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Celina at Melissa


d0tc0m

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Celina coming off a big shutout win over Paris. Melissa coming off a dismantling of Anna, which came on the heels of the Cardinals’ own exciting win over Paris the week before.

This a big-time matchup, as the winner all-but assures themselves no worse than the No. 2 seed heading into the postseason.

Thoughts?

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This game has turned into a nice rivalry game. I think if Melissa's oline can with stand the pressure, Melissa will pick Celina's defense apart. 

In saying that I think Melissa has to make Celina beat them passing. Celina seems to have found a running game, but the passing game is pretty porous. 

I think this game will be a shoot out with Melissa winning by 14.

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After watching Celina/Paris last week I'm a little hesitant about which of these two teams might have an advantage.  Both teams have playmakers on offense and Celina has a better defense.  I just assume they do since Melissa allowed 46 to Paris and Celina allowed zippo to Paris.  The defense I saw on the field for Celina looked stout against the Paris running game, but Melissa prefers to pass it more than run it.  I think Celina has more trouble stopping a formidable passing attack.  IF Melissa's defense is not up to the task, I believe Celina will hammer on their D and wear them down.  I also believe QB Watson for Celina has a good arm and will throw it accurately in this game. Shootout is also the way I will predict this one.......somewhere in the mid-high 40's for the winner.  

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Melissa will do what they are set-up to do........score lots of points. I'm not aware of the injury situation for either team, but I know that Melissa has depth and a bunch of good receivers available for QB Brendon Lewis to connect with.  Not sure about injuries to key linemen and secondary players for either team, though.

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I look at Celina as a team that builds on its own momentum and plays disciplined tough football.  If they do make a mistake......they will get it corrected right away.  I don't see Celina as a team with any team chemistry problems.......they play the team concept well and cover well. They do have some team speed also.  Celina will attempt to out-physical their opponent,  but Melissa is more of a finesse and execution-based offense.  Still have to play reasonably good on defense, though......bend but don't break should be the mantra for the Cardinal's defense against Celina.  It will help that Melissa has good speed on both sides of the ball, too.

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This has the makings of a very, very good game. Melissa has a high-powered offense that can beat you in a multitude of ways. QB Lewis is a home run threat every time he takes the snap, because he can beat you with his strong arm, or find daylight with his legs. He's a big kid, a hard runner and tough to bring down. Not to mention Young at RB. He's a mix of speed and power and once he gets past that first level, you're in trouble. You throw in a stable of good receivers into this mix, and you're looking at a tough task if you're a defensive coordinator.

Celina's going to have to get pressure on Lewis in the backfield, but do it without getting washed too far upfield. He won't hesitate to take off, and he will do damage each time he does. If the Bobcats' ends do a good job of setting the outside edge like they did against Paris, we'll have a good chance on defense. I don't know that Melissa will pick the Bobcats defense apart, because nobody has done that so far this year, and the Cardinals didn't even do that last year. The Bobcats defense, overall, is much better this year. They've got the boys in the secondary to run with the Melissa receivers, but size advantages could come into play here.

If the Celina defense is able to get pressure on Lewis, they'll have to be disciplined in sniffing out the screens, because Melissa will inevitably utilize that portion of their playbook, and those could go for six every single time.

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When you look at strength of schedule, it's practically a wash to me. Melissa's top opponent so far has been Trinity Christian Academy — a private school team that would easily make the postseason in any 4A district — and the Cardinals got throttled, 48-7. The Cardinals also have a "good" loss over an underrated Frisco team, and that's probably a game Melissa feels like they let get away. The signature win, so far, has been that thrilling 54-46 victory over Paris a couple weeks ago.

It's hard to compare that win to Celina's win over Paris, simply because Jackson didn't play against the Bobcats. He would have made a difference, certainly, but I'm not sure he would've made up a 34-point difference. I think the Bobcats still would've won by 2-3 possessions. I think Melissa's defense has been suspect this season, and I look for the Bobcats to utilize the legs of Point and Watson, just like they did against Paris, and test that defensive front of the Cardinals. If they're not up to the task, and if the Bobcats continually win on first down, they'll continue to feed the rock to Point and grind Melissa to death.

If Isaiah Martinez is healthy for Celina, that adds a whole new threat for the offense, as he is a more-than-capable backup RB, as well as a fast receiver option. Mix in senior Luke Addy and the super speedy Grayson Wester, and the Bobcats are not lacking on offensive weapons. We've just got to find a way to buy Watson time and let him get the ball to those targets. Having success running the ball like we did against Paris will certainly help.

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This should turn out to be a team w/ explosive big plays vs a team with methodical ground and pound with a mix of pass. Melissa does have the capability to score quickly whereas Celina can eat the clock and maintain possessions.  The two offenses are almost opposite in design and purpose......yet both teams have the athletes for their own system and style to be successful.  I would not call either offense as being "balanced" between pass and run......or even close to being balanced.

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It will be like night and day for Celina in defending against the Paris attack vs defending against the Melissa attack......there's really no way to draw much from last week's game as to how Celina might defend successfully this week against Melissa. It will be a totally different defensive strategy and scheme for Celina this week.

