Vianney, Smith Hope to Race Past De Smet

Coming off tough losses last week in which offense was at a premium, and in search of a first victory, De Smet (2-1, 0-1) and (1-2, 0-1) have similarities entering this week’s contest Friday at Vianney at 7 p.m.

The differences the teams do share are more striking.

De Smet uses a balanced attack of passing and running, while the Golden Griffins prefer to give the ball to sophomore running back Markel Smith, who has 463 yards this season.

“We have always been balanced in our approach,” De Smet coach Pat Mahoney said. “We read coverages, therefore the ball is spread according to what the defense gives us.  Our running backs are similar so we try to keep them fresh.”

The balance starts with quarterback Conner Harrison, who has thrown for 494 yards this season to eight receivers. Three of those receivers have more than 100 yards, led by seniors Durron Neal’s nine receptions for 137 yards and KeVonn Mabon’s 168 yards on six receptions.

Sophomore Latif Adams (24 carries, 120 yards), junior Taylor O’Brien (26 carries, 99 yards) and Neal (21 carries, 61 yards) lead a balanced run game for the Spartans.

On the other side of the ball, it’s all Smith. He finished with 99 yards in a , but 64 of those yards came on a single run. The Griffins’ defense limited a potent Red Devils offense to 22 first-half points, less than half of Chaminade’s first-half average in the first two weeks.

“Our defense did play well at times last Friday, but they had their backs up against the wall most of the night,” Vianney coach Mike Diffley said.

“So when we made mistakes they were costly, and Chaminade is a good football team that capitalized on those opportunities.”

Diffley said Vianney has focused on the basics this week in practice, including improving at running, throwing, catching, blocking, and tackling.

“If we are able to do those things well, then we should be able to compete in any ball game we play,” Diffley said.

at the Edward Jones Dome last week. The Cadets (3-0, 1-0), who play St. Louis University High this week, trailed by 11 in the first half before scoring on seven straight possessions. CBC amassed 569 yards of offense in the contest.  

“At an individual level we stopped doing what we did in the first half,” Mahoney said. “We had alignment issues and coverage issues that for some reason occurred only in the second half.  Turnovers changed the momentum.”