East Forsyth VS Independence
- Thread starter cucoo1
- Start date
I think this will be the best 2nd round matchup
Yeah I can’t pick a winner in this match up right now. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either team win.
It's going to come down to Coach Bryant's defense for East Forsyth. Can the East defense get off the field and eliminate the big play.
This should be a great game...
Indy has came to East before and won but I like East by 10pts. They are hitting on all cylinders offensively.
Indy has came to East before and won but I like East by 10pts. They are hitting on all cylinders offensively.
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It won't be the offense that does EF in if they lose. The defense while making incremental improvements needs to go to another level going forward. I hope the D atleast bends but doesn't break giving them a chance. D becomes more profound the deeper run you make usually.
Last time Indy came to East was 2015 and EF destroyed them. This one will be closer but I have the Eagles by 6
Wow! Forgot about that one, I know they lost to Indy at East Forsyth in 2011 by 1 point 29-28. Seems like yesterday...I'm getting old.
My brother played on that team. I remember not feeling comfortable even with that lead for some strange reason. Murphys Law arrived in full effect....what could go wrong definitely did. It happened so fast it seemed. Those were the days before EF believed they could play with those schools. It's amazing what winning does for programs.
"It's amazing what winning does for those programs". Plus add a dose of open enrollment.
A big difference was the Defensive Coordinator Willert hired during that time. East was always loaded with players back to 2008 with Danny O'Brien. Once Willert locked in the right DC to match his offense East Forsyth won those big close games. Willert & Beal from 2015 to 2022 during that time East won 5 Conference Championships, 2 Western 4A Championship games of which they won both. Also, 1 Western 4AA Championship games they lost in OT. The Eagles also 2 Back to back state championship games and had a record of 89-15 during their run
My brother played on that team. I remember not feeling comfortable even with that lead for some strange reason. Murphys Law arrived in full effect....what could go wrong definitely did. It happened so fast it seemed. Those were the days before EF believed they could play with those schools. It's amazing what winning does for programs.
No doubt open enrollment has it's benefits. We also had it when Willert took over the program when it was in shambles. No one wanted to come to EF then. Again winning changes the game. Programs find a way to get kids be it open enrollment, private catholic schools or do what Myers Park/Hough did. People go where the winning is right or wrong way.
Before Beal EF defense was formidable. The 12 defense that gave Butler fits was one of it's finest. It's a misconception EF defense took off when Beal came. Their defense was already competitive before he came. EF took off once they opened up the offense to compliment the defense.
I know quite a few like Simmons ratings. But I've noticed, his ratings aren't always the most accurate and it really doesn't matter how he picks. Just my humble opinion.
I got it close too. Watching Indy on film doesn't make me think EF is running away with it. I'll take it close as well. I concur with CPC.
That's not the right score. It's 27-14 Indy up.
With that being said, Indy has full control of the game so far imo.
Yes, just saw that, so East is only behind 27-14 ..thanks…. NFHS scoreboard is so bad..
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Almost 50% of the teams left are Charlotte area teams. It's a different challenge when the title goes through Charlotte metro.
I respectfully disagree. East had really good defenses in 2008, and yes 2012 was special. But, When Beal left NWG our defense was never the same. He helped bring 3 Conference Championships to NWG between 2010-2014 and we beat teams like East Forsyth to win them. When he got to East Forsyth in 2015 that defense was great but the 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, & 2022 defensive units were all crazy good too. Did coach Beal do this on his own? Absolutely not! But, he led those defensive units.
I think i heard it said and I could be mistaken that Willert won 3 Conference Titles from 2003-2014. Beal came in during 2015 and was apart of helping Willert win 5 Conference Titles in 8 seasons along with 2 back to back 4A State Championships. There's no arguing those numbers! The defense may have been good. He helped take them from good to great and with Rings! He left at the end of last season and the defense has looked bad all year. That's nobody's fault he's just a very good coach and you don't replace people like him instantly. NWG found out and most EF people are seeing what ive been saying for Years on here. We were not the same without him on defense. Also, I've spoken to alot of triad coaches this year that went against East during that time and they all are very happy he's gone because the last few years East has been on another level on defense
Will try to say this without discrediting anyone. Beal was Co DC with Jones. They also had Gill and Crump who all had been DC at other places. EF basically had 4 DC on sideline during that time. He was never the coordinator exclusively during their run. Beal ran exclusively zone which got him against MC in 15 and Catholic in 16. Jones came in and bought in man on D and if you noticed the D was immediately more aggressive going into championship run. Beal deferred much of the passing game to Jones and others. I believe the 15 defense gave up at least 20pt in 4 games I believe. They gave up 41 to Creek. Point is they all worked very well together but the D was already differnt before Beal departed. It just wasn't as glaring because they maintained many of the principles other assistants had help install. Beal is a good coach and take nothing from him but the narrative on here crediting him exclusively is inaccurate. EF D has suffered because of the absence of them all.
From what I understand what took him away from football had nothing to do with the game. He comes to games on sideline but that's it. Who kmows? Things change all the time for people. Very good man though.
The RB for Indy was an absolute stud. Was waiting for him to slow down and look up in 4th quarter and he's running as hard as he was in the 1st. EF didn't appear to be interested in tackling him either. EF left 14 pts on two turnovers 1st and goal both times. Second turnover was a scoop and score. There's your ballgame. Turnovers all the way down to lil league will destroy you especially those leading to scores. EF JV was undefeated and as big and more athletic than varsity. Future appears bright but this game was winnable. Hopefully we can solve the D. The O will be plenty good on paper.
Shrine bowl DT transferring in the summer was definitely missed in this game.
I know someone very close to the Beal family. From what i was told years ago if my memory is correct
wasnt the DC in 2015. It was a Coach Kelam. I also knew about Jones being a co/dc with Beal at EF and that's when the D took off like both of us said. I also know those Defensive units got even better when Jones retired and when the other coaches had left EF. I'm not saying Beal did it all by himself with no help that would be foolish. Im just saying that yr in yr out they were really good with him maybe
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I personally think if Beal is not coming back to be the HC at NW Guilford and he's not coming back to East Forsyth i think he should be the next Head Coach at Page High School. I think in a few years he would have that team loaded with talent again in a few short years
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I beg to differ that the units got better after those coaches left. At best they maintained the level of success but nowhere did I see where they got better. All these coaches were instrumental in getting the D to the dominance it enjoyed and I wish someone would come in to help return it to what it recently was. We can all agree on that I'm sure.
I agree that there was definitely something off with the EF defense this year. It could be the fact that they were so young. But, looking back I will agree that EF had more talented defensive units especially the skill positions on those state championship teams but statistically speaking East Forsyth had defensive units in 21 and 22 that may be some of the best in the history of the school. Especially the 2022 defense those numbers were ridiculous. Go look at the shutouts, points scored, and points given up. I watched all of those teams from the stands from 2015-2023 and the stats don't lie.
My nephew was on the 21 defense. They were pretty good. I understand the stats as well. It's enough room to appreciate everyone's contributions to the program. Maybe we can get another championship run before too long. JV looks promising.
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