Bill Lidinsky Web Page
Seneca
at Plano
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. Friday September at Reaper Stadium.
Plano Week 3 Status: 3-0 after 14-7 win at Reed-Custer last
Friday. Currently ranked #2 in IHSA Class 3A division behind only #1 Bureau
Valley.
Seneca Week 3 Status: 0-3 after 42-35 double overtime heartbreaker
at home last Friday to Sandwich. The Irish have led going into fourth quarter
in each of their three losses.
2005 Head To Head Meeting: Plano used a 42 point first half
on the way to a 56-0 shutout of Seneca. The Reapers scored in all facets of
the game while cruising to an easy win over the Irish.
Plano Key Players To Watch: Senior running back/linebacker Nick Nasti
who sprained an ankle at Reed-Custer last week is probable versus Seneca. Senior
running back Jared Ferguson 118 yards on 9 carries and two touchdowns last week.
Senior defensive back Josh O’Hara 10 solo tackle and four assists against
the Comets.
Seneca Key Players To Watch: Senior running back Mike Maierhofer, 72
yards on seven carries with four touchdowns against Sandwich last week. Maierhofer
also had an 80 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Senior defensive lineman
Griffin Callahan and company must find a way to stop Nasti and Ferguson.
Seneca Still Searching For First Win
While Plano Ponders Perfection
By Bill Lidinsky
They are two schools on two different paths at the present. For the Plano High
School varsity football team, it’s the best of times standing at 3-0 and
being the number 2 ranked 3A team in the State of Illinois.
For Seneca on the gridiron, it’s been a whole different story. Three straight
tough losses including a double overtime heartbreaker at home last Friday versus
Sandwich. And in all three of the defeats the Irish had the lead going into
the fourth quarter.
“I think kids are a lot more resilient than adults sometimes and our guys
surely needed to be after such a tough loss last weekend,” said Seneca
head football coach Don Brown. “We’ve had a pretty good week of
practice so far. We know we should have at least one or two wins by now, but
we’re not hanging our heads. It’ll be a tough chore playing the
number two ranked team in the state, but we’ll give it our best against
just a fabulous Plano team.”
After two blowout victories in weeks one and two, the Reapers got a scare in
more ways than one during the seven point win over Reed-Custer. Not only did
the Comets battle down to the wire, but Plano standout running back Nick Nasti
sprained an ankle in the first half of play and never really was a factor from
then on. Nasti is listed as probable against Seneca.
“It feels a lot better. It’s sort of been a nagging injury since
summer doubles, but it got worse in the first half at Reed-Custer,” Nasti
said. “I should be ready to go against
Seneca, but if I’m not at least 95 percent, I won’t risk it.”
The Irish can only hope for the later in the hopes of watering down Plano’s
potent running attack keyed by senior quarterback Brook Bott along with senior
Jared Ferguson and junior Luis Alvarado.
Seneca has been running well of late also including senior Mike Maierhofer’s
72 yard four touchdown performance last week versus Sandwich. But the Reapers
have been stingy at best allowing no more than 83 yards on the ground during
their first three contests.
“Plano is tremendous against the run and that’s our strong point
so something has to give. We can’t let ourselves get into second-and-third
and long situations or they’ll kill us with the way they stunt and blitz.
We will have to be very ready,” Brown said.
The Plano defensive line is anchored by three year starter senior Ben Quintero
who’s been a big handful for opposing offensive lines. And of course Nasti
keys the linebacking core, while senior Josh O’Hara is a outstanding tackler
in the secondary.
All in all, a tough task for the Irish in order to right the ship while Reaper
Nation hopes to keep on rolling toward their goal of the perfect season and
a 3A crown.
“We can’t take anyone lightly because if we do we could be in for
a big shock,” said Plano head football coach Jim Green. “We know
Seneca has played very hard despite being 0-3. Coach Brown always has teams
that play tough football and are well prepared. We can’t make the mistake
of looking past anyone. Hopefully we can play well against the Irish and keep
our victory march alive and well.”
Archive Stories
Seneca at Plano Preview- 9/14/06
"Reaper Nation Vs Tribe" - 8/30/06
Plano Hires New Bastkball Coach
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