Where: Red Rider Stadium
When: Friday October 15th, 7:00pm
All Time Series: Orrville leads 24-15-1 (Click here for detail)
Last Meeting: 2009 (Orrville won 41-24)
Last Week: Orrville lost to Ashland 42-28, Madison lost to Clear Fork 62-14.
Coaches: Doug Davault is 37-16 and in his 5th year as Red Rider coach. Sean Conway is in his first year as Ram head coach.
Radio: None
Let's state the obvious.....it's been a tough five year stretch for the Madison Rams. Their last winning season was in 2005 when they went 8-4 and reached the 2nd round of the division two playoffs. Since then they've gone 3-7, 1-9, 2-8, 1-9 and are 2-5 so far in 2010. They've had three coaches in the past three years and have struggled in the OCC, losing 22 of their last 25 conference games since 2007 (two of the three wins coming against West Holmes).
More obviousness.....regardless of their struggles lately, Madison ALWAYS plays Orrville well. In 2006 and 2007, Orrville won by only 7 points in each contest. And last year, Orrville had to ride a 2nd half surge to pull away from the Rams by a 41-24 score. So for whatever reason, Madison played the Riders well.
My point is...since 2006...Madison has gone 9-38 and Orrville has gone 37-16....yet you wouldn't know it by looking at the team's head to head matchups recently.
It's the 22nd straight year the two teams have hooked up....making it the longest running rivalry on our current schedule, outside of the Wooster rivalry.
Madison
The Rams are giving up 40 points per game over their first 4 OCC games, including 62 last week against Clear Fork. They're scoring around 20 ppg but don't have a player anywhere near the top of the OCC in individual stats.
They're a run-heavy offense, averaging 30+ rushing attempts per game. Carries get spread evenly among QB Alek Lampert (294 yds), running backs Chris Rambo (265 yds), Cody Thompson (233 yds) and Cory Hornikel (225 yds).
Lampert also has 481 passing yards (6 TD, 8 INT), with his favorite target being Taj Coffee has 19 receptions for 276 yds and 4 TD's on the year.
Cody Thompson is also the team's leading tackler on defense.
Orrville
The big news on the Orrville side is the fact that seniors Tre Simpson and Max Pirman will not play due to injury...or rather...nagging injuries. The plan is to rest both so they can be closer to 100% for the Clear Fork, Wooster and playoff games.
Simpson has 759 rushing yards on the year, good for 2nd in the OCC and Pirman is arguably the Riders most impactful player, but hasn't been able to stay on the field consistently to showcase that ability. He played both ways in the Lexington and Senior game, but other than that, it's been either him playing defense only, not playing at all, or playing limited time due to injury.
With Simpson out, Orrville's rushing attack with be led by juniors Mason Monheim and Matt Davis. Junior Dylan Lemon will take Pirman's place at TE/DE.
Sophomore Kyle Lichti will look to build on his 200 yd+ performance versus Ashland and the Rider defense will look to rebound from giving up 300+ passing yards and 42 points to Ashland.
What Orrville needs to do.
Simple...score early, control the Madison run game, and play to their ability. Madison has given up big points this year. There's no reason we can't continue that trend. It's time to see all this talent finally come together and put together a complete game. Oh, and less than 10 penalties would be nice to see. Can't stress it enough. Penalties need to stop.
Predictions
Fantastic50.net says Orrville by 24
CalPreps.com says Orrville by 21
I'm certain the Daily Record will pick us 9-0
WMFD.com's Pick contest favors Orrville by a 94% clip
I'm certain the Riders have the edge in the talent department, and SHOULD win this game handily, but I'm more interested in HOW they play Friday night. Win by 100, but if it's filled with poor execution and penalties, it wont matter. I'd rather win by 1 and have it be a well played game with no turnovers or penalties.
It's crunch time. How you practice is how you play. Hoping practice has been razor sharp this week. It's time to start taking pride, not just in winning, but how you win. In the career of a high school football player...it's almost midnight for these seniors. Define your legacy.
Go Riders!!
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