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| Arkeel Newsome runs past Isaiah Wright during the Chargers' 45-13 win over Holy Cross in the teams' first meeting of the season. Newsome rushed 23 times for 385 yards and five touchdowns in the game. Credit: Christian Abraham/Connecticut Post |
These teams already met once, way back in Week 4. As we all know, Holy Cross jumped out to an early lead before Ansonia dominated the rest of the way to the tune of a 45-13 win. (If you want to revisit that game, click here and here for a couple of game articles, and click here and here for some video highlights.)
So the real question here is this: Can Holy Cross make this into a game and not another Ansonia blowout?
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| Isaiah Wright is taken down by several Ansonia defenders during the Chargers' 45-13 win over Holy Cross in the teams' first meeting of the season. The Crusaders had exactly 200 yards of total offense in the game. Credit: Christian Abraham/Connecticut Post |
Ansonia’s defense will make Holy Cross quarterback Zach Brown uncomfortable. Cross will be forced to pass the ball during this game. The Chargers' defense has been tough against the run all year long, limiting opponents to less than 100 yards per game on the ground. And if the Crusaders can't get going with their ground attack, it's going to be a very, very long night for Gang Green on both sides of the ball. The more time they give Ansonia the ball on offense, the more times Newsome touches the ball--and that spells trouble for Holy Cross on the scoreboard. Ansonia must not allow Cross to keep the Chargers' offense off of the field. As we saw at the start of the Wolcott game, Ansonia will run Newsome until the game is out of reach--something Holy Cross will be looking to avoid.
Kyle's Keys to the Game: I can't come up with a good game plan to beat Ansonia, but luckily there are some people who might have a better idea of how to do so on the Holy Cross staff. It's going to be extremely difficult to keep this a close game, much less win it. To start with the positives, the Crusaders are playing their best football of the season right now. Their win over Woodland was the best game they played all year in all facets of the game. A big part of Holy Cross' win in that game was that it did not allow the big play and scored a few itself. It's been incredible to see the Crusaders' special teams and defense and their big-play ability. In fact, those units have scored a combined seven touchdowns in nine games. I would have to think that Holy Cross is going to need a free touchdown like that to win this game. There are plenty of playmakers in the Cross secondary--Isaiah Wright, Ryan Byrne, Joe Parent, and others--but I'm not sure that Ansonia will throw enough to give them the chance to make a big play. Special teams could be a factor.
Overall, I don't think there's much need to do anything else other than rush Arkeel Newsome until Holy Cross proves it can stop him. We saw a few wrinkles in the Ansonia offense two weeks ago against Wolcott, so there's no doubt there are plenty of tricks in the bag. But I don't think we will see those tricks until Ansonia gains a few-score lead. The Chargers' defense is fast and physical, so Holy Cross will have to figure out some way to change up the offense enough as to not allow Ansonia to get in a defensive rhythm. I have also been surprised this year to not see more teams consistently use onside kicks against the Chargers. It really doesn't make a difference whether Newsome breaks an 80-yard run or a 50-yard touchdown run. You might as well try to keep the ball out of his hands all together.
Remmy's Players to Watch: Holy Cross RB/LB David DiGiorgi will need to have the biggest game of his life on defense in attempting to dodge the Ansonia O-line and take down RB Arkeel Newsome. Freshman WR/DB Isaiah Wright will need to make sure Ansonia does not hurt the Crusaders with its passing game and he needs to come up big on defense for Cross. Wright is a game-changer and has the ability to make big plays when his team needs it. Zach Brown and Wright connected early for a big play in the game versus Ansonia which allowed Holy Cross to score the game's first touchdown. It's these kinds of plays the Crusaders needs this week to gain some momentum and derail Ansonia early in the game. The Ansonia offensive line has been smashing people every week. They’ll determine the outcome of this game as they do in every game. On defense, my impact player is Ansonia DE Jake LaRovera. He recovered two fumbles against Wilby and has been the harderst hitter on the defense for Ansonia all season long. QB Elliot Chudwick also has the potential to have a monster game. He and WR Andrew Matos have connected on big plays over the last month. Matos made an outstanding catch against Wilby (watch the video if you don't believe me) and his confidence may be at an all-time high. He may have another big game this week.
Kyle's Players to Watch: Crusaders running back Adrian Brown has been outstanding over the last month and he had his best game of his career last week with a 300-plus-yard effort against St. Paul. But I'm not sure running straight ahead will yield much yardage this week for Brown and DiGiorgi. Perhaps Holy Cross can involve Zach Brown more in the short offense with some screens to the guys out of the backfield. Also, we saw Luke Grabowski of Seymour run down the field with quarterback runs, and Zach Brown is an equally athletic and strong runner. On defense, Anthony Jamele will be huge in the front seven to slowing Ansonia's offense. He has been solid all season long as the leader of the Crusaders' defense and will need his best game on Thursday. For Ansonia, the guys who have been stepping up just need to keep doing so, like Newsome, Tyler Lester, Chudwick, Matos, LaRovera, Tyler Wood, and the linemen.
The Bottom Line: We have been saying it since very early in the season--we don't see Ansonia losing through the rest of this season, and the NVL Championship is no exception. We're hoping (or at least Kyle is) for a closer game than the Chargers are used to, but it's just tough to see all the strength, speed, and talent in lavender going down.
Picks: Remmy- Ansonia, 38-16. Kyle- Ansonia, 41-13.
Be sure to make your picks along with us and bring some of your own analysis to this game? What can Holy Cross to do stay in this game and have a chance to pull the upset, if anything? Let us know.
Plus, the tailgate is coming on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the North Lot of Municipal Stadium. We're looking forward to seeing you guys!
