TJ 35 vs. Strong Vincent 6

PIAA Football Semifinals / Class AAA: Speed vs. TJ's power

Thursday, December 06, 2007

By Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Erie Strong Vincent football coach Tom Cacchione doesn't need to be reminded. Actually, he has pretty much ignored it.

"Probably seen the tape twice, maybe," he said of his team's 21-20 loss to Thomas Jefferson in the 2004 PIAA Class AAA semifinal.

Now, only two things can happen: Erie Strong Vincent will exact some revenge or Thomas Jefferson will frustrate the Colonels again.

The teams play at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Erie's Veterans Memorial Stadium with a trip to the PIAA championship in the balance.

WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson enters with a 14-0 record; Erie Strong Vincent, the District 10 champion, is 11-2.

While Thomas Jefferson is widely considered one of the state's most physically dominant teams, Erie Strong Vincent might be the fastest team the Jaguars will face this season. And the Colonels have used that speed to go on an offensive burst, scoring at least 41 points in its past three games and coming in as the No. 6 scoring team in the state, averaging 39.5 points per game.

Erie Strong Vincent's lightning-quick, run-first offense is a multifaceted Wing-T attack. In a win against Indian Valley last week, Marquis Knight led the Colonels with 144 yards, Deonte Flemings had 122 and three scores and Jesse Wattle had 92 yards as the Colonels accumulated 439 rushing yards.

While it will be a classic speed vs. power scenario, Cacchione believes another factor will favor his team.

"It is going to be 25 degrees and that wind will be blowing sideways and there might even be some snow," he said. "I can say that this will be the coldest game that TJ has ever played in, but we have played in some games like this before. You'd have to think that is going to be an advantage for us, just because we are kind of used to those conditions."

Conditions that could yield a sloppy, fragmented game.

"I don't think with the weather and everything that you can go in and say, 'Our goal is to not turn it over at all,' " Cacchione said. "That might be a little unrealistic because there could be some things that are out of your control. But what you have control over is ... stuff like taking a penalty or not tucking the ball away in your arm or something like that.

"Mistakes, yeah, there will be some mistakes, but I don't think it is a big secret that which ever team doesn't make the big mistake will play in the state championship."