One of the top games in the state will be played tonight as the 2-1 Leo Lions entertain the New Haven Bulldogs. Anytime you get these classic rivalries in a conference, you know these games have the makings of being a classic. The atmosphere will be rocking tonight at Lions’ Field.
Leo is coming off a 33-0 win over Norwell where the Lions dominated on defense despite their offense struggling at times against this scrappy Norwell team up front. Despite their struggles at times, Head Coach Jason Doerffler was pleased by his team’s effort.
“Norwell played a different defense than what we had seen on film so it frustrated us up front a little bit,” said Doerffler on his team’s previous opponent. “Our guys did a good job of adjusting on the fly and making it work. We were able to run a few plays with an up-tempo style and get in a little bit of a rhythm in the first half.
“New Haven appears to be a different team than last year. They have a lot of the same players but they appear to be playing a lot more physical and a lot more together. They will be a huge challenge for us.”
For New Haven, it was a statement win over DeKalb 48-28 where the Dawgs scored 42 of their 48 in the first half. Coach Booher recalls the team having tremendous energy in this game, and they set the tempo that New Haven is very much in this race. With this team, it starts with the seniors at New Haven, and this is a class that used this offseason to prove the doubters wrong.
“The senior class has been awesome as leaders and energy givers,” said Booher. “(Tre) Bates and (Mason) Knoch do a great job commanding the guys in the locker room and holding them to team standards set by the leadership council. Donovan Williams did a great job leading the offense, especially this last week.
“Any gameplanned audible, the coach in the box would radio in what should happen, and in real time Donovan mirrored what was said in the box. He was like having a coach on the field.”
In the all-time series, New leads the series 8-5, but Leo has won this series in each of the last four meetings.
3 keys to this Game
1. Pressuring the quarterback
If there’s one thing to take away from this game so far, it’s the fact these two teams have amazing lines with a lot of talent across the board. And for me, with two teams having elite offenses, you need the defense to be able to make the big plays when the game is in the balance.
With New Haven, this is a team that’s playing cohesive determined football, and that has led to the Dawgs ability to not allow a single sack all year, and that helps when you have explosive athletes like Donavan Williams at Quarterback, Tre Bates at running back, and the wide receiver core of Ajani Washington and Mylan Graham. Charles McGrant, Isaiah Faroute, Korin Harris, Konner Clark, the Hoffer kids, and Jesus Diaz are key players up front. But one other key player that did not play in Week 3 was Mason Knoch, but it does sound like things are moving in the right direction for Mason to return in this game.
Leo has been able to win games through their defense so far and being able to have explosive plays on offense in key moments. The numbers on paper don’t look as gaudy, but they strike when the iron is hot. Just look at this hybrid spread and Leo hands the ball to Brock Schott and Kaden Hurst or their running backs led by Aidan Monds.
The key I’m looking at here is can guys like Aidan Furnish, Kamden Zeisloft, Brock Schott, Aidan Monds, and Riley Stewart be able to tackle through a talented and razor focused New Haven frontline? If they can contain New Haven’s athletes, that could negate some of their explosive attack. The problem is no one has done it yet.
But last year, if you remember, we questioned whether the Lions had that Dawg in them to get after New Haven’s elite offense following a 1-2 start.
If last week taught us anything, it’s the team that can establish the most physical line presence that can have the edge.
2. Contain the Weapons
I know you’re thinking, so Leo has to key in on Mylan Graham. I think that would be foolish to only key in on him this time around. Leo knows New Haven is better, and so I have to think coming in that the Lions have to ensure that they can limit the spread attack of this New Haven team, and frustrate them.
But I think the key point in this game is the battle against the run. New Haven has shown that when the Dawgs are able to confidently pound the rock, that opens all of their options. And of course, having Ajani Washington as their WR2 gives New Haven that extra weapon they can go to if Mylan is double teamed or the run game is not generating as much. Plus you have a tow truck in tight end James Hardy IV. Can the Lions slow down the quick motion attack in that backfield and force them to have to grind out yards and/or forcing them to throw into tough coverage. I expect Leo to be sharper in that area than DeKalb was in the first half last week.
On paper, this is the best New Haven frontline I’ve ever seen. Keep in mind, we’ve seen a lot of talented frontline players from this team.
