Carroll v. Duncan
By Ellie Olmanson
The Carroll Vermin and Duncan Highlanders are set to face off this Sunday, where both teams will be looking to obtain their first win of the season as last week’s games were postponed until Oct. 8 due to inclement weather.
Although they were down 12-7 to Fisher in the third quarter when the game was halted, Duncan proved capable with ball movement and defensive skills and were led by senior quarterback Matthew Kase. The Highlanders appear to have experience as a factor this year and will aim to make another appearance in the interhall championships.
Sophomore captain Kyle Tomshack said he believes his team has been using last week’s performance against Fisher as motivation against Carroll.
“This week we’ve been focusing on correcting our mistakes from last week and making sure they don’t happen again,” Tomshack said. “As our first game showed, there are many places for the team to improve. We focus on getting better everyday.”
Duncan put forth a fight in last year’s interhall championship game against Stanford, but fell just short 7-6. Only a year before, Duncan was not known for its football abilities after going winless in 2015, to which its residents took attention to and made a priority.
Tomshack highlighted the importance of working as a team in order to obtain these goals.
“We believe that if we play together as a team, we have the ability to beat anyone,” Tomshack said.
On the other side, Carroll fought Morrissey for nearly three quarters before a lightning warning stopped play. It was an even match with little movement of the chains. The only points scored were by Morrissey after an interception returned for a touchdown put them on the board. Carroll, the smallest men’s dorm on campus, is led by fresh faces and bleached hair. Charlie Prince, Jake O’Hara, Jack McClintock and Tom Caffrey are only some of the notable freshmen gearing up for Carroll this season.
Carroll was eliminated in the early rounds of the playoff journey in 2016, but aim to make a name for themselves this year. In order to do this, the Vermin must focus on extending depth to their game by being a force by both long shots and consistent runs.
The Vermin and Highlanders are set to face off this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Ricci Family Fields.
Morrissey v. Fisher
By Cassie Corbin
The tradition of cross-quad rivalry intensifies as the Morrissey Manor and the Fisher Green Wave battle each other this weekend.
After losing many graduating seniors, the composition of Morrissey’s team has altered greatly. Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s early elimination, sophomore captain Tom Slevin said “a vibrant offensive motion will push The Manor to victory.”
Slevin said Morrissey is returning to its roots for the upcoming game.
“Our strategy is to go back to what has worked in the past: to go the ground and pound game, to keep running the football and chip away at the other team’s defense,” Slevin said. “And just go three, four yards at a time and pick up the first down. We just want to keep moving on the field.”
However, while Morrissey is strengthening its offensive line, Fisher is working on a strong, revamped defense. Although the game was postponed due to weather, Fisher held the lead in last week’s matchup against Duncan. Riding on this success, senior captain Dan Ridzik altered Fisher’s defensive line during practice this week in anticipation of certain plays.
“We know we have the assets to execute on the field,” Ridzik said. “Ball security was one of the main things we had highlighted. We’re doing well with that but we need to work on tackling and wrapping up.”
With each side looking to bring home the championship this season, both Morrissey and Fisher’s focus on traditional fundamentals should make for a competitive game.
Morrissey takes on Fisher this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Ricci Family Fields.
Siegfried v. Sorin
By Jack Zinsky
The Siegfried Ramblers and Sorin Otters come together in Week 2 of the interhall season on Sunday, each with something to prove.
Siegfried, coming off of a semi-final appearance last season, looks to continue the momentum gained from a near-perfect 21-0 defeat of Knott last week. The shutout surely put the rest of campus on notice, but senior captain Drew DeBaker said there is always room for improvement.
“Even though we played well last week, we can always improve our execution,” DeBaker said. “I hope the week of practice allows us to add a few more things into our system as well.”
After starting the season on such a strong note, Siegfried faces a challenge against the Otters, who are a non-traditional opponent for the Ramblers. DeBaker said they want to maintain the potency of the offense.
“Offensively we want to stay balanced between the pass and the run,” DeBaker said. “We have great depth at our skill positions, and our line brings grit as well.”
While Siegfried is looking to continue its recent stretch of excellence, Sorin is coming into this game looking to establish itself despite a 14-0 loss in Week 1. After the loss of their quarterback last week to an ACL tear, the Otters were forced to alter their offensive attack. Sophomore captain Eric Requet said his team has to make some adjustments for the upcoming game.
“We’re going to change it up a little bit,” Requet said. “We’re not going to rely as much on passing anymore. We’re going to be more run-heavy.”
The defense played a large role in keeping it close last week, and for the Otters, it is essential that the defense can continue to step up. The game was tied at zero in the fourth quarter, and the Sorin quarterback’s injury was a blow to its Week 1 hopes.
Even with a backup signal caller and a relatively small team, Requet said he believes in his squad.
“We only have 16 or 17 guys — we’re really small compared to most teams, so it’s a lot more difficult,” he said. “The fact that we can hold teams to low-scoring games with a few people says a lot.”
Anticipating a defensive battle, the Ramblers and Otters kickoff at 1 p.m. at Ricci Family Fields.
Keenan v. St. Edward’s
By Peter Baltes
The Keenan Knights and the St. Edward’s Gentlemen are set to compete in Week 2 of the interhall season, each coming off a very different result in Week 1.
St. Edward’s (1-0) is looking to build off an incredibly strong showing in their season’s inaugural game, a 24-0 victory over Zahm. The Gentlemen performed well on both sides of the ball, and senior captain Alex Schelhorn said he was very pleased with his team’s overall performance. The defense appeared effective in particular, preventing Zahm from picking up a single first down.
“Defensively, our linebacking corps as a whole are all just great players,” Schelhorn said. “They didn’t let anyone by them this week.”
It was not merely the defense that carried the day for the Gentlemen. Schelhorn also emphasized the trust the team has in the offensive side.
“The offense got moving when we needed to,” Schelhorn said. “It was a good start to the year to get the confidence going.”
Schelhorn said he remains confident that his team will be in a good position for success again this week.
“We’ve just got to play to our strengths,” he said. "We’ll have to figure out where our team’s strengths lie and how we can exploit Keenan’s weaknesses."
Keenan (0-1) fell 14-6 in their opening contest against a talented Stanford team that won the interhall championship last year. Despite this setback, the Knights, led by junior captain Dan Neuson, are hoping to bounce back against St. Edward’s.
“I think we’ve shored up and fixed some of the gaps we have in our game plan, and we’re looking forward to St. Ed’s,” Neuson said.
Neuson said he sees a team that still has plenty of talent and will certainly be competitive going forward.
“We’ve got a fantastic quarterback in [junior] Dan Lindstrom,” Neuson said. “We've got a strong core of guys on defense.”
In light of the Gentlemen’s strong showing last week, Neuson said he understands that the game will pose a challenge, but is hopeful for Keenan’s prospects both in this game and the rest of the season.
“We’re hoping to defeat a team that’s been a lot better than they have been in past years,” he said. “We’re hoping to get our game plan locked down and to propel ourselves to bigger victories down the line.”
The Knights will kick off against the Gentlemen at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday at Ricci Family Fields.
