For Cony, Friday night means a chance to play the rest of the postseason at home.
For Gardiner, it means a chance to play the postseason, period.
The Rams and Tigers are meeting for the 142nd time in a game that, year after year, means something regardless of the records of the participants.
“Friday night determines 365 days worth of bragging rights,” Cony coach B.L. Lippert said.
There are more than bragging rights on the line this time, however. With a win and a Hampden win over Brewer, Cony would improve to 8-0 and take the No. 1 seed in the Pine Tree Conference Class B. Meanwhile, with a win, Gardiner (2-5, currently seeded eighth) would keep destiny in its own hands and clinch that spot and the last playoff opening. The Tigers can also get in with a loss and a Hampden win over Brewer.
“Any time you’ve got a shot at playoffs, there’s a lot on the line,” said Gardiner coach Joe White, whose team is coming off of a win over Messalonskee. “We’ve got our parts and pieces back together here, we had a good game against Messalonskee. … We just have to play well. I know they’re going to play hard, because it’s that type of week.”
Here’s a closer look at Cony-Gardiner:
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
Where: Hoch Field, Gardiner
Cony coach B.L. Lippert on Gardiner: “They’ve got some capable receivers that have made some plays all year long, and some size there. … And defensively, they’re active. They play that 3-3 front, and they’re active up front. They’ve got two defensive ends in (A.J.) Chadwick and (Ashton) Engle that really do a nice job of causing some chaos on the interior.”
Gardiner coach Joe White on Cony: “They execute really well on both sides of the ball. They run a fairly fluid spread offense, they run the ball really well with (Riley) Geyer and Jamal (Cariglia), they’ve got a great run game, and defensively they’re very aggressive. They are stunting gaps with linebackers, they’re flying to the ball and they make a lot of plays in the secondary that have really helped them out. They’ve been able to put a complete game together every week.”
Three keys for Cony:
• Contain Sean Michaud. Whether the Tigers stick with Noah Reed at quarterback and Michaud at running back, or go back to the original plan of Michaud under center, the offense runs best when the ball ends up in the senior’s hands. Gardiner is going to try to get him involved, and Cony needs to make sure he never gets going.
“(He) certainly jumps off the screen as someone who’s dangerous with the ball in his hands,” Lippert said. “He can take it the distance every time he touches it.”
• Avoid turnovers. How does a 7-0 team lose to a 2-5 team? Providing extra chances is a good way to start. A 5-2 Cony team lost to a 2-5 Gardiner squad two years ago, and turnovers played a key role. They’re always an equalizing factor, and if the Rams get sloppy, they could be again.
• Start fast. It’s no secret that Gardiner has struggled to climb back into games this season, and Cony has had a knack for successful opening drives. If the Rams are able to find the end zone on their first possessions and take a 7-0 or 14-0 lead, the Tigers could start to realize just how difficult a task they’re facing tonight.
Three keys for Gardiner:
• Find the right angles on defense. Laying back on their heels won’t help the Tigers against Cony’s hard-running duo of Geyer and Cariglia, but at the same time, going full bore up the middle and over-pursuing won’t do much good either. The Tigers need to play physically and play tough, but at the same time be smart about how they’re filling gaps and holes.
“We won’t change up the scheme too much. We just really need to be aggressive up front,” White said. “The D-line has to be able to penetrate, but not over-pursue. We don’t want to run past those guys and give them a clean second level.”
• Be ready for the pass. The Rams don’t air it out like they used to, when they would throw 30 to 35 times a game, but Cony has a player in Geyer who loves to throw both downfield and short. If the Tigers load up the box to stop Geyer on the draw, they’re just asking for Cony to turn on the aerial attack. Even if all they’re getting is Cariglia and Geyer up the middle, the Tigers can’t be caught flat-footed if Cony changes the script.
• Run quick plays. Quick passes, screens, anything that doesn’t require time for the play to unfold or blocks to be held for a long period of time. The Rams have a disruptive front with Caleb MacFarland, Casey Mills and Brady Lucas, as well as blitzing linebackers in Luke White and Cariglia. If the Tigers put pressure on their offensive line to hold up, they’ll be in trouble.
“We need to be prepared to take on a big kid like MacFarland,” White said. “He uses his hands so well, that wrestling background really helps him. He doesn’t allow defenders to engage with him … (and) he’s able to shed quickly on defense and make plays.”
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