Port - I am going to start calling you Lou "Port" Holtz. You are always playing down your team and making your opponents sound like the 1993 Dallas Cowboys. C'mon man! I am not an expert, but I certainly did not think that Hoggard would have ANY trouble with either South Central or Cape Fear. Nothing about the results of those games surprised me in the least. Hoggard's opponents are now a combined 56-82 and have given up an average of 31 points a game. No regular season opponent of Hoggard's won a playoff game. The Vikings have dismantled the following schedule:
Game 1 - Won 48-6 v. South Columbus Record 5-7 Points Allowed 361 State Ranking 296
Game 2 - Won 21-7 @ Conway, SC Record 2-9 Points Allowed 373 State Ranking (SC) 82
Game 3 - Won 35-0 @ Purnell Swett Record 4-7 Points Allowed 367 State Ranking 165
Game 4 - Won 35-7 v. Lumberton Record 5-6 Points Allowed 408 State Ranking 119
Game 5 - Won 41-7 @ Topsail Record 3-8 Points Allowed 351 State Ranking 322
Game 6 - Won 25-15 v. New Hanover Record 7-5 Points Allowed 316 State Ranking 85
Game 7 - Won 38-0 @ Ashley Record 0-10 Points Allowed 374 State Ranking 350
Game 8 - Won 35-13 v. Laney Record 5-6 Points Allowed 334 State Ranking 140
Game 9 - Won 35-0 @ West Brunswick Record 5-7 Points Allowed 360 State Ranking 194
Game 10 - Won 49-6 v. South Brunswick Record 4-8 Points Allowed 452 State Ranking 255
Game 11 PLAYOFFS - Won 49-21 v. South Central Record 7-5 Points Allowed 335 State Ranking 99
Game 12 PLAYOFFS - Won 38-7 v. Cape Fear Record 9-4 Points Allowed 236 State Ranking 84
That is only 3 teams with a winning record (only 1 opponent during the regular season with a winning record) and two of those teams were 7-5. The only North Carolina teams even ranked in the top 100 are Cape Fear at #84, New Hanover at #85 and South Central at #99. How would you believe that the #14 ranked Vikings would struggle in any of the games played to date? I wouldn't and they didn't.
HOWEVER[/B], the fact that Hoggard has played a cupcake schedule does not mean that Hoggard is not good. The Vikings are good and I don't think Hoggard is a "BIG underdog" in the Scotland game as Port posted above. Hoggard will have the best two players on the field (Thompson and Reynolds). In addition, Hoggard will have the best defense and will be playing at home. Those factors usually result in a win. Also, I am pretty sure the Hoggard coaches expected to see Scotland in the playoffs and, due to not having to spend much time preparing for many of their regular season opponents, the Hoggard staff has been scouting Scotland. For some reason, I don't think that the game plan for Scotland was created over the past weekend. I think it has existed for several weeks and that Hoggard will be very well prepared for this game.
I agree that Schoenleber will likely run it more this week simply because Scotland would rather see Schoenleber run it than Thompson and, as a result, Scotland will take the pitch away when Hoggard attacks the edge using their option package. With the exception of 3-5 wrinkles that I am certain Hoggard has been preparing for weeks to use against Scotland, I expect Hoggard to run the same stuff they always have and that will mean the QB is a critical part of the running game. I also expect to see Smith get more touches than he has been getting and he can do some damage against the Scotland defense. Smith is really a good player and he would have thrived in a program that got him the ball 8-12 times a night (although I would feature Thompson too if I was coaching). However, I don't think Hoggard can CONSISTENTLY move the ball unless Thompson has his usual big night. I am not sure how the game will go, but if Hoggard gets down by two scores and Thompson is being contained then I think the game will be over. Just my opinion.
Again, I have seen both teams live and on film and this game is ABSOLUTELY a toss-up. I expect Simmons will have Scotland as a 5-7 point favorite and, based on the respective schedules to date, Scotland probably should be a slight favorite if one were to set a point spread. However, I will not be surprised at all to see Hoggard win.
