High School Football Week 6 Preview: Tigers prepare to leap past the Blue Lions
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers have gone in a see-saw motion of sorts their past three games. In week three, they scored 42 points; in week four, no points; and last week, they put together a 52-point effort.
This week, however, will be a different test altogether, perhaps their toughest game to date. The Tigers (1-1, 4-1) have to travel (for the first time since the season opener) and take on the undefeated Washington Blue Lions at Gardner Park.
"They are good," McClain head coach Randy Closson said when asked his opinion on the Washington Blue Lions. "They have a very good running back in Ben Parks, and their quarterback (Collin Farmer) throws a good ball."
Washington (2-0, 5-0) is coming off a 42-12 win over the Hillsboro Indians when Blue Lion running back Ben Parks went unofficially for 270 yards on the ground. Of those yards, 181 unofficially came in the second half, as the senior running back had four touchdown runs in that half.
"Not only their running back and quarterback, they (Washington) also get their tight end (Patrick Wilson) involved in the passing game and their fullback (Riley Shaw) is a powerhouse."
Besides this being the Ben Parks Show, the Tigers will bring their best runner into Gardner Park to show why the Tigers have gained four wins this season. Parks this season has rushed for 788 yards in five games, unofficially.
McClain senior Zach Matracia has run, pounded, carried, barreled and just about any other way possible to carry a football, he's done it, to gain yards this season.
In five games this year, the senior has tallied unofficially 682 yards on the ground, including 182 yards on 10 carries last week against the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles.
Though each team had big games against the Golden Eagles this season, the Blue Lions are coming off a 41-12 win over McClain's Highland County rival Hillsboro, and now are looking for the sweep.
This season, the Blue Lions have used multiple formations on the offensive side of the ball under head coach Corey Dye. Against the Indians last week, the rushing game took over, but they (WSHS) did pass the ball for a couple positive yard plays, but a majority of the passes were incomplete, except for a couple timely completions in the red zone, along with a perfected screen play that eventually led to points.
One of the bigger plays through the air for the Blue Lions included a 13-yard touchdown pass from Farmer to Wilson in the second quarter last Friday. Another completion to Wilson from Farmer was a 10-yard touchdown score in the third quarter. Shaw went 28 yards on a screen play in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers can't forget about the Blue Lion defense, including hard-hitting Julian Wyatt. Wyatt was an All-State selection last season.
"Their defense is as solid as we've seen all season," Closson said. "They fill the gaps with linebackers and there secondary is coached very well. We have to play our best if we want to have a chance."
For the Tigers this week, it will be the second straight game with starting quarterback Camron Cooper, who returned to the field for their homecoming game against MP. It was the first time Cooper played in a game since a scrimmage against Wilmington during August.
He returned in a big way.
Cooper was 3 of 5 for 57 yards passing with two touchdowns, along with eight rushes for 44 yards.
"It was big getting Camron back," Closson said. "It was big for our team to have his leadership back on the field.”
When asked what Cooper does for the Tigers, as a leader, Closson spoke proudly of his quarterback.
"He's just a cool, calm and collected kid," Closson said. "He plays with confidence and he has a lot of experience. He's also a deep ball threat and, again, just the experience he brings to the team. He has a ‘been there, done that’ attitude, and he just wants to win."
The Tigers also had production from Zach Uhl, Joe Barnhart, Jordan Goble and Jared Loftis. Loftis had 45 yards rushing and grabbed his fourth interception of the season.
This rivalry, which is separated by a 15-minute drive on state Route 41, has seen its share of big moments, with MHS leading the matchup 4-3 in their past seven meetings since the SCOL reformed in 2003. The Tigers have won the last two meetings by a combined score of 63-48 (15 points). In the past seven years, the Blue Lions have outscored the Tigers, 176-137, though the Tigers have the most wins.
"Each year is its own little thing," Closson said about the Tigers' recent success against the Blue Lions. "I think they have almost everyone back and we don't look at is as we won last year. This is a different year and we both have a different team in some way. The best thing is to forget about last year and worry about the game this year."
One point that is different from last season is the Tigers aren't as banged up as they have been in previous seasons, and that is an item of interest that Closson has realized.
"We are getting healthy at this time of year, which is a change for us," he said. "We are getting wind in our sails and things worked out well for us last week. We moved the ball well, but we have to take it for what it is and we better keep our nose to the ground and be ready to play tougher each game."
