McCort vs. Wilmington

[Dfense wins games]

is wilmington a fasfast, agile team or are they a hard nosed pound the ball team? lookin at their stats, they put up very successful running numbers, but theres 2 ways to do that, straight ahead or sweeps and laterals...

their passing numbers dont seem that outstanding, but if you can run the ball, why pass, even if you dont need to 'open things up'?

[Crimsoncrush67]

From the games i saw early on this year in D10 they really really like to run the football. Teams ussually dont go whipping the ball around unless they are down and they also dont cover the pass well due to the fact the dont see it much. The Qbs ive seen in this district are failry agile and can get out of the poctect but wont throw on the run and dont throw accurate. I got to see Sharon early this year and a few AAAA teams and they all do the same basic things power the football. THats just what i have seen personally with linemen the size of theirs i imagine they dont go outside much unless these big boys have wheels and i seriously doubt that. SO i think they will look to run inbetween the tackles and try to control the ball and keep the McCort o off the field. With a running game plan and probable lack of strong qb i see McCort D having a big night, ONLY IF the Dline plays physical and smart no more late hits. THe same with the Oline if those undersized gaurds come off the football and knock the big boys off the ball JD will have a good night throwing and Lewis and Barbin maybe even some Kubinsky will have a great night running.

I see McCort by 14

[Crimson09Crazy]

i watched Wilmington on youtube they looked impressive running the ball but not so much passing

there big but McCort is pretty big themselves

but McCorts defense is tough and does not give up much I think Tyrone was the first to score over 20 points since Bedford opening game!


i expect to see the Crushers in the Western final by beating Wilmington 31-17

[THE CHOPS]

P.I.A.A. CLASS (AA) WESTERN SEMI-FINAL: Bishop McCort (11-1) vs. Wilmington Area (13-0)

Each year in the playoffs, there are some surprise upsets or some surprise teams that make it into States.

Nobody had really heard of Wilson Area until last season, when the Warriors went all the way to the (AA) state championship game.

Nobody gave the Pottsville Crimson Tide any credit, and all they did was beat Whitehall, Strath Haven, and Manheim Central in consecutive weeks to reach the (AAA) state championship.

This year's surprise team resides in the West. The Bishop McCort Crushers weren't on many radars throughout the season, but came on in an instant with their 37-28 upset of previously undefeated Tyrone last week for the District #6 championship.

By defeating Tyrone, the Crushers (11-1) earned a berth in the state playoffs and will play the Wilmington Area Greyhounds (13-0) this Friday evening at Slippery Rock University's Thompson Stadium in a P.I.A.A. Class (AA) Western Semi-final. Kickoff time is slated for 7 pm.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of the Brookville-Jeannette semi-final next weekend at a site and time to be determined.

Tyrone, however, was not the only notable opponent to fall victim to McCort during its 11-game winning streak.

In Week #3, traditional District #6 power Forest Hills fell to McCort 18-16. Four week later, District #6 Class (AAA) playoff qualifier Johnstown was shut out by the Crushers, 30-0. McCort avenged its only loss of the season when it beat Bedford 27-7 in the opening round of the D#6 playoffs.

And then, as was mentioned before, McCort stunned Tyrone 37-28 to win the District #6 championship.

McCort, which averages 333 yards and 31.7 points per game, can run or pass. Scott Lewis has run for 1,028 yards and 9 TDs on 128 carries this season, and keys a Crusher rushing attack which averages 211 yards per game.

Quarterback Jordan Defrances has completed 100 of 180 passes (55%) for 1,283 yards with 8 TDs and 9 INTs. Defrances' favorite target is Chris Seidel, who has caught 31 passes for 512 yards and has 2 TDs.

The Crushers will be facing a Wilmington Area defense which only allows 6.7 points per game and has allowed 21 points in three postseason games this year.

The District #10 champion Wilmington Area Greyhounds enter this game on a 13-game winning streak. They too have defeated some tough teams on their road to the state playoffs.

The Greyhounds squeaked past Ford City 29-26 to open their season. A couple weeks later, Grove City gave the Hounds a scare, but WA still prevailed, 14-6. In the opening round of the District #10 playoffs, upset-minded Corry came out strong, but still fell 35-8.

Wilmington Area has beaten Sharon Area twice, and by a combined score of 77-14. The first meeting between the two saw the Greyhounds only allow the Tigers 3 total yards of offense for the entire game!

