Bishop Dwenger had its streak of six consecutive seasons with 10-plus victories snapped last year, going an un-Saints like 7-6.
The Pig worries that Coach Chris Svarczkopf's team could be in for a similar campaign in 2012.
As usual, the coaching and discipline is there, but what is missing from Bishop Dwenger is size. Those familiar with the Saints starting huge linemen in the trenches and physical specimens at linebacker and wide receiver will have a hard time finding those kinds of players on this year's Saints roster. The talent is there, as it always is on Dwenger, but the size differential Friday between the Saints and Bishop Luers was considerable.
Adding to that, the Saints may be dipping deep into its talent pool at quarterback for week 1 against South Side.
Junior Mike Fiacable was expected to be the Saints' starting quarterback next Friday, but was relegated to crutches on the sideline of Friday's scrimmage at Saint Francis after tearing his ACL earlier in training camp.
Midway through the scrimmage, Fiacable got some company on the injured list when John Kelty appeared to severely hurt his ankle and was helped off the field.
Kelty and Fiacable watched side-by-side as third-stringer Cody Miller finished up the practice. A sophomore, Miller looks undersized at 5-foot-9 but threw a good ball, including a touchdown pass while rolling out on the final play of the scrimmage.
“Cody was injured on our first day of practice (and) was out for almost all of two-a-days,” Svarczkopf said. “For somebody that hasn't played quarterback since freshman year, and didn't have any action in two-a-days, he did a pretty nice job.”
Svarczkopf never gives the impression of panic or uncertainty, but he has to be wondering about his quarterback situation. He and his coaching staff will put Miller, if he does have to play for a significant amount of time, in the best situation to succeed. That will mean running back D'Marcus Moon and tight end Ryan Watercutter will need to step up even more.
Even without the quarterback carousel, The Pig sees another season in which the Saints have difficulty matching up with bigger and stronger teams. Most years, Bishop Dwenger is as big and as strong as many if not all of its opponents, but not in 2011 and 2012 could be more of the same.
The positive thing for the Saints is the schedule, which should give Miller time to settle in against South Side next week and Concordia in week 2. But what follows is brutal, beginning with North Side and upstart Northrop, followed by at Cathedral. After a visit to Wayne, the Saints end the regular season with Chatard, Snider and Bishop Luers.
Svarczkopf has proven he is one of the best coaches in Indiana, and he has had to deal with less. The Pig just does not know if Dwenger has the horses to get back into SAC title contention.
Of course, The Pig has been known to make mistakes from time to time.
