analysis richlands cave

[salemfootball 10]

prediction was accurate as cave had a good shot with their athleticism and hung tough but Richlands went to the I to eat clock and put away the Knights . The Tornadoes remind me of Salem as they are usually in the running every year .

[Lance 228]

Devon Johnson got 1st downs for the Blues any time they needed one....it was all but automatic...CS clock managment at the end of the game was horrible as well.

[Gizmo777 10]

I thought Richlands offense played the worst game they have this year. I know part of it was the Cave Spring defense but also Richlands just got out of rhythm. The offense did not execute from the begining of second quarter until middle of third quarter. This is usually when we just roll. I was impressed how the team just did not panic and stayed focused until they got back their mojo. The defense stepped up and kept us in the game until offense got it going again. I think we beat a very good team and look forward to next week. ----GO BLUES --------I am not knocking the offense as we did score 36 points but we could have scored a bunch more if they had stayed in character throughout the game. It may pay dividends next week to have a bad game behind them. Not very many this season.

[Lance 228]

I think Cave Spring is just a better team than most people thought they were...yeah they lost 3 games this year, but they seem to hit stride at the right time of year and got on a roll...they have a lot of speed across the board, I have not seen MV this year but if they have more speed than CS, I can't imagine how they had a record as bad as they did. Richlands was lucky they got the win last night, even though it was 13 points, it could have easliy been a 6 point lead with CS driving to score with under a min left...if that 70 yard TD wasn't called back.

 

gotta give Richlands credit for the way they handled the game though, very well coached team.

[Gizmo777 10]

A play or two the other way and we could have lost the game. It was a close game, and no doubt Cave Spring is really fast. They have a good team period. Thier quarterback never got into a rhythm throwing the ball. I guess it had something to do with the pressure applied by our rush. The same could be said why our offense did not look to be on all cylinders, it was thier defense.

[Chuck_D_Storm 10]

4th and 7 on your own 30 with 5 minutes left up 30-22........and you pull a rabbit out of the hat with a reverse pass.......Coach Mance has brass Kahunas.........

[Blues Man 48]

I beleave it was 4th and 7 on the Cave Spring 30 yard line.

[Chuck_D_Storm 10]

Yea. Your right. Still helluva call........

[salemfootball 10]

I think Cave Spring is just a better team than most people thought they were...yeah they lost 3 games this year, but they seem to hit stride at the right time of year and got on a roll...they have a lot of speed across the board, I have not seen MV this year but if they have more speed than CS, I can't imagine how they had a record as bad as they did. Richlands was lucky they got the win last night, even though it was 13 points, it could have easliy been a 6 point lead with CS driving to score with under a min left...if that 70 yard TD wasn't called back.

 

gotta give Richlands credit for the way they handled the game though, very well coached team.

 

Lance , I agree with you. Rather than make excuses for Richlands not winning by a wider margin they ought to look at it as surviving which is all you need to do in the playoffs . They ought to thank Cave because this could be a game that stretched Richlands which is what they needed . Cave was just talented . Cave had 2 touchdowns where they just got by Richlands players and they were not going to be caught . But football is a team sport and Richlands had the better team unlike last year where Cave was better .

[Bigrhsfan 884]

The thing I liked about it from a Richlands point of view was that they answered some questions that some have been asking and wondering about all season.

What would happen if they ever fell behind? Answer.... they never gave up and just kept playing hard. They always answered a Cave score with a score of their own !

How would they handle a close game ? In my opinion, I think they handled it great, yes they made some mistakes, but they never dropped their heads and still believed they would win the game, which they did.

 

And lastly, could they play for 4 qtrs since they hadn't had too all year ? Answer....yes they could play for 4 qtrs and seemed to still be playing at a high level at the end of the game !

Those of us that have watch the blues for most of our lives and Mance as coach for the last 14 years knows that he and his staff works all year on getting his players in top shape and has them ready to play for 4 Qtrs. But the fact that they had not been forced to play for 4 qtrs all year, I can understand why people would wonder about that.

The boys played with a lot of heart !

 

I want to give Cave Spring all the respect in the world !

They are a great team and fought till the end also ! They came into Ernie and were not intimidated at all !

Congrats on a good season and a good hard fought game ! I'm sure we will see you guys in the playoffs again in the future !

 

Congrats to the Blues for winning another regional championship !

[RHS1987 10]

I think CS is a awesome team that came to play Friday night. They really played the Blues well. With that being said the Blues did not play their best with turnovers and questionable defensive calls. Not taking anything from CS b/o they could have beat us and I have a lot of respect for their players and coaches. But I don't think it would have been as close if we played our best. Last night could have been a blessing. Like Salemfootball said in a earlier post the Blues needed a game like this to prepare them for whats ahead.

[Nadoball 18]

Win by 1 or 30 the W is all that matters. One thing that has been hurting us and taking us out of drives the first two playoff games is fumbling the ball w/o even being hit (need to get that corrected). The D bent some but didn't break and came up with key stops when they needed. With a team like CS they are going to score some points. I give props to #11 Cole the kid is good, PERIOD!!!! Congrats Blues and get ready for another tough ball game at Brookville.

[Lance 228]

Win by 1 or 30 the W is all that matters. One thing that has been hurting us and taking us out of drives the first two playoff games is fumbling the ball w/o even being hit (need to get that corrected). The D bent some but didn't break and came up with key stops when they needed. With a team like CS they are going to score some points. I give props to #11 Cole the kid is good, PERIOD!!!! Congrats Blues and get ready for another tough ball game at Brookville.

