and will certainly test whoever wins it. I will be curious as to how either would react to going down early in the game. I don’t see a big scoring day from either based on th D that both possess but then again I thought the Sussex score would have been lower for both teams. I guess you truly never can tell.
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No clue bout RH, but Essex has played from behind a few times this season without panic. All better
 
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Twobyfour said:
No clue bout RH, but Essex has been behind at half quite a few times this season
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Sorry but that is false. We’ve pretty much handled everyone we’ve played. Only 1 game I can remember that we MIGHT of been behind at the half was the Colonial Beach game. Oh... and Sussex this past Saturday 16-15. The other games won’t even close to being behind at the half.
 
I'm pretty certain CB and Sussex playoff are correct. Not sure about the first Sussex game. Might'be been 8-0 in the 1st half, but can't recall.
 
NNDman...I was wrong about The 1st game. Went back and checked and it was Sussex 8-0 at the half.
 
Games Essex was ahead at the half and the score at the half: Franklin 30-6, King William 16-12, Surry 46-0, Thomas Jefferson 16-3, Northumberland 33-0, Lancaster 57-7, W&L 14-0, Rappahannock the Final was 51-0, PLAYOFFS: Northampton 42-0, Northumberland 42-0. GAMES BEHIND AT THE HALF: Sussex 8-0, Colonial Beach 22-8 PLAYOFF: Sussex 16-15.
 
Essex Trojan1 said:
Sorry but that is false. We’ve pretty much handled everyone we’ve played. Only 1 game I can remember that we MIGHT of been behind at the half was the Colonial Beach game. Oh... and Sussex this past Saturday 16-15. The other games won’t even close to being behind at the half.
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Were behind to Sussex in first game, CB, then Sussex again. That is a few. Dont get your panties in a wad. The reason the question was posed was to see if Essex could come from behind if needed. I was pointing out they (yall) have done so. Lighten up
 
Lol. I don’t wear panties. There was no intention to sound angry or rude. By the way, you said “quite a few”. A couple of times might of been a better choice of words since it only involved 2 teams and a total of 3 out of 13 games. Much respect to you.
 
Essex Trojan1 said:
Lol. I don’t wear panties. There was no intention to sound angry or rude. By the way, you said “quite a few”. A couple of times might of been a better choice of words since it only involved 2 teams and a total of 3 out of 13 games. Much respect to you.
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Okay, I should have said a couple. Either way, it was an attempt to paint Essex in a good light by pointing out that they dont panic when they fall behind, which is what Red Pride wanted to know. You guys sure are getting sensitive over there in the neck lol. Starting to wonder Yall need to de stress
 
Twobyfour said:
Okay, I should have said a couple. Either way, it was an attempt to paint Essex in a good light by pointing out that they dont panic when they fall behind, which is what Red Pride wanted to know. You guys sure are getting sensitive over there in the neck lol. Starting to wonder Yall need to de stress
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Everything is cool and calm in these parts. Just was pointing out that “quite a few” compared to only a couple is a big difference. But I get what you were pointing our to Red Pride.
 
Essex injuries will greatly affect this game, Riverheads should be fresh considering they were not challenged at all in the playoffs , to have a chance Essex must be leading or close in the 4th quarter and see how the young Gladiators respond. I have 2 sets of scores. In a Essex win I say 28 -24 , Riverheads win 35 -14. I’m picking Riverheads to advance to Salem.
 
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To say Riverheads was not challenged really, I would Sussex’s would have hard Time beating William Campbell. To use they’ve only played 2 games to Essex’s 3 I would use as being fresher
 
trutiger16 said:
Essex injuries will greatly affect this game, Riverheads should be fresh considering they were not challenged at all in the playoffs , to have a chance Essex must be leading or close in the 4th quarter and see how the young Gladiators respond. I have 2 sets of scores. In a Essex win I say 28 -24 , Riverheads win 35 -14. I’m picking Riverheads to advance to Salem.
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I'm thinking Essex 28 Riverheads 21.
 
I really can't make a educated prediction. It'll mainly come down to Riverheads O line vs. Essex's D line. If Riverheads control the line of scrimmage and are able to march down the field it could be a long day for Essex. If Essex can make some stops on D it could get interesting.
 
TrojanFan22560 said:
I really can't make a educated prediction. It'll mainly come down to Riverheads O line vs. Essex's D line. If Riverheads control the line of scrimmage and are able to march down the field it could be a long day for Essex. If Essex can make some stops on D it could get interesting.
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I think Essex will win, but I recall a lot of people crowing about how dominant Sussex's defense was last year. One person mentioned Riverheads would be "running into a wall". The Red team ran through, around, and over that wall last year. I think you're right though. The matchup to watch will be when Riverheads has the ball. Essex's defense needs to be careful not to overpursue.
 
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TrojanFan22560 said:
I really can't make a educated prediction. It'll mainly come down to Riverheads O line vs. Essex's D line. If Riverheads control the line of scrimmage and are able to march down the field it could be a long day for Essex. If Essex can make some stops on D it could get interesting.
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Essex should put the athletic running back #24 on the Dline to assist #78, that combination would cause trouble for Riverheads. The Center makes the key block in the Gladiators offense I want to see if #78 neutralizes that.
 
Baseball215 said:
To say Riverheads was not challenged really, I would Sussex’s would have hard Time beating William Campbell. To use they’ve only played 2 games to Essex’s 3 I would use as being fresher
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Please this is not about Sussex are you trying to provoke me lol!
 
Baseball215 said:
Not at all just saying I would agree with you more if you would have used the 2 games to 3
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I never mentioned anything about how many games they played lol you did, I only said they had very little resistance in the playoffs.
 
When the score was 14-14 at the half against William Campbell there was resistance and worry because WC has some serious athletes and an explosive offense. RH made some nice adjustments. Also agree that fewer games at this point could also play a role and perhaps fewer injuries.
 
Not sure if WC could beat Sussex but they would compete very well ! Sussex has more nasty hitters on their team from the UTUBE videos I watched. Kinda glad we have Essex but anything can happen ! Go Big Red !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
shendistrictsportsfan said:
When the score was 14-14 at the half against William Campbell there was resistance and worry because WC has some serious athletes and an explosive offense. RH made some nice adjustments. Also agree that fewer games at this point could also play a role and perhaps fewer injuries.
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In all due respect every game Essex played in playoffs seemed to be rivalry style games. Taking the best from each one , I just don’t know if they have the preserverance to push through this week.
 
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Xcross said:
Not sure if WC could beat Sussex but they would compete very well ! Sussex has more nasty hitters on their team from the UTUBE videos I watched. Kinda glad we have Essex but anything can happen ! Go Big Red !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Sussex inflicted some damage to Essex on Saturday, it will be an factor for this weeks game.
 
#24 is a beast. Can't believe he is only a junior. I can see a lot of direct snaps and handoffs going to him this week. I agree that the key is RH o-line vs Essex d-line.
 
#24 played on the D line some last last year. Haven’t really needed him there this year. If things start to break down along Essex’s d line, I’m sure you’ll see him going both ways.
 
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Essex Trojan1 said:
#24 played on the D line some last last year. Haven’t really needed him there this year. If things start to break down along Essex’s d line, I’m sure you’ll see him going both ways.
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Essex Trojan with his size and athleticism he could really cause problems , plus you will need someone to step up to give your #78 a breather here and there , Riverheads will be relentless in operating their system,if your guys can neutralize there center you will be successful, he makes the key block on every play and buys time for the offset lineman to pull.
 
Is that the kid called "big nasty"?

I've seen several highlights of big Essex games last year and this and he couldn't be more of a non factor.
 
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