Mens Interhall Gold League: Dillon off to slow start, hopes to rebound
By: JUSTIN SHUVER, ERIK POWERS and TREY WILLIAMS
Early in the 2002 season, Stanford and Dillon look like the interhall football version of the Prince and the Pauper.
Dillon (0-1) was last year's interhall champion, amassing a 7-0 record along the way. This year, its one game has been a 14-0 loss to Alumni.
Stanford (1-0) was 0-4 a year ago and has already improved upon its 2001 record with a 14-6 win over Keenan.
One team is anxious to turn it around, the other is anxious to keep the good times rolling.
"This year, we just have 24 guys who love to play football," Griffins captain Adam Oyster said. "Last year we just never came together. This year we're just going out and having fun."
Oyster credited the turnaround to several key players, including freshman wide receiver Colin Walsh, freshman quarterback Rich Whitney and veteran tailback Mark McNamee.
"There's probably about four or five seniors [besides the newcomers] as well who didn't play last year. That's helped us out a lot," Oyster said.
After winning the interhall championship last year, Dillon had not experienced a loss since 2000.
"I wouldn't say [we were] disappointed [with the loss]," Big Red captain Patrick Esper said. "You take it with a grain of salt. We look at it as a learning experience."
Esper thinks his team's struggles early on have given the team a renewed focus.
"This could be the best thing that could happen to us, how we respond to this loss, because we didn't have one last year," he said.
Mark Zeph, a junior on the squad for the first time, has taken over quarterback duties for the Big Red and has done a solid job.
"I've been really surprised with our quarterback," Esper said. "Our freshmen as a group have performed beyond expectations as well."
Both teams realize that it's a new season, and that the records from last year have little relevance now.
"They still look like a pretty good squad so it should be a good game," Oyster said.
"After last week's game we're looking for a big improvement this week," said Esper. "We want to take it one game at a time and put ourselves in position to get back to the playoffs and have a chance to defend our championship."
Morrissey vs. Keough
The season is only one week old, but Sunday's game between Keough and Morrissey is already a pivotal game for both teams.
Keough (1-0) defeated O'Neill last weekend and knows games against perennial powerhouses Alumni and Dillon loom on the horizon.
"We have three games left," Keough captain Andy Hess said. "We need to win one more, maybe two in order to get into the playoffs. So it's really kind of a must-win situation."
The Kangaroos pride themselves on their defense. Keough concentrated on a strong pass rush versus O'Neill, often leaving its defensive backs in man-to-man coverage.
On offense, quarterback Hess will look to connect frequently with receiver Brian Adams before handing off to running backs James Waechter or fullback Dan Degnen.
"We've had success on the ground versus O'Neill. We`ve been a little off with passing, but that's just how it is early in the season," Hess said. "We'd like the pass to be more productive to open up the run."
Morrissey takes the field for the first time on Sunday. The Manorites hope an extra week of preparation and conditioning will work to their advantage. If anything, the bye week has added a bit of mystery to the perception of Morrissey.
"I'm not quite sure how good Morrissey is this year, but we'll find out on Sunday," said Hess.
The game will be a baptism by fire for the Morrisey's untested offense. The passing game will be carried by quarterback Rick Ysasi and receivers John Mulligan and Greg Bright. The Morrissey running game hinges on the debut of freshman Nick Kline. The pressure will be on Kline and fullback John Caver to establish a balanced ground attack.
"We hope to mix it up pretty well," Caver said. "Fifty percent passing and 50 percent running."
Morrissey has lost to Keough the last two years, yet remains confident they can win a drawn-out battle with the Kangaroos. The Manorites believe that they can win if they stop the long plays and force Keough to drive against them. But victory is not Morrissey's only goal.
"We want to come out and hit people and, regardless of the outcome, have them hurting the next day," Caver said.
Alumni vs. O'Neill
Alumni will stroll onto Stepan field this Sunday to take on O'Neill (0-1) with the realization they are an all-around better team than the Dawgs of a year ago. Already, they shut out defending champion Dillon last week.
This kind of accomplishment might give any team a big ego, but Alumni (1-0) is not quite ready to assert itself as the best just yet.
"There are a lot of new dorms on the rise, including ourselves," Alumni co-captain Billy Siegfried said. "This weekend, we take on O'Neill and that's where our focus is going to be at this point. Then we'll see where the rest of the season takes us."
O'Neill (0-1) comes into Sunday's match up with a little less pride and a lot more to prove after they suffered a disappointing 14-7 loss at the hands of west quad rival Keough.
"I think it was our lack of real game experience that hurt us," O'Neill captain Jesse Norman said. "This time around we really haven't tried to incorporate anything new. We're just going to try to do what we did in the second half [of the Keough game] and see how we match up."
Norman's strategy may have some bearing in this weekend's bout with the Dawgs. Alumni's defense shut down Dillon's offense, which is built primarily on rushing, but the defense's overall strength will be tested when facing O'Neill's strong passing game led by quarterback Troy Montgomery.
"We have a very versatile defense," Siegfried said of his team's chances against the Angry Mob. "The talent that we have enables us to switch up and defend against a running defense or a passing defense."
With neither team able to tell who the true powerhouses are this season, there is a mutual feeling this is anybody's game. O'Neill can't afford to go 0-2 while Alumni would be well on its way to the playoffs with a second win.
All Sports Stories for Friday, September 27, 2002