 

#4,6,7,11, and 28 were all good...CS has some kids that can play ball...they didn't look as good this week as last...probably because they were playing on the road against a faster team in the Blues...but, they played a pretty good game I thought...both teams just kept going...CS looked a little worn out there at the end.

[LegendatLegion 109]

How many times #28 carried the ball for CS? i really thought he should've carried it more. I thought they were pretty talented and the coach made a few mistakes that played right into the hands of Richlands. Twice when they had 4th and less than a yard Richlands stuffed them. Why in the world would you tighten the splits like they did and allow Richlands to use their bigger size then just run up the middle? I think they had decent success mixing the mid level passing game with the runs out of the spread. When they tightened up they allowed the Blue's superior size to win out.

 

The halfback/flanker option pass was brilliant. What a time to call it. I have to admit, it would have caught me flatfooted too. Hands down the call of the season for the Blues.

 

I read what Lance had said about the 'Spring before the game and thought maybe he was seeing a little through "golden colored" glasses and maybe gave CS too much credit. I stand corrected in my cynicism.(sorry O great one, i will neer doubt your wisdom again!) Cave was a very good team with a much stouter D than it looked like they had any business to have.

 

All in all i greatly enjoyed the game and was even more impressed by a few of the Blues players and several of the CS kids. Cole was the real deal, and was just faster than he looked because he just doesn't look like he's trying to run fast.

[Bigrhsfan 884]

Well.....I already gave props to the Cave players and they deserved every bit of praise they get, but I think I'll be a homer now and give some praise to the Blues players !

I thought our kids did a hell of a job also !!

We made some mistakes........as Nado said the drop balls have got to stop, and we can't afford any turnovers at Brookville. But I thought Devon, Bradley, Reese, Cody Thomas, Josh Hess and the rest of the O line all played a heck of a game ! I also thought that Will Lowe and the rest of the D line did a good job at keeping pressure on their QB most of the night and stuffing the 4th down try's.

Devon was a man out there and got the tough yards when we needed them and the O line did a heck of a job with run blocking.

Cody Thomas was a monster on D, it seemed like he was in on just about every tackle and flat laid out a couple of guys.

Maybe that was one reason Cave didn't look as good this week as they did last week and why they seemed tired at the end of the game ! As Lance stated, they faced a little more speed and athleticism this week ! ( no disrespect to Grundy intended as I have a lot of respect for Grundy )

A lot of people worried about weather the blues would be able to play for 4 qtrs, but it looked like they were a bit fresher at the end then the Cave player's were .

[tbgfan 855]

Cody Thomas was a monster on D, it seemed like he was in on just about every tackle and flat laid out a couple of guys.

 

Add Vance #7, Overton #11 and Bradley Strong to that list. How blessed we are by all of these young men, on both sides of the ball.

 

 

Life has many choices---eternity two

[ba961 24]

Yes well put bothe teams deserve a lot of praise. But please think for a second has anyone seen lockhart over throw that many passes. I love him he's a great qb but I think it was more nerves than good d he missed overton twice and johnson once could have three td. All I can say your a great qb relax and play your game put it in their hands they will do the rest go blues

[Lance 228]

Yes well put bothe teams deserve a lot of praise. But please think for a second has anyone seen lockhart over throw that many passes. I love him he's a great qb but I think it was more nerves than good d he missed overton twice and johnson once could have three td. All I can say your a great qb relax and play your game put it in their hands they will do the rest go blues

 

Lockhart wasn't the one that threw 2 INT's either...give him a break...kid played a pretty tight game I thought.

[Nadoball 18]

Lockhart threw 1 INT and Strong threw 1 INT. These kids will be fine.

[Lance 228]

Lockhart threw 1 INT and Strong threw 1 INT. These kids will be fine.

 

the INT that the #7 kid from CS got was just a heck of play on his part...well played and lucky it didn't hit the ground...not so much a bad pass...guess that was more what I was trying to get at.

[tjwitten 10]

 

The whole set is allmost up

[ruann23 12]

Awesome shots! I like how you have it play by play....its like watching it in slow motion :)

[ba961 24]

I'm not riding the kid I just don't think all the credit should go to cs d they where a step better than grundy at most shoot anyone that was at abingdon can tell ya they stoped the run better than cs. Just think the nerves got to him. Just relax and get it to the sh&^t load of talent around him. Lance you should be one of the first to admit even on a wet field grundy was not that out matched compaired to cs. My point is cs was not the best entire game d that the blues faced. And I have not seen cody miss a wide open overton or johnson in the same game except for week one and I think that one was also because of nerves. I wish he had another yr or 2 left he has god given talent I think mance could mold alittle. This is as far as cody has made it so yea he has the right to get the jitters just take a deep breath relax they can not eat you. This week should be better.

[Lance 228]

Lance you should be one of the first to admit even on a wet field grundy was not that out matched compaired to cs. My point is cs was not the best entire game d that the blues faced.

 

first thing I said about Cave Spring was that they could have hung 100+ on Grundy if they wanted to...we didn't have anything for their speed. Richlands did a better job of dealing with it, but still had fits along the way. Might not be the "best" D you have faced, but they had to be one of the fastest. Grundy just didn't have anything for them. Also, the field was dry.

[Regulator 10]

Well I was right it was 0-0 in the first quarter lol. Richlands played a tough game and came out with the win. CS is quick but I think that Cave looked tired in the 2nd quarter and they just couldn't keep pace with Richlands Depth. I did think that Richlands could have done a better job on D with the small O-line of Cave Spring.