Week 4: Coal City vs Wilmington Post Game Report

In this Week 4 Matchup, we’re taking a look at Coal City Coalers against the Wilmington Wildcats. Both of these teams are physical upfront and are aggressive in all aspects of the game. They’re both 3-0 heading into this matchup and are top teams in their respective class (Coal City being 4A & Wilmington being 3A). That being said, let’s dive into the Post Game Report for the Coal City Coalers against the Wilmington Wildcats. <hr /> Quick Preview Heading into this matchup both of these teams have been dominant coming into the game with a 3-0 record. Both of these programs have a long history of being dominant in football and this season it continues. Coal City has star [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"], Kyle Gockman, Ashton Harvey, and a dominant offensive line that can control the line of scrimmage. Wilmington has the exact same traits with their offensive line along with Jacob Friddle, Cody Franzen, and AJ Meyers in the ground attack. This game is really going to come down to who wins the turnover battle since both teams are stellar at executing their game plan. First Half Coal City started the first drive of the game on their own 20-yard line. The Wildcats were able to stop the Coaler’s offense forcing them to punt giving the Wildcats the ball at the 50-yard line to start their drive. Wilmington came ready to play getting things going with Cody Franzen and Jacob Friddle in the run game driving down the field. This resulted in a 5 yard TD run from Cody Franzen to put the Wildcats up 7-0 against the Coalers. It seemed as if it was going to be a long game for Coal City but on the first play of their drive, [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] takes the handoff 74 yards for a TD to tie the game up and does the exact same thing the following drive taking that one 89 yards for a TD to put the Coalers up 14-7 in the first quarter. Since then, it was a tough nose football game with each team punting on the remaining drives of the half. Halftime Takeaways Coal City had two big plays from [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] to give them the lead but have been quiet on offense since then. On defense, they have shut down Wilmington’s offense after letting up the score on the opening drive. They’re doing a great job of shooting the gaps and getting into the backfield. Wilmington had a good first drive which resulted in a touchdown but nothing has been going well for them after that as their run game was shut down. On defense, they gave up the two big scoring plays but have slowed down the Coaler’s offense since. What to look for in the Second Half Coal City needs to get their run game going again and look for them to take play-action deep shots off of this to get a quick one on Wilmington’s defense. On defense, they need to continue to shoot the gaps by stacking the box and sending pressure on each play. It has worked out well for them so far in limiting the run game for Wilmington, look for the same to happen in the second half. Wilmington needs to continue to pound the ball since their physicality is the name of their game. As the game goes on it will wear down the Coaler’s defensive unit causing the run game to open up. On defense, they need to shoot the gaps and hold outside contain. The two TDs they let up happened because there wasn’t any outside contain on the cutback lanes. Finally, look for the Wildcats to send pressure and stack the box to disrupt the Coaler’s offense. Second Half To start off the second half Wilmington got the ball on their own 24-yard line where they ended up punting the ball away. Coal City got the ball back and [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] showcased his dominance against going 66 yards for another touchdown bringing his total to three on the night. That would be the end of the Coaler’s hot streak as Wilmington punched in a 2-yard TD run from QB Jack Narine, a field goal in the 4th, and an 11-yard touchdown from Matt Sanchez to put them up 24 to 21 with a few minutes left in the game. The Coalers had a chance to pull off the comeback win as they were driving down the field in their wildcat formation with [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] at the helm. They ended up getting to Wilmington’s 25-yard line when [player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] mishandled the snap resulting in a fumble that the Wildcats recovered. From there, the Wildcats ran the remaining time off of the clock to close out the win against a dominant Coal City team. End of Game Wilmington 24 Coal City 21 Coming into this game I knew both of these teams were going to come out swinging giving it their best shot. I had Coal City winning this game 31 - 28 in a close contest but I was wrong as it came down to Wilmington winning 24 - 21. Both of these teams are going to be dominant teams come the fall and if there are playoffs in the fall season both of these teams will make a deep push in their bracket. Game Stats Coal City Coalers <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"]: 14 carries for 274 yards, 3 TDs, 5 tackles (4 solos)</li> <li>Ashton Harvey: 6 carries for 32 yards, 13 tackles (12 solos), 1.0 TFL</li> </ul> Wilmington Wildcats <ul> <li>Cody Franzen: 18 carries for 94 yards, 1 TD</li> <li>Jacob Friddle: 16 carries for 84 yards</li> </ul> Key Takeaways Coal City Coalers <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="65240" first="Asa" last="Cooper"] is the real deal, electric player that is a big-time playmaker</li> <li>Physical team that isn’t afraid of the competition</li> <li>Have young talent that will take over the team come the fall</li> <li>Dominant team that can go head to head with the best of the best</li> </ul> Wilmington Wildcats <ul> <li>Physical team that doesn’t back down from a challenge</li> <li>Got punched in the mouth all game but came back to win the game, shows their perseverance & dominance</li> <li>Bend but don’t break mantra, losing most of the game but came through when it mattered most</li> <li>Have multiple running backs that can get it done through the ground game</li> <li>Offensive line can control the line of scrimmage</li> </ul> <hr /> Overall, this was a hard-fought battle between Coal City and Wilmington. The momentum was swinging back and forth throughout the game where each team was able to throw punches and counter the other. It was a great game and I wish the best to both of these teams for the remainder of the season. Coal City heads to Reed-Custer on Friday, April 16th at 6:00 pm and Wilmington heads to Peotone on Friday, April 16th at 6:00 pm for their final game of the season. Be sure to follow @jamaskane regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football, @PrepRedzoneIL, and @PrepRedzone.