Fort Hill scrimage
- Thread starter Tony54
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Wow, come on people, someone has to have some input. Sorta scaring me here. At least a little input from someone, (lol)
FH started subbing twos in regularly after half, but the ones looked sluggish IMO. Fundamental mistakes and missed assignments. Still a lot to work on along the O/D lines. FH lost if you were keeping score 20-14
I would start the Stubbs boy and let him go through the trials and tribulations. He’s their best weapon on O besides the big FB. He picks his lane and hits it and has good speed. Too much indecisiveness by the backs today to me. Get downhill or bounce it. He’ll be a huge problem with more PT and added weight the next two years.
Glad this happened. The Quad provided next to nothing of value for the big red. They needed this. In football you find out about a team when they get hit in the mouth. This was a good test for them. No offense to Petersburg, Fallston or Smithsburg but they are probably about equivalent to Hancock. FH gains nothing with that competition.
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I was not at the quad but I was unimpressed tonight. Offense was flat all game. Biggest play may have been a 10 yd run. I agree that Stubbs is the home run threat and needs touches. New Town scored on three big plays, a 65 yd run and 52 yd pass. Their speed was no match for FH. They busted up plays in the backfield all night. Their final TD came on a play where they blasted the running back as he got the pitch and they picked up the fumble and returned to FH 7, punching it in shortly thereafter. NT had many delay of game calls and turned it over 3 times. FH did not capitalize. They have a QB who throws a nice ball. They were a semi finalist in 2a last year. They may make some noise in 2a this year. I am somewhat concerned at how weeks 1-4 might shake out. Need to get to work. Figure stuff out. We shall see.
I agree...The talent at the Quad was sorely lacking this year. New Town isn’t that good of a team to me, but better than what was seen last week. They had a terrible schedule and some losses to bad teams last year. They beat Lewis 8-0. Yes, this is a different team though, each year isn’t the same. The difference in bad/average teams to good teams at the 1A-2A level is vast, but they’re aren’t many very good 1A/2A schools in MD, so you get teams like New Town making the final four. They were a bad semi-finalist team last year similar to the Surrattsville teams FH saw a few years back. Simply put, NT was bigger and faster, and FH made a lot of mistakes.
NT used to be 1A but they are 2A now. Not sure how long they have been 2A but they were better than I expected. I did not expect anything great out of them despite their good record last year because it was deceptive. As someone stated, they barely got by Regional Lewis. One thing stood out, they were not afraid to hit or fly in there full speed and take a shot. This without a doubt will help FH getting used to speed.
FH will be fine. The long TD fun by NT was spurred by a hold. FH #35 had his jersey darn near ripped of or he would have made the tackle or greatly slowed the runner. There was only a 4 man reffing crew and they were hesitant to throw flags anyway. The missed assignments up front on the plays that caused fumbles are correctable.
One other observation: kickoff returns go pretty well when the FH players run straight up the middle, as opposed to dancing on the sidelines or trying to make tacklers miss deep like we have scene for several years. A kickoff return is usually going to require brushing of tacklers anyway so bolting up the middle at full speed increases the likelihood of long returns. We saw both examples.
FH will be fine. The long TD fun by NT was spurred by a hold. FH #35 had his jersey darn near ripped of or he would have made the tackle or greatly slowed the runner. There was only a 4 man reffing crew and they were hesitant to throw flags anyway. The missed assignments up front on the plays that caused fumbles are correctable.
One other observation: kickoff returns go pretty well when the FH players run straight up the middle, as opposed to dancing on the sidelines or trying to make tacklers miss deep like we have scene for several years. A kickoff return is usually going to require brushing of tacklers anyway so bolting up the middle at full speed increases the likelihood of long returns. We saw both examples.
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So Basically they were another Dunbar but of a lower caliber? Same type offense, big play team, throw the ball up and get it type team?
I think this defense will struggle early. They return nobody, and on the defensive side of the ball that's a bigger deal than some may think. Surprised to hear of offensive struggles considering that they return the entire O-Line aside from 1 tackle, but that could be chalked to an off night. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some 42- 31 type scores against Morgantown and Hollidaysburg
Not a bad comparison, they like to play in space and use their speed. Something FH has shown a weakness to recently
I agree completely. Whole defense is new, doesn’t look like FH has their D line figured out yet in regards to who they want to start to me. Some of the struggles came from the speed NT presented. When they blitzed the A-Gap is where I saw the biggest issue with FH running the ball. When NT back out FH had 6-8 a pop with the FB
Blitzing Linebackers is something that HS O-Lines have trouble with early. Also you're not scouting a team you scrimmage so you likely won't know of any tendency that is shown when a team is blitzing.
New Town Review
This was the scrimmage FH desperately needed. The Quad teams were not good. Didn't test FH at all. I will take some of the heat for that but I told everyone I didn't go back to helping FH find games until late April. By then getting four Quad opponents to come here was a semi-miracle.
New Town is not a world beater, but they are a really good 2A football team. I see them pushing for a state title again like last year where the Titans won 10 games and made the Class 2A semifinals. They brought a bunch of kids back from that team and traveled with a 46 man roster. You can say their schedule was not very tough last year but it's basically the same schedule Dunbar plays. They were faster than FH across the board by a good margin (other than Stubbs, more on that later). I really like the New Town QB. Really tall and had a really nice arm and could run. This was a total 4 WR spread formation on every snap, throw it 70% of the time. FH needs to see that because that is what they generally see if they get out of regional playoff competition. That is what Cathedral Prep will do offensively.
And I said last week speed can be deceptive. What FH took for 40 yard runs last week was only an 8 yard run today. They had no advantage on the permimeter. I thought they handled it well though and kept pounding the middle with success (big surprise). What concerned me were the mistakes. FH put the ball on the carpet 4 times, lost two of them. One was scooped up at mid-field and returned to the two yard line. King also threw a pick as well. Bobbled two kickoff returns that led to starting field position inside the 20. Can't do those things against quick scoring opponents. I think New Town had a 50 yard TD run, a 60 yard TD pass and the scoop and score fumble. Mistakes that led to big plays.
It is a scrimmage. I saw many jersey numbers in on defense for FH. Linebackers now getting try outs at the DT spot. That is what a scrimmage is for, to find out who can play where. So I don't read too much into any scrimmage. The subs played a good chunck of the 2nd quarter and outside of the opening drive of the second half played the rest of the second half. Some things were exposed on the FH side tonight. Much needed things to take to the film study.
My gut take is that FH will take a while to find it's defense. The opposite of last year where it was the offense that took some time. Expect FH to give up some points, but they are capable of putting up points as well. They were able to control the line of scrimmage when they had the ball. The New Town coaches were not happy about it and kept burning time outs when on defense. Too many mistakes though to over come from turnovers to penalties. I still believe FH will lean heavy on their offensive line. That is their strength. No excuses tonight though as I think New Town also lost two fumbles. Both teams missed a FG. King had his only attempt blocked.
I said last week that the two biggest surprises thus far were offensively with King at QB and the sophomore Stubbs at halfback. The FH QB wasn't asked to do much tonight in regards to throwing the ball (big surprise). But his scrambling ability was limited tonight by the New Town speed. Not so much with Stubbs. He can fly. Took a kickoff 75 yards to the house and blew by everyone. Even kids with the angle on him. They have not fed this kid much in terms of toting the rock yet. Very limited. I'm told they are trying to ease him in, not get him killed right off the bat as he is still learning. But it seems to me he is a massive threat with every single touch. He is the home run hitter FH sorely needed. Very elusive and shifty as well as fast. New Town had no one catching him. Also played most of the game at corner and did very well. If he can stick with the off-season program, this young man has a great future.
This was the scrimmage FH desperately needed. The Quad teams were not good. Didn't test FH at all. I will take some of the heat for that but I told everyone I didn't go back to helping FH find games until late April. By then getting four Quad opponents to come here was a semi-miracle.
New Town is not a world beater, but they are a really good 2A football team. I see them pushing for a state title again like last year where the Titans won 10 games and made the Class 2A semifinals. They brought a bunch of kids back from that team and traveled with a 46 man roster. You can say their schedule was not very tough last year but it's basically the same schedule Dunbar plays. They were faster than FH across the board by a good margin (other than Stubbs, more on that later). I really like the New Town QB. Really tall and had a really nice arm and could run. This was a total 4 WR spread formation on every snap, throw it 70% of the time. FH needs to see that because that is what they generally see if they get out of regional playoff competition. That is what Cathedral Prep will do offensively.
And I said last week speed can be deceptive. What FH took for 40 yard runs last week was only an 8 yard run today. They had no advantage on the permimeter. I thought they handled it well though and kept pounding the middle with success (big surprise). What concerned me were the mistakes. FH put the ball on the carpet 4 times, lost two of them. One was scooped up at mid-field and returned to the two yard line. King also threw a pick as well. Bobbled two kickoff returns that led to starting field position inside the 20. Can't do those things against quick scoring opponents. I think New Town had a 50 yard TD run, a 60 yard TD pass and the scoop and score fumble. Mistakes that led to big plays.
