A lefty-lefty matchup – Shane Morris and Mike LaManna
Coach Restifo, Coach Grbac, Coach Kyle and senior defensive end Matt Gawlik take a look at the Pilots’ 5-Star senior quarterback and University of Michigan prize recruit.
Saturday’s kickoff in Parma’s Byers Field will be 3 p.m.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright August/September 2012
When discussing Saint Ignatius’ Week 2 opponent, De La Salle Collegiate High School (Warren, Mich.), without question you start with the Pilots’ highly touted senior southpaw quarterback and Michigan recruit – Shane Morris.
So instead of looking at 100-plus recruiting videos, this corner decided to describe the nation’s 17th-ranked player overall by Rivals.com through the endless knowledge of two quarterback gurus – Wildcats veteran offensive coordinator Nick Restifo and Saint Ignatius quarterbacks coach Elvis Grbac, a former standout quarterback for the University Michigan who went on to an All-Pro career in the NFL.
“He’s got a really strong arm,” said Coach Restifo, who has honed the skills of multiple All-Northeast Lakes District and All-Ohio quarterbacks for the Wildcats, including All-Americans Joe Pickens ’90 and Scott Mutryn ’94. “And anytime you’re tall (Morris is 6-3 ½) and have a strong arm, you have a lot of things going for you right off the bat. People are looking at you and saying, ‘Holy Cow, this kid could be something special.’
“Having said that, we’ve had tall quarterbacks in the past, Joe Pickens, Dave Ragone ‘98, Tommy Arth ‘99, and it’s always great when they have a quick arm, a strong arm and are able to make all of the throws,” Coach Restifo continued. “That’s what a pro-style offense is looking for. Brady Hoke (Michigan head coach) is a great coach and I know his staff has done its homework on this kid. They liked what they saw and that’s why they offered him early.
“He’s a hometown kid for the most part, and what better place to play than in front of your family and friends just around the corner in the Big House," added Coach Restifo.
The Wolverines secured a verbal commitment from Morris when he was a sophomore. The 203-pound signal-caller is just one of two pro-style quarterbacks to receive a 5-Star rating from Rivals this summer, joining USC recruit Max Browne, who is rated 10th overall in the nation.
Coach Grbac, a football and basketball mainstay for St. Joseph High School, was recruited by Michigan’s football program after competing against Saint Ignatius in a basketball game at Sullivan Gymnasium. In the 1980s my friends, there was no basketball rivalry in Ohio more intense than the Wildcats vs. the Vikings.
Like Coach Restifo, Coach Grbac is confident that his alma mater did a thorough job in recruiting Morris, who is one of just 22 players in the nation to receive the coveted 5-Star from Rivals.
“He’s proven himself,” Coach Grbac said of Morris and his scholarship offer from the Wolverines (under the NCAA guidelines, Morris can’t sign with Michigan until February). “It will be interesting come Saturday how good he is. I’m looking forward to seeing how good he is.
“He has a bright future,” Coach Grbac continued. “Anytime you have the size like he does and the arm like he does, and the presence in the pocket, he’s going to fit that system pretty well up in Michigan. Hopefully, he doesn’t break all of my records. He has a quick release and has an idea, even before the ball is snapped, where he is going with it and how he is going to place it.
“As a quarterback and as a quarterbacks coach, I try to stress that to young kids now a days, that you always have to have a plan before the snap of the ball. And that’s half the battle, reading defenses and knowing exactly what you want to do. He’s done a great job of grasping that in the system he is in. And that’s a testament to his maturity.”
After throwing for 1,684 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and rushing for 150 yards and six TDs during the Pilots’ 9-3 regional-final season of 2011, Morris led a 35-7 opening-night victory over host Pioneer High School from Ann Arbor last weekend. In three quarters of action, he was 14-of-26 for 178 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Supporting Morris against Pioneer were senior running back/defensive back Damorria Lilly, who rushed for 81 yards and a 2-yard touchdown on 10 carries; senior defensive back/running back Josh Cox, a Central Michigan recruit who intercepted a tipped pass and rambled 103 yards for a touchdown; senior wide receiver/defensive back Jack Wangler, who hauled in a 20-yard TD pass from Morris and finished with four receptions for 61 yards; junior wide receiver/defensive back Carter Wilson, who grabbed two passes for 25 yards and junior running back/linebacker Sam Badalamenti, who found the end zone twice, including a 7-yard toss from Morris.
