Rez Ipsa

Liberty Hill should put her on a shirt

Their defensive line is shockingly small. I’m having trouble imagining a scenario where they stop our run game.

Liberty Hill has probably had a rematch with PNG circled all season. Let’s get it going.

Great season, Jasper! We were pulling for you.

They played us really tough.

Refs helped so much on that drive

Specific to this game, you’re right that it’s not really accurate to call a Huntsville win an upset. They’re where they are for a reason, ranking and records don’t matter. Huntsville doesn’t have to be the best 6 weeks ago to beat us. They have to be the best this week.

Good point.

I’ve been watching some Huntsville film. I’m predicting a grinding, slobberknocker game similar to the one PNG had against West Orange. Huntsville is big on the defensive line, and they don’t give up big plays. They’re also fast on the D line, with quick hands. Number 55 has multiple long runs after fumbles or interceptions. And they’re capable of closing off the run game similarly to Lake Creek. In the playoffs, their defense is a mirror to PNG’s (though we played the best offense in the region in Lake Creek). Looking only at their playoff performance, they’ve given up an average of 16 points a game, identical to PNG over the same period. That being said, PNG’s offense has been better than Huntsville’s, and I think that will make the difference. I see two likely scenarios: One, PNG plays stiff defense and is able to move the ball relatively consistently, slowly inching up the score board for a final score around 21/28 to 7/14. Two, Huntsville keeps it to a close, one-score game and whoever wins does it by the skin of their teeth. Huntsville wants a low-scoring game, of course. I think we have the advantage in a shootout. The later the game goes with a 14-7 or 7-0 score, the more I start to see a Huntsville upset. Richmond and Texas City showed that if you let Huntsville hang around they can take advantage of it. We just have to come out clean, get up by a couple scores, and hang on. As improved as Huntsville’s defense has been, they haven’t shown the same leap on offense. If they have to play catchup, we control the game.

I miss those royal purple helmets.

Correct. Lost in round 2 to Brenham.

He was unstoppable

We didn’t necessarily need to adjust on defense. We needed to keep drives going so that SOC would run out of time for a comeback. When they moved a guy over on the d line, they largely took away the run and we started having quick three and outs. They basically said, “We’ll stack up on the line and force PNG to win through the air against our D1 secondary.” PNG couldn’t throw a fast enough ball on a good day against that secondary, our receivers weren’t quick enough to get open, and the qb was under pressure, so we weren’t going to keep drives open by throwing out of the pocket OR by running in the second half. The only thing I think might have worked would have been to take a Crippen out and put Shae in at QB - Shae could roll out, show pass, and run for a quick four out five yards. And, he might have been able to get a few passes completed as the secondary bit on the qb run. We could have chewed up a couple more yards a run and extended more drives, and just slowed them down a lot. We basically did that offense after crippen got hurt anyway, and Shae got some good runs at the end (and completed a few passes to set up a score) - I think if we had implemented that earlier, they would have had to adjust to the outside, possibly giving us back the inside run lanes. In other words, we could have adjusted to their adjustment and kept them guessing more.

I share the concern. Not that we’re not hard to beat - PNg’s been pretty dang hard to beat. But, I share the concern that we’ll come up against a team we can’t move the ball running against, and won’t make adjustments. Which is exactly what happened against SOC last season. SOC adjusted in the second half. PNG didn’t .

Am I correct that Connor Bailey hasn’t thrown any interceptions this season? He’s had a heck of a start to his high school career. Hard to believe he’s only a sophomore.

Not only that - If we make it to state, it’s not going to work against Soc or Lovejoy.

Does anyone know if Huntsville fans have an online space similar to this one ? I’d love to see what they’re saying about this game. They certainly don’t talk here.

What sticks out to me is the defense is very well conditioned and tenacious. They don’t strike me as particularly big, but they’re tough. They won’t be intimidated.

I’d expect them to bring at least as many as Montgomery Lake Creek, but I’m predicting more.

Two losses are to the favorites to win 6ad1 and 6aD2. Still counts for good experience - they’ve played both teams that are at least in the top three in the state (counting north shore, assuming qb is healthy). No other 5ad2 team has that experience, even if it’s in losses. And, they’ve beaten Midlothian Heritage, Lancaster (still in 5ad1 playoffs), and Melissa. Not bad at all.

Lovejoy’s schedule is crazy legit - One loss , to an undefeated 6A team playing in the quarterfinals this weekend. They beat College Station, Melissa, Texas High, Argyle. If anyone can beat SoC, it’s Lovejoy.

NDN Press is reporting game time and place is official - 7pm Friday at NRG. Ticket info pending.

I could see Lovejoy beating SOC - Their receivers are elite. Probably the most stacked offensive team in 5aD2. But, the qb is going to have to have time to throw, and SOC showed against Melissa that they can take that time away. Whichever we face , if we make it that far, is going to be a tall order. And this is assuming, I think correctly, that neither Frisco Emerson nor Colleyville Heritage will be waiting for us in Arlington.

You’re right that most of what went wrong for LH in the last game isn’t replicable (fumbles, interceptions, etc). Pieper should still win, but I’m anticipating a closer game.

This is an interesting one. Pieper is brand new but riding a 12-1 season and the hot arm of Jake South’s 41 touchdowns in only their second year of varsity play. Last week they upset Alamo Heights, a favorite to win Region 4. Liberty Hill returns to its familiar spot in the Region 4 Final, but appears more vulnerable than ever with four losses on the season, including one suffered in Week 10 from a dominant Pieper squad for the district championship. Pieper looks like the favorite, and if you watch these two teams’ last matchup (available on YouTube), a second win looks likely. It’s hard to beat a good team twice, and Liberty Hill is good. Pieper is better, but Liberty Hill’s playoff experience is an advantage. It’s a toss up, but I think the winner of PNG-Huntsville will be playing Pieper for a trip to AT&T.