The Irish Roundup

(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.

Here’s your weekly rundown of how ND’s currently committed players fared in their high school football games this past weekend:

• Dayne Crist and Anthony McDonald’s Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (Calif.) team moved to 5-1 on the season with an easy 33-6 victory over St. Francis of La Canada. Crist was 17 of 27 passing for 248 yards and four touchdowns.
• Kyle Rudolph caught four passes for 97 yards and a touchdown as his Elder (Ohio) team defeated Covington Catholic, 35-6.
• Dan McCarthy ran 20 times for 128 yards (or perhaps 18 for 122) and a touchdown and completed five of ten passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns as he led his Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team to three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and they defeated St. Vincent-St. Mary 21-17, to run their season record to 8-0 and preserve their top-ten national ranking. McCarthy hit tight end Mike Gemma from 23 yards out for the go-ahead score with 2:43 left on the clock.
• John Goodman threw three touchdown passes, including one with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter to give his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team a 28-21 victory over Bishop Luers, raising their season record to 9-0.
• Sean Cwynar’s Marian Central (Ill.) team played well after a blowout loss last week, but it wasn’t enough, and they lost at home to undefeated Driscoll, 21-7, to fall to 6-2 on the season.
• Robert Blanton’s Butler (N.C.) team built a three-touchdown lead, but blew it and lost to East Mecklenburg, 22-21, to fall to 6-3 on the year.
• David Posluszny’s Hopewell (Penn.) team lost their fourth straight game, a 21-7 defeat at the hands of New Castle, to fall to 3-4 on the year.
• Mike Golic Jr.’s Northwest Catholic (Conn.) team defeated RHAM, 29-0, to move to 3-2 on the season.
• Brandon Newman’s Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) team was routed by Trinity, 56-20, as their record fell to 3-5.
• Braxston Cave was on the sidelines with a sprained ankle as his Penn (Ind.) team survived a scare but held off Adams, 10-7, to extend their season record to 9-0 and their conference win streak to 144 (!!) games.
• Joseph Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) team scored three straight touchdowns to jump out to a 21-7 lead and held off a tricky Alemany team, 28-21, to move to 4-2 on the season.
• Lane Clelland’s McDonogh (Md.) team held off Mount St. Joseph, 14-7, to move to 3-3 on the season.
• Ethan Johnson’s Lincoln (Ore.) team moved to 3-3 on the season with a 49-21 win over Franklin. So far as I know, Johnson, who has I noted last week has a strained ACL, was not expected to play.
• Omar Hunter’s Buford (Ga.) team blew out Holy Innocents, 55-14, to move to 7-0 on the season.
• Jaromis Slaughter and his Tucker (Ga.) team gave up their first points of the season but still defeated Mays, 13-7, to move to 6-0 on the year.
• Darius Fleming’s St. Rita’s (Ill.) team gave up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and lost in an upset to Brother Rice, 14-13 (more here), to fall to 5-3 on the season.
• Steve Filer’s Mount Carmel (Ill.) team stayed undefeated, with a 64-0 blowout of St. Francis de Sales.
• Finally, Hafis Williams’s Elizabeth (N.J.) team was off this week.

That’s all for now! I hope to get to the primary recruiting targets later.

Here’s a rundown of how Notre Dame’s current group of 19 committed high school seniors, as well as their primary recruiting targets, fared in their football games this past weekend. (Note that I’m no longer tracing the stats for Frostproof (Fl.) tailback Carlton Thomas, who committed to Georgia this past weekend.)

Commits:

• David Posluszny’s Hopewell (Pa.) team suffered their second straight tough loss, a 27-0 shutout at the hands of Chartiers Valley, to drop to 3-2 on the season.
• Sean Cwynar’s Marian Central (Ill.) team blew out Aurora Central by a score of 52-7, to move to 6-0 on the season.
• Brandon Newman’s Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) team moved to 3-3 on the season with a 41-6 victory over Seneca.
• Hafis Williams’s Elizabeth (N.J.) team fell to 2-1 on the season with a 36-3 blowout loss to Irvington.
• Joseph Fauria’s Crespi (Calif.) team upset national power St. Bonaventure, 25-9, to move their record to 3-1.
• Braxston Cave’s Penn (Ind.) team held off host Mishawaka, 20-13, to move to 7-0 on the season.
• John Goodman threw for two touchdowns, one for 58 yards, as his Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) team defeated South Side, 35-5, to move to 7-0 on the season.
• Mike Golic Jr.’s Northwest Catholic (Conn.) team defeated St. Paul’s, 42-7. They now have a 2-1 record.
• Lane Clelland’s McDonogh School (Md.) team defeated Landon, 35-6, to move to 2-2 on the season.
• Dayne Crist was 20-of-30 passing for 313 yards (or 20-of-31 for 311, depending on whom you believe) and three touchdowns, including a game-winning 5-yard TD pass with five seconds left on the clock, as his and fellow commit Anthony McDonald’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.) team defeated Saugus, 38-35, to move to 3-1 on the season. Crist also scored a rushing touchdown from seven yards out.
• Ethan Johnson reportedly sat out yet again with an injured leg, but his Lincoln (Ore.) team still defeated North Medford, 34-21.
• Robert Blanton had his fifth interception of the year as well as an 18-yard touchdown reception as his Butler (N.C.) team blew out Providence, 62-6. They now stand at 5-1 on the season.
• Jaromis Slaughter’s Tucker (Ga.) team was slowed down a bit for the first time this year, but they still defeated Southwest Dekalb 21-0, to move their record on the year to 5-0.
• Darius Fleming’s St. Rita’s (Ill.) team suffered a disappointing 28-17 upset to Loyola, as they fell to 4-2 on the season. Loyola QB Peter Badovinac threw 40 times for 312 yards and three touchdowns as Loyola ran out of a no-huddle offense for most of the game.
• Steve Filer’s Mount Carmel (Ill.) team struggled against De La Salle, but drove for a 26-yard field goal with four seconds left to escape with a 38-35 win. They are now 6-0 on the season.
• Kyle Rudolph’s Elder (Ohio) team was shut out for the first time in nearly a decade as they fell to unbeaten St. Xavier, 18-0. Rudolph was limited to one twelve-yard catch and had to punt the ball nine times.
• Dan McCarthy’s Cardinal Mooney (Ohio) team ran their season record to 6-0 with a 21-0 shutout of St. Francis.
• Omar Hunter’s Buford (Ga.) team blew out Greater Atlanta Christian, 42-7, to run their season record to 5-0 and their overall winning streak to 43 games.

Recruits:

• Michael Floyd’s Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.) team defeated Roseville, 49-7. Their record currently stands at 5-0.
• Kenneth Page’s A.C. Flora (Ga.) team lost to Elgin, 21-6.
• Jonathan Baldwin scored two touchdowns - one on a 24-yard reception, the other a 45-yard interception return - as his Aliquippa (Pa.) team defeated Ellwood City, 47-0, to move to 4-1 on the season.
• Trevor Robinson’s Elkhorn (Neb.) team defeated Roncalli Catholic, 41-7, to move to 5-0 on the season.
• Ryan Williams’s Stonewall Jackson (Va.) team lost to Battlefield, 24-21, to fall to 3-1 on the year.
• Cyrus Gray’s DeSoto (Tex.) team had a big 33-14 win against Paola, to bring their record to 4-1 on the year.
• And Chris Harper was held in check, with only 27 yards on seven rushes and 7-of-18 passing for 76 yards and an interception, as his Wichita Northwest (Kans.) team lost to Wichita Heighs, 10-7.