The Miramar Patriots will continue their season travelling to play their second set of Hurricanes, these ones representing Northeast HS in Oakland Park. The Patriots, 1-1, look to build a winning streak after defeating Blanche Ely 42-20. Northeast, also entering the game with a record of 1-1, wants to get back on the winning side of things after losing at Hallandale 23-12 last week.
Now, let’s meet the teams, and examine some of the keys to victory for this game:
Northeast Hurricanes (1-1, 0-0 District 14-7A)
Last year, the Northeast came into Branca Stadium confidently
for a Regionally Televised game (on CSS). Having defeated Miramar in the
previous year’s playoffs, the Hurricanes looked to make a statement against
the highly ranked Patriots. After planting their Hurricane Flag in the Patriot painted
at Mid-field, Northeast had done just that, and Miramar was not pleased about
it. At the end of the game, however, the scoreboard made the strongest
statement, with the Patriots emerging as 48-6 victors.
In that game, and any game where Northeast plays, the central figure for discussion and attention is star WR Stacy Coley. A 6’1”, 185lb speedster, Coley has the ability to score on any play, whether it be a hitch route, or a fly pattern. He is a dynamic playmaker who commands intense defensive focus on every play. Coley is averaging over 100 yards receiving per game early in this season, and is a highly sought after recruit. For Northeast to be competitive in this game, he will need to play to his established standard of excellence, at a minimum.
Last season, Running Back Jamal Wallace ran hard and with mild success against the Patriots. A powerful and muscular player, Wallace has surprising speed for his build. He also had the 1 big play for the Hurricanes: a 92 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Obviously, this is an area he can exploit the questionable Miramar Special Teams unit, and give his team a boost. In last year’s game, Wallace’s kick return provided the only points for Northeast. He will look to score again and, with some help from his friends, defeat the Patriots.
Apart from Coley and Wallace, the rest of the Northeast Hurricanes are largely unknown. I wanted to highlight a couple players from last year’s game who are returning, but I lost my roster so I can’t do that. I know, I know. I gotta do better.
Anyway, the Hurricanes are a team with a few star players, and not much else. Could they surprise us and put together a complete game against a young Miramar team who themselves aren’t as loaded with “household name” talent? Sure, they could. I just don’t see that happening.
Why Northeast Might Win:
2 words: Stacy Coley.
The Hurricanes force a couple Miramar turnovers and are able to turn them into points. This has been a thorn in the side of Miramar teams for years, including when Northeast won the aforementioned 2010 playoff game. Forcing Miramar into mistakes, and capitalizing on those extra opportunities, will be a key for Northeast.
Miramar Patriots (1-1, 0-0 District 12-8A, District Champion)
The Miramar Patriots enter the second road game of the year
coming off an impressive 42-20 win over Blanche Ely. The Tigers, a good team
with some talented players, was simply no match for Miramar. After faltering
and allowing a kickoff return for a TD, and a short field TD after a tipped
ball interception, the Patriots imposed their will, and physicality on the
Tigers. You can read my full game recap article here: http://miramarsports.blogspot.com/2012/09/2012-game-recap-2-vs-blanche-ely.html
The Patriots are slowly starting to find their rhythm and identity on offense. They are averaging 379 yards of total offense and 24 points per game. Those averages are decent, and both figure to increase as the season progresses.
Leading the passing attack is Junior QB Nick Jeanty, who has completed 66.7% of his passes, for 253 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He has been very accurate, and his stats would been even better if it were not for a few dropped balls through the first couple games. His progressions in the complex Miramar Passing game have been getting better as the season goes along. For the most part, he’s sticking with safe throws to the sidelines and check-downs to the running backs. I can see him starting to get more comfortable. One of these games, it’s all going to click, and the passing attack is going to put up some serious stats. You’ve been put on notice.
The running attack is the heart and soul of the offense. Averaging 250.5 yards a game, and with 6 solid players who contribute, Miramar has shifted to a ground and pound team overnight, after years of spread football with 30+ passes a game.
At the top of the rotation at running back is Senior Alex Lee. Already with 299 yards and 2 TDs rushing (averaging 11.5 yards per carry), in addition to 65 yards and a TD receiving, Lee is proving his worth in multiple areas of the offense. Lee enters the game as Broward County’s 2nd leading rusher (trailing only South Plantation’s Alex Collins), and figures to be the central piece of the Miramar Offensive Gameplan. Look for his numbers to remain at this level throughout the season.
