1) Stop Donte Harrell.
The senior running back for Francis Howell has dominated this season. He has reached the end zone a total of 24 times and has 1,358 yards rushing on just 194 attempts, that’s exactly seven yards per carry.
Harrell has torn apart defenses all season, and needs to be contained and kept out of the end zone in order for the Lancers to win.
2) Pressure the young quarterback.
Starting quarterback Brett Siebenshuh went down early in the season and sophomore Mike Glass was called upon to take over for Francis Howell.
Despite the team’s immense success this season, Glass has struggled with his decision making. Glass has thrown nine interceptions already on the year and has only completed 52 percent of his 122 pass attempts. Glass has an overall QB rating of just 87.88 and can easily be shaken up by the Lancer defense.
Seniors Sevion Burnett and John Voit, leading the team in sacks, will have to put the pressure on the Francis Howell offensive line and get to the inexperienced quarterback to make him umcomfortable.
Glass has been known to throw interceptions, which is good for senior Elliot Montgomery who has nabbed four interceptions for the Lancers.
However, Glass did have himself a solid game against Hickman, throwing for three touchdowns on just five pass attempts. For the Lancers to take control of this game, they need to rattle the sophomore.
3) Do not let Zac Perkins touch the ball.
Senior Zac Perkins does it all for Francis Howell, starts at defensive back, returns punts, rushes a couple times a game and is also the teams starting kicker.
Perkins has an incredible eight interceptions for the Vikings and has returned two of them back for touchdowns. Perkins has also returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown against Howell Central earlier in the season.
Perkins has also nailed seven field goals on the year and is a reliable extra point kicker for the team. The senior is an all-out playmaker for the Vikings.
Lancer quarterback senior Matt Goro should not be throwing anywhere in the vincinity for Perkins, the guy is a ball-hawking defensive back and has the ability to take it back for a score, which is the last thing the Lancers need.
Also when punting, kick it away from Perkins. Don’t make it easy for him to do what he does best, make big plays for the Vikings.
4) Run, run, run.
The Lancers have an unlimited amount of weapons in the back field that can make big plays for the team. Senior running back Deonte Robinson has been an offensive machine for the team, averaging 7.5 yards per carry and scoring 13 rushing touchdowns.
When Robinson gets tired, they switch him out with junior Kevin Hampton who is just as dynamic. Hampton averages 7.2 yards per carry and has also notched seven rushing touchdowns for the Lancers.
The rushing threats don’t stop there, backup quarterback junior Evan Scales has the ability to run outside the pocket and make big plays. Scales averages 6.5 yards per carry which is astounding for a quarterback.
The Lancers recorded 280 yards rushing against Eureka in the District Championship, which led to their victory. They will need to put up similar numbers to move on in the State Tournament.
5) Protect Goro.
Jarrett Franklin and Calvin Munson are two players Goro will not want to see running freely towards him. These six foot plus giants have combined for a total of 26 sacks on the season and look to tack on some more in the upcoming game.
The offense has to keep these players in check and make sure they don’t have a free shot at Goro. Goro needs all the time he can to read the defense and avoid throwing the ball towards Perkins, he doesn’t need these sacking machines coming at him at full speed.
Contain Franklin and Munson and the passing game will be effective and the chances of victory become very probable.
The Final Four showdown begins Friday at 7 p.m. at Francis Howell.
