Palisades at Chambers Offensive Standouts

The Palisades Pumas defeated the Chambers Cougars 14-7 this past Friday Night, a game that was definitely a matchup of two of the better defenses in the Charlotte area. What was also proven is that these are both two good teams that should make some noise in the state playoffs later this season.   Palisades did all of their scoring in the first half, building a 14-0 lead on touchdowns from QB [player_tooltip player_id='525514' first='Cole' last='Hough'] and RB [player_tooltip player_id='1262278' first='Lincoln' last='Wise']. Chambers was able to break through in the 4th quarter on the strength of a [player_tooltip player_id='1849424' first='Tahj' last='Brooks'] touchdown run. Let's look at the offensive standouts in some detail individually.    The Palisades junior didn't have a high number of yards throwing the football in this one, but Cole was able to make some key plays with his legs, showing some dual threat ability. Cole picked up a couple of critical first downs on the run to keep some important drives going. I liked how he made immediate decisions when deciding to pass vs. run, and the strength that Cole has when finishing runs is impressive - that was the difference in first down yardage a couple of times. His TD run in the first half looked to be a designed QB draw, showing the confidence the Pumas have in his running ability.     Lincoln got the primary share of the workload for the Pumas in this one, and that trust paid off well. Lincoln had over 100 yards on the ground to go with his touchdown run, and he showed some nice strength with the ball in his hands. On his short touchdown run, Lincoln ran through a couple of Chambers defenders at the goal line to get the job done. Lincoln was also able to show his trademark speed on a couple of outside zone plays that got him into spaces for some big runs.     There wasn't a ton of passing action in this game, but Jolani made two catches that were huge for his Pumas. The first one covered about 40 yards in the last minute of the first half. Jolani was able to win against man coverage deep down the sideline for a twisting catch that helped setup the Pumas second touchdown right before halftime. Jolani showed some nice body control and strong hands on that one. Jolani's second big catch happened on a 3rd and 20 late in the 4th quarter that essentially drained all of the remaining time left for a potential Chambers comeback. Jolani caught a simple receiver screen and broke a couple of Chambers attempted tackles and converted the 3rd down with a 25 yard gain on the play. That was a play made by a college-level receiver for sure.     This was my first time seeing Tahj live in person, and he was an impressive back. Going against a very good Pumas defense, yards were hard to come by, but Tahj made the absolute most of every carry he had in this game. Tahj showed some electric ability with the ball in his hands, especially when he had a little space to operate. There was a nasty juke he made on a Palisades defender in the open field as an example of that. On his touchdown run from about ten yards out, Tahj went straight North & South up the middle with no wasted movement, showing his impressive straight line speed. Tahj is the main back for the Cougars, and at his pace he could have a 1,000 yard rushing season for sure.     Dior didn't get a ton of chances to show his ability in this one due to some very good pass coverage in the secondary by the Pumas. However, when he did get the ball in his hands, Dior showed some elite traits. Dior primarily operates out of the slot, and on one play, he caught a quick hitch route. Dior showed some lightning quick footwork to make a defender miss, pick up another 7 yards, and gain a first down on the play. There is some potential for Dior to do more, and he has in some earlier games, but it was obvious the Pumas didn't want to let him beat them on this night. Even so, he's a player I'm excited about seeing grow moving forward.     There were some talented offensive linemen on both teams in this one, however when I watched the clips, I thought Nolan was the one who played the best overall in this game. When Palisades needed something in the running game, they ran behind him and usually with some good results. I thought Nolan moved his feet well in pass protection and exhibited some nice run blocking fundamentals as well. I didn't remember seeing Nolan get beat on an individual pass rush from his side either. Overall, the Pumas will go as far as their OL will take them, and Nolan gives them a chance to go pretty far in my opinion.

The Palisades Pumas defeated the Chambers Cougars 14-7 this past Friday Night, a game that was definitely a matchup of two of the better defenses in the Charlotte area. What was also proven is that these are both two good teams that should make some noise in the state playoffs later this season.