I have waited all year to say this and man I am so excited to say, Tis the season for playoff football.
The Granger Lions have found themselves in the fourth round and playing against their toughest opponent so far. The Burton Panthers have not lost a game this season and in addition to that they have been a thorn in the Lions side.
The Panthers have dominated the Lions in their last two matchups by scores of 47-7 and 57-27 but this season is a new season and no team is unbeatable and anything can happen on any given Friday.
That being said the Granger Lions are going to pull the old Uno reverse card on the Panthers and advance to the next rounds with these keys to victory.
Starting with the obvious the Lions are coming into this game with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Like I said earlier the Panthers have eliminated them twice in the last four seasons and are looking to rewrite the narrative.
Unbeaten team and playing spoiler to their perfect season as well as playing the team that has booted you from the playoff race in recent memory is plenty of incentive for the Lions. But what if I told you that the despite all of those factors the Lions team that cause several problems for the Panthers.
Case and point look at the Lions’ defense since entering the playoffs, they have dominated and they need them to show up in a big way on Friday. I talk about it all the time but their ability to take the ball away is truly remarkable.
I mean they fire off the ball and get after opposing teams’ quarterbacks and force errant throws but they also hit people so hard that the ball pops loose. As often they have forced turnovers every game has been more of a “Try” to take the ball away.
This Friday is going to have to be more of a “Need” to take the ball away. The Panthers have scored 109 points over the last three games and can break loose offensively if given the chance. If the Lions can walk away with two takeaways on defense, then they can give themselves a better chance to win the game.
Now, offensively the Lions have a steep hill to climb on Friday. In addition to the undefeated season, the Panthers have not allowed a single point against on defense and the Granger Lions obviously need to break that streak if they plan on winning this game.
They are going to continue to run the football because why should they stop? They have an elite running back in DJ McClelland who is running behind a very solid and even have a supporting cast of three or four guys who help take the load off of him.
Running the football effectively prolongs drives for the Lions’ offense and exhausts the Panthers’ defense. This defense has been perfect in shutting out the last three teams so far in this playoff so the longer the Lions keep the Panthers’ defense on the field the better.
The Lions have their eyes set on big goals this season and with their toughest test of the season coming on Friday they need to play their best game of the year.
