70 days ago it seemed like Ensworth had come away with MBA's most coveted game as the Tigers blew out the Big Red by the score of 50-21. But now it's time for part 2. However, the storyline has changed since these teams last met. The MBA lineup was shuffled around after numerous injuries were inflicted upon the Big Red. The most meaningful injury was to QB Luke Colbert after he took a hard hit on a goal line play against Ensworth. Colbert broke the C5 vertebra in his neck and was lost for the season. Coach Dan McGugin then pulled the plug on backup QB Van East after constantly struggling even against lesser opponents. After MBA lost to lowly BGA on their own homecoming, McGugin thought it was time for a change at QB and put sophomore Aaron Simonis in at QB. So far Simonis has led MBA over JPII and BGA convincingly.
In the last matchup the player of the game was Ensworth Mr. Football candidate senior RB Orleans Darkwa. Darkwa rushed for 341 yards and 5 TD's against the Big Red. It was apparent that the MBA D-Line was being pushed off the ball from the snap, and it would allow Darkwa to find gaping holes in the Big Red defense.
MBA has made defensive adjustments and will likely stack the box to hold Darkwa in check; however, the only team to successfully do so was Oakland in week 1 when Darkwa was held to 101 yards on the ground in a game that went to overtime. But keep in mind that Darkwa has sat for the last two weeks after sustaining a neck injury and turf toe, though he's been cleared to play and is feeling close to 100%.
If Darkwa is to come out of the game due to injury look for junior Rodney Anderson to take over the ground game for the Tigers. Anderson is the fastest player on the team and started in week 10 against BGA and rushed for 147 yards and 2 TD's.
Prediction
There is no doubt that Ensworth is the more athletic and skilled team. The last meeting between these two teams exposed that in the 1st quarter. However, this is a rivalry game and MBA has potential to really come out and score some points, and their defense has been solid most of the year. But as stated earlier, Ensworth is the better team hands down.
In order for MBA to win they have to cause turnovers and capitalize on all of their red zone opportunities. They really have to be mistake free and find ways to at least contain the Ensworth ground game.
As for Ensworth, the Tigers will have to do what they have been doing all year, and that's run until the scoreboard clock reads all zeroes. They will also have to limit their procedure penalties as they average 74 yards a game in penalties (leads DII).
Predicted Final: EHS 42 MBA 21.
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That graphic is awesome, by the way.
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