Richland vs Hankinson

[steel]

Any insights on this game. Richland has a lot of speed and playmakers. Don't know much about these teams except Richland has been destroying teams. I do think they are an excellent team but not sure of the level of competition they have faced. It looks like this will be for the regular season Region 1 title and homefield throughout the playoffs. I am assuming Richland is a big favorite

[sportsphenom]

I see Richland winning by 3+ tds.

[d_fense]

I concur with steel. I think Richland is the best team in the state, but they have not played much high end competition, with the possible exception of Kindred. And Kindred was put at a disadvantage because of playing a 9man/11man game, so take that for what it is worth. I do think Hankinson is the clear #2 team in region 1, but I see Richland winning by 30+.

[UNDSiouxfan]

This game will be a much closer contest than you think. These teams are big rivals and don't underestimate the skill players and team defense of Hankinson.

Let's let it play out and see what happens, but you are correct that these are the two top teams in the Region.

[Run4Fun2009]

Richland by at least 25!

[Jack Squad]

This is a big rivalry game between the two schools so I don't expect the outcome of the game to be decided by 45+ points. With that being said, Richland has the best offense and Hankinson has the best defense in the region so those two sides of the ball should be a great battle.

The winner of the game will presumably be the region champion and I don't think that either team has had that title in quite a few years so both teams will be hungry for that. It should be a great game and it's on Richland's homecoming.

[Frontline]

My opinion on Richland is if they can get past either cavalier/thompson in the playoffs, they will win it all. They are just too fast on offense and defense to be stopped. The only time they've really gotten scored on was on a broken play. After this game against Hankinson it will give me a better understanding on whether or not i feel im correct but Im taking Richland by 30+

[magic man]

I concur with steel. I think Richland is the best team in the state, but they have not played much high end competition, with the possible exception of Kindred. And Kindred was put at a disadvantage because of playing a 9man/11man game, so take that for what it is worth. I do think Hankinson is the clear #2 team in region 1, but I see Richland winning by 30+.

I can understand part of this, when Kindred had to play the 9 man side of things, but when Kindred was on Offense, they played with 11 and couldn't really score.

[d_fense]

I concur with steel. I think Richland is the best team in the state, but they have not played much high end competition, with the possible exception of Kindred. And Kindred was put at a disadvantage because of playing a 9man/11man game, so take that for what it is worth. I do think Hankinson is the clear #2 team in region 1, but I see Richland winning by 30+.

I can understand part of this, when Kindred had to play the 9 man side of things, but when Kindred was on Offense, they played with 11 and couldn't really score.

Ya.... If the game would have been played as a nine man game straight out, I'm very confident that Kindred would have scored at least 2 td's.

The fact that Kindred plays 11 man football doesn't make it easier for them to score while playing 11 man. If they could have got rid of 2 tackles or 2 guards (however you prefer to relate to the difference between 11 and 9 man) they would have made it a better game.

It doesn't matter how you want to say it, from an 11 man perspective, scoring in 9 man football is easy compared to scoring in 11 man. Or, playing 9 man defense is much more difficult than playing 11 man defense. And you could turn those right around by saying playing defense in 11 man is a piece of cake compared to defending in 9 man.

That is one of the things about that Cavaliers run the last few years that has been so impressive. Holding teams to so few points while playing 9 man football is remarkable. Another thing that Cavalier did last year when they played Kindred was to play the whole game 11 man. I am very high on Richland's team this year, I think they will likely win it all. But, there was no way they were going to play Kindred in an 11 man game. I think they would probably have won the game, but I think it would have been by less than two td's compared to 39-0 (I think that was the score, if not, it should be close).

Think about how the scoring would change in class B boys bball if instead of playing 5 on 5, we were to play 4 on 4.... Scoring would go way up. There would have so many more open areas to attack that a team, that 5 on 5 scored 60, would likely score around 74 or so points a game.

[ProudPirate]

I see it kind-of like the Thompson/Cavalier game. Since Thompson was blowing everyone out they were going to win by 30+. Turns out it came down to the final drive. Richland definately has to be the favorite but taking out the Kindred game the total number of wins the teams Richland has played is 0. They haven't played LaMoure or Wynd/Lidg, although i believe they will beat them they won't be blow outs. Hankinson doesn't have the big guns on offense like Richland but their d-line is pretty good and Kendrick Lenzen has got to be one of the best linebackers in the state in 9man. Should be a fun game either way.
On another note i see alot of comments about Region One not being a powerhouse in 9man? Look back over the last10 seasons & Region 1 has produced 5 state champs. Just say'n...

[FootballFever42]

I see it kind-of like the Thompson/Cavalier game. Since Thompson was blowing everyone out they were going to win by 30+. Turns out it came down to the final drive. Richland definately has to be the favorite but taking out the Kindred game the total number of wins the teams Richland has played is 0. They haven't played LaMoure or Wynd/Lidg, although i believe they will beat them they won't be blow outs. Hankinson doesn't have the big guns on offense like Richland but their d-line is pretty good and Kendrick Lenzen has got to be one of the best linebackers in the state in 9man. Should be a fun game either way.
On another note i see alot of comments about Region One not being a powerhouse in 9man? Look back over the last10 seasons & Region 1 has produced 5 state champs. Just say'n...

