POLL: Mediapolis (11-0) @ Albia (11-0)
- Thread starter MepoDawg#
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After the game can we get these two teams to have a wrestling dual in the gym? I like Albia having home field and a seasoned coach. The X-factor I think is Carter Isley coming back a couple weeks ago from being out the first 8 weeks. This will be a great game. Mediapolis kids will have the big game edge as they took place in a dome run last year.
That would be awesome to have them wrestle, too. I'd take Mepo in that one. But that will come soon enough as they are paired in the same district for wrestling.
Is very cool to see Albia doing so well this year. Have lived in SE Iowa for most of my life (a few too many decades to count) and have seen many Albia games over the years. Do not remember them really ever having a great football team, so is awesome to see them one win away from the dome. I am pulling for Albia in this one. Staton is a heck of a coach.
Might be the most competitive game this weekend in the state, even better that any 4a, prob
Em is it is 2A and in SEI, so the people in central iowa will be bilbo us, which is sad!
BF played them both to 5 point games, but failed to close both games,! So we can assume they are both mentally tough teams, and I would be shocked if it did not come down to the last series!
Albia did not have Schultz, that is a huge difference, that would seem to balance the running/passion game for them, making them even tougher!
What have they done defensively in the playoffs, at one time they were not using the Sr on defense all the time!
Meto-as nice of kids as the seniors last year seemed, it feels like this group is on a bit of a mission of their own, and not to be denied, you can always say how good a team is, but to score in less than a minute against a pretty good BF teams says a lot for their chances v Albia, not because they won, but because they responded! Here is a legitimate question and hope Dawg can give an honest assessment, 7 total Ints for The Mepo QB but 3 vs BF to one like, not buying bad game, really felt BF pressure and coverage made a few of those, in the 2nd half not as much pressure, has he seen that much pressure this year, pretty sure Albia will bring it also
The Hollpway kid seems to be the difference to me, he came out explosive in the 2nd half and put the BF defense on their heels, if he is able to run the ball like that vs Albia, I like their chances because it opens the rest of the offensive game!,,
I know Mepo is anticipating this pick, so..... If Albia plays their best kids on both sides of the ball all night, Albia by 8, if they do not, I have Mepo by 10,
Em is it is 2A and in SEI, so the people in central iowa will be bilbo us, which is sad!
BF played them both to 5 point games, but failed to close both games,! So we can assume they are both mentally tough teams, and I would be shocked if it did not come down to the last series!
Albia did not have Schultz, that is a huge difference, that would seem to balance the running/passion game for them, making them even tougher!
What have they done defensively in the playoffs, at one time they were not using the Sr on defense all the time!
Meto-as nice of kids as the seniors last year seemed, it feels like this group is on a bit of a mission of their own, and not to be denied, you can always say how good a team is, but to score in less than a minute against a pretty good BF teams says a lot for their chances v Albia, not because they won, but because they responded! Here is a legitimate question and hope Dawg can give an honest assessment, 7 total Ints for The Mepo QB but 3 vs BF to one like, not buying bad game, really felt BF pressure and coverage made a few of those, in the 2nd half not as much pressure, has he seen that much pressure this year, pretty sure Albia will bring it also
The Hollpway kid seems to be the difference to me, he came out explosive in the 2nd half and put the BF defense on their heels, if he is able to run the ball like that vs Albia, I like their chances because it opens the rest of the offensive game!,,
I know Mepo is anticipating this pick, so..... If Albia plays their best kids on both sides of the ball all night, Albia by 8, if they do not, I have Mepo by 10,
I think the thing that people don't realize is Albia's sophomore is actually player to player just as tel rated if not more than the current senior class. Also, with the platooning system we use it makes it tough on other teams that have kids playing hard on both sides all game long. No one has taken that into consideration. that being said, I imagine that there will be times that Albia does have some go both ways, but not the entire game.
As for the rush defense, Albia limited MP to -1 yard rushing the entire game in 15 carries and played a fairly soft zone in the backfield, forcing MP to methodically move the ball down the field and use up A lot of clock to score. a luxury they had with a 20 point lead. MP fans may disagree, but that game was never in doubt after the first quarter.
