BleacherCoaches.com

Some people would say Clairton is the second best team BG will play. Arguably true but if clairton thinks they are going to run it down the BGs D throats they may want to rethink their gameplan. I have seen BG play multiple times this year and their D is smothering. Speed and team speed are different animals. BG will contain the run the pass is what makes me wonder. I did not see the camp hill game but I'm pretty sure the passing game worked a little from what I heard.

Some good points pafootball... BG has some great athletes and so does Clariton. I can see this one being close until halftime or late in the 3rd quarter. If BG is going to win they will need to protect the ball and prevent big plays from Clairton which will not be easy.

PAFootballGuy017 wrote:A friend of mine is a coach in the D6 area. He just let me watch film on BG's win over Camp Hill...since that seems to be the team people want to compare Clairton to. I have also seen BG play in person. I have to tell you, I was pretty confident in Clairton winning before watching that film. Now, I am going to say its an absolute certainty. Here is why:

First, Line play. The reason why BG has been successful this year is because they have controlled the O and D line. In the Camp Hill game, they had no problem dealing with the line. BUT...Camp Hill was relatively small, especially compared to Clairton. Clairton's line is big, strong, and athletic. 50, 51, and 55 are very good. They will not get pushed around by this BG line. The holes that BG is used to having are not going to be there.

Second, Running game. BG likes to run outside and get those edges. Those edges WILL NOT be there against Clairton. Camp Hill was not fast enough and not disciplined enough on defense to do what they had to do. This Clairton team will present different challenges that BG has not seen this year.

Third, Passing game. BG has some athletes. Clairton has the ability to cover those athletes 1 on 1 where other teams they have played could not do it. 38, 1, 11, and 8 for Clairton are fast enough and skilled enough to cover what BG will throw at them.

Fourth, Clairton O vs. BG D. Ive watched Clairton some this year. What Clairton will do is give you enough rope to hang yourself. You want to load the box and stop their run? Ok, they have a 3000 yard passer that will throw it over you. You want to take away their pass? Ok, 38 and 9 will run it down your throats. Camp Hill spread BG out and had some success early running it right down the middle (until Camp Hill self destructed and got away from what they were doing). If Clairton spreads BG out, and BG plays the type of defense they did against Camp Hill, you are going to see why 38 averaged nearly 15 yards per carry this year.

IMHO, Neshannock is better than this BG team. This will be the second best team Clairton has played this year. I stick to my earlier prediction. Clairton 46 - BG 28.

Line Play - I was very disappointed with Clairton's line play, not as big and strong as you say. Weaker up front than past Clairton teams. I think they can be pushed around to a degree. They are pretty good, but they aren't overpowering from the 3 games I watched.

Running Game - Clairton has been susceptible to big runs this year, and BG's McCloskey and Chadbourn will be the two best runners they have faced this season. The Neshannock kids were tough and went right at them, BG will be the same way. People can gash right through their defense at times. It doesn't happen a lot obviously, but if you spread them out a little bit you saw what Fochtman was able to do.

Passing Game - BG doesn't have a great passing game, but a good enough one to keep Clairton off-balance and honest. Most times Clairton has been in this championship game, the Eastern team has next to no passing game. BG has a good enough one.

Clairton O - BG hasn't given much on Defense all year long, and they have a big strong line. Hard hitting backers, and a really good secondary. That Camp Hill team has a future D1 QB, he threw for over 3,000 yards and they scored 69 points the week prior to facing BG. They only scored 14 points against that defense. South Williamsport scored 69 in the state quarterfinals, but only scored 21 against BG. Bragalone got his yards, but they made him earn it on 50 carries. The Competition has picked up, so instead of being a smothering defense, they have been opportunistic and play a bend don't break style. Clairton is a better passing team than they have been historically, and Wade is a good, explosive back. They will do a lot of what they want to do. Clairton can always take chances and be careless with the ball, because they know in the back of their minds - Wade is always a threat to take it to the house. I don't see Clairton having long sustaining drives against BG, but they will break a few big plays. That's been the only way you can score on BG really. Clairton will absolutely score points on BG, there's no denying that.


I think it'll be a good game, Bishop Guilfoyle is a heck of a team. They are better than Neshannock, or anyone Clairton has seen. I think they can win the game. I can't stress enough that this Clairton team isn't as good as the past Clairton teams. They play a different kind of game. They aren't going to pitch a shutout, they aren't going to get a ton of stops. They want a fast-paced high-scoring game, and BG can play that game with them to a degree.

Clairton is probably a two touchdown favorite, but if BG plays well, it'll be closer than that.

Perhaps an unknown factor, and definitely an advantage to BG will be special teams. Fochtman had 180 return yards on Clairton, if BG uses McCloskey as their return man, he could break one on Clairton's JV guys playing special teams. Also, BG can kick a little bit too.

BG will need to play an excellent game to beat Clairton, and little things like that help. Clairton is just so explosive, you have to look for advantages like that to beat them. I've been following Clairton closely all year long with Pitt being after Wade and Matthews, I know what they are capable of. The QB better be getting a scholarship too. He throws a great ball, could easily play in the PSAC. He's been the best QB they've had recently.

When Camp Hill was spreading BG out early, BG was playing with 4 down lineman I believe and they were dropping their LB's back. Camp Hill had success running it in the middle. Again, this was early. Once Camp Hill got behind, BG was just teeing off on them. I don't know that BG will get the opportunity to get up 2 or 3 scores and tee off on Clairton. Its hard to load the box and swarm when you have a team spreading you out from sideline to sideline. Its not like Clairton runs a power I and is going to try and run down their throats. Clairton will find a way to get numbers, get the matchups they want, get their athletes in space, and make plays. Its what they have done all year. But, I don't want to discredit BG. What they do, they do well. I just don't know if what they do will be successful all day against Clairton. I don't think it will. That's just me.

I agree about something you said...if I was Clairton I WOULD NOT kick it to McCloskey. Not at all. If BG is to beat Clairton, it will be because of a special teams TD, a TD on Defense, turnovers, etc. McCloskey DOES have the ability to return 1...2...on Clairton. I might kick it out of bounds on every kick and make them start at the 35. Honestly.

Yeah it seems kick coverage seems to be a weakness.

Yes, lets not make any mistakes here...this is NOT the 2011-2012 Clairton Bears. This is a completely different team. Those Clairton teams had a better defense and more individual talent. This Clairton team has a better team offense.

The only people that are picking BG are people from D6, BG has absolutely no shot against the Bears running clock at the half 41-10.

thepalerider wrote:The only people that are picking BG are people from D6, BG has absolutely no shot against the Bears running clock at the half 41-10.

And you're the only person that is saying BG has NO SHOT in this game. If they have a running clock at the half I'll personally come back on this post, quote you in a post, and give you your credit. But PERSONALLY I think you're off your rocker with this statement.