9/19/2011 - Lions Bounce Back For Carlson
Brian Carlson said all the right things after posting his first victory as Pope John’s new head football coach Saturday afternoon when the Lions held off a scrappy Morris Hills squad 28-19.
The former top man at Kean College said he was happy the team won and he was happy for the kids. He added that it wasn’t about him, but his players and the school, and on the surface, I believed him.
But deep down, you know Carlson probably had one of the longest weeks of his football life after the Lions were drubbed by Delbarton 45-14 on opening day in front of a packed house eager to see the new-look Lions.
And not only did the Lions lose, they suffered two big injuries when running back Noah Brown and quarterback Tim Schanstra went down with injuries.
The Pope John-haters out there reveled in the loss, but for me, I was very interested to see how the Lions would respond after one of toughest regular-season defeats in school history.
And the answer? Just fine. Although it wasn’t pretty, the Lions found a way to win and overcome an outstanding 235-yard effort by Knights tailback Eric Turner.
By no means did PJ roll to the victory, far from it. The Lions battled tooth-and nail and needed a stop on a Hills’ two-point conversion with less than four minutes left in the game to maintain a 21-19 lead.
PJ recovered the onsides kick and Cory Bell sealed the deal with a 43-yard TD run to cap a monster 270-yard effort and the victory for the Lions.
There were many times during the game the Lions could have folded, but they didn’t. Bell was magnificent and backup QB Dan Cunico did a terrific job of managing the team. In fact the sophomore tucked one in for a score earlier in the game.
Cunico, listed as a tight end, was informed that he would be the starting quarterback on Monday before the game on the advice of his freshman coach from last year, Vin Bello. Bello told Carlson that Cunico could be the right man for the job and he was right.
The Lions simplified their playbook and ran the ball 46 times out of their 59 plays for 350 yards on the ground and it worked to perfection.
Yes, the spread offense can be fun to watch, but a good old fashioned running game will win you many a football game on the high school level. Former PJ coach Vic Paternostro’s 373 wins can attest to that.
The Lions are still a work in progress and they have to clean some things up on the defensive end as well. If not for Johnny Holden’s two picks in the end zone, I might not be writing this blog about Carlson’s first win.
No, I would be writing about how do the Lions overcome a 0-2 start?
But that didn’t happen and that is a testament to the Lions and the new coaching staff.
Despite the new regime, Pope John is still everybody’s Super Bowl. You beat PJ, you make your season and the Lions know that and that is why how the young Lions held on is so impressive to me.
Like I said, Carlson gave all the credit to the kids, but when I interviewed senior leaders Bell and Boston College-bound Malachi Moore, they let the cat out of the bag. Moore said with a big smile that he knew this meant a lot to him because he hugged Moore three times after the game.
Bell acknowledged the pressure the team felt after the big Delbarton loss and that the Lions knew 0-2 would not be acceptable in PJ Nation.
Well, the Lions got it done and they did it the old fashioned way by running the ball. When the Lions get healthy I’m sure they will pass, but it has be very reassuring to Carlson that when the going gets tough, he can always count on his stable of running backs to come through.
So Carlson got the first win out of the way, the first of what he hopes, and the PJ administration hopes, are many to come.
Carlson said he knew it wasn’t going to be easy replacing a legend and he was right, but the Lions are definitely moving in the right direction.
HUNTERDON/WARREN/SUSSEX….Yes, I know the fall season has just gotten under way but the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament cutoffs are fast approaching for field hockey and boys and girls soccer.
In fact, the girls tennis tournament has already started! Okay, the deadline for seeding the field hockey tourney is Sept. 27 with first-round play slated for Oct. 1. Field hockey starts earlier because the state tourney in the sport also starts before soccer due to the fact field hockey has a Tournament of Champions.
Boys and girls soccer will start play on Oct. 7 with the deadline for seeding being Oct. 4. The cross country tourney will be Oct. 12 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds and the girls volleyball tournament will start on Oct. 21.
I know there are a lot of coaches who are not big fans of the tourney, but for me I think it is great for the kids in the area. It exposes them to a different style of play and gives them tourney experience before states get under way.
GREAT CAUSE...Brooke Derin of High Point’s girls soccer team, has been working with school administration to set up an ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) benefit game. Her uncle, Paul Derin, is a former employee of High Point and a current board member, is her inspiration for the fund-raiser. The game will be Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. on the football field against Kittatinny. For more information on how to get involved, contact the school.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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