The OVC non-conference woes
continue, as 4 of the 6 conference
teams lost Friday. There was a lot
happening in the conference as a
couple of teams picked up Win #1,
while a couple of teams are still
winless, and a couple of teams who
already had at least one win lost.
Here's the good, the bad, and the
ugly of the Ohio Valley Conference
in Week 4, heading into Week 5 and
the midway point of the 2008 Season.
Here are the standings going into
Week 5:
Chesapeake: 2-2 (0-0)
South
Point: 1-3 (0-0)
River
Valley: 1-3 (0-0)
Coal
Grove: 1-3 (0-0)
Fairland: 0-4 (0-0)
Rock
Hill: 0-4 (0-0)
Chesapeake: Week 4 Reult -
lost to Valley, 0-9; Week 5 - @
Portsmouth West
Just when I thought Chesapeake was
almost certainly one of the top 3
teams in the conference, they go out
against a so-so Valley team and get
blanked. Valley, who is now 2-1
against the OVC this year, got
dominated by Coal Grove last week
but dominated a winless Rock Hill
squad in Week 2. Although the
Panthers have the best record in the
OVC at 2-2, they are very suspect
right now and there certainly
appears to be quite a bit of
distance between them and teams like
South Point and Coal Grove.
Donahoe's stats were solid again
with 151 total yards, but there
wasn't much else going on the
offensive side of the ball for
Chesapeake. The Panthers need to get
some consistent offensive production
in order to compete for an OVC
Championship.
This
week, the Panthers play host to the
undefeated Senators from Portsmouth
West. The Senators have outscored
OVC opponents (Fairland, South
Point, Rock Hill), 91-21. That's an
average score of 33-3! Needless to
say I'm going to go with the
Senators by many scores, but if
Chesapeake can go out there and give
a decent performance against a very
tough West team, they should be in
good shape to at least compete in
conference play. Donahoe will have
to do more of the same and the rest
of the offense will have to come
alive as well. The defense, which
has given up 29+ in games against
quality opponents in Oak Hill and
Wayne, will have to play the game of
their lives against West and will
have their hands full containing QB
Alfie Bricker and running back Dale
Swords.
Prediction: West 44
Chesapeake 12
Coal Grove: Week 4 Result -
lost to Minford, 13-0; Week 5 - v.
Newport, Ky
I really thought Coal Grove would
win Friday. They could have and
maybe they should have. They out
gained the Falcons by around 60
yards. They had the ball inside the
Minford 10 twice. They held the ball
for over 25 minutes of the game.
Despite all of this, they also
racked up 95 yards worth of
penalties, most of them coming in
the 4th quarter, and missed several
key opportunities. The middle wasn't
open to Coal Grove running backs for
most of the night, as quite a few of
the Hornets' plays were stretched to
the outside and they relied on
speed. Delawder was keyed in on the
whole game and only carried the ball
18 times (74 yds, 4.1 average)
compared to his 32 carries against
Valley last week (145 yds, 4.5
average). I said on another site
that if Coal Grove made fewer
mistakes than Minford, they would
win. They didn't, and they lost.
This week, the Hornets will play
host to Newport, Ky (1-2). This
should be a relatively easy win for
the Grove and I expect to see fewer
mistakes and a lot more offensive
production from them. A 2-3 start
for Coal Grove will probably put
them in a tie for the best record in
the conference heading into OVC
play. Coal Grove hasn't fared nearly
as well as most people (myself
included) thought they would so far.
However, this team is very dangerous
and versatile enough to beat you in
many different ways. The main thing
that has held Coal Grove back has
been Coal Grove.
Prediction: Newport, Ky 12
Coal Grove 28
Rock Hill: Week 4 Result - lost to Portsmouth West, 42-6; Week 5 Result - @ Wheelersburg
Yeah, they got beat pretty bad. Maybe if they'd had their starting QB for the whole game, had capitalized on some golden opportunities, and hadn't given up more turnovers they would have stood a better shot. Oh, it might have also helped if the the opposing defense hadn't given up a mere 7 points in its first 3 games! It doesn't matter now. The game is over and the coaches and players can all take something positive away from the game. No one gave Rock Hill a shot to win this game and maybe they didn't think they could win it either, but they didn't do anything that fellow OVC-ers Fairland and South Point hadn't already done: lose to West by at least 3 TDs. (As an aside: I think that if Portsmouth West beats Chesapeake Friday, they should consider giving the Senators a complimentary "OVC Champions 2008" plaque in honor of their 4-0 record against OVC foes).
