St. Mary's Game Preview: Get Ready for Rush Week

After last week's 40-12 victory over East Boston, St. Mary's head coach Matt Durgin was joking with Daily Item reporter Steve Krause trying to recall the last time the Spartans had completed a touchdown pass.

"I don't know," Krause quoted the coach in his Item game story. "We threw the ball once last week...and it was incomplete. This week we were perfect. One pass, a completion...and a touchdown."

The Pioneers attempt and complete more passes in a quarter than St. Mary's attempts in several years.

This season they have scored 17 touchdowns in three games defeating Cambridge 35-0, Martha's Vineyard 44-22 and East Boston. Of those, 16 came on the ground.

But you can't argue with success. The Spartans are a perennial power in the Catholic Central Large, compiling a 10-1 mark last year and just missing the postseason.

They run a double wing offense, similar to the one that the Pioneers faced against Austin Prep in their 2009 playoff game. It is a patient, ball control offense that hammers away until it finds a crack and then one of their speedy backs breaks through for a big gain.

The formation is basic.

The line uses tiny splits where their cleats nearly touch.

Quarterback Jonathan Capano crouches low underneath center so the defense can barely see him. On the right wing, facing him at an angle is Cory Donahue (6 TD's, 2 conversions, 40 points). On Capano's left wing, facing him is Todd Collier (5 TD's, 4 conversions, 38 points). Directly behind the quarterback is fullback Xavier Gonzalez (3 TD's, 1 conversion, 20 points).

One of the backs usually shuffles into motion and then the fun begins. Capano can hand it off to one of the backs cutting inside him, he can quickly lateral it to the back who then looks for his hole, he can pitch it to one of the backs outside or he can give it to the fullback diving up the middle. Occasionally he may keep it. And once every couple of games, he will throw it.

Defenses have to stay at home, read their keys and be disciplined. If not, they will get burned instantly, especially by this quicksilver Spartan backfield.

"They're very good," said Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman. "They're super athletic and they score a ton of points. They have a ton of speed. They try to get the edge on you."

Defensively they are led by Collier, last year's Daily Item Defensive Player of the Year. They like to blitz and if you catch them, you can capitalize. East Boston caught them for one of their two TD's that way.

East Boston had some success moving the ball and there were some open pass plays, but their quarterback took advantage only occasionally. It will be interesting to see how St. Mary's handles the spread.

The Spartans have virtually no kicking game. They don't use a tee to kick off, instead laying the football on the ground like a loaf of bread and then squibbing it to the return team.

They have attempted only three PAT's and made only one. However, they are 11 for 14 on two point conversions.

The Pioneers will be looking to extend their winning streak to three while at the same time snapping a two game road losing streak. The last two Pioneer games away from the Middle School Field were losses to Hamilton Wenham and Newburyport last year.

After an easy win over Bishop Fenwick last week, the Pioneers will be much more severely tested against a quicker, more experienced, proven winner like St. Mary's. How they perform will be a good indication of how far they have come since the beginning of the year.

This will be the second meeting all time between these two schools. The Pioneers shut out the Spartans 36-0 in their only other meeting in 1991.

Game time at Lynn's Manning Field is 7 pm.

That's it for now. Check back Friday night for my post game summary.