went to the Wood vs. Lasalle game last night and I was shocked watching Lasalle. They seemed very slow compared to Wood and not many athletes compared to recent years. Wood was clearly the better team. In the opinion of the Lasalle faithful (who I'm sure will be kicking and screaming about this thread) whats going on with this program ? Is it a one year down period, do they have a good young group coming up, have they fallen behind Wood also (Woods won two years in a row), is it coaching ?
what's up with Lasalle ?
- Thread starter ramgreen
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Seriously, you're going to question the coaching there?
Wood is better than LaSalle this year, period. Thats what's wrong with LaSalle. They simply aren't better than Wood or Prep.
Certainly LaSalle was seriously weakened by the injury to Jones. They'd have a much more dynamic offense with him in there.
Still, looking at this year's freshman and JV results and the play of underclassmen (including freshmen) on the varsity team, I'd say that at least compared to SJP LaSalle looks relatively weak. Of course, freshman and JV results are of very limited usefulness in predicting future varsity success, but I heard from someone who was at the SJP-LaSalle freshman game--the Prep won 40-16--that he was surprised by the disparity.
Surprised in which way? Did he think it should have been worse than 40-16?
Preps freshman team hasn't lost in like 4 years and JV the same. They're enormous upfront, much bigger than any other freshman team.
I think JV and Freshman actually give a direct indication of the future varsity success. Example: While Prep was getting steamrolled by Bosco their freshman team continued to beat Bosco. Those kids are seniors now and look at the Bosco result this season.
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Actually, this year's freshman team lost to Bosco and St. Joe's Regional (though it's worth noting that a handful of freshmen, including Duell the QB, are playing varsity), and last year's team lost a game to a school from Maryland. But I get your point.
My friend noted that the disparity this year was greater than in most recent years.
@tulla
La Salle might be having a down year but if you look at there starting lineup you will notice they are very young with young talent. They only start 2 Srs on Offense and 3 Srs on D. The whole O Line is back next year along with Jones. Gotta admit there just a OK team this year with a lot of Inexperience that will help them next year, and i think La Salle coaches know that. I think 100% they compete with Prep next year esp without Swift (thank god lol)
9 (jr), 77 (jr) 52 (jr),60 (soph),56 (jr),72 (jr) 13 (soph), 17 (soph), 1 (jr) all contribute, 15 RB-7 QB are Srs and there missing 14 (jr)
4 jr
La Salle might be having a down year but if you look at there starting lineup you will notice they are very young with young talent. They only start 2 Srs on Offense and 3 Srs on D. The whole O Line is back next year along with Jones. Gotta admit there just a OK team this year with a lot of Inexperience that will help them next year, and i think La Salle coaches know that. I think 100% they compete with Prep next year esp without Swift (thank god lol)
9 (jr), 77 (jr) 52 (jr),60 (soph),56 (jr),72 (jr) 13 (soph), 17 (soph), 1 (jr) all contribute, 15 RB-7 QB are Srs and there missing 14 (jr)
4 jr
I get it, and being one of the top two non public 6A teams Lasalle will always get the spotlight. But they are right where they were last year. Lost big to Prep and lost to Wood.
If they beat Judge they get a rematch with Prep and that is the dangerous match up. Prep proved last year they can lose the big one. For me, the big question is how the judge game goes. Every year judge has guys out hurt and can't manage to have a competitive game in this game. Would like to see them put up a fight.
If they beat Judge they get a rematch with Prep and that is the dangerous match up. Prep proved last year they can lose the big one. For me, the big question is how the judge game goes. Every year judge has guys out hurt and can't manage to have a competitive game in this game. Would like to see them put up a fight.
From a football perspective, it's not like AW passed LS. AW been up top all along with LS and SJP since the PIAA era started. As Jones stated, they (LS) are young and will reload next year and be up top with SJP. This next game (assuming LS gets past FJ) worries me more than any other as LS is clearly a year young and not as talented and easy to overlook ... especially after the regular season game. But, with that coaching staff they can game plan to steal any game ... esp a Prep game.
Any Prep guy would be crazy to assume a win against LaSalle--if the two teams wind up playing each other. I'm not assuming a win against Roman either, but I am thinking it's highly likely they'll win this week and next.
