News Roundup: Friday Night Lights Edition

[notredomer23]

wow. Rudolphs stats seem crazy.

good work john

[piyachi]

Man the injury bug seems to keep on biting. Good thing they all seem to be very rehab-able injuries.

[johnnd05]

Friday Night Lights Roundup: Weekend of 10/20

Here’s the Roundup’s weekly rundown of how Notre Dame’s committed players fared in their high school football games this weekend:

• First things first: Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) wide receiver Michael Floyd, who committed to the Irish after his official visit this past weekend, scored three touchdowns within a brief span in the second quarter: an 11-yard run with 7:51 on the clock, a 68-yard reception at 6:02, and a 54-yard punt return less than two minutes later. He had 235 all-purpose yards on the day before leaving with five minutes to go in the third quarter with an apparently unserious ankle injury, and his team defeated Mounds View by a score of 42-7, to move their season record to 8-0 and clinch their conference championship. (As domer.mq points out, the lead into this article is priceless: “Every time Cretin-Derham Hall’s Michael Floyd has the football, a collective gasp typically follows.”)
• David Posluszny, back in the lineup after missing several games with a concussion, caught a 22-yard touchdown pass as his Hopewell (Pa.) team snapped a three-game losing streak and kept their Parkway Conference title hopes alive with a 47-7 victory over Moon. Hopewell is now 4-4 on the season.
• Dayne Crist threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns as his and Anthony McDonald’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team defeated Chaminade 44-17, to move their season record to 5-1.
• Brandon Newman’s Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) team fell to 3-6 on the season with a 35-7 loss to St. Xavier.
• Joseph Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) team had a slow day on offense but still pulled out a 13-0 win over St. Paul, to improve their season record to 5-2.
• John Goodman threw for 156 yards as his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team opened the playoffs with a 42-7 victory over Elmhurst. Dwenger is unbeaten in ten contests so far this year.
• Mike Golic Jr.’s Northwest Catholic (Conn.) team stunned previously unbeaten Berlin, 34-6, to move their record to 4-2 on the year.
• Lane Clelland’s McDonogh (Md.) team improved to 4-3 on the year with a 33-15 defeat of Calvert Hall.
• Ethan Johnson’s Lincoln (Ore.) team bumped their season record to 4-3 with a 48-20 win over Benson.
• Robert Blanton’s Butler (N.C.) team rebounded from a tough loss last week to defeat South Mecklenburg, 19-16. Butler’s record on the season is now 7-2.
• Braxston Cave’s Penn (Ind.) team stayed undefeated in ten contests on the season with a 28-14 victory over Elkhart Central in the first round of the sectional playoffs. They face Mishawaka next week.
• Sean Cwynar’s Marian Central (Ill.) team defeated St. Francis, 30-21, and will head into the playoffs with a 7-2 record.
• Steve Filer’s top-ranked Mount Carmel (Ill.) team stayed undefeated with a 56-6 victory over Hales. They head into the playoffs with a record of 9-0.
• Darius Fleming’s St. Rita’s (Ill.) team rebounded from a tough loss last week and moved to 6-3 on the season with a 69-0 pasting of St. Francis de Sales.
• Kyle Rudolph had five catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns as his Elder (Ohio) team defeated Benedictine, 49-34. Elder’s record on the year is 6-3.
• Dan McCarthy had an interception and a pass break-up as his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team moved their season record to a perfect 9-0 and clinched their conference title with a 37-14 victory over Ursuline (photos here).
• Omar Hunter and his Buford (Ga.) defense continued their season-long dominance with a 56-0 victory over Walker that was already a 28-0 game at the end of the first quarter. Buford is 8-0 on the year and has allowed more than a touchdown only once.
• Hafis Williams’s Elizabeth (N.J.) defense gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns as they fell to Westfield, 13-7, to drop to 3-3 on the year.
• Jamoris Slaughter’s Tucker (Ga.) team kept their season record perfect at 7-0 with a 21-14 overtime victory over Washington.

… and there you have it! Good luck to all of our committed players as they wrap up their seasons and/or prepare for the playoffs.

[GoIrish41]

Thanks John. I always look forward to your roundup. Reps.

