This Saturday at Galena Park ISD stadium at 7pm the La Porte Bulldogs will face the Clear Creek Wildcats in the area round of the 5A Division 2 Playoffs!
La Porte will be taking a step up in competition this week when they take on Clear Creek from offensive powerhouse district 24-5A. The Wildcats defeated Fort Bend Travis 37-34 in round 1. The Bulldogs took out South Houston 42-7. Clear Creek comes in averaging 35 points per game on offense while giving up 21 a game on defense. La Porte comes in averaging 32 points per game while only giving up 12 per game so far this season.
Both teams played Deer Park this season with the Bulldogs going down 21-19 and Clear Creek taking care of the Deer 40-7.
The Bulldogs and Wildcats both feature a University of Houston commitment at running back. La Porte's Anthony Webb and Clear Creek's C.J. McElroy feature almost identical stats in leading their teams throughout the 2010 season and will be roaming the UH practice fields next summer in the same backfield.
The past doesn't matter this week as it's win or go home for both teams.
La Porte is at full strength on offense this week as Senior QB Jeremy McNeal didn't show any ill effects from his week 10 injury in his limited action against South Houston, throwing and rushing for a touchdown. On the season he has thrown for thrown for 1000 yards and run for over 600 with 19 total touchdowns. His ability to mix the run and pass could be the difference the La Porte offense needs against the Wildcats. Webb comes into the game on a roll in recent games and he ran for 120 yards in the first half against South Houston and was able to rest in the second half. On the season the future Cougar has 1450yards and 20 touchdowns. The offensive line features a bunch of hosses, one of the biggest o-lines in the Houston area, and are responsible for opening the holes for the Bulldog rushing attack. They impressively wore down a good Beaumont West Brook front 7 in week 10 of the season. La Porte has a cast of many different receivers and Senior Karl Terrebone leads the way with 22 receptions on the season. The short passing attack takes some of the pressure off the running game. La Porte will need to keep the Wildcats Defense off balance with a good mix of outside and inside running. McNeal can make opposing defenses pay that over pursue and key on Webb.
The Clear Creek defense has been categorized as a small and scrappy bunch. They have a undersized defensive line that is very quick off the ball. Their defense will be tasked with stopping the multi-faceted Bulldog rushing attack and will have their hands full this week. They will need to get some stops and force some turnovers for the win this week.
Clear Creek features a offense heavy on running the ball. McElroy leads the team and is a very productive runner with 1349 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season. He is also a threat catching the ball out of the backfield with 15 catches for 220 yards and 3 tds. Junior RB Colby Davis is no slouch himself as he has ran for 800 yards and 9 touchdowns. The two headed wildcat at running back has been tough to stop this season for opposing defenses. Senior QB Chris Collins has thrown for 1000 yards and 10tds on 53% passing. He is not a huge threat through the air, but provides just enough threat to ensure the opposing team stays out of their comfort zone. Leading receiver Senior Tevin Jones has 28 catches for 474 yards and 4 touchdowns and is a dangerous threat with 17 yards per reception. Overall the Wildcats offense has carried them on the season and they will need a big game against La Porte's smash-mouth defense.
Speaking of, the Bulldogs defense comes into this week on a nice roll after facing two consecutive passing teams. La Porte's strength could be the downfall this week for the Clear Creek offense as the Bulldog defense is very good against the run. They have not allowed a 100 yard rusher on the season and will try to contain McElroy and Davis out of the backfield this week. The La Porte front 7 lead by Junior Linebacker Chad Sutherland has been great this season and dominated games. Sutherland has a knack for being in the backfield hitting ball carriers and will need to have a big game this week for La Porte to advance. The rest of the linebackers are very fast and the Bulldogs mix up their blitz packages to confuse the offense pre-snap. La Porte has been very good in the secondary with Senior Cornerbacks John Wesby and Ben Flores as well and should be fine in man to man coverage against the Wildcats. This will free up the front 7 to pursue the ball carrier and focus on the run. Other standouts on the Bulldog's defense include Sophomore Safety/Running Back Keith Whitely and Junior Safety/Wide Receiver Aaron Nance-Garrett who is a punishing hitter.
The keys to advancing to round 3 for La Porte:
- Stop McElroy - While stopping him will be a tough task, the Bulldog defense is capable of doing it. If the defense holds him under 125 yards they will be in great shape.
-Attack Clear Creek from all angles and score early points- La Porte plays great with a lead because they can really grind the clock.
-Win the turnover battle- La Porte has slowed down their turnover production in the last few weeks and are due for a big turnover game.
-Limit the penalties - The Bulldogs have improved greatly in this area and must stay focused this week.
Something has to give this week with a great running offense against a great defense.
The winner takes on the winner of Cypress Woods against Katy Taylor playing at the same time Saturday at Tully Stadium.
The game will be broadcast online at http://www.legacysportsnetwork.com/ starting at 6:45 Saturday.
I will be live on Twitter, you can follow along with me at http://twitter.com/#!/LPBulldogBlog or follow @LPBulldogBlog
Come on out to Galena Park and lets get loud this week to fire up this football team!
Alright, so I'm not gonna lie, this game has got me pretty nervous.
ReplyDeleteBut on a bright note, Alief Taylor lost to Houston Memorial last night! From what I understand they were are number one challenge for this region, right?
This should be a good game. The defense will have to step up to win.
ReplyDeleteAlief Taylor did lose to Memorial and the three teams left on that side of the bracket are Memorial, Port Arthur Memorial and Dickinson. We have had good success against PAM and Dickinson in the past. La Porte will need to win this week and next week to get a shot at one of those three teams.