Game 3 Preview: Grant (0-2) @ Benson (0-2)

When: Friday, September 19th, 7 PM
Where: Marshall High School
Grant Game Coverage

It’s week 3 of the season for the Grant Generals, which means we all get the chance to see a new look PIL and the renewal of an old-time rivalry game featuring teams with contrasting styles between their programs. Grant is coming off of a disappointing non-league performance, but is focused on the second part of their season with the start of league play this week.

Coming into the 2014 PIL season, many questions about the Generals depth and size have been asked, but early season predictions still have them as a front runner to contend for a 25th PIL title. The Generals feature three or four kids with the potential to play football at the next level, and the sooner they start playing like the highly touted prospects they are, the faster this team will be firing on all cylinders.

Before we can seriously start talking about a league title however, the focus must be on this week’s opponent, Benson. Coach Anthony Stoudamire has faced an uphill battle since taking over the program in 2012, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any relief in sight for the coach who’s gone 3-26 in his time calling the shots for the Techmen. Benson is looking to rebound after being thumped twice in the preseason by Lincoln High of Washington and Scapoose. The Techman are hoping a little home field advantage will help them with a visit from the Generals looming.

On offense, the Techmen are a traditional pro-set team that likes to run the ball to control the clock. While they aren’t particularly strong up front, they do have a talented running back in Nathan Houston-Poe that will outrun a defense that isn’t disciplined in technique and assignment football. Also standouts for Benson are wide receivers Anthony Ross and Noah Terry that can make people miss in the open field and turn short pass plays into big chunks of yards.

On the other side of the ball, Benson likes to line up in a 3-4 and blitz A LOT. It seems that on every play a different 5 or 6 guys are trying to get after the quarterback. However this does mean that there will be a lot of one-on-one match ups to exploit for General’s senior quarterback Sam Davis. If last week’s strong second half against a stout defense like Sherwood is any indication, Davis should have a pretty easy time lighting up the scoreboard against the subpar Techman defense that has given up 52 points a game so far this year.

For Benson, beating Grant in what is technically a home game (being played at Marshall High School) would be the type of victory needed to turn around a struggling program, and if the Generals don’t dominate from the start, things could get interested as the night goes on. It will be a fun Friday night to kick off the rebirth of the PIL.

Grant Keys to Victory:

Show up ready to play:
The last two weeks have been similar story lines for Grant. They have come out and appeared unfocused and confused on their assignments at times, which has lead to early holes that they can’t climb out of. In order to avoid falling behind early and having to play catch up the rest of the game, the team has to dominate from the opening whistle.

Execute Your Assignment:
There is a saying painted on the locker room wall of my former college football team that reads: “No “S” on the chest.” This means that nobody on the team has to be Superman and make every play, as usually when this happens it results in blown assignments and explosive, game-changing plays for the opponent. If the Generals can focus solely on executing their assignment on every play, the rest will take care of itself.

Control the line of scrimmage:
The Generals could have a field day with the offensive line of Benson, which should make life pretty miserable for quarterback Robert Coleman and the rest of the Techmen backfield. On the offensive side, all Sam Davis needs is the O-line to give him time to find a one-on-one match up and the Generals will bleed it dry. This will be the most important key of the day as Grant has yet to control the line of scrimmage this season.

Live in the moment:
You’re only guaranteed so many opportunities to play high school football, and every time you step on the field it’s special. Many college and NFL players would tell you they would trade all the fame and money in the world to strap it up on Friday night one more time. So Grant must focus on the here and now, on playing each play as a unit.

Prediction:

Generals +28:
I’m expecting Grant to have some frustration to take out on Benson after being run off the field the last two weeks, and a feeling it won’t be pretty for the Techmen. The resurgence of the PIL has been long awaited, and Grant has a chance to make an emphatic statement by taking care of business on Friday.

What Has Happened to the PIL?

As we prepare to open the 2014 PIL season this week, the Portland-Metro community has several different topics on their minds. Will Roosevelt’s recent
success in 5A translate to wins at Oregon’s highest level of football? Will Benson be able to turn around their dismal 3-26 record over the last three years? Will Grant and Lincoln return to making deep playoff runs as we were accustomed to seeing over the majority of the last decade?

However, one question looms larger after the first two weeks of Oregon high school football; what is going on with the PIL lately?

Take a moment to reminisce on some of the talented high school football stars to come and go from the PIL over the last 15 years.

Names like Conner Kavanaugh, Kenneth Acker, Ndamukong Suh, and Alex Green come to mind. To the close observer, even names such as the Colasurdo brothers, John Sheffield, and Daniel Halverson bring back great memories.

We think of heroic single game performances like Michael Johnson having 17 tackles in Lincoln’s state championship loss to Jesuit, or of Paris Penn shredding defenses for the better part of three seasons.

Amazing battles between Grant and Lincoln with PIL championship implications on the line sear our brains with lasting images. Franticly played playoff games such as Wilson’s 2003 showdown with eventual state champions Tigard and, as previously mentioned, Lincoln’s epic battle with Jesuit for the 2005 state title in what many consider the best championship game in Oregon’s history. This is the PIL that was feared throughout the state at times.

Fast forward to present day and what are we left with? Over the last 5 years the league has shifted from having two teams playing in the quarterfinals in 2009, to only having two actual Portland-based teams in the league in 2011, to now; a league that went 1-17 in non-league play and is desperately trying to stay relevant in what is starting to turn into a high school football hot-bed in the state of Oregon.

Can this poor performance be chalked up to schools scheduling some of the tougher teams in the state? In the cases of Roosevelt and Grant, the answer is yes as both teams have played a top ten team in the first two weeks. If you glance at the rest of the league, the numbers start to look downright embarrassing.

Wilson has scored a combined 7 points against two 5A opponents. Cleveland has been blown out by Century and Aloha, not exactly who comes to mind when thinking of the Metro League elite. On average, PIL defenses have given up 42.3 points a game, while putting up a subpar 14.8 points a game on offense. If you exclude Lincoln, the only team in the league with a win this season, those numbers get even worse on both sides of the ball, at 44.8 and 12.3, respectively.

While it is inevitable that teams such as Lincoln, Grant, and Roosevelt will find their form (and by virtue of having to play other PIL teams, wins) it is self-destructive for these teams to ignore the fact that they are slipping towards the bottom of the state in terms of fielding competitive rosters. If there isn’t a resurgence of popularity in downtown Portland high school football, these numbers will continue to dwindle.

The PIL has some of the most unique and intriguing settings in the entire state to watch a football game, and some up and coming talent to try and change the ways of recent league memory. If these schools are able to combine their community and their teams to grow together, we could be looking at some serious growth in talent and competitiveness among the state’s elite.

Who says a PIL team can’t have sustained success like teams such as Lake Oswego, Sheldon, Jesuit, and Central Catholic? In many cases, it isn’t always the facilities or number of players on a team that results in on field success, but rather the attitude of the team and the community surrounding each school. A never back down, take on all comers approach has been what has hardened these powerhouses into what they are today.

Every school should be taking notes on the way these teams approach a game, how they seem solely focused on making themselves better no matter who their competition is during any given week. It is a fact ladies and gentlemen, that competition breeds excellence, and the sooner the PIL finds this out, the sooner they can return to the glory days of old.