It’s a battle of spread versus smashmouth with the ConVal season on the line Friday night as the Cougars host undefeated Windham.
ConVal (6-2) needs a win to guarantee a playoff spot, though they could lose and still get in, under the right circumstances. To win, they’ll have to beat the highest-scoring offense in the division.
Windham gets it done on the ground, the old-fashioned way. They average 384 rushing yards per game, with two running backs over 650 yards on the season in Parker Belsky (710 yards, 8 TDs) and Victor Pizzotti (674 yards, 11 TDs).
Will they air it out? Not likely; their quarterback, Cody Potter, has attempted fewer passes through seven games (27-38, 494 yards, 7 touchdowns) than ConVal’s Dan Spezzaferri did just last week at Saint Thomas.
Defensively, Windham is stout up the middle. ConVal’s Danny Parker (514 rushing yards, 204 receiving, 10 total TDs) has had a great year, but found no real estate last week, and the Cougars struggled as a result.
Regardless of whether ConVal can run the ball or not, it’s hard to imagine the Cougars winning without Spezzaferri connecting with one of his senior receivers. Isaac Bacon (33 catches, 661 yards, 10 TDs) and Liam Baldwin (35 catches, 460 yards, 7 TDs) were quiet against Saint Thomas, with a combined 6 catches for 71 yards. They need to find paydirt.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. at ConVal.