Week 2 Post Game Report: Marmion Academy vs Naperville Central

Sunday Afternoon’s game was a sight to see as Marmion Academy (0-0) took on Naperville Central (1-0) in a hard-fought contest. Enough talk, let’s dive into it Marmion Academy (0-0) vs Naperville Central (1-0) Week 2 matchup. <hr /> Quick Preview Heading into this contest I knew that both of these teams had talented players on both sides of the ball which would result in a close contest. Marmion Academy and Naperville Central both have talented receivers in [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] and [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"]. Both are going to play a factor in who wins this game and let’s not forget about Marmion’s Josh Lim and Central’s Niko Gordon. That’s all on the offensive side of the ball, on the defensive side you have Marmion’s Jack Scales, Jacob Bottarini, Jakob Saunders, and Maxwell Lambert. For Central, they have Aidan Ellison, Shane Roth, and Patrick Grange. Overall, I picked Naperville Central to win 42 – 28 over Marmion Academy. Let’s see what went down. First Half It was all Naperville Central in the 1st Quarter as Owen Prucha and [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] connected on more than one occasion. That seemed to stay the same in the 2nd Quarter with [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] catching a 41-yard pass and Niko Gordon finishing the drive off with a 17 yard TD run to go up 16 - 3 against Marmion Academy. It seemed as if the game was going to get out of hand but Marmion Academy had other plans with Padraig Fitzgerald completing a 43 yard TD pass to [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] before heading into the half with the score of 16 - 10 Naperville Central. Halftime Takeaways Marmion Academy On offense, they need to get the run game going. They are relying too much on the passing game which is resulting in drives ending. On defense, they need to bracket [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] and allow the other receivers to win their routes as he’s winning the one on one coverage so far. Naperville Central On offense, they need to continue to feed [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] and continue to keep Niko Gordon going in the run game. On defense, they did a good job of shutting down the run game. They need to bracket or play the run & bump defense on [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] as he continues to make plays for Marmion Academy on offense. What to look for in the Second Half Marmion Academy Look for them to utilize play-action to take deep shots down the field to [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] (they got one for a TD in the first half). They need to get the run game going, so far it’s been a pass-heavy half for them, look for them to get back to a balanced play call. Continuing to feed [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] is going to be key for Marmion Academy to win this game. On defense, look for them to shoot the gaps to slow down Niko Gordon as they’ve given up too many big rushes. Naperville Central Look for them to continue to feed [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] in the passing attack and pounding the ball with Niko Gordon. On defense, look for them to bracket [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] and allowing the other receivers to win their routes. In doing so I expect Naperville Central to bring more pressure during passing downs to flush Padraig Fitzgerald out of the pocket. Second Half Coming out in the 2nd Half Marmion Academy was able to capitalize on a fumble by Naperville Central. They started that drive on the opponent’s 3-yard line which resulted in a TD for Josh Lim to put Marmion Academy up 17-16 against Naperville Central. From this point onward it was a dog fight, no points were scored until the final minutes of the game. Marmion Academy threw an INT and coughed up a fumble which resulted in Naperville Central scoring a TD off of a 3 yard run by Elijah [player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="Jordan" last=""]" last=""]" last=""] to put them up 22 - 17. There was still time left on the clock when Marmion Academy got the ball back for their final drive. They were marching down the field and it seemed as if they were going to pull it off when Padraig Fitzgerald dropped back to pass the ball and it was intercepted by Shane Roth to seal the win for the Red Hawks. Naperville Central ran the final seconds off the clock to win 22 - 17 against a talented Marmion Academy team. Game Stats Marmion Academy <ul> <li>Padraig Fitzgerald: 16/27 for 154 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT</li> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"]: 7 receptions for 78 yards, 1 TD</li> <li>Josh Lim: 4 carries for 14 yards, 1 TD, 1 reception for 20 yards</li> <li>Jacob Bottarini: 14 tackles (1 Sack), 1 Fum. Rec, 1 PBU</li> </ul> Naperville Central <ul> <li>Owen Prucha: 10/15 for 137 yards, 1 TD</li> <li>Niko Gordon:15 carries for 63 yards, 1 TD</li> <li>Elijah [player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="Jordan" last=""]" last=""]" last=""]:14 carries for 38 yards, 1 TD</li> <li>Patrick Grange: 3 tackles (1 sack, 1 TFL)</li> <li>Shane Roth: 1 tackle, 1 INT</li> </ul> End of Game Naperville Central (2-0) 22 Marmion Academy (0-1) 17 Heading into the game I expected Naperville Central to win the game by the score of 42 - 28 over Marmion Academy. What I wasn’t expecting was [player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] to only play the first half of the game and [player_tooltip player_id="119341" first="Antonio" last="Torres"] to not play at all. That being said, hats off to Marmion Academy for competing all the way through the end of the game giving them a shot to win. Also, hats off to Naperville Central for winning without two talented players that they have on their team. Overall, it was a great game to scout and it could have gone either way in the final minutes of the game. Key Takeaways Marmion Academy <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] is a dominant WR, name to know</li> <li>PadraigFitzgerald is a competitor and can keep his team in the game giving them a shot to win</li> <li>Josh Lim is a younger player to keep an eye on moving forward</li> <li>Their passing attack with [player_tooltip player_id="65791" first="Dane" last="Pardridge"] is stellar, need to improve on the run game</li> <li>Jacob Bottarini & Jack Scales solid players for this defense, they showed up when needed most</li> </ul> Naperville Central <ul> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="20879" first="Reggie" last="Fleurima"] is no doubt a dominant WR</li> <li>Niko Gordan & Elijah [player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="[player_tooltip player_id="119097" first="Jordan" last=""]" last=""]" last=""] names to know & can get it done on the ground</li> <li>Owen Prucha taking over for [player_tooltip player_id="20207" first="Sam" last="Jackson"] has been going well, still has room to develop</li> <li>Patrick Grange dominant player, going to do big things in college, name to watch the rest of the season</li> <li>Shane Roth & Aidan Ellison hold down the LB core, interested to see how they perform the rest of the season</li> </ul> <hr /> Overall, this was a hard-fought battle between Marmion Academy and Naperville Central. The momentum was swinging back and forth throughout the game where each team was able to throw punches and counter the other. It was a great game and I wish the best to both of these teams for the remainder of the season. Marmion Academy takes on Fenwick at home on Saturday, April 3rd at 12:30 pm and Naperville Central takes on Naperville North on April 3rd at 3:00 pm. Be sure to follow @jamaskane regarding news & information for Illinois High School Football, @PrepRedzoneIL, and @PrepRedzone.