By Ed Piper
Just a thought, sitting in front of my keyboard: What will La Jolla do next year without Aidan McGill?
"Carolina", as his teammates call him--"'Lina" more commonly, as they shorten it--has already been, and is, the steady rock that, first, QB Jackson Diehl last year, and Hudson Smith this year, have relied upon to keep the offense moving, even when it's bogged down in the morass of lack of momentum or sheer defensive opposition.
Think back to Scripps Ranch three weeks ago. The Falcons, in their Homecoming, got the opening kick and never stopped rolling as running back Ryan Stadtherr and their quarterback kept things moving.
On the other side, La Jolla coach Tyler Roach's attack just could not get things going consistently. It was start, stop, outlet pass.
Meanwhile, Smith would hand off to McGill, the "human bowling ball", for a few more yards, when passes didn't connect, when jet sweeps got unswept.
"'Lina" has provided that engine grease that keeps the parts moving so many times last year, when he was named Second Team All-Eastern League, and into this year.
D.J. Walcott, the coach at Francis Parker, mentioned Aidan before the game Oct. 18. He's the rock that keeps rolling, and the Lancers feared him. They couldn't stop him. As he got up-and-running, the rest of the offense around him caught momentum and took off, lending itself to young Aiden Farrell running well, Kai Fukuda catching passes well, and the entire machine stormed through poor Parker at its own Homecoming.
I'd compare it to baseball. When no one is hitting, you still have the one thing that you can go to.
McGill is that one thing that keeps on moving.
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