Bishop Guertin football needs quick fix for start of playoffs

The numbers were not pretty for the Bishop Guertin High School football team following last Friday's loss to Nashua North.

The Cardinals allowed almost 70 points, gave up over 500 yards rushing and 8.5 yards per carry, as the Titans picked up 18 first downs.

The 67-36 loss to the Titans was Bishop Guertin's most lopsided defeat since a 42-0 loss to Catholic Memorial back in 2011, and the most points the Cardinals have allowed in a game in recent memory.

While it might have stung to lose to a city rival, and miss out on winning the Division I West Conference, the Cardinals were more concerned with the way they lost the game.

"It's embarrassing," Bishop Guertin coach Jeff Moore said. "Mostly it's that we didn't play any defense. They took it to us. They were much tougher than us."

With the two teams meeting again Saturday at 1 p.m. at Stellos Stadium for a rematch in the Division I quarterfinals, the question is, can the Cardinals correct those mistakes on defense, and how quickly can they do it.

While part of the defensive struggles can be attributed to being out there for almost 70 plays, part of it is the Cardinals getting back to their game plan on that side of the ball.

"It was a combination of things," Moore said. "They have speed in space and the tackling was poor there. We're not fitting up the runs the way we're supposed to. Guys are supposed to bend and spill, (instead) they're boxing, and when that happens, we're missing a gap. We're going to try to correct it. We'll keep coaching it. We can score on anybody, but we've got to play better defense."

But it might be the best way for the Cardinals change Saturday's outcome is for the offense to lead the way.

"You can get down to these guys real fast," Nashua North coach Dante Laurendi said. "Fourteen can become 28. Any time you can kind of stay a little bit ahead of those guys (it's good), because they've come back all year. You never have enough cushion."

Bishop Guertin led 14-0 just 4:01 into the game and was on the verge of taking a 21-0 lead when a pair of fumbles by the Cardinals changed momentum.

In all, Bishop Guertin turned the ball over four times, with quarterback Sam Raitt accounting for three of them, although he was also 19 of 32 passing for 312 yards and three touchdowns. The Cardinals also ran a few plays with receiver Dylan Fagan in the backfield, and the senior finished with 86 yards rushing and two touchdowns on four carriers, while also catching four passes for 119 yards and another score.

"We think he's better when he and Sarveen (Shafian-Rad) are on different sides of the field and people can't double cover," Moore said. "It just worked out that we liked the look. It wasn't designed that way, it was just the look they were giving us in that, we thought we had a certain edge."