It seems like every week, there’s a Moore League football matchup that has major playoff–and bragging rights–implications. This week it’s the Panthers of Jordan traveling to Wilson to play the Bruins. Both teams could finish third in the Moore League (Jordan’s 2-1 and Wilson’s 2-2) thus qualifying them for an automatic playoff berth. With so much riding on this game, you probably want a little more information, right? Right.
Coming into the season, the WIlson Bruins were best known for their star receiver, Jemari Roberts. But over the last two months they’ve evolved into a great running team, with back Brandon Robertson a sturdy 30-35 carries a game workhorse. In Roberts, Ezell Ruffin, and Christian Rodgers, they’ve got the best receiving corps in the league. On the other side of the ball, they have a disciplined defense that doesn’t miss a lot of tackles, and knows how to stay on their assignments. They’ll need to if they want to stop creative Jordan QB John Timu
“Obviously, Timu is our biggest concern on their offense,” says Wilson head coach Mario Morales. “Not our only concern, but our biggest one.” They’ll have to be worried about him on defense as well. At free safety, Timu’s shown a nose for the ball, and returned two big INTs (one for a TD) against Lakewood’s Jesse Scroggins two weeks ago. Wilson has been prone to turnovers this season, and they’ll need to hold onto the ball, and keep it out of Timu’s hands as much as they can if they want to win this one.
Jordan has to be just as careful with the ball, but more importantly, they need to protect Timu when he has it in his hands. The shifty quarterback couldn’t elude the Compton front seven last week, and Jordan dropped their first Moore League game this season. You know Coach Ziggy and his staff has seen that film, so it comes down to how many guys Jordan leaves in the backfield to help protect their playmaker. If the Panthers are going to stay in any game, they’ll need big plays from Timu on defense, as well. Linebackers Tevita Palu, Keneti Vaitugutu, and Princeton “Bo Bo” Fuimaono have been stellar this season, and have taken over games at times, even with senior leader Taniela Maka still out with an injury. That has freed up the Panther secondary to sit tight in coverage and get chances like Timu’s two interceptions against Lakewood. Whoever wins the turnover battle will be the biggest surprise in the Moore League this season.
For our full Moore League Preview, check out the mid-week edition of SportsNight–we talk about the game at 20:30.
