With region championship hopes on the line, BHP answered the call and produced their most convincing win of the season. Although BHP looked rattled on the opening Wren drive, the Bears settled down and thoroughly destroyed Wren in a 41-24 rout. BHP showed why the expectations for this team were so high coming into the season.
With as well as the Bears played Friday they will need to be even better this Friday as they face Daniel in a match up that will decide the region championship and home field throughout the playoffs. BHP will look to derail Daniel’s undefeated season and claim their 3rd region championship under Coach Blackston.
Week 9 Review
We proclaimed Friday night after the game that BHP’s performance against Wren was the most impressive of the season. After reviewing the stats and adding the proliferation of the Wren’s offense, that maybe an understatement. BHP won on both offense and defense. The 5 offensive TDs that tied for the second most this season, coupled with the Bear’s second defensive score of the season showed the dominance BHP had been searching for all season.
BHP showed a level of execution on Friday night that has been lacking all season. From limiting dropped passes, to only 1 lost fumble (in the fourth quarter as BHP was up 41-10), to very few missed tackles, BHP played up to their talent, not down to their opponent.
We also need to acknowledge the near perfect play calling and situational football the BHP coaches presented. From our point of view, the play calling put the players in positions to truly dominate the game, and that is what they did. It also seems that they may be cooking up even more for the next couple of games.
Week 9 Quick Stats
- With his 11 receptions Friday NIght, BHP’s Xavier Nance took sole possession of the all time reception leader and is 8 receptions away from the most in a single season at BHP.
- BHP’s Camden Bratcher is 409 yards away from being the all time passing yards leader and 394 yards away from the all time season passing yards leader at BHP.
- BHP’s Camden Bratcher is 8 completions away from the most completions in a season at * BHP and is currently tied for the most for a career.
- In the first 3 quarters BHP held Wren to a 24.5% success rate.
- BHP is outscoring opponents by 84 points (195 - 111) in the first half of games this season, but are being outscored by 4 points (89 - 93) in the second half.
- The 310 total yards gained if the first half against Wren was only the 9th time since 2014 that BHP gained 300 or more yards in a half.
- BHP’s opponents are gaining zero or negative yards on 35% of their plays this season.
- BHP, as a team, is 15 completions away from the most completions in a single season for any BHP team.
- BHP has had eleven 200 or more yard passing games since 2014 and 6 have come this season.
- The 60 yard interception return for a touchdown by Braylon Oliver was the 2nd longest INT return for a touchdown since 2014.
- BHP is averaging 90 penalty yards per game while their opponents are averaging 50 penalty yards per game.
- BHP held Wren to 264 total yards. Coming into the game Wren was averaging 461 yards per game.
- 56.8% of Wren’s total yards came in the 4th quarter against BHP. In the first 3 quarters Wren gained 104 passing yards, in the 4th quarter Wren gained 135 passing yards.
- Since 2000 BHP has won their region 7 times.
Week 10 Preview
With BHP’s win against Wren and Daniel’s win over Pickens, the matchup between the Bears and Lions will be for all the marbles. Although recent matchups between the two have not had this high of stakes, historical matchups nearly always did. Since 2000, BHP and Daniel have either won or tied for first place in the region 15 out of the 18 seasons.
BHP will be taking on a Daniel team that has made nearly a 180 degree turnaround from last season. Daniel is only one of three 4A teams who have not lost this season. With that, Daniel has the 2nd highest points differential and the 4th least points allowed in all of 4A this season (the three teams giving up less points have played at least one fewer game).
Daniel is BHP’s 2nd most played opponent in school history. BHP’s overall record against Daniel is 19-29 in 48 matchups. Since 2000, BHP is 9-9 against Daniel. Also since 2000, BHP is 15-3 in week 10 games.
2017 BHP vs Daniel
Score: BHP 21 - Daniel 7
BHP Stats
Total Yards: 57 plays for 354 yards and 3 TDs
Rushing Yards: 38 rushes for 157 yards and 2 TD
Passing Yards: 13/19/1 for 197 yards and 1 TD
BHP Individual Leaders
Rushing: RJ Ellis - 34 rushes for 167 yards and 2 TD
Passing: Camden Bratcher - 13/19/1 for 197 yards and 1 TD
Receiving: Jacob Howard - 2 receptions for 61 yards
Daniel Stats
Total Yards: 58 plays for 199 yards and 1 TD
Rushing Yards: 24 rushes for -11 yards
Passing Yards: 17/34/1 for 210 yards and 1 TD
Daniel Individual Leaders
Rushing: Kiandre Sims - 7 rushes for 27 yards
Passing: Tyler Venables - 17/34/1 for 210 yards and 1 TD
Receiving: Brenton Benson - 5 receptions for 128 yards and 1 TD
Conclusion
As up and down the season has seemed, BHP has put themselves in a position to win their region championship. The team has started to show the signs of the them we expected them to be from the beginning of the season. Offensively, we think there is no better unit of skill position players on any 4A team in the state, and defensively, the Bears have a front that is starting to get consistent pressure and a secondary that has the speed to cover the entire field.
Historically, it is fitting the region championship will come down to BHP and Daniel. Even with that incentive, the winner also gets an extremely advantageous position in the playoffs. The winner of this region gets home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
We see BHP maintaining the momentum and winning the region with a 28-24 victory over Daniel.
Nevertheless, this will be a great game and we should all support the team by showing up at Daniel for the game. But if you cannot make it, be sure to follow us on @bhp_bears for live updates.
Let us know if you agree or disagree with our prediction in the comments below or on our social media pages (@bhp_bears or /howboutthembears).
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