rev-ready-to-battle-blitz-preview
The 2nd long week of travel is here for the Wasatch Revolution. They make the long trip down to sunny St. George, Utah to face the 3-1 St. George Blitz who are coming off a tough road loss to the Utah Heat. All the factors look to make this game the game of the year for both teams. The Blitz and the Revolution both had long road games the prior week, but it was the Revolution who proved that they are capable of making the trip with a near full squad as they came out victorious against the former undefeated Treasure Valley Spartans.
With the Revolution looking to have their entire roster for this next away game, they have no excuses as to bringing their A game. The REV are just about hitting on all cylinders for this game as they lost their first game as a franchise the initial game of the season and have progressively gotten better and better. At that opening season loss, the REV were not fully equipped with all their players as one of their star players was getting married and others had to fill in out of position. Suspensions have also played a factor in the slow start to the season. Well…..there aren’t any suspensions or marriages this week. Former Tennessee Titan David Stroshine is now married and ready to put his pads on. The honeymoon is over. His best man, former New England Patriot Setema Gali will be roaming the end of the Defensive line with his proven dominance and has his eyes set on the Blitz quarterback.
Statistically speaking this game looks like its gonna be a dog fight. The Blitz boast the 2nd leading defensive team in points allowed with 9.5pts/game, and the Revolution sit at the top of the points scored per game with 42. Where do you think that leaves both teams? Well the REV faced the former league leading defense last week, the Spartans who only allowed 4 pts per game at the time, but put 42 on them with a 2nd half surge in the game. The end number might not be the same as the Blitz look to keep Charlie Peterson at bay with their blitzing and pass rush. Charlie fully expects them to be gunning for him, but he’s ready and prepared to fire back. The true competitors will be clear as day this game and both squads will be prepared and ready for the challenge.
On Offense the REV have shown that they are passing dominant team. They run the spread, with 11 receivers getting at least 1 catch last week, and look to spread the wealth again this upcoming week. Wide receiver Toby Christensen is leading the league in catches with 28, and is 15 yds shy of the top spot in yardage with 442 for the season. Receiver David Christensen looks to be healthy for the trip, and looks to regain his momentum that he displayed against the Heat with another 100 yd receiving game & multiple touchdown performance. Big play JD Dawson is averaging over 21 yds per reception and is gonna look to spread the field while Charlie Peterson picks his poison surveying for the open man. The 3 headed running back monster of Perry Laulu, Marcus Whalen, and Jerome Bady are as motivated as ever to get the rock and pound it down the running lanes. They want to show that the REV can be just as deadly with the ball in their arms as they are in the air. Charlie and the RB’s will have to contend with the pass rush of #99 Wayne Alopifo of the Blitz. He has caused havoc in each game this year, leading a solid pass rush. Free Safety Isaac Smith is the leading tackler for the Blitz at the midway point in the season with 23, and look for him to add to that total as the pass happy REV will be heading his direction.
Defensively, the REV have been Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde thus far this year. On paper they are sitting near the bottom with 1265 total yds of offense against them, but sit on the top of the charts in takeaways and turnovers. The “home run” play has hurt the REV statistically, but never really in the game. They gave up a 68 yd bomb to the Shock’s Matt Thornton during game 1, but came back from that to almost win the game. Games 2-4 have seen the REV give up long plays to Devon Hollbrook (63), Tyson Wagner (80), & Britt Hall (68) as well. They are motivated and have watched the film and have seen their mistakes to why this has happened. The REV defense has to read their keys and make the proper adjustments to keep the Blitz at bay. The one area where the Revolution have excelled in is their turnovers and takeaways. They are leading the league in takeaways with DB’s Chris Carter and Jared Harward totalling 7 INT’s between them, and Brady Nielson on the attack, tied for the league lead in Forced Fumbles (2), and Fumble Recoveries (3). Look for these 3 players, along with the rest of the D to fly to the ball and take the ball away again.
The outcome of the game could very well come down to the special teams play of both teams. Both the Blitz and the REV have shown that they can execute and perform this key part of the game. Ricky Dias of the Blitz is 1st in the league with a 41 punt return average, and REV punter Jordan Lindsey understands how important he is to the final score and needs to punt away or punt high enough to allow the coverage to get there. On the opposite side Punter/Placekicker Steven Pulver has to kick to the dual threat of Harold Ragin/David Christensen. Dave has already taken one punt to the house this year, and Harold has been 1 shoe size too big from that kickoff return to the endzone. If it comes down to the wire, both placekickers are locked and loaded for when the call comes. Golden Whetman has had a good year completing all his kicks with 5 FG’s and 19 PAT’s. The Blitz’s Steven Pulver is 18-20 on PAT’s and 6-9 on field goals with a long of 43. This game could come down to field position and put these 2 in a situation of importance. Will they be needed near the end of the game for a game winning field goal, or will it be their booming kickoffs and/or punts that place the outcome of the game on the Offense and Defense? We will see.
Game time is 7:50 pm at Snow Canyon High School.
