RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
First of all as I said in an earlier post Wakefield over the years doesn't have what it takes between the ears to compete with the top teams. Not saying their players are stupid they just don't seem to have that little extra swagger and belief. If you watched the two teams on the field Friday Leesville's players had a more confident (sometimes cocky) look to them. They believed they were going to win! Wakefield was intimidated from the start. Second I'm not going to jump on the "it's the coaches fault" bandwagon but, very questionable decision making by Wakefield's staff. In particular going for it on 4th down deep in their own territory, down 14-0 in the first quarter. Seemed like panic to me. Lastly, I'm sorry but, Wakefield doesn't have the talent to win the state title. They have 4 great skill palyers on Offense...with a below average line and their D is not good at all....they are slow and they don't hit. Leesville gave them a lesson on how to hit Friady night! I'm sure they can play better, but this team won't win the 4AA title.
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
It would probably help their offensive line if they stayed dedicated to running the football. I don't know why they think going pass happy is the way to go. Good teams like Leesville and WFR will just pin their ears back every play and rush, knowing that even if WF does run the ball, they don't do it for long. They had great success doing it last night but constantly went back to having Connor drop back.
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
summers,
I agree you have to mix it up a little. It's no different than when WFR runs all of time. You have to be able to run and pass both so you can adjust when a defense takes what you do best away. In my opinion Wakefield lost last year against Laney in the playoffs because they stuck with the pass in the second half. They had proven earlier in the game that they could run it 5-7 yards every carry. Mitch is a great talent but, you have to help him out a little.
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
WF is really good at passing the ball, however, Connor M needs help. Summers,I noticed WF running game on Friday. I was very impressed with their running back. Looking at the stats Saturday morning I think he had 14 carries and gained a tough 150 yards. Now, the WF coaches should take notice and continue to run the ball a little more to help Connor. Honestly, I think both sides of the ball need to improve to go deep into the playoffs.
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
WF's delayed handoff was responsible for much of the yards gained rushing...Leesville's pass rush was by the back and he was one v one on a DB much of the time...Leesville managed to get to Mitch and sack him which was something that they couldn't do last year...one thing about Mitch - he doesn't waste a lot of time or movement evading the rush...the Leesville DB's did a great job covering the WR's initially...WFR has a short week preparing for WF, might help WF greatly...
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
Leesville's defense extremely impressive in this one. Take a look at this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV2W-pms4XM
RE: Wakefield vs Leesville
You have to be balanced in order to be successful. Wakefield was exposed a 4 weeks ago vs. East Wake with the inability to stop the run. They were exposed 2 weeks ago vs. Millbrook with their inability to pick up blitzers. You add those two together and Leesville probably had no problem with the Wolverines. Blitz Mitch, run the football = HUGE WIN. Wakefield could escape these problems playing teams like Millbrook and East Wake because they were just better than them, but they have to address these issues to stay on the field with good teams like Leesville and WFR.
