By: Zachary Harmuth
After a sobering 41-7 defeat at Ensworth last week, the Father Ryan Fightin’ Irish (3-2, 1-1) will look to get back on track this Friday night at home against the non-conference Stratford Spartans (1-4).
Also, it is homecoming for the Irish.
The Spartans, by most measures, are not as formidable an opponent as Ensworth, which is ranked by Maxpreps as the best team in Tennessee, and leads AA Division II at 2-0.
Stratford, by the same ranking system, is 172nd in the state and last in its District 6. The Irish are 18th in the state and fifth in AA-D II.
So after rushing for just 35 yards as a team last week, Father Ryan will try to re-establish the running game that has carried it to three wins so far this season.
Seniors Joseph Holzmer and DeKeivis Perry lead the way for the Irish. Holzmer the workhorse averages 5 yards a carry and leads the Irish with 303 yards on 60 carries. Perry the playmaker averages 7.6 yards a carry and has gained 168 yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Cameron Towns also has 91 yards on 30 carries this season, after his total is adjusted for yards lost from sacks.
Father Ryan will be looking to bounce back defensively this week. As a team that wins because of its strong defense and dominating run game, letting up 41 points must have hurt.
Even in the loss, the Irish had three interceptions and one for a touchdown, against Ensworth. Andrew Rector leads the team with 4 interceptions this season. The defense has 8 total on the year, and is giving up on average 18.2 points a game. If you take away the Ensworth game, then that number drops to 12.
Also there will be considerably less psychological pressure surrounding this game than last week, since it is Father Ryan’s homecoming, and they are undefeated at home this season. Where last week the team was on the road against an undefeated opponent, this week they are at home with the most supportive of fan bases against a team that allows opponents to score an average of 37.8 points a game.
Father Ryan is also undefeated this year against teams with losing records. As a team what you see is what you get. They win against teams they should beat. But their style does not lend to playing from behind, and in their two losses this season, they have fallen behind early and not been able to catch up.
Kickoff is at 7pm.
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