Quick Strike 3rd Quarter Mauls Mustangs, 45-6

Posted by KT2000 at October 24, 2008

Webber dives for a touchdown in the 3rd.

This is definitely one of those instances when the scoreboard looks really good at the end, but the game itself suggests something different. I have to say I didn’t think this team could play flat and still win 45-6. Last year’s group did that a couple times. The first half was sluggish at best, but I think it will be important learning material going forward…especially for the defense.

Taylor passed a lot more than I thought they would, and I wonder if the team was prepared to see that. Taylor nickel and dimed their way downfield in the first half similar to Seven Lakes the week before. Only this week the defense didn’t manage to tighten up until Taylor was in the red zone. We were fortunate to not be down two scores or more at halftime. Against a really good offense, we would have been in my opinion. We have some clear holes in pass coverage that a strong passing team would thoroughly exploit in my opinion. The most glaring issue I see is that we’re blowing zone assignments. Of course, you can’t have corners playing off with no safety or LB help in the middle. You also can’t have corners play off and not react when the ball goes up. The defense has to coordinate itself more effectively or they will be exploited by better offenses.

I also give Taylor credit for starting the game they way they did. They got an early boost thanks to a roughing the punter penalty. The defense held Taylor to three and out, but roughed the punter to extend their drive. They ended up taking up half the first quarter with the rest of that drive. The Tiger offense ended the first half with three possessions I believe. We broke some nice long runs to generate points and go into halftime with a fortunate lead.

The first half of the third quarter was extremely good. Katy scored in two plays from 60 or so yards out on a pass to Roberson followed by a long run by Will Jeffery. Jeffery got himself into a lot of seams, and ended the night with well over 100 yards. It’s good to see him step up. Jeffery and the other backs just need to keep trusting their blockers and not get impatient with the moves/cutback attempts. The Hawgs are opening big lanes.

Caleb Chandler got the defense into the game with a pick six on Taylor’s first possession of the second half, and that basically ended Taylor’s night. They were totally deflated with those two quick scores.

The running game worked well again tonight for the offense. The lowlight on offense, as it has been for much of the season so far, is the fumble bug. We had trouble with a couple kicks too. We are putting way too many balls on the ground. We are recovering a lot of them, but that will absolutely get a team beat at some point if it isn’t eliminated.

I was glad to see Webber and Dirty 30 get in the end zone for the last two scores.

Overall, it was certainly a mixed bag, and it was discouraging to see such a flat start. I guess it might have been set up with a short week after Homecoming, but you never want to take steps back at this stage. The team did well to recover, but they’ve got to start putting four quarters of solid fundamental football together in order to beat good teams. It starts with Mayde Creek next week. The team has proven it has the ability to be productive, but they’ve got to play smarter in order to realize their full potential.