Ohio Week 1 Predictions/Discussion

[Coletrain06]

St. Edward vs Mentor - Eds 35 Mentor 21

Eds starts their campaign to defend their D1 title. They return a good solid amount overall, but especially on Defense. They have some great talent back on the DLine, at LB, and in the Secondary with Pietrowski, Hankins, the Nash twins and Johnson. They also have a nice QB in o'Malley whom I believe had plenty of reps last year. Also RB Formani and WR Wainwright are back at the skill positions. And most importantly Ed's has good experience and great size on the OLine. 

Mentor brings back tons of talent at the skill positions with QB Kipp, RB Trobel, and WR Floriea. All 3 are great playmakers, but Mentor's biggest challenge will be replacing 4 of 5 on the OLine. On Defense, Mentor brings back a few guys at LB and in the Secondary, but also have to replace their very talented DLine from last season.

These 2 teams played each other in Week 1 last year and because of a missed XP by Ed's, Mentor kept an advantage that Ed's couldn't get  back and Mentor came out the victor. Mentor was able to run wild behind a great OLine. Their defense did just enough to hold off Ed's.......Although Mentor's D was improved last year, I don't think that will be the case this year. I think Mentor will have trouble on both lines; Kipp is capable of making things happen, but I think  Ed's will get more stops. 

St. Ignatius vs. Loyola Academy IL @Ames Field IN - Iggy 21 Loyola 17

Ignatius has a solid QB in Hanna, and a good TE and Big OLine per usual. Most the preseason talk has been about WR Cmeil, whom has looked fantastic. Defensively Iggy should be tough up front, and a little more questionable in the secondary, which is usually the norm for Iggy. 

I don't know a whole lot about this particular Loyola Academy team, and didn't spend a ton of time researching them. I have seen a poll or 2 that had them as the #1 ranked IL team coming into the season. Our Illinois brethren have them ranked #1 and #4. 

Iggy has done pretty well so far in scrimmages, and I think that will make a big difference in this game. Illinois teams are inexplicably forbidden from intersquad scrimmages preceding the season. Having seen first hand how ugly a lot of teams look in their scrimmages, this is a massive advantage for Iggy. Loyola always plays good, well coached football and don't usually beat themselves. I look forward to this one.

Hoban vs. Harrisburg PA - Hoban 28 Harrisburg 14

Hoban comes back loaded again. They return a great QB Hamm, a great RB Trayanum, an Alabama bound TE Clark, a Good WR Fox, and good size on the OL. On defense they have studs at LB in Ollison, Bauer, and Hightower. They also have a good Secondary. They are a pretty complete team.

Harrisburg had a big win last week, taking down favorite Coatesville in a close game. I don't have enough time to go digging for info on these OOS teams, but it seems Harrisburg was thought to be toward the back half of the PA top 10, but after their upset of then #3 Coatesville, I'm sure they'll rise. 

I don't know what to think of this game because of how little I know about Harrisburg. That said, Hoban is stacked, and may be the best team in OH. They are big, quick, athletic, and well coached. I'll go with Hoban in this one.

Pickerington Central vs. Winter Park FL @ Milton HS GA - Pick Central 31 Winter Park 17

Pick Central has some good talent back this year. 3 year starter and dual threat QB Demeatric Crenshaw is back and has some Good RB's(Johnson) and WR's (Styles Jr.) to get the ball to. On the Defensive side, they should be very stout up front with Hamilton and Alabi, and good talent in the Secondary. If Pick Central has a good OLine, they will be a top team in OH.

Winter Park lost last week to Wekiva. After jumping out to a 2 score lead, Wekiva came back to win 35-21. Don't know if this was an upset or expected, but it doesn't seem either team was a top FL team. 

Winter Park already has a game under the belt, so that may help them. That said, Pick Central has some really good players back. I remember in the semifinals last year thinking that Pick Central would probably be just as good this year if not better. 

St. Xavier vs. Brownsburg IN - X 21 Brownsburg 14

X has some players back. QB Rueve filled in last year and will be surrounded by RB Newman, WR Clifford, and TE Lang among others. The Bombers will have good size on the Line, and most importantly, will have a new Offensive Coordinator as they hired Louisville Trinity's OC. X's stack D should be solid as always, especially early in the season.

