SAINT ALBANS PREVIEW, SENIOR PROFILE and BEAR TRAX

BEAT StA—year in and year out, this team is and always will be the #1 rival. RP may come and go, but the boys, who get schooled near the Cathedral, are the top foes since 1930 and beyond. They treat the Bears with contempt, and the Bulldogs have beaten Landon for the last two years. There is no IAC championship at stake, but THIS GAME MATTERS to generations of Bears!!!

StA is small and young this year. They have 9 sophomore and 16 juniors on the roster. There are 6 players with weights at or above 200 (all but one a senior), but have 16 listed below 175#.

But size does not always matter—back in 1991, the Bulldogs had a 340# tackle who eventually was an All American at UCLA and an All Pro nine times with the Baltimore Ravens. The other tackle played for Notre Dame. Though Landon did not have such size, the Bears won 28-7 (the exact score may be different).  SUCH IS THE NATURE OF COMPTETITION BETWEEN THESE TWO RIVALS!!

Landon and StA played 4 common opponents. The Bears have better margins of victory against RBS (+34 versus +21) and  EHS ( +13 versus – 3) and fared better against Bullis (-5 versus -18). The most telling game may be the Bulldogs game against SSSA; they rang up 56 points against the Saints (for a +35 margin) while theBears beat the Alexandria school by +15. Perhaps StA’s youth is figuring out Coach Schnell’s system? It is well known that the StA Coach is a frequent spectator at Landon games; so he knows the Bears.

Juniors lead StA in all of their offensive categories. Arthur Jones, #29, is a 5’10” 180 pound running back (Class of 2012) who has gained 592 yards on 88 carries.  The Bulldog QB is #10, Mike McCurdy, a 6’1” 190 pound junior and he has thrown 134 passes, completed 68 (50%+) for 1151 yards and 9 TDs (plus ran for another 8 TDs; their leading scorer). His top targets are junior Matt Kelly (#2, 5’11”, 170 pounds) and sophomore Matt Sniezek ( #9, 5’11”, 165 pounds) [17 passes, 221 yards, 1TD and 15/376 yards/3 TDs respectively].

SENIOR PROFILE

VINCENT KINDFULLER #71 SENIOR, OL/DL

1.When did you start playing football?  

I started playing football in 10^th grade here at Landon.

2.  What is your time in the 40 yd. dash and what’s your best bench weight? 

My time in the 40 yd. dash is 5.5 and my best bench weight is 215 lbs.

3.  What is your favorite college football team and college football player? 

My favorite team is Navy.  I don’t have a favorite player.

4.  What is your favorite moment during any Landon sports event in which you played?

 Scoring a try (equivalent of a touchdown) in the really muddy and wet rugby game against Hyde last year.

5. What is your favorite course at Landon?

 My favorite course at Landon is probably Physics.

6.  What is  your favorite non-sports related activity (community work, art/music, paper, debate, poem, extracurricular activity, etc.)?

Either debate or the newspaper. They’re both a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.

7. What is your nickname and how did you get it?

My nickname is “Vinny,” and I don’t remember how I got it. I only get called Vinny at football, and I think it was started by Coach K.

8.  Describe yourself in 3 words?  How would your parents describe you in 3 words?

I am kind, honorable and hard-working. My parents describe me as smart, stubborn and responsible.

9. What’s on your iPod?

I have all kinds of music on my iPod, including Celtic music (like bagpipes).

10.  Tell us one thing (interesting) that your teammates do not know about you. 

My teammates don’t know that I was actually born here in Washington D.C. I moved when I was two weeks old to Japan, and then moved back to Maryland when I was two, before living in New Jersey for ten years and California for two. I then moved back here in tenth grade.

BEAT StA!!!

BEAR TRAX

From CavalierInside.com article entitled “Impact Freshmen”:

The shot blocker

Atkins, meanwhile, has also had a few of those kind of moments — but on the defensive end.

The 6-foot-8 forward out of the Landon School in Maryland has been a human pogo stick behind closed doors.

“He has those quick-twitch fibers, probably the quickest that we’ve had,” Bennett said.

Atkins, who has a 7-foot-1 wing span, has shown a knack for blocking shots in very quick succession.

“Darion is the best shot blocker on the team, hands down,” Brogdon said.

That’s high praise when you consider that senior Assane Sene averaged 1.7 blocks in ACC games last season, which ranked seventh in the league.

Atkins says swatting just comes naturally to him.

“I don’t know what it is,” he said. “Everyone says I have impeccable timing. When I’m in the zone with my shot blocking, I can block a lot of shots. I don’t even realize it sometimes.”

Atkins, though, is still adjusting to the nuances of Bennett’s “Pack-Line” defense. He says Virginia’s upperclassmen have been a big help in that regard.

“I never hedged on screens [in high school],” he said. “I always stayed in the post. It’s a bit of a transition, but they’ve done a great job of going through things with me after practice and making sure that I have it.

“On and off the court they’ve been a big help so far.”

Offensively, Atkins is still extremely raw. Right now, he says his role is “to be the guy that plays great defense, runs the floor, blocks shots, gets rebounds and plays very hard.”

“I just have to stay with what I’m good at and try not and go outside of my game,” he said.

BEAT StA!!!