ProudPirate, Richland played FSHP who was a three win team. They also played Hatton-Northwood and May-Port-CG who both have a win. I'm not saying these are top tier teams but they have played and beaten teams with wins.

What's important to understand about this game is as some have noted an existing rivalry, especially between the seniors on both of these squads. This year's seniors from both Hankinson and Richland have been very competitive since day one whether it was football or other sports like basketball. This is one of the reasons why, despite Richland's lopsided scores, I predict this to be a much closer game than Richland is used to.What I believe this game is going to come down to is Hankinson's ability to match up defensively with Richland's offensive arsenal. If Hankinson can contain Richland's offense and cause problems this will be an exciting game. Personally, I feel Richland will be to much and will walk away with a 2 score victory.

Something else I would like to throw out there is some clarity as to why Richland's scores are so lopsided. There are three reasons.
1. Richland is a darn good football team and very deserving of their 2 seed ranking.
2. Region 1 is down this year. There's no denying that over the past decade Region 1 has been a perennial power house but because of factors like graduation and the 9 man region reformation it is not the same region it has been in recent years.
3. The final reason behind Richland's lopsided scores relates to its roster size. When you have a great team in a bad region you're going to see some lopsided scores. The reason that Richland's are unusually lopsided though is because at the start of the season there were only 16-17 kids on the roster. Even when Richland is up by 50+ points they don't have the option to field a JV. This means that some starters are staying on the field. This also means that not all of the non-starters get to come in at the same time because there are most likely multiple players of the same position. As a result a handful of Richland starters are playing the whole game out of necessity.

[UNDSiouxfan]

ProudPirate - you have a great take on this. This should be a great rivalry game and it will come down to the wire. I've seen a lot of football in the last 20 years, and on defense Lenzen hits as hard as anyone I've seen in any class. Definitely college material. With that said - Richland has to be the favorite, especially playing at home, but Defense wins championships. This will be a great game all the way to the end, and 1-2 plays could decide this. No matter who wins, it is likely that these two teams will finish 1-2 in the Region this year.

[ProudPirate]

My bad, my point is Richland needs to Win their next few games. Region 1 is down this year, Richland is the top in region 1 no doubt but the teams they have beaten are weak teams right now. FSHP has 3 wins but you have to look at who they beat. I'm not trying to take anything away from them, until they are beaten they are #1 in the region. It should be a good game. I just don't think it will be a blowout. I know I'll enjoy watching it. Either way I think winner is #1 seed & loser will be #2. IMO.
The playoffs should be excellent too. With no clear cut #1 this year after the first round every game should be good to see.

[winner-within]

I see it kind-of like the Thompson/Cavalier game. Since Thompson was blowing everyone out they were going to win by 30+. Turns out it came down to the final drive. Richland definately has to be the favorite but taking out the Kindred game the total number of wins the teams Richland has played is 0. They haven't played LaMoure or Wynd/Lidg, although i believe they will beat them they won't be blow outs. Hankinson doesn't have the big guns on offense like Richland but their d-line is pretty good and Kendrick Lenzen has got to be one of the best linebackers in the state in 9man. Should be a fun game either way.
On another note i see alot of comments about Region One not being a powerhouse in 9man? Look back over the last10 seasons & Region 1 has produced 5 state champs. Just say'n...

I dont think anybody was thinking the Tommies would win by 30 plus over the 2 time defending 9-man Champs


on the topic note: would be fun to see Richland play ...

[Sniper]

Richland wins by 4 scores.

[Jack Squad]

Hankinson 14-Richland 12. At half

[ProudPirate]

Wow, what a game! Could've gone either way. Good goal-line stand by both teams but Richland had the final one. Richland is a very well coached team & disclipined team. Wouldve liked to see Lenzen in the backfield esp on the goal-line. Looking forward to rest of season. Just don't overlook W/L & LaMoure, they both get to play Richland yet.

[UNDSiouxfan]

Quite possibly the best 9 man game of the season - Hankinson gave Richland all they could handle, and Richland hasn't been hit like that all year. I hope we get to see these two teams go at it again in the playoffs. Either team could've won, but Richland deserved it with their goal-line stand and they were more disciplined at the line of scrimmage.

I wouldn't be surprised if W-L or Lamoure can sneak by Richland since they will be coping with injuries this week.

[Sleepy]

Who do you think was injured, or banged up?

[UNDSiouxfan]

Sleepy, it sure appeared after the game that there were several Richland players who limped off the field - including Ihlen. Probably more banged up than injured. It was a hard-hitting game on both sides of the ball and kudos to both teams.

[madseason]

Sleepy, it sure appeared after the game that there were several Richland players who limped off the field - including Ihlen. Probably more banged up than injured. It was a hard-hitting game on both sides of the ball and kudos to both teams.

If they are seniors they WILL be back, And possibly they come back before they are ready (hard headed seniors). Sounds like it was a great game. They may see each other again in the playoffs?