Wilmington vs El-Paso Gridley Semis

[Wilmatucky1]

2A

#1 El-Paso Gridley (12-0) @ Wilmington #5 Wilmington (11-1) - Wilmington rolled once again and the defense looked great as usual. EPG is undefeated and they have beaten a few decent/tough teams, however I will leave this here as the only evidence needed to solidify another running clock prediction. EPG beat Braidwood 28-14 in week 1. Yes, that is a long time ago, but I would have expected them to clock them. Wilmington put up like 500 yards against Braidwood. Next, EPG beat Downs 24-21. That game was played week 5. Although that was still a few weeks back and I don't have any stats or intel on the game it was only 3 points. Wilmo could have put 90 on Downs. I don't see this one being close. Wilmo 49 EPG 14

 

[Doctor_D]

Wilmo has won 3 state titles and none of them have come without a close call along the way.
2021 was maybe the closest they came to an uneventful path, but Mac gave them a challenge in the quarterfinals, and Nashville kinda hung around in the title game after getting off to a bad start.

Unless Wilmo just completely self destructs, I can’t see this game being very close. I will have to dig up what I can find on EPG hudl, but it almost doesn’t matter who they are playing when they are executing at this level.

 

[Carmine Evergreen]

EPG (12-0) @ Wilmington (11-1) - I saw about a quarter of the EPG v Farmington game and they have some athletes. QB is a big kid and has a nice arm. Their O and D lines are average at best though which doesn't bode well for the Titans. Wilmington has been sharpening the blade for awhile and Reents has the Cats peaking at the right time on both sides of the ball. This one is over by halftime. Wilmo by however many they want.

OBTW .. What's the over/under on motorcycles? Word on the street they had 60 last night for the quarters

 

[BobbyBoucher9]

How many times this year has Wilmington ran for over 500 yards in a game. Seems to be quite often and I honestly dont see it stopping anytime soon. EPG has had a great year and they are young. Perhaps they break though next year if Wilmington goes back up into 3A. Cats roll to the title game.

 

[Coalertown91]

EPG (12-0) @ Wilmington (11-1) Wilmington has been dominating. The thing that sets them well above any other 2A team is their offensive and defensive lines. They need more credit for this dominating run. Having Kettman is huge too. He's the best athlete in 2A. That being said the Cats in a romp. Wilmo 64 EPG 13

 

[Colin2299]

Wilmington Entrance

 

[ACleverName]

EPG (12-0) @ Wilmington (11-1) - I saw about a quarter of the EPG v Farmington game and they have some athletes. QB is a big kid and has a nice arm. Their O and D lines are average at best though which doesn't bode well for the Titans. Wilmington has been sharpening the blade for awhile now and Reents has the Cats peaking at the right time on both sides of the ball. This one is over by halftime. Wilmo by however many they want.

OBTW .. What's the over/under on motorcycles? Word on the street they had 60 last night for the quarters

Official number was 55 bikes. I would anticipate the same. The chill might keep the number from swelling too big. We'll see.

Wilmo 35 - EPG 7

 

[ACleverName]

EPG (12-0) @ Wilmington (11-1) Wilmington has been dominating. The thing that sets them well above any other 2A team is their offensive and defensive lines. They need more credit for this dominating run. Having Kettman is huge too. He's the best athlete in 2A. That being said the Cats in a romp. Wilmo 64 EPG 13

I agree about the credit. Wilmington has a crazy amount of points in the playoffs while not allowing much at all. Constant running clocks. Everyone gets it, "It's 1979 football" sure sure, I know it doesn't always make for EXCITING football like these bigger teams or the Catholic League... but the level of dominance Wilmo has shown has to be worth something.

 

[SouthofI80Fan]

I agree about the credit. Wilmington has a crazy amount of points in the playoffs while not allowing much at all. Constant running clocks. Everyone gets it, "It's 1979 football" sure sure, I know it doesn't always make for EXCITING football like these bigger teams or the Catholic League... but the level of dominance Wilmo has shown has to be worth something.

From what I saw last week vs TV, there is nothing boring about the Wilmington offense. Explosive play after explosive play.

 

[Doctor_D]

I saw a little bit of film.

EP-G has some good speed and generally good skill kids. They are definitely capable of connecting on some big plays.

They are also very young. This is a good team. I have no idea how they let R-C stay close other than it was week 1 and their youth.

 

[SouthofI80Fan]

EPG is young and fast. I would guess their youth may have played a factor early in the season. They are built on speed and getting the balls to their guys in the open field. In the HoI, that is a scheme for success and they really weren't challenged by anyone other than Tri Valley. They were more dominant but lost their best player early in the season.

Being on turf definitely helps them and all but 2 of their games were on natural grass and they had 8 home games. This is a new situation for EPG as they have a good basketball program.

Wilmington is a tough place to play, especially for an inexperienced group like EPG. If they can get in the open field or pop a few returns, this could be an interesting game.

 

[BobbyBoucher9]

EPG is running into a buzzsaw on Saturday. The physical play of Wilmington will be something they havent seen all year. Tri Valley is generally considered a physical team in the HOI conference and we saw how they fared last week.

 

[ACleverName]

EPG will definitely have to capitalize on any mistakes Wilmo makes. Physical smash mouth football is the name of the game up here in Wilmington. If they win, they'll certainly have earned it. If they lose, they'll learn a lot about playing a physical game in the Semi's. Either way we're all hopeful for a fun match up. I already see the flyers going around for EPG's big pre-game tailgate at Wilmington. The EPG kids will benefit from a good fan base and hopefully everyone stays civil. At a previous game, a number of fans from a 4A ICE conference team that I won't mention, wished some of our motorcycle riders would crash and die. Being a fan is great, but lose with grace as well.

Tri-Valley displayed this sportsmanship when they prayed on the field with the Cats after the game. That's what programs are made of.

 

[Wilmatucky1]

Not trying to give this a meaningless bump to the top, but looking at weather for today has me wondering....Minus the rain game at Seneca, is this the greatest year of Playoff football weather in history? Next week it's calling for a high of 33 and possible snow on Saturday, but last week and today are absolutely awesome out!

 

[Doctor_D]

Not trying to give this a meaningless bump to the top, but looking at weather for today has me wondering....Minus the rain game at Seneca, is this the greatest year of Playoff football weather in history? Next week it's calling for a high of 33 and possible snow on Saturday, but last week and today are absolutely awesome out!

Weather has been overall pretty great, but that round 2 game rainy mess was the worst I’ve ventured out in since I can’t remember

We will see if the good conditions help EPG. They have some burners if they can get it in space.

 

[Anon1760269333]

Weather has been overall pretty great, but that round 2 game rainy mess was the worst I’ve ventured out in since I can’t remember

We will see if the good conditions help EPG. They have some burners if they can get it in space.

Wilmington’s defensive scheme is favorable for a pass offense. Hoping EPG can score some points today and make a game of it.

 

[Carmine Evergreen]

Wilmington’s defensive scheme is favorable for a pass offense. Hoping EPG can score some points today and make a game of it.

I appreciate your optimism, but the Titans have no chance.

Stockton 8 Lena 8 half

 

[Hilltop#1]

I appreciate your optimism, but the Titans have no chance.

Stockton 8 Lena 8 half

No chance indeed… lmao