St. Edward's vs. Zahm - Molly Murphy
Undefeated St. Edward’s (2-0) will take on Zahm (0-1-1) in Week 3 Interhall action Sunday at Riehle Fields.
St. Edward’s (2-0) is coming off a close 7-6 win against Carroll in which its defense had two key interceptions. Both plays put the Gentlemen in scoring position, and junior lineman and captain Phineas Andrews said he is feeling confident in his team’s defense against Zahm (0-1-1).
“We think our defense has been playing great the last couple weeks and they’ll hopefully continue that this week,” said Andrews.
Andrews also said St. Edwards has been working on strengthening its offense to match the caliber of its defense.
“We’re still looking to fine-tune our offense,” Andrews said. “We’re getting more plays put in, and we’re working on finding a balanced offense.”
Zahm senior captain and offensive lineman Steven Jepeal said he also hopes to improve on his team’s offense coming off of last week’s 6-6 tie against Sorin.
“This week, we hope to turn over the ball less and have a better scoring rate in the red zone,” said Jepeal. “We also hope to keep up the success on defense.”
Although the two teams are striving to improve from last game, both know this weekend will be a challenge.
“Zahm is going to be tough,” Andrews said. “They’re taking it a lot more seriously this year from what I hear, so we’ll just keep practicing and keep running our plays.”
St. Edward’s will attempt to remain undefeated against Zahm on Sunday at 3:30 pm on Riehle Fields.
Duncan vs. Alumni - Brenna Moxley
Duncan and Alumni enter their meeting Sunday afternoon on opposite ends of the emotional roller coaster.
Alumni (1-1) is coming off a 14-7 win over defending champions Morrissey, while Duncan (0-2) attempts to recover from a close loss against Knott.
Junior Duncan captain Stephen Treacy said there is a growing rivalry between the Highlanders and the Dawgs.
“We have had some hard fought battles with Alumni in my two years here, and I expect another good game this weekend,” Treacy said. “I anticipate us controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and shutting down both the run and the pass, resulting in a victory.”
Junior Alumni captain Nicholas Lund, however, said his team’s performance last week gives him hope for the game.
“We had a big win against Morrisey this past weekend,” Lund said. “We have a couple guys hurt, but I still think we will be able to do well against Duncan this Sunday as long as they do not pull too many crazy stunts with their offense.”
The Highlanders aim to defeat the Dawgs and claim their first victory this Sunday at 1 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
Pasquerilla East vs. Pangborn - Dominic Iannelli
Pangborn will take on Pasquerilla East on Monday night in a matchup with important playoff implications.
According to senior Pangborn captain Gracie Gallagher, this will be the week when the Phoxes (1-1-1) will iron everything out.
“We've been playing pretty well, but we just haven't gotten everything to click at the same time quite yet,” Gallagher said. “We're hoping that with a few more practices we can get to where we want to be.”
Junior Pasquerilla East captain Noelle Gooding said the Pyros (2-1) will look to get a big win but also keep the game lighthearted.
“We’re obviously hoping to come out strong this weekend and get some more wins in the books before playoffs,” Gooding said. “But it wouldn’t be Pasquerilla East flag football without a lot of goofing off thrown in there because we try not to take ourselves very seriously.”
Both teams will have to face the challenges of a back-to-back weekend. Pasquerilla East will be coming off a Sunday game with Farley, and Pangborn will be coming off a matchup with McGlinn. Gooding said the Pyros are still learning how to handle the doubleheaders.
“Its tough for sure to have two games in a row like that, and that’s something that I think we struggled with this past weekend, but we’re getting used to it and we just need to come out to every game like it’s the first and play the game we know,” Gooding said.
Gallagher also recognized the difficulty of the back-to-back schedule.
“Games on back-to-back days can be tough, but it's easy to get excited to play a big football game under the lights to start off the school week,” she said. “Hopefully, we'll be coming off of a good game on Sunday and continue that momentum into Monday.”
The Phoxes and Pyros will square off under the lights at Riehle Fields on Monday at 10 p.m.
Breen-Phillips vs. Pasquerilla West - Alex Bender
A winless Breen-Phillips team will take on undefeated Pasquerilla West at LaBar Practice Complex on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Pasquerilla West (2-0) is coming into the game yet to give up a point at this early stage in the season, shutting down both Cavanaugh and Lyons. Breen-Phillips (0-2) has played two tight contests so far this season, including a one-possession loss to Ryan last week.
Both teams appear to have the same mindset heading into this game, as captains on both sides said their goal in this game is to have fun while also staying focused and striving to come out on top.
Senior Pasquerilla West co-captain Bernie Jordan said she was optimistic about her team’s chances.
