Southwest High School

9/18/21
Complete Game Coverage: SWO - 22. WRH - 62.

Final:

Wallace-Rose Hill - 62. SWO - 22.

Although the Stallions showed some bright spots and made some plays, an overall lack of consistency and knack for giving up the big play result in an 0-1 start to conference play. WRH blew the game open in Q3 on their way to a 62-22 trouncing of the Stallions.

My Observations - Positives

NOTE: Be sure to checkout our weekly "Stable Talk" post-game analysis for more insight: https://youtu.be/YdDgZqJQVLo

The Stallions definitely cut down on the unnecessary penalties that plagued them a week ago in a loss to JH Rose. We didn't give away a ton of yardage via the yellow flag.

There were flashes of very good football (on both offense and defense) but... See "Things to Work On" below.

The big man is really starting to flex his muscle! In my opinion, Sr DL Yontre Hardison played his best game of the seaon. Tre showed a lot of mobility and aggression vs. the Bulldogs. I look for Tre to continue to elevate his play and become a dominant force as we move into the heart of conference play.

The passing game brought a spark to the offense. We all know SWO is primarily a running team, but a little passing (if successful) is a good thing. And the Stallions showed some diversity by moving the ball through the air at times.

Strader/Hatchett/Bannerman - All 3 are legitimate big play threats and made at least 1 such play on Friday evening.

Continued growth of Corbin Kerr as the next Stallion thoroughbred RB. Kerr's 34 yard TD late in Q3 was the epitome of what Stallion football is supposed to look like!

Awesome crowd support! Special shoutout to the Stalllions' Student Section for really bringing the noise and emotion!

Things to Work On

As referenced above, the Stallions did have some bright spots. Unfortunately, the bright spots were, well..... spotty at best. We lack consistency on both sides of the ball as bad plays negated the bright spots time-and-time again. We simply have difficulty stringing good plays together. If you were in the bleachers watching the game, your cheers & emotions probably went something like this.... "Good play! Nice gain! Awwwww man! That's not good!"

As noted last week, our defensive downfall was giving up the big play. Once again, allowing the big play was our demise. The Bulldogs Kanye Roberts was the ringleader as #5 torched us with TD runs of 65 & 76 yards as well as a 80 yard kick return TD.

Honestly, this isn't something that we can "work on" because its beyond our control. But the Stallions just need a break. After being significantly disrupted by COVID, the team had another bout with sickness this week as another illness caused major disruptions to the practice schedule.

Moving Ahead

Things are looking bleak but there's still hope. With the strength of this new conference alignment, its quite possible that the top 3 teams will get a playoff invitation. So let's take another step forward and claim that first 'W' next week at N. Lenoir!

Game Story (courtesy of JD News): https://www.jdnews.com/story/sports/2021/09/17/high-school-football-jacksonville-area-week-5-roundup/8332289002/

Video Highlights: https://youtu.be/Sxz9ErNYIy0

Photos (courtesy of Kay McCloskey): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ag8o0r4y4m4g68b/AAByhScG0jF-a7kNKLc1xqXba?dl=0

Stable Talk Postgame Analysis: https://youtu.be/YdDgZqJQVLo