Franklin Riverdale Championship Game

[oskie]

What offense did Franklin run in the championship game last year?

[AlonBabayan]

they ran a shotgun offense that was run-oriented. They had to up backs located behind the two guards and preceded to run off tackle. didn't have much success, personally I feel they should have kept it wide open with passing. they have a new head coach that likes to throw the ball first, run second.

[AlonBabayan]

they ran shotgun that was run oriented. They had two up backs that was behind the two guards. they preceded to run off tackle but didn't have much success. the have new head coach that throws first, run second.

[CU06]

they ran a 1920s notre dame box that knute rockne invented. its been dead for 70 years

[Lost Old Dad]

they ran a 1920s notre dame box that knute rockne invented. its been dead for 70 years

825712632[/snapback]

Yep, and R'dale buried it again. Might have worked if the O-line had given the QB time to get the play off, but R'dale was in Franklins backfield about as quick as the QB was. Kind of hard to handoff or even pass when that happens.

 

It got ugly quick, but Franklin kept playing hard until the final whistle. thumb

[FHSrebel27]

14-0 at the half isn't ugly quick, but I digress. They used it the week prior against Germantown with great success, so were they wrong to use it against Riverdale? No. I'll never question anything that Danny Nowell decided to do on offense.

[AlonBabayan]

14-0 at the half isn't ugly quick, but I digress. They used it the week prior against Germantown with great success, so were they wrong to use it against Riverdale? No. I'll never question anything that Danny Nowell decided to do on offense.

825712774[/snapback]

 

I personally disagree with the way franklin high called their plays during the championship game. nowell is an exceptional coach and very smart, but I feel that he should have opened it up just a little more, have some confidence in your qb, at least enough to where you loosen up the 9 to 10 man front he was facing while running the ball. it seemed to me that he didn't have a backup plan "just in case" the run doesn't work. he was shell-shocked, he did the same thing a year before when they played germantown at franklin. franklin should have went to the clinic bowl 2 years in a row.

[Lost Old Dad]

14-0 at the half isn't ugly quick, but I digress. They used it the week prior against Germantown with great success, so were they wrong to use it against Riverdale? No. I'll never question anything that Danny Nowell decided to do on offense.

825712774[/snapback]

It could have been much worse than 14-0 at halftime and anyone who saw the game knows it.

 

If I remember correctly Franklin only scored when there was one minute and a half left in the game and R'dale had their third string defense in. R'dale's offense was beat up from the game the week before with Oak Ridge.

 

Anyway that was then and now it is a new year and pads are popping.

[FHSrebel27]

I personally disagree with the way franklin high called their plays during the championship game. nowell is an exceptional coach and very smart, but I feel that he should have opened it up just a little more, have some confidence in your qb, at least enough to where you loosen up the 9 to 10 man front he was facing while running the ball. it seemed to me that he didn't have a backup plan "just in case" the run doesn't work. he was shell-shocked, he did the same thing a year before when they played germantown at franklin. franklin should have went to the clinic bowl 2 years in a row.

825712823[/snapback]

 

Okay, wow, we're going to go back two years? You want to go back two years? Down at the half in the first round vs Hunters Lane like 24-7, something crazy like that. Throwing the ball wasn't working at all. Major adjustment at halftime, come out running and what do you know, they ran all the way to the semis. So don't act like Nowell went into a game without a backup plan because Danny Nowell simply wouldn't be unprepared like that. Honestly, even if they had opened it up (though I certainly didn't see it as a lack of confidence in Mikrut by not opening it up), Riverdale would have defended it valliantly, no doubt. Danny Nowell was not shell-shocked. Danny Nowell was not shell-shocked two years ago against G'town either. A couple big plays go the other way and that game was different. But, seems to me that I shouldn't put much stock into whatever you say since the Rebels couldn't have possibly made the Clinic Bowl two years in a row in quite a while.

 

LOD, it most definitely could have been worse than 14-0. However, it wasn't. (If only we could have done better on third downs, it may have not even been that ) USC-OU in the Orange Bowl, that's ugly quick (and I'm a Sooners fan...).

 

BUT! On to this season! GO REBS!

