SJ Prep 28 - La Salle 14 (FINAL)

[scs13]

Great high school game. It was a tale of two halves with La Salle dominating the 1st half and the Hawks cruising in the 2nd. The Explorers went up 7-0 early and their D held the Hawks in check on the first 2 drives. They put together another nice drive on their 2nd possession, but Solecki through an interception in the end zone that was returned 73 yards. Prep scored on a nice pass play with a short field and the momentum shifted tremendously. Solecki looked really confident in the early going, then played it very safe after the interception.

A few observations...not surprisingly, the Prep D is stout. They were a bit vulnerable to the passing game and Gordon did a great job of keeping them off-balance with really good play calling in the first half. The Prep made some adjustments and Gordon seemingly went more conservative in the 2nd half.

La Salle’s d-line is big and was able to get tremendous push into the Prep backfield most of the night. Jones played defense (and went back to QB for 2 plays when Solecki was shaken-up a bit in the 2nd half), but does not look back to 100%. It will be interesting to see what La Salle does at QB in the playoffs if Jones does get his explosiveness back. The presumed 2nd match-up will be very interesting. Until then, I think La Salle will have their hands-full against Wood next week and will need to be careful about limiting injuries.

Deja vu moment of the game: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. bursting up the middle on a blitz and absolutely steamrolling Solecki on one play. I was waiting for him to swing the Axe.

 

[tulla]

Great high school game. It was a tale of two halves with La Salle dominating the 1st half and the Hawks cruising in the 2nd. The Explorers went up 7-0 early and Their D held the Hawks in check on the first 2 drives. They put together another nice drive on their 2nd possession, but Solecki through an interception in the end zone that was returned 73 yards. Prep scores on a nice pass play with a short field and the momentum shifted tremendously. Solecki looked really confident in the early going, then played it very safe after the interception.

A few observations...not surprisingly, the Prep D is stout. They were a bit vulnerable to the passing game and Gordon did a great job of keeping them off-balance with really good play calling in the first half. The Prep made some adjustments and Gordon seemingly went more conservative in the 2nd half.

La Salle’s d-line is big and was able to get tremendous push into the Prep backfield most of the night. Jones played defense (and went back to QB for 2 plays when Solecki was shaken-up a bit in the 2nd half), but does not look back to 100%. It will be interesting to see what La Salle does at QB in the playoffs is Jones does get his explosiveness back. The presumed 2nd match-up will be very interesting. Until then, I think La Salle will have their hands-full against Wood next week and will need to be careful about limiting injuries.

As you indicate, Dandridge's interception a huge turning point. Interesting that that was the only turnover of the night. Also very fortunate for the Prep that Cherry recovered his fumble on the punt. I think McCray has thrown two maybe three interceptions in 21 starts. Red Division MVP?

LaSalle's success on the ground in the first half was surprising, but the Prep defended much better against the run in the second half.

As for the likely November game, there's a good chance it will be played in very different weather conditions. You're right that staying/getting healthy will be crucial for both teams. Some key guys on the Prep's defense looked like they were hobbling a bit. Just wish Simmons could return. Sanders and Freeman made some very good plays tonight, so imagine what their passing game could be with Simmons available.

I don't think there's any chance the Prep gets overconfident about a rematch.

Finally, Couldn't believe how bad the announcers were on the livestream. They got players and teams mixed up all night, made all kinds of mistakes, e.g saying several times that LaSalle played Malvern last week, and for some reason seemed confident that Jones woule start at QB for LaSalle. I assume they got paid.

 

[scs13]

Tulla...great comments. I love McCray's moxie. He seems to struggle with his accuracy in the first half of big games (Bosco, Wood, Parkland last year; LaSalle last night). Don't want to take anything away from the young running backs (Mason/Burrell), but the offense has a different look/feel on the ground after being spoiled for 6 years of Zacchaeus and Swift. They were a homerun threat on every touch and routinely picked up 6+ yards on first down carries, which allowed them to be more aggressive on 2nd and 3rd downs. To be fair, neither current RB has had a ton of carries and I'm comparing them to major D-1 talent, but I've seen a lot of zero to 2-yard gains on first down and more three and outs then in the recent past (really since the late 90s). Some of this may be due to a very young offensive line, who has played better than reasonably expected this year. That being said, they seem to have supreme confidence in the passing game. The receivers were getting separation and McCray just missed on 2-3 passes that would have resulted in long touchdowns. Importantly, the passing game was able to pick-up maybe 4 or 5 first downs on 3rd and 4+ during the game to sustain drives or continue to wind down the clock. This has usually been a hallmark for La Salle as their efficient passing game has picked up first downs on lots of 3rd and longs or 4th downs over the years with slants to their speedy receivers.