[johnnd05]

Friday Night Lights roundup: weekend of 10/26

Here’s the Roundup’s weekly summary of how Notre Dame’s current group of committed players for the 2008 class, which now stands at 21 total, fared in their high school football games this past weekend:

• Let’s start once again with this week’s newest commitment: Jonas Gray had 223 yards and three touchdowns - including runs of 49 and 95 yards - on 21 carries as his Detroit County Day (Mich.) team improved to 8-2 with a 28-20 victory over Douglass in their opening-round playoff game.
• Dayne Crist was slowed down for much of the game, but he finished 14-of-25 passing for 229 yards and a touchdown, and also scored on a 12-yard run, as his and Anthony McDonald’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team scored 19 second-half points en route to a 26-9 home victory over Loyola. The win moved their season record to 7-1.
• Joseph Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) moved to 6-2 with a 55-5 win over Bishop Amat. They face a tough Loyola team next week before closing out their regular season on the road against Crist and McDonald’s Notre Dame squad.
• John Goodman was 5-of-8 passing for 92 yards in a touchdown and gained 31 yards and a touchdown on his seven rushes as his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team moved to 11-0 on the season with a 42-7 sectional semifinal victory over Columbia City.
• Playing just eight hours after learning that two of their classmates had died in an auto accident and two others were in critical condition, Sean Cwynar’s Marian Central (Ill) team rolled to a 46-27 home win over Sterling in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs. Marian Central is 8-2 on the year, and will host Montini, to whom they lost soundly a few weeks ago, in their next playoff game.
• David Posluszny’s Hopewell (Penn.) team lost at home to Montour, 26-7, to fall to 4-5 on the season. They’re not going to be in the playoffs this year, and I think this is the end of the regular season for them.
• Brandon Newman’s Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) defense held North Hardin to 211 total yards, and their offense exploded for 529, as they snapped a three-game skid with a 45-6 home victory that moved their season record to 4-6.
• Braxston Cave’s Penn (Ind.) team dominated their semifinal matchup against Mishawaka, winning 28-0 to move their season record to 11-0. IE’s GoshenGipper has some more analysis here.
• Lane Clelland’s McDonogh (Md.) team was dominant on offense in a 35-0 victory over St. Paul’s, which moved their season record to 5-3.
• Robert Blanton’s Butler (N.C.) team had another blowout win, a 58-7 victory over Weddington that moved their season record to 8-2. Butler faces national power Charlotte Independence next week.
• Darius Fleming’s St. Rita’s (Ill.) team was dominant in their first-round playoff game, with a 43-7 blowout of Willowbrook. They are 6-4 on the season heading into their second-round game.
• Steve Filer had eight tackles and a blocked punt - all in the first half - as his Mount Carmel (Ill.) team opened the playoffs with a dominating performance as well, defeating Herrin by a final score of 62-20. The 10-0 Golden Aces face Mater Dei next week.
• Kyle Rudolph caught at 25-yard touchdown pass, and his Elder (Ohio) team moved to 7-3 on the season with a 49-0 victory over Western Hills.
• Dan McCarthy had touchdown runs of 18 and 68 yards as his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team moved to 10-0 on the season with a 28-0 victory over Bishop Watterson.
• Omar Hunter and his Buford (Ga.) defense held Cross Keyes to minus-11 yards of total offense en route to a 58-0 victory that moved their season record to 9-0.
• Hafis Williams’s Elizabeth (N.J.) team rebounded from last week’s loss and moved their season record to 4-3 with a 42-14 blowout of Linden.
• Jamoris Slaughter’s Tucker (Ga.) team was dominant once again in a 35-7 victory over Stone Mountain that moved their season record to 8-0.
• Ethan Johnson sat out once again with an ACL injury - as he probably will for the rest of the season - in his Lincoln (Ore.) team’s 42-14 loss to Grant. With the loss, Lincoln falls to 4-4 on the year.
• Mike Golic Jr.’s Northwest Catholic (Conn.) team picked up their second straight upset, a 15-0 victory over previously unbeaten Middletown that moved their season record to 5-2. Earlier in the week, Golic had been honored at the school’s pep rally for his selection to the Army All-American Bowl.
• And finally, Michael Floyd’s Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team moved to 10-0 on the season with a 52-9 victory over Park in the second round of the playoffs. (Sorry, but I’ve been unable to find a proper article that lists Michael’s stats. Please e-mail the Roundup if you have anything.)

[johnnd05]

(Sorry to be a bit slow getting this up; Saturday's loss made for a lot to process.)

