Tuscarora vs Lake Taylor stats
- Thread starter freeatlast2013
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Yes, I will take as well and heavy... I deserve any of the ridicule that might come my way.
A few things that surprised me for LT:
While I did feel like Foster was the best passing QB that LT has had in a long time he played better than I could have ever imagined. His third and fourth TD passes were thrown in the only place they could be both against really good defense on obvious passing downs. He was so clutch on third and fourth and long situations and all of his four TDs came on these plays. In addition, he had no turnovers while handling the ball on every snap and had good coverage + an INT on the defensive side of the ball.
I didn't know much about Speight coming into the game and he was a game-changer at WR. He had two amazing catches over defenders and really helped open up the offense. He is a really good-looking player.
Newton making crazy plays wasn't a surprise at all but his interception and touchdown catch were two amazing plays that gave LT a big advantage early. Watching him and Henderson of Hopewell in the earlier game was definitely a treat.
No turnovers for a game is not something you see very often from LT and it is extremely hard to go a game without one with the amount of ballhandling you have to do in that veer but they executed so well. Now they did put the ball on the ground 3-4 times but they recovered every one.
The team in general was just so good in the big moments. A lot of players get nervous on big plays and on third, and fourth down conversion attempts but they just attacked those plays and executed at their very best in all of the biggest situations on both sides of the balls.
LT also ran the ball a lot better than I expected and were better up front than I thought they would be. In the first half it was a few big runs but also a lot of negative yardage plays but by the second half those negative plays were turning into gains of 3-4 and they were still hitting some longer gainers as well.
A few things that surprised me for Tuscarora:
I thought Tusky would mostly try to attack them through the air but I thought they would have at least some success on the ground running the tailback and they didn't have any. The slow developing running plays are very effective against teams that read and react up front but against LT's style that just was not going to go anywhere as they attack gaps too quickly and you really can't pull effectively against them. The coach will probably get a lot of heat for not giving the ball to Duke more but it was pretty easy to see that those were going to be wasted downs and usually go for tackles for loss.
Gick was not very accurate throwing the ball. He even missed on quite a few easy throws to open receivers and it usually wasn't due to pressure as the OL held up pretty well pass blocking, except for the plays where Gick was forced to hold the ball due to good coverage.
I didn't expect to see a four-man front against the veer offense. I understand that Tusky has a good DL but that is borderline disrespectful against that style of offense. The front was still able to disrupt a lot of plays in the first half but Fitz was banged up early and barely able to move around before eventually having to leave the game. In the second half LT looked like the better conditioned team as they wore down the defensive front and started controlling the LOS more. In fact, LT as a whole looked like the fresher, better conditioned team despite the fact that they have seven players going both ways compared to Tusky only having two.
The corner/safety coverage breakdowns on the first two TDs were uncharacteristic. Like others have pointed out, several teams have been able to run by the Tusky DBs in man coverage and hit on big plays but these plays were just flat out busts. LT's offense does force you to do some things in coverage that you aren't used to and this probably had some effect on this but both of these plays were opportunities in long yardage situations to get off of the field and instead went for deflating TDs. The next two TDs were actually well defended but Newton made a ridiculous one-handed catch and then Speight made the aforementioned catch over a defender that had nearly perfect coverage. Regardless of breakdowns or just getting beat by better players making better plays, the secondary giving up four TD passes in just a little over a half of football was extremely impressive execution and playmaking by the LT offense.
Congrats to both teams on making it to the state championship game and congrats to LT on being the best team in 4A for the 2019 season!
Nothing but props and respect to Lake Taylor. They were the better team tonight and they deserve to be the 4A Champs. Tuscarora had a great year and have nothing to hang their heads about.
The first game the home side won and the second game the visitor side won
Man, Louisa loses 2 years in a row by a combined 6 points. If the ball had bounced the other way on literally 2 plays (miracle play against EV, missed 2 pt conversion against PH), we'd probably have back-to-back state titles. *Facepalm* I remember a couple of months ago a poster who had seen Tuscarora and Louisa said Tuscarora didn't have the caliber of athletes to match up with Louisa. Looks like Region 4B and LT had the best teams this season. Congrats to LT, I'm glad they won, and in very convincing fashion!
I would say Louisa and LT were by far the two best teams in 4A this year. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. Credit to PH for the game plan that night. I know I had Louisa representing the East but I’m glad to see LT bring it home. LT will definitely be the favorites in 2020.
That's some kind of a stretch. Louisa loses in the 2nd PO round in 2018 so you're telling me if the ball "bounces the other way" against EV that they also beat Dinwiddie in the regional finals, LT in the semis, and then Woodgrove to win state?
I can "coulda, woulda, shoulda" Salem to like a dozen more state titles with that logic, Salem's average season is 12 games long.
I can "coulda, woulda, shoulda" Salem to like a dozen more state titles with that logic, Salem's average season is 12 games long.
@1MoreHokie I know it's a lot of woulda coulda shoulda, but I firmly believe it and I'm sticking to it. We were a matchup nightmare for Dinwiddie, LT, Woodgrove, and Tuscarora. But like I said after the PH loss, it just isn't meant to be.
Louisa lost to EV in the region final in 2018. 2 very bad bounces, 2 years straight. They should have 2 state championships with the talent they had. I don’t have a problem with his logic, Louisa was very very good the past two years.
@iDidntGetBanned it was the 2nd round against EV. EV beat Dinwiddie the following week. They lost to LT on a final play, just like PH did. Lots of parity on our side of the state right now.
