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Melissa(5-0) @ Argyle(4-0) Battle for Air Supremacy


regaleagle

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It will be the Cardinals vs the Eagles this Friday night in a battle for air supremacy.......LOL.   But that's really not as goofy as it may sound.......both of these teams like to score thru the air with really capable throwing QB's and both have a stable of talented, speedy receivers as well.  What's probably crazy is that both coaching staffs will try to establish the run against the other because both teams also have equally good running games with several quality RB's that can be break long runs and score, too!  Mirror, mirror, on the wall.......I wonder which team will play the best football.  Which might mean which team executes best and makes the least mistakes......because looks like the offenses will dominate in this game, regardless of how good the defenses might play.  It will be Argyle's homecoming.

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Melissa got their 5th win of the season last week in a UIL forfeit from Covid-restricted Paris.  Unfortunately for Paris........they will again forfeit their game against Anna this week too!!  So there goes the 3-way battle for the district championship right out the window right off the bat in District 7-4A D-1.   I'm just hoping we don't have any more of these "positive-testing" interventions by the UIL that upsets the rest of the season as we go forward in district play and into the playoffs.  Argyle had their Bye Week last week........but essentially so did Melissa.  And Melissa will have their official Bye Week next week after this week's game.   Looks like Paris will be (0-2) in district play before they even face a district opponent......what a crock, Huh?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, regaleagle said:

Melissa got their 5th win of the season last week in a UIL forfeit from Covid-restricted Paris.  Unfortunately for Paris........they will again forfeit their game against Anna this week too!!  So there goes the 3-way battle for the district championship right out the window right off the bat in District 7-4A D-1.   I'm just hoping we don't have any more of these "positive-testing" interventions by the UIL that upsets the rest of the season as we go forward in district play and into the playoffs.  Argyle had their Bye Week last week........but essentially so did Melissa.  And Melissa will have their official Bye Week next week after this week's game.   Looks like Paris will be (0-2) in district play before they even face a district opponent......what a crock, Huh?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UIL did not intervene. It has not intervened in any game that has been cancelled. Any game not played has been made by a decision of either ISD or the rules the district came up together.

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47 minutes ago, JasonDellaRosa said:

The UIL did not intervene. It has not intervened in any game that has been cancelled. Any game not played has been made by a decision of either ISD or the rules the district came up together.

Yes.......that's the official stance for sure.   But it's not at the root cause of the issue.......just politically correct.  Nice try with the deflection.......

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Melissa did most likely prepare for their contest against Paris most of the week last week........because we did not hear about the cancelled game until Thursday.  On the other hand, Argyle has now had all of last week and this week to study and prepare for the Cardinals attack.  It's probably no secret what plays either team likes to run since both teams have strikingly similar offensive schemes.  Looks like this matchup will be very familiar for both teams.......hence the execution and turnovers become the main issues of how this game will unfold.  My gut feeling tells me both teams will go with lots of pass attempts on offense and blitzes on defense.  Both teams like to line up and snap the ball quickly before the defense can get set or make substitutions.

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For anybody that watches the Livestream of this game, you will immediately notice the awesome speed of the Melissa skill players.  In fact, Melissa's team speed on both sides of the ball should be greater than Argyle's.......and Argyle has pretty amazing team speed.  Argyle will have the advantage on the LOS on offense for sure......maybe even on defense too.  But speed can manytimes counter size and strength........luckily Argyle's O-line is also very experienced and technical in blocking assignments.  Both offensive backfields should have quite a bit of success the entire game.

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IF you just count the 4 games Melissa has played this season and not count last week's 2-0 forfeit score.......Melissa has scored 206 total points while allowing 123 against it's opponents.   That's an average of 51.5 pts scored per game so far against some pretty darn good offensive teams.  They gave up about 31 pts per game so far.  Argyle has scored a total of 178 pts. against it's schedule so far and have given up 78 pts total........so that's an average of 44.5 scored against 19.5 allowed per game........also against some very good teams.   I guess this means we should expect a high-scoring game, Huh?

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Both teams appear to be loaded in the depth department on both sides of the ball and will be able to substitute without much loss of quality.  Melissa actually has 2 very good throwing QB's that are both highly capable of leading their offensive attack......but I'm fairly certain that #11 Sam Fennegan(6-1/180/Jr.) has been made the #1 QB for Melissa now.  They actually have a third highly capable QB #9 Ryan Johnson(6-3/185/Jr), but he was injured early in the season......I think the first game against Celina.  He also plays FS.......so I don't know the extent of his injury and whether he will be playing again or not.  You might see their other QB #8 Parker Taylor(6-0/190/Sr.) play too.......seems like they rotate him in and out nearly every game......he's started some games.

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Melissa has a good team. They'll play tough and physical. They've got some good kids on both sides of the ball. But if Argyle plays full-throttle and doesn't have any lapses in effort, the Eagles will win by at least three possessions. If Youngblood doesn't play for Melissa, Argyle will win by even more. He's good enough to keep at least one of the Eagles' receivers in check.

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3 minutes ago, d0tc0m said:

Melissa has a good team. They'll play tough and physical. They've got some good kids on both sides of the ball. But if Argyle plays full-throttle and doesn't have any lapses in effort, the Eagles will win by at least three possessions. If Youngblood doesn't play for Melissa, Argyle will win by even more. He's good enough to keep at least one of the Eagles' receivers in check.

