Holy War 2020

 
Eds has played 3 teams- one very good, one great, and one good.

Ignatius hasn't played a game yet and lost weeks of practice to Covid. The Cats will also break in a new QB.

Eds clearly has momentum and the advantage in this game.
 
Can’t see Ignatius keeping up in this one given the missed practice time. Ignatius only had two days of double sessions. They effectively missed a month+ worth of practice compared to the Eagles, not to mention the live game experience.

Having watched a little bit of Ed’s first 3 games, the offense is clearly a work in progress. The offensive line is a solid unit, but there isn’t much talent at the skill positions and the passing game in particular is rough, to put it kindly.

There is definitely some talent on the defense, even without Bixby. A lot of athleticism in the secondary in particular. Have to imagine Castleberry, Castleberry and Co. could help out on offense.

Eagle fans - is there a point where the reigns are turned over to Cooper?
 
Will be weird watching the Holy War in September, and who knows what to expect on Saturday. You'd have to think the three games the Eagles have played against some of the top competition in NEO will have them more prepared for this matchup than the glorified scrimmage the Cats just had. That being said, the Eagle offense is obviously a work in progress and I don't anticipate them being able to rely almost exclusively on the run as they did in the win over Mentor. The Ignatius LB unit is very strong once again, and stopping the run is surely the game plan. I think we will need to be able to pass effectively to sustain long drives. Once again, I hope we can scheme to get Ramos some confidence throws early on before asking him to make plays downfield with his arm.

For whatever it was worth, Jaxson French had a nice debut against Bishop Sycamore. Certainly looked a lot more comfortable than the last time I saw him when he was thrust into action against a loaded DeMatha team. I thought he did a very good job when he was pressured at getting out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find receivers rather than just taking off. Delivered the ball with good accuracy. From an offensive skill position standpoint, Ignatius looks to be similar to Ed's. No one that will knock your socks off, but a group of solid players who will work within the system.
 
EaglePride01 said:
Will be weird watching the Holy War in September, and who knows what to expect on Saturday. You'd have to think the three games the Eagles have played against some of the top competition in NEO will have them more prepared for this matchup than the glorified scrimmage the Cats just had. That being said, the Eagle offense is obviously a work in progress and I don't anticipate them being able to rely almost exclusively on the run as they did in the win over Mentor. The Ignatius LB unit is very strong once again, and stopping the run is surely the game plan. I think we will need to be able to pass effectively to sustain long drives. Once again, I hope we can scheme to get Ramos some confidence throws early on before asking him to make plays downfield with his arm.

For whatever it was worth, Jaxson French had a nice debut against Bishop Sycamore. Certainly looked a lot more comfortable than the last time I saw him when he was thrust into action against a loaded DeMatha team. I thought he did a very good job when he was pressured at getting out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find receivers rather than just taking off. Delivered the ball with good accuracy. From an offensive skill position standpoint, Ignatius looks to be similar to Ed's. No one that will knock your socks off, but a group of solid players who will work within the system.
Click to expand...

The teams looks similar, with Eds having more game experience.

Should be interesting
 
I think the Holy War may have been in September most of the 70's before moving to Weeks 7, 8 or 10 in most following years.
 
EaglePride01 said:
Will be weird watching the Holy War in September, and who knows what to expect on Saturday. You'd have to think the three games the Eagles have played against some of the top competition in NEO will have them more prepared for this matchup than the glorified scrimmage the Cats just had. That being said, the Eagle offense is obviously a work in progress and I don't anticipate them being able to rely almost exclusively on the run as they did in the win over Mentor. The Ignatius LB unit is very strong once again, and stopping the run is surely the game plan. I think we will need to be able to pass effectively to sustain long drives. Once again, I hope we can scheme to get Ramos some confidence throws early on before asking him to make plays downfield with his arm.

For whatever it was worth, Jaxson French had a nice debut against Bishop Sycamore. Certainly looked a lot more comfortable than the last time I saw him when he was thrust into action against a loaded DeMatha team. I thought he did a very good job when he was pressured at getting out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find receivers rather than just taking off. Delivered the ball with good accuracy. From an offensive skill position standpoint, Ignatius looks to be similar to Ed's. No one that will knock your socks off, but a group of solid players who will work within the system.
Click to expand...
What will be weirder is watching the Holy War in front of a super small crowd.
 
It’s been over a decade since the talent gap has been that big. Ed’s looked like they had the Muny League and the CYO all stars out there.

That said, the young Cats basically have had no practice. If they focus and work hard in the weight room, all is not lost. There were a couple nice looking players, especially #2 and #44. The offensive line had a tough night, but they had some size.
 
Wildcats1886 said:
It’s been over a decade since the talent gap has been that big. Ed’s looked like they had the Muny League and the CYO all stars out there.

That said, the young Cats basically have had no practice. If they focus and work hard in the weight room, all is not lost. There were a couple nice looking players, especially #2 and #44. The offensive line had a tough night, but they had some size.
Click to expand...
Agree.

Heard a lot about the Ignatius QB Lange, but he struggled.

Eds is already big, and it's not like those kids are going to get smaller.
 
First game for the freshman Cats certainly had a lot to do with the final score, but yes, that is a good looking group of freshman for the Eagles. Ignatius running back looks like a player.
 