Just watched the game on nfhs network and Those dbs for tusky was out worked and Foster was throwing the ball accurately it wasn’t luck or nothing Lt just flat out beat them and number 7 just lit them up , gotta give credit to lake Taylor and there be back next watch and see
My mistake @1MoreHokie. Louisa was handicapped by bad QB play in 2018 and some questionable coaching calls in 2019. From top to bottom, they were very good. Well, hats off to LT. I saw them in early October and thought they wouldn’t make it out of the 1st round. Those guys should be very proud.
@iDidntGetBanned plus EV and PH were two rivalry games where anything could happen, and, unfortunately for Louisa, they did happen. The same could've happened against Spotsy if they had played. More history with those two teams than the others.
@DEVILSLB99 my bad man... you were right. The sad thing is I already know this but keep falling into the trap like a gambling addict. What happens to LT in the regular season means nothing. I’ve never seen anything like it and it is a hard reality to swallow that regular season play means nothing for a team. It is so contrary but it is so true for LT. Wow... awesome and dominating win!!!!
Amen @mbonape1. Coach Sawyer and LT continue to show why they are one of the top dogs in Class 4. Have to win it on the field and not by computer. LT did that.
Facts: Since realignment (2013) LT has appeared in four of seven finals and has won 2 Championships. Heck, they even won the Class 5 Title in 2012.
Congratulations to the Class 4 State Champs Lake Taylor Titans. You deserve respect not shade. "Fear the veer"!
Congratulations to Lake Taylor on a dominant championship performance!
A lot of people said if Sawyer didn't change the defense it would be disaterous for LT. They stuck to what got them there and prevailed.
Yeah I had them as the fav last season and they lost. Went then other way this yr and they win. Go figure
They only had 6 seniors out of their 36 players and their playmakers are back.
Those catches make the difference in a championship game. Smith yesterday missed all the hard catches and a crucial easy one. Congrates to Lake Taylor!!!
Too bad for OS. I heard they were the better team but 4 times turn over on downs, some fumbles and missed FG lead to that disappointing 1 point loss.
Symptoms of a very young team with 4 different head coaches in 5-6 years. Once Smith can learn to do all the small stuff better than anyone else, look out! That's the secret to Hank Sawyer's success with Lake Taylor and I suspect with Lafayette and Salem, too.
Smith has the talent when they get to the State Final game but the muscle memory of repetitive execution and focus seems to be the difference in those games.
The beauty of Lake Taylor is that every opponent knows what's coming. You can pretty much watch the film from that 2014 team and game plan for this year's team. Their execution is what takes them to that next level.
Smith has the talent when they get to the State Final game but the muscle memory of repetitive execution and focus seems to be the difference in those games.
The beauty of Lake Taylor is that every opponent knows what's coming. You can pretty much watch the film from that 2014 team and game plan for this year's team. Their execution is what takes them to that next level.
So one thing about the LT program. Sure the Maury loss was an eye opener but take this into consideration. Maury’s DC was is an LT alum he spent at least 30 minutes of every offseason workout on an LT session dedicated to the veer. They had a bye week leading up to the LT game and besides yesterday’s game it was Maury’s Super Bowl. Those kids and coaches had never beaten LT and if they were going to do it this was their year. To LT it was just another game. The Varina game was a matter of facing a very good team with superior depth and some awesome playmakers on the outside. It was no surprise both those teams were in the states. LT schedules tough in the regular season to prepare them for the playoffs and it paid off last night.
100% correct it’s a system that’s run from day 1. Freshman #8 the other starting running back/OLB was pulled up week 8 from JV and they didn’t miss a beat. System is a well oiled machine. Same thing I’m trying to build at my school now. Same thing Salem has going out west and other top programs. Just a pipeline
First things first. Congrats Lake Taylor! Played an awesome game in every phase. I was rooting for them. Unlike our southern Virginia counterparts, a lot of our northern VA fans root against our regional rivals, not for. Tuscarora is one of Woodgrove's fiercest rivals.
I've enjoyed these forums for some years now but have stayed off while my son was playing football. Now that he's a year removed I'd like to say a word about Woodgrove 2018 Champions. I've read many posts saying this years Tuscarora's team was better, if LT's Harvey didn't go down they would have won, Sherando at full strength, The refs in the State finals etc.... IMO Class 4 football was down a little from last year. I believe Woodgrove faced an even more talented LT team (Wins over Maury & Freedom). It felt like Woodgrove 2018 was a big surprise for much of the state but not to the players and parents. I can't explain it, just that we all knew they were going to win it. They were undefeated freshman and sophomore years. When their quarterback transferred back his senior year the stage was set. One kid even got a State Champion tattoo before the season started. Even after the 1-2 start they never wavered. The key ingredient that separated them from the rest was an extreme Will to Win and not leave the result in others hands. This attribute can't be overstated. So despite being major underdogs through out, bad ref calls, freak plays by other teams, they finished champions. Louisa County and every other team in 4A, besides Woodgrove and Lake Taylor the past 2 years, were missing that required ingredient to be State Champs. Nobody was beating Woodgrove in 2018. They have the rings to prove it. Congrats again to the State Champion Lake Taylor Titans! Worthy Champs and a hell of an opponent in 2018.
The one handed into and one handed TD grab were two of the best plays I have ever seen by a 6’2 225lb TB... he is not suppose to be able to do that. His recruiting stock had to go way up. Malik Newton played a whale of a game! Ridiculous
Yes Woodgrove won the championship last yr. I also wouldn't say nobody in C4 would have not beaten them. The game is about matchups. Just because you beat LT last year doesn't mean you would have beaten EV too. Now this yrs LT team should be better than last yrs team because of another yr of growth for the key players. LT should be better next season for this same reason but someone could knock them off.
