News & Events
Blue Storm v. Wyoming Seminary Football Game Analysis
Mercersburg Blue Storm football opened the season with a tough loss to the Blue Knights of Wyoming Seminary. The score of the game was close, only 20-16, but the Storm came back just when the game began to seem out of reach. Wyoming Seminary pulled ahead late with a 20-10 lead, but despite a valiant effort, the Storm ultimately was not able to catch up.
The offensive line did a consistently good job of blocking on the passing plays, especially on 3 and 5 step drops, giving Mercersburg quarterback Trevor Smith plenty of time to find an open receiver. On running plays, however, the line fell apart at times. One possible cause of this problem was the Blue Storm’s spread offense that often consisted of a 1-running back and 4-wide receiver set. This formation helped to create a strong passing game, but may have made our game on the ground more difficult due to the lack of extra blockers. One real gem of the Storm's running game was the option, which worked very well, especially with the combination of Smith and Tyler Mort. The passing game was nearly flawless, with Smith at times hitting passes in stride. Smith seemed especially adept at hitting crossing patterns and fades. The only low points in the passing game came when the offensive line broke down on blitzes that resulted in some sacks.
Despite a bit of confusion getting into position on the line, the 2-minute offense was effective and resulted in 2 good drives down the field at the end of the game. One ended with a touchdown and the other ended when time ran out in the fourth quarter.
For most of the first half the defense was working out some kinks in its armor, giving up a long run early and nearly giving up a touchdown when Wyoming Seminary’s Gary Robinson bobbled a wide open pass in the end zone which was stolen by the Storm’s Collin Stevens. The Storm secondary gave up some large plays, especially when the defensive backs played the receiver instead of the ball. The defensive line was effective at stopping the run inside, but had some trouble cutting to the outside, which resulted in some big running gains for Wyoming Seminary. In addition, Seminary quarterback Adam Ellison did a great job of scrambling and using keepers to throw off the Storm defense and gobble up dozens of yards.
In the second half, Wyoming Seminary’s Blue Knights received the ball deep in their territory and the Storm had an excellent chance to capitalize. Defensive linemen Bill Campi and Clyde Fitzmaurice got excellent penetration on numerous plays and helped to quickly end the drive. Chris Freeland was also an excellent defensive threat at the outside linebacker position, quickly hitting receivers on short buttonhooks and dragging down runners who came his way. The rest of the linebacking core, especially Ben Eaton and Bond Stockdale, were agile in sprinting across the field to make plays and deliver solid hits. The secondary ended up allowing two big plays, the first a zone coverage breakdown that led to Wyoming's second touchdown, and then some missed tackles on an amazing catch and run by Seminary’s star wide receiver Gary Robinson.
In sum, this was truly a solid effort and, despite coming up a few points short, the coaches and players should take the many positives from this game into the rest of the season.
--by Peter Cooke ’08, with assistance from Ben Axelrod ‘08
Mercersburg Blue Storm football opened the season with a tough loss to the Blue Knights of Wyoming Seminary. The score of the game was close, only 20-16, but the Storm came back just when the game began to seem out of reach. Wyoming Seminary pulled ahead late with a 20-10 lead, but despite a valiant effort, the Storm ultimately was not able to catch up.
The offensive line did a consistently good job of blocking on the passing plays, especially on 3 and 5 step drops, giving Mercersburg quarterback Trevor Smith plenty of time to find an open receiver. On running plays, however, the line fell apart at times. One possible cause of this problem was the Blue Storm’s spread offense that often consisted of a 1-running back and 4-wide receiver set. This formation helped to create a strong passing game, but may have made our game on the ground more difficult due to the lack of extra blockers. One real gem of the Storm's running game was the option, which worked very well, especially with the combination of Smith and Tyler Mort. The passing game was nearly flawless, with Smith at times hitting passes in stride. Smith seemed especially adept at hitting crossing patterns and fades. The only low points in the passing game came when the offensive line broke down on blitzes that resulted in some sacks.
Despite a bit of confusion getting into position on the line, the 2-minute offense was effective and resulted in 2 good drives down the field at the end of the game. One ended with a touchdown and the other ended when time ran out in the fourth quarter.
For most of the first half the defense was working out some kinks in its armor, giving up a long run early and nearly giving up a touchdown when Wyoming Seminary’s Gary Robinson bobbled a wide open pass in the end zone which was stolen by the Storm’s Collin Stevens. The Storm secondary gave up some large plays, especially when the defensive backs played the receiver instead of the ball. The defensive line was effective at stopping the run inside, but had some trouble cutting to the outside, which resulted in some big running gains for Wyoming Seminary. In addition, Seminary quarterback Adam Ellison did a great job of scrambling and using keepers to throw off the Storm defense and gobble up dozens of yards.
In the second half, Wyoming Seminary’s Blue Knights received the ball deep in their territory and the Storm had an excellent chance to capitalize. Defensive linemen Bill Campi and Clyde Fitzmaurice got excellent penetration on numerous plays and helped to quickly end the drive. Chris Freeland was also an excellent defensive threat at the outside linebacker position, quickly hitting receivers on short buttonhooks and dragging down runners who came his way. The rest of the linebacking core, especially Ben Eaton and Bond Stockdale, were agile in sprinting across the field to make plays and deliver solid hits. The secondary ended up allowing two big plays, the first a zone coverage breakdown that led to Wyoming's second touchdown, and then some missed tackles on an amazing catch and run by Seminary’s star wide receiver Gary Robinson.
In sum, this was truly a solid effort and, despite coming up a few points short, the coaches and players should take the many positives from this game into the rest of the season.
--by Peter Cooke ’08, with assistance from Ben Axelrod ‘08
