Round 1: WC v. Branson

I said before the game that Branson was better than they showed in the 47-7 beat down that WC issued them a few weeks ago in the mud bowl. I was right for once. If you didn't see or listen to this game, the score might be deceptive. A 40-21 win for WC almost looks like a snoozer, but that's not what happened. Branson pulled out all the stops and led WC at 21-14 and 21-20 in the third quarter before WC found its stride and put the game away.

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Here are my observations on this one.
- WC came into the game with lots of questions surrounding an off field incident that resulted in 3 starters being suspended (and more rumors than you can imagine beyond the actual story). The struggles in the first half on Wednesday night - in my opinion - had nothing to do with the absence of those players, but probably did reflect the amount of emotional energy that was expended coming into the game and the difficulty of trying to re-direct a game plan in a 3-day period.

- This WC squad continues to struggle at times to hold onto the football. They had 3 first half turnovers (one was an INT in the end zone at the end of the half, you almost hate to count that one because they were out of time and downs and were either going to score or not and it didn't affect much). The games where they can turn it over and expect to win are now over. Whether it's center-qb exchanges, option pitches, punt return fumbles or whatever, they have to control the football. This issue is even more critical right now in the absence of some of their firepower on offense. I have repeatedly said that the 2008 squad was exceptional at protecting the ball and putting together drives. This squad has been far more explosive, but also less consistent. I'm good with the explosive, but the consistency has to be there in order to keep winning.

- The suspensions did give 3 running backs a chance to shine in ways we hadn't seen yet. Watching the season unfold we knew that Maddy Johnson could fly in the open field, but his carries out of the backfield had been limited. He carried the load on Wednesday and did well. I do think he's probably most effective in his first 15 carries and will benefit if they can balance his touches with Jamison Cady and the big surprise in the mix, backup QB Scott Roderique. We had seen Jamison a time or two, but never Scott. Both played well.

Looking forward now to Monday night, another cardiac comeback by Carthage at Neosho will bring the Tigers to Cardinal Stadium for the second time in about a month. When the WC game ended Neosho had just re-taken the lead and we thought we were traveling to Neosho on Monday. But if we've learned anything about Carthage this year it's that you had better be up by 9 or more to think you've got them beaten. They went 75-yards in :46 to pull out the win. By my count that's about their 4th late comeback of the season.

I said after the first Carthage - WC game that it was the least exciting one I'd seen in 6 years. It was. I don't know why, but I suspect we didn't see Carthage's best game that night. I fully expect the second match-up to be a battle. Anyone who thinks WC is going to roll over Carthage are either kidding themselves or don't know what their talking about. Here's how I see this breaking down:

- WC has to control the ball and keep their defense from having to spend the whole night on the field.
- Webb can't turn it over and expect to win. Patrick will have to manage the offense and make good decisions - which he generally does - when it's time to pitch or keep, throw or run. It wouldn't shock me to see Pat have a huge performance.
- WC must prevent big plays early. One of the big reasons Branson stayed in it as long as they did was they got some momentum early. Carthage strikes me as a team that is probably a lot better once something goes their way. I think one of the reasons they never really got going in the first match up was that they had little to be excited about until they were already way behind. Getting on top early will help avoid momentum working against the Cards - something you want to avoid when you're still playing at less than full strength offensively.
- I'm looking for WC to use all three running backs and probably show Carthage some looks they didn't see the last time. I'm also looking for Pat to rack up some yardage on the ground.

If WC plays well, they win this game. They have the ability to make stops on defense and grind it out on offense. They are balanced when they need to be. If they execute they will win this game. If they turn it over or simply don't execute it may be an entirely different story.

Gates open at 5:30, get there early, even on a Monday night it's going to be a big crowd.