There are two ways to look at Sherwood heading into this one. Either the Warriors are not good enough to challenge Quince Orchard, or they have spent the first half of the season waiting for this game.
Coach Pat Cilento’s offense has never been about style points. It is about running the ball, staying patient and making opponents defend the same thing over and over. Frankie Saunders and Zakhari Jones give Sherwood a legitimate ground game, while quarterback Matt Larsen has more than 35 starts of experience.
That formula has worked against QO before. Sherwood has scored more points against the Cougars than any other team over the past two seasons. But this version of QO may be even harder to solve.
The Cougars have allowed six points all season. Teams have not been able to run against them, and the defensive front gets downhill too quickly for opponents to simply grind out four or five yards at a time. That puts enormous pressure on Sherwood to stay ahead of the chains.
Turnovers and penalties have already been a problem for the Warriors, particularly in the red zone. Those mistakes cannot happen against QO. A stalled drive here and a bad penalty there can turn a competitive game into a two-score deficit before Sherwood has time to recover.
The matchup to watch is Sherwood’s secondary against WR Rafferty Bankert, while RB Jamie White Jr. presents another problem once he gets the ball in space. QO has not been flawless offensively, but there are too many ways for the Cougars to hurt a defense. And that is ultimately where I land.
Sherwood can make this uncomfortable. The Warriors can run the ball, play defense and keep QO from pulling away early. But at some point, QO is going to find a crack. The Warriors have been waiting for this game. QO has been waiting for someone to prove it can be beaten.
Prediction: Quince Orchard 28, Sherwood 16. Predictions for all week 6 matchups can be seen here.
