Semifinals thoughts and my rankings: Destrehan No. 1
I've got some thoughts on the semifinals. Want to hear them, or, in this case, read them?
Ok. Here you go.
*Why didn't Evangel adapt and change and adjust in-game? I don't doubt that Curtis would have won anyway. But when Kenny Cain took off for a 64-yard touchdown on his first touch of the game because there was no secondary help, there should have been a change.
(For more thoughts, click here)
I'm not a coach, and have never claimed to be one. But Evangel put 8, and sometimes 9 players in the box to stop the run. When it became obvious that Curtis was breaking through the front barrier, one would think that a coach would move one or two more players into the second line of defense. It certainly would have made it harder for Curtis to break all the long runs.
*A local media outlet said that Shaw finally had been tested on its way to the a finals berth in Friday's 19-13 win over O. Perry Walker. But that's not exactly right. Yes, the Chargers gave the Eagles a stiff test.
However, so did Helen Cox in the final week of the regular season. If you recall correctly, Shaw held off Cox 21-20 when it stuffed a 2-point conversion in the final minutes.
And I think that win helped Shaw get past Walker. No team this season did to Shaw what the Chargers did. O.P. Walker outgained the Eagles, as well as completely held Shaw's offense in check. Shaw, though, was able to dig deep and come up with a win, and no doubt having that mental edge knowing it could win close games helped.
*Destrehan's offense might be the best in the state. No offense to Curtis' excellent run game, but the Fighting Wildcats have it all - a strong run game and a dynamic passing attack. The running backs are college caliber, the quarterback already has committed to play at LSU and the receivers are as good as they get.
Since the second half of Destrehan's first-round playoff win against West Jeff, the offense has been unstoppable. And that's helping the team win. I know, I know. That's a "duh" comment. But hear me out. Because Destrehan is scoring so quickly, it's taking opponents out of their gameplan, forcing them to automatically play from behind. When you get a team out of its gameplan so early, there's a good bet you're going to win.
*Will anyone stop South Plaquemines? I don't think so. No offense to West St. John, but the numbers the Hurricanes are putting up are just sick. Absolutely, positively, nasty numbers. Even is South Plaquemines can't stop West St. John, there's a good chance it'll outscore the Rams.
** OK, here are my are rankings, all classifications, for the area heading in the finals. (yeah, i kind of forgot about doing this once playoffs came around).
No. 1: Destrehan - Wildcats are just too powerful and too dynamic for teams to handle. Facing Acadiana's veer option offense will provide possible problems.
No. 2: St. James - The way St. James has played since beating Curtis has been impressive. It dominated Calvary Baptist, a team that beat Evangel, which lost to Curtis. Follow?
No. 3: Curtis - The Patriots, since losing to St. James, have turned it on. They're back to old Curtis form. But they still lost to St. James. They can rectify this in a week.
No. 4: Shaw - I'm impressed with the way Shaw beat O. Perry Walker. But not getting to 100 yards leaves question marks going into the finals.
No. 5: South Plaquemines - Can't really keep a team off this list that hasn't scored fewer than 47 points since Sept. 22. That's also the last time this 1A team lost.
Honorable mention: West St. John, Ehret, Mandeville, Rummel, O. Perry Walker.
OK, I want to hear from you. Give me your thoughts on the finals. Tell me about the semis. Where am I wrong? Where am I right?
Comment below, or email me at bhandwerger@wwltv.com
Posted by Bradley Handwerger 
at 3:08 PM | Permalink
| Comments (2)
Why does everyone overlook St. Pauls. We were not even mentioned as district contender or playoff team in the begining of the season and we made it to the quarterfinals!!!!!!
From Bradley: Clarence, St. Paul's certainly deserves an honorable mention. But if I put it on there, where does it stop?
Any team that makes it all the way to the QuarterFinals (like St. Paul's) deserves an honorable mention. But Mandeville, which is in 7-5A with St. Paul's, was probably more of a surprise. While their only district loss was to St. Paul's, Mandeville's offense scored more points than any other team in their district, and Mandeville's defense allowed fewer points than any other team in their district. They have always been in the shadow of St. Paul's and Fontainebleau, until this season. Put that together with the team's meteoric rise under 2nd year Head Coach Guy LeCompte, and the team's first appearance in the QuarterFinals in school history, and those things might have given Mandeville the edge in making Brad's Honorable Mention list. But again, due respect to everybody who survived deep into the playoffs.