ProfessorBriggs.com
THE Sports
Authority in Mercer County!
Note: This does not reflect the opinion of Grove City College, WSAJ-FM, The Herald, or their respective sponsors and supporters.
Professor's Proverbs -- November 14, 2008
The first round of the District 10 football playoffs are in the books. With one exception, all of the favorites advanced into the next round. Professor Briggs went 7-3 (.700) in picking games last week after missing Slippery Rock's mild upset of North East, General McLane's win over Greenville and Cathedral Prep topping Grove City in the Upset Special.
This week features three rematches from regular season games. In Class A, Region 1 co-champs Mercer and Linesville will square off at Wilmington Friday night. The other "A" semifinal is Region 1 co-champ Farrell meeting undefeated Saegertown at Allegheny College Friday night.
Class AA features two extremely intriguing matchups in Wilmington-General McLane and Sharon-Slippery Rock. Sharon-Slippery Rock is a rematch of a regular season game that Sharon won, 17-10, at Slippery Rock High School in October.
The Class AAA title game Friday night will pit Strong Vincent against Cathedral Prep. Vincent downed Prep during the regular season but Cathedral Prep is much improved since then.
Professor Briggs will be at the Mercer-Linesville game Friday night, working on 96.7 FM "The River" with play-by-play man Jeff Wimer. Saturday night, I will try to get down to Slippery Rock University to work as sideline man for Mark Slezak and Bob Greenburg on "The River" for Sharon-Slippery Rock.
Before proceeding to this week's predictions, I'd like to take a few of paragraphs to address a hot topic in the area this week. That topic is the site of the Sharon-Slippery Rock game. The game is being played at Slippery Rock University's N. Kerr Thompson Stadium. Those of you familiar with geography know that Slippery Rock University is a stone's throw from Slippery Rock High School while Sharon is about 45 minutes away. At first glance, you probably think "Hey, that's not fair. Shouldn't the game be played somewhere in between?"
In theory, yes, the game should be played somewhere geographically in the middle. Wilmington High School would come to mind. Of course, Wilmington is also playing Saturday night; thus, the facility is not available. Some say "Play the game at noon." While that is an option, it is not the best option. A game of this magnitude should be played under the lights, in a prime-time type of atmosphere. It should also be played on an artificial playing surface because that is in the best interests of the participating athletes.
As many of you know, I love football games in the mud and the elements. That being said, poor field conditions should not decide a high school playoff game. We are supposed to have rain Friday night and all day Saturday. Grass fields in the area would absorb a lot of water, then come apart and turn into swamps. We saw it in the past -- the proliferation of grass-like artificial surfaces eliminate that potential problem. The newer-style turf is also much safer than the old rug that used to be common. In fact, I would think that the solid footing provided by FieldTurf, CSTurf, et al would probably be a little safer for players than slipping and sliding in the mud -- fewer muscle pulls, etc.
So what places in District 10 offer lights and artificial turf? Veterans Stadium, Harbor Creek, General McLane, Warren, McDowell, Meadville, Allegheny College, Grove City High School, Grove City College, Westminster College and Slippery Rock University. The northern sites should be disqualified because why should two southern teams have to travel that far north? Allegheny College is being used for the Wilmington-General McLane, so that's out.
The other thing that people don't realize is that sites have to submit to host postseason games. Some places may not be interested in hosting games. Other places may have events going on that would affect facility availability. Plus, it takes a lot of effort for a school to host a playoff game. There's a lot more than turning on the scoreboard and flipping the "on" switch for the public-address system.
Slippery Rock University has done a fine job of hosting games in recent years and they have continued to do so this year. The facility has great seating capacity, ample room in the press box, plenty of parking, excellent lighting and a general "big-game" atmosphere. Most importantly, the field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide.
It is not ideal, I will admit that. Slippery Rock will get to wear red as the designated home team. The Hi-Rockets are the top team listed in that particular bracket. Some will say that Sharon should be the home team because the Tigers beat Slippery Rock and finished ahead of SRHS in the Region 3 standings. But according to the District 10 bracket, they are both considered "at large" teams and therefore, they are considered equal.
Finally, while Slippery Rock University and Slippery Rock High School are very close in proximity, the crowd will not be pro-Slippery Rock. Each school received an equal allotment of tickets to sell in school. So the crowd will not be hostile towards Sharon in the manner than say, LSU fans would be for Alabama at Tiger Stadium. It will probably be within a few percentage points of a 50-50 crowd split.
