Powell at Columbia Central

[Vols1234]

Why is Powell going to Columbia? Crazy, Just like Maryville going to Segal....

Makes no sense,but its ok these east tn teams are gonna show these mid tn fball teams what real football is all about,and what better way then to show them in there own backyard. Get ready Lions,here comes the Panthers

[powellphoto]

Powell is really having a hard time with Columbia's speed. Columbia is up 19-7 at the half.

[powellphoto]

25-21 columbia

[ozzy]

Columbia is up 32-21 with 5 minutes left

[ozzy]

Final score 27-32 central wins

[powellphoto]

What a game! Best of luck to Columbia at state.

[allabouttheO]

Way to go Lions!

[osunut2]

Great game! Both teams had a shot, and Columbia earned an excellent win. Great job by Powell to rebound after halftime. Good luck next week Lions.

[powellbaldeagle]

Beautiful stadium, great atmosphere, exciting game. The "what if" of Strozyk going out in the second and not coming back allows us to believe we could have won if...; but that is a part of the game. Congratulations to a deserving Lion's team. Good luck against Beech. We will be pulling for you.

Edited November 24, 2012 by powellbaldeagle

[NattyBumppo]

Great game last night from both teams!!!!! It was everything a semi-final game should be. I will tip my hat to the Lions, and give their physicality some praise.. for two straight weeks they have put one of the opposing stars on the sidelines (stud running back from ooltewah and now strozyk)... I never root for kids to get hurt but that is a part of the game and it is a game changer.

[basketball1234]

Game was over once Strozyk went out. I do not believe it was the physicality that took Strozyk out of the game, but was a missed assignment on a block that led to a tackle in which strozyk landed on his head. Strozyk is one of the hardest hitters I have seen at the high school level and I am sure he would have wanted to get back in there and return the favor. Strozyk is a game changer on the defensive side of the ball and if he even gets a sniff of where the ball is going two things happen. 1) He intercepts the ball. 2) Someone on the opposing team just got there head taken off. With Strozyk playing I do not see the game being very close, but as natty stated above my post, injuries are part of the game and teams have to adapt and adjust. Good luck to Columbia in the finals. Powell had a successful year and should be proud of what they accomplished.

Edited November 26, 2012 by basketball1234

[osunut2]

Game was over once Strozyk went out. I do not believe it was the physicality that took Strozyk out of the game, but was a missed assignment on a block that led to a tackle in which strozyk landed on his head. Strozyk is one of the hardest hitters I have seen at the high school level and I am sure he would have wanted to get back in there and return the favor. Strozyk is a game changer on the defensive side of the ball and if he even gets a sniff of where the ball is going two things happen. 1) He intercepts the ball. 2) Someone on the opposing team just got there head taken off. With Strozyk playing I do not see the game being very close, but as natty stated above my post, injuries are part of the game and teams have to adapt and adjust. Good luck to Columbia in the finals. Powell had a successful year and should be proud of what they accomplished.

Strozyk's injury was unfortunate (yes, it was a missed blocking assignment), and it was a major gut punch for Powell in the first half. After his injury, the Panthers managed about 10 total yards in the remainder of the first half, and they seemed lifeless (only managed about 55 total yards in the half). However, they got refocused in the locker room, and completely turned it around. Scoring a TD on the first play of the second half really changed the momentum. A quick three-and-out by Columbia was followed by a nice TD drive that put Powell ahead 21-19, and I thought that Columbia was really in trouble. The Lions threw a pick on their next drive, and Powell started ramming the ball down their throat. And then everything changed on the last play of the 3rd quarter.

 

I'm not willing to say that Strozyk's injury was the difference in the game. Yes, it definitely hurt Powell in the defensive secondary, and Columbia exploited that, but Powell still had a good chance to win this game, and they couldn't get it done. Columbia deserves a lot of credit, they took advantage of the momentum in the first half, they knew they had an advantage with Strozyk out, but the pick-6 in the red zone at the end of the 3rd quarter was THE game changer. The Panthers had Columbia on the ropes at that point, and that incredible return completely swung the momentum. Powell held Columbia to about 80 total yards in the second half, which was huge, but that was the play that changed the game. Both teams played well enough to win this game, but it came down to one key mistake, imo.

 

What a great season for Powell. No one gave these kids much of a chance this season, and they earned a ton of respect after the way they performed this year. On a side note, the News-Sentinel/Prepxtra headline on the Powell game was extremely misleading. While the Columbia running back (Martin) had a solid first half (~80 yards rushing and TD), he had negative rushing yards on numerous attempts in the second half, and I don't believe he was the key difference maker for Columbia. The pick-6 by McNeese was the difference, and the late TD pass to Dre Hall was the nail in the coffin.

Edited November 26, 2012 by osunut2