‘Baro’ breaks it down

By John Baranowsky, athletic correspondent
Posted on October 25, 2007

A week after the close call at Northeastern, my fellow Dukes and I were ready to redeem ourselves and take it out on Rhode Island. They ran a different type of offense, the option, which is always tough to prepare for as a defensive player.

As a defensive lineman I knew that most of the blocks I would be getting would be cut blocks, which is by far the cheapest way to block someone. But I just used the cut block as extra motivation to mash some URI linemen into the ground. As a defense we played pretty well against URI, with the exception of a few big plays and some dumb penalties.

On the offensive side of the ball we knew that the Rams had an average D-line and tried to exploit that from the very beginning. The running attack worked very well against URI and helped to set up some deep shots down the field, which also paid off.

I think the most improved aspect of our entire team was our kickoff coverage. Those guys flew down the field and really helped to pin URI’s offense back deep in their own territory. All in all it was another key win for us and I could not have been happier.

And before I go, I have to thank the entire front row of URI fans. Your screaming comments about my “make-up” and how I should stop “wearing mascara and eye liner” really gave me the extra edge I needed to overcome my game-day sickness to pound your team into submission.