Here's the Roundup's weekly rundown of how ND's committed recruits for the 2008 season fared in their high school games this past week:

• Dayne Crist completed 10 of 15 passes for 185 yards in the first half but was only 1-of-6 after halftime, but he finished with 230 total yards and also ran a score in from 70 yards away on the third play of the game as his and Anthony McDonald's Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team moved to 8-1 with a 51-30 defeat of Bishop Amat.


• Dan McCarthy attempted only one pass on the night but ran for 105 yards and two scores - and had three other touchdown runs called back on penalties - as his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team moved to 11-0 with a 30-6 blowout of Coshocton. Mooney faces St. Vincent-St. Mary, against whom they rallied from a 17-0 deficit for a win a few weeks ago, in their next playoff game, as they seek to defend the Division IV state title they won in 2006. (McCarthy's stats from his first ten games are available here.)


• Braxston Cave's Penn (Ind.) team defeated Goshen by a score of 13-3 to recapture the Class 5A sectional trophy and move their record to 12-0. The no. 2-ranked Kingsmen face no. 4 Merriville, former home of ND tailback James Aldridge, in next week's regional game.


• Steve Filer's Mount Carmel (Ill.) team blew out Palatine by a score of 34-0, moving their season record to 11-0 and advancing them to the third round of the Class 8A playoffs.


• John Goodman threw two second-half touchdown passes and ran in a 54-yard score before halftime as his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team moved to 12-0 with a 52-20 blowout of DeKalb that brought them a Class 4A sectional championship. The Saints will face Jay County in their next playoff game.


• Kyle Rudolph's Elder (Ohio) team had their season come to a disappointing end, with a 45-14 loss to top-ranked St. Xavier that dropped their season record to 7-4. Rudolph had seven catches for 79 yards in the game.


• Robert Blanton made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch (video here) with six minutes remaining in the game, and his Butler (N.C.) team moved their season record to 8-2 became the first in-state team since 2000 to defeat national power Charlotte Independence (a span of 109 games), winning a nail-biter by the score of 21-20 (more here). (Kyle Rudolph's Elder squad had, of course, beaten Independence earlier in the year, in an interstate matchup at the Herbstreit Classic.) Independence was playing without head coach Tom Knotts, who was suspended after being involved in an altercation with a parent after a JV game the night before, but is reportedly not going to face assault charges.


• Darius Fleming's St. Rita's (Ill.) team ended their season at 7-4 as they blew a 22-7 third-quarter lead by giving up 19 straight points to undefeated Wheaton Warrenville South as they lost their a Class 7A playoff game by a score of 26-22 (more here). Fleming had three sacks on the night.


• Mike Golic Jr.'s Northwest Catholic (Conn.) team moved to 6-2 with a 22-0 shutout of Farmington.


• Michael Floyd scored four touchdowns - one rushing, three receiving - as his Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team cruised to a 53-32 victory over Tartan in the third round of the playoffs. The Raiders are now 11-0 on the year.


• Lane Clelland's McDonogh (Md.) team moved to 6-3 on the year with a 25-7 victory over Georgetown Prep.


• Hafis Williams's Elizabeth (N.J.) team improved to 5-3 with a 41-7 blowout of Newark East Side.


• Jaromis Slaughter's Tucker (Ga.) team wrapped up a no. 1 seed in the playoffs as they moved to 9-0 on the year with a 63-0 win over North Springs, their sixth shutout of the season.


• Ethan Johnson's Lincoln (Ore.) team fell to 4-5 with a 37-27 loss to Tualatin. I don't think Ethan played in the game, since as I noted last week he was expected to sit out the rest of the season due to his ACL injury.


• Jonas Gray's Detroit Country Day (Mich.) team moved to 9-2 with a 7-0 victory over Crockett Tech in a second-round playoff game. The Yellowjackets will face Milan next week.


• Joseph Fauria had five catches for 65 yards as his Crespi (Calif.) team defeated Loyola by a score of 38-7, to move to 7-2 on the year. The Celts' next game is against Crist and McDonald's Sherman Oaks team.


• Sean Cwynar's Marian Central (Ill.) team pulled off a stunning playoff upset, as the 7th-seeded Hurricanes defeated no. 2 Montini by a score of 29-15 (more here and here). Marian Central moves on to face 14th-ranked Nazareth County (8-3) in their next playoff game, but they will be without star running back/linebacker T.J. Pappas, who suffered a broken bone in his left foot.

That's all for this week: Omar Hunter's Buford team had a bye, and the seasons are over for David Posluszny's Hopewell squad and Brandon Newman's Pleasure Ridge Park team.