Championship Week Look-Ahead
- idaho8man
- Nov 16, 2017
- 2 min read
Cole Allen (90) and Hayden Woods (14) are part of a Genesee defense allowing less than 16 points per game (Photo Courtesy: Les McPhail)
1A Division 1 Championship Game
Genesee Bulldogs (10-0) vs. Prairie Pirates (10-1)
Friday, 11/17, 7 PM (Pacific), Kibbie Dome
First of all, these two teams have played once before. Genesee beat Prairie, 36-6, in the second week of the season. Before you stop and say, "wow, game over," keep in mind that Prairie QB/DE Spencer Schumacher missed over half of that game with an injury. Was his injury, by itself, enough to change the overall outcome? Maybe, maybe not. But it's probably not very debatable that losing your starting quarterback changes your gameplan. It's certainly not unreasonable to expect Prairie to be able to trade punches with the Bulldogs on Friday.
Genesee wins if ... the Bulldog defense keeps Jacob Stubbers to a "3 yards and a cloud of dust" runner. Prairie has scored 38-plus in every game but the Genesee loss and Stubbers' running ability has been a big part of that. Control the line of scrimmage, limit his "chunk" plays, and make someone else hit the home runs on offense.
Prairie wins if ... the Pirates can get on the board early. And we're not talking about a token touchdown. There's a reason Genesee has gotten to this point, but they haven't really had to dig in and play four full quarters yet. A lot of lopsided games. Get 2-3 touchdowns on the board fairly early and see how Genesee handles some adversity.
1A Division 2 Championship Game
Carey Panthers (11-0) vs. Tri-Valley Titans (10-0)
Saturday, 2 PM (Mountain), Middleton HS
Unlike the 1A Division 1 title game, these two teams haven't played each other already this season. There's not even a common opponent. One of these teams is going to lose for the first time on Saturday, the question is ... which team? One thing that shouldn't be a big factor - the field. Field conditions in Tri-Valley's semifinal win over Butte County were muddy and sloppy, but Middleton's field is FieldTurf and the forecast is partly cloudy and high-40s. The playing surface should be in good shape and this should be a great matchup.
Carey wins if ... Linebacker DJ Parke and Carey's D-line can control the Titans' running game. Tri-Valley, especially for a Division 2 squad, is a big, big 8-man team (physically) and they can flat out run over teams. The Panther defense has to stand in and absorb those hits and tackle well near the line of scrimmage.
Tri-Valley wins if ... Jayden Mink doesn't have to throw the ball much. It's not that the junior quarterback can't hit throws, he definitely can. But, if things are going good for Tri-Valley, Teddy Ertel and Collin Kindall (along with Mink with his legs) are doing a lot of damage on the ground and they're playing "ahead."
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