GoDeepHammer
12-03-2008, 09:59 PM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081203/news_1s3p-boyce.html
Scripps Ranch High quarterback Robert “Tate” Forcier remembers that last year's Division II quarterfinal matchup against Oceanside was a physical affair. Well, he sort of remembers.
Dropping back for a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the first half, Forcier took a hit and wasn't the same after the break. He eventually left the game with a Grade 3 concussion – the most severe.
“It wasn't so much the hit, but all of (the lineman's) weight landed on my head,” said Forcier, recalling the play from watching video. “In the second half, I was playing in slow motion.”
Oceanside played the second half on fast forward, turning a 14-14 tie into a 42-14 romp en route to the Pirates' fourth straight San Diego Section title.
“He played another quarter, but he never recovered from the hit,” Scripps Ranch coach Sergio Diaz said.
In one of the postseason's top high school football matchups, the irresistible Forcier meets the immovable object when the visiting Falcons (8-3) take on the top-seeded Pirates (10-0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, this time in the semifinals.
Forcier, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior who will play his college ball at the University of Michigan, has been the irresistible force this season. The Falcons are averaging 39.2 points per game behind Forcier, who has completed 195-of-298 attempts for a county-best 3,331 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
If that's not enough, Forcier is the Falcons' second-leading rusher with 771 yards, a 10.1-yard-per-carry average and another 11 touchdowns. He's averaging 389 yards per game through the air and on the ground for a Scripps Ranch team trying to reach its first football championship game.
The immovable object in this case is the Oceanside defense, which has held five opponents to single-digit scoring this season, including a shutout of Lincoln in the quarterfinals. The Pirates have given up just 14.1 points per game. So how do the Pirates stop the Falcons and the dual-threat Forcier?
“When you play against an athlete like Forcier, it takes experience,” said Pirates coach John Carroll, whose team will be in the semifinals for the 15th straight season. “You're not going to get that experience from the week before in practice, so I would hope we can get it early in the game. It'll take us a quarter to get used to the scheme and the pace and the routes they're running.
“You can design a defense to spy on a quarterback, but you still have to make a play. We'll have a variety of different schemes for them.”
Teaming with Forcier is junior running back Brennan Clay, who has 1,386 yards rushing and 1,010 yards receiving this season. The best way for the Pirates to stop Forcier and the Falcons will be to play keep-away.
“Those teams that have controlled the clock have had the best success against us,” Diaz said. “When a team goes on a 14-play drive like Cathedral did against us, your offense can never really get in a rhythm if it can't get on the field.”
And the Pirates certainly have the weapons to do that, starting with their own senior quarterback, Jordan Wynn, who recently changed his commitment from Colorado to Utah. While Wynn isn't a running threat like Forcier, the Pirates QB has completed 152-of-237 for 2,797 yards, with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Pirates have averaged 45.6 points per game this season.
Oceanside has a lot of other weapons, with six players having rushed for 125 or more yards, led by Rene Siluano's 525 yards and eight touchdowns. Speedy sophomore Demario Coleman is Wynn's favorite target with 46 catches for 1,037 yards and 11 TDs.
“I told the kids if we take 10 plays to score every time, we'd win, but the No. 1 priority is to score,” Carroll said. “Having an eight-minute drive and not scoring won't help us.”
The defenses will have their hands full. The matchup has the makings of a shootout, if Forcier can stay upright this time.
“I didn't feel like I got my full shot against them last year,” Forcier said, “so I'm looking forward to doing it on Friday.”
Scripps Ranch High quarterback Robert “Tate” Forcier remembers that last year's Division II quarterfinal matchup against Oceanside was a physical affair. Well, he sort of remembers.
Dropping back for a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the first half, Forcier took a hit and wasn't the same after the break. He eventually left the game with a Grade 3 concussion – the most severe.
“It wasn't so much the hit, but all of (the lineman's) weight landed on my head,” said Forcier, recalling the play from watching video. “In the second half, I was playing in slow motion.”
Oceanside played the second half on fast forward, turning a 14-14 tie into a 42-14 romp en route to the Pirates' fourth straight San Diego Section title.
“He played another quarter, but he never recovered from the hit,” Scripps Ranch coach Sergio Diaz said.
In one of the postseason's top high school football matchups, the irresistible Forcier meets the immovable object when the visiting Falcons (8-3) take on the top-seeded Pirates (10-0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, this time in the semifinals.
Forcier, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior who will play his college ball at the University of Michigan, has been the irresistible force this season. The Falcons are averaging 39.2 points per game behind Forcier, who has completed 195-of-298 attempts for a county-best 3,331 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
If that's not enough, Forcier is the Falcons' second-leading rusher with 771 yards, a 10.1-yard-per-carry average and another 11 touchdowns. He's averaging 389 yards per game through the air and on the ground for a Scripps Ranch team trying to reach its first football championship game.
The immovable object in this case is the Oceanside defense, which has held five opponents to single-digit scoring this season, including a shutout of Lincoln in the quarterfinals. The Pirates have given up just 14.1 points per game. So how do the Pirates stop the Falcons and the dual-threat Forcier?
“When you play against an athlete like Forcier, it takes experience,” said Pirates coach John Carroll, whose team will be in the semifinals for the 15th straight season. “You're not going to get that experience from the week before in practice, so I would hope we can get it early in the game. It'll take us a quarter to get used to the scheme and the pace and the routes they're running.
“You can design a defense to spy on a quarterback, but you still have to make a play. We'll have a variety of different schemes for them.”
Teaming with Forcier is junior running back Brennan Clay, who has 1,386 yards rushing and 1,010 yards receiving this season. The best way for the Pirates to stop Forcier and the Falcons will be to play keep-away.
“Those teams that have controlled the clock have had the best success against us,” Diaz said. “When a team goes on a 14-play drive like Cathedral did against us, your offense can never really get in a rhythm if it can't get on the field.”
And the Pirates certainly have the weapons to do that, starting with their own senior quarterback, Jordan Wynn, who recently changed his commitment from Colorado to Utah. While Wynn isn't a running threat like Forcier, the Pirates QB has completed 152-of-237 for 2,797 yards, with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Pirates have averaged 45.6 points per game this season.
Oceanside has a lot of other weapons, with six players having rushed for 125 or more yards, led by Rene Siluano's 525 yards and eight touchdowns. Speedy sophomore Demario Coleman is Wynn's favorite target with 46 catches for 1,037 yards and 11 TDs.
“I told the kids if we take 10 plays to score every time, we'd win, but the No. 1 priority is to score,” Carroll said. “Having an eight-minute drive and not scoring won't help us.”
The defenses will have their hands full. The matchup has the makings of a shootout, if Forcier can stay upright this time.
“I didn't feel like I got my full shot against them last year,” Forcier said, “so I'm looking forward to doing it on Friday.”