Sacred Heart knew it was in for a rough week as the Crusaders hosted Clarkdale last week.
Although Sacred Heart comes off a 42-0 loss, the Crusaders have a chance to bounce back against St. Andrew’s Episcopal.
“We got taken to the woodshed,” Sacred Heart coach Ed Smith said. “They got after us across the board. We didn’t help ourselves. We made a lot of mental mistakes that kind of added to the misery. They are a good football team.”
The Saints (3-2) have won two straight games, with their previous win coming off a 50-21 over McLaurin.
“There are a lot like us, maybe a little bit older,” Smith said. “I don’t think they have a lot of seniors, but they are like us in a lot of ways. They are really well-coached. It’ll be a good challenge for us.”
On offense, St. Andrew’s runs an air raid-style offense that has averaged 25 points per game. This season, quarterback Friend Walker has thrown for 1,033 yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions and posts a 58% completion rate.
“It’s kind of like the Mike Leach playbook,” Smith said. “(Walker) does a real good job of controlling things. He throws the ball real well. He moves well. They spread it out some, but it seems like he has really good vision. He can connect the dots really well. We’re going to have to really be able to put pressure on them. If you give him time, he’ll pick you apart.”
Walker’s main target is Connor Dunnigan, who hauled in 26 catches for 521 yards and six touchdowns. His other go-to target is Boyd McCullouch, who has recorded nine catches for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
“(Dunningan) is a pretty good-sized kid that runs well,” Smith said. “Just watching the film, they spread the ball out. They’ll go empty five wide a lot. You can’t just focus on one guy. Another key for us is that we’ll have to tackle out in open space because when they get the ball to these guys out wide or underneath, they do a good job of catching the ball and going north and south with it.”
On defense, St. Andrew’s has held teams to 20 points per game and has forced nine turnovers, eight of which were fumbles.
“They are committed to pressure,” Smith said. “They are going to bring the house against you and play man coverage. We have to be sound in our blocking schemes and protection. Then we have to be able to win some one-on-one routs and get up. They are not going to let you get up there and pound the ball. We have got to improve on our mistakes.”
Sacred Heart will travel to play St. Andrew’s with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
