August 25, 2023 Portsmouth West 31 - 14 Portsmouth

[BuckeyeBlood]

Week 2 rivalry between 2 schools separated by about 10 minutes. West coming off a hard fought loss to a good Fairland team. Portsmouth coming off a 30 point win over a subpar Valley team. West dominated this game last season at Portsmouth. I think West is the favorite in this years matchup as well but they will need to slow down Heiland and the run game of the Trojans. For Portsmouth they’ll need to sharpen up that defense and be physical. Thoughts?

[RiverBallFan1]

Portsmouth +10. West gets better when the Fike kid gets back,just not this week!

[ohbuckeye2]

I like the Trojans in this game.

[SiderBlood]

The Bridge Battle returns to The Rock. Portsmouth coming off a great week 1 win against a young Valley team. Sounds like the Trojans ran wild, but could see improvement in the air.

West coming off yet another heartbreaker to Fairland. From what I watched of the livestream, we have got to limit the chunk plays. Kickoff coverage was awful and way too many missed tackles. But I also seen a young , resilient team that got better as the game progressed. Started to fall in a groove offensively and unfortunately just lost on a last second play.

Since 2000 this game can go just about either way. Has been some very good games. Last year after a week 1 loss, West responded with in my opinion the most impressive outing of the year with maybe the exception of Wheelersburg. You could tell the game was decided by the first quarter and West imposed their will immediately. I don’t think this will be like that. But I do like West at home, being able to stack the box more than you can against Fairland, and I do think they are in better shape and disciplined than Portsmouth. Got the Siders pulling it out at The Rock in front of a big crowd , 31-24

[Jeaux Burreaux]

I’ll take West. Much more physical than Portsmouth and having seen the Fairland offense they should be able to control Portsmouth’s

[BuckeyeBlood]

Portsmouth will need their line on both sides of the ball to be physical. The offensive line has great size. They run 6’2 280, 6’0 280, 6’0 315, 6’0 275 and then the center isn’t very big, maybe 5’10 220. But that’s a lot of beef up front. Time to get some bodies on bodies and open some running lanes as well as stuff the run and get some pressure.

[Nicknevada86]

West 28
Phs 24

[Hoopster98]

Going with West. Portsmouth usually struggles with the physicality of West and their ground game. I think West defense will force Portsmouth to throw the football. If Portsmouth can have a balance offense then they have a shot but if they are only going to throw the ball 6 times, i don't think they get the win.

[portsmouth_98]

Is Portsmouth without their intended starter at QB?

[BuckeyeBlood]

Is Portsmouth without their intended starter at QB?

Yes, unless things have changed in a few days. Senior JT Williams the projected starting QB has a hand injury that has sidelined him for the last month. He’s in a cast, or was on Thursday. My guess is he’s probably still 2-3 weeks away. His little brother Cam Williams who’s a freshman has been starting in his absence.

[Buckeye1972]

I have been told this game might be at 8:00PM Friday because of the heat issues this week. Particularly at the turf fields, you might see this game time change at a number of locations.

[portsmouth_98]

Sounds like it will come down to whether or not West can slow down Heiland. There is only so much you are going to get out of a Freshman on his second start.

[MrPerfect]

IMO the 3-4 needs scrapped for West, Don’t seem to have the personnel for it. The Dragons ran whenever they wanted. Portsmouth being run heavy with a good back could be very troublesome. If West can stop the run I think they can win, If not the Trojans could spoil home game #2.

[PTrojan59]

Kickoff has indeed been moved to 8pm Friday night.

[BuckeyeBlood]

Kickoff has indeed been moved to 8pm Friday night.

Still going to be hot an hour later lol, but Sun will go down sooner I guess.

[packers80]

Going with West. Portsmouth usually struggles with the physicality of West and their ground game. I think West defense will force Portsmouth to throw the football. If Portsmouth can have a balance offense then they have a shot but if they are only going to throw the ball 6 times, i don't think they get the win.

I'm with you. Gimme west.

[PTrojan59]

Game Day! Go Trojans

[SiderBlood]

Good luck Siders. Big game tonight

[PTrojan59]

13 combined pass attempts for these 2 teams last week. Safe to say this will be a ground and pound game? Lol

[SiderBlood]

13 combined pass attempts for these 2 teams last week. Safe to say this will be a ground and pound game? Lol

I think that would be a safe bet. Could be a pretty quick game if the penalties are kept down