HS FOOTBALL SEMI-FINALS BREAKDOWN
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HS PLAYOFF PREDICTION TOTAL: 4/6 = 67%
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HS 2012 SEASON PREDICTION w/ Playoffs TOTAL: 197/241 = 82%
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HS 2011 SEASON PREDICTION TOTAL:217/251 = 86%
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DIVISION 1 2012 STATE PLAYOFFS

#1 Middletown (10-0) ((Rd.1 ? OFF; Semis ? vs. #4 Caesar Rodney))
#2 Salesianum (9-1) ((Rd.1 ? OFF; Semis ? vs. #3 St. Marks))
#3 St. Marks (9-2) ((Rd.1 ? Defeated #6 Cape Henlopen; Semis ? vs. #2 Salesianum))
#4 Caesar Rodney (8-3) ((Rd.1 ? Defeated #5 Sussex Central; Semis ? vs. #1 Middletown))
#5 Sussex Central (8-3) ((Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #4 Caesar Rodney))
#6 Cape Henlopen (8-3) ((Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #3 St. Marks))

#1 Middletown vs. #4 Caesar Rodney ((Friday @ 7:30))
After a week off,  Middletown will be gearing up for its first playoff game of the 2012 season against none other than Caesar Rodney.  CR advanced after a dominating performance over conference rival Sussex Central in a 28-6 bout.  Hard to believe, these two teams have quite a bit of history together and no matter the outcome of Friday nights game, these two will meet at least two more times within the next  two years, with the first one coming in week two of the 2013 season at Caesar Rodney.  Before the Flight A conference expanded to 9 teams, The Cavs and the Riders used to play on a yearly basis. Over the last 8 years Middletown holds a one game lead in the series, 3-2 outscoring the Riders 144-119.  Within that time span, Caesar Rodney has won one Division 1 Championship in their only appearance against Sussex Central back in 2008.  Middletown on the other hand has appeared in four Championship games winning two of them, 2007 against Sussex Central and 2011 against Newark.  Middletown is led by 1^st team All-Conference players in QB Darius Wade, SE Chris Godwin and Tommy Davis, as well as RB Jamar Baynard who has scored a total of 26 touchdowns for the Cavaliers and is making a good case for himself as an All-State player.  There hasn’t been a team this season to slow down the offense of Middletown but the Riders are thinking of not just trying to slow them down, but to be able to score with them.  We all saw last year Dover wasn’t able to stop the Cavs offense either but made a statement that they can be scored on by trailing Middletown 34-35 at the half in last years semi-final game.  Caesar Rodney however could resemble such thing as their offense is no slouch either racking up a total of 290 points with an average of 26.3 points a game, but will go up against a defense who has only allowed an average of 11 points a game, including a shutout over the #2 team in the state.  The Riders offense is run by the Wing-T and starts with running backs Shaquille Stratton, Devon Horton, and Adrian Trammell, as well as QB Alex Kemp who threw for 91 yards against the Knights just this past week.  However, the Riders offense will take a deep hit at their running back position as Shaquille Stratton who scored two touchdowns last weekend was ejected late in the third quarter and his stats for their game this weekend is unknown, but will likely miss the game as DIAA rules states that any ejected player will have to sit out the next game, a rule that was enforced earlier this year with Division 2 St. Elizabeths whos star player Andre Patton had to sit out the DMA game because of a scuffle the week prior. As good as Caesar Rodney has been its hard to see if their offense can keep up with Middletown, as their Wing T offense isn’t really set up for them to spark a comeback if they are down by more than a touchdown.  Some fun key facts, the Cavaliers has led in every game this season except for one, Appoquinimink early in the first half down 14-7 before the Cavs offense lit up the scoreboard with 43 unanswered points.
PREDICTION: Middletown 45  Caesar Rodney 24

#2 Salesianum vs. #3 St. Marks ((Saturday @ 7:30))
ANOTHER ONE! With St. Marks win over Cape last weekend, we will get yet another Sals-Spartans matchup but with bigger stakes than two weeks ago.  The winner of this battle will be featured in the Division 1 Championship game against Middletown or Caesar Rodney, Saturday, December 1^st.  In the first meeting, the game was defined as a defensive struggle as Sallies was held to only one touchdown, and the Spartans were held throughout the game, their only two points came off an intentional safety by the Sals special teams in order to run more clock late in the 4^th quarter.  In this meeting, there will be a few things different, for starters It sure wont be a 7-2 game, and secondly, Salesianum will welcome back the return of Troy Reeder, the key part of their offense and defense as well as the motivator for their team.  In their game two weeks ago, Sallies was held to only 7 yards in the second half, but had four key interceptions in the redzone throughout the game, two of them from Steve Gallo.  St. Marks QB Whitehead threw for 18 of 32 for 257 yards as their running game only rushed for an estimated 40 yards on the ground.  Over the last 8 years, Salesianum holds a commanding lead on the series by 8-3.  There is a saying in all sports, especially in football that it is hard to beat the same team twice and it just sao happens that it could apply here to this game.  Records are thrown out the window, two schools that know each other better than anyone else that competes against them, a rivalry that has dated back well before my time, and a rivalry that looks to be extend for years ahead.  Salesianum running back and linebacker Troy Reeder has missed three straight games and his presence could factor dividends this Saturday night.  The Spartans defense has been stout all season, not many can say they hold the almighty Sals to only 7 points, so this isn’t a task that they aren’t prepared for.  Up until two weeks ago, St. Marks has beaten the Sals three consecutive times so it can be done again.  The difference in this game will be from St. Marks Offense.  They missed some key opportunities last time with turnovers, so if they can eliminate those, I think they could be on to another week of football.
PREDICTION: Salesianum 17  St. Marks 20