As for the rush defense, Albia limited MP to -1 yard rushing the entire game in 15 carries and played a fairly soft zone in the backfield, forcing MP to methodically move the ball down the field and use up A lot of clock to score. a luxury they had with a 20 point lead. MP fans may disagree, but that game was never in doubt after the first quarter.
having not seen MP, I have a hard time believing that their backs are as good 33 on Mepo, BF gained yards with Fuller reading things and going, way different than that Moose they have in the backfield, BF scored a lot vs that platoons system, they better be careful when they use it and when they don't vs Mepo
I do think BF was out coached by both Mepo and Albia, leading this to be a great chess match, that advantage goes to Albia, guy has seen too much
I do think BF was out coached by both Mepo and Albia, leading this to be a great chess match, that advantage goes to Albia, guy has seen too much
I got Mediapolis by 6. I just don't see them throwing 3 int's in the first half again or making other mistakes that they made Monday night (2 offsides on XP's, one that almost cost them the game, 12 in the huddle. false starts). It was actually the worst half I've seen them play all year and yet were only down 7. The line didn't protect well either as Bondurant-Farrar sent blitzers all night. I believe Mepo will be ready for that. I don't know much about Albia besides comparing scores and stats from Mid-Prairie, L&M, BF, and PCM games. But that doesn't always hold true because of match ups, injuries, and weather. I just expect Mepo to be ready and want to prove everyone wrong that thinks they can't make it back to the Dome.
Talked with a parent from Albia whose kid said, Albia learned a lot from the Monday Night game, BF caused all sorts of havoc in the first half before the Stafford kid got hurt, they plan to blitz and send someone at the QB all night, they also noticed that they will throw predominatly to the right which was evident with 3 int's in one spot by one kid, I take Albia by 14, the weakness of Mepo was exposed before BF lost the guy creating all the havoc, they got beat fair and square, but it exposed how to force them into mistakes and also what a change in cadence can cause, also he confusion created by BF forcing Mepo unsure who should be on the field
I assume Mepo will be ready for blitzing since BF did it and caused issues. Also, what game did you or they watch? The 3 int's (or at least 2) were down the middle of the field not right. Foster rolled left a couple of times. The first TD pass was over the middle with the guy coming from the left. The big pass play that set up the last TD (diving catch) was to the left. From what I saw all year there isn't a preference of middle, left or right. Most likely depends on matchups and who is having a good night. I will say Mepo's pass coverage must get better if they're going to play man to man with the safety roaming or it could be a long night if they run into a good passing team which it seems Albia is when they pass.
Saw both play L-M only a few days apart.
Mepo vs. L-M was in the bitter cold, Albia vs. L-M was in the rain.
From what I saw the Mepo kids hit a lot harder than the Albia Kids. Mepo sent six L-M kids to the sidelines by the second quarter.
Didn't get to see Albia's passing game, but everyone was certainly aware that it is very good. Mepo's was very respectable.
Albia had only one penalty on the night. L-M had several, all of them earned. I believe it was about the same scenario when L-M played at Mepo. So it seems both teams play a pretty clean game.
Kicking games for both teams seem a draw.
The platooning that Albia did really didn't play a factor in the game. L-M was still running at will into the 4th quarter.
LM scores against MEPO came late in the game when Mepo subbed. L-M had 7 starters out of the game at that point. I don't know what that says about MEPO 2nd (or was it 3rd) Unit.
Stadium wise, both stadiums are similar the baseball field that mepo plays on and what Albia calls a stadium. Both allow the visiting team to basically interact with the players. This isn't always good. IF you have mouthy parents, it can get annoying.
Can I choose "Tie" ??? I'm going to say a triple overtime game, staying with the superconference though. Mepo wins.
Mepo vs. L-M was in the bitter cold, Albia vs. L-M was in the rain.
From what I saw the Mepo kids hit a lot harder than the Albia Kids. Mepo sent six L-M kids to the sidelines by the second quarter.
Didn't get to see Albia's passing game, but everyone was certainly aware that it is very good. Mepo's was very respectable.
Albia had only one penalty on the night. L-M had several, all of them earned. I believe it was about the same scenario when L-M played at Mepo. So it seems both teams play a pretty clean game.
Kicking games for both teams seem a draw.
The platooning that Albia did really didn't play a factor in the game. L-M was still running at will into the 4th quarter.
LM scores against MEPO came late in the game when Mepo subbed. L-M had 7 starters out of the game at that point. I don't know what that says about MEPO 2nd (or was it 3rd) Unit.
