[oneijoe]

Great ball game (except for the clock keeper...still don't know what was up with that...).

PCC was every bit as good as I thought they would be. Big line, good talent at the skill positions, and as evidenced by the halftime adjustments, very well coached. Kudos to them. In the second half, after trailing 16-7, they began to spread the defense out wide and run Boggs up the middle, which was supremely effective. Speaking to some PCC fans after the game (who were very nice, friendly, and good to talk to), they said that if they had done that to Belfry, they would have won that game. Boggs is a player. Everyone knows he is a deadly passer, but in the first half Prestonsburg was able to pressure him and beat him up a little. He bounced back, though, and carried PCC in the second half. Great player...

Defensively, PCC played Prestonsburg as tough as anyone we have faced. Crisp was off his normally accurate game in the first few possessions, but alot of that had to do with PCC's defense. PCC was able to sit back with 6 to 7 in coverage and their D line pretty much shut down the Blackcat running game. Turnovers also hurt the Blackcats. This Blackcat squad simply doesn't have the margin for error to lose the turnover battle against a good team and come out with a win.

Prestonsburg defensively did a very good job stopping the pass in the first half. If not for a horribly blown coverage, PCC would have been held scoreless. However in the second half, when PCC spread the field and ran Boggs up the middle, Prestonsburg couldn't answer. Tons of missed tackles by the Blackcat defense brought back memories of the Breathitt County game. Time to bounce back, focus on the little things, and improve off this. Even with 2 losses, when you consider all that this team lost from last year and the difficulties they have faced, this has been a great regular season. Time to learn from this loss and carry it forward in the playoffs.

Congrats to Pike County Central, as they won this game outright by dominating the second half. Good luck to them in the playoffs.

Excellent review post... Congrats to the Hawks for a great game. Pike Central found Prestonsburg's weak areas and capitalized like a good team should !!


There are a few things that really stick out in this one for the Blackcats.

1. The number of missed tackles by the Prestonsburg defense is simply unacceptable. There's no gentler way of saying it. These are not tackles being missed by underclassmen, either. The best tackle by P-burg the entire night was on a kick returner, for Pete's sake !!

NO ONE is driving their legs and instead tries to "bulldog" runners to the ground with their arms. While it might suffice against a small RB, it borders on the embarrassing to see the result against a big strong back like Boggs. When you grab the runner, you must keep your legs driving through the tackle. Even if you can't put the runner down, you halt his forward momentum and give your teammates a chance to help. I don't know how this can be corrected now - it's a basic defensive football fundamental.

2. The jet sweep doesn't work because opposing defenses get penetration at the edge. The play doesn't work when the RB can't run parallel to the LOS before he gets outside. The counter give going the other way does NOT help at all because the entire defense has plenty of time to react (it may be the slowest developing running play known to man...lol). As it is now, the OLB's are instantly crashing the corner when they see the wingback in motion toward them beating the pulling linemen to the point of attack. Without some kind of quick inside counter option or other credible inside threat on the play's same side, nothing holds the OLB or DE home from the snap of the ball.

3. The P-burg DL and LBs were absolutely manhandled toward the end of the game on PCC's last 2 possessions. This is a SCARY prospect with a possible matchup at Corbin in a few weeks...


Bottom line for P-burg... The passing game is good enough to score points offensively, even with a weak running game and also against defenses playing extra DB's. -BUT- this defense doesn't appear strong enough to stop a good power-oriented running offense that also possesses a credible passing attack.


:popcorn: