Never too early to start the discussion. I am interested to see what some of you think after seeing both teams play yesterday.
3A Title Game- Webster City VS Pella
- Thread starter Dutch_Nation
- Start date
Not even competitive. Pella and Xavier are the class of 3A, it's a shame they had to play in the Semis.
Webster City will give Pella some fits if the Dutch want to stunt their front. The only reason Xavier had positive yards rushing is because Pella stunted out of position - the FB for Xavier had his highest yardage game against Pella because of this. Seams were created in the front and the Dive pierced quickly. Webster City runs the Single Wing quick hitting offense and you better believe Bob Howard will know how to counter the stunts.
Best thing Pella can do is just play straight up, but they didn't do it against Xavier so I'm sure they won't do it against Webster City.
With all of that said - Pella wins easily. I'm telling my staff that we're better than Webster City and we don't want to give them a lead at any point because Webster City would be more than happy with 3 yards per carry, triple Pella's time of possession and a 3-0 or 7-0 game. We run the football, get the lead and then control it. Crazy things can happen when you get cute with a team that runs the ball 60+ times per game.
Sometime soon I'll give you my opinion after seeing all four semifinal teams play.
Best thing Pella can do is just play straight up, but they didn't do it against Xavier so I'm sure they won't do it against Webster City.
With all of that said - Pella wins easily. I'm telling my staff that we're better than Webster City and we don't want to give them a lead at any point because Webster City would be more than happy with 3 yards per carry, triple Pella's time of possession and a 3-0 or 7-0 game. We run the football, get the lead and then control it. Crazy things can happen when you get cute with a team that runs the ball 60+ times per game.
Sometime soon I'll give you my opinion after seeing all four semifinal teams play.
I believe Pella will play straight up. They are talented enough to just cover their gap. No matter which WC back carries the ball and where, Pella will have someone there to contain them. Pella will hit on some big plays like they did against Xavier. Pella will win this game.
Pella is a darn good team, but this is a ridiculous statement. Xavier set school records this year for total offense and rushing offense. Wilson set individual records for season and career rushing. The Saints rushed for nearly 400 yards on Pella - and you say that's only because "Pella stunted out of position"? So if they play straight up they turn 350-some yards on the ground into negative yards?
Seriously?
Really, seriously?
Yeah, that's not true. Not sure why I replied saying that. Definitely wouldn't have had negative yards had Pella played straight up. Must have typed something else, and then submitted without actually reading it again.
My bad. So no, not seriously.
I agree Kid. Xavier rushed the ball better than anyone else has in a long time against Pella. Pella was stunting to try and disrupt an offense (namely rushing attack) that was giving them fits. Pella was stunting to try and disrupt the attack, the rushing success wasn't due to it. CRX rushed for about 400 yards, give them their due. Fantastic effort on both team's part. Also, CRX had some great athletes out there. Pella was very fortunate to win. I didn't appreciate such a "talent difference" as some others have said. Wilson is a first class stud.
Webster City has a great rushing offense, but you don't have to scheme for such a good passing attack as CRX had. Osky used to run a very similar attack so Pella has faced this O before and did very well against it.
I haven't watched WC play yet. How are their DB's?
Webster City has a great rushing offense, but you don't have to scheme for such a good passing attack as CRX had. Osky used to run a very similar attack so Pella has faced this O before and did very well against it.
I haven't watched WC play yet. How are their DB's?
Having played both schools, I will give the nod to Pella but dont rule out Webster City. They are a good team. The line for WC is a very good one and the backs are all big and physical. If Pella gets up early on them than of course with the offense they run it is hard to comeback in big chunks but they are no pushovers. It should be a good game. I am interested to know how many people thought either team would be hear. I for one after playing Pella and being tied with them at halftime and leading Webster City at halftime did not think either team would make it. They both made me eat crow. Good luck to both squads. Their players are both class acts!!!
If Xavier ran for almost 400 yds in the semifinal game (I didn't see it or pay attention to the scoring), I'd say that Pella was dang lucky to beat them. How did X lose?
This is where you will get differing opinions.
I believe the biggest reason Xavier lost was their inability to adjust to the size and speed of Pella on the perimeter. Pella passed for 330+ yards and Xavier was constantly running man coverage on Pella's 6'5 WRs.
Others believe that Pella just made more plays at the right time and that's what gave them the nod.
Note some other points:
1). Xavier owned the Turnover battle. They forced Pella to turn the ball over 3 times and Xavier didn't give it up once...and still lost.
2). Xavier owned the Special Teams battle. Their kicker was money and even kept them in the game with field goals from 30+ and I believe he kicked another one from 40+.
3). Xavier also had the advantage of playing Pella on their first game without a 2-way starter all year. They were taking a hit at the RB position and CB position because of this. I do realize injuries happen, to all teams, but the first game with that reserve stepping into start is tough, especially in the State Semi-Finals, and top that with playing one of the top 2 teams in 3A.
I believe Pella made some huge plays at the end of the game, but this game was set up for Xavier to win, and they just didn't. I believe a great deal had to do with the coaching set up(99% of the problem was defensive scheme and no mid-game adjustments), yet others disagree. I guess that's what makes the world go round.
As to say Pella was "lucky", I don't know about that. Some people(not just you) look at winning on the last play from a 20 yard TD pass as "luck", but I believe that throwing a jump ball in the end zone to a 6'5 WR who is being defended by a MUCH smaller CB as a great strategy and very plausible to believe that WR is going to win the vast majority of the time in that battle. As a defensive player the only thing you can really hope for (without committing a penalty) is that the guy drops it or the ball is drastically thrown erratically.
I better end my comment by stating.....ALL of the kids played hard and left all their emotions out on the field. Great game to watch!!
Mostly agree with Gator here, as in all close games the winning team takes advantage of what they have been given. Even though Pella gave up 300+ on the ground, they did force Xavier to 3 FGs, which X made, but one could argue that this was the difference. Holding them out of the endzone 3 times while committing 3 Turnovers gave Pella the chance to win.
The Pella/WC game will come down to Pella's ability to stop this "spinner" back offense. Pella struggled on assignment football against the option of Xavier. MWilson helped to disrupt this, which WC does not have a MWilson level player.
WC does have a tough defense according to their stats, however 2 of their 3 playoff games the opposing QB was out of the game in the second half (Norwalk/Glenwood) They struggled some against the Boone offense, which is a far cry from the Pella passing game.
Both teams have a number of players going both ways, but Pella probably has the edge with level of athletes on the field. If they are healthy and stay that way during the game, Pella should win.
WC does have a tough defense according to their stats, however 2 of their 3 playoff games the opposing QB was out of the game in the second half (Norwalk/Glenwood) They struggled some against the Boone offense, which is a far cry from the Pella passing game.
Both teams have a number of players going both ways, but Pella probably has the edge with level of athletes on the field. If they are healthy and stay that way during the game, Pella should win.
The spinner back comes down to assignment football, don't watch the backfield, follow your keys and make the play. I think that Pella has seen the best that 3A had to offer.
"very plausible to believe that WR is going to win the vast majority of the time in that battle" I don't think vast majority is quite accurate, the odds are in their favor but if it were vast majority schools would run that play far more than they do. Do I think Xavier put themselves in the best spot? Not at all, there are some in the Xavier community who have disagreed with that position selection from game 1, but it is what it is, both teams put it all on the line and played a great game.
As a coach, I'll take my chances with my basketball player WR going up against a tiny CB. My athlete is bigger, stronger, and leaps way better. Again, I believe that is a "slam-dunk" call.....pun intended.
If it is such a "slam-dunk" I can't understand why any other play would be called within the range of the quarterbacks arm. So they are either taking it easy on their opponents or they must not be as confident as you are.
Several Xavier parents expressed concern early in the year at a defensive back selection. But that is typical for parents to 2nd guess coaches. Having watched the game I watched I was on their side at that moment.
My play call is in reference to that matchup being exploited in the redzone or close to it. When you have a 6'5 WR (at any level) going up against a small CB, in man up coverage, their SHOULD be only one call....throw it up. So when they were on the 20 going in, their should have only been one call....it was called....and they scored.
I do like the small sample size being used and ignoring the rest of my post. My contention is that if the play is as much of a slam dunk as you say it is(it isn't) that would be the only play that Pella would run in the red zone, because contrary to what you have said earlier Jay is a pretty smart coach and I am fairly certain that Pella didn't face many if any DB's that could match their height.
You're so busy trying to be right that you are ignoring logic.
My reference to the "slam-dunk" was given to this particular game against this particular defensive scheme. Not to every game that Pella has ever played.
Also, against Xavier throwing jump balls to Holterhaus and Van Wyk should have been the only redzone calls for a number of reasons,
1). Van Wyk and Holterhaus are the best athletes on the field.
2). Given the defensive scheme, Pella is at a HUGE advantage to come down with those jump balls.
3). Xavier showed the ability to stop their run on a consistent basis.
Look guy, you have your own views and I have mine. You are trying so hard to pick apart every one of my posts that you literally ignore basic logic.
Note: Because someone has a different opinion than someone else, doesn't mean they believe the person isn't "smart".
Just heard an interview that Webster City's coach Bob Howard gave regarding the game tomorrow night. Love that guy. He is old school and tells it like it is. He's a disciple of the spin offense and has no visions of changing that, "next guy here can do that." Very entertaining to listen to. He won 3 state titles at Sigourney-Keota, 3-0 in state championship games. Very small list of coaches that have 3 titles.
Anyway, he has interesting thoughts on the game. Has no pretenses of doing anything but running the ball at Pella and making them stop the run. He stated they have 28 passing attempts on the year. Obviously a different offense then Xavier, but Xavier did run for a boatload of yards last Thursday. His big concern is the Pella passing game and the size of the WR's and TE. Webster City will not abandon stopping the run and will make sure of that. He commented on how Pella will almost automatically run if they see 5 or less in the box, so he won't do that. He also commented on how many great, athletic QB's they have faced this year so should help them prepare for Finney, while acknowledging that Finney is the best they will have faced. Very complementary of Pella.
