The class of the NOL meets this week in Tiffin, Ohio to face off in what many fans are calling the de facto NOL championship game. The 5-0 Bellevue Redmen will face off against the also unblemished 5-0 Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes. (All Bellevue yardage stats below are through 4 weeks)
Tale of the Tape:
Record
Tiffin Columbian: 5-0, Bellevue: 5-0
Points per game (NOL Rank)
Tiffin Columbian: 36.2 (3rd), Bellevue: 41.8 (2nd)
Points allowed per game
Tiffin Columbian: 16.4 (4th), Bellevue: 7.4 (1st)
Passing yards per game:
Tiffin Columbian: 138.4, Bellevue: 124.5
Rushing yards per game:
Tiffin Columbian: 249.6, Bellevue: 195.3
According to JoeEitel.com, Tiffin Columbian enters the game ranked 3rd in Division 2 Region 6 computer points, and Bellevue is ranked 1st in Division 3 Region 10.
TC Players to watch:
TB/WR Jack Jacoby: Jacoby has 9 TD's already in 5 games this season, he also has 88 carries for 690 yards, which amounts to just under 8 yards per carry. Jacoby can also toss the ball around a little bit as well. TC needs another solid effort from Jacoby on both sides of the ball in order to get the victory.
QB Mike Rohrbach: The first-year senior QB has been efficient throughout the season, completing just over 55% of his passes for 635 yards, he has 8 TDs and 4 INTs this season. Rohrbach must limit mistakes and make the TC offense more 2-dimensional. The Tornadoes are facing the toughest defense they have faced all year and will need to be less predictable with their playcalling this week.
The TC secondary: Time and time again this season the Tornadoes' young secondary has been tested and beaten. Last week, Toledo Start WR Will Goodbar roasted these guys multiple times. TC's secondary has to be the last line of defense against the big-play capability of players like Jalen Santoro and Dalton Jarvis. The return of SR WR/DB Seth Young is very timely this week for TC.
Bellevue Players to watch:
QB Jalen Santoro: A star on the basketball floor as well on the gridiron, Santoro entered week 5, 30-47 through the air (63.8%) for 498 yards and with 7 TDs. Santoro is also a big threat on the ground, leading all Bellevue players with 577 yards on 92 carries (6.3 YPC). Santoro also has 7 scores on the ground.
RB Dalton Jarvis: Jarvis has 30 carries for 204 yards this season. Jarvis is the second option on the ground behind Santoro, but he can break off a big play. Jarvis has 4 rushing TD's this season.
WR Trent Stamm: Stamm leads the Redmen in catches and yards with 11 for 209 yards. Stamm has caught 4 of Santoro's 7 TD passes, making him a formidable threat in the red zone.
How did they get here?
Columbian:
TC 27, Clyde 7
TC 33, Mansfield Sr. 22
TC 47, Fostoria 0
TC 39, Marion Harding 27
TC 35, Toledo Start 26
Bellevue:
Bellevue 27, Perkins 16
Bellevue 49, Clear Fork 7
Bellevue 14, Clyde 7
Bellevue 66, Toledo Scott 0
Bellevue 53, Toledo Waite 8
Key match-ups: Bellevue WR's vs Tiffin Columbian Secondary and Bellevue's run defense vs Lynch & Jacoby AND the battle in the trenches, last season Bellevue dominated the trenches in a poor weather situation and all accounts show that the Bellevue hogs are solid again this year.
What to watch when...
TC has the ball: Watch for Colatruglio to throw the kitchen sink at the Redmen Defense. The Redmen will get a steady dose of Jack Jacoby and Ryan Lynch runs, but watch for at least a few shots down field with Jacoby in the wildcat formation tossing the football. Also, watch for some jet sweep reverse plays... Donovan Walker could be a player to watch who could break off a big run. It'll be interesting to see how the TC line holds up against an aggressive Bellevue defense that is only giving up about a TD a game. TC had a large amount of turnovers last season which lost them the game, they will need to protect the football (and have done well so far this season on that front).
Bellevue has the ball: The Redmen will likely play a typical NOL-brand of football with a strong defense and a ball-control offense. The Redmen will spread it out, but Santoro will take a lot of carries himself out of the shotgun. It looks similar to the way Jacoby runs the offense at QB for TC. My numbers show that Bellevue is approaching a 70/30 run:pass ratio. Santoro will get the bulk of the carries, but watch out for Dalton Jarvis as well.
First to __ wins: The first team to 21 will win this game. These two defenses are too good for us to see a high-scoring game.
Jimbo's Diagnosis:
Columbian and Bellevue have one common opponent, and that is the 2-3 Clyde Fliers. The Fliers have losses to Columbian, Bellevue and also 4-1 Huron. It's difficult to get a read on this game since both teams are certain to be facing their most difficult test of the season thus far. Also, TC's defensive numbers are a little inflated due to the JV giving up 2 TD's apiece to Marion Harding and Mansfield Senior. The key matchup to watch is going to be Santoro's ability to throw the football... If Santoro can test the TC secondary early and often, the Tornadoes may be in for a long evening. Can the Bellevue Redmen defense stop Jack Jacoby? If they can stop the ground game, Rohrbach will have to get the passing game going for the Tornadoes. Once again, turnovers will also tell the story, great play in the trenches and forcing turnovers got Bellevue their first win in 8 tries against TC last season. Can they string two in a row together?
It's hard to pick against the Tornadoes this week with Coach Colatruglio and his team ready to avenge last season's loss to Bellevue, but there's nothing I've seen to call them big favorites in this ball game. Home field advantage could be the difference in this one.
Jimbo's interesting fact of the day:
Tiffin Columbian head coach Brian Colatruglio has never lost a home game at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. (13-0)
Jimbo's fearless prediction:
Tiffin Columbian 20, Bellevue 14
