Here we are, my friends: the off week is over. And those things are like sitting in the eye of a hurricane.

A brief moment of peace and tranquility before the back side of the eyewall hits and all hell breaks loose. The Irish have had some time to recover and recharge from what has been a grueling, away-game laden season so far…and, from what I hear, we are more than ready for the final two games of the year.

And that is good, because we are going to war Friday night in our house. Silverdale Baptist is coming, and the Seahawks don’t appear especially interested in easing us back into things.

The Irish sit at 4-4, and a win Friday would give us a 2-1 record against the Chattanooga slate of CCS, Boyd, and Silverdale.

Silverdale arrives at 4–3 overall and 3–2 in the region, with consecutive wins over Lakeway Christian and Boyd Buchanan. They also own one-point victories over South Pittsburg and Webb.

That is a respectable collection of wins for a team whose record might otherwise tempt you to shrug.

Here’s the statistical overview: Silverdale scores 23.1 points per game and allows 29.6. But in those last two wins, the Seahawks averaged 28.5 points while allowing just 17.5.

They beat previously unbeaten Lakeway 33–15, then followed it with a 24–20 victory over Boyd.

Their reported individual leaders include junior running back and middle linebacker Jackson Deitch (No. 16), averaging roughly 75 rushing yards and 11 tackles per game. Senior Keion Brooks adds about 46 rushing yards per game, while senior receiver Cannon Rogers averages approximately 42 receiving yards and has four touchdown catches.

On defense, Isaac Summey has three interceptions, and Kaleb Kilgore has two.

As several of you have noted after reading these columns, high school football stats are a bit of a soup sandwich, a mess best not handled aggressively unless you want to end up like Cousin Yeedle at Sonny’s.

Yeedle, of course, does not care about the slop. He is perfectly content to finish his barbecue in his boxers and shirtless in the booth.

In that spirit, I will be your Cousin Yeedle of stats…just know that these figures come from the published MaxPreps leaderboard, which has a few inconsistencies elsewhere, so consider them a useful introduction rather than a Deloitte-audited statement.

The introduction is sufficient, though: Silverdale has people who can hurt you, and its last two results deserve our attention.

So let’s get to it…

3 Observations

1). The season average doesn’t tell the whole story.

Seeing “29.6 points allowed per game” might encourage an offensive coordinator to pour another cup of coffee and get comfortable.

Then you notice Lakeway scored 15 and Boyd scored 20.

Those earlier losses still count. Grace Christian scored 55 against Silverdale, and CAK scored 44. But the most recent results suggest Notre Dame needs to prepare for a defense playing with some confidence.

Silverdale intercepted Lakeway three times. We should probably avoid helping them demonstrate that particular skill again. We must be careful with the football.

2). Number 16 apparently has a fairly demanding job description.

Jackson Deitch leads the reported rushing averages and tackle averages.

Carry the ball. Make the tackle. Return to the huddle. Repeat.

As a former running back and linebacker, I appreciate the arrangement. As somebody who now enjoys watching football while sitting down, I also appreciate the conditioning involved.

For the Irish, he’s a player worth locating on both sides of the ball. Our defense needs to tackle him well, and our offense needs to account for him when he’s doing the tackling.

3). We’ve proved we can finish. Now we need to make finishing a little less complicated.

The CCS win gave us a wonderful moment. Gio “Ice Man” Avila-Segura delivered, the Irish finished at plus-two in turnovers, and Notre Dame came home with a victory.

The penalties came home with us, too.

I know y’all are tired of hearing me say this, but we call them as we see them in this column.

Our games tend to have more laundry flying around than a busted Speed Queen.

That needs to stop Friday night.

Against Silverdale, we need more possessions where a good play stays a good play. A first down without a conference among the officials. A defensive stop that actually ends the possession.

This team has enough ability to give itself a chance. We need to give that ability more room to work.

Play it hard, play it smart, and play it clean.

COMPOSURE!

2 Questions

1.) Can the Irish make Silverdale defend the whole field?

Deitch’s tackle numbers suggest he finds the football regularly. Notre Dame needs to make him, and everybody around him, honor more than one threat.

That starts with blocking and execution. Getting the ball to Turbo, JT, Raptor, and our other playmakers matters considerably more when somebody has handled the man assigned to tackle them.

Make the routine plays work, and the explosive ones have a chance.

2). Can we win the possessions that never make the highlight video?

Silverdale has won three games by four points or fewer. They’ve had practice living with an uncomfortable scoreboard. These guys obviously have some mental toughness…

The Irish can match or surpass that, and the key to this game will be execution, mindset and discipline that is independent of the scoreboard.

A clean punt. A third-down conversion. Securing the football through contact. Getting lined up correctly after the opponent changes formation.

Those plays don’t usually get dramatic background music. They do help decide who gets to enjoy the ride home.

There will be lead changes in this game. The team that maintains its fire and composure will win it.

1 Prediction

A few years ago, when the Irish went on their run to the state title game in basketball, we played Silverdale in a District Final.

As we were closing out the win, their student section started chanting “LET’S PLAY FOOTBALL”.

Now, if you are a spiteful person with a long memory like me, that is the kind of thing that may get recorded on your cell phone. You may even consider sending said recording out to all of the Silverdale people you know the day the worm turns.

This could be a literary device. Or you may have the text message with the attachment on a hair trigger right now…I won’t say for sure…

Let’s play football. Indeed.

GATA.

But I digress…The Irish win the turnover margin again.

I predict +2, meaning we take the ball away from them two more times than we give it up…I also predict an interception by Trell Taylor that will decide the game.

Silverdale’s recent success gives Notre Dame plenty to prepare for. Protecting our possessions and taking one or two away would give this team a real opportunity to build on its last win.

And if the evening requires another contribution from Gio, I have confidence in him.

I would simply prefer to have that confidence while leading by ten.

Notre Dame 31 – Silverdale 28

And the texts start flying.

DMGB.

Fighting Irish Nationhttps://www.myndhs.com/2701 Vermont Avenue, CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee, 37404brandonculpepper2@gma