The Tigers and Blue Lions kickoff at 7:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
This week, however, will be a different test altogether, perhaps their toughest game to date. The Tigers (1-1, 4-1) have to travel (for the first time since the season opener) and take on the undefeated Washington Blue Lions at Gardner Park.
"They are good," McClain head coach Randy Closson said when asked his opinion on the Washington Blue Lions. "They have a very good running back in Ben Parks, and their quarterback (Collin Farmer) throws a good ball."
Washington (2-0, 5-0) is coming off a 42-12 win over the Hillsboro Indians when Blue Lion running back Ben Parks went unofficially for 270 yards on the ground. Of those yards, 181 unofficially came in the second half, as the senior running back had four touchdown runs in that half.
"Not only their running back and quarterback, they (Washington) also get their tight end (Patrick Wilson) involved in the passing game and their fullback (Riley Shaw) is a powerhouse."
Besides this being the Ben Parks Show, the Tigers will bring their best runner into Gardner Park to show why the Tigers have gained four wins this season. Parks this season has rushed for 788 yards in five games, unofficially.
McClain senior Zach Matracia has run, pounded, carried, barreled and just about any other way possible to carry a football, he's done it, to gain yards this season.
In five games this year, the senior has tallied unofficially 682 yards on the ground, including 182 yards on 10 carries last week against the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles.
Though each team had big games against the Golden Eagles this season, the Blue Lions are coming off a 41-12 win over McClain's Highland County rival Hillsboro, and now are looking for the sweep.
This season, the Blue Lions have used multiple formations on the offensive side of the ball under head coach Corey Dye. Against the Indians last week, the rushing game took over, but they (WSHS) did pass the ball for a couple positive yard plays, but a majority of the passes were incomplete, except for a couple timely completions in the red zone, along with a perfected screen play that eventually led to points.
One of the bigger plays through the air for the Blue Lions included a 13-yard touchdown pass from Farmer to Wilson in the second quarter last Friday. Another completion to Wilson from Farmer was a 10-yard touchdown score in the third quarter. Shaw went 28 yards on a screen play in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers can't forget about the Blue Lion defense, including hard-hitting Julian Wyatt. Wyatt was an All-State selection last season.
"Their defense is as solid as we've seen all season," Closson said. "They fill the gaps with linebackers and there secondary is coached very well. We have to play our best if we want to have a chance."
For the Tigers this week, it will be the second straight game with starting quarterback Camron Cooper, who returned to the field for their homecoming game against MP. It was the first time Cooper played in a game since a scrimmage against Wilmington during August.
He returned in a big way.
Cooper was 3 of 5 for 57 yards passing with two touchdowns, along with eight rushes for 44 yards.
"It was big getting Camron back," Closson said. "It was big for our team to have his leadership back on the field.”
When asked what Cooper does for the Tigers, as a leader, Closson spoke proudly of his quarterback.
"He's just a cool, calm and collected kid," Closson said. "He plays with confidence and he has a lot of experience. He's also a deep ball threat and, again, just the experience he brings to the team. He has a ‘been there, done that’ attitude, and he just wants to win."
The Tigers also had production from Zach Uhl, Joe Barnhart, Jordan Goble and Jared Loftis. Loftis had 45 yards rushing and grabbed his fourth interception of the season.
This rivalry, which is separated by a 15-minute drive on state Route 41, has seen its share of big moments, with MHS leading the matchup 4-3 in their past seven meetings since the SCOL reformed in 2003. The Tigers have won the last two meetings by a combined score of 63-48 (15 points). In the past seven years, the Blue Lions have outscored the Tigers, 176-137, though the Tigers have the most wins.
"Each year is its own little thing," Closson said about the Tigers' recent success against the Blue Lions. "I think they have almost everyone back and we don't look at is as we won last year. This is a different year and we both have a different team in some way. The best thing is to forget about last year and worry about the game this year."
One point that is different from last season is the Tigers aren't as banged up as they have been in previous seasons, and that is an item of interest that Closson has realized.
"We are getting healthy at this time of year, which is a change for us," he said. "We are getting wind in our sails and things worked out well for us last week. We moved the ball well, but we have to take it for what it is and we better keep our nose to the ground and be ready to play tougher each game."
The Tigers and Blue Lions kickoff at 7:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]