Poll: Who wins Friday night?
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Ashland
Russell
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10-17-2019, 03:20 PM
The teams Russell has played with a winning record so far are Raceland, Ironton, and Fleming County. Their most impressive win of the season came against Raceland. They were very close to Ironton as well in a loss at Ironton.
The teams Ashland has played with a winning record so far are George Washington, Wheelersburg, Ironton, Raceland, and East Carter. Their most impressive win came against Ironton. They were very close as well in a loss to Wheelersburg at Wheelersburg.
Ashland has played the tougher schedule and has a little bit better wins so they have the advantage there for what it's worth.
Russell has the advantage at the QB position. Jachimczuk is slightly better than Gregg. He can run the ball better and has shown some ability to complete balls downfield. Ashland keeps Gregg very limited in only throwing short and safe passes. He doesn't scramble at all.
Both teams have excellent running backs. Anderson and Conley run with more of a power style for Russell while Hester and Pittman are more elusive and have breakaway speed. I give the slight advantage to Ashland here because Hester is truly something special who can win a football game by himself and if Pittman gets the slightest bit of daylight, he is gone.
Russell's offensive line has been very good this season while Ashland's has gotten the job done as well. I give the slight edge to Ashland here because of their experience, but Russell isn't far behind because their line is nastier and will maul you.
The same can be said for Russell's entire defensive front 7. They have put in the work in the weight room and they play with bad intentions. Ashland has been effective, but they are smaller and play more reserved. I give the edge to Russell here because the linebacking corps is the heart of their team and is what makes this Russell team really special.
Both secondaries are similar. Both can be taken advantage of, but I don't know if either team has the weapons in the passing game to truly take advantage of the other. I think Jachimczuk to Griffith might be the most dangerous combination on the field Friday so I would give a very slight edge to Russell here.
Both teams kicking games and return games are average. I see no difference here.
I think Russell has the coaching advantage as this staff has shown many times that they can shut down one-dimensional teams. This has been a trait of Maynard even from his days at Raceland. They will likely make Ashland throw the ball to beat them. Ashland has fine coaches as well, but they are facing a power running game that coaching can only do so much to stop. The Ashland linebackers are small. Can they tackle Conley and Anderson?
The eye test tells me that Russell is the more physical team. They are certainly the more passionate of the two teams as they have looked more fired up with an in-your-face type of attitude in the games I have seen them play this year. Russell has something to prove. Ashland seems to be more business-like in their approach. I think Russell has the advantage in these intangibles because at the end of the day, as much as society tries to make football into a softer game at all levels, passion and wanting to really hit someone hard still count for a lot. There's no doubt in my mind that Russell will be coming to inflict some pain on Ashland tomorrow night. Plus, they have the additional motivation of being embarrassed at Ashland last year.
I think Ashland's depth is their biggest strength in this game. They don't play players both ways while a lot of Russell's players play both ways. Will Russell get worn down as the game goes on?
This is going to be a great game to watch. The weather is supposed to be good football weather. The crowd should be big. It's Russell's passion versus Ashland's depth in my mind. My prediction is that passion wins out. Russell wins 21-20.
The teams Ashland has played with a winning record so far are George Washington, Wheelersburg, Ironton, Raceland, and East Carter. Their most impressive win came against Ironton. They were very close as well in a loss to Wheelersburg at Wheelersburg.
Ashland has played the tougher schedule and has a little bit better wins so they have the advantage there for what it's worth.
Russell has the advantage at the QB position. Jachimczuk is slightly better than Gregg. He can run the ball better and has shown some ability to complete balls downfield. Ashland keeps Gregg very limited in only throwing short and safe passes. He doesn't scramble at all.
Both teams have excellent running backs. Anderson and Conley run with more of a power style for Russell while Hester and Pittman are more elusive and have breakaway speed. I give the slight advantage to Ashland here because Hester is truly something special who can win a football game by himself and if Pittman gets the slightest bit of daylight, he is gone.
Russell's offensive line has been very good this season while Ashland's has gotten the job done as well. I give the slight edge to Ashland here because of their experience, but Russell isn't far behind because their line is nastier and will maul you.
