St. Edward’s vs. Carroll
By Molly Murphy
St. Edward’s will face Carroll on Sunday at Riehle Fields. Both teams are coming off opening-week wins from last week, with St. Edward’s defeating Fisher, 3-0, and Carroll defeating Zahm, 24-8.
St. Edward’s junior captain and lineman Phineas Andrews said his team is not resting on its victory, however.
“We had some good plays on offense, but we also had a few turnovers and some busted ones as well, so we’ll look to be more consistent next week,” Andrews said.
Carroll junior receiver and captain Anthony Vallera also said his team was eager to improve from last week.
“We need to get some of our guys more practice, we played a lot of guys,” Vallera said. “We have some guys who haven’t played football before, and so we’re just getting them used to the speed of the game.”
While the Gentlemen will look to their defense to have another strong performance this week, Vallera said Carroll is looking to some of the youngest members of the team to carry the Vermin once again to victory.
“We have a lot of freshman that I’m eager to play,” Vallera said.
The two teams will battle it out to remain undefeated Sunday at 2:15 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
Welsh Family vs. Ryan
By Maureen Schweninger
Welsh Family and Ryan are set for a West Quad showdown this Tuesday night.
With the Whirlwinds (2-0) flying high after two wins and a strong start to the season, junior cornerback and captain Sharon Chiang said she was impressed with her team’s 20-0 victory over Walsh this past Tuesday.
“We really found our rhythm in our second game [against Walsh],” Chiang said. “Very proud of that shutout. We’re focusing on that as we head in this week.”
Ryan (1-0) has also played strong on defense and remains unscored upon this season. Senior wide receiver and captain Erin Clark said she looks forward to the matchup.
“It would be huge to shut them down on offense and be able to run through our offense,” Clark said. “Getting completions, getting yards. Not necessarily getting a ton of points on the board, but breaking them down bit by bit will be big.”
With the game potentially having major implications for both teams’ seasons, Chiang acknowledged tensions between the two squads are high.
“There’s definitely a rivalry between Ryan and Welsh Fam,” Chiang said. “We’re sister dorms, but there’s a bit of hate between us. We know they’re really good. All their girls are very fast and very athletic. We have to keep up and make sure we don’t get burned out.”
Clark said Ryan hasn’t forgotten its 34-21 loss to Welsh Family in the semifinals of the playoffs last year.
“Our defense has been incredibly dominant, and we have a freshman quarterback who can really play with calmness and confidence,” Clark said. “We’re trying to come back and prove we can definitely hang with Welsh Fam. I think we can.”
The game begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Riehle Fields.
Knott vs. Duncan
By Joseph Everett
The second week of the season pits Knott against Duncan, with one team looking to start its season strong and the other looking to get back on track.
Knott, who had a bye in its first week, will test its skills for the first time against the Highlanders. Senior captain Casey McCaffrey said he is optimistic about his team’s chances of making the playoffs this season.
“I think we should be pretty good,” McCaffrey said. “Our skill position players are experienced, and our entire offensive line played the position in high school, so our strength as a team is definitely in the trenches on both sides of the ball.”
Knott’s opponent, Duncan, is looking to rebound from a 20-6 defeat to defending champion Morrissey last week. Junior captain Stephen Treacy said he believes his team got their feet wet facing Morrissey and can build off that experience in preparation for this game.
“We played a lot better in the second half than we did the first,” Treacy said. “We’re definitely focusing on our pass-blocking schemes, because we definitely had some miscommunication between the quarterback and offensive line last game.”
McCaffrey, looking ahead to the matchup, said the Jugerknotts' secondary would be especially important.
“Last year [Duncan] played a lot of spread offense,” McCaffrey said. “We definitely have to work on our pass defense and avoid giving up the big plays.”
Treacy said the key would be whether Duncan could execute their offense properly.
“We have to move the ball on offense,” Treacy said. “We weren’t able to do that last week, and it put our defense in a really tough position covering a short field.”
The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Riehle Fields.
Keough vs. Stanford
By Brenna Moxley
Keough matches up against Stanford for Week 2 of the season.
The Kangaroos are hoping to bounce back from a tough 7-0 loss this past weekend against Keenan, who made it to the championship game last year. Keough junior captain and quarterback Matthew Mooney said the team could take many positives from the close contest.
“Keenan is very good and one big play was the difference in the game,” Mooney said. “So I think we should be fine going forward.”
Mooney said his team knows what they need to improve on in order to earn a win against the Griffins.
“We played well on defense, but we struggled to run the ball so we’ll look to improve that this week,” Mooney said.
Following a bye week last week, Stanford will be entering its season opener this Sunday. Griffins senior captain Daniel Babiak said he expects his team to impress.
“I think our team is ready,” Babiak said. “We’ve had a lot of time to work out any little kinks on offense and defense, and I am confident our productive practices will translate to the upcoming game.”
The two teams will meet this Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
O’Neill vs. Keenan
By Alex Bender
O’Neill takes on Keenan on Sunday at Riehle Fields, as both teams look to get off to a quick start this season. O’Neill suffered a tough 31-0 loss to Duncan in its season opener, while Keenan was able to pull out a close 7-0 win against Keough on Sunday.
Even at this point in the season, both teams have definite strengths and weaknesses, according to their captains. Keenan junior safety and captain Mikey Koller said he is already noticing what his team will have to do to get the job done.
“We've had a solid start in our first game and look to get our momentum going with this next game,” Koller said. “We are hoping to clean up some of our technical mistakes from last game and polish our offense even more. We expect a hard-fought game against O'Neill and to have a lot of fun in the process.”
O’Neill junior captain and quarterback Keenan Bailey said he knows his team needs to bounce back in a big way from their opening loss but feels his team are up to the challenge.
