Saratoga, South SF, Riordan and Burlingame worked out a few kinks against one another Friday at the renovated Burlingame field. This was the observed pecking order: 1. Riordan, 2. Burlingame, 3. Saratoga, 4. South SF. Riordan was clearly the best of the bunch. The Crusaders suited up 40-45 guys. Their offensive line was dominant. Interestingly, they filled the evening air with footballs, disdaining the run more often than not for a wide-open spread offense. Whether this approach will work in the WCAL, where fast, deep defenses feast on aerial mistakes, remains to be seen. For that matter, you can say the same thing about Riordan's opponent next week, Sacred Heart Prep. There wasn't that much to choose between Saratoga and Burlingame. The latter did appear to have a better power running game; the former exhibited a stronger passing attack. Neither defense was dominant. South SF struggled on both sides of the line of scrimmage, especially against Riordan. Perhaps the Warriors are a week or two away from coming together. It was not clear.
4-Way Scrum at Burlingame
- Thread starter colhenrylives
- Start date
Riordan line play certainly stood out. It was quite apparent the O/D lineman were a lot bigger than any of the other 3 teams. Luavasa had some nice runs off read option. Passing was ok, needs to improve before the 11th @ SHP. Running game looked good with Caston and Sanders breaking off some long runs for TDs. Good to see Caston involved more in the run game. Crusaders were focusing more on passing out of the spread - using McAfee, Norman and Davis a lot more than last season. All 3 are 6-1 fast and long. Verba-Hamilton had the catch of the night with a juggling catch as he leapt in the end zone and ended up catching the ball as he landed flat on his back. I liked the tempo of play that Fordon has instilled and that even showed up in their pace during drills. Defense was barely scored upon, but still was not an accurate gauge as competition will be nowhere near the the level of SHP or WCAL teams. Still, a good step in right direction with significant improvement in overall play and play calling than last 2 seasons.
