By Brian Kalish
October 12, 2012
What: SPASH vs. Marshfield. When: 7:00pm Friday, October 12. Where: Marshfield. Records: SPASH 6-0 VFA-South, 7-0 overall; Marshfield 5-1 VFA-South, 6-1 overall.
Three Things To Watch
Marshfield’s offense: Marshfield has one of the most productive offenses in the VFA-South. The Tigers are anchored by running back Riley Gebelein (86 carries for 591 yards) and quarterback Bo Howard (667 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns). Marshfield’s balance between passing and rushing can cause a lot of problems for opposing defenses. This time of year, you have to believe that SPASH is thinking stop the run first and let the Panthers’ excellent secondary match up with the Tigers’ wide receivers. But stopping Gebelein is easier said than done. He has scored 9 rushing touchdowns in VFA-South play, second to SPASH’s Zach Pozorski (12). SPASH’s defense has been equal to difficult tasks this year. The Panthers have allowed a conference-best 92 points.
Zach Pozorski: It seems like we have run out of superlatives to describe SPASH senior running back Pozorski. He is an interesting player to watch. There’s nothing especially flashy about his running style. Generally speaking, he’s not going to juke defenders out of their shoes. He’s also not a classic smash mouth power runner. I don’t know what you would call him. Maybe a ‘tweener. All the guy does is gain yards and score touchdowns. SPASH will more than likely feed Pozorski the ball early and often. Spelling Pozorski occasionally is Joey Flowerette, a nice change of pace for the Panthers. Opposing defenses know that if they are to have a prayer against SPASH, they have to stop Pozorski. The problem is that nobody has really figured out how to do that yet this season.
Turnovers: You’ve heard the cliché. Whoever wins the turnover battle in football tends to win the game. Well, it’s a cliché for a reason. Most of the time it’s true. SPASH’s defense has come up big when under pressure this year. Last week against Wisconsin Rapids, the Panthers got an interception in the end zone from Jake Yenter to halt a Red Raiders drive. They also came up with a clutch safety in the third quarter, which put two points on the board and swung momentum to their sideline. Jon Barnes, Mitch Mallek and Yenter are all in the VFA-South’s top five for interceptions. The Tigers offense will have to make sure they focus on ball security against an opportunistic SPASH defense.
By The Numbers
12 PATs converted by Marshfield kicker Brad Krueger. If this turns out to be a tight game, a converted PAT might be the difference between a win and a loss.
6.9 Per carry average of Marshfield’s Gebelein.
86 Passing attempts by Marshfield’s Howard, 30 more than SPASH quarterback Eric Zelhofer.
7 Points scored by Marshfield last week in a loss to Menasha. It was the fewest points scored by Marshfield all season.
All stats are for conference play only