On the other side of the spectrum, New Haven has another huge test going against Leo’s size, talent, and the physicality of the Lions frontline. This is probably New Haven’s toughest matchup there simply because Leo plays that same physicality. But the argument can be made on the other end.
Leo found success last year, when the Lions were able to trust in their motion rock and pound run game, and they’ve found that this year with Aidan Monds and Brett Fuller and even Darius Carter despite losing Max Loeffler to graduation. Can the Lions’ O-Line be able to block effectively against once again a talented New Haven frontline?
The key with Leo will have to come down with their frontline and avoiding turnovers because eventually Schott and Hurst are too talented to not contribute in a huge way.
“We will have to take care of the ball offensively and avoid turnovers, said Doerffler. “We will have to run the ball effectively to keep New Haven’s offensive playmakers on the sideline. We will have to tackle better as well. We don’t feel like we tackled real well against Norwell. It should be a great game and a great atmosphere come Friday night.”
For New Haven, as stated by lineman Charles McGrant, their focus leading up to this game is being able to finish.
“We’ve been focusing on finishing, staying tough throughout practice, and I feel like our guys have been doing it,” said McGrant on the PitViperSports Indiana Podcast. “I feel like we’re going to come out physical, we’re going to play fast, and we just want to win.”
3. Don’t let special teams become a storyline!
I think I have to emphasize this because this was a big difference maker last year for both teams, and I’m already seeing some conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, both teams have the playmakers to change the momentum of the game at the flip of a dime. On the other hand, both teams have the playmakers to change the momentum of the game at the flip of a dime.
Ok, it sounds confusing, but hear me out. Every game so far for Leo has had one or two major plays that have impacted their games on special teams. North Side transfer and Ohio commit Kaden Hurst has around 200 yards just on kick returns alone, and he also has a Pick 6 on top of the fact he’s been a contributor as an alternative rushing back and an elite wide receiver.
For New Haven, while they were so good in the first half against DeKalb, some hiccups on special teams were evident even in that DeKalb game. And quite frankly, so was the kicking unit. So on paper, Leo has the big edge in special teams. The problem that could happen tonight is, if it’s a tight low-scoring game towards the latter stages of the game, you do have to wonder if field position and the physical grind of this game would lead to breakdowns in special teams.
This is where both sides have to make sure they’re prepared for anything that could happen because these two teams are so talented.
“Our biggest area of improvement is getting the same confidence in special teams as we do in the other phases of the game,” said Booher. “We need come in with confidence in energy to compete with a physical, and talented team. Leo will be one of the toughest tests the guys have had this season, but they will be ready to battle.”
Players to Watch
New Haven
James Hardy IV Senior Tight End/Linebacker
With the questions on being able to establish the run, who can pressure the quarterback, and which team can show the most energy and toughness, this feels like a James Hardy IV moment where he’s going to be a key player to be on Brock Schott all over the field. And when you’re playing one of the best tight ends and defensive ends in the country, you better understand your scouting report and you got to respect their games.
I look at a guy like Hardy, and I think man this guy is a dude, and when you’re a dude, you show out on the field no matter what people say. We all love to talk about the weapons, the linemen, the quarterbacks, etc etc. However, I don’t think we are talking enough about how important this matchup really is because while they’re offensive talents, it is their defense where they become disruptors to their opponent’s offense.
Leo
Kamden Zeisloft Leo Senior Wide Receiver/Free Safety
Considering how dangerous this New Haven spread is with the athletes they have, it’s up to the safeties and the Leo secondary to contain the high level athletes that the Dawgs present each and every game. Tonight, it will be Zeisloft who will get one of the hardest matchups out there, and we will see the greatness of New Haven’s weapons against studs on both ends especially with the defensive greatness of Zeisloft.
Conclusion
East Allen County is the place to be for the biggest matchup of the season up to this point. While we will not crown a conference champion after this week, a win tonight cements them one step closer to NE8 championship glory, and remember these are future sectional rivals, so we may not have seen the last of this interesting matchup.
“I’m proud of us,” said McGrant, “We’ve come so far. We’ve worked so hard for this, and it’s just now time to prove it. It’s just time to show everybody up.”
Around the NorthEast Corner 