The same can be said for Russell's entire defensive front 7. They have put in the work in the weight room and they play with bad intentions. Ashland has been effective, but they are smaller and play more reserved. I give the edge to Russell here because the linebacking corps is the heart of their team and is what makes this Russell team really special.
Both secondaries are similar. Both can be taken advantage of, but I don't know if either team has the weapons in the passing game to truly take advantage of the other. I think Jachimczuk to Griffith might be the most dangerous combination on the field Friday so I would give a very slight edge to Russell here.
Both teams kicking games and return games are average. I see no difference here.
I think Russell has the coaching advantage as this staff has shown many times that they can shut down one-dimensional teams. This has been a trait of Maynard even from his days at Raceland. They will likely make Ashland throw the ball to beat them. Ashland has fine coaches as well, but they are facing a power running game that coaching can only do so much to stop. The Ashland linebackers are small. Can they tackle Conley and Anderson?
The eye test tells me that Russell is the more physical team. They are certainly the more passionate of the two teams as they have looked more fired up with an in-your-face type of attitude in the games I have seen them play this year. Russell has something to prove. Ashland seems to be more business-like in their approach. I think Russell has the advantage in these intangibles because at the end of the day, as much as society tries to make football into a softer game at all levels, passion and wanting to really hit someone hard still count for a lot. There's no doubt in my mind that Russell will be coming to inflict some pain on Ashland tomorrow night. Plus, they have the additional motivation of being embarrassed at Ashland last year.
I think Ashland's depth is their biggest strength in this game. They don't play players both ways while a lot of Russell's players play both ways. Will Russell get worn down as the game goes on?
This is going to be a great game to watch. The weather is supposed to be good football weather. The crowd should be big. It's Russell's passion versus Ashland's depth in my mind. My prediction is that passion wins out. Russell wins 21-20.
10-17-2019, 08:49 PM
david5164 Wrote:T-Cats, you say Ashland players Limps in Banged up? Who are the Ashland players that have injuries or the Ashland Players that are Banged up? Just haven't heard much about this with Ashland being banged or Injuries.
Starting QB Gregg questionable sprained ankle Hester was down on field last week a long time not sure of his injury or status at the moment. Pittman been dealing with a calf injury and playing through it the last 2 weeks.
10-18-2019, 03:59 AM
T-CATS Wrote:Starting QB Gregg questionable sprained ankle Hester was down on field last week a long time not sure of his injury or status at the moment. Pittman been dealing with a calf injury and playing through it the last 2 weeks.You must really be scared to start making excuses before you even play the game..
:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
10-18-2019, 02:52 PM
I think itâs going to be key to see which team can create easy passes for their qb... similar to what Kentucky done with Lynn Bowden last week.. like that rpo fake run and pull the ball with the slot receiver or TE slipping down the middle of the field.. I think a play like that could really catch either defense off guard with this game going to be mostly run at your face most of the game.
10-18-2019, 05:25 PM
Russell-26
Ashland-21
Ashland-21
10-18-2019, 07:52 PM
Ashland 35
Russell 7
Russell 7
10-18-2019, 10:07 PM
Russell gets the victory!
24-21
24-21
10-18-2019, 11:10 PM
When was the last time these 2 played each other as a district game?
10-18-2019, 11:31 PM
This game is a tough one for me to predict. Russell has been consistent all year, so has Ashland. Russell is extremely physical and plays very fundamental in the box. Ashland didnt gash Raceland time after time. Raceland was able to contain Ashlands speed 70% of the time, but the other 30% of the time resulted in TDs and Raceland simply couldnt manufacture any offense. I dont think if Raceland and Russell played 10x that there would be another game like the won they played. Russell gave us more issues than Ashland did, they were more physical offensively than our defense was. Seeing both teams it just comes down to who can establish there brand of football first. Ashland is super quick defensively and one missed tackle on Hester will cost you. Russell on the other hand has a serious bruiser in Conley. Ashland covers really well in the passing game. Russell does a great job getting sideline to sideline defensively. There are so many damn variables in this one it's hard for me to pick. My head tells me Russell wins. But my gut says Ashland breaks a few long ones late, I think that's the only advantage Ashland has is depth. If the point total is less than 50, I'd take Russell. If it's over 50 I'm taking Ashland. This should be the best match up in this area for the year.
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