Catholic vs Oak Ridge: A Rivalry is Born

[OR nole]

7 hours ago, catswild said:

I agree...Mays is one of the best in the country! Miner is important, as is every coach, but I disagree totally on being the most important Cat...that will be Johnny Stewart. The defense will play well, as always, but if Johnny doesn't lead our offense to the best game they've played, it won't matter.  The defense alone won't win this game...it will take a great offensive game and a great game from the QB to win this one.

You're right about Johnny. Hope he got the yips out of his system. Need him to play well.

[atrisk]

Irish should feel very confident if all the pieces of their collection are in place tomorrow. 

[catswild]

30 minutes ago, OR nole said:

You're right about Johnny. Hope he got the yips out of his system. Need him to play well.

I agree. He wasn’t very sharp at all last week. He has to be on his game tomorrow night!

[catswild]

15 minutes ago, atrisk said:

Irish should feel very confident if all the pieces of their collection are in place tomorrow. 

Hopefully too confident 

[catswild]

1 hour ago, SweetScience said:

I'm nervous as shiiii all the way in Georgia the night before the game. I'm gonna be a wreck tomorrow!

Alright Sweets...what are our chances? For real?

[SweetScience]

7 minutes ago, catswild said:

Alright Sweets...what are our chances? For real?

Do you really want me to be honest? You usually don't like it when I'm really blunt. Seriously, I don't feel really good about our chances, but our guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially the defense. As you and a few other posters have pointed out already the offense has to be a LOT better for us to have a chance to win this game. We have relied on them way too much this year to bail us out(the D), and you can only ask so much of them, especially against an O the calibur of Catholic. We cannot go into one of those lapses for long periods of time on offense like we have a lot the past few years. We can't have a lot of 3 and outs, either. We need to win the field position battle! Make them drive the length of the field!

Edited November 17, 2017 by SweetScience

[catswild]

3 minutes ago, SweetScience said:

Do you really want me to be honest? You usually don't like it when I'm really blunt. Seriously, I don't feel really good about our chances, but our guys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially the defense. As you and a few other posters have pointed out already the offense has to be a LOT better for us to have a chance to win this game. We have relied on them way too much this year to bail us out(the D), and you can only ask so much of them, especially against an O the calibur of Catholic. We cannot go into one of those lapses for long periods of time on offense like we have a lot the past few years. We can't have a lot of 3 and outs, either. We need to win the field position battle! Make them drive the length of the field!

I agree with you Sweets. Here’s another question for you...if we play our best and they play their best, who wins?

[SweetScience]

8 minutes ago, catswild said:

I agree with you Sweets. Here’s another question for you...if we play our best and they play their best, who wins?

I would have to give the edge to them since they have the better overall talent-on paper, at least. But if we can somehow play the game of our lives on offense (big if) anything is possible.

[catswild]

2 minutes ago, SweetScience said:

I would have to give the edge to them since they have the better overall talent-on paper, at least. But if we can somehow play the game of our lives on offense (big if) anything is possible.

I don’t want this to end Sweets. I know you’re more of a basketball guy but I’m more of a football guy. I want all of our teams to win but I don’t really watch much other than football and it’s a long time until next season. WE NEED TO WIN!!!!

[atrisk]

Remember the I- 75 All-Stars. Who OR is playing tomorrow makes them look like pikers.  I'm looking for our best game of the season on Fri. just don't know if it's enough. 

Go 'Cats

[SweetScience]

35 minutes ago, catswild said:

I don’t want this to end Sweets. I know you’re more of a basketball guy but I’m more of a football guy. I want all of our teams to win but I don’t really watch much other than football and it’s a long time until next season. WE NEED TO WIN!!!!

I am a huge fan of both, but if I were to choose my favorite it would definitely be OR football, no questions asked! But I do love OR basketball too! Have very fond memories of going to games in both sports with my dad, especially football. I can still remember as a kid going to old reel to reel film sessions with him when Bill Young was the coach and Coach Young gave me Tommy Laurendine's chin strap, because he was and still is my favorite Wildcat! I'm with you.

Edited November 17, 2017 by SweetScience

[JNewman]

I think it's important to keep in mind that we have played some very potent offenses this year. And while Catholic has put up some great numbers on offense---they have also given up loads of points too. Catholic has scored a whopping 423 points this season. But they have given up more points than most teams have actually scored with 320. Oak Ridge by comparison has put up 270 points while only allowing 159. The teams Catholic has played (with the exception of their three losses) were predominantly high powered offenses with porous defenses. This game will not be a high scoring affair. Oak Ridge's defense is more than capable of going toe to toe with Catholic. I would take a team of solid high school players that play as a single unit over a team made up of all stars who don't play as a unit. 

There are a plethora of reasons why sportswriters have pointed to Catholic as an unstoppable force. But that doesn't make it true. I will say this though---if Catholic's defense was half as good as it's offense---they would very likely be 11-1 or 12-0. As an aside---you would be astonished at how many people refused to believe me when I suggested that Oak Ridge had a better record. Over half thought Catholic was 12-0. Don't write off Oak Ridge just yet. I know the tendency to see this as a "David vs Goliath" match-up is there---but that is not the case. Just like with Fulton---the thing many still believe is that Fulton was the superior team---had Oak Ridge beat in all facets---and that because of blind luck---the Wildcats "shocked the world." The reality is---that wasn't an upset anymore than beating West was. And it's not an "upset" no matter who wins tomorrow night. This won't be a high scoring shoot out where Oak Ridge has to try to outpace Catholic and go score for score with them to have a chance. There will be points scored---but it won't be 40+ put on OR. Oak Ridge has far too many weapons of their own and too many variables playing in their favor to assume that Catholic will be able to walk all over the Wildcats. Catholic is a very good team. But defense wins the day in this one. 

Oak Ridge by 5.