Stadium wise, both stadiums are similar the baseball field that mepo plays on and what Albia calls a stadium. Both allow the visiting team to basically interact with the players. This isn't always good. IF you have mouthy parents, it can get annoying.
Can I choose "Tie" ??? I'm going to say a triple overtime game, staying with the superconference though. Mepo wins.
Right Corner had all three picks, making me believe they it was more right than center, the possible 4th int was down the middle by the Safety, the one big play was left. You could be correct on match-ups as teams have rarely attacked the Duffy kid all year, might be the best corner in the league, but never gets thrown at!
Good Statement by Emerald, I know when BF was there, there was late hit on the BF sideline and there was much discussion amongst the BF players and fans, even to the point, not verified that the Albia player tossed had shoved a BF player.
This might be part of the frustration BF saw at Mepo, maybe there will be more excitement on the sidelines as the good ol boys "mingle"
Good Statement by Emerald, I know when BF was there, there was late hit on the BF sideline and there was much discussion amongst the BF players and fans, even to the point, not verified that the Albia player tossed had shoved a BF player.
This might be part of the frustration BF saw at Mepo, maybe there will be more excitement on the sidelines as the good ol boys "mingle"
Could of been the right corner but the play was in the middle as it looked like the safety was near as well. Also one seemed like there were 5 guys around, 2 wr and 3 db. 2 of them were just thrown up as he was being pressured, hopefully he learned from it. Seemed like he did in the second half.
Anyways, is there an article anywhere on the BF vs Mepo game that is from the BF perspective? Would love to read it.
Anyways, is there an article anywhere on the BF vs Mepo game that is from the BF perspective? Would love to read it.
Unlike rural Iowa we have no local paper, we get coverage from the DSM Register and the Altoona Herald, which is owned by the Register, it only comes out on Weds, and they will cover it next week! Normally, not much bias as the writers are trying to move on to bigger things!
http://altoonaherald.desmoinesregister.com/section/altoona03
http://altoonaherald.desmoinesregister.com/section/altoona03
I have a hard time believing mepo's defense will be able to cover albia's wr hugen. He and leshen have been almost impossible to stop when albia decides to go to the air. The environment in albia Friday night will no doubt be crazy. I'll take the demons by 8.
True. I said all night that they need to cheat the OLB out to cut that throwing lane off, especially on Duffy's side. I even called that they were going to run the slant on their last TD drive. It was there for the taking. If Mepo runs into a good passing team it could mean trouble. Is tonight that night? Time will tell. They had no help all night on the 2 outside WR's until last drive if game. They could cheat the safety to one side then cheat the opposite OLB to help with coverage. Mepo caught a break when Duffy dropped the ball down the sideline, had his man beat by a couple yards.
Hard fought game by 2 great teams that didnt want to have their season end. Actually stood next to the Leshan's dad the whole game and can't say enough about how good of a guy he is. We started talking before the game and talked all the way through and uhe never once complained about anything that happened in the game. I understand not everyone is like that but if the majority of Albia fans are likr that, then you have my respect. Good luck at the dome next Saturday.
Good game all around. Not much offense though. Albia had 2 good drives, TD and a missed fg. Mepo drove to the 30 or so a few times but then couldn't do anything, dropped 2 TD passes though. Albia is a good team but I don't see them beating Waukon. Mepo didn't have their big RB who is their best LB. May have been different with him. Good luck to Albia.
Echo Dawgs comments. Good luck to Albia in the dome. If I am not wrong Mepo has lost in the playoffs to eventual champ 4 years in row. Maybe holds true for Albia?
dawg, mediapolis played hard and didwhat they could with what they had. one could argue that 45 albias best RB was not 100 percent with the ankle injury that occurred in the previous game. as for the dropped TD passes, there was only one that went through your receivers in the end zone late in the game. The vast majority were just thrown up for grabs as albia pressured your qb at will. Execution is what the game came down to and clearly the better team one. But props to mepo on a good season.
Guess you missed the one in the first half where #18 for Mepo streaked past his defender on the Albua sideline and the ball went through his hands between the goaline and the 5. The defender was 3 yards behind him. Albia took care of business when it had to. Credit to them. But I didn't realize how bad Mepo and shut Albia down in the second half, less than 20 yards total. Good defense by both teams. Good luck to Albia.