[oskie]

thought so, thank you

[AlonBabayan]

Okay, wow, we're going to go back two years? You want to go back two years? Down at the half in the first round vs Hunters Lane like 24-7, something crazy like that. Throwing the ball wasn't working at all. Major adjustment at halftime, come out running and what do you know, they ran all the way to the semis. So don't act like Nowell went into a game without a backup plan because Danny Nowell simply wouldn't be unprepared like that. Honestly, even if they had opened it up (though I certainly didn't see it as a lack of confidence in Mikrut by not opening it up), Riverdale would have defended it valliantly, no doubt. Danny Nowell was not shell-shocked. Danny Nowell was not shell-shocked two years ago against G'town either. A couple big plays go the other way and that game was different. But, seems to me that I shouldn't put much stock into whatever you say since the Rebels couldn't have possibly made the Clinic Bowl two years in a row in quite a while.

 

LOD, it most definitely could have been worse than 14-0. However, it wasn't. (If only we could have done better on third downs, it may have not even been that  )  USC-OU in the Orange Bowl, that's ugly quick (and I'm a Sooners fan...).

 

BUT! On to this season! GO REBS!

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Listen to what you are saying. You are down 24-7 at half, make some adjustments (from pass to run), win the game, okay I give you that, congratulations!!!! After a couple of weeks of running the ball to the semis, you might want to come back and throw the ball, which they did against germantown. they had success, so much success that they were up at a critical point in the game. what does nowell do? go to the smokestack I run three plays up the gut and end up having to punt!! sound like a great adjustment to me. why not keep passing the ball, they haven't adjusted to it all night, why change now? (Some will never know!!!) Germantown gets ball back run their traditional wishbone series, milks the clock, scores and franklin is never able to gain their composure back.

 

MTSU 2004 against riverdale, previous week ran the ball exceptionally well against germantown, they never had a chance!!! riverdale, different team, different attitude, some say the best in the state. coach nowell runs the box formation for 5 straight series into the middle of the defense. they gained some yards on the first series, riverdale makes adjustments, box formation never works again. hey, franklin starts to throw the ball down field, its a miracle!!!!! they gain yards (even though riverdale at this point has removed key players from the game to start the celebration) and score. Coach Nowell, I love him to death, but I just don't feel that he made his adjustments soon enough. Football is a chess match, who can make adjustments first and execute. Franklin for the past 3 years has had enough talent to make it to the clinic bowl and probably win 2 out of 3. No disrespect at all to you, but I just feel that he (Nowell) could have done better.

[FHSrebel27]

Germantown semifinals in 2003... why change? First off, it is quite difficult to throw in cold temps such as what were in Franklin that night. Second off, I seem to recall a play early in the 2nd half, going for the jugular, a pass into a 30 MPH breeze that gets pushed down by that gentle breeze into the hands of a Germantown defender. I didn't want to see another pass into the wind that night. They did start to throw the ball again in the 4th with the wind behind their backs. I also recall a touchdown pass that was dropped. So no, they didn't just abbandon the pass for the sake of abbandoning the pass. Oh, and maybe some credit should be given to Germantown, too. Just a hunch.

 

The BlueCross Bowl (NOT the Clinic Bowl) is a different story. Riverdale's defense stopped people ALL season... pass-oriented teams, run-oriented teams - didn't matter. It doesn't make sense to me to try something new when you're going up against the best. Do what you do best, and do it perfectly. Even then, it may or may not work. Mikrut, no doubt, will be a great QB this year and probably put up Solima-esque numbers. However, last year that wasn't his role. Why put the junior QB under that kind of pressure in the state championship? Nothing was going to work against Riverdale anyways I don't believe, so it's really a moot point.

 

There's a reason Franklin went from 5-6 to three amazing seasons. Tim Johnson had a lot to do with that. Bringing Coach Nowell back on board had a lot to do with that. In my opinion, the talent wasn't much different from seasons past. So they didn't get us a state championship - big deal. They set a precedent. No doubt Coach Clayton will build upon that. But to criticize Coach Nowell for what you feel were his transgressions in TWO games out of three great seasons... well, that's just silly to me.