[cat86]

Here's my take:

Pburg's offense was definitely slowed, but more so by the weather I think than the SC defense. SC managed to put alot of pressure on Burchett by stunting and calling some blitzes, but Burchett did a great job hitting short to intermediate routes and safety valve patterns. Burchett ran the ball well when the Cats went to the empty backfield and spread the field.

SC's offense had some nice moments, but seemed to have trouble in sustaining drives. The one drive where they looked awesome was when Pburg took a 21-7 lead, and SC marched down the field, mixing short passes and the running game. If Hager utilizes that play mix in future games, they will very tough to beat.

On defense, Alex Griffith and Austin McKinney were beasts for the Blackcats. They did have trouble when facing double teams by the bigger SC linemen, but made an awful lot of plays. Griffith in particular had several tackles behind the line from his MLB position. Tyler Hall, Joseph Jamerson, and Josh Craynon all had picks, and Hall's pick helped set up an important score. I was worried about SC lining up and ramming the ball down Pburg's throat, but that didn't happen.

On defense for SC, they did some things really well. Looked like they covered the intermediate and deep routes very well in the secondary. Burchett had some receivers drop wide open passes early in the game, and SC seemed to take away some of those routes as the game went on. The traditional Jet package wasn't terribly effective on the ground, and when the Cats went to an empty backfield, spread the field, and ran Burchett on QB draws and sweeps, then the running went well. Overall, SC played very well on defense.

Both teams played their hearts out. As important as we like to make each game, in reality, this game was just for bragging rights and to help prepare each other for a playoff run. The best thing you could hope for is that both teams come out of the game without injury (which I think was the case).

Special teams were exciting. SC had a kickoff return for a TD, Jamerson had about a 35 yard field goal, and both teams had some lousy punts, again probably due to the weather.

Very clean game. Not too many penalties, although the officiating was questionable at best. SC fans were very courteous for the most part, as well as most Pburg fans. There are exceptions to this, and keep in mind that most of the parents and kids who draw the anger of the opposing teams also draw anger from their own team. SC's field is very nice. The turf looked a little different than say, Pikeville or Belfry's field, but was very nice.

Good luck to SC the rest of the year. I always root for other local mountain teams (except for the week they play us), and think that SC will go deep into the playoffs, possibly even to Bowling Green.