40 Teams in 40 Days – Day 15 – Cardinal O’Hara (12)
Written by: David Mika on Monday, August 5th, 2013. Follow David Mika on Twitter.
Cardinal O’Hara (12)
Conference: Philadelphia Catholic League, AAA Division
Class: AAA
Nickname: Lions
Coach: Dan Algeo
2012 Record: 5-5
Returning Players – Offense: Sr. OT Alex Constantini; Sr. OG Kevin Campbell; Jr. OG Andrew Gallagher; Sr. WR Chris Colvin; Sr. WR Thadd Smith; Sr. FB Matt Penza; Sr. RB/WR Lamont Veal; Sr. RT J Kraiza
Returning Players – Defense: Sr. DT J Kraiza; Sr. DE Nick Lucchetta; Sr. LB Nolan Cummings Sr. DB Thadd Smith; Jr. Darell Jackson
Special Teams: “We have our kicker/punter back. This will be his fourth year. He is Steve Weyler. He’s a Villanova commit. My punt returners will be Donovan Pierce and Thadd Smith. Kevin Campbell will be our long snapper. My kick returners are Thadd Smith, Donovan Pierce and Lamont Veal.”
Top Newcomers: Sr. RB/FS J.T. Blyden; Jr. C Nick Fallows; Jr. TE/LB Tiernan Posse; Jr. Nick Mariotti; Jr. LB Brandon Laughlin
Coaches comments:
How’s your offensive line?
“My left tackle is back and he is Alex Constantini. My left guard is Kevin Campbell. He was our center last year. Our right guard is Andrew Gallagher. My right tackle is J Kraiza and our center is Nick Fallows.”
Your quarterback returns. Talk about his strengths?
“We have our starting quarterback back from last season. He is Senior DaShawn Darden. He did a good job last year passing for over 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns. He can do it with his legs, rushing for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He’s a dual threat quarterback and he can throw really well on the run.”
How’s your running game?
“We have our fullback back. He’s Matt Penza. Lamont Veal is back at running back. He will see time at the receiver position. We have a transfer in and his name is J.T. Blyden. Veal and Blyden will get the bulk of the touches. At times you will see both backs in the backfield together.”
How are your receivers?
“We have Chris Colivin back at receiver. We have our game breaker back at receiver, Thadd Smith. We have a sophomore receiver named Donovan Pierce. He will see a lot of time at receiver.”
“Tiernan Posse will be at tight end and Jeffrey Driggins will be the other tight end. This year we will go more two tight end sets than last year.”
How’s your defensive line?
“We have J Kraiza back on the line at defensive tackle. We have our defensive end back. He is Nick Lucchetta. The other defensive end is Eric Traninor. Gabe Cordes will be at nose tackle.”
How about your linebackers?
“Here are the four main guys at linebacker. They are Nolan Cummings, he’s a returning player. Another guy that will see action at linebacker is Brandon Laughlin. Tiernan Posse is another guy along with Nick Mariotti.”
How’s your secondary?
In the secondary we have Thadd Smith back. Darell Jackson is the other corner. At free safety is J.T. Blyden. At times DaShawn Darden will get some playing time in our secondary.”
What are your keys this year?
“We need to run the football better and we need better balance. We need to approve in all phases. Last year we were bad. We have to improve run and pass defense. We need to be more physical. On special teams we need to work on the return game and punt coverage.”
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