[dflpackage]

would you say their D is built on speed or size? And have you seen them go up against a top notch passing team or a balance Offense? Cov Cath has a lot of size and Highlands has speed and great passing game, so looking for how both teams would match up with Ashland.

Ashland has decent size. The front four: 6'3" 235, 5'11" 260, 6'0" 230, 6'3" 235. For the most part, the defense has very good speed. Inside LBs 6'0" 225, 5'10" 185. DBs are big and fast. OLB do not have great size but get to the ball quickly, contain well, and are big hitters. I agree that they have been vulnerable to the quick hit inside. As for balanced offenses, I don't know that Ashland has necessarily seen this, especially offenses like HHS and CC. Ashland has faced speed in George Washington (who had an outstanding line, albeit of average size. The two RBs are both DI talent). Rowan County was huge, but appeared quite slow (probably because of the field conditions. Wing is a D1 QB, but, respectfully, I suspect he is not on the level of Towles). Belfry was big and fast. Ashland had a difficult time stopping the run up the middle in that game but neutralized Belfry's speed fairly well. Ironton started 3 OL over 300 lbs who moved well. Ashland gave up yards in that game, but not points as they caused 5 fumbles with 4 lost by Ironton. The DBs are great in run support and also do a very good job in coverage. In fairness though, I don't think that they have really been tested by a potent passing attack Defensively, it is a pretty decent team (1 Soph, 5 jrs, 5 Srs). They really don't crowd the box, although the DBs can occasionally get caught short in being overly aggressive in pursuit of the run. The kids have done a good job implementing the defensive plans each game and battled some injuries early on (both inside LBs, Safety). Things seem to be gelling though at the right time.