The Mountain Valley Falcons are defending state champions, winners of 21 straight and the top seed in Western B, so one might expect that head coach Jim Aylward has been going over his team’s flaws with a fine-toothed comb to prepare for today’s regional final against No. 3 York (12:30 p.m., Hosmer Field).
“You don’t need a fine-toothed comb. A coarse brush will work with our team, believe me,” Aylward said half-jokingly.
“You just take the week you have and try to go over as much as you know,” he added.
One thing the Falcons (10-0) know is that the Wildcats (8-2) played them tough back on Oct. 7 before bowing, 14-6. Six turnovers ultimately spelled doom for York.
“That’s been a big problem all year with us,” said York coach Randy Small. “That comes with being young and inexperienced.”
Small lost 20 of 22 starters from the team that fell to Mountain Valley in the semifinals last year. He said the Wildcats “never expected to be in this position,” but having a young team may be an advantage because it could negate some of the intimidation of lining up against an opponent that hasn’t lost in 14 months (the Wildcats handed them their last defeat in Week 1 of the 2004 season).
“I call our kids young and foolish, because they don’t know the names (of the opposition). They don’t know the players. They just look at what the scouting reports says and go from there,” Small said.
Aylward, for one, isn’t buying the young and foolish characterization. He expects the Cats, who are big up front like the Falcons, to match up well physically.
“I think they think they can, so that means they can,” he said.
York’s offense has quick-strike capability. Senior QB Chris Knox and junior tight end Tony Romano hooked up on touchdown passes of 60 and 62 yards in last week’s 32-25 win over Wells.
“(Romano) is a great player,” Aylward said. “You can throw the ball in his vicinity and have him covered and he’ll still make the catch.”
The Wildcats will need to find a way to move the ball on the ground to get their play-action game working. Halfback Zach Pruger has run for over 1,400 yards this year and is their spark. But getting him going won’t be easy against the Mountain Valley defense which, led by Travis Fergola, Brendan Bradley, Kyle Dow and Thaddeus Bennett, yielded an average of 61.7 rushing yards per game.
As much as Small would like for his offense to mix things up against one of the state’s top defenses, he and his defense know exactly what to expect when the Falcons have the ball.
“They’re gonna line up and they’re gonna run right at us,” he said. “And if we don’t stop them, it’s going to be 48 minutes of hell.”
The Wildcats did a respectable job against the run last time, even though tailback Aaron Arsenault rushed for 144 yards. Led by linebackers Brandon Hume and Brandon Cross, they held the Falcons to a season-low 189 yards on 49 carries. If they can improve on that, QB Andy Shorey and the passing game could become more of a factor Saturday.
“The bottom line in a game like this,” Aylward said, “is you have to play consistently, and whichever team limits its mistakes will be in the best shape at the end.”
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