I agree that it would be interesting to see what the passing game would look like with Simmons. Sanders has been one of their best players this year and Cherry has been invaluable since his return. I'm not sure that McCray will get the MVP because the stats have been muted (for lots of reasons), but his leadership has been on display and he's stepped up to make some huge plays when needed. I do hope that is recognized by voters.

There are about 6-7 defensive players who could warrant strong consideration for team MVP. With all due respect to the John Reid era, this is probably the best secondary in school history. With the pressure they get on QBs from the d-line and 'backers, they'll be in any game against any team in the State (including Pine-Richland). I worry about the consistency of the offense, though, and a potentially really difficult rematch w/ La Salle looming on the horizon. I was really impressed with them tonight. Holland is a terrific weapon and Harrison Jr. is going to create nightmares for d-coordinators for years. Kudos to the coaching staff for getting them back to an elite level in a hurry.

 

[scs13]

Great high school game. It was a tale of two halves with La Salle dominating the 1st half and the Hawks cruising in the 2nd. The Explorers went up 7-0 early and their D held the Hawks in check on the first 2 drives. They put together another nice drive on their 2nd possession, but Solecki through an interception in the end zone that was returned 73 yards. Prep scored on a nice pass play with a short field and the momentum shifted tremendously. Solecki looked really confident in the early going, then played it very safe after the interception.

A few observations...not surprisingly, the Prep D is stout. They were a bit vulnerable to the passing game and Gordon did a great job of keeping them off-balance with really good play calling in the first half. The Prep made some adjustments and Gordon seemingly went more conservative in the 2nd half.

La Salle’s d-line is big and was able to get tremendous push into the Prep backfield most of the night. Jones played defense (and went back to QB for 2 plays when Solecki was shaken-up a bit in the 2nd half), but does not look back to 100%. It will be interesting to see what La Salle does at QB in the playoffs if Jones does get his explosiveness back. The presumed 2nd match-up will be very interesting. Until then, I think La Salle will have their hands-full against Wood next week and will need to be careful about limiting injuries.

Deja vu moment of the game: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. bursting up the middle on a blitz and absolutely steamrolling Solecki on one play. I was waiting for him to swing the Axe.

Update to original post: philly.com posted a video clip of Trotter's big hit:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...trotter-jr-talks-about-big-play-20171020.html

 

[paul from philly]

Sorry I missed it. What size was the crowd?

 

[tulla]

Sorry I missed it. What size was the crowd?

Seems as though you and other LaSalle supporters on here--including the fellow who thought Solecki should be MVP even if LaSalle lost--all somehow missed the game.

The crowd was said to be about 4,000. Good crowd all things considered.

 

[paul from philly]

Seems as though you and other LaSalle supporters on here--including the fellow who thought Solecki should be MVP even if LaSalle lost--all somehow missed the game.

The crowd was said to be about 4,000. Good crowd all things considered.

Sorry Tulla, I ain't driving to Chester on a Friday night. I was going to go but with all the talk of "the second game" I figured I'll go to that one. The friendly confines of Charlie Martin Stadium!!

Do the results of this game bring into question the QB selection for that game or does Solecki get the nod?

 

[tulla]

Sorry Tulla, I ain't driving to Chester on a Friday night. I was going to go but with all the talk of "the second game" I figured I'll go to that one. The friendly confines of Charlie Martin Stadium!!

Do the results of this game bring into question the QB selection for that game or does Solecki get the nod?

I thought Solecki was great in the first half--other than the interception. Solecki seemed to be a bit less accurate in the second half, but that may have been partly because the Prep brought more pressure. I can't imagine LaSalle will go with Jones as QB for all the time, even if he's completely healthy in a few weeks, but if he is healthy I can see them having him play QB in particular situations.

 

[HSFballFan19]

I would've loved to see how this game played out if LaSalle scores on their third possession to go up 14-0, instead of throwing an INT on the 3 yard line. As others had stated, that early play really seemed to change the game. LaSalle and their QB wouldve had supreme confidence coupled with serious momentum.

Prep's defense is special. Infante and his staff are doing an outstanding job; arguably their best to date. I can't wait for this rematch in a few weeks. LaSalle getting #7 healthy will help. I wonder if the original QB is given a bigger role offensively. The adjustments both staffs make going into the rematch will be very interesting.