You might not agree with this and that's fine. I've outlined my thoughts -- the game is going to be great. (And I do realize I exceeded a "few" paragraphs).
CLASS A
Friday, November 14
Mercer (10-1) vs. Linesville (9-2),
Wilmington High School, 7:00 p.m. (WLLF 96.7)
*Mercer has a chance to avenge its lone loss of the season, a 27-20 setback at
Linesville. The Mustangs overcame a slow start last week to roll past Iroquois,
28-14. Linesville secured a workmanlike 21-7 win over Crawford County foe
Cambridge Springs. Each of the last two games played between these teams has
been a real dandy. Last year, Mercer earned a 32-31 win over the Lions. This
year, Linesville held off a late Mercer challenge for the win. Professor Briggs
has no doubt that this game will follow suit. The Mustangs' depth up front may
be the deciding factor.
PREDICTION: Mercer 28, Linesville 22
Farrell (9-2) vs. Saegertown (11-0),
Allegheny College, Robertson Field, 7:00 p.m. (WPIC 790 and
790wpic.com)
*Professor Briggs got to see
Saegertown last week against a very game Sharpsville squad. Saegertown owns
a very impressive rushing game, led by tailback Keenan Ellison. Ellison
accounted for six touchdowns in the Blue Devils' victory, including an 89-yard
kickoff return. He is a very gifted young man, to say the least. However,
Saegertown's defense yielded over 400 yards of offense to Sharpsville.
Sharpsville's offense was very serviceable this year but I don't recall anyone
comparing the unit to the
1980 San
Diego Chargers. Farrell is a more experienced and more explosive squad than
Sharpsville's underclassman-laden team. The Steelers also remember the sting of
last year's heartbreaking semifinal loss to Mercyhurst Prep.
PREDICTION: Farrell 36, Saegertown 22
CLASS AA
Saturday, November 15
General McLane (9-2) vs. Wilmington (10-1),
Allegheny College, 7:00 p.m. (WPIC 790 and
790wpic.com)
*Many folks predicted that this would be the District 10 Class AA final. I did
not. (Of course, I didn't predict anything this year but I will conveniently
ignore that fact.) This shapes up to be a great high school football game.
Wilmington looked pretty crisp in downing Girard last week, 41-0. General McLane
ran for 1/3 of a mile in holding off Greenville, 42-28. General McLane
quarterback Kellen O'Neil is a talented athlete at the quarterback position. He
is the perfect guy for the Lancers' triple-option offense. However, General
McLane is facing its stiffest test defensively in the Hounds Hammer (a
term coined by former Herald sports editor Jeff Greenburg a dozen years ago).
Wilmington's offense will also present its share of problems for McLane. The
Greyhounds have several talented running backs, a versatile quarterback in Shane
Wagner and several big and athletic receivers. Cue up Bad Company; Wilmington is
"Movin' On".
PREDICTION: Wilmington 35, General McLane 20
Sharon (10-1) vs. Slippery Rock (8-3),
Slippery Rock University, 7:00 (WLLF 96.7 The River)
*Six years ago, Sharon defeated Slippery Rock in the regular season but
ultimately lost to the Rockets in the District 10 "AA" title game. Will
lightning strike twice? Possibly. Slippery Rock pulled what I think most would
call a minor upset over North East last week. The Rockets had lost two straight
to finish the season and had to play North East (winner of nine straight) in
Erie. Yet, Slippery Rock went to "The Vet" and turned in a great defensive
effort in blanking the Grape Pickers over the final 3 1/2 quarters. Sharon,
behind five touchdown passes from Todd Rearick, rolled Fairview by a 35-7 count.
Sharon has been playing pretty well down the stretch. This should a dandy of a
game at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
PREDICTION: Sharon 21, Slippery Rock 17
CLASS AAA
Friday, November 14
Strong Vincent (11-0) vs. Cathedral
Prep
(7-4), Erie Veterans Stadium, 7:00 p.m.
*Another regular-season rematch. Strong Vincent is undefeated but Cathedral Prep
has been playing well as of late. Should be a much closer game the second time
around.
PREDICTION: Strong Vincent 34, Cathedral Prep 28
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