Week 3 - "Games of the Week" with Roger Neel

In this episode, one of our Football Analyst, Roger Neel previews the "Games of the Week" for Week 3 of the 2022 Section IV Football Season.

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Cover Four. If you're a Section Four football fan, this is your podcast. I'm Coach Smith and I'll be your host. The Cover Four podcast is brought to you by TDS Performance Improvement. Leading people is the most important responsibility in the world, yet 60% of first-time leaders fail. TDS performance improvement prevents these failures. Are you prepared to lead people? To find out, visit TDSPI.com. That's TDSPI.com and click on the Are You Prepared to Lead People link. Welcome to week three of the Section Four football season. Today, one of our football analysts, Roger Neal, will be analyzing our games of the week. Before we get going, I want to remind you, we always research and validate the information we share with you, but we recommend you check with your school for any last-minute schedule updates. We've got four games of the week this weekend that we'll be sharing analysis with you on. The first three are Friday night light games, and then the fourth one will be a Saturday afternoon contest. The first game we'll start with was a non-division game. That's on Friday night at 7 p.m. Two and one UE Tigers. They visit Elmira South. I'm sorry, Elmira Express. Uh that's going to be their homecoming game and uh their inaugural uh game on that new field at Tom Hurley Stadium. Like I said, the Tigers come in at 2-1 uh with Coach Bolino, got them riding high after the win last week, and they're going against a two-and-zero Elmira team. What can we expect out of this game this weekend, Roger?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Well, I think one thing, uh, the UB Tigers certainly recovered from uh the shutout loss at the hands of Maine Enwell and their opener. And uh interesting because with that shutout, they recorded a win over horseheads 32 to seven. But when you check the line, you talk about the line points four shutout in the first game, so 32 to 21 in favor of the UB Tigers. But that's obviously a very low scoring total through the first couple of games. But again, via the shutout opening night against Maiden. Well, Max Semitelli, their quarterback, four touchdown passes in the romp over horseheads. So he caught fire. Elmira, as you mentioned, 2-0. And they have outscored the opposition 112 to 42, and they're coming off a big win. Uh, a close one, but it was a victory 42-34 over Vestal. So it should be a very good game, matching up, and again, that'll be on the road for the UE Tigers.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

And next up is again another Friday Night Lights game, also at 7 p.m. This is a divisional game with three and zero Tyoga Tigers traveling to Bainbridge Guilford to take on Bainbridge Guildford Bobcats, who are zero and two. And uh Tyoga is riding a 16-game winning streak that obviously goes back one or two seasons. So, Roger, what do you think about this game?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Yes, Tyoga is off and rolling as they usually are. They're coming off a romp over Harpersville Afton 54 to 7. They've outscored the opposition 136 to 33. Now, through three games, that's a point differential of 103. So they have put the offense uh up on the board big time in the first part of the season. Meanwhile, Bainbridge Guilford opened two. They are kind of on the other edge of the coin. They've been outscored 85 to 17. Del I went uh to the victory column, crushing Bainbridge Guildford 51 to 3. So they will be tested certainly to try to stop the surge of Tyoga that uh I think maybe might throw the ball a little bit more this year. But again, they've got that tremendous offensive line and they control the football. And if you can't get it, you're not gonna put points up.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Yeah, I think uh Bainbridge Guildford has got their hands full in this particular game. Now on to our third game on Friday night, also at seven o'clock. This is a non-divisional game that pits two undefeated powerhouses and uh returning state champions. Uh two and zero, Maine Enwell takes on Shenango Forks three and zero at Shenango Forks, and that should be a really good game. Um, both teams, like I said, are undefeated. Main Enwell comes in with an 11-game winning streak and Shenango Forks with a 15-game winning streak. So, Roger, this is one of those games something's got to give.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Well, absolutely. And uh, you know, when you have these two teams battle, as you pointed out, a B returning champion for the state title and a C champion, they've clashed over the years and there have been some classic games. It should be outstanding. One of the things that the forks is always very tough at home. We've done a number of games up there, and oh, they're good wherever they play, but at home, it is especially difficult to beat them. As they take on Maine Enwell, one of the things that I saw last week with Maine Enwell's win over Norwich, Anthony Polaker, we know he can throw the ball, but he can run very well too. One particular play, he scored a long run touchdown. Two defenders had him sandwiched. He deked out one and then cut away from the second defender. They ended up with air, and he scored and put points up on the board. So it'll not only be trying to shut down Maine Inwell and their balanced attack, but also off that double wing formation, Polycare running the ball. That's a big weapon for them. And of course, we know with Forks coming off a shutout win over Oneana at home, three and oh, and they are a superb team wherever they play. So this should be a good one. Will it come down to a single score? It may well come right down to the final minute of play again.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

I think it's gonna be a close ball game. But uh, when you do have a quarterback um in that, you know, that that does have that other dimension being able to run the ball. It's interesting. You said uh the tackler came up with air. His dad they used to call air polycare because he threw the ball a lot, but this was a different kind of air. So that was that was pretty good. But no, I think this is gonna be probably the game of the weekend, and uh it could be a real close ball game, but I I think Maine Animal's got a slight edge with the uh highly immobile quarterback in that particular situation. But Shenango Forks is Shenango Forks, and Roger, you alluded to, they're playing at home, they're so tough there. Now, our final game is Saturday afternoon at 2:30. This is a uh divisional contest with zero and two Newark Valley traveling to Susquehanna Valley to take on the two and zero Susquehanna Valley Sabres, coached by Mike Ford. And this, although Newark Valley is zero and two, they're they're probably one of the better zero and two teams I've seen this year. They just have gone against excellent opponents. This should be a very good ball game, too, Roger.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Absolutely. And uh Newark Valley over the years, we know the kind of program that they have there, even though the record doesn't show it so far 0-2, they are an outstanding team. One big thing for them, they've had some trouble putting up points on the board. They've been outscored uh 86 to 40. And of course, they're facing Susquehanna Valley a homecoming game for the Sabres. They are um uh on a roll, they beat Highland, rolling up 394 total yards in a 51 to 14 decision. So you combine the home field advantage with homecoming and the way they're playing, and they have played under that great coaching staff. Uh, it's gonna be a tough day on the road, no doubt, for Newburgh Valley. We'll see if they can rebound from the 0-2 start.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Great job, Roger, setting the table for our suction four football fans and got them all ready to go. And now when they uh want to go out and see what games, they know exactly what to do. They just have to listen to you, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Well, I'm sure they're gonna be some great games. Those are the highlighted ones, but there are gonna be some other ones I'm sure. Oh, absolutely exciting right down to the wire.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Absolutely. All right, thank you, Roger.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

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