“I expect the Mob to play loose this week,” Bailey said. “We have an excellent opportunity to knock off a very good football team in Keenan Hall, so I expect our guys to go out there with excellent effort and do what we do.”
The game begins at 1 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
Morrissey vs. Alumni
By Tobias Hoonhout
Playoff implications will already be on the line Sunday at 3:30 p.m. when Morrissey takes on Alumni.
Alumni is 0-1 after a controversial last-minute call gave the Dawgs a victory over Siegfried last Sunday, only for an official over-ruling that later gave the win to Siegfried.
Morrissey is looking to build momentum on last week’s 20-6 victory as it seeks to defend its title. The Manor dominated on the ground in their last contest, and sophomore captain Declan Zidar said that will be one of the keys in this week's contest.
“I wouldn’t say we have an overall strength, but we run the ball and defend really well," he said. "We have a great offensive line and a lot of depth on the defense, especially at the linebacker position.”
With such all-around talent, Morrissey has been simply focusing on timing and communication this week in preparation for the coming contest, Zidar said.
Alumni thought it had a key win under its belt last Sunday, as the Dawgs got a game-winning score on a final play after time had expired to defeat Siegfried. The call was subsequently overturned, and thus, Alumni is looking to rebound this week to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Offensively, the Dawgs are led by senior quarterback Trevor Hurley, but freshman linebacker Sean Maraghy said the defense has the challenge of stopping what may be the best offense in the league.
“Morrissey is definitely talented offensively,” Maraghy said. “But our defense still feels confident that we can make enough plays to give our offense a chance to win.”
Both high-powered offenses look to grab a victory Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
Pasquerilla West vs. Lyons
By Victoria Llorens
One game into the season, the pressure is already building to either keep a lead or not fall behind. This Sunday at 6 p.m., Pasquerilla West (1-0) faces off against Lyons (0-1) looking to get ahead.
Senior Lyons captain and tight end Melissa Hoelting said she believes there is more than enough time to recover from the Lions' opening loss.
“We want to prove Lyons Hall can dominate in this league and flag football,” she said. “We are more motivated than ever to come out and take down a powerhouse like P.W.”
Purple Weasels captain and senior wide receiver Mary Kate Vicenzi said she feels confident in her team's ability to keep its winning record.
“I feel pretty good about it. P.W. is usually pretty confident,” she said. “We have a great squad this year. And with our win last week, I feel like we should be pretty good.”
Hoelting said her team has been working on keeping the ball secure while on offense in order to help the defense succeed.
“We need to be able to respond on offense and put points on the board to ease the pressure on our defense,” she said. “We are going to focus more on moving our offense down the field. We had very short runs last week, which put pressure on our defense [at] the goal line.”
The Lions will challenge the Purple Weasels on Sunday night at 6 p.m. at LaBar Practice Complex.
Cavanaugh vs. Walsh
By Elizabeth Greason
Cavanaugh will go head-to-head with Walsh this Sunday.
The Chaos will be looking for their first win of the year, while the Wild Women will also attempt to come back from a loss to Welsh Family on Tuesday.
Walsh sophomore captain Maryanne Fisher said she is proud of what her young team has been able to accomplish so far this season.
“This team has exceeded all of the captains’ and coaches’ expectations this year,” said Fisher. “Very few people on our team had any experience with flag football, and the fact they can pick it up so quickly and have the drive to learn is amazing, and I'm so proud of them for it.”
Even though Fisher is proud of what her team has accomplished so far, she said she is still aware of what Cavanaugh will bring to the contest Sunday.
“Cavanaugh is a great team, just like every year,” Fisher says. “This game is important to us because they beat us last year in a close game so we are ready to come back and show them what we can do.”
The winless Chaos are looking to break their losing streak this Sunday, but Fisher said the Wild Women have improved significantly so far this year.
“We are starting to get into a really good groove and everyone is getting more comfortable on the field and as a team in general,” Fisher said.
Cavanaugh and Walsh will play at 6 p.m. on Sunday at LaBar Practice Complex.
Farley vs. Pangborn
By Jackie Brebeck
Defending champion Pangborn and Farley face off Sunday, with Farley is coming off a 35-12 win against Badin, and the Phoxes coming off a defensive battle with Lewis that resulted in a 0-0 tie in Week 1.
Against Badin last week, Finest junior quarterback Lizzy Moulton threw five touchdown passes, with the running game also producing significant yardage. Senior linebacker and captain Ali Buersmeyer said Farley is looking to continue its success both in executing long plays and adjusting on defense.
“We want to keep improving from our great start last weekend," Buersmeyer said. "If our offense can keep producing points and our defense communicates well and responds to Pangborn’s offense, we will hopefully come away with another win."
Buersmeyer attributed much of Farley's early success to the team's coaches.
“They’ve been very organized and enthusiastic, and the team has already learned a lot in just a few short weeks,” Buersmeyer said.
In the stalemate with Lewis, Pangborn's defense made four interceptions at critical times. On Sunday, Pangborn will strive to sustain its level of defense and improve on offense, senior captain Gracie Gallagher said.
"We really need to get our offense in a good rhythm this game," Gallagher said. "We struggled when we got into the red zone against Lewis, so this game we need to capitalize on those opportunities.”
Gallagher said several players will continue to be important to the Phoxes' defensive performance.
"Players to watch out for are definitely [senior] Molly Cullinan on the defensive line, [junior] Makenna Siebenaler at linebacker and [sophomore] Jacklyn Cooney at safety," Gallagher said. "They played huge parts in our defensive stops against Lewis."
Sunday’s game between Farley and Pangborn will take place at LaBar Practice Complex at 4 p.m. Sunday.