Led by veteran head coach Terry Verrelli, who is in his 28th year, the Greyhounds are deep into the 2006 playoffs and only two games away from a trip to Hershey. The Greyhounds were in the 1989 Class (AA) state finals as a representative of District #7, and fell to powerful Bethlehem Catholic 26-11.

The Greyhounds certainly have what it takes to make that run to Hershey. Chris Burns leads a wickedly efficient Greyhound ground game that averages 254.1 yards per game. Burns has run for 1,254 yards and 18 TDs on 149 attempts, which is an 8.42 average per rush. David Bruno, Forrest Minteer, and quarterback Jake Reiber also contribute to the ground game, and gives opponents four tough runners to key on.

Reiber not only runs on occasion, but he also passes. The Greyhound Wing-T offense doesn't call for much passing, but Reiber has been effective when called upon to deliver with his right arm. He has completed 61 of 112 passes (54.5%) for 958 yards with 11 TDs and only 4 INTs.

Reiber and the Greyhounds will be going against a Bishop McCort defense that allows an average of 8.8 points per game. The Crushers have allowed 45 points through 3 postseason games.

Don't count the Crushers out by any means. When you beat Tyrone, Forest Hills, and shut out Johnstown all in the same year, you mean business.

Bishop McCort might be the Penn Hills of (AA), a team that has played much of the season under the radar or as underdogs and not been given enough credit for being capable of winning the big games.

Maybe, Friday evening, we will see another upset.

THE CHOPS

[Opinionguy]

This McCort team is the best team to come out of the LHAC in quite some time. It's always tough to gauge a team when you get to this level of the playoffs because everyone is good. If McCort plays turnover free football, they can play with anybody.

If Wilmington is a run first team, they better game plan a little different for the Crushers. Coach Franco wasn't kidding when he said Scott Lewis is the best Linebacker he's seen in a long time from this area. I would agree, I haven't saw a linebacker as good as Lewis since 96 when FH had a pretty good one...Lewis combined with McCorts’ D-front make it tough to run the football.

Seidel is the key for the Crushers. This kid has been under utilized all season by BM...not on purpose, just by the style of their offense. Put this kid in a pass first scheme, he may have caught 1,200 yards worth of balls this year. His ability to stretch the field, along with the running ability of Lewis/Barbin keeps your safeties honest, and makes McCort very difficult to stop.

I'll take McCort by 9...good luck to Thee Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers.

[vman]

Appreciate the encouraging pick Op. & I'm quite sure Wlmngtn. is very good but I agree with Opie's insight of Wil. having difficulty running the ball [quote="vman";p="130340"]Wilmington (via stats) is more of a running team & I don't think they'll make a living running on BM![/quote]

And likewise his observation on Chris Seidel is on target & BM did not have to throw in some games...take Jtwn. for instance, BM led like 17 nothing early 2nd qtr. & the O-Line just pounded @ & wore Jtwn down - Chris S. did not touch the ball...and frankly did not need to [quote="vman";p="130340"]
Wilmington has also put up incredible #s defensively but the obvious question is the unknown caliber of their opponents. Conversely, BMs offense had the luxury of sticking to the ground game vs most opponents
(in effect showing little of their diversity & passing game). But as the games got bigger Salem has opened it up & utilized the squads talent & speed! I'm confident Wilmington has not seen a pounding & quick running attack complimented by the ability to stretch the field @ any time.[/quote]

Anything can happen on any given day & who knows what the weather will pan out to be...I've already heard lows of 30 & a low of 49?? I've heard hi's of 30 & 50....rain, flurries....a combination & so on; @ least it is on artificial surface which does not retard BM's speed completly, if there is some form of precipitation!

[TBone]

An interesting note. A pretty good predictor of HS sports is the Born Power Index. They are picking Wilmington by 1-2 pts. They have a record of about 80% correct picks. By the way, they picked Bishop McCort over Tyrone by 1. Doesn't mean crap but is interesting.

[Dfense wins games]

hmm....well then were settin up for a great game!

[Xylo]

[quote="Fan22";p="130326"]Well McCort should win this game, considering Wilmington is from District 10, and they should make it to the Western Final. They most likely will not beat Jeanette, and if the rules like last year still applied, they probably wouldnt have made it to the Western Final, since they are facing the easier team this week...(just like in '02 when FH faced Brockway.)

Goodluck BM, ill still be rooting for yins.[/quote]

Not to take away from the current conversation, but 2002 was before the recent changes in the playoff format. In 2002, FH didn't play the easier team, they played the winner of D9/D10 and then faced the WPIAL champion. At that time the WPIAL champion was automatically in the Western Final.

[Opinionguy]

Good point Xylo.