Football midseason review

By Adam Bagni
Collegian Staff
October 4, 2006

With the Explorer football team on a bye this week, I think it’s a good time to analyze what the team has done nearly halfway through the season.

Currently the team rests at 1-3, with their lone victory coming last week against St. Francis. If you read my preseason preview, you may know that I am also 1-3. I picked them to beat Division-III squads TCNJ and Ursinus, so I guess that shows what I know.

Seriously though, I’ve watched this team virtually week-to-week for the past four years, and they just keep getting progressively worse. New coaches, new recruiting classes, new starters…none of it, unfortunately, has made any difference whatsoever.

After being ranked in the DI-AA pre-season top 25 according to Street and Smith’s last year, the Explorers have compiled a 1-5 record against Division-III teams. As you probably know from reading the weekly game stories, they’re constantly ranked among the worst teams in the country by both major polls.

Now that I gave you a warm, fuzzy feeling, let’s take a look at the team.

The big story this year, in my opinion, is the incredibly stagnant offense the Explorers constantly display week in and week out. I won’t lie; sometimes I feel like I’m watching a race at the dog track, with the Explorers seeking out a touchdown that is about as out of reach as the robotic rabbit. Junior Joe Procopio, a transfer from Temple (of all football places), seems to have lost his job due to injury.

After swelling up against TCNJ, sophomore Chris Hanson has taken over the reigns. While it’s obvious Hanson has played some ball in the past, he certainly isn’t cut out to be a starter at this level. His interception-to-touchdown ratio (1-1) and inability to lead La Salle on game-winning drives the last two weeks are evidence of that.

Seniors Kevin Sullivan and Josh Brumfield have had disappointing starts as well. Sullivan is only averaging 50 yards per game, while Brumfield is averaging fewer than 17. Coming into the season, I thought these two backs would be staples of a new, more conservative offensive. I hate to say it, but Head Coach Tim Miller may be better off going with Phil Longo’s (yes, I said it) four and five receiver sets. After all, you can’t do much worse.

Junior Bernie Cevis and senior Lou Russo, the team’s two big wide receivers, have looked solid and may benefit from the extra attention. One final note. As offensive line coach Mark Zataveski (the former three-year Notre Dame starter) can attest, that O-line isn’t helping its quarterback or its running backs.

The defense has been pretty good this year, and this comes as a big surprise to me. In previous years, Longo’s fast break offense played well, but the defense was terrible. This season, the opposite is the case. Although the stats are skewed by the Explorers’ two Division-III opponents, the team is ranked 11th nationally in total defense and fourth in pass defense.

The stalwarts have been, to no surprise, seniors Nick DePinto and Mark Moraca. Senior Taylour Lauri, junior John Costello and sophomore Casey Walsh have been surprising. As I mentioned in the preview article, Joe Hamm has been impressive with 20 tackles. Chris Reiter (just nine tackles), however, has gotten off to a slow start.

bagnia1@lasalle.edu