Salem 56. Hidden Valley 13. Final
- Thread starter southbottomU
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I thought the Spartans would win along the lines of 42-17. This was never a game at all; total mismatch. HV’s much-ballyhooed tight end was a complete non-factor. Interesting choice for Hidden Valley to run the no-huddle, when the best chance they had to keep it close would have been to hold onto the ball, and run off as much time as possible. Also interesting that they went for it on fourth-and-whatever on their own end a couple of times. Oh well. I enjoyed the result.
I'm essentially never going to pick HV to beat Salem (0-17 all-time now) but I thought there was a chance, a slight chance, that HV could make it a game but I came away completely flummoxed. This was a bog standard HV team for Salem and the game was never anything approaching close. HV is clearly a good team, their results in other games bear that out, but none of it makes any sense to me after what I saw tonight. Pulaski has an elite defense, averaging like 9 ppg (counting tonight's win over PH), and HV put up 35 on them. Just bizarre stuff.
As for Salem, D came to play in a big way. HV's WR/TE corps accounted for essentially nothing, they harassed the QB with impunity, just an A+ effort. The offensive ground game was so-so, mostly due to a stubborn effort to run between the tackles instead of around the ends where HV's total lack of speed would have been abused (indeed the few times they did this yielded massive yardage including Persinger's 65 yard scamper). Chaney had an excellent game and was a dropped pass from a perfect outing.
Very much seemed like Salem is rounding into form. Pulaski will be an interesting test to be sure. With the Glass loss, Salem just needs to get a W to guarantee home-field throughout the first 3 games.
As for Salem, D came to play in a big way. HV's WR/TE corps accounted for essentially nothing, they harassed the QB with impunity, just an A+ effort. The offensive ground game was so-so, mostly due to a stubborn effort to run between the tackles instead of around the ends where HV's total lack of speed would have been abused (indeed the few times they did this yielded massive yardage including Persinger's 65 yard scamper). Chaney had an excellent game and was a dropped pass from a perfect outing.
Very much seemed like Salem is rounding into form. Pulaski will be an interesting test to be sure. With the Glass loss, Salem just needs to get a W to guarantee home-field throughout the first 3 games.
Thoughts on why the ground game seemed so middling? It just seemed like we could have run sweeps all night and averaged 40 ypc.
That was hands down the best I’ve seen Salem play all season. Defensively, they played at a much higher level than against similarly talented teams (PH, Northside, Blacksburg) this year. I also thought Chaney was excellent throwing the ball. I only saw him throw one incompletion and that should of been caught. It was good to see Zavione get a few carries to reintroduce himself to the backfield after coming back from injury. Finally, might Salem run a little wildcat in the playoffs? It would be awfully tempting after watching Logan play well tonight as more of a dual-threat back-up.
According to recent history (18-3).Yes just a test. Maybe PC steps it up this yr and wins but until then, just a test.
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Salem Played their most complete game.
Now a different challenge. A Pulaski team with a great defense in a game that will be played on a cold night and on a muddy field. I'm sure Pulaski will be ready. They are tired of getting beat by Salem.
Now a different challenge. A Pulaski team with a great defense in a game that will be played on a cold night and on a muddy field. I'm sure Pulaski will be ready. They are tired of getting beat by Salem.
I know they will be ready. Should be a good game. Pcken obviously can't stand Salem and took offense that someone said a test for Salem. Let the young men play the game. We haven't heard much from the PC fans outside of the Martinsburg game. I'm sure they will make alot if noise if they win friday.
What I noticed about Hidden Valley is that they had very little speed. Salem has got some speed and it became a bad bad match up for Hidden Valley. Southwest Roanoke County has been very down in football. Really don't think a combination of Cave Spring and Hidden Valley would be competitive with the best teams in 4a
you can give me a Salem down year anytime. so impressive these guys are.
I’m still not sure how this Salem team compares to the best Class 4 teams in the state this season. Probably not top four at the moment, but definitely top ten. Based on that, I’d say a Cave Spring-Hidden Valley hybrid would be no better than a below-average Class 4 team. You saw that neither of them was the least bit competitive with Salem. Cave Spring is awful; I’m not sure they have anyone who’d start for Hidden Valley.
I don’t know what the hell happened to Pulaski County against HV; I’m willing to call that game a fluke. I think the Cougars might have had a couple of guys out hurt. But then, Hidden Valley over the years has seemed to be one of those peculiar “kryptonite” matchups for Pulaski, similar to how Byrd used to be for Salem. So maybe that had something to do with it. Anyway, it’s supposed to be dry all week, so should be a good surface for the showdown in Dublin next Friday. Although - as of now, my phone is showing a little snowflake icon on that day! That would be an interesting twist.
i am hoping for a salem louisa championship if that's possible. I want the lions to play the best if they are good enough to get there. good luck for rest of the year.
Good luck to the Lions, as well! I’d say Louisa’s chances of getting to the championship game are considerably better than Salem’s, as of today. If Salem plays to the top of their capabilities, they should be able to give Glass a good game. Whether or not that would translate to a win remains to be seen. And, I’m not taking anything before that for granted, either. Even if Salem were to defeat Glass, the Spartans would still have to get by Broad Run or Tuscarora, probably on the road, in the semis. So, a pretty long shot, but we can always hope! Like you, I’d just like to see the two best teams - whichever those may be - lock horns in the final.
The week at Hidden Valley, the Cougars started the game with several players out. Senior Landon McDaniel is out for the season with a broken ankle suffered at William Byrd. Senior Luke Russell spent the game on the sideline with a boot on his leg due to an ankle injury suffered during the week. Sophomore Caleb Perfater was also not dressed due to an injury. On I believe the third series of the game senior Gage Mannon was sidelined and was unable to return due to an Achilles injury. Junior Corvin Carter left the game with a rib injury. Later in the game sophomore running back Keyontae Kennedy left the game due to a nagging shoulder injury. Unknown to the coaching staff at the time, senior Tristan Bowden finished the game but had also suffered a shoulder injury that required treatment. Quarterback AJ McCloud has been playing the entire season with a bad shoulder that hinders his throwing motion and accuracy at times. That was 8 key players out and/or playing injured! They had kids playing in positions they have not been used to playing.
Pulaski Co. has had someone out or injured in about every game from the opening scrimmage this year. Not making any excuses, injuries are just part of football and you do the best you can with what you have but the Hidden Valley game was just especially hard on the team.
Pulaski Co. has had someone out or injured in about every game from the opening scrimmage this year. Not making any excuses, injuries are just part of football and you do the best you can with what you have but the Hidden Valley game was just especially hard on the team.
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