Win or lose, he is a class act. He did comment on the banter going on here regarding if Xavier should have adjusted their defense against Pella. He thought not so much. He commented how Xavier was in position the majority of the time, just got outsized at times. He said he loves this site though as he is able to locker room material from it! Thought that was funny.
Anyway, he has interesting thoughts on the game. Has no pretenses of doing anything but running the ball at Pella and making them stop the run. He stated they have 28 passing attempts on the year. Obviously a different offense then Xavier, but Xavier did run for a boatload of yards last Thursday. His big concern is the Pella passing game and the size of the WR's and TE. Webster City will not abandon stopping the run and will make sure of that. He commented on how Pella will almost automatically run if they see 5 or less in the box, so he won't do that. He also commented on how many great, athletic QB's they have faced this year so should help them prepare for Finney, while acknowledging that Finney is the best they will have faced. Very complementary of Pella.
Win or lose, he is a class act. He did comment on the banter going on here regarding if Xavier should have adjusted their defense against Pella. He thought not so much. He commented how Xavier was in position the majority of the time, just got outsized at times. He said he loves this site though as he is able to locker room material from it! Thought that was funny.
He is the king of the spinner back, should be an interesting matchup. Some teams match up better vs. different schemes. The running attacks that Xavier and WC run are vastly different. Is Pella physical enough to hold their ground against WC?
If he truly does read this sight, I want to say that I was sincerely impressed with his team's class. There was absolutely no taunting, posturing, celebrating, no "look at me", chest pounding, intimidating type behavior from his team when I saw them, just hard nosed, well behaved, disciplined football players giving maximum effort. It was a breath of fresh air, and I appreciated seeing it. My other main impression of WC was how does one 3A school have thirty three 6'1" 240 lb kids? !
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IMO, its a better match up than Xavier. Although they have to get back to assignment football. Some of the big plays Xavier had were due to blown assignments, can't do that and stop WC run. Pella is not big anywhere, but they have multiple 220+ athletes. I think they can handle the size of WC. The spinner back offense is not new to the coaches either. Coach Howard mentioned a new defensive scheme to throw at Finney, to buy time for his pass rush. Will be interesting to see what that is.
On here you'll be told not to question the coaching. Van Wyk and Holterhaus are the best athletes on the field, by a mile, and they get less than half of the play calls. Something's wrong.
Great win for Pella. 3 straight titles and 41 wins in a row is just unreal. Kudos to that program!
Watching their WRs get open like they did last night was something special. These plays were literally like long "handoffs". LOL
If only Jay was smart enough to call it more, amazing they win in spite of him. lol
Can we really argue with the results of the rushing offense compared to the passing offense last night?? Really? Look at the box score guy, I believe Finney had 20 rushes for 66 yards. The only thing that saved their YPC was Van Zee. Holterhaus and Van Wyk were strolling by defenders all night, they literally couldn't be stopped by WC. Finley overthrew Holterhaus by a couple yards early on a "Go" route when Holterhaus was behind the defender by 3-5 yards and I didn't see another vertical route the rest of the night.
I do realize that some of the Finney rushes were designed pass plays that broke down and he had to run, but on those he normally gained a good amount of yards. The running plays in question were those designed QB "dives" and QB "sweeps", those were getting absolutely no where and in my opinion they went to that well too much.
Last night there was a clear indication that Holterhaus couldn't be stopped by anyone on WC, they only thing that could stop him was the play calling.
Again, kudos to Pella for pulling it out.
I do realize that some of the Finney rushes were designed pass plays that broke down and he had to run, but on those he normally gained a good amount of yards. The running plays in question were those designed QB "dives" and QB "sweeps", those were getting absolutely no where and in my opinion they went to that well too much.
Last night there was a clear indication that Holterhaus couldn't be stopped by anyone on WC, they only thing that could stop him was the play calling.
Again, kudos to Pella for pulling it out.
I completely agree with Gator here. They could run crossing routes or anything in the middle of the field AT WILL. I dont know what the reluctance is to giving up on the run, but they really were long handoffs all night. Teams simply cannot cover those receivers for three straight plays and that is not a criticism of WC. They were ballers and deserved to be there, but no one in 3A can matchup with Pella going 5 wide WITH the threat of Finney taking off with the ball.
Much like Xavier who chose to pass rather than run in the semis, Pella was going run when they could have thrown it every time.
Much like Xavier who chose to pass rather than run in the semis, Pella was going run when they could have thrown it every time.
Agree completely. I think the best set up would have been trips with either Holterhaus or Van Wyk on the opposite side. Stagger routes on the trips side with either Van Wyk or Holterhaus (whoever isn't on the opposite side of the trips) running a "mid" route (9-13 yard post, out, or in), Pringle on a cross, and another receiver running a curl, and then have the singular receiver (Van Wyk or Holterhaus) on the opposite side of the trips run a "low" to "mid" cross (7-13 yards), and have Van Zee line up in the backfield to either block or run a safety valve route. This gives Finney 4-5 looks under 15 yards (smart and safe routes), literally long handoffs with Pella's athletes. If nothing comes out of it, take off and run or look for the valve route. Huge athletic mismatch in favor of Pella.
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