When talking about the Bishop McNamara football team, you can’t say they are a good team nor can you say they are a bad team. The Mustangs has the offense to go toe to toe with some of the best teams in the WCAC (Washington Catholic Athletic Conference) but what the team is lacking is defense.
This season, Bishop McNamara is averaging 32.3 points per game and scored 45 or more points in two games. The Mustangs has players on the offensive side of the ball that create problems even for the toughest defenses within the WCAC. For starters, you have to look at Bishop McNamara’s starting quarterback Ramar Williams. The senior dual-threat quarterback has hurt opponents with his arm and his leg. Williams has 1605 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 457 rushing yards. Ramar isn’t the only key offensive player on the Mustangs team. Seniors Camari Murray, Brian Thompson and Chaz Lyles have been the go to guys for the All-Met quarterback.
A prime example of how Bishop McNamara’s offense can give a team a run for their money is their last game against top rank DeMatha. Even though DeMatha won 52-47, the Mustangs didn’t make it easy for them. McNamara started the game with a 14-0 lead and when DeMatha did come back, the Mustangs kept finding ways to creep back into the game.
DeMatha’s defense had no answer for McNamara’s star quarterback. Ramar had a 442 total yards and seven touchdowns. Receivers Camari Murray and Brian Thompson had more than 100 receiving yards. Mustangs running back Darnell Ivey rushed for 109 yards on 18 attempts. Bishop McNamara made the game closer than expected and looking back at it, they should have won but, the defense of the Mustangs couldn’t handle the Stags.
Once McNamara took a 14-0 lead, DeMatha outscored Bishop McNamara 28-7 before halftime. In the second half, McNamara allowed DeMatha to score 24 points. 21 of the 24 points was scored in the third quarter.
Last week’s game wasn’t the first time Bishop McNamara had the reasonable lead against DeMatha and fail to win the game. In 2014, Bishop McNamara had a 20-14 lead over DeMatha at the end of the first quarter. But the Stags ended up outscoring the Mustangs 56-12 and winning the game by the score of 70-32.
Defense has been a problem for Bishop McNamara over the past seasons and the numbers show why. This season, the Mustangs has allowed teams to score 27.5 points. It’s a step up from the last year where they gave up 38.1 points per game. In that same year, McNamara allowed 45 or more points in seven games. And in 2013, they gave up 30.1 points per game. Not to mention that there were two games where opponents scored 61 points.
The inconsistency of Bishop McNamara’s defense is the reason they have a hard time winning in the WCAC. They took a step forward in 2014 when they made it to the playoffs but lackluster defense proved to be their downfall. It’s like their offense gets their job done but the defense doesn’t do theirs, which leads to them losing.
Bishop McNamara has the offense and they have the heart to win to compete against the best, but they have to improve defensively in order to contend.
Ryan McFadden is the founder of Inside The Locker Room and a alumni from DeMatha Catholic High School. He now attends Iona College in New York and plans to major in Mass Communications. Follow him on Twitter @RMcFadden15.
Follow Inside The Locker Room on Twitter @lockerroom2015
Inside The Locker Room 