Citizen Staff/James Wold
Randolph's Anthony Wendt (64) and Ben Syvertson (25) will be among those trying to slow down Shullsburg's Wing-T rushing attack today.
Hall of Fame Cambria-Friesland football coach Jim Bylsma was kind enough to break down today’s Division 7 Level 2 football contest between Randolph (8-2) and host Shullsburg (7-3), even though it meant rehashing some old wounds.
His Toppers were beaten, 21-0, by Randolph earlier in the season and took a 49-8 Level 1 loss from visiting Shullsburg Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a very good game,” Bylsma said. “I hope I can go check it out.
“Overall, Shullsburg’s team speed is much better than ours but I think Randolph can match them.
Shullsburg was much quicker than what our kids could handle.”
Bylsma said fullback Trevor Milestone (466 yards, 10 touchdowns in the regular season) wasn’t in the lineup in the games the Toppers scouted. His return gave the Miners a complement to sophomore Nate Carrier (1,172, 11), who finished with 206 yards and four touchdowns against C-F.
“They’ve both very quick and can get in the open field and juke you,” Bylsma said. “It’s sort of a Wing-T but they run a lot of option and quick pitches to get to the edge, then when you set for that, they trap you inside.
“Randolph has pretty good linebackers and defensive backs where maybe it won’t cause them the problems it caused us.”
In addition to having capable runners, Bylsma said the Miners aren’t afraid to change their blocking schemes mid-game. This could cause the Rockets some defensive issues.
“What worries me is you set one way, then they block it another,” Bylsma said. “It’s not a traditional Wing-T. They can mix it up more.”
Quarterback Kyle Lyne only threw three times against the Hilltoppers but completed all of them to speedster Jacob Holland. The junior wideout finished with 136 yards receiving and two scores.
Even though they didn’t have to use him, tight end Mitchell Kautz provides a great underneath target at 6-foot-5. And if the Miners run option, you can presume Lyne has ample quickness and speed.
“Holland is able to stretch the field and the tight end is 6-5,” Bylsma said. “Lyne is quick to the edge and not a bad drop-back passer if they need him to be.”
Defensively, the two teams run similar five-man fronts where the interior linemen two-gap. It means they occupy blockers and disrupt blocking schemes so the linebackers are free to make plays.
“In both games where our offense laid an egg, the tackles had the same technique,” Bylsma said. “They were very low to the ground and physical.
“They both did that to us and they both play a similar style. It allowed Shullsburg to turn their linebackers loose on us and they blitzed keys, so I guess they came a lot.”
The Miners had a 60-40 run-pass ratio in a game Bylsma scouted where they fell behind. Shullsburg got up early on C-F and had success on the ground, so there was no need to throw the ball.
Shullsburg’s kicker put two kickoffs in the end zone. After watching the Miners return a punt in one game, Bylsma elected to directionally kick away from their return men.
“Their coverage units were better than ours,” Bylsma said. “Their overall team speed is much better than ours.”
So how do the Rockets come out of Shullsburg with a win?
“You have to get the ball past the line of scrimmage,” Bylsma said. “Their safety is 10 yards deep, so if you can get to the second level, you can make big plays.
“You can throw in the weak side flats. (Randolph quarterback Ben) Syvertson is a dangerous run-pass threat.”
And then there’s T.J. Huizenga, who blew the game open against the Toppers with two huge gains through the air.
“I think he’ll cause them problems,” Bylsma said of Huizenga. “He’s improved every week and he’s a much better ballplayer at the end of the year.”