Brownsburg brings a lot of talent back to their team, and knocked off Ben Davis last week in a close game. Brownsburg has a very good RB and QB. 

I'm not super familiar with Brownsburg, but most polls have them either 2nd or 3rd in Indiana. This should be a good game. X's defense is usually solid, and opposing offenses usually struggle with X's stack early in the season. However Brownsburg has already played a game against a traditional Indiana power. It'll be curious to see how X's offense performs with their new coordinator.

Colerain @ Wayne - Colerain 13 Wayne 10

Colerain has a new Head Coach and new Coordinators, although all have been promotions from within. The coaches all know the Colerain system, but it's a new dynamic. Colerain has a lot of talent on Defense and should be one of the best defensive units in the state. They will be very stout on the DLine with Dante Corleone, and Donovan Owens, and have 3 very good LBS: Bess, Thomas, Ford. Leading the team will be 3 year star Safety Deshawn Pace....On the other side of the ball Colerain has to replace almost the entire offense. Theres been a QB battle going on between Freddie Johnson and Prather. Johnson is an exceptional athlete and has been running more of a traditional option offense, while Prather has been running mostly a passing offense and has a great arm. FB Abdul-Waheed has had plenty of reps the last 2 years, and is a smaller Fb with good bursts. Colerain does have some tall receivers. There's not a ton of size on the Oline though. 

Wayne is going through a similar situation as Colerain. They are replacing Longtime Coach Minton with coaches from inside the program. Wayne has talent at the skill positions but are not huge on the lines. They really struggled on defense last year, but seem to be improving this year. 

This should be a very good game. Both teams usually have tons of talent and play very physical football. Both teams will be facing strength vs strength and weakness vs weakness. Colerain has really struggled to get much going with their triple option offense in scrimmages so far, but had much more success moving the ball through air. It'll be intersting to see how they use both of their QB's. Historically, week 1 is the best week to face Colerain, as the vast majority of their regular season losses have come in Week 1. 

Lakota West @ La Salle - Lakota West 17 La Salle 10

Lakota West will be debuting their new Head Coach, former Colerain Head Coach Tom Bolden. West has plenty of talent. They have good size on their lines and a very good RB in Afari. They have plenty of studs on defense also, notably David Jones. West showed  good in scrimmages against St. X and Colerain. 

La Salle should be decent, but not sure where they're at yet. They have some players, but not sure if they'll be utilized to their highest potential. La Salle does have the #1 kicker in the nation though. 

I think Lakota West takes this one. 

[abbatt]

Illinois`s no scrimmage rule is archaic and .....yes a big disadvantage. I remember attending the St.Joe`s Prep/ Chicago Mt.Carmel game about 5 years ago...Prep had 3 scrimmages and of course MC didn`t .Even though MC outplayed them...outgained them..they still lost 28-27..The MC coach commented after the game that the scrimmages were the difference......SJP had the advantage of finding out their strengths and weak points while MC had to learn as the game was being played. He said it`s at least a 10-14 point difference.

I also think that St.Ignatius will win......28-20. LA has one of the best kickers in the country and I think that he is good for 2 FG`s.

[OdbCle]

Will be interesting to see what Bolden can do at West, a historically underachieving program that is never short on talented players. Would certainly be a statement win for the program, especially given their track record against the GCL. Has Tom brought the triple option to LW?

[prepsbill65]

good preview information once again.  Good luck to the Cards' this year.

I went against St. Ed's this week for the first time in a long time.  Believe Mentor's skilled players will make the difference.

Also, look for Wyatt Hudepohl as starting QB for X.   Did not show it in scrimmages, but they offensively will be different.  Look for wide receivers to run more sets closer to the O-line (not half way accross  the field).  

Brownsville (IN) has 15 starters back from last years 10-1 team, and they beat Ben Davis in week 1.  Weeks  1 and 2 (Colerain-away in week 2), will set the tone for this year for the Bombers.  They will adjust to not having Paris Johnson.  Good luck to him at Princeton.

[prepsbill65]

ood preview information once again.  Good luck to the Cards' this year.

I went against St. Ed's this week for the first time in a long time.  Believe Mentor's skilled players will make the difference.

Also, look for Wyatt Hudepohl as starting QB for X.   Did not show it in scrimmages, but they offensively will be different.  Look for wide receivers to run more sets closer to the O-line (not half way accross  the field).  

