Tonight, it’s a huge NE8 showdown at John Young Stadium. This NE8 showdown takes center stage as the undefeated New Haven Bulldogs host the undefeated Columbia City Eagles. This rivalry has reached high stakes heading into this matchup, and it’s as intense as this matchup has been since the early 90s. We could be in for a physical warfare of athleticism and hardcore action. This is a huge matchup that may decide who wins the NE8 a few weeks down the road.
Heading into this week, New Haven dominated Norwell 41-15 led by a strong performance out of James Hardy IV who had 4 catches for 102 yards and 2 TD’s.
For the defending NE8 champions Columbia City, this is a team that has made the most out of their schedule so far dominating their opponents by out scoring them by an average margin of 35.6 points. For Head Coach Brett Fox, they know that while the start has been next, this week’s focus is all about winning that next game.
“Our team understands that we are where we should be right now,” said Fox. “We have done exactly what we wanted to do the first five weeks of the season, and we can’t change who was on the schedule and the way teams fall on our schedule.”
While the Eagles have shown a lot of great things, they know they have not accomplished anything yet this season. Same can be said for New Haven, who’s poised to win their first outright NE8 title since 2016.
In the season series that dates way back to 1946 in the old NEIAC, New Haven leads the series 48-31. Columbia City last won at New Haven in 2014 during their run to the sectional championship game (7-3). Columbia City hasn’t beaten New Haven in consecutive meetings since 1995.
3 Keys to Winning
1. Pressure the quarterback
One of the things we keep stressing when talking about Columbia City’s Flexbone attack is winning the battle up front. In theory, it sounds simple to pressure Grayson Bradberry to limit the mystery behind the Eagles’ 3-set running back punch of James Getts, Cayden Sroufe, and Noah Pletcher. That’s easier said than done when you realize that Bradberry not only can throw the ball but he’s got an elite WR1 in Showtime Stratton Fuller.
For New Haven to have their best success tonight, they’ll have to amp up the energy and be aggressive in order to force the ball at the hands of the junior quarterback. Bradberry on the season is 18-31 for 476 yards with 10 touchdowns.
If New Haven is able to get after the quarterback, that’ll limit their ability to pound the ball with efficiency. That’s going to be a big challenge with Columbia City because of New Haven’s athleticism. Let’s not forget that Columbia City graduated the majority of their offensive line starters that were apart of that NE8 and sectional championship team.
For C. City, this is a defense that’ll be tasked to limit an elite offense, but most importantly an offensive line that has only allowed 3 sacks all season (all coming against Leo). The big challenge here on paper is the speed of Donavan Williams at quarterback and Tre Bates at running back is a whole another animal to slow down.
2. Don’t Allow the Breakout Passing Plays
One of the big storylines coming into this game is the dangerous wide receivers this game has on paper: Columbia City’s Stratton Fuller, and New Haven’s Mylan Graham, Ajani Washington, and James Hardy IV.
Last week against Norwell, Mylan Graham had a 71-yard touchdown catch that opened the scoring in that game. With CC, it’s an interesting headline because their running game is one that milks a lot of clock and wears down opposing defensive lines, but when they throw the football, they can come out with the explosive passing plays, especially when you know Showtime Strat is an elite gamebreaking receiver in his own right.
For me, this is an area that Columbia City needs to make sure they don’t make mistakes on the defensive coverage in the passing game because this New Haven team has the weapons and athleticism that can dominate on the scoreboard.
For CC to be at their best on defense, they’ll need to win the physical warfare up front against the most physical New Haven team in quite some time. Like everyone else, Fox knows that’s something they’ll have to be ready to face tonight.
“New Haven is a very aggressive team that takes advantage of mistakes made by the opposing team,” said Fox. “We have to make sure to carry out our assignments and work together as a group of 11 when we are on the field.”
3. Have a Polished Special Teams
If there’s one area that can exploit New Haven’s biggest weakness, it comes at special teams. Last year, that was a common theme for New Haven that did not help their cause in a 5-5 2022 season.
Last year against Columbia City, New Haven lost 3 onside kicks at the hands of now CC graduate Martin Smith and the Eagles’ special teams. Obviously that cannot happen. And as Coach Booher has mentioned in the past, they’ve got to avoid the window dressing in this instance because even this season, that has creeped up to New Haven on various occasions.
So far, it hasn’t been an impact, but again, the Bulldogs’ frontline has greatly improved and they’re playing a lot smarter football this season. But with a team that’s as methodical on offense and has the speed of Columbia City, this is where New Haven needs to stay focused.
Players to Watch
Columbia City
Noah McDevitt Senior Slotback/Outside Linebacker
For the Eagles to be in position of going 6-0, it’s gotta come from that flying Eagles’ defense to be resoundingly strong and slowing down the high-power New Haven spread offense. McDevitt leads with 35 total tackles and 4 sacks. McDevitt had a game high 10 tackles against DeKalb in Week 5. Look for him to be one of the Eagles’ linemen that creates havoc on New Haven’s speed.
Obviously Showtime Stratton has to be excellent in this game on both sides of the field.
New Haven
Korin Harris Senior Middle Linebacker
It’s been a week to appreciate the linebackers because this week’s theme is about pressing the quarterback, and this matchup features plenty of star offensive players. But it’s the defense that’s going to separate each other in this game.
Harris is quietly having an all-star senior season on defense for the hungry Bulldogs. This season, Harris has recorded 42 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 INT. He had 11 tackles in Week 5 against Norwell. We know how good Chuck McGrant and Mason Knoch are up front, but Korin Harris is that disruptor up the middle. Where you have Knoch, Trey Lipscomb, and McGrant in the interior, you have Hardy and Harris coming at opposing players at 100mph.
Another player to watch is the senior running back Tre Bates. Bates is averaging a career best 8.4 yards per carry. In the last 2 seasons, New Haven is 7-1 when Bates is rushing for at least 80 yards and 7-0 when he’s averaging 8 yards per carry in a game. Look for him to go to him if the Eagles’ pass coverage contains the passing game.
Conclusion
Past the halfway mark of the season, this is a mammoth game that the winner of this game will place themselves in the driver’s seat in the NE8 race. Yes, there’s still a few more tough conference games to go, but this is the game that will tell us direction of this conference race heading into October.
We remember what it took for Columbia City to win the NE8 in 2022. Will history repeat itself or will the Dawgs bury that bone?
“We have to be ourselves, and not try to be anyone that we aren’t and to have fun,” said Fox about his team. “Friday night lights is an experience for a lifetime and each and every week is a gift to be able to play under them.”
Around the NorthEast Corner 