Week 4 Game of the Week: Savannah Savages at Lafayette Fighting Irish preview

ST JOSEPH, Mo (News-Press NOW) -- Week four of the high school football season is upon us and Sports Zone's game of the week features the undefeated Savannah Savages traveling to St Joseph to take on the winless Lafayette Fighting Irish.

Despite holding an 0-3 record, it doesn't tell the full story for head coach Nate Daugherty and the Fighting Irish.

In their last two games against the Benton Cardinals and the Richmond Spartans, the Fighting Irish have lost by only one possession.

The theme in the first three games has been starting hot, which Lafayette has not done. They start slow in the first half, digging themselves a hole which they cannot climb back out of in the second half.

And if they don't start hot, the Savannah Savages will be all over the Fighting Irish. The Savages' offense with backup quarterback Caylor Schrick at the helm has put up just over 37 points per game in three games this season. While the defense led by Jackson Dudeck has only allowed eight points per game.

Lafayette head coach Nate Daugherty says the key to winning this game is containing Caylor Schrick.

"Trying to get some tenacity up front, try to at least keep him busy," Daugherty said. "We have to close the pocket on him."

And even though Schrick is good on the run, he also has a great arm. Lafayette safety Evan Parksel says the defense needs to make sure they are staying assignment sound to prevent any chunk plays.

"We have to stay assignment sound like I mentioned," Parksel said. "We need to make sure we are wrapping up and making the tackle first."

With a defense that has not allowed a single point in ten quarters of football, Lafayette tight end Ian Chapin, who had a great game last week against Benton, says the offenses needs to take what the defense gives them.

"The only reason I was able to get the ball so much is because we took what Benton gave us," Chapin said. "We need to do the same thing against Savannah."

Now Savannah has looked amazing through the first three weeks of the season posting back to back shutout wins. Some of that success is because of backup quarterback Caylor Schrick.

Schrick stepped in for the injured Aiden Knechtenhofer during the Savage's week one win over the Pleasant Hill Roosters and he has not looked back.

Schrick utilizes his legs more often than not, but he still has a great throwing arm on top of his running ability, making him a lethal dual-threat quarterback.

The sophomore quarterback says that he has always known he could be a starter, but he needed the opportunity to prove it.

"I always knew that I was capable of starting," Schrick said. "I knew that if that first week I went out and I balled out that everybody would trust me."

While the Savages are undefeated at 3-0, head coach Anthony Hays says the team needs to keep a level head and keep the mentality of playing your best game every Friday.

"You just have to take it one week at a time, you can't get too caught up in what happened the previous week even if it was good," Hays said. "You just have to move on and get better every single week."

The Lafayette Fighting Irish are game planning for the run, but Schrick is confident in the team's ability to run the ball against any team.

"I think we can pound it down anybody's throat right now," Schrick said. "We can do whatever we want. We can run the ball wherever we want."

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday Sept. 19 at Lafayette High School.