Lazer on target as Bonner & Prendie flattens Avon Grove

UPPER DARBY – Kyle Lazer would like to forget the end of his sophomore year at Bonner & Predergast.

He came down with a bad case of mononucleosis, which put him in the hospital for a couple of weeks, kept him out of school for a month and cost him the entire baseball season and about 40 pounds.

“I couldn’t eat or drink anything,” Lazer said.

The junior quarterback is healthy now and that’s a good thing for the Friars.

Lazer showed no signs of the illness that kept him on the sideline in Thursday night’s 27-0 nonleague victory over Avon Grove. He connected on 10 of 14 passes for 197 yards and two scores to help Bonner & Prendie go 2-0 for the first time since 2014.

“I feel good,” Lazer said.

Being a year older and with a season under his belt has been beneficial, too. The 6-1, 175-pounder showed the poise of a veteran. He was patient with his throws.

“Last year, if just felt like everything was fast, fast, fast,” Lazer said. “This year everything is starting to slow down more and I’m making the right reads.”

Lazer spread the ball around. Six receivers caught passes. Ayden Garnes, Nasim Rhodes-Nelson and Ibrahim Diallo led the way with two catches apiece. Lazer found James Welde for a 35-yard score on the Friars’ first possession of the game and then hooked up with Jared Nesbitt for a 21-yard TD in the second quarter.

“Every one of our players are athletic and everyone can catch the ball,” Lazer said. “My coach, Coach (Kevin) Magee, the quarterback coach, has been working with me on my throws, especially stepping into my throws when I set put of the pocket. And I know my wide receivers will catch it and my running backs will catch it. I just have to trust them.”

Lazer had plenty to time to find open receivers thanks to an outstanding performance by the Friars’ offensive line. He was flushed out of the pocket a few times, but he was not sacked. The line also enabled the Friars to pound for 200 yards on the ground, while only giving up three tackles for loss. Charles Ingram did most of the damage. The senior ran for 121 yards and a touchdown in the third quarter.

“It’s a young line,” Bonner & Prendergast coach Jack Muldoon said. “We start three sophomores at times, but they’ve been coached really well and they’re coming along. They have a long way to go but they’re coming along.”

The young Friars dominated the Red Devils (0-2) on both sides of the football. Avon Grove could not stop the Friars offense or move the ball. Avon Grove finished with minus-46 yards rushing and 24 yards of total offense.

Every back that carried the ball for Avon Grove finished with minus yardage.

“They physically manhandled us up front, which is what we usually do to people,” Avon Grove coach Harry O’Neill said. “They beat us on both sides of the ball.”

Avon Grove did have six players go down with injuries during the game, but O’Neill would not use that as an excuse.

“They played better than us,” O’Neill said.

One player the Red Devils could not stop on defense was senior Oscar Uduma. The undersized defensive end (6-1, 185) spent most of the night in the Avon Grove backfield. He had three sacks, another tackle for loss and batted down a pass.

“I use my quickness, and in practice, all I do is work on my hands,” Uduma said. “The hands are the most important part. The quickness is going to be there, but when you play good linemen, you have to be able to use your hands to get off of them.”

Uduma was a handful and he was not alone. The Friars put together a second straight impressive effort to start 2-0 for the first time in five years.

“It means a lot, especially after the last couple of years,” Lazer said. “Losing’s not fun. After the game everyone’s down, but now, I don’t know. Maybe things have turned around this year. It feels really good.”