Gonzaga Football – September 2015 Newsletter

Greetings Gonzaga Football Family!

Our season is underway and the Purple is off to strong start! Being 2-0 by a combined score of 86-7 is a result of strong preparation, dedication, and inspiration. With regard to preparation, the Eagles bonded and grew in a multitude of ways during training camp, particularly during the 6 day visit to Mercersburg Academy. Of course more than a year in the making, the Eagles were undoubtedly committed to soaring high for the Eye Street Campus Dedication. Thirdly, the Eagles have been inspired to honor Gonzaga icon Dr. John C. Warman ‘57 by performing with a sense of competence and class representative of Doc’s legacy.

As anticipated, the atmosphere for the Calvert Hall game was electric and there were plenty of Eagles contributing to the opening day fireworks! The defense forced 4 total turnovers including interceptions by Dean Engram ‘19, Tre Jones ‘16, and Luke McCaleb ’16. The fourth turnover was created Nick McEvoy’s ’16 punishing sack which resulted in a fumble recovered by Nasheed Bridgeman ’16. The defense was stingy all afternoon, pitching a shutout in the 1st half and yielding a single touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

With the defense dominating early and the offense struggling to find its rhythm in the 1st half, the Gonzaga kicking game proved to be potent! Brian Johnson ’16 drilled field goals from 42 and 27 yards respectively to provide the Eagles with a 6-0 lead in the 1st quarter. In addition to his accuracy, Johnson displayed his power by booming 5 kickoffs into or out of the end zone resulting in touchbacks while averaging 37.2 yards per punt, creating advantageous field position for the defense throughout the game.

Although the defense and special teams carried the bulk of the 1st half load, the offense found its rhythm in the 2nd half. Tyree Randolph ’17 led the way with 175 yards on 28 carries. Three of those carries resulted in touchdowns. The offensive line (Matthew Calderon ‘17,Derek Frahm ‘17, Johnny Jordan ‘17, Dante Lopresti ‘16, Antoine Walker ‘17, Cameron Warfield ‘17) was exceptional, paving the way for more than 200 yards rushing while yielding no sacks, allowing Sam Brown ’17 to successfully engineer multiple 2nd half scoring drives. Click here to see an awesome photo album from the game!

The Eagles were able to follow the 28-7 victory with a 58-0 shellacking of McKinley Tech. Every offensive possession ended with a Gonzaga touchdown! Randolph led the ground attack with 8 carries for 70 yards and 3 touchdowns. A myriad of Eagles rushed into the end zone including McGuire Dilenge ‘18, Joey Freeman ‘16, Andrew Irvings ‘18, and Mark Lewis ’17. Miles Brown ’17 caught a 6 yard touchdown pass. The defense held the opponent to 70 yards of offense. Jabari Bennett ’18, Jake Galli ‘18, Mitchell Johns ‘17, and Matthew Mulligan ’16 helped to wield the hammer hardest. Johnson was a perfect 7 for 7 on extra points and recorded 7 touchbacks on 8 kickoffs.

Potential opponents are breathing a sigh of relief because the Eagles have a bye this week! We will attempt to improve to 3-0 when we host Georgetown Prep in the Jesuit Gridiron Classic on Saturday, September 19. Then we will host Bishop McNamara in the WCAC opener on Saturday, September 26 followed by our first road contest at St. Mary’s Ryken (their first year as a WCAC football member).

Thank you all for your continued support of our program. Hope to see you on Eye Street on the 19th!

Best,

Coach Randy Trivers

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Weekly Awards

Regardless of the outcome of the game, every Gonzaga Football player is held accountable for their academic performance through the “Scholar Baller” program. Every week, there is a team that earns the collective win and there is an “Academic Scholar” of the week.

Additionally, following each Eagles victory, Coach Trivers names six outstanding players of the week.