“We don’t know a lot about our opponent, but we feel confident and we’re just looking to make sure everyone gets comfortable early on so as to give ourselves the best chance possible” Jordan said. “We’ve got a strong defense that we feel good about, so we’re expecting a big game on that side of the ball.”
Breen-Phillips captain sophomore Megan Resnik said her team has a positive attitude heading into this game as well.
“We have a lot of freshman on the team who are super excited to be playing, and we’ve been improving every day,” Resnik said. “So we’ll put forth a good effort and hope for the best.”
Pasquerilla West looks to continue its defensive dominance while Breen-Phillips seeks its first win of the season when the sides meet at LaBar Practice Complex at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Badin vs. Lewis - Joe Everett
In Week 3 of the Interhall season, undefeated Lewis takes on Badin.
With half of the regular season in the books, both teams are starting to find their identity and look to keep improving each week. Senior Lewis captain Penny Vorissis said she was confident she had found her best team possible.
“We’ve definitely learned what our strengths and weaknesses are as an offense and defense,” Vorissis said. “We’re not placing individuals based on where they want to play anymore, but rather in the best position where they can succeed”.
On the other side, Badin captain and senior Maggie Long echoed the idea of trial-and-error with her team through their first two games.
“We’ve seen massive improvements between our first and second games,” Long said. “We have new coaches, plays, and strategies this year, so the beginning of the season has been spent figuring out what works and what doesn't”.
That improvement will be needed against the Chicks (1-0-1) defense, which has yet to give up a point this season and drew the high praise of Vorissis.
“We have a really, really strong defense,” Vorissis said. “It’s been incredible, and I was especially proud of their performance last game”.
Long gave insight on what Badin (0-2) needs to do in order to spring an upset.
“Our team works very cohesively and communicates well,” Long said. “I think communication will be key in this game, as well as playing consistently well throughout the entire game”.
Vorissis said playing smooth throughout the game will be the key.
“I think our biggest key will be making sure that our players are comfortable with the plays, and also getting in an offensive rhythm with good communication between our quarterback and receivers.”
The game kicks off Sunday at 4 p.m. at LaBar Practice Complex.
Stanford vs. Dillon - Elizabeth Greason
After Stanford and Dillon face off this Sunday, there will be one fewer team that can still dream about an undefeated season.
Both teams have high expectations and goals of perfection.
Senior Stanford (1-0) captain Daniel Babiak said he is pleased with his team’s performance in their one game so far, but also expects improvements in the upcoming face-off against Dillon.
“We’ve seen a few things both on offense and defense that have worked well,” Babiak said. “Every aspect of the team can still be improved in my opinion.”
Dillon (1-0) won its last game against O’Neill by a 24-0 margin, giving Stanford reason to be concerned about stopping the Dillon offense. Babiak said the Big Red’s offensive intensity has the potential to cause his team trouble.
“Dillon plays smash-mouth football,” Babiak said. “The hardest part will be matching that intensity and making sure to hit them harder than they hit us.”
Babiak said he was fairly satisfied with the Griffins’ performance in their victory against Keough, 14-7, but said he knows in order to defeat Dillon, Stanford will need to keep striving for perfection.
“We need to try and polish up the things that didn't work well while continuing to excel at our strengths,” Babiak said. “I’m confident in our system and we try to force teams to adjust to us.”
The match-up will likely be a competitive one, but that does not change Babiak’s outlook on the season.
“Our goals are the same as when we began,” Babiak said. “Win the division; win the league.”
Stanford and Dillon will meet at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at Riehle Fields.
Knott vs. Siegfried - Tori Llorens
Competing for both the win and important bragging rights, Knott (1-0) faces Siegfried (1-0) on Sunday in one of the most anticipated games of the two teams’ seasons.
Juggerknotts captain and senior middle linebacker Casey McCaffrey said the team is excited to play against its rival dorm. McCaffrey said his team has been working to ensure a win, and he feels good about their chances.
“Our [quarterback] threw four touchdowns last week so that was a very nice surprise,” McCaffrey said. “We’re working on more of our defense because the score [last week] was 28- 26. We gave up a lot of points for Interhall. So we’re working on shoring up the defense and on offense just making sure we stay pretty balanced with passing and running.”
Senior Siegfried safety and captain Grady Schmidt is confident in his team’s abilities and said they can win more securely than their first game. After beating Alumni 7-6 on a protested call in Week 1, Schmidt says the Ramblers will take what they can get and improve for the future.
“[We are definitely stronger] at defense,” Schmidt said. “We’re working to improve the offense so I’m confident we’ll be able to score more. We’ve put in more plays. It was really a quick start to the year so we took advantage of our bye week just to learn more about what we’re going to do.”
Both captains said they expect a tough and physical game.
Knott and Siegfried face off in the battle for Mod Quad on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Riehle Fields.