Brownsville (IN) has 15 starters back from last years 10-1 team, and they beat Ben Davis in week 1.  Weeks  1 and 2 (Colerain-away in week 2), will set the tone for this year for the Bombers.  They will adjust to not having Paris Johnson.  Good luck to him at Princeton.

Edited August 27, 2019 by prepsbill65
duplicate

[zulu1128]

3 hours ago, OdbCle said:

Will be interesting to see what Bolden can do at West, a historically underachieving program that is never short on talented players. Would certainly be a statement win for the program, especially given their track record against the GCL. Has Tom brought the triple option to LW?

It's close to what he was running last year at Colerain...triple with some spread mixed in.

[prepsbill65]

10 minutes ago, GardenStateBaller said:

Is Wyatt related to the Hudepohl Beer empire? Drank that shit for four years straight in college! 

Oh....that is good GSB.  I grew up here also, and Hudy was my least favorite beer period.  You probably remember Wiedemann, of course PBR,  Bavarian etc.  Cincy had more breweries that most major cities.  Crazy but someone asked me about Wyatt last week.  Not sure if he is related to the Olympic Swimmer Joey Hudepohl either.

[Coletrain06]

5 minutes ago, prepsbill65 said:

Oh....that is good GSB.  I grew up here also, and Hudy was my least favorite beer period.  You probably remember Wiedemann, of course PBR,  Bavarian etc.  Cincy had more breweries that most major cities.  Crazy but someone asked me about Wyatt last week.  Not sure if he is related to the Olympic Swimmer Joey Hudepohl either.

Hudy is terrible beer haha! 

Also good to see Weidemann brewery back open! Went there couple months ago and ended up sitting with the owners. Great Bavarian and craft beers and good food. Really nice people.

 

[cardsfan85]

Long time reader, first time poster.   These particular threads are one of my favorites.  Great job as always Coletrain06!

Watching the Colerain/West scrimmage last week a few things stood out to me:

- The Colerain defense will be solid and will have to carry the Cardinals in the early part of the season

- The offense just hasn't looked good with Johnson under center and has struggled mightily to move the ball.  I can understand the hesitancy to switch to a more spread throwing offense when the option has been their calling card and brought them so much success for so many years.  I can also see an added hesitancy when it is a new coordinator and a new head coach.  They just don't want to screw up what has worked for so long.  However, I think you have to adapt to the talent you have.  I don't see any reason Prather can't run a similar offense to what Doug Reynolds ran back in 2006-2007.  Still an option offense just with more passing mixed in. 

- Deshawn Pace is going to have to play a much bigger role on offense than initially expected

This particular scrimmage reminded me somewhat of the final scrimmage vs Princeton in 2017.  Colerain came out and ran a series or 2 with their first team offense.  Then they brought Ivan Pace Jr in at fullback and ran a series of 2.  The difference was night and day.  They were hesitant then to make the change as well.  The first game and a half he only carried the ball a handful of times.  In the second half against St X in Week 2 they put him in there and let him go.  He responded with a couple long runs as the Cardinals almost pulled out the upset. 

I think they are going to have to go to Prather at QB, put Freddie in the slot and Deshawn at RB.

[cardsfan85]

4 hours ago, prepsbill65 said:

Also, look for Wyatt Hudepohl as starting QB for X.  

From what I have heard Hudepohl is not playing football this year.  Rueve will be the starter.

[frankyjames]

Anyone know how Massillon (washington) is this year? 

[zulu1128]

2 hours ago, frankyjames said:

Anyone know how Massillon (washington) is this year? 

Not quite as good as last year, but they're probably still the favorites to win their region.

[Coletrain06]

19 minutes ago, zulu1128 said:

Not quite as good as last year, but they're probably still the favorites to win their region.

Pretty sure they got stuck in Hoban's region this year

[Coletrain06]

2 hours ago, cardsfan85 said:

Long time reader, first time poster.   These particular threads are one of my favorites.  Great job as always Coletrain06!

