Each week during the football season the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the recent games or Massillon football in general.
Defending the Wing-T offense can be puzzling to some. Many teams will lay back and let the play develop in front of them and then react and make the tackle. Our Tigers chose to be more aggressive in their approach.
The key to defending the Wing-T is to follow the guards. They will take you to the ball carrier. Two Wing-T staple plays are the buck sweep and the trap. New Albany ran both these plays very well throughout the season. Our Tiger coaches elected to follow the pulling guard by having our d-line angle in the direction of the pulling guard. Our Tigers executed the defense very well. Defenders have to be disciplined and trust their keys. The Tiger D did that very well. They held the New Albany to just 101 yards rushing on 29 attempts and the Eagles recorded just 7 first downs. Great job Tiger coaches and great execution by our Tigers.
This week’s challenge is to repeat the execution. Cincinnati Winton Woods presents a unique challenge in that they run two different offensive schemes. They run the spread and they run the flex-bone that Georgia Tech and the military academies run. In both schemes they try to attack the perimeter of the defense. Our Tigers will need to read keys and execute the defense like they did last week. Get out Friday and support our Tigers like only the Tiger Nation can. Go Tigers! Beat Winton Woods! — GV
It goes without saying that at this stage of the playoffs every team is good. That includes both Massillon and Cincinnati Winton Woods. The Tigers will bring a power running attack with a proficient passing game to go along with a defense has been very stingy in the last few weeks. All of this makes for a tough team to beat. The Warriors, on the other hand, come at you with speed. Think of a Bedford offense with a Canton McKinley defense and that pretty much sums it up for the Warriors. They also will be a tough team to beat.
Winton Woods enters the game with a 12-1 record. The lone loss was in overtime, 35-34, to Cincinnati Elder. Being an independent team, the Warriors are forced to load up the schedule with the likes of Cincinnati LaSalle, Cincinnati Moeller, Columbus DeSales, Bishop Chartard, IN, and of course Cincinnati Elder. So they have several signature wins, including a second victory over LaSalle. Nine of their regular season games were against either Division 1 or Division 2 teams, including six private schools. Four opponents qualified for the playoffs. They average 34 points a game and give up 13.
Massillon quarterbacks coach Jarrett Troxler said that Winton Woods is very aggressive and athletic and the Tigers will have their hands full. But the coaches feel good about the matchup and believe that they have a great game plan to win it.
Offensively, the Warriors utilize two different sets: the traditional spread and the “flex-bone.” The latter is run by Navy and features three different running backs, one behind the quarterback and one at each wing, utilizing misdirection and triple-option. Quarterback Kenny Mayberry (6′-2″, 190 lb.) is a 3-year starter and runs the offense well. He throws a nice short pass and has a big arm to get it down the field to their speedy receivers, particularly Raequan Prince (5′-9″, 190 lbs.), who could be headed to D1. Occasionally, Mayberry will run the ball off the read-option. He’s not the swiftest player, but nevertheless he is very adequate. Top running back Miyan Williams (5′-8″, 193 lbs.) is just a sophomore, but plays like a senior. Coach Nate Moore considers Williams to be their best player. However, he was injured last week and his status is unknown. Both wingbacks are good. The offensive line is big, averaging 5′-10″, 255 lbs. Their best players on the line are the center and the two guards.
Defensively, Winton Woods looks a lot like Massillon on the interior, with a 3-man odd front. Also like the Tigers, they will occasionally switch to an even front. The secondary is where they differ. Whereas Massillon plays a matchup zone, the Warriors prefer to go straight man-to-man. Zone just doesn’t seem to work for them. Therefore, look for all of the secondary players to line up in the faces of the receivers, with a single safety over the center. The defensive line has good size, averaging 6′-1″, 246 lbs. The linebackers also have good size, the best being Chris Oats (6′-2″, 230 lbs.), who holds many D1 offers. Watch for the delay blitz on passing downs when aligned in an odd front. — DE
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