Lee is just one half of the “Lightning-Squared” backfield. His running mate, Junior Cameron Rigby, is a quick, shifty player who has already made a name for himself, both in past seasons and this one. Rigby has added 131 yards on 19 carries so far this season, and will continue to put pressure on opposing defenses. His ability as a receiver out of the backfield offer another level of depth to his impressive playmaking repertoire.
Other players who figure to see time in the backfield for the Patriots are Juniors Khalil Lewis and Eric Pittman, Sophomore Alex Anderson, and Senior Malik Mapps as both the FB and single back.
The Receivers have done a good job so far this year, and
many of them have contributed to the team’s success offensively. 11 different
players have caught passes to this point of the season (although I don’t expect
OT Damone Thompson to have any more catches this year). With a 9.52 yards per
catch average, this group is nearly a guaranteed first down every time they get
the ball. They, like their QB Jeanty, are looking for a breakout game.
Leading the 11 players who have caught a pass are Senior Sean Avant and Junior Geonte Smith. Also contributing to the passing attack are Tanares Robinson, Delano Whitehead, Khalil Webster and Kwasim West. With all that talent at receiver, it’s mildly surprising that 2 of the 3 touchdown catches have gone to running backs, with the Alexes (Anderson and Lee) each having one.
On Defense, the linebackers continue to be the Swiss Army Knives, deployed in many different ways, each with equal success. Senior Jermaine Grace has teamed up with Juniors Kaywon Davis and Ryan Samuels to create a formidable group at the heart of the defense.
Up front, Defensive Ends Shawn Stephens and Alex Trotman (along with Danarious Graham and David Lee) excel at getting up the field and disrupting plays. Defensive Tackles Telvin Arnold, Ja’Quan Smith, and Darius Young have clogged up the middle of the line, and made a number of plays in the backfield following solid penetration.
The Secondary is led by the G-Unit Safties: Andre Godfrey and D’Kambui Greaves. At corner, Darren Wilcox is still trying to recover from a less than stellar effort in the opener at Manatee. Working opposite him is Sophomore Tyrek Cole.
Cole, starting in place of an injured Terence Gaskins last week, has elite cover skills, and shows great composure for his age. He had 7 pass breakups a week ago, and will undoubtedly be tested by every team we play. Also playing a major role is another Sophomore: Jeff Hill. He, like Cole, is a great cover player, with great potential. Expect to see him challenged by opposing offenses throughout this season as well.
Special teams was better, but still not where I think they need to be. They only gave up 1 big play last week, as opposed to the 4 from the Manatee game. The play, however, was a 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown that Tied the game at 7 and let Ely hang around early in the game. I expect to see a better, more complete performance from this unit, or the personnel will need to be addressed.
Why Miramar might win: The Running game is starting to roll, led by Alex Lee and his 150 yards a game. This is quickly becoming the central identity of the offense, and for good reason. We have seen the running game pound Manatee (when we went to it) and absolutely destroy Ely. We have found a rhythm, and hit the groove. Keeping this going will be a key to everything we are able to do offensively.
The Darkside defense continues to do what they do. Yes, they gave up points to Manatee, but most of them came off of Miramar turnovers. When faced with driving the length of the field against this unit, most teams are unable to put up many points. This is another opportunity to show that while the names are different, the talent level remains the same.
What to Watch for:
Northeast
What will Stacy Coley do against a relatively inexperienced secondary?
Can Northeast sustain drives on offense?
Who will step up to join Coley and Wallace as playmakers on
offense?
What defensive wrinkles will the Hurricanes employ to
confuse and disrupt the Miramar offense?
Miramar
Is this Nick Jeanty’s break out game?
What will Alex Lee and Cameron Rigby give us in the running
game?
Can the Darkside sustain their excellence?
Who on defense makes the big play?
How will the young corners deal with an All-American talent
in Stacy Coley?
Kickoff is in a few hours. You hype yet?
Until Next time,
Cameron J. Underwood
Miramar Sports
Miramar Sports
Fred Flowers of Northeast Defensive Coach of the year
ReplyDeleteLmaoo, Northeast is still Garbage
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