Week 2 Preview - Elder Panthers

Chris Himonidis
WeAreColerain.com

What: Week 2 Preview
Who: Colerain Cardinals (0-1) vs. Elder Panthers (1-0)
Where: Elder High School, the “Pit”
When: Sunday September 6, 2009 @ 12:00 PM
TV: LIVE Coverage on ESPN
Radio: 1480 AM (Colerain), 1360 AM (Elder)

Ticket Info: CLICK HERE

Key Players & Stats/Comments
ELDER PANTHERS (1–0)
Last Game: Beat East St. Louis, 49-28
QB - #16 Mark Miller (Sr.) – 2008 Ohio Div 1 Co-Offensive Player of the Year, passed for 197 yards and 3 TD’s in week 1
RB - #5 Ben Coffaro (Jr.) – 74 yds rushing, 1 TD
RB - #11 Adam Brown (Sr.) – 18 rushes for 212 yards, 2 TD’s
WR - #1 Selby Chidemo (Sr.) – 4 rec for 83 yards, 1 TD in week 1
WR - #3 Tim O’Conner (Sr.) – Big play receiver for the Panthers, 6 rec for 78 Yards, 2 TD’s in week 1
LB - #10 Corey Mason (Sr.) – big 6’3” 220lb bruiser, returned INT 31 yards for a TD in week 1
DB - #21 Jake Fishburn (Sr.) – another 6’3”, 195lb big man in the secondary
DE - #34 Nick Ambeliotis (Sr.) – 6’, 225lb returning starter
K - #12 Anthony Miliano (Sr.) – Excellent kicker, big leg, 7 touchbacks on 8 kickoffs in week 1
WILD CARD – TE - #8 Alex Welch (Sr.) – Notre Dame recruit only had 2 catches for 14 yards in week 1 but at 6’5”, 245 lbs, he is a HUGE target in the middle of the field for QB Mark Miller

COLERAIN CARDINALS (0–1)
Last Game: Lost to St. Xavier, 0-16
QB - #8 Greg Tabar (Sr.-CAPT) – rough week against the Bombers, looks to rebound in one of the most hostile environments in Ohio
TB - #1 Tyler Williams (Jr.) – bottled up against the 3-3-5 stack of St. Xavier to the tune of only 24 yards in week 1
FB - #34 Trayion Durham (Jr.) – big Jr. found no running in week 1 up the middle against a tough Bomber D
OL - #71 Brandon Good (Sr.-CAPT) – Lone returning starter from ’08. At Center, will lead an inexperienced OL
DL - #50 Jake Blust (So.) – 1st time starter, played well in week 1 debut against a very experienced St. X OL
LB - #5 Tyon Dixon (Sr.) – blazing speed at LB position, 0.5 sack in week 1
LB - #44 Jarrett Grace (Jr.) – Is a wrecking machine @ 6’4”, 210 lbs, already offered by UC after limited action his Sophomore year
DB - #21 Chris Dukes (Jr.) – 2nd year starter, held his own and didn’t allow any long completions in week 1
DB - #7 Jovanta “Bam” Harrison (Sr.-CAPT) – 2nd year starter, 3 int’s in ‘08
WILD CARD – LB - #25 Joe Bolden (So.) – nephew of HC Tom Bolden, this 6’2” 210lb SOPHOMORE shared a sack with Tyon Dixon in week 1 and showed very well in his first varsity start against a balanced St. Xavier offense.

Keys to Victory for Colerain

• OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY – “Second verse, same as the first”, the inexperienced OL struggled at the point of attack against St. Xavier in week 1 and will need to have a big turnaround this week if the offense is expected to score. No question that the greatest level of improvement comes from game 1 to game 2 of the season and Coach Bolden and Coach Woltz will make sure the young men will be properly motivated and prepared to play in a hostile environment (more on that later). They must do a much better job opening up holes and holding their blocks to allow the magic of Tabar-Williams-Durham to work behind them.

• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY – TACKLE! TACKLE! TACKLE! The offensive skill position players for Elder is the best group, by far, that Colerain will see all season and could be, top to bottom, the best in the state, if not the country…no joke. O’Conner, Welch, Chidemo, Brown, Coffaro are ALL “take it to the house” type of threats. Missed tackles or poor tackling technique can not happen this week as this special group of offensive playmakers only need to break one. Gang tackling is also in order. Colerain’s defense is at it’s best when 11 men meet at the ball and gang tackle. That must also be the case this week. Hit them hard and hit them often.

• IGNORE THE HOOPLA – When the whistle blows, the Cardinals will need to block everything out and focus on one play at a time. Look, this game has gotten incredible hype. First Varsity game EVER at the Pit not to mention the live ESPN coverage is bound to do that. However, the biggest factor is going to be the home crowd. Elder is notorious for having some of the most “enthusiastic” fans in the region and they create quite a homefield advantage for the Panthers.

Bottom-Line
The loss in week 1 against St. Xavier has made this game even bigger, if that was possible. The Cardinals could, emphasis on COULD, be playing for their playoff lives on Sunday. Hard to believe in week 2 but trust me, it’s a real possibility. The prospect of starting 0-2 is not something the Colerain Harbin gurus want to think about. So while most will view Colerain as the clear underdog in this game, the Cards need to take that huge chip firmly planted on their collective shoulder and use it to dictate tempo of the game. The offense must eat clock and most importantly, FINISH DRIVES WITH TOUCHDOWNS. Field goals are not going to beat Elder, plain and simple. The best defense against Elder is an offense exactly like Colerain’s. Eat the clock and score every time, or close to it. On defense, the Cardinals must avoid the big play and stupid penalties. Elder is a big play offense. They don’t need any help with penalty yards from the Cardinals on defense. Colerain cannot get into a shootout with Elder. If the Cardinals can do these things, they have a very good chance of leaving Price Hill on Sunday night with a victory over a very formidable opponent. And maybe most importantly of all, they will have wiped that nasty taste out of their mouths from week 1 as they can then focus on their home opener the following Friday against Louisville Dupont Manual.

Support your Cardinals by getting your ticket at Colerain by 4:00 PM on Thursday and getting to the "Pit" on Sunday to cheer on our young men!

Is there anything better than the thought of chanting "We Are...Colerain! We Are...Colerain!" at the Pit as our Cards secure a victory? Let's make it happen!!!

WE ARE...COLERAIN!