It is a scrimmage. I saw many jersey numbers in on defense for FH. Linebackers now getting try outs at the DT spot. That is what a scrimmage is for, to find out who can play where. So I don't read too much into any scrimmage. The subs played a good chunck of the 2nd quarter and outside of the opening drive of the second half played the rest of the second half. Some things were exposed on the FH side tonight. Much needed things to take to the film study.
My gut take is that FH will take a while to find it's defense. The opposite of last year where it was the offense that took some time. Expect FH to give up some points, but they are capable of putting up points as well. They were able to control the line of scrimmage when they had the ball. The New Town coaches were not happy about it and kept burning time outs when on defense. Too many mistakes though to over come from turnovers to penalties. I still believe FH will lean heavy on their offensive line. That is their strength. No excuses tonight though as I think New Town also lost two fumbles. Both teams missed a FG. King had his only attempt blocked.
I said last week that the two biggest surprises thus far were offensively with King at QB and the sophomore Stubbs at halfback. The FH QB wasn't asked to do much tonight in regards to throwing the ball (big surprise). But his scrambling ability was limited tonight by the New Town speed. Not so much with Stubbs. He can fly. Took a kickoff 75 yards to the house and blew by everyone. Even kids with the angle on him. They have not fed this kid much in terms of toting the rock yet. Very limited. I'm told they are trying to ease him in, not get him killed right off the bat as he is still learning. But it seems to me he is a massive threat with every single touch. He is the home run hitter FH sorely needed. Very elusive and shifty as well as fast. New Town had no one catching him. Also played most of the game at corner and did very well. If he can stick with the off-season program, this young man has a great future.
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I agree with almost everything you said. Having good debate and conversation is always a plus IMO. Only thing I really disagree with is New Town being a real good 2A team. I’d consider them average. They may seem good in reaching the final 4 but overall talent in that class is limited as well. There is a 6-7 TD difference on the field between New Town being a Final 4 team and the eventual champ, quite a large disparity to me. They benefited from a weak schedule and region.
This is all not stated to knock FH by making them look inferior to NT. Different styles make for interesting matchups. NT just presents those matchups with their speed. FH has things to clean up, and come mid season, I’d be confident in picking FH by 14+ if the two teams met. NT is similar to Dunbar although not as talented. Similar type schedules, but the lower levels of football around the city/county in 1A/2A are pretty bad until you get to 3A/4A which is a different can of worms. It is good for FH to see this type of spread offense to know what adjustments need made and for preparation as you stated.
1A and 2A is the same. You have one or two really good teams and the rest NOT. I would say the same thing for WV AAA with Martinsburg.
But I disagree about New Town being an average team. My eye test says otherwise with their size, overall speed, coaching and numbers. They have more athletes than FH. But yes, like Dunbar the Baltimore area league is on the very light side these days. I'm betting early that Dunbar and New Town rule the 1A and 2A there in 2019 again.
I would say the same about the PG County 1A and 2A. It's bad. You have Gwynn Park and Douglass then the rest are very poor. That is the deal with small time football.
After the two scrimmages last season I was wondering how FH was going to win 8 games. Even the Woodlawn outing had massive issues. I have seen Coach Appel change his scrimmage philosophy. He mixes in kids right from the start and does not care about the scoreboard. That's really how every coach should approach a scrimmage. And most do. Gotta learn when nothing is at stake.
Although my dad kept asking why FH doesn't work on passing the ball more. Hahahahaha, seriously dad? Where have you been the last 75 years?
Good points, I just think they present that matchup problem for FH that we saw yesterday which can be deceiving to an extent IMO. Styles make matchups. New Town won’t get out of their region this year with the different classifications. Milford Mill will roll them. I put a lot of emphasis on being fundamentally sound when I look for teams to separate themselves from average to good and NT won’t keep their mistakes to a minimum when it comes to playing the Glenelgs/ Milford Mills or the Oakdales when they get to playoff time and face those few good 2A teams. They’re fast and big, that just doesn’t always equate to good to me. The three said teams above have the traits and skill play to be that next notch up.
New Town and MM are in 2A North region this year and both being in Balto County play week 1. That is NT only competition of the season. I’m taking MM by 30+ I just see a different level of ball between the two teams. If I’m wrong, I’ll eat crow and admit it. Have played ball down there I’m not one to really hate when Bmore area teams succeed although I have grown to like FH and will cheer them on when they matchup with down state teams. Again though, New Town Will now see a good 2A team very soon next week.
