As we do in both basketball and football we hand over our championship game previews to the people that know the six teams better than anyone; the coaches who competed against them all year.

The following are scouting reports from coaches we spoke to using blind quotes.

 Our entire team of Pete Tarrier, Justin McIsaac, Jennifer Chick, Jon Kesty & I will bring you all the play by play, highlights and post-game interviews from all three championship games in Durham.

Remember you can buy full game DVDs of any of the games we cover right here on our website.
 
 Division II
 Windham vs. St. Thomas

 In a rematch of the best championship game of the day last season Bill Raycraft’s Jaguars go for a second straight title while Eric Cumba’s undefeated Saints look to finish off a perfect season.

 We asked three Division II coaches to break down Sunday’s match-up.

 First the breakdown of the defending champs:

 “They are very disciplined in what they do on both sides of the ball, particularly on offense. Where some teams tend to become impatient Windham is happy to get their three yards and move on to the next play. That patience, and that ability to stick to the plan will be a big key against St. Thomas.” A fellow coach agreed, “They will run a double Wing –T and it is engrained in those kids heads that it is the right system for them. They believe that it is going to work and the kids totally buy into that. They like to run (Victor) Pizzotti in the off tackle gap when it looks like they are going to sweep it outside. (Windham) does a really good job of grinding the ball down the field and then the moment you put too many kids in the box, they hit you with the home run play.”

 How can Windham attack the vaunted St. Thomas offense? “You can get a push up the middle against St. Thomas; the problem is (Steven) Hedberg is so well schooled by Eric (Cumba) that he knows where he is going with the ball before he even takes the snap. You have to disguise coverages because Hedberg is better than any QB in the state at reading a defense.” A fellow coach talked about how hard it is to put pressure on the Player of the Year candidate, “ If you go into a game planning to put a ton of pressure on Hedberg I think they can make you look silly. He gets rid of the ball so fast it’s a waste of effort to go after him unless you have four kids who can play man to man on their receivers. That is where I think Monadnock (in a first round game) affected them. Milford didn’t have the four kids capable of doing that, but Windham does.”

 “Hedberg has a college level IQ as a quarterback; he literally gets the ball out in 2 seconds so you have to pressure up the middle. Their offensive line will drop back deep in protection because they know they have the time to let him get the throw off.”

 How can Windham win the title again on Sunday? “They have to stay patient on offense and really try and keep that St. Thomas offense off the field. You feed (St. Thomas) momentum when you go three & out and get their offense right back on the field. Hedberg does struggle when you pressure him; the problem is you leave yourself wide open to the big play when you send a lot of guys at him.”

 “Milford ran a double dive against St. Thomas in the semifinals and (St. Thomas) really struggled with it, they over pursued the first back and I think that exposed a weakness of theirs. Maybe Windham saw that, and maybe they try to run a similar play.” Another top coach talked about the Windham defense, “Very smart, very disciplined. I don’t think St. Thomas has anyone who can block Victor Pizzotti and they will match up better in the secondary than Milford did.”

 So who wins on Sunday? “I think St. Thomas is too good, how will the Saints defense hold up against that rushing attack, that is my only concern? I think Cumba has those kids peaking right now and with questions at QB for Windham (specifically the health of Griffin Lippold) I can’t see them scoring enough to win.” Another coach we spoke to agreed St. Thomas is the favorite, “I see St. Thomas winning easily. Those kids will fly around on the turf field and they have gotten a couple of guys back from injury, they are actually getting healthier as the season goes along.”