Irvington @ Seton Hall Prep Game Analysis

<p>The Irvington Blue Knights went to face-off against the Seton Hall Prep Pirates in a game that came down to the wire. </p>   <p>Irvington practically gave Seton Hall Prep the game committing a grand total of 4 turnovers with three coming in the first half alone. To Seton Hall's credit, they cashed every one of the extra opportunities that were given to them and did just enough all game to maintain the lead.</p>   <p>Irvington captured the early momentum, calling some beautifully schemed run plays pounding senior running-back Keyshir Desir all the way to the goaline. Senior Defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='146698' first='Adon' last='Shuler'] ran it on a quarterback sweep for Irvington's only score of the half. </p>   <p> </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/edaniels77/status/1573722377644646405 </div></figure>   <p>Irvington clearly had the advantage in the talent department especially on defense with three Power 5 players in junior defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='172515' first='Vaboue' last='Toure'], [player_tooltip player_id='146698' first='Adon' last='Shuler'], and Kentucky commit [player_tooltip player_id='146669' first='Nasir' last='Addison']. With the number of turnovers committed, there was no way, Irvington could keep their same pace and still keep up on the scoreboard as the score was 28-6 going into the half. </p>   <p>Out the half, Irvington had the ball for almost the entire third quarter limiting Seton Hall to just one possession after Irvington got the ball back off a special teams miscue. [player_tooltip player_id='146698' first='Adon' last='Shuler'] punched in his second touchdown plus a 2pt conversation which made the score 21-14 </p>   <p>The game was never really out of reach for Irvington, but their pace of play doesn't facilitate them quickly getting back into games. They take calculated shots down the field indicative of their 44 yards touchdown strike from CJ Pittman to Rutgers commit [player_tooltip player_id='146668' first='Famah' last='Toure']. Where my concerns lie is watching what coach Smoke likes to do schematically, this offense has so much room to be a more explosive team. It's puzzling, as to why they don't take more shots down the field. One could surmise most of their top players play both sides of the ball and running a more uptempo style would sacrifice the defensive success. Secondly, most of their players also do a bunch of quarterback sweeps which would be equally as taxing, so the thought process should be why not call more deep shots lessening the opportunities for your top players to take hits in that manner? Thirdly, they did sustain an injury at quarterback early in the year to stand out Na'cir Ransom, but Pittman has shown that he can make throws when called upon.</p>   <p>Due to the creativity of the run schemes and the number of players who can create with the ball in their hands. Irvington would really benefit from calling more RPO-type looks where the offensive line run blocks while using the staple of the RPO game the RPO bubble to be an extension of your run game and make it that much more dangerous. There was a point in the game where they became a little predictable and employing more traditional RPO looks would assist in them adding another layer to their offense, without deviating too much from what they like to do on offense.</p>   <p>Here's an example of an RPO bubble from the Packers who are the masters at this play. Although, Irvington likes more gap scheme runs and this play is off a zone run. Schemes are interchangeable in terms of which run concepts you can use.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/edaniels77/status/1574791674403905538 </div></figure>   <p>Lastly, Irvington has a weapon in [player_tooltip player_id='146668' first='Famah' last='Toure']. A 6'5 wide receiver who they lineup all over the field. They also could take advantage of the slot more specifically by utilizing slot fade routes. Seton Hall had standout defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='172521' first='Jaylen' last='McClain'] in the slot this game which is, why running the slot fade off a rub route would be very efficient in creating open space. </p>   <p>Here's a play similar to a formation Irvington uses where [player_tooltip player_id='146668' first='Famah' last='Toure'] could be effective. Especially, since they like to use Toure in the backfield this would be something they don't typically due with a lot of empty formations, but it's a nice wrinkle they can use to create chunk plays with a myriad of possibilities for easier throws and half-field reads:</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/edaniels77/status/1574814367102681089 </div></figure>   <p>Seton Hall Prep took advantage of every Irvington turnover scoring after every miscue. They executed at a high level especially on the ground using primarily zone blocking schemes. Coach Bill Fitzgerald and his staff not only won the turnover battle but they won the coaching battle. For example, on a drive before the half, they notice that Irvington's standout cornerback [player_tooltip player_id='146669' first='Nasir' last='Addison'] was having issues with his ankle and went right after it as junior quarterback Liam Londergan threw a beautiful go ball to [player_tooltip player_id='1092266' first='Julius' last='Vicari'] for a 23-yard touchdown pass, his first of four on the day. It was the pre-snap motion that really impressed, how they noticed the weakness and took advantage of it. </p>   <p>The defense played outstanding forcing three turnovers. Specifically, Jordan Mcallister he consistently put pressure on the quarterback, forcing a crucial fumble before the half. </p>   <p>It was as if Seton Hall Prep had an answer for almost everything Irvinton did essentially taking what the defense gave them while executing the offense. Seton Hall Prep couldn't be stopped on the ground and this play-action pass was called at the perfect time. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/edaniels77/status/1574841399685648419 </div></figure>   <p>This game showed that you can have all the athletes on both sides of the ball but execution and coaching will always reign supreme especially when the game is close. Seton Hall Prep wins 28-20</p>   <p></p>   <p></p>

The Irvington Blue Knights went to face-off against the Seton Hall Prep Pirates in a game that came down to the wire.