Sacred Heart and Loyd Star aren’t uncommon opponents. The two have played each other early in the season the last few years, but Crusaders’ coach Lonny Schraeder said his team is basically going into the game blind.
Regardless, Sacred Heart is set to host Loyd Star Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’ve played them for the last three years and they’re a lot like us,” Schraeder said. “They’re a 2A school and I really don’t know a lot about them because I haven’t seen them yet. This first game you kind of go in blind. You’re not really sure what kind of team they are, and we didn’t have a jamboree. It’s going to be interesting.”
Schraeder is basing this year’s Loyd Star team off what it was last season, so it’s fair to look at last season’s results of this game. The Crusaders cruised to a 35-14 win over the Hornets. A lot of their defensive players are back, but the Hornets lost their leading rusher and one of the two quarterbacks they used, as well.
Loyd Star was a run-heavy team, attempting 368 rushes to just 51 passing attempts, and Schraeder doesn’t have reason to believe that will change in 2018.
“From what I understand, that’s about what they do,” he said. “They do what they did last year, so that’s what we’re hoping. But, you have to go in there flexible because you can’t really develop a game plan when you don’t have any film to go off of.”
For his own team, however, he still has questions that need to be answered. Offensively, Sacred Heart has a three-year starter at quarterback in Zach Weatherell and three experienced inside linemen – Gavin Bradford, Ethan Mooney and Tyson Charles.
Sacred Heart will lean on those players’ experience while some of the skill position players catch up. It lost 95 percent of its offensive production from the skill positions, so Schraeder is looking for new players to step up.
“I think these first handful of games will help us answer a lot of these questions, but you never know until you get in game situations and see what’s going on,” Schraeder said. “That’s what these games are for before we get in the district.”
Seniors Tanner Blakeney and Garrett Crowder will try to fill those voids as running back and H-back, respectively, but they’re also key pieces on the defensive side of the ball.
The Crusaders’ front seven on defense will try to stabilize the team as all of the unknowns get answered, but the Sacred Heart secondary will need some time to work out the kinks as well.
“The better defense you play the more you’re going to be able to stay in the game, so we’re going to have to play good defense,” Schraeder said. “Our secondary, we just don’t have a lot of depth. We have guys who have played back there before, but they’re playing offense, too. You’re going to have to give them breaks and the young guys will have to go in there and stop them.”
