Scouting Report: Bishop Kelley

Bryce McKinnis

September 12, 2021 @ 09:54 AM

Bishop McGuinness <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/09/free-mcguinness-overwhelms-kelley-in-bishop-battle/">steamrolled</a> rival Bishop Kelley at home Friday night to improve to 1-1, while the Comets fell to 0-3 on the season. While there were many players on the Irish side who made plays during the game, those listed below were the most outstanding: <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="119101" first="Will" last="Pickard"]</strong> | QB | Bishop Kelley ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> It took a while for the Comets to get much going in their loss, but Pickard appeared to be doing just about everything he could to make it a game, an the put together a decent performance in the process. Pickard passed 9-of-13 for 115 yards through the air and added an additional 47 on the ground, including Kelley’s one and only score for the night in the third quarter. Pickard is a strong, physical quarterback with a strong arm, and given more opportunities to pass the ball, he may have been able to deal more damage to the Irish defense. He had a great connection with Dotolo, who led all receivers Friday night in yards, receptions and first downs. <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Anderson Dotolo</strong> | WR | Bishop Kelley ’22</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Dotolo was the Comets silver lining in their rivalry loss, as he collected six catches for 102 yards receiving, leading all receivers Friday night. Presumably, Dotolo has built up a great deal of trust with Pickard and the duo connected for 67 percent of the Comets’ pass completions against the Irish. Dotolo was consistently prepared to snag the ball even in pressure situations against the stout McGuinness defense, with quite a few of his catches coming across the middle. <table style="width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #fdffd6;"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 100%; text-align: center;"><strong>Max Priest</strong> | CB | Bishop Kelley ’23</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Priest may have kept the Irish from trouncing the Comets even worse, as he was responsible for numerous batted passes throughout the night, including a couple that almost surely would have gone for long touchdowns for the Irish. This was a task, especially considering the speed and overall talents of McGuinness’s receiving corps, but Priest was up for the challenge, preventing perhaps more devastation in the Comets’ 43-point loss.