Yesterday, Blitz gave you a rundown of who was going to win tonight. Today, he will tell you some of the key personnel to keep an eye on as we cross the halfway point of the regular season.
GAVEN VOGT, CARROLL
The senior leads the SAC in passing yards and touchdowns, yet still doesn’t get the attention that some other signalcallers in the league do. Maybe it is because people aren’t all over social media trying to hype him up?
Vogt has been exceptional all season long for the Chargers. In fact, you could argue that his least-effective game in terms of numbers was the 38-14 victory over Snider when he threw for 227 yards and a touchdown.
Last week, Vogt finished with 278 yards through the air and a trio of TD passes, although the performance was overshadowed by Northrop’s ability to move the ball in chunks against the Carroll D.
Vogt has already surpassed 1,000 yards passing and shows no signs of slowing down. But he will have his most difficult challenge of the year thus far tonight. Bishop Dwenger has held opposing quarterbacks to a 45 percent completion percentage this year with four TDs and five interceptions with a great mix of stunts and pressures backed up in the secondary with a youthful but energetic group.
Can Vogt make the plays in the passing game to lead Carroll to another signature victory?
ALONZO DERRICK, SNIDER
With the kinks still being worked out on offense, the Panthers’ special teams have become all the more important.
Enter Derrick, a junior who already has a pair of punt returns for touchdowns and is averaging nearly 30 yards per return when he fields a punt.
The question becomes, why are teams not kicking it out of bounds?
Snider is going to have to score some points to beat Homestead. Derrick may be the guy to put some on the board, or at the very least hand the offense a short field or two.
LIAM FLETCHER, CONCORDIA
Since shutting out South Side in Week 1, Concordia has struggled defensively, allowing an average of 33 points per game. The fact that those games were against Homestead, Snider and Luers should be taken into consideration.
But one guy who has come to play each week is Fletcher. The senior d-end enters tonight’s game against Northrop with 11 tackles for loss and four sacks through four games. With the Bruins being an offense predicated on big-chunk plays, Fletcher will be key not only in getting pressure on quarterback Bailey Meerzo, but also sealing the edge and limiting Northrop in the run game.
AJ RESTIVO, LEO
It is no secret that the Lions’ offense has not done well against good teams. Against Woodlan, Angola and New Haven, Leo has averaged just nine points a game.
Last week, the Leo offensive unit showed life in putting up 21 points in a close loss to New Haven.
Restivo was very solid for the Lions a year ago, throwing for over 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns. While many expected him to take the next step as a senior, we were quick to forget the amount of talent Restivo had at the wide receiver spot, talent that is no longer there.
With a home clash with East Noble set for tonight, the Lions need to lean on their senior QB, and Restivo needs to lead the way to a big win.
ADAM KREIDER, LAKELAND
Who?
Kreider is the leading rusher for a Lakers team that is 3-1 and has close to 1,100 rushing yards for the season.
Admittedly, much of this production was put up against teams not as good as Angola, tonight’s opponent. But if Lakeland is going to have a chance to knock off the Hornets, they will need a big night from Kreider not only to score points, but also in keeping the ball away from Angola’s offense.
It would also help if the Hornets make a lot of self-inflicted mistakes.
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