Souderton vs Neshaminy

[IronMarshal]

Homecoming for the Redskins.
Neshaminy methodically mixes runs and passes taking the first drive home before a really large crowd. Dogba takes it in from the 7. They converted 2 fourth downs along the way.7-0

 

[IronMarshal]

14-0 Neshaminy on QB sneak by Jones. Halftime.

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

Could be 21-0 or even 28-0 ('Skins had the ball almost the whole first half - at least it seemed as if they did - and let a few more scores slip away).

 

[IronMarshal]

Souderton opens the third with a nice little drive featuring two first downs and a 30+ yard burst up the middle (again up the middle) for a score. 14-7

 

[IronMarshal]

14-10 with 7:16 to go

 

[IronMarshal]

21-10 with one minute to go

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

There you go with the final at 21-10.

Again, it seems as if it should have been 35-10 but another W and 5-2 (one foot in front of the other).

 

[Fletchster1]

Tighter than it had to be, but they got a W.

 

[IronMarshal]

It was a pleasure to watch Souderton play tonight.They played hard and did not quit. Souderton has three players who deserve some recognition for how tough they are. Koby Khan was a beast out there. dragging Neshaminy players up field, making punishing blocks and tackles on D. At 6' 220 lbs he is a load when he hits. FB/MLB Blake Gular is a tough little guy. At 5'10 (generous height measurement to me and 210 pounds he mad a ton of tackles. Neshaminy bottled him up at the line of scrimmage all night when he ran the ball except for the long TD jaunt. Gular played with class helping guys up all night. Lineman (NG and T) Andrew Stein is the other really good tough player. He made a ton of tackles and laid out #18 on one play. It was interesting to see they had a 6'3 WR/S (Matt Halteman) like Neshaminy has in Zach Tredway. He had the size to hang in there with Tredway. Not many kids do. Unfortunately for the Indians they really do not have a passing game and really can't get him the ball. Besides, Denzel Hughes had him all night and Hughes (6'2) has turned into a real good shutdown corner.

As for the Skins, nice opening drive, then a whole lot of nothing. A few first downs then turn it over on downs. They blocked (partials) two punts on Souderton's first two drives and had great field position and came up dry. They managed a nice drive from good field position to get a 14-0 lead right before the half. The D looked like it had Souderton completely under control, but as Mole Skinner said, they left points on the board and in SOL play, that is not good.

Second half, Neshaminy's opening kickoff went out of bounds and souderton elected to take the 5 yards and a re-kick. The re-kick went out of bounds and they lost 5 more yards and re-kicked again resulting in good field position. Gular took it in for Souderton. Neshaminy was flat the entire third and early fourth and Souderton rode Khan's back to FG range and nailed a 30 yarder. Kahn was reminiscent of Blake Sullivan from two years ago.

Neshaminy then got busy, loading up the heavy 2 TE plus Hback set and had Dogba pound away and drove it down field for the final score eating the rest of the fourth quarter in the process.

A couple of thoughts along the way. I thought they fixed that middle problem they had when they moved Manzek to ILB from DE. He is small but quick and a real player. Still Gular got through broke a tackle or two for a long score up the gut. the other thing is that, while the QB is a quality player, the best in years, his accuracy downfield is erratic. He under threw Tredway again who had an easy TD, allowing the defender to interfere on the play. While it resulted in a first down, if the ball was better thrown it would have been a score as the 6'3 Tredway had two steps on the 5'9 CB covering him. He missed Tredway and Hughes in similar circumstances that could very well have won the Downingtown West game (Although DtW outplayed the Skins) as the score was a TD difference.

If Jones is hot, the Skins could surprise Pennsbury or North Penn and make the playoffs, but he needs to be on target in one of those games,

 

[Spider 2Y Banana]

Respect your thoughts Iron and great recap...However, that interference call was not a good call and gave Nesh a big first down in the red zone and took away and interception and would be Souderton momentum. That, as the game turned out was a huge bad call...Nesh continues to prove they are very average at best, something missing on the ridge....PS I thought the Souderton QB did a nice job when he threw, looked like there was a big drop in a 3rd and long in first half, but the ball was on the ground too much in the backfield, not sure what was the cause...

