Harrah Practice Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Harrah Panthers are 3-0 for the first time in over a decade and they will look to carry that momentum into district play beginning this week. And as we mentioned during the summer in the Harrah team preview, the Panthers are going to need all the momentum they can get considering the district they are in. Four district opponents are currently ranked in the top ten in Class 4A with Blanchard, Newcastle and Tuttle all checking in this week in the top five. The Panthers open the district slate on the road this week against #3 Blanchard, looking to make another statement. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>So far, the Panthers have looked really good with dominant wins over McLoud, Western Heights and Seminole. They've only given up 12 points on the season but that will change once they get into this district. Blanchard comes into this week's match-up with one of the more explosive offenses in Class 4A. So the Panthers will have their work cut out for them to slow down the Blanchard passing attack. But there's no doubt that this Harrah team has what it takes to make a push for a playoff spot out of this district. They're experienced, they're talented and on Friday, they get their first opportunity to get one step closer to a playoff spot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no secret about the Panthers when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. This is a run-first team and that's where they have a lot of their success. They're averaging close to 325 yards of total offense a game and nearly 240 yards of that average comes from the ground game. They've scored 13 touchdowns on the ground and only 3 passing touchdowns this season. That could certainly come into play this week. One way of keeping Blanchard's passing attack contained is keeping them on the sideline with an excellent running game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, the Panthers have been lights out and there isn't much to critique there. But again, they are going to be tested in a new way this week when they face Blanchard. This two-week stretch to open up district play is going to show us exactly where Harrah is this season. They travel to Blanchard this week and then go to #4 Tuttle next week. Blanchard comes into this week battle-tested after playing a complete non-district slate against 5A competition. They fell to Piedmont in week two and then had to rally to beat Shawnee last week. Harrah is off to a hot start and they look to continue that this week with what would be a massive win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>HARRAH'S PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["924953"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='924953' first='Devon' last='Macaraig'] is coming off arguably his best performance of his career when the Panthers beat Seminole in week three. He was one of our top performers as he had well over 200 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Macaraig has completely carried over his performance from the last two weeks of the season when the Panthers got wins. He ran for more than 100 yards in the final two weeks and he's already on pace for outdoing his 2022 production by the end of September. Last year, he ran for a little over 500 yards on the year. As we stand right now, he has 468 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. We mentioned back in the summer that Macaraig had the potential to be a 1,000-yard rusher. He's well on his way.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["924954"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"There's no doubt that Harrah is a run-first team with Macaraig at running back but they aren't lacking weapons at the wide receiver position. Senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='924954' first='Luke' last='Sellers'] leads the team in receiving by a wide margin even though it's been a limited sample size. He has nine catches for nearly 150 yards and three touchdowns. He's the only Panther to have a receiving touchdown this season. We talked about Sellers prior to the season as being a 2024 prospect under the radar and he certainly has the ability to play at the next level. Now he's going to get his opportunity to prove that over the next two months. The competition is going to ratchet up and that should open up opportunities for Sellers to make more plays in the passing game.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["924955"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Macaraig isn't the only option for the Panthers when it comes to the running game. They also have a physical game-wrecker of a linebacker that also plays running back. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='924955' first='Titus' last='Johnson'] has matched Macaraig's six touchdowns on the ground so far this season and he's certainly more of a physical presence when he lines up in the backfield. He makes the most of his carries as he only has 17 on the season and has already found the end zone six times. He had three touchdowns in their season opener against McLoud on five carries. And we mentioned he's a linebacker that also plays running back. He leads the team in tackles and tackles for loss. He'll be a big part of their success on Friday as he tries to crash the backfield to slow down Blanchard's offense.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-650aeaea5937f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->