1. The Bobby Hall Spread- Guys. This offense is for real. With a true passing threat and receivers that can hang onto the ball, Madison looks like a team that can beat you through the air and on the ground. Schwartz threw for 200+ yards and 1 TD with a 72% completion percentage and only one interception (a tip-drill pick). On the ground, the jags used more of a committee approach. Doug Ball, Brandon Moore and Brandon Collins ran for around 130 yards (Schwartz added nearly 100 yards to this total). This offense is going to be fun to watch and more importantly hard to stop.
2. Trahan Transition- Going into this season, many people wondered how legitimate MC's defense would be this season. If I could give you an answer to that question after one game, I would tell you that the jaguars are well on their way to having an excellent season. Obviously, no one was happy about giving up 31 points to OB, but the jags probably won't see another offense as potent as Olive Branch (and certainly "stable" officiating circumstances would help any defense, but I digress). Among those who impressed me was Gemarte Jackson, a defense end, who got excellent penetration into a somewhat-porous OB offensive line quite often. With a few more games under this defense's belt, this defense could look like one of the best in the state.
3. Olive Branch is Back!- No. I'm selling this statement big time. Sure OB will be a top 2 team in their region, but I remember what the 2011 Olive Branch team looked like (arguably better than many South Panola teams during that great run). And this team, even with the legitimate excuse of first-game jitters, is no where near the caliber of a team as last year's conquistadors were. The O-line looked like a colander and Sam Craft had an abysmal 39% completion percentage. Wide receivers dropped what would have been several wide-open catches. Plus, the defense looked like last year, which isn't a good thing for the 'Quistors (please take me seriously even though I just used that nickname). I could be wrong about this team because I certainly didn't think that last year's OB team would be 6A champs at this time last year, but I just have a gut feeling about this team and how they will fare in the playoffs.
4. Officiating- Many will expect me to make a statement about the officiating of the game. I won't. However, I will allow the MHSAA website to make a statement on officiating: "Players who have practiced long hours deserve competent officials who have a complete understanding of the letter, as well as the spirit of the rules and administer them consistently and fairly." I couldn't agree more with that statement.
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