Silliness aside, Rock Hill will again be on the road Friday and - for a 3rd straight week - face a tough SOCII opponent. Wheelersburg is probably the best team in Scioto County and an almost-certain Top 4 Region 19 team. Again, I must pick against the rebuilding Redmen but if they can cut down on turnovers and play as well as they did against West in the 1st half of that game, it won't be too ugly. McCollister and Brown back in the line-up wouldn't hurt either. For all the Rock Hill haters out there, just remember that in the 04 season the Redmen finished a meager 3-7. In 2005, they finished the regular season 9-1 and made the playoffs.
Prediction: Rock Hill 6 Wheelersburg 40
Fairland: Week 4 Result: lost to Tolsia, 21-14; Week 5 - Bye Week
Hey, at least they didn't blow a big halftime lead in this one like they did in weeks 3 and 2. However, they got pretty banged up again and it looks like injuries once again will be a big hurdle for the Dragons to overcome in conference play. One positive is that they're getting solid play and a very solid effort from everyone. Hatfield's numbers were very impressive as he gained over 200 total yards through the air and on the ground. Without the injuries, Fairland might have pulled this one out, but one thing that should be remembered is the fact that all of Fairland's losses have come to teams that are currently undefeated, and Meigs and West are a combined 4-0 against other OVC teams. The talent is there for the Dragons. Most Dragon fans seem to think it will be a matter of keeping people healthy that will determine how they fare in OVC play.
With players getting banged up and after three close losses in a row, the bye week is probably the best thing for this team. I'm hoping to see a revamped and ready-to-go Dragon team on September 26 when they begin OVC play out at Rock Hill. It will be very interesting to see if this team can compete in conference play with the likes of South Point and Coal Grove.
South Point: Week 4 Result - def. Pt. Pleasant, WV, 34-26; Week 5 - v. Valley
After 3 defeats coming at the hands of heavy favorites, South Point finally got a chance to show what it could do as a favorite. The running game racked up big-time yardage and while the defense wasn't that impressive, they were still able to come out with a two-score win on the road against a quality opponent. South Point hung right with Portsmouth and Wheelersburg and in my opinion they're the favorites to win the OVC right now. Their defense is suspect, but their offense should be able to at least keep them in games and probably much more than that against lower-tier OVC opponents.
South Point should end their non-conference schedule on a high note against those pesky Indians from Lucasville Valley, fresh off their ugly 9-0 win against South Point's eastern neighbor, Chesapeake. I expect more HUGE numbers from the South Point running game and I expect their defense to look better than it has all season. This is the weakest team South Point has played all year (and that's not saying much at all) and I expect their experience against tough opposition to show.
Prediction: Valley 13 South Point 38
River Valley: Week 4 Result - def. Eastern, 14-0; Week 5 - v. Waterford
The Raiders picked up their first win of the season on Friday, playing stifling defense and pitching a shutout against Eastern. Granted, Eastern is considered by many to be a bad Div. I team, but it should feel good for RV to get that elusive first win behind them and build on the momentum from that game. Word from the Northern end of Gallia County is that things are looking bright for the future of the football program. Hopefully the Raiders can get back to competing in the OVC like they did in their first year in the conference in '02. With the OVC slate on the horizon, River Valley's record at 1-3 is nothing to be ashamed of by OVC standards set thus far. However, the margins of defeat should definitely concern Raider fans hoping to win a few conference games.
This week, the Raiders play host to a so-so DVI team in Waterford (2-2). While I think Waterford is a better team than Eastern, I expect River Valley to be highly confident and much less uptight after the first win of the year. I look for more great defense from RV, especially from Zak Deel on the line. I also look for Curnutte to get better with every game and open up that versatile offensive attack. I'm going with River Valley in this one, but not by much....
Prediction: Waterford 14 River Valley 20
Starting this week, I'll also give you my OVC Power Rankings along with each team's weekly grade:
1. South Point (B-)
2. Coal Grove (C-)
3. Fairland (B-)
4. Chesapeake (D)
5. River Valley (C+)
6. Rock Hill (C-)