This FH team is young, experience wise and like I said I’m still confident FH beats them come midseason when the kids get snaps and experience.
I also think people expect the same type of talent from FH year in and year out. Those FH teams from 3-5 years ago had one in a generation talent to go with huge and mean Line play on both side of the ball.That’s the biggest difference so those FH teams still matched up with teams like New Town and dominated. Now you start to see the problem areas when there isn’t as much to go around. That’s not a diss on this team by any stretch... But again, a different can of worms.
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Very well put. I think you are pretty dead on. I actually did not pay attention to the fact Milford Mill moved back into 2A. The fact they open with New Town will be a great tell tale factor. I see MM as the favorite in the 2A North...absolutely.
You always make excellent points. Last year the early preseason posts said fh had no speed and no qb, before the first game! We all know how that turned out.
I’ll respond to all three of y’all instead of replying to each post. I don’t comment much unless the teams are in my wheelhouse so to speak. Good info all around and points from everyone...but we will definitely see this Friday when MM plays NT.
There is no one else in that 2A North region of note really. Eastern Tech, EWS (2A last year back in 1A) and Hereford? Maybe, but doubt it. Very weak region outside of MM. MM is my fav for the 2A title this year. It’d be nice to make it down for their matchup with Franklin this year. Those games are slugfests.
NT and MM will have to play in their region still with this playoff format if it gets to that, correct?
I still think teams like Glenelg and Oakdale, the probable region winners handle New Town fairly easy as well.
FH had enough to get it done last year, I do believe Doug-PG knocking off Dunbar opened the door even more for another title. This year may be different with the talk of Gwynn Park (know little of them so far) and Dunbar had a loaded JV squad coming up. Huge size and speed. But until that time comes week 1 is upon us. FH will make it a competitive game regardless with this coaching staff and a full season under their belts when the time comes.
There is no one else in that 2A North region of note really. Eastern Tech, EWS (2A last year back in 1A) and Hereford? Maybe, but doubt it. Very weak region outside of MM. MM is my fav for the 2A title this year. It’d be nice to make it down for their matchup with Franklin this year. Those games are slugfests.
NT and MM will have to play in their region still with this playoff format if it gets to that, correct?
I still think teams like Glenelg and Oakdale, the probable region winners handle New Town fairly easy as well.
FH had enough to get it done last year, I do believe Doug-PG knocking off Dunbar opened the door even more for another title. This year may be different with the talk of Gwynn Park (know little of them so far) and Dunbar had a loaded JV squad coming up. Huge size and speed. But until that time comes week 1 is upon us. FH will make it a competitive game regardless with this coaching staff and a full season under their belts when the time comes.
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Oddly enough Dunbar caught the bad draw in the playoffs last year getting Douglass while FH coasted past Havre de Grace.
The year before it was the complete opposite as FH got the grindstone with a great Alco and Lackey team in their playoff wheel house. They at least managed to survive but were really banged up and physically spent by the title game. Just like Douglass was banged up going into last year's title game.
If Dunbar had drawn Havre de Grace in the semis again last year who knows what happens. Although the way FH was peaking they would have been tough to take out.
The Dunbar schedule now is really, really bad. No one will test them.
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Very fair points.
City league has been terrible for years now, only test on Dunbar’s schedule is Mervo.
MM is a historically slow starting team as evidenced by their opening game last year against Tuscarora, but to only be up 7-6 at half over New Town honestly shocks me. I still don’t feel like New Town is on that level of football. Very interested to see how the 2nd half plays out and very interested in a likely playoff matchup.
MM wins 14-12. Honestly surprised, I know MM had some good talent returning from last years team. A playoff rematch is highly likely.
MM wins 14-12. Honestly surprised, I know MM had some good talent returning from last years team. A playoff rematch is highly likely.
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New Town is a good football team. All you had to do was stand next to them outside their locker room. Very Athletic and nice size.
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I’ll admit I’m stubborn, I’m not sold on them. After seeing how slow MM started last year and reading they had well over 10 penalties today killing drives, I’m confident it’ll be different if they meet again.
It’s almost definitely an exaggeration, but someone on the Balto message board said MM had nearly 300 yards in holding penalties. Either way I’m sure Coach White will get it figured out come later on in the season
I’ll admit I’m stubborn, I’m not sold on them. After seeing how slow MM started last year and reading they had well over 10 penalties today killing drives, I’m confident it’ll be different if they meet again.
It’s almost definitely an exaggeration, but someone on the Balto message board said MM had nearly 300 yards in holding penalties. Either way I’m sure Coach White will get it figured out come later on in the season
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