From what I've seen of their Livestream games......including the last one against Stephenville's potent offense.......#1 Damon Youngblood(5-11/180/Jr/FS/WR) was all over the field and scored a TD also.  I think he may have even returned an interception for alot of yds and set up a very short field for a TD for Melissa.  The guy I'm very impressed with is #5 Antonio Robinson(6-4/185/WR)........great speed and great hands for a guy his height.......he can be a very serious weapon to defend against.  This guy has the "it factor" hanging all over him, for sure.

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Just now, regaleagle said:

From what I've seen of their Livestream games......including the last one against Stephenville's potent offense.......#1 Damon Youngblood(5-11/180/Jr/FS/WR) was all over the field and scored a TD also.  I think he may have even returned an interception for alot of yds and set up a very short field for a TD for Melissa.  The guy I'm very impressed with is #5 Antonio Robinson(6-4/185/WR)........great speed and great hands for a guy his height.......he can be a very serious weapon to defend against.  This guy has the "it factor" hanging all over him, for sure.

Robinson is good for sure. He has to be accounted for. Youngblood will be the best player on the field any time he's out there though. He is something else to watch. An absolute difference maker on defense, and if he's utilized on offense, he's a tough weapon to defend.

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Melissa has this other kid as a DB in the secondary #2 Carlos Branch(5-9/155/Sr)........I've seen 2 games where he intercepted a ball and ran it back for a TD.  He's not very imposing, but is always deflecting passes and is in the right position to make the play.  This player is a speed merchant also.......you ain't gonna catch him if he has a lead on you. And his closing ability on passes is just terrific.

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We haven't even mentioned some of the other weapons Melissa has that are equally dangerous........but Argyle will have its hands full to defend against all of Melissa's offensive weapons and the speed they play at, for sure.  Even the speed of each play and how fast Fennegan can deliver the ball on target.  He can throw the long ball very accurately too, but  I think his best throws are the intermediate ones that he quickly delivers on time and on target.  And they don't have to be perfect throws......just in the neighborhood for those good receivers they have. But most of the time they are very crisp good throws.

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After watching every game Melissa has played this season on their Livestreams on their channel, I've come to the conclusion that there is probably not a team in 4A that they could not beat.  The Cardinals have all the weapons, depth, and manpower to play with the best of them, for sure.  Defensively, it seems their strength is in the secondary.  A good running team will still have to get the lead and hold on to it......not likely against this bunch.  A team that gets behind will have to be able to score quickly in just a short number of plays if need be.  Looks to me that a team with a very balanced attack would have the best chances against this Melissa Cardinal bunch.......be able to run heavy at times and hit some short and intermediate passes to move those chains and keep the secondary honest.  It will be tough to throw long against this secondary and be successful........could be throwing up an interception doing this. The Cardinal secondary has great closing speed even if the receiver appears to be open.  I'd say Argyle will try to pound the ball on the ground, control the LOS, and mix in the passes to win this game.

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The secondary for Melissa has enough speed to prevent most long runs from scoring. The Stephenville QB had exceptional speed and was the reason Melissa could not stop the Yellowjackets.  He reeled off some long runs and scored twice on runs.......one for over 60 yds.  I think Stephenville had almost 350 yds passing and 350 rushing against Melissa......scored 58 pts and still lost by a TD.  Naturally.......Stephenville's defense is their problem this season......not their offense.  Argyle will present a whole different set of issues for Melissa to deal with, for sure.

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22 minutes ago, regaleagle said:

The secondary for Melissa has enough speed to prevent most long runs from scoring. The Stephenville QB had exceptional speed and was the reason Melissa could not stop the Yellowjackets.  He reeled off some long runs and scored twice on runs.......one for over 60 yds.  I think Stephenville had almost 350 yds passing and 350 rushing against Melissa......scored 58 pts and still lost by a TD.  Naturally.......Stephenville's defense is their problem this season......not their offense.  Argyle will present a whole different set of issues for Melissa to deal with, for sure.

Stephenville led 31-29 at halftime, then extended its lead by 14 pts to 51-37 late in the 3rd qtr.  At the end of the quarter, Melissa had cut it back down to one TD. Stephenville then had the lead all of the 4th qtr. until Melissa tied it up at 58 all with 2 min. left.  Then Melissa held and scored the winning TD with less than a minute left.  The teams pretty much traded scores all night long with 14 pts being the largest margin at any one time in the game.

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I  don't know what the official line is in this game, but it sure seems like a coin toss to me.  Argyle will be favored because they are ranked higher in the polls and it's a home game for Argyle.......but homecoming could be a big  distraction for the players in a game of this magnitude.  That might be an edge for Melissa.  Also there's the matchup........each team is the mirror image of the other.......except that Melissa wins in the team speed and athletic players categories.  Those are two major categories to consider when both teams are so much alike offensively.  Then there's Argyle's  secondary.......probably the weakest part of their team overall, but improving each game.  A great passing team like Melissa can exploit that weakness with its speed and skill players for sure.  So that's why I call this game a toss-up.  Argyle will have some advantages.......LOS play and homefield advantage.  Maybe overall team discipline too......I don't know about  this one.  Definitley lots to watch for in a game like this as a fan........so much that you will not  be able to see everything every play.

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