At the beginning of this season, with Plymouth riding the nation's longest winning streak and power programs like Laconia and Kennett gearing up for 2010 grind you'd have found few people outside their local towns that gave Monadnock and Lebanon a real chance at making the playoffs. At best you'd hear them mentioned as the "teams to watch" or "outside chance". Yet, here we are, with both teams playing in November, making a run at the D IV Championship. One of them riding an undefeated regular season record of 9-0.
So, let's start with what everyone is calling 'the story of NH football'. The Lebanon Raiders, that no one had heard of until this season. Well, they've heard of you now. Before I begin, let me just say in my own defense, that good 'ol HC has been riding the Raider bandwagon since week 3 or 4 and I've been paying them props ever since. Raiders get and have been getting their love from HC. Everyone else is just late to the party :)
Offensively, the Raiders bring a lot to the table. Primarily they run out of the Wing - T, but give you multiple looks from the Offensive side of the ball. They don't have the biggest O-Line, but every one of them comes to play and does their job every single play. Alexander Morrill and Ryan Geno anchor the line and these guys will move bodies wherever they need to. Logan DeFelice and Mark Davidson are warriors in the trenches. Chris Henry is the Center and is exceptionally quick at this position. Taylor Sanborn will line up at tight end and when he's not blocking has a great set of hands and is a big target that Roth has been known to throw to. Overall, rarely will you see one of these guys walking from the off-side of a play. They chase the play to the other side of the field and look to make a block if the RB happens to back cut. The little things that make a 'good' O-line 'Great'.
Behind them you have John Roth, a big, strong QB with a good arm and who doesn't make mistakes. He's quick for his position when called on to run and is not afraid to throw solid blocks to help spring his RBs. You'll see Pelletier and Morton at wide out, both have good speed and hands to match. Lebanon is not afraid to throw the ball. They will throw short and medium range passes and will also let Roth take a shot deep every now and again. Their backfield consists of Drew (FB) an in your face, run you over type of RB. Chris Barker who has a fast, aggressive style to his running and has a second gear that allows him to break the big play. Their workhorse is Cody Patch. Patch is electric. He'll get the ball 20+ times and if you don't wrap him up, he will burn you and do it in a big way. He's strong, has great vision, and is exceptionally difficult to bring down.
Defensively, the Raiders shine. They don't miss many tackles and subsequently don't give up many big plays. Teams have had some success sustaining drives this year, only to see them falter when they get in the red zone. Their front four are as good as they come, Davidson and Henry attack the edges, while Geno and Morril clog the middle. They have 3 of the best Linebackers in D IV, in Barker, Drew and Patch and their cover guys Judd, Astwood and Morton are solid, big hitters in the secondary.
Monadnock -
The Huskies come into the playoffs as the 4th seed (5-4) coming off a tough loss at home against visiting Laconia. Don't let the record fool you though, the Huskies played Lebanon very tough in their first game and were it not for a plague of penalties may have come out winners in their first meeting against the Raiders.
Offensively, the Huskies run out of a base wishbone offense but will also throw different looks at you. They have a massive O-Line. These guys are big, physical, and disciplined in what they do. Their line that is led by Zach Underwood and Nick Dragon (who is 300+ pounds) and make no mistake these guys will move you upfield. Brandon Wilfore (250), Nick Skrocki (250), Nick Patterson round out their front line and these guys mean business. Perhaps not as quick as some other teams, they have the size and strength to go toe to toe in the trenches with the best of them.
Leading the team at QB is Bednard. Forced into the starting role early on in the season due to injury, the sophomore has begun to find his stride.
Running behind the line is Blake "the Bus" Bolewski. What a Senior year this kid has had. Surpassing the 1000 yd mark for the 2nd straight year, he's rattled off almost 750 yards and (I think) 12 TDs in the last 4 games. His low center of gravity combined with his strength, speed and vision make him exceptionally difficult to tackle. Like Patch, if you don't wrap him up, he will make you pay. Accenting Bolewski out of the backfield is Corey Brown. Defenses need to be careful not to focus to much on the Bus, or this kid can bite you as well. He's got good speed, great feet and can get to the edges welll.
Defensively, the O-Line shifts over to D-line and can really cause a bottleneck inside. They typically run out of a 4-4 Defense, so it should be fun to see who wins the battle on the line. If the Monadnock D can get penetration, Lebanon could be in for a long day. Clogging up the middle is going to mean they'll have to go outside where Linebackers Bolewski and Patterson have had success chasing down ball carriers. The one thing I can see where the Huskies need to have some caution is in the secondary. Teams have had some success throwing on them this year.
All in all, this shapes up to be a great game in Lebanon and if last weeks game at Trinity was any indication I can only guess how many fans will be packed at Raider field as they host their first home playoff game in ...um well, that would be EVER! Good luck to both teams! Thoughts...
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