first thoughts on the big game

A lot of people are billing next week's Oaks Christian - St. Bonaventure game as a showdown between talent and experience, with Oaks Christian being the talented team, St. Bonnaventure being the experienced team.

That's underestimating St. Bonny a little bit, don't you think?

Last night, Canyon coach Harry Welch called the Seraphs the most talented high school team he'd seen in 30 years of coaching. St. Bonny has all the ingredients of a dominant high school football team: 300-pound linemen, a dominant running back (Michael Lee) and stingy defense (the 14 points Canyon score in the first half last night were more than St. Bonny had allowed in its first two games!).

Perhaps most importantly though, St. Bonny is battle-tested, having beaten the best teams in the area week in and week out. Oaks Christian, admittedly, hasn't faced a top-notch opponent, well, ever.

What happens if they fall behind? How will Oaks respond if St. Bonny shuts down it's running game?

The Seraphs have been in situations like this many times. Oaks hasn't. Not to say they won't respond well. It's just an unknown.

I posed the question to one of the most respected coaches in the area this morning, Jeff Engilman. What would you rather have, the talent or the experience?

Engilman didn't hesitate: The talent.

I'm sure there are differing opinions out there ... which should make for a very interesting week.

I'll check back in tommorrow with a first look at some head-to-head matchups. In the meantime, feel free to ask any questions you might have or share your thoughts on the game.