Alumni and Siegfried are both hungry for a win after two tough ties last Sunday.
The Dawgs tied Duncan 7-7 in a defensive struggle last weekend.
"A few costly mistakes kept us from the win on Sunday," junior captain Pat Rushford said. "Stupid penalties and the [interception returned for a touchdown] I threw were key mistakes that need to be corrected."
Siegfried is hungry to defend their championship, and the consistently good team is a point of concern for Rushford.
"(Siegfried has) been good since my freshman year," Rushford said. "But if we eliminate our mistakes and play sound football we should have a great shot."
The Ramblers are looking for their first win after their championship season last year.
They fought Knott to a 7-7 tie last weekend.
"We got off to a slow start and that hurt us," Siegfried freshman Sean Hannon said. "Our defense really shined, allowing only seven points even though they were on the field for most of the game."
The offense was a weakness for Siegfried, Hannon said.
"We punted four times and turned the ball over once against Knott," Hannon said. "We need to be better to pull out the win."
Siegfried will try to reassert its dominance on the football field as Alumni hopes to establish itself with a .500 record Sunday at 2 p.m. at Riehle Field.
Duncan vs. Morrissey
Sunday's matchup between Duncan Hall (0-1-1) and Morrissey Manor (1-0) promises to be an epic clash of win-hungry squads.
"[The first two games] fell short of my expectations," Duncan sophomore captain Paul Scheel said. "But the season is not over yet and we have more games to play."
On the other side of the ball, the Manorites claimed their first victory in fine fashion, blanking Alumni Hall 22-0. They will look to build upon this strong opening performance to keep their undefeated season alive.
"Our first game met our expectations," senior linebacker Phil Yuhas said. "We played hard, kept our intensity up all game, and came away with a victory just like we thought we would."
Duncan Hall has a rather young team, consisting mostly of freshman and sophomores, which could pose problems. Morrissey, on the other hand, has a good balance of upper and underclassmen, which should work to their benefit.
"We have a good mix," Yuhas said. "Guys from every class, freshman to seniors, play and contribute greatly. It really builds camaraderie and helps us have fun as a team."
Despite the slow start, Duncan seems poised to turn it around this week.
The Highlanders have practiced twice a week, focusing especially on those aspects of the game that were their downfalls in the previous games.
"For this week's game, we want to play mistake-free football," Scheel said. "The first two games we killed ourselves with costly penalties and mental lapses."
Morrissey, however, plans to run it down the Highlanders' throats.
"Our two-headed monster in the offensive backfield, senior quarterback Danny Deveny and sophomore tailback David Ulery, should have a big game on Sunday," Yuhas said.
The Highlanders and the Manor will do battle Sunday at 1 p.m. on the Riehle Field.
Fisher vs. St. Edward's
When Fisher (0-1-1) and St. Edward's (0-1) meet Sunday, each will be hoping to define their season with a hallmark victory.
Both teams hope to get their first win of the season. Fisher was shut out in its season-opening loss, and only managed six points in a tie with Carroll.
The Gentlemen lost to Carroll to open their season and then had a week off. St. Ed's hopes that their bye week will be a refresher for the team as they plan to add to the win column. The Gentleman defense anticipates stopping the Green Wave from reaching the end zone this week.
"We have some real solid freshmen on defense," senior captain Andy Nester said.
Freshman Rob Dillard looks to lead the Gentlemen on the defensive side of the ball.
After having some time to practice and prepare for Fisher, the Gentleman will come out strong against the Green Wave.
"It's going to be like the Little Giants responding in the second half against the Cowboys when Icebox came in," Nester said.
Fisher will use a tough defense to try to get that win and stop the Gentleman offensive attack.
"We will be blitzing [St. Ed's] all day," Fisher senior head coach Pat Hogan said last week.
St. Ed's will look to top Fisher for its first win of the season, as Fisher hopes for the exact opposite, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Riehle Field.
O'Neill vs. Keenan
Keenan and O'Neill both enter Sunday's game in desperate need of a victory as they both enter the contest winless on the season.
After a humbling 23-0 loss to Dillon in Week 1, O'Neill had a welcome bye week. The Mob failed to convert a first down in the first three quarters against Dillon, fumbled multiple snaps and suffered three sacks.
