For a change of pace, thoughts on 5A playoffs. What happened to Big Bad 'Ole WM getting the 4 seed? My alum got the 2 seed which I am excited about.
Thoughts? Who will be the surprise? Will WM get to the Dome?
JFord
|
|
|
|
|
For a change of pace, thoughts on 5A playoffs. What happened to Big Bad 'Ole WM getting the 4 seed? My alum got the 2 seed which I am excited about.
Thoughts? Who will be the surprise? Will WM get to the Dome?
JFord
With Alsup healthy, I see Ruston upsetting Fontainbleau in the second round.
North Louisiana should fare pretty well this year.
5A - WM could win it all. Ruston should go far. Byrd is too banged up to do anything.
4A - Bastrop should win. Tons of teams from the region here. Ouachita, Haughton, Minden, Shreve.
3A - Rayville should do some things.
2A - Okay, no shot for the north winning this one.
1A - ECA or Calvary will win this.
Always good to see the balance of power with the North.
Sorry, but Ruston won't get past Fontainebleau next week.
Mandeville, is not very good, Ruston will have their way with them. Although Mandeville held Fontainebleau to a good game, it was one of those rivalry games where Mandeville played their best and Fontainebleau played well enough to squeak out a win.
Fontainebleau is playing the best football in that district right now, and its not just a fluke that there are 6 teams from 4-5A in the playoffs. How is Ruston's Rush defense? Fontainebleau is turning into a RB High. How do the playoffs work with both Ruston and Fontainebleau playing at home, who gets the home game next week? The top seed?
As a new Ruston resident and an alumnus of Fontainebleau it will be a hard game for me to choose a side on.
JFord
No way man; always side with the alma mater. That's like saying you graduated from Tech, live in BR, and have a hard time chosing between the Dawgs and Tigers.Originally Posted by jford
Ruston's run defense is very good. 1-5A is a run-first district and Ruston held their own there.
Good point, although I did hate high school!
Well, I hope FHS's QB is on next Friday night.
GO DAWGS! (FHS and LA Tech)
JFord
I knew I'd get that kind of reaction. I have my doubts that FHS has the talent even though the power ranking indicates differently. Rest assured this will be FHS's toughest game this year. Playing teams like Bastrop, WM, Neville, and Ouachita every year gives Ruston a huge advantage when it comes playoff time. South LA teams, IMO, rarely live up to their power rankings.
Fair enough, and I think you are right as far as the power rankings go with South Louisiana teams. Playing the game in Mandeville should help Fontainebleau out a great deal. I'll never foget watching Fontainebleau play West Monroe in the Semi's two years ago and watch them get their butts handed to them. Is the West Monroe this year as good as that one two years ag or better?
JFord
Defensively, they're always good. The only weakness I see are their CB's. A team that can throw and mix it up like E St. John will give them trouble. Offensively, they still run the same stuff they've always run. They lull you into thinking all they're going to do are straight dive plays and then all of a sudden they throw a bomb for 80 yds. The best thing you can hope for against WM is to have a lead going into the 4th quarter, if you're down by a TD or two it's nearly impossible to come back.
5A semifinal predictions:
West Monroe vs. East St. Johns
Catholic vs. Fontainbleau
In the Dome for the Championship:
West Monroe vs. Catholic
Championship predicition:
Catholic is taken hostage and replaced by the LaTech Bulldogs. West Monroe beats "Catholic" 48-3
Curtis is the exception to that... Nad maybe Shaw this year...
I was surprised Parkview Baptist gave FHS so much trouble this year. This is not a strong or fast PBS team. Maybe only two D-1 players (Mason Hitt, DE, LSU's Lyle's younger brother and someone we should recruit, and a JR OL) on this year's team. In years past, PBS had Derry Beckwith, Lyle, Max Holmes (all at LSU) and Burkhalter who all play D-1 (along with some guys who should be playing D-1 if they had their heads on straight) on the team at the same time. Those teams were pretty tough. The one point loss at FHS did help the PBS power rating though.
WM is strong defensively against the run. Nobody is gonna run on them effectively. They like to "bleed slow" on defense. They don't give up a lot of big plays. If they have a weakness on Defense it is defending the pass. Their D-line gets tremendous pressure on the QB so that usually bails them out. Offensively, they still run the triple option and they do it well. They are really young and small on the O-line this year but they get the job done. The 5A championship has to go through West Monroe. You won't win a war of attrition against WM. You've got to jump on them early and force them out of their game plan. You can't let them pound on you.
i agree. the bearcats got a very favorable draw. the bottom half of the bracket is relatively weak, and aside from the second-round trip down to fontainebleau (good ole fox should enjoy calling that game!), the 'cats could make a legitimate run at the dome for the first time in eight years!
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
we shall see. i'm not certain ruston isn't the second-best 5a team in the state. their defense, which was supposed to be down this year, has carried that team over the past few weeks with the senior qb ben alsup hurt. the 'cats led wm 10-7 going into the 4th quarter last week before letting that one slip away. alsup was back for that game and will only get sharper as the playoffs get deeper. this team has a very real shot at winning the bottom of the bracket and getting another shot at the rebels in new orleans.
the bold, the beautiful, theprofessor
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
