Jordan’s Road Trip: Iroquois West vs Watseka Preview
In this Week 4 Matchup, we’re taking a look at Iroquois West (0-3) vs Watseka (3-0). Both of these teams have talented players on both sides of the ball. Iroquois West is coming off of a tough loss to Paxton-Buckley-Loda…
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Continue ReadingIn this Week 4 Matchup, we’re taking a look at Iroquois West (0-3) vs Watseka (3-0). Both of these teams have talented players on both sides of the ball. Iroquois West is coming off of a tough loss to Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Watseka is coming off of an overtime win against Seneca. Enough talk, let’s dive into the preview for this Week 4 Matchup on Saturday, April 10th.
Offense
Iroquois West has talented players on this offense starting with QB Ty Pankey, RB Auston Miller, WR Aiden Tilstra, and the highly sought-after OG Clayton Leonard Clayton Leonard 6'5" | 265 lbs | OL Iroquois West | 2022 State IL . Look for Iroquois West to pound the ball with Auston Miller at the get-go and work their air attack off of this. Be on the lookout for play-action deep shots to Aiden Tilstra and for the dominant offensive guard Clayton Leonard Clayton Leonard 6'5" | 265 lbs | OL Iroquois West | 2022 State IL to showcase his skillset.
Watseka has a loaded offense with QB Drew Wittenborn, RB Conner Curry along with WRs Braiden Walwer, Ethan LaBelle, and Brayden Haines. Look for Watseka to get the run game going with Conner Curry by running inside the tackles. From this, they run the read-option, RPOs, and the air attack out of the shotgun formation. This Watseka offense is on a hot streak putting up 96 total points throughout their first three games of the season. This is an explosive offense that has weapons at all positions, they have big playmaking abilities and I expect the momentum to carry on into Saturday.
Defense
Iroquois West has had a rough start to the season losing their first three games. Their defense has some things to fix heading into this matchup which I expect will get corrected by their coaching staff. That being said, don’t overlook their defense because they play through the whistle and don’t take any plays off. They are going to continue fighting until that final whistle blows and give their opponent a run for their money. I do expect Iroquois West to bring pressure early in the game to disrupts the timing of Watseka’s RPOs and read-option reads. The name of the game for this defense is going to be “gap responsibilities” to take away the run option in RPOs and have the linebackers and defensive backs at the right spot in coverage.
Watseka is coming off of a hard-fought battle against Seneca last week where their defensive unit was tested. The old adage of the “bend but don’t break” defense was on display as they were able to pull off the overtime win. Look for this defensive unit to use that momentum heading into Saturday’s game. Two names to keep an eye on are Tylor Durflinger and Preston Schroeder who both had at least 8 tackles last week. The game plan for this defense is going to revolve around stopping Auston Miller and forcing Iroquois West to pass. To do so, Watseka will need to shoot the gaps and stack the box every play by playing the run first.
Key Points to Win
Iroquois West
On offense, they need to establish the run early with Auston Miller to open up the air attack with Ty Pankey and Aiden Tilstra. They have to be aggressive at the get-go by not being afraid to take deep shots on their first two drives to keep those Watseka defensive backs on their toes. On defense, they will need to focus on their gap responsibilities to A) shut down the run and B) have players in the right place to limit the yardage gained on RPOs. To do so, look for Iroquois West to send pressure early and often to make QB Drew Wittenborn uncomfortable in the pocket throughout the game. If Iroquois West are able to execute these concepts it will set themselves up for success in this matchup.
Watseka
On offense, they need to get the run game going early with Conner Curry to open up the rest of their offense. When he gets 20+ carries a game it puts Watseka in a great position to come out with the win, I expect this to be the case on Saturday. Once the run has been established look for the RPOs, read-option, and play-action deep shots to come into effect. I wouldn’t be surprised if Watseka decided to take a deep shot on their first drive to get a quick one on Iroquois West since they have a very talented receiver core. On defense, they need to shoot the gaps hard and stack the box every play to limit Auston Miller. In doing so, it will force Iroquois West to turn to their passing game which hasn’t been consistent throughout their first three games. Look for Watseka to bring pressure on the early downs and to be in their base defense on third down. If Watseka executes these concepts they will set themselves up for success throughout this game.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, I’m looking forward to watching this Saturday matchup. Iroquois West is coming off of a loss hungry to show everyone that they are indeed a good team and Watseka is coming off of a great overtime win where they have momentum on their side. That’s why I have Watseka winning this matchup 35 – 17 against Iroquois West.
That’s my preview for this Week 4 matchup between Iroquois West and Watseka taking place on Saturday, April 10th. I look forward to watching the game and seeing these young men compete. Keep an eye out for the post-game report to drop Monday with the score of the game and the top performers from each team.
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