The Trojan-Spartan Battle

[stuman89]

well kwc, sorry your team lost. You have seen both teams play, care to give us any insight?

[Spartansfan]

well kwc, sorry your team lost. You have seen both teams play, care to give us any insight?

 

I find it difficult to get a feel for this game. On one hand, I feel confident that if we play our game the way we do, we'll be fine. That's not to say we'd win, but we would be in a position to win.

On the other hand, part of Millington's effort will be to keep us from playing our game. They will want to put us out of our comfort zone. How succesful will they be at doing that? They've done well vs other teams. Yet, as proven in the Whitehaven game, a good team can compete with the Trojans and the Trojans left opportunities to have lost that game.

 

Part of my problem is that I have never actually watched Millington play. I read about them here, the paper, and heard the last of the game on Friday. The radio announcers seem to think W.S. might see some success passing the ball. But if that's an area of concern for Millington, won't they prepare for that? Then we also have the Millington offense vs W.S. defense. Can we stop the run, or contain it well enough to not be outscored? If we succeed at that, will it leave us exposed to the passing game? Can Millington sustain long drives that tire us, or will we hold up and be able to play effective defense as the game winds down?

 

So far, my best impression of this game is that it will be similar to the Millington/WH game in the regard of being competitive. I also think the score will be close. Who wins? Who's offense gets it done? How well do the defenses play? No answers there yet. The intensity will be high, and the effort will certainly be there for everyone involved. It will be a great atmosphere, so it will certainly be fun!

[wtnoff]

I find it difficult to get a feel for this game. On one hand, I feel confident that if we play our game the way we do, we'll be fine. That's not to say we'd win, but we would be in a position to win.

On the other hand, part of Millington's effort will be to keep us from playing our game. They will want to put us out of our comfort zone. How succesful will they be at doing that? They've done well vs other teams. Yet, as proven in the Whitehaven game, a good team can compete with the Trojans and the Trojans left opportunities to have lost that game.

 

Part of my problem is that I have never actually watched Millington play. I read about them here, the paper, and heard the last of the game on Friday. The radio announcers seem to think W.S. might see some success passing the ball. But if that's an area of concern for Millington, won't they prepare for that? Then we also have the Millington offense vs W.S. defense. Can we stop the run, or contain it well enough to not be outscored? If we succeed at that, will it leave us exposed to the passing game? Can Millington sustain long drives that tire us, or will we hold up and be able to play effective defense as the game winds down?

 

So far, my best impression of this game is that it will be similar to the Millington/WH game in the regard of being competitive. I also think the score will be close. Who wins? Who's offense gets it done? How well do the defenses play? No answers there yet. The intensity will be high, and the effort will certainly be there for everyone involved. It will be a great atmosphere, so it will certainly be fun!

 

 

 

Look for W.Station to be able to throw the ball against Millington. One thing that stands out is the sophisticated passing game of the Spartans. Millington all year has lived in a cover three regardless of the offensive sets thrown at them. Backs and receivers isolated on LBS gives a mismatch advantage to the offense and look for W. Station to take advantage of this fact. Also, look for W. Station to be successful trapping the Millington defense. This will come often and provide great results with W. Stations offset FB and I expect the couter trap to be a huge play for the Spartans! The only question in my mind is will the Spartans be able to slow down a dynamic and powerful Trojan offense. If Millington doesn't slow themselves down with turnovers, this could go down to the last possession. Expect a great game with the coaching decisions playing a huge part of this one. Prediction...W. Station 33 - Millington 24. JMO

[stuman89]

That's why I would be very interested in hearing kwc comment. Especially at the High School level it's a truism that defnese wins. Given Millington's defense and their home field advantage I assume a lot of people will give them the edge in this game ( think how nice it would be Spartan fans if we actually had our own field ) .

 

Of course the rest of the state is ignoring this game I think. After all, W. TN football doesn't really count does it.

[shook27]

Look for W.Station to be able to throw the ball against Millington. One thing that stands out is the sophisticated passing game of the Spartans. Millington all year has lived in a cover three regardless of the offensive sets thrown at them. Backs and receivers isolated on LBS gives a mismatch advantage to the offense and look for W. Station to take advantage of this fact. Also, look for W. Station to be successful trapping the Millington defense. This will come often and provide great results with W. Stations offset FB and I expect the couter trap to be a huge play for the Spartans! The only question in my mind is will the Spartans be able to slow down a dynamic and powerful Trojan offense. If Millington doesn't slow themselves down with turnovers, this could go down to the last possession. Expect a great game with the coaching decisions playing a huge part of this one. Prediction...W. Station 33 - Millington 24. JMO

 

 

im not so sure about your prediction of the score. the millington/wh game had two of the best defenses in the area, and look at how the score turned out. i dont think there will be a huge amount of scoring from either side. ws is going to score on passing. millington is going to score on the ground. both defenses knwo what they have coming at them, and they will be FULLY prepared friday night.