JRolls nailed it. It's not like they're losing to scrubs! The teams they lost to are all top notch!! The QB going down took a lot away from Gordon. Most likely half of his game plan. Their running game is beyond criticism. Again, just like the Prep game, if it had't been for Swift, Madden would have gotten more ink. The defense is a question mark, but as mentioned earlier, they're young. Time will tell but I think the Prep will be head and shoulders for some time!
There was a reason that Drew Gordon resigned and that was the fact that LS was not as competitive in what they were granting in financial aid as some schools like Prep and Wood. Don't forget that at one point Swift was at LaSalle until his aid package (or lack thereof) came through and Prep swooped in with a much better package.
I would agree if not for the fact Gordon moved to McDevitt where there was little recruiting and then LC which is even more of the same. Maybe McDevitt because he went there but LC??
I agree with both Tulla and Paul. Tulla's comments about not taking anyone for granted is spot on. The Prep has been in this situation before with both Roman and La Salle where they've lost the game after being considered heavy favorites. This year's team seems to be in more control with Swift, but I really liked having Waller as a different type of speed/power runner that gave them more versatility in the backfield.
While La Salle is down this year from pervious standards, they are still a very good, young team. I wouldn't be surprised if the NP game would be a lot closer if played today. This is meant as no disrespect to the Knights as they have the weapons and are much more multi-dimensional than teams of the recent past. That said, I think they would be underdogs in games with either Prep or Wood. The speedy secondary of both teams would likely help contain the passing game that has really carried NP this year. That said, Udinski'a ability to make plays with his legs and keep plays alive adds a very dangerous element. It's not much different than Rob King at Judge, but Udinski is surrounded by better playmakers. Every week should be fun to watch for here on out. Good luck to all teams. Let'a hope everyone stays healthy and we can enjoy some special football on the field as the Eastern part of the State represents well again across all classes.
While La Salle is down this year from pervious standards, they are still a very good, young team. I wouldn't be surprised if the NP game would be a lot closer if played today. This is meant as no disrespect to the Knights as they have the weapons and are much more multi-dimensional than teams of the recent past. That said, I think they would be underdogs in games with either Prep or Wood. The speedy secondary of both teams would likely help contain the passing game that has really carried NP this year. That said, Udinski'a ability to make plays with his legs and keep plays alive adds a very dangerous element. It's not much different than Rob King at Judge, but Udinski is surrounded by better playmakers. Every week should be fun to watch for here on out. Good luck to all teams. Let'a hope everyone stays healthy and we can enjoy some special football on the field as the Eastern part of the State represents well again across all classes.
I disagree with scs, if played today the NP/Lasalle game would not be closer. But that is more of a nod to how well NP has evolved rather than a shot as LS. NP kid is far different than kid at Judge, in that NP qb is a qb and Judge qb is a fantastic athlete but as far as comparing their arms that is not fair to the kid at Judge because he is being recruited as an athlete...he can play anywhere....kid at NP is a qb. LS needs to focus on getting past this week, and then have a great week of lead in to "anything can happen."
I still don't understand Gordons leaving McDevitt to go to Lansdale Catholic.
Quirky guy! Still don't fully understand him. Hindsight being 20/20, he had his issues.
The LS loss to Wood was probably going to happen even if LS was not missing Jones, Holland and Quiles. As previously stated, Wood is simply a more talented team than LS. If nothing else, Wood's big plays speak to LS's defensive limitations, namely the inability to contain teams with speed. LS proved last season that they could put together a game plan to contain such a team when they were able to beat SJP in the CL final. Can they do the same this year (assuming LS gets by Judge and SJP by Roman), or will LS be looking ahead to next season when they return a very strong nucleus of talented players?
LaSalle did have a good defensive plan last year. One thing I've wondered about is how healthy Shaw was before he had to leave the game and why Kidd-Jackson wasn't available. Shaw wasn't very mobile (maybe especially because of the injury he got against Judge), and the Prep offense is much better with a quarterback who is. (Kidd-Jackson made a difference in the first LaSalle game and in some others. Teams had a hard time keying on both K-J and Swift.)
Swift had such a frustrating championship game last year. There were at least three kick returns he very nearly broke for TDs and the punt return he did return for a TD was called back by a blocking in the back call that was correct--even though Swift didn't need the block at all.
If only Waller is unavailable because of injury, I have a hard time seeing LaSalle coming close to containing the Prep offense. Turnovers can, of course, change everything, but as far as I can tell, I don't think McCray has been intercepted once all year.
Getting ahead of myself, I know, in looking past this weekend's games.