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4 hours ago, d0tc0m said:

When you look at strength of schedule, it's practically a wash to me. Melissa's top opponent so far has been Trinity Christian Academy — a private school team that would easily make the postseason in any 4A district — and the Cardinals got throttled, 48-7. The Cardinals also have a "good" loss over an underrated Frisco team, and that's probably a game Melissa feels like they let get away. The signature win, so far, has been that thrilling 54-46 victory over Paris a couple weeks ago.

It's hard to compare that win to Celina's win over Paris, simply because Jackson didn't play against the Bobcats. He would have made a difference, certainly, but I'm not sure he would've made up a 34-point difference. I think the Bobcats still would've won by 2-3 possessions. I think Melissa's defense has been suspect this season, and I look for the Bobcats to utilize the legs of Point and Watson, just like they did against Paris, and test that defensive front of the Cardinals. If they're not up to the task, and if the Bobcats continually win on first down, they'll continue to feed the rock to Point and grind Melissa to death.

If Isaiah Martinez is healthy for Celina, that adds a whole new threat for the offense, as he is a more-than-capable backup RB, as well as a fast receiver option. Mix in senior Luke Addy and the super speedy Grayson Wester, and the Bobcats are not lacking on offensive weapons. We've just got to find a way to buy Watson time and let him get the ball to those targets. Having success running the ball like we did against Paris will certainly help.

Very well said 

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I dont think a lot of people realize, but Melissa got a move in runningback this year Xylon Posey from Denton, he has been tearing it up. So not only do you have Jabray Young to deal with at 5'10 220lbs 4.4 40, then you got Xylon Posey who runs like a kamikaze and makes defenders pay, he is a hard person to bring down. He isnt as big as Young, 5'10 190 at 4.5 40, but he is so hard to tackle. 

 

 

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19 minutes ago, RedRed said:

Like I said earlier I think Melissa will need to make Watson pass the ball as that has not been Celina's strong suit the last 2 years. 

It really hasn’t. Although, we’ve got more weapons to utilize in that area this year than in the previous two seasons.

I’d just like to see some different looks in the passing game. The Bobcats have some speedsters to catch the ball. We just haven’t done a great job of getting them the ball in space. A lot of that has been pass pro breakdowns. If we get that sorted, Watson can make plays with his arm for sure.

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20 minutes ago, regaleagle said:

There are no team stats for either team on MaxPreps......except for points scored and points allowed.  It's one of those deals where you say......"Okay, Melissa is predominantly a passing team and Celina is predominantly a running team".  

I’m fine with saying Celina is predominantly run team. You could say that about every Bobcats team ever. Always been the bread and butter.

I’m hesitant to call Melissa a predominantly passing team, and I doubt the coaches are scheming that way.

At any rate, I’m excited to see what A-Ford has cooked up for his defense on Friday. I know he put in some HOURS preparing for Paris, and it paid off in spades. I imagine the prep will be even more intense this week.

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37 minutes ago, Footballalltheway said:

Celina can run the ball and Melissa has struggled stopping the run all season long. The LBs for Melissa is the softest part of the defense. Think they have had lots of injuries and only one starter level LB is playing right now.  Celina will get a few more stops then Melissa.  Think Celina wins in 42-28 type game.  

 

 

 

 

If that's true about Melissa's defense, and especially their LBs, then I have to agree with you and say that the Bobcats will have all sorts of success on the ground. Point, Watson and (hopefully) Martinez will feast on that.

But man, after watching some of the Cardinals film, it's going to be a tall task to hold them to 28 points. Lewis just has so many weapons at his disposal. Two very good receivers and another couple that will beat you if you forget about the, two very good RBs, as well, oh, and let's not forget Lewis can just keep it and do it all by himself, even when he gets pressured.

I'll say if Celina can hold Melissa to 28 points, the Bobcats will win. But this one could turn into a shootout, especially if the Cardinals can't contain the run. And the only way they're going to be able to do that is if they continually win on first down against Celina. If Point is able to continually chew up 3-4 yards, or more, on first down, it'll be a lonnnnng night for that defensive front seven of Melissa.

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So let's talk Melissa's losses so far this year. Frisco High a 5a school that's 7-0 and shocking everybody. Melissa lost by 7 points to them and really should have won that game, but shoulda, coulda, woulda right lol. 

Trinity Christian Cedar Hill, back to back state champs and loaded with D1 players and are huge everywhere. I feel like TC was the better team that night, but nowhere near 41 points better. This was a game that the wheels kinda fell off early and often. Miscues and penalties that you cant have against a team that loaded. 

They beat Paris, but like Frisco High gave up a lot of points. Melissa has struggled the last few years against teams that run the Wing-T, that's nothing new. Although against Paris it wasnt a grinding game it was quick hitters that went for huge yards. 

I will agree Melissa's defense is the weak link, but the last few years they have done enough on defense to hold Celina's run game down. I dont think Celina's run game is any better than last years team because I believe Celina's oline was much better last year. I do think Celina's defense is better.

Again I think it will be a shootout until the 4th qt and Melissa pulls it out by 14.

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