Wild Card Weekend
Boy oh boy did the season go by fast this year! We now find ourselves in the playoffs. Lets take a look.
Friday, 10 November
John Barsby Bulldogs vs Langley Saints: Here are two teams who have quietly had very positive seasons. Offensively, both teams are very similar in their style of attacking defenses and moving the football. Defensively, they could not be more different with Barsby's stubborn pursuit oriented squad vs the ever attacking and opportunistic Langley crew. Special teams will be interesting to say the least, particularly kick-offs and punts. Size and team speed are pretty evenly matched. Barsby's roster has a bit more playoff experience than the visitors. Home field goes to the Dawgs. This game will be a defensive struggle with a couple big plays either way making the difference. GI's Pick: Barsby by 8
Clarence Fulton Maroons vs Samuel Roberts Technical Titans: SRT features some very big and skilled running backs and receivers. They are no slouches up front either. Fulton is playing on home dirt and is a real team in every sense. The Maroons have a very tough running game and are a big play threat via the air at any given time. Defensively, they are tough and swarm to the football. The Fulton punting game is excellent and they can really get themselves on a short field using it. Coach Scheller is one of AA football's treasures. His teams are a reflection of his leadership and they will always play tough, inspired football. SRT is g. 11 heavy and a legitimate threat in 2018 to run very, very deep in to the playoffs. They still have some growing pains however. Gridiron's Pick: Fulton by 10
Prince George Polars vs Argyle Pipers: If PGSS can cover what is easily one of the top three passing offenses in BC, this game is winnable. The Polars can run the football very effectively, have a multitude of good backs and lots of size. Argyle however, is truly dangerous via the air, effective running the ball and for a spread offense, they control the clock in superb fashion. The qb release is the fastest in BC. Defensively, they are fast and aggressive. I think PG just has not seen anything even approximating what is coming down the pipes on Saturday via the air. It is not something you can prepare for in one week if you have not been in that type of a fight all year. I also like what Argyle has become as a program. They are doing things the right way and it is no accident that they are in the playoffs yet again. There is a lot of football passion and "program push" behind the Pipers varsity success these past four years. GI's Pick: Argyle by 19
College Heights Cougars vs Hugh Boyd Trojans: College Heights, typical of their conference, runs the ball very well. Running teams almost always are a reflection of their offensive selves when playing defense. The Cougars will be physical, tough tacklers. I have seen nothing however from them in terms of passing the football that would make me spend a huge amount of time working on defending the pass if I was to play against them. Hugh Boyd should be able to load up against the run with at least eight in the box. The Trojans can run and pass with equal effectiveness, a highly balanced group offensively. The Trojans are also very, very fast. They have played the toughest of schedules all year and they have not faltered. On top of everything else, there is the Haddow factor. Two 30 plus year coaching legends who have led great teams in all the big games at all levels of play. Their players love and respect em and I am sure in their hearts, want to cap their careers with something special on the field. GI's Pick: Trojans by 26
AA JV Playoffs begin next week. I will have a set of predictions up in next week's blog post.
Best of Luck to everyone on and off of the field. God Bless!
