Valley/Old Lyme, Barlow, must deal with one another's options
Dec. 9—SOUTHINGTON — Hill Gbunblee had already grinded his way through four Barlow game tapes from the time his Valley Regional/Old Lyme team won its state semifinal on Sunday afternoon to his arrival at Tuesday's CIAC football luncheon.
"There was something I saw (Tuesday) morning around one that I wrote down and texted my assistant coach," Gbunblee said. "That tells you what's happening in my house."
Among the things Gbunblee and his staff have been working on is how to defend the Falcons' triple option attack because, well, Barlow has a slew of options starting with quarterback Danny Shaban, one of the state's leading rushers.
The sixth-seeded Warriors will try to find a way to slow down Shaban and No. 5 Barlow when the they face off in Saturday's Class MM championship game at Arute Field on the campus of Central Connecticut State University (5:30 p.m.).
Valley/Old Lyme (11-1) is looking to win its second state title after winning its first in 2014.
"You focus a little bit on Shaban, (then) someone else is going to get you," Gbunblee said. "It goes right back to that Whac-a-Mole thing I was talking about before. Someone's going to get you at some point.
"Full-court press, play as much defense as you can and hope for the best."
Barlow (10-2) has run the ball the majority of the time this season (476 rushing attempts to 43 passing) and rushed for 4,374 yards and 58 touchdowns. That comes out to a robust 9.2 yards per carry.
Shaban has been the point man for the Falcons' offense, rushing 205 times for 1,873 yards and 30 touchdowns. He runs like a fullback, the position he played last season.
"He's shifty, smart, aggressive and a brutal runner," Gbunblee said. "So how do you stop someone like that running and offensive scheme that puts you at a disadvantage because they run it so well and you don't know who's going to run the ball."
The Falcons had three players rush for 100-or-more yards in Sunday's 40-35 win at top-seeded Cromwell/Portland. Cole Peterson ran 11 times for 212 yards and a touchdown, Scott Romano ran 12 times for 166 yards and a touchdown and Shaban had 18 carries for 123 yards and scored.
Shaban completed his two pass attempts for 50 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Mason Leavitt.
Unfamiliarity is an additional advantage to running the triple option because it isn't used a lot anymore, especially since spread systems have become in vogue this millennium.
"We haven't seen it a lot this year but we've seen enough of it," Gbunblee said. "In a situation like this (Barlow) were at the top of the charts throughout the entire season. It's going to take a village to beat them."
The Falcons must find a way to contend with Valley/Old Lyme's offense, too, because the Warriors have many options of their own.
Jake Rand (12 touchdowns) has led the Warriors' running game. Quarterback Grady Lacourciere (26 touchdown passes) can spread the ball among the likes of Di'Angelo Jean-Pierre (20 TDs overall) and Nick Cox (11 TDs).
"They're very balanced," Barlow head coach TJ Cavaliere said about Valley/Old Lyme. "They do a very good job running the ball. They're big up front. (Lacourciere) does a really nice job of extending plays. They have a couple of receivers that cause matchup problems."
Asked if the Warriors were comparable to any other team they've played, Cavaliere said, "Maybe a New Fairfield (a 47-13 win, Oct. 21), maybe a New Milford (a 31-21 loss, Nov. 11) in the sense that I think their quarterback is athletic (and) they spread you out."
Gbunblee said, "We like our athletes. We do. We think we might be able to make some noise when it comes to certain parts on the field. ... If we can get a matchup that's favorable, then we're going to take it, we're going to expand it."
