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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Alumni, Dillon renew bitter rivalry tonight

Hatred could prove to be a deadly weapon.Each hoping to outdo the other in a contest of athleticism and masculinity, Alumni (2-1) and Dillon (2-0-1) will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Riehle Field, as one of the most intense rivalries on campus will be tested.Although they will attempt to stay focused, Dillon captain Mike Roaldi believes that it will be very difficult to overlook the competitive history of the two halls."We're going to go into this like it's just another game," Roaldi said. "But the rivalry between our dorms gives us a really good reason to get pumped up and excited to play."The Big Red has proven to be a defensive powerhouse in past weeks, not allowing a single point in three games. "Our defense has definitely been a strong point this season," Roaldi said. "Last week, they didn't give up a first down, and they've created a lot of turnovers, which definitely helps our offense a lot."Alumni has also posted impressive defensive stats this season, forcing a number of turnovers. Tonight, they will be pitted against Dillon's strong running game."We've been running the ball really well the past few games," Roaldi said. "We would like to open up our passing game a little more, though. If we could do that, it would take a lot of pressure off our running backs, and I think our offense would improve a lot."Tonight's game will be the last of the regular season for Dillon and Alumni, but neither is considering its season over."We want to get a big win so we have some momentum going into the playoffs," Roaldi said. "There are a lot of things we need to keep doing in order to have a good shot in the playoffs.. In the end, I think that the most disciplined team will do the best throughout the postseason."Alumni captain A.J. Remen was unavailable for comment.O'Neill vs StanfordStanford and O'Neill both enter this week with major questions offensively. The Griffins have not scored in two weeks and the Angry Mob's brand-new Wing-T has resulted in a very high number of turnovers. When the two teams meet tonight at 8 p.m. at South Riehle Field, the winner will be the team whose offense can move the ball and put points on the board.That task does not seem easy for O'Neill, who is facing a Stanford defense that has shut out its last two opponents."We know they have a very tough defense," Mob captain Mike Milligan said. "They've been playing some good teams and shutting them down."Milligan hopes his defense will be able to force turnovers and put the Mob offense in promising situations."We're going to need our defense to get us good field position so we don't have to go the whole field," he said.However, the Mob are going to have to cut down on turnovers to score against the staunch Griffin defense. O'Neill implemented a Wing-T offense for this season, but the complex fakes and misdirection of the scheme have resulted in as many fumbles and losses as big gains."We've tried to cut down on turnovers, but they still seem to happen to us," Milligan said. "We get something going, but then we shoot ourselves in the foot."On the Stanford side of the ball, captain Vin Monaco has been trying to fix the Griffins' offensive struggles since early in the season. "We've been running out of the wishbone and getting stuffed and passing out of the spread and not having success there either," Monaco said.This week the team is planning some major overhauls in an attempt to move the football. "We're going to put in some new formations to keep the defense on its toes," Monaco said. "We're going to put in some shorter passes and maybe some screens or options."The Griffins, who have struggled on the offensive line this year, will move personnel to try to get more push up front."All year we've had five freshmen lineman," Monaco said. "This game we're going to rotate some of the senior linebackers and defensive lineman to offense."