“He (Morris) is certainly a quarterback that you have to cover the whole field on,” said Saint Ignatius’ nationally acclaimed coach Chuck Kyle ’69, who is in his 30th season as his alma mater’s head man in football. Chuck will take a career record of 291-67-1 into Saturday’s game, a mark that includes an Ohio-record 11 Division I state championships and three national titles.
“The way the hashes are in high school, how many kids can throw that out way on the outside?” Coach Kyle continued. “This kid can. So you have to cover the length of the field. It’s a big challenge for our secondary. We have to work on our technique, be right there with the receiver and react to the ball.”
As Coach Kyle emphasized, getting pressure on Morris will be the defensive key.
In last weekend’s impressive 31-7 Charity Game victory over 2011 Division III state champ Cardinal Mooney, the Wildcats’ defense totaled 31 tackles for losses.
To a player, Saint Ignatius’ defensive front and linebackers realize the pressure falls on them to keep the heat on the gifted Morris.
“When he doesn’t have pressure on him, he’s darn near perfect,” said Wildcats gritty senior defensive end Matt Gawlik. “But when they (Pioneer) were able to blitz and get some pressure on him, the margin of error increased.”
Fulfilling their gap responsibilities, having the linebackers fill and applying the heat up front – if the Wildcats do all three, they will, said Gawlik, be fine.
“He’s a very, very good quarterback,” Coach Kyle said. “He’s tall, has good vision and can roll to one side and throw it back to the other side. So you can’t cheat the coverage too much. That’s quite a task ahead of us, but I think the kids like these kinds of games. It’s a big challenge.”
Coach Kyle was also impressed with what he saw on film of the Pilots’ running game. He pointed to Lilly and the “great feet” he has and how he can hurt you with a counter or draw play.
“He (Lilly) looks pretty good when he gets out in the open,” said Coach Kyle. "They have the potential to make big plays, put it that way. We have to work all week on controlling that, handling that. The young man is going to complete some passes. I think the key thing anytime you face a quarterback like that is to make sure we tackle the receiver right away – to give up very limited yardage after the catch.”
THE CORNER’S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK FROM THE CARDINAL MOONEY GAME
OFFENSE
Senior tailback/safety Tim McVey: Tim rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, including a 42-yard sealer up the middle, and caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Senior quarterback Mike LaManna: In just his second varsity start, which took place in Cleveland Browns Stadium, Mike was 16 of 24 for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
The entire offensive line: Anchored by veterans Mike Cray and Steve Franko, the O-Line, in the words of Tim McVey, did everything that was asked of them.
DEFENSE
Senior linebacker C.J. Haag: C J was a force against Cardinal Mooney, as he was in on 14 tackles, including seven solos and seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He also had a sack and forced a fumble.
Senior end Kevin Kavalec: Kevin garnered Charity Game MVP honors after making six tackles, including five solos and four for losses, and coming up with a key fumble recovery.
Junior linebacker Kyle Berger: Kyle made his presence felt from the get-go as he finished with 11 tackles, including seven solos, a sack and four tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior kicker/punter Matt Colella: Matt put together a night to cherish by booming numerous kickoffs deep into the end zone, getting off a punt of 56 yards and kicking four extra points and a 21-yard field goal through the narrower NFL goal posts in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
S-I-B-N!: Bringing you live audio and video coverage of Saturday afternoon’s game from Byers Field will be the golden tones of seniors John Fanta and Greg Ziton over the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network. Let’s hope De La Salle’s southpaw slinger doesn’t ride off into the sun a hero, like Alan Ladd in the 1953 Western Film Classic “Shane.”