[Kracken]

Couldn't sleep so went back and took another look at it. Sorry so long winded, but it was a state game after all. Here are some thoughts from a MF perspective:

1. The execution on offense just wasn't there in the 1st half. Stupid penalties, poor execution up front, dropped passes, missed throws, etc. Whether it was nerves or whatever idk, but things just weren't clicking.
2. Ordinarily I'm in the 'run it to set up the pass' camp. This game was an exception to that. Mayfield didn't throw it well enough early to open up the run. I said before the game that Danville would stack the box and play man to man and that's what they did most of the afternoon. They walked a linebacker down, put a safety in the box, and covered MF's four with four. MF was playing 5 on 7 up front and that math just didn't work. Jordan's touchdown was man with no safety help. Jack's near touchdown was the same thing. Those safety's weren't there because they were in the box helping with the run. If MF could have hit a few more of those and forced Danville to adjust away from loading the box, the run would have looked much better.
3. The double reverse was a back-breaker. After the safety and Jordan's score, MF looked poised to take control and then BOOM. 60 something yards and all momentum lost. They run that thing every game. Not sure why MF looked so unprepared for it.
4. MF is not used to seeing their equal at the skilled positions, but they did so yesterday. One example, look at the cushions MF's dbs gave vs the cushions MF's receivers got. Any time Danville wanted 6 yrds on first down or needed 7 yrds on 3rd they simply played pitch and catch on that easy stop route on the outside. We tried it and were lucky to not have it intercepted.
5. Said it before but Dan's QB was a difference maker. Dude looked like Warren Moon back there.
6. Danville does a great job of getting their athletes in space and letting them do their thing. MF just couldn't keep them bottled up. That many athletes and that much speed will eventually get loose.
7. MF has a great team and actually matched up better than it looked. Play a cleaner game with fewer penalties, hit a few plays we missed, and tackle better and this thing could have been real interesting.

In the end, Danville did a better job of doing what they do. They have a great team, they executed better, and they found big plays when they needed them.

Still proud of my Cards. They fought hard and gave good effort, it just wasn't meant to be. Great season, great kids, and great memories. Can't ask for more than that.