Watching the Colerain/West scrimmage last week a few things stood out to me:

- The Colerain defense will be solid and will have to carry the Cardinals in the early part of the season

- The offense just hasn't looked good with Johnson under center and has struggled mightily to move the ball.  I can understand the hesitancy to switch to a more spread throwing offense when the option has been their calling card and brought them so much success for so many years.  I can also see an added hesitancy when it is a new coordinator and a new head coach.  They just don't want to screw up what has worked for so long.  However, I think you have to adapt to the talent you have.  I don't see any reason Prather can't run a similar offense to what Doug Reynolds ran back in 2006-2007.  Still an option offense just with more passing mixed in. 

- Deshawn Pace is going to have to play a much bigger role on offense than initially expected

This particular scrimmage reminded me somewhat of the final scrimmage vs Princeton in 2017.  Colerain came out and ran a series or 2 with their first team offense.  Then they brought Ivan Pace Jr in at fullback and ran a series of 2.  The difference was night and day.  They were hesitant then to make the change as well.  The first game and a half he only carried the ball a handful of times.  In the second half against St X in Week 2 they put him in there and let him go.  He responded with a couple long runs as the Cardinals almost pulled out the upset. 

I think they are going to have to go to Prather at QB, put Freddie in the slot and Deshawn at RB.

Haha that's weird....

I was just talking to somebody today and mentioned these things almost verbatim. I mentioned how I thought the coaches were just being hesitant about making the change because they don't want to be seen as changing up the offense that has brought us so much success. 

Then I mentioned how much the scrimmage reminded me of the Princeton 2017 scrimmage, when they were hesitant to play Ivan at FB. The offense didn't move at all without him in, and he made a world of difference once he was in.

Agree 100%

[zulu1128]

1 hour ago, Coletrain06 said:

Pretty sure they got stuck in Hoban's region this year

Oops. Never mind then lol.

[hardhit1]

5 hours ago, cardsfan85 said:

Long time reader, first time poster.   These particular threads are one of my favorites.  Great job as always Coletrain06!

Watching the Colerain/West scrimmage last week a few things stood out to me:

- The Colerain defense will be solid and will have to carry the Cardinals in the early part of the season

- The offense just hasn't looked good with Johnson under center and has struggled mightily to move the ball.  I can understand the hesitancy to switch to a more spread throwing offense when the option has been their calling card and brought them so much success for so many years.  I can also see an added hesitancy when it is a new coordinator and a new head coach.  They just don't want to screw up what has worked for so long.  However, I think you have to adapt to the talent you have.  I don't see any reason Prather can't run a similar offense to what Doug Reynolds ran back in 2006-2007.  Still an option offense just with more passing mixed in. 

- Deshawn Pace is going to have to play a much bigger role on offense than initially expected

This particular scrimmage reminded me somewhat of the final scrimmage vs Princeton in 2017.  Colerain came out and ran a series or 2 with their first team offense.  Then they brought Ivan Pace Jr in at fullback and ran a series of 2.  The difference was night and day.  They were hesitant then to make the change as well.  The first game and a half he only carried the ball a handful of times.  In the second half against St X in Week 2 they put him in there and let him go.  He responded with a couple long runs as the Cardinals almost pulled out the upset. 

I think they are going to have to go to Prather at QB, put Freddie in the slot and Deshawn at RB.

Welcome aboard!

We can use another Ohio poster. Watch yourself when traveling out of state but you been following so you know what I mean lol 😆 

[Coletrain06]

I will say I was damn impressed with how Eds D played in the final last year, and thought they would be one helluva unit this year. Looking forward to watch this group get back out there and get after it!

[zulu1128]

Ed and Central should be a notch above the pack this year, at least on paper. 

[OdbCle]

I'll be heading to the Ed's/Mentor game tomorrow. Favoring the Eagles, but some key injuries could make this game more of a pick 'em.  

[Coletrain06]

Eds should be streaming it right?

[THS2011]

Who does Moeller play?

[hardhit1]

29 minutes ago, Coletrain06 said:

Eds should be streaming it right?

Should be

[hardhit1]

19 minutes ago, THS2011 said:

Who does Moeller play?

Indy Cathedral 

[hardhit1]

2 hours ago, OdbCle said:

I'll be heading to the Ed's/Mentor game tomorrow. Favoring the Eagles, but some key injuries could make this game more of a pick 'em.  

Next man up as they say

I think the game will be won in the trenches , we will see

[THS2011]

15 minutes ago, hardhit1 said:

Indy Cathedral 

2 opponents Trinity plays. Will be paying attention to that one.