Seneca, Moorestown will battle for control - Local News - Delaware Valley, PA/NJ on Astini News
& On tape, the Moorestown offense is fun to watch. &
Lots of weapons, several ways to attack, exciting skill players — it can be tempting, even if you're the opposing coach, to put the clipboard aside and just watch the show.
Seneca High School football coach Bill Fisher didn't try to hide his appreciation for what the Quakers do. He'd just rather watch them do it on those tapes than from the opposing sideline.
He doesn't have that choice, of course. The Golden Eagles will visit the Quakers Friday night in the Burlington County Times Game of the Week.
But in Fisher's mind, it's still a case of less is more.
"It would be a good sign after the first quarter if they've had the ball one time and we've run about 20 offensive plays," Fisher said. "I'll take a 0-0 first quarter. We want to keep the ball and keep their guys off the football field."
The Golden Eagles showed they could control the ball on opening day. Joey Pawlowski rushed for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns — one of them an 87-yarder — in a 35-12 win over Cherry Hill West. Seneca also benefitted from a 66-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Miskiewicz to Dillon Schulte, though it isn't the Golden Eagles' passing game that Moorestown coach Russ Horton has been breaking down this week.
"No, there's not much mystery," Horton said of the Golden Eagles' offense. "They're running. But we did tell the kids that teams like that like to lull you to sleep and then hit you with a long pass, so we'll be looking out for that. The big thing for our defense is to contain that wing-T. If we can bottle them up and break them down into some punts, we'll be good."
The Quakers have the speed to turn even those punts into an adventure, but they provide even more cause for concern once their offense is over the ball. Running back Delaney Wallace carried 13 times for 105 yards and scored three touchdowns in Moorestown's 26-12 opening-day win over Paul VI. Quarterback Andrew Lisa completed seven of 11 passes for 114 yards and Moorestown had four plays — including a 61-yard run by Wallace — that covered 30 yards or more.
If preparation has been easy for Horton, it's been just the opposite for Fisher.
"They're loaded," Fisher said. "They have four very good high school receivers, plus Delaney and a backfield as good as any in South Jersey."
It's simple logic, then — the best way to keep them off the scoreboard is to make spectators of them.
"If we have a chance, it's because our offense played defense, and kept their offense off the field," Fisher said.So Seneca will pound away like always. But don't be surprised if you see some of the same from the Quakers — who'll want to take some pressure off their own defense.What decided the Quakers' 28-26 victory at Seneca last year wasn't so much a big play as a series of little ones — a 12-play, 91-yard drive that ate more than six minutes off the game clock in the second half. More of that would be fine with Horton.
"I think it's a good sign if we can spread the ball around on offense and sustain some drives," he said. "We've got a reputation as a big-play offense, but it would be nice if we could go on some long drives."
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