Neumann-Goretti gives no quarter to QB-less Bonner & Prendergast
UPPER DARBY — Eric Gentry knew what was coming.
Gentry knew Bonner & Prendergast was lining up in the same personnel grouping for the seventh straight snap in the second quarter. The Neumann-Goretti defensive end knew the center snap would go to Derrick Jackson, who would hand off an inside counter to Gaven Hunt. He knew his main responsibility, Friars tight end James Welde, would be relegated to blocker, with no true quarterback or passing threat on the field, not even worth spending a spare thought on.
So when Gentry stuffed Hunt on that fourth-and-goal in the final minute of the second quarter, ending the closest thing to a promising drive that Bonner & Prendie would assemble all night in a 32-15 loss, he had reason to have foreseen that celebration that came with it, too.
“We saw them run it down here,” Gentry said. “We saw them run the counter down here. We knew that they were going to try to bring two guards pulling and have a back leading through. I tried to be physical with one guard, hold up the other guard and make the tackle.”
On either side of the ball, the teams presented not so much exact copies but one genuine article and one crudely-drawn caricature. Where Neumann-Goretti (4-0, 1-0 Catholic League Blue) hammered Bonner & Prendie time and again in its Wildcat package via Tysheem Johnson and Malik Griffin, the Friars opted for what on paper looked like a similar move. In practice, it was anything but: No quarterback, a full-house backfield, a halfback, rarely anyone lined up outside the tackles, dialing back the years to a modified three yards and a cloud of turf.
The result was 30 yards of total offense on 33 offensive snaps, a total not hampered by any big losses in the kicking game. That’s two yards for every point they scored.
Gentry just exploded a counter draw to Gaven Hunt on 4th and goal from the 4. Ng ball. Last minute of the half. pic.twitter.com/DiKmb8332d
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 13, 2019
The only reason Bonner & Prendie (2-1, 0-1) had those points was its defense generating a pair of long fumble returns. In the first quarter, Charles Ingram scooped a fumble popped loose by Nasiim Rhodes-Nelson and dashed 56 yards for the score to put Bonner up 7-6. The other score was set up by Ingram’s forced fumble, a strip sack of Marqui Adams, and Oscar Uduma rumbled 71 yards, caught at the four. Jackson punched it in on the next play. Quarterback Kyle Lazer, returned from exile, tossed a jump pass to Welde to make it 15-12 with 4:15 left in the third and the momentum seemingly squarely on the side of the Friars.
“I believe it was a strong safety blitz,” Ingram said. “I saw the QB, he saw me, too. He tried to turn and throw it, and I just sacked him, got the ball out and Oscar made a run for it. … It felt good, but we tried to keep our composure and stay humble. That’s what we’ve got to work on.”
Charles Ingram the strip sack. Oscar Uduma returns it 76 yards to the 4!!
Wow. First and goal. pic.twitter.com/bfNEf8Tbsq— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 14, 2019
Other than that, the Bonner & Prendie offense was nonexistent. Much of the credit goes to the Neumann-Goretti defense, which made plays time and again, including interceptions by Shawn Battle and Naseem Bailey and a Gentry strip-sack in the first half recovered by Anthony Johnson.
But Bonner & Prendergast also simplified the Saints’ reads by opting almost exclusively for the run package, implemented in part to protect an offensive line missing two starters that dented its pass protection.
The Friars had 17 yards and two first downs at halftime and didn’t gain a first down in the second half. It punted six times – Welde got touches there, averaging just 24.2 yards per boot – and had 67 penalty yards. Lazer’s only snap in the third quarter was the two-pointer.
The crowded tackle box made things easier for Neumann-Goretti’s aggressive front seven to bottle up an offense that was one-dimensional by design.
Lazer was 0-for-6 through the air with two interceptions, but then no one on the offense could find a rhythm, with Ingram (14 carries for 21 yards) and Jackson (eight for 22) similarly stopped up.
“It’s great because when the offense is not clicking, the defense gives us the momentum every time,” said Tysheem Johnson, who rushed for three touchdowns and 99 yards. “They give us a better opportunity to score.”
Neumann-Goretti found its stride offensively, due in part to augmenting a run-first approach with some semblance of a pass. Bonner’s defense did yeoman’s work limiting the Saints to 79 yards rushing on 50 carries (aided by three very long backward plays on botched snaps).
But the Saints found a breakthrough thanks in part to Adams, who threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a four-yarder on fourth-and-goal from the 4 on a broken play where he found Daniel Gabriel in the end zone.
I think that’s a broken play but Adams finds Damian Gabriel on fourth and 4. Pass fails but NG up 18-15. 7:55 left. pic.twitter.com/ymrH2OnawF
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) September 14, 2019
Even if they mostly used Tysheem Johnson in the Wildcat, Adams was still a credible threat dropping back. He was 8-for-10 for 162 yards through the air to five receivers. He connected with Griffin on a 71-yard shovel pass to the house, one snap after Bonner & Prendie, then down just 18-15, opted to punt on fourth-and-2 at its 43. Griffin punished the caution, one of three straight snaps in which the offense scored, with Johnson finally breaking contain to score a 36-yard touchdown.
All that was left was another Neumann-Goretti stop, which Gentry and company duly delivered.
“Every week, we look at the yards, how many we allow for passing and rushing, and we’re going to keep trying and trying to become better and better at it,” he said.