[stuman89]

To make some more very basic, useless comments, it's hard not to make observations like " whoever turns it over less wins " and " avoiding injuries to key players is paramount " , etc. Personally, I want it to be a dry night, no rain !

 

And look for a Honda van with a bunch of WSHS stuff on it, and a very distinguished looking guy with some grey hair. That's us, come on by and say hello ( I told my wife that we may need to spend Thursday night in Millington on order to get a parking space ).

[shook27]

unless you know where you are going to park, it will be very difficult to find you. half of millington will be shut down for this game. the only place you will find to park is where the cop tells you (unless youre early)

[Rob_M]

Whitehaven should hold their heads up high! They are one heck of a football team. Tenarious Wright is a BEAST. Rucker is real deal and I really like the savy of the QB. They were a play or two away from winning the game.

 

The Millington vs White Station game is going to be AWESOME. I am already psyched and it is only Sunday. I encourage those of you posters who are going to be at the game to stop by the pressbox and say hello. I will be there, as I have been for virtually every game for the last 21 years.

[stuman89]

Thx for the invite, I will stop by. I was going to get there early on Fridy. Now I am trying to talk my wife into setting up Thanksgiving dinner there just to stake out a spot.

[TraderB]

I find it difficult to get a feel for this game. On one hand, I feel confident that if we play our game the way we do, we'll be fine. That's not to say we'd win, but we would be in a position to win.

On the other hand, part of Millington's effort will be to keep us from playing our game. They will want to put us out of our comfort zone. How succesful will they be at doing that? They've done well vs other teams. Yet, as proven in the Whitehaven game, a good team can compete with the Trojans and the Trojans left opportunities to have lost that game.

 

Part of my problem is that I have never actually watched Millington play. I read about them here, the paper, and heard the last of the game on Friday. The radio announcers seem to think W.S. might see some success passing the ball. But if that's an area of concern for Millington, won't they prepare for that? Then we also have the Millington offense vs W.S. defense. Can we stop the run, or contain it well enough to not be outscored? If we succeed at that, will it leave us exposed to the passing game? Can Millington sustain long drives that tire us, or will we hold up and be able to play effective defense as the game winds down?

 

So far, my best impression of this game is that it will be similar to the Millington/WH game in the regard of being competitive. I also think the score will be close. Who wins? Who's offense gets it done? How well do the defenses play? No answers there yet. The intensity will be high, and the effort will certainly be there for everyone involved. It will be a great atmosphere, so it will certainly be fun!

 

 

SpartansFan,

 

 

 

Let me digress for a moment and say this: this thread could just have easily have been about Whitehaven vs White Station--the rematch. Wow....what a difference a FG kicker can make.

 

Whitehaven now knows the same heartache that those shake-bitten Melrose teams felt several years ago, when Melrose lost the 4A State Championship 7-6, and back-to-back playoff losses to Hillsboro by 1 to 3 points. Whitehaven must surely be kicking itself, today. Pardon the pun.

 

Anyway, back to this game--White Station vs Millington...

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I've seen both White Station and Millington play, several times each. Here are my thoughts:

 

This will be a high-scoring game! Millington WILL be able to run the ball effectively, even moreso (if you can imagine that) than they did vs Whitehaven. On the other hand, WS will have an absolute field-day passing the ball vs Millington! This will open up the running game for Sanders. This combination (mostly the passing, though) will result in W.S putting up more points on Millington than has any other team.

 

Millington's Wing-T offense gave Whitehaven fits. It will cause even more problems for White Station, 'cause White Station's run-defense is markedly not as good (IMO) as Whitehaven's. The problem for Millington, though, is that they will not be able to score enough points to keep pace with White Station.

 

Millington's pass rush vs Whitehaven was non-existent, very pathetic actually. Whitehaven's QB had practically all-day to throw the ball. They just failed to pass the ball enough, IMO. They opted, inexplicably, to repeatedly run the ball right up the gut (unsuccessfully, I might add... Of course, that's no surprise--Millington's run defense is very stout), into the heart of Millington's defense. Of course, it did not help Whitehaven that their WR's dropped numerous passes. It definitely did not help that Whitehaven did not have a FG kicker!

