Big 33 Football Classic: Five Reasons Why Team Maryland Will Beat Team Pennsylvania
by J. Cleezy
Posted June 14, 2013 2:26 pm
art walker, big 33, darius victor, deandre lane, evlis dennah, jacquille veli, jai franklin, luke casey, micah kiser, milan collins, rachid ibrahm
1. Something to Prove
Let’s keep it real here. I still have people saying to me, “…you mean Pennsylvania doesn’t play Ohio anymore?” Uh, now, we don’t. That being said, you have to guess that Maryland comes into this game wanting to prove something to Pennsylvania and everybody else. Maryland has seen a resurgence in recruiting from their area and are starting to develop a lot of high-caliber Division 1 recruits. This game is a chance for Maryland to establish itself as one of the best high school football breeding grounds in the Northeast.
2. A Very Good Secondary
Team Maryland probably has the best collection of defensive backs in the games. They will need all their skill and speed going up against the wide receiver core from Team Pennsylvania. This group is big, physical, and will challenge the Pennsylvania wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. Milan Collins, Jaquille Veli, and Elvis Dennah all are attending Maryland in the fall.
3. All Kinds of Skill In The Backfield
Team Maryland has a trio of backs the possess speed (DeAndre Lane), power (Darius Victor) and combination of both (Rachid Ibrahim). I’ll tell you right now, Team Pennsylvania had better wrap up Darius Victor (Towson) when trying to tackle him or it’s going to be a long day. Lane has shown his speed and quickness throughout this week of practice, but he’s also a strong runner as well. Ibrahim has what I like to call a very smooth running style with the ability to turn the corner on defenders.
4. Excellent QB and Receiving Core
Luke Casey (Maine) and Shane Cockerville (Maryland) are a very formidable duo in their own right. Cockerille is a southpaw who has shown nice touch on the ball all week. Casey has nice touch too and is probably the better runner out of the two quarterbacks. Kyle Levere has looked good during 1v1 sessions, making great catches on the days that I’ve watched him practice. Tyler Ambush might be a problem coming out of the slot position. Marquise Ellis and Bradley Metcalf are good-sized targets.
5. Nice Front Four
Team Maryland took a hit when Micah Kiser (LB) and Henry Poggi (DL) pulled out of game last week. Still, they have a very formidable front four with Mike Minter (Maryland), Kieran Gregory (Richmond) and Jai Franklin (Old Dominion) leading the way for Maryland’s defensive line.
Team Maryland has had very lively practices all week as they should, this being the first time they’ve played Pennsylvania in the Big 33 game in years. Team Pennsylvania may have more talent but look for Team Maryland to not back down from the challenge.
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art walker, big 33, darius victor, deandre lane, evlis dennah, jacquille veli, jai franklin, luke casey, micah kiser, milan collins, rachid ibrahm