[RunItUpTheGut]

If you are down by 36 points to BG and you start passing on every offensive play, what do you think your chances of winning that game are? When the running clock rule kicked in, HC had zero chances of coming back.

If you fall behind to a team that passes better than you do, then there is a good chance that they also defend passes better than you do. If you are going to run a predictable offense against a better team, then you better be able to execute it to perfection.

Johnson Central is not going to come back from a large deficit to beat Highlands, nor is HC going to overcome a large deficit to beat BG. Their best strategy is to stay in the lead or within striking distance by dominating the time of possession and running their bread and butter offense as close to perfection as possible. When it is working right, I have seen Matney's offense totally exhaust the inside linebackers of opposing teams - even good teams that platoon, and when that happens, long touchdown runs usually follow in short order.

Thats not what i meant, and i think your clever enough to know that.
Lets face it, if you throw the ball 2 or 3 times a game, your NEVER going to beat the Highlands, and Bowling Greens of the world. They'll track you down with your speed and your drives will take to long to sustain, and when you turn it over once your done.
The fact that HC was down 36 to JC and only threw the ball twice proved one thing, and thats that they dont have a single pass play in there offense other than hail mary. So all a Bowling Green type team would have to do against HC, or any team for that matter, is stack the box and let your athletes fly around. It would be a total blow out.
Its also the reason i think Pulaski County will win that region.

As for JC, I expect Highlands to do the same.