Carthage at Republic - thoughts?

[sw5890]

Any thoughts about this game?

Calpreps has Carthage as a neutral site 2pt favorite 28-26 so basically a draw since it won't be a neutral site.

Statistically Carthage has about a 1td advantage on both points scored and against. Of the common opponents Carthage has performed a bit better with the exception of Joplin which is the most recent and perhaps most important common opponent.

I haven't seen Republic this year but from what I gather they sound similar to the group that graduated - pretty dynamic on offense and able to put up a lot of points. Carthage did better than I expected defensively with Joplin but struggled on offense. Not sure how Republic's defense is. They have shutout some weaker teams but Nixa and Joplin both scored a lot. Carthage isn't going to be difficult to figure out, it will just be a matter of can Republic force Carthage into some tough 3rd down situations or maybe how many offensive holding penalties occur which have killed numerous drives for Carthage this year.

 

[Jordan_Belfort]

I haven’t seen any of Republic either, other than clips from their games against Nixa and Webb. Assuming they haven’t changed much with their offense since their coach came in a few years ago, I expect them to be run first on offense. As has been mentioned before, Carthage’s strength is their front 7, their d-line and linebackers get after teams. Joplin could hardly move the ball on the ground last week, they did most of their damage through the air. If Republic can pass the ball, they could make things interesting.

I don’t think Carthage’s offense is as worrisome as it seems after last week, Joplin did some funky stuff with their defensive alignments with 5 and even 6 man fronts. Turnovers and not being able to finish off drives kept Carthage from making the game last week a bigger margin of victory. I think Carthage has got to be able to move the ball through the air if they want to win comfortably tomorrow night, they’ve got plenty of athletes that can go make plays.

I think it’ll be another close one but Carthage wins, doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you’ve got more points than the other team. Nixa is in the tier above everyone else in the COC this year, behind them I think Carthage/Republic/Joplin/Neosho are all pretty even after that. It should be a good one tomorrow night.

 

[trumanbulldog42]

Any thoughts about this game?

Calpreps has Carthage as a neutral site 2pt favorite 28-26 so basically a draw since it won't be a neutral site.

Statistically Carthage has about a 1td advantage on both points scored and against. Of the common opponents Carthage has performed a bit better with the exception of Joplin which is the most recent and perhaps most important common opponent.

I haven't seen Republic this year but from what I gather they sound similar to the group that graduated - pretty dynamic on offense and able to put up a lot of points. Carthage did better than I expected defensively with Joplin but struggled on offense. Not sure how Republic's defense is. They have shutout some weaker teams but Nixa and Joplin both scored a lot. Carthage isn't going to be difficult to figure out, it will just be a matter of can Republic force Carthage into some tough 3rd down situations or maybe how many offensive holding penalties occur which have killed numerous drives for Carthage this year.

If you go to the projections on calpreps instead of projecting it manually, they take home field into account I believe because the projection is different. In this case only by one point though with Carthage being favored 28-27. Definitely the game of the week. Wish I lived closer!

 

[sw5890]

Yeah Carthage left potentially 21 points on the field with the two turnovers on downs and the lost fumble all between the 15 and 2yd line, even finishing one of those drives could have changed the storyline but credit Joplins defense for keeping them in it.

I thought Carthage would be better at passing this year, as you say they have weapons but it just hasn't seemed to materialize with much consistency. Interested to see what the strategy is friday. Do they basically run until it's not a viable option, or do they add in some pass plays early to keep Republic guessing and soften up the field for some big runs.

 

[Rawlathaballa90]

They tried passing early on Nixa and it got picked. I don't see that happening.

 

[Eagles_Ball]

I haven’t seen any of Republic either, other than clips from their games against Nixa and Webb. Assuming they haven’t changed much with their offense since their coach came in a few years ago, I expect them to be run first on offense. As has been mentioned before, Carthage’s strength is their front 7, their d-line and linebackers get after teams. Joplin could hardly move the ball on the ground last week, they did most of their damage through the air. If Republic can pass the ball, they could make things interesting.

I don’t think Carthage’s offense is as worrisome as it seems after last week, Joplin did some funky stuff with their defensive alignments with 5 and even 6 man fronts. Turnovers and not being able to finish off drives kept Carthage from making the game last week a bigger margin of victory. I think Carthage has got to be able to move the ball through the air if they want to win comfortably tomorrow night, they’ve got plenty of athletes that can go make plays.

I think it’ll be another close one but Carthage wins, doesn’t matter how you get there as long as you’ve got more points than the other team. Nixa is in the tier above everyone else in the COC this year, behind them I think Carthage/Republic/Joplin/Neosho are all pretty even after that. It should be a good one tomorrow night.

Just the eye test but I don’t think Neosho is as good as any of the other three second tier that you mentioned.

 

[Jordan_Belfort]

Just the eye test but I don’t think Neosho is as good as any of the other three second tier that you mentioned.

That’s fair, I honestly haven’t seen much from Neosho this season. Going to guess we find out more and how they compare to Carthage tomorrow night.

 

[Stimie69er]

I believe Republic, Carthage & Joplin are the top 3 teams in the COC West. It's going to come down to who has the ball last for any 3 of these teams when they play each other. So far this has been true.

I believe tonight that the Carthage/Republic game should be a low scoring affair.

 

[sw5890]

I believe tonight that the Carthage/Republic game should be a low scoring affair.

I am thinking something like 23-21. Or 21-17.

 

[Stimie69er]

I am thinking something like 23-21. Or 21-17.

Decided to go to the Joplin Neosho game but had thought to head to Carthage.

Joplin in all black uniforms tonight, new look for them.

 

[Rawlathaballa90]

Nice couple of pass plays first possession.