Keenan takes on Dillon in early season showdown
By MATTHEW CASSADY, JAMES VERALDI and TODD NIETO
Sports Writers
In what can only be described as a battle of the titans, Keenan squares off against Dillon Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Stepan Fields.
Each team started its respective season off on the right foot last Sunday with Dillon blanking Stanford 14-0 and Keenan earning a 14-6 victory over Morrissey.
Although each team knows it is in for a tough early season challenge, neither has any plans to change its game plan.
"The best thing for us to do is to play up to our potential and not worry about what they are going to do," Dillon sophomore lineman Patrick Esper said. "It is better to focus on our weaknesses and trying to improve them than to go out and scout what those guys are doing."
Quarterback Billy Ellsworth of Keenan agrees.
"I think we are pretty much going to go with what worked last week," he said.
What worked last week was enough to get the job done over Morrissey, but will 14 points be enough to beat the Big Red?
"I think 14 points should be enough to win," Ellsworth said. "It is going to be two great defenses going at it out there."
The "great defense" of Dillon is led by senior defensive end Joe Parker who is currently tied for the team lead in sacks with two. Although his defense pitched a shutout last weekend over Stanford, Parker still feels there is room for improvement.
"I think there is always room for improvement," he said. "We'd like to get a little more push along the defensive line and really improve our tackling. [Standford's] runners were bouncing off of a lot of our tackles on Sunday. We need to be the ones laying the licks out there."
If the Dillon defense is going to be laying the licks on people it will have to stop a potent Keenan offense which includes running back Craig Murray, who scored on an eight yard touchdown run last weekend to seal the game for the Knights.
The one thing that needs to be improved for Keenan according to Knights captain Herb Giorgio, is its consistency.
"Everything we ran in the first half [against Morrissey] seemed to work, he said." "We just need to get together and play four quarters."
If the Keenan offense manages to put together four quarters of football as Giorgio hopes, it will put the weight back onto the Dillon offense to score some points.
"If we can keep our intensity up, stay focused and execute a little bit better, our offense should be much better this week," said Dillon senior fullback Jason Visner.
This Sunday Visner will find out whether his team will be able to meet those requirements when Dillon meets the Keenan Knights in a battle of the undefeated.
Alumni vs. Stanford
Two teams that were heading in opposite directions after last week's competitions will square off Sunday at 2 p.m.
While Alumni is coming off an impressive 13-0 shutout over O'Neill, Stanford will try and bounce back from a disappointing 14-0 loss to Dillon.
Sunday's competition promises to be a battle of the defense. The Dawgs played tough defense last week, led by linebacker Baily Siegfried and freshman cornerback T.J. Strachota, who came through with two key interceptions in last week's victory.
After plugging the holes and stuffing the run, defensive tackle Nick Linstroth also looks to put together another solid outing for the Alumni defense.
"We are looking for our defense to step up again, and give the offense a chance to make the big plays," Alumni captain Mitch Karam said.
Stanford counters with a strong, experienced defense of its own. Led by cornerback Corey Hartmann and defensive lineman Josh Kaakua, the Stanford defense did an excellent job in shutting down the Dillon offense last week.
The Alumni offense will counter the Stanford defense with an option attack led by a freshman backfield composed of quarterback Chris Cottingham and tailback Alex Roodhouse. Fullback Brandon Nunnink will bring experience to the backfield.
Roodhouse and Cottingham played extremely well last week in their first starts behind a powerful offensive line.
"We expect our offense to show a lot of improvement over last week," defensive lineman Nick Linstroth said. "We expect them to move the ball better and do a good job of putting the ball in the end zone."
"If the offensive line performs like they did last week, then we will have no problem running the ball all over Stanford", adds freshman running back Alex Roodhouse.
Stanford is suffering from a weak offense, which was held scoreless last week by a punishing Dillon defense. The closest the Griffins came to scoring last week was the five-yard line, but they could not punch it in.
Along with another solid outing on the defensive side of the ball, Stanford will need to put up some more offensive numbers in order to come out on top.
As for the Dawgs, they need their defense to shut down the opponent once again and not get caught looking ahead to their showdown with Keenan.
Keough vs. Morrissey
The Kangaroos of Keough bounce into action on Sunday, looking to win their season opener against the Morrissey Manorites.
Following a 14-6 loss to the Keenan Knights, Manor is hoping to regroup for Sunday's game.
Co-captains Ryan Yorkery and Kevin McAbee lead the Kangaroos with their outstanding play.
"Kevin McAbee is a monster at running back and fullback," said Keough freshman Tres Studer.
Other players to look for include receiver Paul Didio and freshman safety Brian Adams.
Although the Kangaroos have not done any special drills in practice to prepare for the game, the team has done many hitting drills.
"We are tired of hitting each other," said Studer. "We want to pounce on Morrissey."
Key players for the Manor include quarterback Mark Berndt and tailback Edward Hernandez.
In their last game, Manor failed to score any points in the first half. It is essential for the Manorites to score early in the game to beat Keough.
The teams will battle for pride and bragging rights on Sunday at Stepan Field at 1 pm.
"After Sunday's game, only one of us is going home happy and I think we know who that is,"Studer said.
All Sports Stories for Friday, September 22, 2000
