East Wilkes 27 - North Stokes 21

[Realfreedom]

East dominated the first half despite 2 turnovers jumping out to a 21 - 0 lead. One of the turnovers came on a bone headed play with 19 seconds left in the first half causing North Stokes to score right before halftime. East defense had just made another stop and East had the ball inside their own 20. Instead of taking a knee and going to halftime, the coaching staff calls a sweep. North had good pressure, the toss is fumbled, North picks it up and runs it in for the score. Not to be out done, East gets the ball after the kickoff with 6 seconds left, they run the same play. For the love of the game take a knee.

With the new life North had been given they played really well in the second half and had East on the ropes. They cut the lead to 21 - 10 on a 35-40 yard field goal. Nance for East broke a long touchdown run to put East up 27-10. North put together a nice drive with the help of 3 flags to cut the score to 27-17. With 4 minutes left East throws an interception, their 3rd for the game. On the next play North throws around a 40 yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 27-24 and Uncle Mo is wearing green. Not so fast the refs call a hold on an offensive lineman and the play is called back. I am not sure if it was a good call or not, but it was one of the nicest pass plays I have seen in high school in a while.

I was hoping to find some answers as to is East for real or a fluke. As of today I have to say fluke. Why you ask?

Too many turnovers (1 fumble and 3 interceptions)

Undisciplined coaching. Covered above was the horrible call of not taking a knee at the end of the first half, twice, however I left out the two fourth down calls they made in the second half. East went for 4th and 5 and then 4th and 6 from around midfield. North stuffed both and as a result they received great field position. I understand being aggressive and going for it the first time, but East showed no respect for their opponent by going for it the second time. The defense held strong, but they can only save you so many times. Against a better team you cannot do stupid things.

People love being aggressive, if it is mixed in with a little common sense. East has the talent to win the conference this year, but will the minds on the sidelines put them in the right situations? Will the players on the field cut the turnovers out? Turnovers have been a problem 2 out of 3 weeks. East is 3 - 0, but they will need to clean a lot of things up against Forbush to come out on top.

 

[kingbluedevil]

For some reason high school coaches like to roll the dice and take big chances. There is a reason college and pro teams don't go for it on 4th down on your side of the field and throw passes and run sweeps at the end of halves. It puts your players at a disadvantage and in football momentum is a big thing. West Stokes was in this same situation Friday night against East Surry. The game was 14 all and thirty seconds to go in the first halve West with the ball on their own 20 yd line and they throw a pass across the middle with 3 Cardinals waiting for a pick 6. Not too smart considering West was getting the ball to start the second halve. They also did a fake punt on their 35 yd line that was stuffed. Its hard to overcome those type of plays in a even game.

 

[Realfreedom]

That is true. I understand a coach may say, well I am just trusting my offense or defense, however as a coach you expect certain things out of your players. The players should be able to expect good decision making out of their coaches. Had East lost this game, the lose would have been squarely on the shoulders of the Coach.

Coaches and players both need to perform well for a team to have the ultimate success.

 

[Slasher Killer]

Figured this would happen. East hadn't been properly tested yet because South and SC are in low years plus they ran wing/option offenses. North Stokes is a hard I team and likes to hit people in the mouth. East helped them with bonehead moments and North got hot just ran out of time.

East is going to have to play better ball period. They are good but they aren't world winners yet. North gave them a taste of reality but Forbush could be the knockout artist. They are a well coached team who plays people tough. They humiliated East last year in a 40+ shutout. That was so humiliating many question weather East's HC would make it another year or not. East has the better squad but they need to be smart and play hard ball.

 

[hammer70]

I saw EW play SS the 1rst game this season. They fumbled a whole lot mostly with the QB/FB mesh in the veer especially with the big number 7 at FB. When you run that offense the QB/FB mesh is something that should be automatic by the time Aug 1rst roles around. I believe I read above that there were some turnovers with the pitch in the North Stokes game which can also indirectly be caused by a bad QB/FB mesh.

After seeing EW play that is about the only negative I could say about them is the QB/FB mesh which is huge in the veer O and something they will need to get right to be successful against good teams.

As far as positives EW is very physical and play hard. Their D-Line play is text work. They beat Surry Central by almost the same score as East Surry beat SC and ES is looking like one of the best 1A teams in the State after 3 games. As far as being aggressive on O look at Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech who runs virtually the same offense and see how many 4th downs they go for and how many times he rolls the dice. Have you ever seen them take a knee to end the half?

Don't let a close win against North Stokes damper your spirits. You won and that is very important! NS is a much better team than they were last season. They are bigger, more physical, and way more experienced than years past. The biggest difference is they have a hell of an athlete at QB in Moorefield they did not have last season. I personally don't believe Forbush whom barely beat North Wilkes (and nothing against NW but after see them and North Stokes play personally this season NS is a much better team) will be as big of a challenge as North Stokes.

I can hardly see the logic in saying EW is a fluke this season. Yea they have not really played a very good team but a lot of positives. Just get that dang QB/FB mesh right!!! That is the base of your offense!!!! That is where it all starts!!!! 1000 reps a day starting back in November 2014!!!!! Well heck, maybe a little too late for that. That is a problem Still a lot of positives but that is one BIG negative!

 

[Realfreedom]

Hammer70 you make some great points. By fluke I mean you make those mistakes against WC, AC or Starmount and you lose even though the talent is there to win.

Paul Johnson can get away with going for more 4th downs because college teams are not used to playing D against his scheme. That scheme is much easier to handle in high school.

 

[KW23]

Speaking of Ashe County, how are they this year, I know record wise isn't good. Are they that bad or just tough competition?

 

[Realfreedom]

Not sure how they are. I do believe they have played a more difficult schedule than East. I expect they will do well in conference play.

 

[Slasher Killer]

Forbush is a very well coached squad. Coach Johnson is a great coach and gets a lot of his team even if the quality is low. Yeah they barely beat N Wilkes but they destroyed Elkin and played N Iredell hard. They will always play teams tough even if the quality is low.

Same with Ashe. Hampton's a great coach and he knows how to get the most out of his teams.

Their schedule is really tough but in hindsight that's what they needed to help prep them. Their team last year was better but I see them doing well in the MVAC. Them and East W will be a thriller.