 

[PA2CAMoleskinner]

Marshall -

Good point on our beloved 'Skins and their QB (and I agree he's a "real" QB at that -- and that's rare in Langhorne as you noted with it so often a converted this or that - with some good results - but still...).

Considering your comments a bit more, when you listen on the radio I have noticed hearing the commentators exclaim "he was open" or "that pass just missed" a fair amount this season. And if even half of "those" were completions would they be 6-1 or even better? Plus would their offense be putting another score on the board each week and making the wins a little easier?

Then here's some interesting numbers: Through six games (not including tonight obviously) he's 48 of 91 for 744 yards with 5 TDs and 3 interceptions. That's 8 of 15 on average with almost a TD a game and a pick every other. Not the worst "thing" in the world but I suspect the expectation was for a bit more than that. I'm sure he's doing his best and there's no doubt "his" team (he's the leader) is 5-2 this year (and awful close to a little better).

However, what's more telling as to the the affect, in my humble opinion, would be Dogba's 911 yards on 181 carries (11 TDs). First, that's more carries than anyone in the state (including tonight) with an average of 26 a game and then second, the 5.0 average per rush. I wonder if the passing game was a little more robust (with 5 more aerials a game and corresponding completions) would his stats look better if there was less focus on him (are they keying on anyone else or discounting the pass game - and that might drop his carries a game to 21 and maybe "freshness" would be a little more evident).

As a comparison Pollard was getting about 21 handoffs a game when he had the 2,928 in 2013 (that's about 9.0 a touch). Granted 2013 was special so perhaps looking to 2014 is more revealing when he had 17 carries a game and logged 1,219 yards at 7.2 a carry. Not bad in an off-year 4-6 group.

Anyway, it's high school ball and all that. I'm sure we'll all watch for improvement -- and I'm sure we'll see it too. And I add that he has made many clutch throws and has also showed some very god legs (so this is not a condemnation as we know that "the goods" are there and we're behind him 100% - so just get out there and do it).

And I have to end with this on Homecoming Night: Go 'Skins!

 

[Stalker]

Nice job by The Tribe. All is well on the rez.

 

[IronMarshal]

Spider, I am not sure what you are referring to. I am talking about the interference call in the second quarter in front of the student section where I was sitting. I had a great view of the play. The ball was under thrown to Tredway who had an easy score and allowed the defender to catch up and run into Tredway before the ball arrived. I was immediately out of my seat waving my hat for a call and the official threw the flag. To me, that one wasn't even close. I also thought the ball fell incomplete, but admit to already being in the yelling for a flag mode and not looking for the ball. The call was in the red zone on what I believe was a 4th down conversion, but the play was outside (long pass) and the 15 yard penalty moved the ball for a first. Did it move it inside the 20? I don't recall that. My point was not about the PI, it was about Jones' inaccuracy on longer throws. Those misses have left a lot of points on the board. Maybe your view was different than mine. I will say the Skins have a way to go execution wise if they are to be relevant this year.

 

[IronMarshal]

Skinner, Neshaminy's line while much improved over last year, is still an area of concern. The center is technically good, but undersized compared to most of the guys he plays against. It appears that they have two decent drive blockers in Kelly (who is a complete player) and Parry. Minotti is a good run blocker on the pull, but is better at pass blocking, and Wilson is a pass blocker who struggles with speed guys. They have good size in that three guys are 6'3 or better and 3 guys are 280-290, but the center is 5'10 maybe and maybe 200 and Minotti is tall but lean at guard. Minotti btw played really well at DE last night. This is something new with Manzek going to ILB.
That 13 squad had the best line in SOL and the best at Neshaminy in many years. but Pollard was a special back. Dogba runs hard, but he doesn't seem to have Pollard's vision and shiftiness, nor do I believe is he as fast as Pollard. He is a good back and I totally agree with your assessment on the run - pass mix and Jones' accuracy playing into the subdued ground numbers and increased work load on Dogba.
Last year, Pollard also had Matt Magdelinskis and Dogba as quality backups who could spell him and keep his reps down. In 13, as the season wore on, Lord and Sullivan got more carries and Busmail was an explosive alternative to Pollard. This year, it is pretty much Dogba. Perrone spells him, but there is a drop off there.
Nice analysis on the numbers. and as you said, it is high school ball and kids are kids. Go Skins!