Mallard Creek run game - or lack thereof - could decide Friday’s 4AA quarterfinal at Hough

Butler High football coach Brian Hales’ team played Mallard Creek twice this season and once against Hough. He has a unique perspective on Friday’s N.C. 4AA quarterfinal between those teams.

Hales said the game will be about how two-time N.C. 4AA champion Mallard Creek approaches the contest.

“It all comes down to how well Mallard Creek is going to be able to play,” he said. “If they bring their ‘A’ game, they should be able to take care of it.”

This season, however, the Mavericks surprisingly struggled in games. They trailed three scores early in the first quarter at Duncan (S.C.) Brynes and lost. The season was filled with listless performances and close scores for a team that returned 18 players from a state champion and began the season ranked as high as No. 6 in national polls.

Part of that ‘A’ game is Mallard Creek executing its punishing run game. But stopping the run is a strength of Hough’s defense.

“The things that Mallard Creek likes to do in the run game fits into what Hough defends well,” Hales said. “They have great size in their front seven and they have the size to match up with Mallard Creek as much as any of us can.

“That’s going to tell a huge tale: Can Mallard Creek run the ball effectively? If they can, I don’t see any reason that they can’t move on.”

Hales said in a battle of teams that are evenly matched, Hough does have one advantage in defensive back/receiver Marquill Osborne, a Tennessee recruit who intercepted a potential game-winning pass to end his team’s 31-28 win over Mallard Creek last month.

“Once you put the ball in the air, you gotta worry about where Osborne is,” Hales said. “He’s as good anyone we’ve played all the time I’ve been around here. He’s in the conversation with all the great players. He can change the game in one touch.”

Hough coach Miles Aldridge said his team is excited to play Mallard Creek again.

“I feel good about our team,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of improvement every week and we’ve played good fundamental football. Good kicking game, good defense and we’ve tried to get better on offense. I feel good about those phases. It’s just a matter of can we do it again.”

Hough can advance to its first N.C. 4AA Western Regional championship game with a win. Mallard Creek looks to reach its fifth straight regional final.

After an uneven regular season, Mallard Creek coach Mike Palmieri said his team is playing much better. The Mavericks are coming off last week’s 35-30 win against rival Butler.

“We’re in a good place as a team,” Palmieri said. “We like where we are. We’re finally healthy and we’re excited about our chances. I think the tough schedule we played is helping us.

“It’ll be a hostile environment (at Hough), but we’ve been in them all year. That’s why we schedule the way we do -- for games like Friday. We know what it is to be play on the road against really good competition.”

Palmieri said his team is happy to be playing.

“We’re excited about playing anybody,” he said. “We understand it’s the third round of the playoffs and our goal is to win a state championship. This is the next game up.

“We don’t get too high or too low. We know if you win this week and lose next week, then it doesn’t mean anything.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Mallard Creek run game - or lack thereof - could decide Friday’s 4AA quarterfinal at Hough."