"We need to score points early and often Sunday in order to beat Keenan," O'Neill senior captain Charles Johnson said. "We were shut out last time, so we went back to the basics and added a couple plays and made some adjustments on the offensive line."
Keenan, meanwhile, has dropped each of its first two contests and only scored a combined three points in those games.
"We need to start executing on offense," sophomore captain Terry Mahoney said. "That is something we have failed to do the past two weeks."
The Knights defense, led by sophomore cornerback P.J. McHugh, was a bright spot for Keenan last Sunday, holding Dillon to just seven offensive points and keeping them in the game despite the struggles of the offense.
"The defense has played very well," Mahoney said. "We need to keep the ball with the offense and put loads of points on the board to take some pressure off them."
The Knights have worked hard in practice this week to correct the mistakes that led to the 0-2 start.
"We gave our best effort at practice this week and we will at the game Sunday," Mahoney said. "We need to show the intensity because every week is a playoff game for us now.
We definitely need to come out firing in the intensity category. We will be ready Sunday."
The game will be played Sunday at 3 p.m. at Riehle Field.
Stanford vs. Dillon
Stanford (1-0) and Dillon (1-0) face off this Sunday in a battle of undefeated teams that promises to be a defensive struggle.
Neither team has given up a point so far this year; Dillon stifled Keenan and O'Neill, while Stanford shut out Keough.
"I'm real excited about what we've done so far," Big Red captain Jordan Smith said. "The defense and running game have been great."
Dillon will look to senior quarterback Jason Miller as well as to its athletic backfield of freshman Terry Howard and junior Eric Herbert to break the formidable Stanford defense, while the Griffins will rely heavily on their linebacking corps to stop the run and force Dillon to rely on the pass, with which it has struggled recently.
"We want to make them start throwing the ball," Stanford senior captain Chris Gill said. "We're pretty confident that in a passing contest, we'll end up on the winning side nine times out of 10."
When the Griffins have the ball, they will utilize their running attack to open up opportunities for junior quarterback Tony Rizzo through the air. The Big Red lost sophomore cornerback Matt High to a knee injury last week, which may complicate matters for the Dillon pass defense.
These two squads know each other well, having battled five times in the last three years, including two Griffin playoff victories.
"Each game has been close," said Smith. "It's going to be a very hard-fought game."
The contests between these teams have perennially had major playoff implications, and this year's edition promises nothing less.
"We understand that Dillon is a pretty good team this [year]," Gill said. "The winner of this game is going to be in the driver's seat for the division, so we understand that this is a big game."
The Big Red shares Stanford's sentiment.
"It's going to be a good game," he said. "We're excited about it, that's for sure."
Stanford and Dillon meet on the Riehle Field gridiron at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Zahm vs. Carroll
Sunday's match-up between Zahm and Carroll features two teams looking to redeem themselves after poor showings last week.
The Vermin (1-0-1) tied Fisher last week in a game full of mistakes. They fumbled, dropped passes and missed tackles, failing to win a game junior captain Nick Ruof believes should have been a victory.
"We let one get away last week," Ruof said. "We're going to come out strong against Zahm and minimize the mistakes that killed us."
Carroll will lean upon their defense to help them return to their winning ways. The Vermin's front seven have been nothing less then stout this season, led by two sophomores, linebacker Albert Toscano and lineman John Gately.
"[Toscano and Gately] are the strength of our team," Ruof said.
Carroll will need their defense to step up in order to defeat the Zahmbies.
Zahm (0-1) looks to get back on track after being shut out by Sorin 20-0 last week. The Zahmbies showed flashes of a potent running attack in their opener, but met their downfall once the Sorin defense stuffed their ground game and forced them to pass.
"We're looking for a more effective passing game this week," senior captain Jarred Carter said. "Our running game can't do it alone."
Establishing some sort of passing threat against the Vermin is crucial for Zahm. Last week proved that a successful ground game led by junior tailbacks Greg Bennett and Ruof can only take the Zahmbies so far. In order to beat Carroll, Zahm must pass.
Redemption for poor showings and possible playoff spots are on the line Sunday.
Kickoff is 2 p.m. at Riehle Field.
