It’s here! Game week. This is what every ‘Cat fan has been waiting for since the middle of December when the ‘Cats 2009 season came to an end. In what has become the normal trend for Linfield, the ‘Cats open up with a large and great challenge to open up the season. Linfield will be flying down south to take on the defending SCIAC champions and #25 California Lutheran Kingsmen in the first game of a 2-year home-and-home deal.This had developed into a unique situation because the ‘Cats ended CLU’s season last year in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs with a 38-17 victory at the ‘Catdome. So for CLU this will be their second game played in a row vs the same opponent. I think it’s safe to say that this game has been on CLU Head Coach Ben McEnroe’s mind since the bus ride back to PDX as the Kingsmen’s roster has had a metamorphous into a much larger squad with a large number of DI, DI-AA, DII, JC transfers. Obviously, Coach McEnroe didn’t want to wait a few years to bring in and develop a large frosh class as he knew that two year window vs the ‘Cats would close fast and hard if he didn’t try to shoot the moon.
For Linfield, while they just played CLU this past November they are facing a starting line-up that will have a much different look and M.O. than in Cal Lu’s previous season. It’s intriguing to think that the ‘Cats are headed into such a challenging game with a so many unknowns about the opponent. However, that’s the beauty of that first game, we get to find out if the ‘Cats are worthy of the preseason love folks have been heaping on the ‘Cats. Will this Linfield team keep the ball rolling and be able to handle another long road trip? Can the new faces on the offensive line stand in and protect Boehme and open up running lanes? Can the ‘Cats defensive line and new LB’s stand toe-to-toe with 300 pounders and limit the CLU running game? So many questions and they get to be answered in a few short days. To me…that’s is something to savor and welcome.
Get to Know an Opponent's key player
#10 Jake Laudenslayer - Quarterback
The 6’ 3” 220 lb transfer form Marshall will be the man behind center for the Kingsmen this Saturday. Laudenslayer spent one year at Marshall before landing at CLU. The Kingsman QB played his first two seasons at Mendocino JC where he piled up 2,884 passing yards, 30 TDs, and 10 pics during the 2008 season.
Here is his highlight video from his 2008 season:
Wildcat11’s Key To Victory:
Riding the first wave: What I mean by that is that CLU’s staff, fans, and players are going to be sky high for this game. With so many unknown aspects of how CLU is going to attack us there is going to be some on the fly adjustments Linfield is going to have to make. So it’s important for the ‘Cats to maintain their composure and just worry about their own execution and communication during that blitz of energy during the early portions of the game.
Run The Dang Football: The ‘Cats peeled off 6.2 yards per rush during last season’s playoff game so you have to know the CLU staff has been putting a premium on limiting the ‘Cats rushing attack and putting hits on Aaron Boehme if and when he carries the ball. Linfield HAS to be able to gash CLU in order to open up the other aspects of the offense and it starts up front for Linfield. A major test for this new Linfield offensive line.
3rd down defense/pressure: The ‘Cats defense is going to be facing a balanced attack and being on the road, Linfield needs to be strong on 3rd down stops. You can say every down is important, and that’s true, but a key for this game is going to be not allowing CLU to extend drives and that comes off of 3rd down stops.
Special Teams: Linfield wasn’t great last season on kickoff coverage and it came back to bite the ‘Cats a few times. In a game with two talented teams the momentum of the game can change on special teams and that’s why the ‘Cats need to be excellent in their coverage and make hay in the return game. I’m telling you a big play in this game will happened during the special teams phase.
Meet the Physical Challenge: CLU is going to want to be the more physical team. That’s why their staff brought in so many big bodies. With that in mind I don’t think we’ll be seeing some fluffy offensive or cute defensive scheme from the Kingsmen. I think they are going to try to out physical the ‘Cats so our players need to be ready to rise to the challenge.
Fundamentally Sound: Yes, it’s cliché but for a good reason. Football comes down to throwing, catching, tackling, etc, etc. Linfield needs to be sharp and not hamper themselves with bad exchanges, poor tackling, pad level, etc. It’s going to be a tough enough game without self-inflicted wounds. Just clear your mind and rely on the training you’ve been going through while at the ‘Catdome. Keep it simple.
Overall:
‘Cats by 7. What an Awesome challenge the ‘Cats have to open the season. On the road against a team that’s been circling Linfield the moment they stepped off the Catdome sod last season. Make no mistake, CLU is going to be a playoff caliber squad and could be the most talent rich team the ‘Cats face this season. With that said, I believe in this Linfield team and the talent the ‘Cats have back. It’s going to take a team effort but in the end I know Linfield has in place the players to walk away with a hard fought victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment