Sneak Peak of Eagle Football

I was downtown this morning for the first intrasquad football scrimmage for the St. Thomas Eagles in 2009. It is clear early in the season that Coach Hollas has his troops feeling much more comfortable with the offense than last year. There is an old adage in football in which the most growth in a program comes between the first and second years - we will see if this is true with Hollas's Eagles, but right now they appear to be on the right course.

In the battle for starting QB, Senior Scooter Fisch looked to have staked a major claim today over his sophomore rival Hunter Kopysinski. Fisch has an impressive arm and good speed. Although he had some difficulty moving the ball against the first defense, there were flashes of great things to come. Kopysinski will be a good one down the road, but could use a year of experience on the varsity working on his progressions before he is fully ready. Fisch is much bigger physically as one would expect with an older player. It will be interesting to see how Fisch, who has not played since his freshman year, adapts to Friday night lights and all the stunts he will see in game one against Strake Jesuit. He definitely has the physical tools and according to the coaches, Scooter is a lead by example player - best of luck to him as the season progresses.

The defense was very impressive. There were a number of very hard hits throughout the morning delivered by Eagle defenders with linebackers Logan Stryk and Kyle Willard standing out. Senior Ian Stout was the recepient of one of the blows and was forced to leave the field. This must be disconcerting for Hollas and his staff as Stout played with an injury most of last season keeping his production down from his breakout sophomore season. They will need a healthy Stout this year. Although there were some breakdowns in coverage, for the most part the secondary was solid. This was a weak spot in the defense last season and the growth of this unit will be the key to any hopes of post-season play for the Eagles.

Coach Hollas and his staff must be pleased with the state of Eagle football at this early stage of the campaign. The offense seems to be much more comfortable with the spread and on defense, schemes have been simplied (and were well-executed during the scrimmage). The pre-season is a time of hope for every program in which all things are possible. The Eagles are determined to win more than two games this year, so hopes are high. Coach Hollas has his crew believing in the system, so opponents should not underestimate the Eagles. Just how far they have progressed will be revealed when the Eagles open against the Strake Jesuit Crusaders on Sept. 28.