Scouting St. Edward at Aurora Central Catholic
St. Edward (5-1, 3-0) at Aurora Central Catholic (2-4, 1-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Last year: St. Edward 42, Aurora Central Catholic 14
Last week: St. Edward 49, Guerin 14; Immaculate Conception 42, Aurora Central Catholic 14
St. Edward Outlook: St. Edward can achieve goal No. 1 a playoff berth with a Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division win in Aurora. A sixth victory would not only seal a playoff invitation, it would mark the first time in school history the football program has made the state playoffs in consecutive seasons. "We were in the same spot last year at 5-1 and didn't finalize our sixth win until there were 17 seconds left in (Week 9)," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "We'd prefer not to wait that long. We'd like to take care of business so we can start thinking about getting a home playoff game." Rolando said a productive day for the offense will depend on how well the running backs pick up ACC's blitzing linebackers. "We've got to protect the quarterback," he said of senior Ben Lehman (56 of 118, 965 yards, 9 TD, 4 int.). "They'll have us outsized on the lines and they like to blitz off the edges. We think they'll run man coverage. Our receivers have been running against zone all year so they'll have to adjust their routes." One of those receivers is senior Sam Pozezinski. After working his way back into the lineup last week at receiver for a half, he returns to double duty as receiver and safety. He brings a senior presence to a defense that starts eight juniors. The St. Edward defense, which holds opponents to an average of 10.3 points per game, is tasked with limiting ACC's double-tight, wing-T scheme.
ACC Outlook: "We're still alive," is the refrain from ACC coach Brian Casey. His Chargers will have to be kickin', too, to enter Week 8 with the playoffs a possibility, battling a strong St. Edward team that looks to win the Suburban Christian Conference Gold division. For comparison, St. Edward beat Immaculate Conception 42-0, though the Knights played without their starting quarterback. St. Edward will be more balanced offensively than was IC, which sent two running backs each over 150 yards against the Chargers. St. Edward quarterback Ben Lehman is a good one, and he's got 6-foot-3 Sam Pozezinski to throw to. (ACC's secondary just got thinner with Aaron Blatner out for the year with a concussion.) Casey's goal, though, is to stop St. Ed back Jon Keokanlaya on the ground and force the pass. That would be the Green Wave's plan, too, since Aurora Central had another good game on the ground last week, with Marcus Jefferson rushing for 71 yards and Zach Tobin for 42. Jefferson has run for 338 yards on the season, Kyle Clechenko for 207. Sustained drives, using ACC's size up front, is the goal, and the Chargers cannot afford to give up the long play. Through the first three weeks a 31-yard gain was the longest they gave up, Casey said. In the past three weeks they've allowed three plays of more than 60 yards. The goal is to finish tackles, drives, games. "They still have plenty that they can play for and still leave an impression on this program," Casey said.