ColinCat said:
Agree.

Heard a lot about the Ignatius QB Lange, but he struggled.

Eds is already big, and it's not like those kids are going to get smaller.
Click to expand...

The announcers said it was mostly Pfaff taking the snaps, and that Lange just came in for the last few series.
 
ColinCat said:
Agree.

Heard a lot about the Ignatius QB Lange, but he struggled.

Eds is already big, and it's not like those kids are going to get smaller.
Click to expand...

But they may not get much bigger. Hard to say. There are always those guys who come in with the big frames and 5 o’clock shadow that you think will dominate for the next three years. Then they disappear and those 5’5 140 lb kids catch up and end up being your starters.
 
Wildcats1886 said:
It’s been over a decade since the talent gap has been that big. Ed’s looked like they had the Muny League and the CYO all stars out there.

That said, the young Cats basically have had no practice. If they focus and work hard in the weight room, all is not lost. There were a couple nice looking players, especially #2 and #44. The offensive line had a tough night, but they had some size.
Click to expand...

I try not to put too much stock in freshman scores/records. A lot happens over the next four years. I've seen freshman and middle school teams look like world beaters only to struggle to get to .500 as seniors, and I've seen freshman teams below .500 go on to deep playoff runs as seniors.

From my own experience, as a freshman we only won one game. As seniors, we went undefeated in the regular season.
 
I think the last time the score was that one sided was the Crawford/Schurmur team that beat Lerner's Ignatius squad 37-0. As juniors they lost at the Varsity level 23-17 or something like that, Shaun Crawford had a tough game. Then he took over the game his senior year for one of Ed's biggest victories in the rivalry.
 
sehs said:
I think the last time the score was that one sided was the Crawford/Schurmur team that beat Lerner's Ignatius squad 37-0. As juniors they lost at the Varsity level 23-17 or something like that, Shaun Crawford had a tough game. Then he took over the game his senior year for one of Ed's biggest victories in the rivalry.
Click to expand...
That's what this team reminded me of- potentially some future D1 players.

Ignatius looked like they hadn't practiced a lot, but that would not have made a difference IMO.
 
This game will be a bit of a tune up. It is a rivalry game but I suspect if they play again in the playoffs it will be a much closer contest regardless of tomorrow night. A lot of advantages to Ed's going into it but that's happened before and we've lost. Keeping with the theme of 2020, it's just going to be a weird one.
 
sehs said:
This game will be a bit of a tune up. It is a rivalry game but I suspect if they play again in the playoffs it will be a much closer contest regardless of tomorrow night. A lot of advantages to Ed's going into it but that's happened before and we've lost. Keeping with the theme of 2020, it's just going to be a weird one.
Click to expand...

Agree. It will be interesting to see the rotations and number of kids that will play. Maybe more than in a ‘normal’ season. I noticed the reports on the Solon-SVSM game where conditioning was a factor due to Solon having less practices and less game time. Ignatius may have to play a lot of kids to keep fresh. Otherwise, the Eagles will wear the Cats down like they did vs Mentor.
 
Why is the game played at First Energy? I can assume they are allowed 6,000 fans rather than 1,500 right? Otherwise, I have no idea why they would go to the trouble.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Why is the game played at First Energy? I can assume they are allowed 6,000 fans rather than 1,500 right? Otherwise, I have no idea why they would go to the trouble.
Click to expand...

1,500 fans will be allowed. The game is now played at First Energy whenever Ignatius is the home team. It's most likely a courtesy from the Haslams to Chuck Kyle who works for them and for the NFL. I questioned the location at first, but now see it as a "treat" for players of both teams, especially for the Ignatius team which was forced to sit out the first two games of the season.
 
tom 48 said:
1,500 fans will be allowed. The game is now played at First Energy whenever Ignatius is the home team. It's most likely a courtesy from the Haslams to Chuck Kyle who works for them and for the NFL. I questioned the location at first, but now see it as a "treat" for players of both teams, especially for the Ignatius team which was forced to sit out the first two games of the season.
Click to expand...

Definitely a treat for the players. I just questioned the finances of it, but if the Haslams throw them a bone and let them use it for free, then why not. I wish the state would allow for 15% capacity at stadiums without that silly 1,500 cap.
 
With a scedule that so far included an away game at Massillon, Hoban, and an away game at Mentor, Ignatius just might be the gimme' game for the Eagles. Hope that Ed's doesn't force Ignatius into a running clock second half.
 
arizonawildcat said:
With a scedule that so far included an away game at Massillon, Hoban, and an away game at Mentor, Ignatius just might be the gimme' game for the Eagles. Hope that Ed's doesn't force Ignatius into a running clock second half.
Click to expand...

That would require scoring 30 points, which we have not done yet this year.
 
arizonawildcat said:
With a scedule that so far included an away game at Massillon, Hoban, and an away game at Mentor, Ignatius just might be the gimme' game for the Eagles. Hope that Ed's doesn't force Ignatius into a running clock second half.
Click to expand...
Ha ha this made me laugh. Iggies wins this game with out much effort. Lombardo rarely if ever shows much in this game. However this year may be different because the game means nothing. A scrimmage for both teams to get ready for the playoffs. The outcome (either way) means zero. As do the remaining games or previous games.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top