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DIVISION 2 2012 STATE PLAYOFFS

#1 St. Georges (10-1) ((Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #8 Archmere))
#2 Hodgson (10-1) ((Rd. 1 ? Beat #7 DMA; Semis ? vs. #8 Archmere))
#3 Caravel (11-0) ((Rd.1 ? Beat #6 St. Elizabeths; Semis ? vs. #4 Indian River))
#4 Indian River (9-2) ((Rd.1 ? Beat #5 Howard; Semis ? vs. #4 Caravel))
#5 Howard (8-3) (Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #4 Indian River))
#6 St. Elizabeths (6-5) ((Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #3 Caravel))
#7 DMA (7-4) ((Rd.1 ? Eliminated by #2 Hodgson))
#8 Archmere (8-4) ((Rd.1 ? Defeated #1 St. Georges; Semis ? vs. #2 Hodgson))


#2 Hodgson vs. #8 Archmere ((Saturday @ 11:00))
Archmere showed last weekend that they are no underdog in any matchup, beating the #1 seed in the playoffs for the 2^nd time in 3 years, and this time earning them a shot to knock off the #2 seed in Hodgson.  Easier said than done, as Hodgson has went 4-0 since their lost to St. Georges scoring an average of 46.5 points a game and only allowing an average of 8.  A loss can do wonders for a team at any point in the regular season, giving a team a bit of a wakeup call, letting them know that nothing is set in stone, and that they still have to play every game, and all 4 quarters in those games if they want to be the one hoisting the DIAA trophy at the end of the year.  Hodgson is led by QB Ray Jones who has put up remarkable numbers for his Silver Eagles, the majority of those numbers with teammate Jeff May.  Archmere has a quality of a team who likes to just straight pound it through the tackles to only set up the play action once the defense settles on the run, but Hodgson defense is good enough to play matchups and keep the Auks big plays to a minimum.  A defense that never allowed over 7 points in 5 of their 11 games.  The road to the playoffs for Archmere certainly wasn’t as easy as it was for Hodgson, with Academy Park (MD), Caravel, St. Elizabeths, DMA and then this past weekend with St. Georges on the schedule, and to play 5 teams that were playoff teams in this state and in others speaks volumes for the Auks as they have to travel TO Hodgson and will try to upend their season which is no easy task to do.  This one may be closer than some expect, and I feel that whoever jumps out to an early lead, just may have done enough to put the game in their favor.
PROJECTION: Hodgson 31  Archmere 18

#3 Caravel vs. #4 Indian River ((Friday @ 7:30))
Just how high scoring is this game going to be Friday night?  Will it surpass the Oregon vs. USC game just a few weeks back or will it resemble a Notre Dame vs. Stanford feel going to an Overtime to settle the winner?  We wont know until Friday, but one thing is sure that when these two meet up it will be a hard fought, fast paced game.  On one side, you have Caravel and their ability to score on just about every play that is drawn up in their playbook and on the other a no huddle hurry up offense that resembles schemes that we see at the college and pro levels, an offense that if some of us went up against today wed be out of breath before they run their 2^nd or 3^rd play.  Caravel has a team that seems to be stacked at nearly every position with players such as Derrick Groomes, Pierce Ripanti, and Darnell Savage who was HS’s first time ever Player of the Week with his 6 touchdowns performance last week against Andre Patton and his Vikings.  Indian River however lit up the scoreboard as well against Howard in a 35-14 bout.  The Indians are led by Marquel Knight who is favored to earn an All-State spot after leading his team to yet another Semi-Final and without his partner in crime from last season,  Jamie Jarmon.  These two met in last years Division 2 Championship game, a game that was all Indian River, only allowing 13 points as opposed to their 35.  Caravel certainly is not the team they were last year and will not let that happen again as their defense has only allowed an average of 6.7 points a game with 5 shutouts throughout the entire season.  If IR wishes to keep track with the Buccaneers, their offense will have to slow down keeping Caravels offense on the sidelines, as well as their defense on the field, hoping they tire out quickly, a failure to do that could give Caravel all the chances they need to get up early and often as far as the scoreboard goes.
PREDICTION: Caravel 32  Indian River 26

HS TOP 10

1. Middletown (10-0)
2. Salesianum (9-1)
3. Caravel (11-0)
4. St. Marks (9-2)
5. Caesar Rodney (8-3)
6. Hodgson (10-1)
7. Indian River (9-2)
8. Archmere (8-4)
9. Cape Henlopen (8-2)
10. Sussex Central (8-2)

This post was edited on 11/20 9:32 PM by HSftballlaxFan

This post was edited on 11/20 9:33 PM by HSftballlaxFan

This post was edited on 11/20 8:36 PM by 84rider

Nuk - Whoever took the photos did an excellent job. Well done, and thank you. as soon as i can figure out how to post pictures theyll be up.

84 - My pick has no disrespect to CR, which i sure hope you know but i just feel like the Cavs will get ahead early causing the Riders to have to throw a lot more than they are used too. Maybe its because im used to seeing Wade every week and how spot on he is with his passes, but after seeing their offense twice this season neither game really showed a strong passing game.  Could i be wrong....most certainly, i have been before and i probably will be down the road.  Now if CR can trade touchdowns with Middletown and keep it within a score their chances are greater than anyone else the Cavs have faced this season, as the Wing T is hard to defend