By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor The La Salle football program couldn’t have been more elated after last Friday’s 16-14 victory over St. Paul. It was the Lancers first Angelus League victory, and it snapped a 12-game losing streak. As happy as they were last Friday, La Salle would be equally devastated if they take a […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
The La Salle football program couldn’t have been more elated after last Friday’s 16-14 victory over St. Paul.
It was the Lancers first Angelus League victory, and it snapped a 12-game losing streak.
As happy as they were last Friday, La Salle would be equally devastated if they take a struggling Harvard-Westlake team lightly and drop a game they should win.
With a core of 22 seniors, though, the chances of looking past the Wolverines (3-5, 0-3) aren’t likely.
Keys to victory for La Salle (5-3, 1-2) are almost always the same.
First, limit turnovers and penalties…especially personal fouls that can and should be avoided.
Secondly, give the ball to Amon Milliner 30 times or so and watch him go back over the 200-yard mark for the first time in three weeks.
Lastly, allow Myles Cecil, Jake Rose and the Lancers defense to swarm and do what they do best.
As mentioned, Milliner was held well under his average the last two games.
The senior star ran for a combined 256 yards and one touchdown in a loss to Cathedral, and the win over St. Paul.
It sounds almost ridiculous to say that 256 yards isn’t up to par.
Those numbers would be great for 98 percent of other running backs, but he’s Amon Milliner.
He averages over 200 yards per game and two TDs.
La Salle quarterback Jake Caan and the rest of the offense can take some pressure off of Milliner by being more effective in the passing game.
Caan and his favorite target, Harrison MacDonald need to get back on track.
MacDonald leads the Lancers with 500 yards receiving and a team-best 6 TD catches.
But the offense needs to pull its weight and not rely solely on the stout defense to win games.
Myles Cecil is arguably the area’s best defensive end, and despite not being 100 percent, he’s still a nightmare for opposing offenses.
Cecil and the Lancers defense will focus on freshman quarterback Jameson Wang, who has thrown 15 TD passes and has 1,552 yards through the air.
Wang also has 265 yards on the ground and another 5 TDs.
Thomas Glover leads the Wolverines (3-5, 0-3) running game with 573 yards and 5 TD runs.
It would also be nice if the students and fans would show up in big numbers and celebrate the foundation these 22 seniors and the rest of their teammates have started
Quotables:
Senior Running back Amon Milliner: “For me, I’ll just have to help my team out the best I can by trying to get the ball as far as I can down the field, because you know that teams will continue stacking the box and trying to contain me. And for the plays that I don’t get the ball, I’ll just block as hard as I can do that Jake could get the ball out to the receivers so that they can make a play.”
Senior Defensive End Myles Cecil: “As a defensive line, we’ve got to keep outside leverage and force the freshman quarterback inside and not allow him to extend plays with his legs. It is a must to get to the ball and insure our presence is felt all over the field. I can not wait to play my last home game at LaSalle and hopefully make a it memorable one.”
Senior Quarterback Jake Caan: “We have to stay disciplined and make little mistakes. Our defense has been incredible the past two games, and as an offense, we need to step it up and help out our guys on the other side of the ball. Main focus for this week is to put points on the board and find our offensive flow again. As the quarterback, I need to take some pressure off of amon’s back and make plays with my great receiving core like we did the first 5 games.
Senior Middle Linebacker Jake Rose: “As a middle linebacker, I need to do my job, and play the run first before anything. When I do drop back for the pass, I need to keep my head on a swivel and look for any crossing routes coming into my zone. On Friday night, we need to come out and play fast and physical all night, and do our jobs on the defensive side of the ball, just like we practice all week. We all need to play with full effort, and give our best on every single down of football.”
Senior Wide Receiver Harrison MacDonald: “For the receiving core, we just need to make sure we create separation, run our routes the way we’ve been practicing, and make blocks to give 5 (Amon) some room. It’s going to be an emotional game being senior night but we need to stay focused and come out with intensity.”
Angelus League Standings:
St. Francis 9-0, 3-0
Cathedral 9-0, 3-0
La Salle 5-3, 1-2
Salesian 5-3, 1-2
St. Paul 3-5, 1-2
Harv-West 3-5, 0-3
Friday’s Angelus League Schedule:
St. Francis at Cathedral at 7
Harvard-Westlake at La Salle at 7
St. Paul at Salesian at 7
