We talked to the people that know these two teams better than anyone in putting together our championship game preview; two head coaches who faced these teams during the season.
 

 Division II Championship
 Portsmouth Clippers at Plymouth Bobcats

 We talked to the people that know these two teams better than anyone in putting together our championship game preview; two head coaches who faced these teams during the season.

 First the opposing coaches views on the Brian Pafford’s Portsmouth Clippers:

“They’ve changed their defense from the beginning of the year but the biggest difference is the health of their defensive lineman. Justis Mattis-Clark is their best player up front but Pat Glynn can give you problems with his size as well. With Glynn he can over pursue at times and you can trap him on runs but it is more difficult to do that to Clark.” Another Division II head coach talked about attacking the Clippers, “Don’t allow their secondary to sit back, get them involved in making tackles in the run game. When you do that you can exploit them deep.”

 The coaches also talked about the high powered offense Portsmouth brings to Plymouth Saturday afternoon, “ Donovan Phanor is a player, so  you need to contain him because a lot of times he can get to the sticks running the ball when everyone else is covered. People talk about his accuracy but I’ve seen him throw it right to the defense, his strength I think is throwing the deep ball. He gets a lot of air under the ball and does a really nice job of letting those taller receivers run under it, that’s where I think they can hurt Plymouth because their secondary isn’t as big as the Portsmouth receivers. Make Phanor throw short all day and he can make mistakes. In the running game Mikey Toar is a load, a very tough back but as much punishment as he dishes out he takes a lot and I’ve noticed on film that by the end of games he’s limping a little. Tough kid but he takes a pounding.”

Next the coaches talked about facing the top seeded Plymouth Bobcats:

“Chuck (Lenahan) hasn’t changed a whole lot over the years; they’ll run a double tight wing and use Kyle Reisert on the edge at the wing spot. They are going to let you know what they are doing and challenge you to stop it and what you have to do is make sure your weak side defenders stay disciplined because sooner or later they are going the other way and that’s when they can spring some big plays on you.” The Division II coach talked about Reisert being a key to the running attack, “He’s just so good, a big physical kid that is technically sound. They have always been at their best when they have that strong physical wing player and he brings that just like his older brother did.” Another top coach talked about getting the Plymouth offense out of their comfort zone. “You can play with them if you are even with them at the line of scrimmage because you need your linebackers to be able to play downhill and make plays. When you do that you force them to do what they do not want to do; throw the football. Their quarterback (Collin Sullivan) can throw it but they are not a passing team and it shows when they are forced to go that route. The (Justin) Robinson kid is really coming on and now that Jared Kuehl is back they just have so many options at running back. John Thomas is a smart runner, finds the right running seam and gets to it.”

 Coaches also talked about the Bobcats defense. “They are a 4-4 defense with cover 3. Try and spread them out and if you are Portsmouth tell Donovan to create jump ball situations more than worrying about hitting a guy in stride. Use the size of your receivers because you will have a physical advantage there. You can’t pound the ball on the ground against them and win, Reisert shuts down one entire side of the field. So when we played them we tried to spread them out and speed up the tempo of the game.” A fellow coach agreed, “Up tempo could help Portsmouth. Try and tire out Plymouth’s two big interior linemen, if they are chasing runners all over the place like Nate McFarland on a reverse they are going to get worn down and you can beat them in the fourth quarter. Try and beat them deep with Phanor throwing it long because what they want you to do is throw short all day where they can punish you every time you catch the ball.”

Both coaches agreed that while Plymouth was the team to beat Portsmouth was going to be their toughest match-up. “It’s all about athletes and the ability to pull off the big play, Portsmouth has that capability and that gives them a good shot on Saturday.”