Marist vs Crescent Valley

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Should Marist beat Crescent Valley?  Yes.

Could Crescent Valley beat Marist? Yes.  Of course, a lot needs to go Crescent Valley's way. 

Crescent Vally does one thing on offense and they do it well.  They run the ball.  They are on the ground 71% of the time.  Over half of the carries by the Raiders have been by 5' 7", 180 lb senior Andrew Oglesby.  He's been good for over 1,500 yards on the ground.  And no one else on the team is close to those numbers.

The passing game, such that it is, has produced 12 touchdowns against 5 interceptions out of junior quarterback Chase Cochran.  All-World freshman, 6' 4" Tanner Sanders, has a third of the Raiders catches and a third of their yards through the air.  Sanders is the real deal.  He's a big yardage receiver.

So, what's to like about the Crescent Valley offense?  When a team focuses on one thing they can do it very, very well.  If the Raiders can be successful with the run against Marist, they can control the clock and keep the Marist scoring machine off the field.  If the Raiders can run, Marist better not get out of the blocks slowly like they did last week (first td excepted) against Lebanon.  You don't want to get behind against a team that is successful on the ground and can control the clock and time of possession.  I also like the fact that they have the frosh Sanders to go to through the air in the event the ground game isn't effective or if Marist starts overplaying the run.  I'm expecting to see the tall Sanders in the middle secondary of Marist's D.

Crescent Vally has been an on/off team on defense.  They've held eight of their opponents to two touchdowns or less. On the other hand, they've given up four to five touchdowns to four opponents.  Nothing in between.  The Raider defense is led by 6' 0", 215 lb senior linebacker Kyle Garnder.  Garner is an animal with over 11 tackles per game.  Does Marist game plan to run away from him, take him on or try and confuse him with misdirection?  I'm guessing that the Spartans will work away from him.

I think Marist's offense and defense are too quick for the Raiders.  It's going to be another slugfest in the trenches this week, but I don't think Crescent Vally has the wheels to get around the corner and the Marist linebackers and db's won't allow the big breakaway up the middle. I also think that Crescent Valley will eventually have to go to the frosh Sanders through the air.  Sanders is likely to have some success against the shorter Spartans, but if the Raiders have to go to the air a lot, they are also looking at some picks.

So should Marist win it? Yes.  Could Crescent Valley upset the Spartans?  Yes.  A consistent grinding ground game and a few long passes to Sanders and the Raiders are in the game.  Hopefully, Marist comes out fired up at the start of the Crescent Valley game like they did in the second half against Lebanon.  It was okay to come out and be methodical in execution during league, but they need to use that intensity we saw in the second half last week if the Spartans want to make it to the finals.

MWL Alums in college and pros

I put out a call for former mwl players who went on to play football in college and pro ball.  It looks like at least 5 Spartans are currently playing college ball.  They are playing for Boise State, Oregon, Oregon State, Montana State and Portland State.  Churchill has at least two. Both at Oregon.  Let me know if I'm missing any.  And it's okay to go back in time.  I usually do my college and pro page maintenance in the off season, so the timing to gather the info is perfect.  I'll set up a section for Ashland and Eagle Point if I get some info.   College player link.  Pro Player link.

Current poll.

The fan voting poll currently shows 69% of fans think Marist is going to win and 80% think Sherwood is going to win. 

Happy Thanksgiving.  I just found out that by brother is bringing three guests from France to Thanksgiving dinner.  And they are staying over night Thursday.  My wife didn't faint!