Week 9 Preview - Middletown Middies

Chris Himonidis
WeAreColerain.com Staff

What: Week 9 Preview
Who: Colerain Cardinals (6-2, 5-0) vs. Middletown Middies (8-0, 5-0)
Last 3 meetings between these programs
2008: Middletown 42 - Colerain 39
2007: Colerain 63 – Middletown 13
2005: Colerain 68 – Middletown 14
Where: The Cage @ Colerain High School, 8801 Cheviot Road
When: Friday October 23, 2009 @ 7:30 PM
TV: Middie TV online
Internet: WeAreColerain.com
Radio: 1480 AM (Colerain)

Key Players & Stats/Comments
MIDDLETOWN MIDDIES (8-0, 5-0 in GMC)
Last Game – Beat Oak Hills, 40-0

QB - #14 Caleb Watkins (Sr.) – 6’4”, 210lbs, 66-112 for 1,187 yds PASS, 12 TD – 2 INT
64-163 yds RUSH, 7 TD…without question, teams leading offensive force..dual pass/run threat
RB - #27 Antonio Banks (Sr.) – 5’11”, 215lbs, 4.54/40 yd dash…100-676 yds RUSH, GMC leader w/13 TDs…Indiana Recruit…7th in the GMC in rushing
WR - #4 Kevin Watts (Sr.) – 5’11, 200lbs…236 yds RUSH, 214 yds REC, 6 TD’s
WR - #5 Nick McKnight (Sr.) – 6’3”, 200lbs….Leads the GMC in REC yards…27-459 yds REC (17.0 avg), 2 TD
WR - #6 JJ Greenwood (Sr.) – 5’11”, 180lbs….8-147 yds REC (18.4 avg), 5 TD
DL - #63 Sandon Fingers (Sr.) – 5’9”, 300lbs…matchup against Sr. Capt Brandon Good will be a fun one to watch all night and will have a significant impact on Colerain’s ability to run the dive play
LB - #52 Aaron Lewis (Sr.) – 5’9”, 195lbs…leads the GMC with 9 sacks, also has 3 FR and a TD
DB/LB/PR/KR - #24 Jerry Gates (Sr.) – 5’10”, 185 lbs…2.5 sacks, 1 FR, 6 int for 119 yards and 2 TDs…true “do everything” guy for the Middies…almost a 26 yd avg on KO, 14+ on PR.
DL - #47 Rashard Frazier (Sr.) – 6’6”, 225 lbs…4th in GMC with 5 sacks, 1 FF
WILD CARD: RB - #56 Kyle Schwarber (Jr.) – 6’2”, 220lbs…Is X factor on offense as lead blocker in short yardage situations, on defense as a starting LB, and on special teams as the short snapper. Solid, fundamental player with excellent tackling ability.

COLERAIN CARDINALS (6–2, 5-0 in GMC)
Last Game – Beat Mason, 56-3

QB - #8 Greg Tabar (Sr.-CAPT) – 3rd in the GMC in rushing at 869 yds and 9 TD’s. Ran with confidence and executed almost flawlessly against Mason last week
RB - #1 Tyler “Uno” Williams (Jr.) – 5th in the GMC in rushing at 778 yds and 7 TD’s but first with an avg of 10.8 yds/carry on 72 carries
RB - #34 Trayion Durham (Jr.) – Avg 7.9 YPC and up to 4th in the GMC in rushing. Will need to run very hard and take it to NT Sandon Fingers and LB Aaron Lewis
RB - #22 Chris Davis (Fr.) – Fantastic Freshman is AVG 6.6 YPC
DL - #50 Jake Blust (So.) – Leads team with 4 sacks. Will be tested by big RB Antonio Banks
LB - #5 Tyon Dixon (Sr.) – verbal to Louisville, aggressive and emotional leader on the field
LB - #44 Jarrett Grace (Jr.) – @ 6’4” 210 lbs, already has multiple D1 offers and is leading team in tackles. Big task to contain Middie QB Caleb Watkins and RB Antonio Banks
LB - #25 Joe Bolden (So.) – 3 sacks, 3 FF, 2 FR…been playing very well lately
DB - #7 Jovanta “Bam” Harrison (Sr.-CAPT) – 3 INT, 1 FR…Solid player in both coverage and run support…will be very important in secondary to track down speedy Middie WRs

Keys to Victory for Colerain
• WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE–this goes without saying…so I’ll say it. The weather will be wet on Friday night so ball security is key. The Cardinals have done well lately holding on to the ball and that needs to continue on Friday. The Middies can score quickly from anywhere on the field but there is no need to give them short fields to do it. Last year, the turnovers were even at 2 and the score was only 3 points different. Colerain must not only hold on to the ball on offense, but they must also create turnovers on defense. The Cardinals have 10 turnovers on defense this year (4 FR, 6 INT) vs. 23 (7 FR, 16 INT) for Middletown.
• SPECIAL TEAMS COVERAGE – Can’t emphasis this enough. The Colerain special teams kick coverage has been mediocre at best this season. Under no circumstance should Colerain kick the ball to playmaker Jerry Gates if at all possible. He is fast, hard to tackle and can change field position in an instant. The battle of field position is going to be key and Colerain has a real chance to win this as the Middies avg only 27.3 yds/punt vs. over 40 from Colerain. Win field position and limit Middletown’s return capability.
• WE ARE COLERAIN – The Men of Colerain know what is at stake in this game. Simply put, a loss would mean no playoffs for the first time since 1999 and no shot at a GMC title. The end of the “Decade of Dominance” tour. Not to mention the fact that this Middletown team ended Colerain’s 61 game GMC winning streak last year at Middletown, 42-39. Colerain must come out with more intensity and focus than they have at any point this season. They must impose their will on the Middies and play strong, fundamental football. It’s Senior night and for those Seniors, they will be playing their last game ever at the Cage. They do not want to end their playing career at Colerain with a loss.
• THE FANS – That’s right…the fans. There hasn’t been a “We Are…Colerain!” cheer since week 2 @ Elder. That is unacceptable. This team needs the support of their fans now more so than ever. The fans need to be loud and proud of who we are and what Colerain football is about. This is not your father’s GMC. The days of beating every team by 5 TD’s are gone. The coaches in the league are better and the teams are catching up to Colerain. The indifference from the fans and the expectation of a 4-5 TD victory every week are unfair and unrealistic. Let the young men of Colerain know that you are there throughout the entire game. Cheer loud for the defense and make it hard for the Middie offense to move the ball…you CAN have an impact! And more importantly, you NEED to.

Bottom-Line
Colerain is not favored to win this game. Middletown is undefeated. They have the #1 offense and #1 defense in the GMC. They are where Colerain was last year at this point. For the first time in a very long time, Colerain is the hunter, not the hunted. If Colerain plays hungry and plays to defend the homefield, they have a very good chance to win this game. Offensively, Colerain hasn’t seen anyone this year as balanced as Middletown. That being said, this is a playoff game for Colerain. Lose and the season ends after next week’s game vs. Oak Hills…no question. The Cards are playing at home as opposed to that house of horrors they were in last year, Barnitz Stadium.

Bottom line is that Colerain needs this game more than the Middies do. It’s at home on Senior night and the Cards will want revenge for Middletown ending “the Streak” last year. No way they allow them to end the 52 game home winning streak as well.

GO CARDINALS!

WE ARE...COLERAIN!!


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