Not expecting anyone other than Prep guys to respond (though of course anyone can) to a question I've been asking myself since Saturday's game.
LaSalle's defense was obviously focused on containing Swift on the ground and they did a great job doing so. He got lots of yardage on returns but I think I saw that he got only 14 yards from scrimmage. So my question is why the Prep didn't try to open up the LaSalle defense by passing more. They completed 7 of 14 passes for 78 yards but 50 of them must have come on the first play from scrimmage. Therefore they got no more than 30 the whole rest of the game, especially in the second half. Was Shaw playing hurt before he had to leave the game? Were the coaches afraid of interceptions, especially after LaSalle returned one for a TD? McCray didn't throw much when he was in and didn't look so comfortable doing so, so why didn't they use Longo? And is Angelos (who we heard has shown promise as a passing QB) still in the picture?
I suppose the fact that the Prep was in the lead for the whole of the second half until the last minute made them extra cautious, but as the game wore on it was becoming increasingly clear that the LaSalle defense wasn't letting the Prep run. I don't like quoting myself but here's what I said last week on the LaSalle-SJP thread: "One key Saturday will be how well the Prep's passing game works. It doesn't have to be great but just good enough to prevent LaSalle from focusing almost entirely on containing SJP's ground game. Even then, unless the Prep fumbles a few times, their running game alone will put a few TDs on the board."
I think I was pretty much on the money--thanks to Benny Walls--but the mystery remains why with receivers like Green and Simmons--and Swift, DuMnd, and Walls!!--the Prep seemed so averse to passing.
LaSalle's defense was obviously focused on containing Swift on the ground and they did a great job doing so. He got lots of yardage on returns but I think I saw that he got only 14 yards from scrimmage. So my question is why the Prep didn't try to open up the LaSalle defense by passing more. They completed 7 of 14 passes for 78 yards but 50 of them must have come on the first play from scrimmage. Therefore they got no more than 30 the whole rest of the game, especially in the second half. Was Shaw playing hurt before he had to leave the game? Were the coaches afraid of interceptions, especially after LaSalle returned one for a TD? McCray didn't throw much when he was in and didn't look so comfortable doing so, so why didn't they use Longo? And is Angelos (who we heard has shown promise as a passing QB) still in the picture?
I suppose the fact that the Prep was in the lead for the whole of the second half until the last minute made them extra cautious, but as the game wore on it was becoming increasingly clear that the LaSalle defense wasn't letting the Prep run. I don't like quoting myself but here's what I said last week on the LaSalle-SJP thread: "One key Saturday will be how well the Prep's passing game works. It doesn't have to be great but just good enough to prevent LaSalle from focusing almost entirely on containing SJP's ground game. Even then, unless the Prep fumbles a few times, their running game alone will put a few TDs on the board."
I think I was pretty much on the money--thanks to Benny Walls--but the mystery remains why with receivers like Green and Simmons--and Swift, DuMnd, and Walls!!--the Prep seemed so averse to passing.