Interesting matchup here. Watauga pulls out the win over Mallard Creek. And Independence won over East Forsyth. This game could get interesting. Any thoughts.
Watauga vs Independence 3rd Rd 11/17
- Thread starter Vik-Val 86
- Start date
Don't know much about independence, other than they're another great program. Watauga is extremely well coached, all will give it everything they've got. The better team will win. I know a lot of folks say the weather isn't a factor, but until you've sat in the stands in that wind tunnel of Watauga in the snow, it's definitely a factor. Hoping for some of that type of weather next Friday.
Watauga is poised to dominate this season with their mindset, resilience, and unwavering determination. There's no but's or if's. They independently created a monster within the program. Can their momentum be remotely stopped? That is the question.
I won't mouth off this week. Still picking crow out of my teeth. I have seen Independence play several times. They have tremendous potential but have been inconsistent at times throughout the year. They have played well the last two games after pretty much getting handled by Butler the last regular season game. They can score but they have given up some points (49 to a 3 win Hickory Ridge team, still won by 26) on occasion and defense was supposed to be their strength at the beginning of the season. Should be a close game and Watauga's discipline will keep them in it. The outcome will depend on which Independence team shows up. Home field and a cold night will help as they won't bring many fans.
I won't lie, I was really surprised by how well wataugas defense stepped up last night.
I can’t imagine the speed difference in the MC game. Watauga had to have good angle pursuits and tackling to match the track star speeds. Independence may not have as much speed to contend with but we will see.
Mallard Creek has a better defense than Indy but Indy definitely has a pretty good offense. Their running attack sets up their passing attack. If you can contain the run defending the passing game won’t be too bad.
I am torn on this one.
I am torn on this one.
The MC game I saw earlier in the year. The track stars never touched the ball. I mean they was running like gazelles freely down the field and only used as decoys from what I seen.
That’s probably the bigger surprise is how the defense played… They struggled for most of the year even against some mediocre teams at times and would give up points and big plays in bunches
Completely agree. If they can replicate that type of performance next week, they'll have q much better chance of moving on.
MC couldnt do much trying to run between the tackles. Guess I’ll be back in Boone next Friday to hopefully see another good high school game.
Independence stands no chance against the trickiest, slickest, most disciplined, well coached team in NC. Reading these posts, Watauga has Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick on the sidelines. Watauga by 2 scores!!
If you scale down from NFL to nc hs football, Ryan habich is basically the Kyle shanahan of North Carolina. The man gets maximum potential from players, and you can ask anyone, his misdirection and ability to call trick plays with perfect execution, are the best in the state.
And it always seems like he pulls it out just at the perfect time… I had told my buddy Friday morning that if he got the ball first and had a 4th down and less then 5 watch, I bet he would go for and something good would happen.. My buddy said he had 4th & 2 and Greene broke a long run for a TD to go up 7-0
When it comes to my team, I typically don't make predictions. That will continue tonight. I know one thing, the better team will win. I hope you folks and the young men and women from Charlotte stay safe and have a safe trip up the mountain. Enjoy some good food a long the way and get ready for some really good mountain football. I think this will be a high scoring affair, as both teams have proven the can score at will. I believe they said rain tonight, and if so, I feel that favors watauga. Wet fields are always the great equalizer against speed. Win or lose, I know watauga will have perfect effort and execution, that's all a fan could really ever ask for, and I know that's all coach habich asks for.
Watauga has a turf field. That negates any advantage for either team from rain.
I disagree. Mrhonda your opinion isn't the only one that matters. You've got something against mountain teams, and all you do is post negativity.
Sure, go ahead. Read up on turf fields and how teams fair in the rain on turf as opposed to grass and how turf fields hold up in the rain.
Do you realize how many times, over the years, I've been accused of posting negativity? I'll tell you. Quite a few. Why? Because most people on here are fans, which is short for fanatics.
I'm not a fan of any team on here. I'm not even from North Carolina. I just enjoy and have followed high school football for about 56 years in several states. So, I try to be as objective in analyzing games as I can.
You probably missed a comment I made on another thread, but I used to live in a mountain area in Maryland. My daughters went to a mountain high school. I've seen in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky and Pennsylvania to a certain extent how mountain teams fare against teams not in their areas. Not every time, but historically they haven't fared well. The only exception I've seen is Fort Hill high school, a 1A school out of Cumberland, Maryland. Check them out. But even then, their toughest games are usually games with teams close to Washington DC or Baltimore.
You said my opinion isn't the only one that matters. I laugh at that statement because you're stating the obvious. Of course, mine isn't the only one that matters. Neither is yours, neither is Simmons', Massey's or anyone else.
But I try to be as objective as I can when analyzing games. I try to look at the numbers (which aren't everything, but are a big indicator), location, schedule, common opponents , ppg allowed, ppg scored and so on. You're not the only fan that's told me what you did and called me negative. I'm used to it. I can handle it. It doesn't bother me in the least. Fans usually do think someone is being negative if they don't puff up the team they're a fan of and try to look at it objectively.
If something I think will happen doesn't happen, the world's not going to end and my life won't be shattered. The sun will still rise the next day and life will go on.
Good luck tonight.
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