Week 10 Thursday 18:00 ET
Last season the Red Dragons had the best rushing defense in the entire RFL allowing only 1215 yards on the ground all year. This year they haven’t been as dominant vs the run with linebacker Jack Higgins tackling numbers not quite what they were last season, but it looks like Coach Davis has found a slightly different role for him this year letting him loose to go after the quarterback more. Higgins has already smashed his 2 total sacks from last season. He has racked up 6 already through the first half of the season and is proving to be a high level pass rusher. Bobby Boucher continues to be the teams leading tackler and the fastest middle linebacker in the league is awesome to watch as he flies to the ball over and over again.
Today they go up against the single game rushing record setter Corey Leonidas. This running back is a formidable force as he proved when he set history, running for 339 yards week 6. And the Toronto Huskies are going to be hoping he can have another big game today to help them control time of possession.
There has been some criticism of Huskies QB Brady Hutson, especially after the last time we saw him Week 8 vs the River Hogs it looked like he was avoiding taking shots down the field. He completed nearly 80% of his passes that day but it was frustrating to watch him take check down after check down and struggling to take drives far enough down the field to score points. He too is a Record Breaker as it was announced a week ago he became the all time RFL leader in passing yards.
There is talk about the veterans career possibly coming to an end at the close of the season and it would be great to see him take this team to the playoffs regardless. He just needs to continue to lead this team the way he knows how. Their offense is built around the run with Hutson averaging 228 yards per game passing. With a record of 6-2 they have a nice chance, but they will need to score more points against the top teams.
Looking at the Red Dragons offense, they operate a pick your poison type of offense. Whilst they have a superb back in DJ Scott only 4 games out of 9 has he had over 20 carries. And they have a record of 3-1 in those games. The games where they have tried to poison opponents without him they are 2-3 so there is some work to be done. The bottom line is San Diego needs more touchdowns. Whilst they have wide receiver Andrew McIntosh who is having a superb year, they are undoing a lot of their good work because 6 turnovers on the season have cost the Red Dragons and DJ Scott is not responsible for any of them.
Today I imagine the Red Dragons are going to require to taker a bigger dose from the Passing Poison potion bottle again as the Huskies have a super rushing defense, if they can contain DJ Scott then it will open up the opportunity for their pass rushers to go after Savoy. And the young quarterback really does take too many sacks. 26 on the year so far. And that’s the biggest key to the game today.
The Verdict:
Whilst this should be a captivating watch, I don’t think we will witness a high scoring game. I think both teams will have success sacking the QB and defensive scores could be on the cards and could determine the result. Red Dragons need to stop the run first and then it will be up to Savoy to steer the offense and not give the game away in crucial moments. I have faith in Coach Davis to get the game plan right today and come out on top.
Red Dragons 23 vs Huskies 21
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