 

White Station executes much better than Whitehaven. W.S has much better coaching than Whitehaven, IMO (sorry, KWC). They will isolate and stick with what's working, offensively. Insanity will not set in on them--they will not repeatedly waste prescious downs futilly trying to run the ball right into the heart of Millington's defense. This will allow WS to be much more productive and consistent on offense, than was Whitehaven. Similarily, QB Link will have plenty of time to sit back in the pocket and spot open receivers. Unlike Whitehaven, though, White Station's receiver's are much more sure-handed--THEY ACTUALLY CATCH THE DARN BALL! One other key comparison....W.S. has a kicker, a pretty darn good kicker.

 

Interestingly, despite all these detriments, Whitehaven STILL had plenty of opportunities to win the game. They just did not execute when it counted most--in the red zone, deep into the red zone: Two empty trips. No points. Nothing. Much credit to Millington's defense---well, that and no FG kicker for Whitehaven!

 

Look, make no mistake about it, Millington has a great team. White Station has a great team. This game will feature two top-tier heavyweights slugging it out, for supremacy. I expect this game to be very exciting, with lots of big plays. I'm convinced that White Staion will make more big plays than Millington and, correspondingly, go on to win in "track meet" fashion.

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White Station 30 ........... Millington 27

[stuman89]

Thx for the insight TraderB, it's always nice to hear from you. I have not had the pleasure ( and I mean that genuinely ) to see the Trojans. Looks like the weather will cooperate which is nice. And everyone seems healthy. Bet all of those caoches have already spent a lot of film time.

[shook27]

SpartansFan,

Let me digress for a moment and say this: this thread could just have easily have been about Whitehaven vs White Station--the rematch. Wow....what a difference a FG kicker can make.

 

Whitehaven now knows the same heartache that those shake-bitten Melrose teams felt several years ago, when Melrose lost the 4A State Championship 7-6, and back-to-back playoff losses to Hillsboro by 1 to 3 points. Whitehaven must surely be kicking itself, today. Pardon the pun.

 

Anyway, back to this game--White Station vs Millington...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I've seen both White Station and Millington play, several times each. Here are my thoughts:

 

This will be a high-scoring game! Millington WILL be able to run the ball effectively, even moreso (if you can imagine that) than they did vs Whitehaven. On the other hand, WS will have an absolute field-day passing the ball vs Millington! This will open up the running game for Sanders. This combination (mostly the passing, though) will result in W.S putting up more points on Millington than has any other team.

 

Millington's Wing-T offense gave Whitehaven fits. It will cause even more problems for White Station, 'cause White Station's run-defense is markedly not as good (IMO) as Whitehaven's. The problem for Millington, though, is that they will not be able to score enough points to keep pace with White Station.

 

Millington's pass rush vs Whitehaven was non-existent, very pathetic actually. Whitehaven's QB had practically all-day to throw the ball. They just failed to pass the ball enough, IMO. They opted, inexplicably, to repeatedly run the ball right up the gut (unsuccessfully, I might add... Of course, that's no surprise--Millington's run defense is very stout), into the heart of Millington's defense. Of course, it did not help Whitehaven that their WR's dropped numerous passes. It definitely did not help that Whitehaven did not have a FG kicker!

 

White Station executes much better than Whitehaven. W.S has much better coaching than Whitehaven, IMO (sorry, KWC). They will isolate and stick with what's working, offensively. Insanity will not set in on them--they will not repeatedly waste prescious downs futilly trying to run the ball right into the heart of Millington's defense. This will allow WS to be much more productive and consistent on offense, than was Whitehaven. Similarily, QB Link will have plenty of time to sit back in the pocket and spot open receivers. Unlike Whitehaven, though, White Station's receiver's are much more sure-handed--THEY ACTUALLY CATCH THE DARN BALL! One other key comparison....W.S. has a kicker, a pretty darn good kicker.

 

Interestingly, despite all these detriments, Whitehaven STILL had plenty of opportunities to win the game. They just did not execute when it counted most--in the red zone, deep into the red zone: Two empty trips. No points. Nothing. Much credit to Millington's defense---well, that and no FG kicker for Whitehaven!

 

Look, make no mistake about it, Millington has a great team. White Station has a great team. This game will feature two top-tier heavyweights slugging it out, for supremacy. I expect this game to be very exciting, with lots of big plays. I'm convinced that White Staion will make more big plays than Millington and, correspondingly, go on to win in "track meet" fashion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

White Station 30 ........... Millington 27

 

 

 

 

traderb, you seem to be biased towards the millington trojans. you acknowledge that they have a great defense, and a running game, but that is all. Obviously to have gotten to 12-0 and into the 3rd round they did something right! You mention how WH had plenty of oppurtunities to win the game. if i recall, millington fumbled the ball around the 10 yard line when they were about to score. also, lets not forget the 27 yard fumble return. this should not have been a close game. millington was all over WH until that fumble return. We had 3 td brought back on flags, while whitehaven had one because he stepped out of bounds. the defense has phenominal friday night.