Pembroke @ Oakfield – 7:00 pm – Oakfield High School
| BataviasBest.org
Friday, September 19, 2014
Key Players: Ryan Emery (Oakfield); Allen Chatt (Oakfield); Jon Harris (Oakfield); Dakota Swimline (Pembroke); Cal Neurohr (Pembroke)
Tonight, the Dragons (0-2) will head down the road to Oakfield (1-1) where the Hornets will be awaiting their first home game of the 2014 season. With both teams suffering difficult losses a week ago, tonight is extremely important for each side in order to get back on track heading into next week, which marks the midpoint of the season.
If Pembroke is to overcome a tough Oakfield squad and grab their first win of the year, I believe it will come down to the success of their offense. Struggling to score points each of the first two weeks, the Dragons have shown plenty of promise over the course of that time but have been unable to reach pay dirt with any level of consistency.
An important factor in their lack of success has been the mediocre performance put forth by the offensive line against the two top teams in the GR. If Pembroke has any hopes of getting back into the thick of things or perhaps even enduring a postseason run, it will be up to the guys up front to win their one-on-one battles and to allow the talent in the backfield to do their work. On the other side of the ball tonight will be a highly-skilled Oakfield defense who will not make their effort any easier.
Led by Jon Harris, the Hornets played a great first half defensively against the Nichols Vikings in Week 2, but were unable to carry their effort over to the second half and lost the game as a result. Despite the loss, Harris had over 10 tackles in the game, while OA also recorded a few sacks along with an interception before a let down in the second half. Winning individual battles won’t come easy tonight for Pembroke’s men in the trenches, but they must do a better job to win the game.
Although I believe they will be closer to a victory this week, I am still picking Pembroke to fall just short in this one. Drawing what I believe to be the top three teams in their league to begin the season, the GR Scheduling committee didn’t do the Dragons any favors.
Prediction: Oakfield 22 Pembroke 13
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