Hall picks right time for breakout game
Harry Hall picked a good time to have a breakout game.
In last week's Colonial League battle between undefeated teams, the Northwestern junior gashed Saucon Valley for 237 yards rushing and two touchdowns, helping the Tigers secure a convincing 39-14 victory over the Panthers.The win kept Northwestern undefeated at 5-0 and also helped Hall earn Times News Player of the Week honors, a distinction he was quick to thank his team for."It really means a lot," said Hall, who also won the award following a similar performance after the final week of the regular season last year."I think our linemen did a lot to help me earn this. It really is as much theirs as it is mine with the size holes they were opening all night."And our fullback, Dylan Snyder, did a great job on their (Saucon Valley's) defensive ends, which allowed me to get downfield. It was a team effort that helped me do this."But as Northwestern coach Josh Snyder pointed out, it was Hall that ultimately made the most of the opportunity."He's been very patient," Snyder said of Hall, who has 749 yards rushing and eight touchdowns on 88 attempts this season. "We've really not needed him to carry a big load for the offense this year. That was the first time through the first five games that he carried the ball more than 15 times."It's just a testament to our defense and our special teams giving us the ball in great field position and other guys sharing the load. It's been a luxury for us to not have to rely on him so much."Part of the reason the Tigers haven't had to lean on Hall so much is because they've outscored opponents 198-29, which has allowed Snyder to rotate through several players in what has been a highly productive backfield."He was fresh for the game," Snyder said. "He was excited to get a lot of carries and I told him beforehand that he was going to get the ball, and he was ready and willing to do whatever we needed him to do."Obviously, he's a special football player and we're excited for him."While Hall leads the team in rushing, he is not the Tigers' leader when it comes to scoring. That's an honor that belongs to Cam Richardson, who has nine total scores to Hall's eight.In last Friday's win over Saucon Valley, Richardson managed to score three times in three different ways, recording passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns.Not having to always be the focal point of the offense is something that Hall is certainly grateful for."For me personally, I think it's a great advantage to have guys like that," Hall noted. "If the run isn't working, we can just pass it and get it to them on the outside, where they make great plays."Cam (Richardson) is a big play kinda guy. He does really well all-around, which makes defenses have to spread out and not put so many guys in the box and gives me space to run."The options also give Snyder and his coaches plenty to work with on a weekly basis."We have about four or five guys that we try to get the ball to at least five times a game," Snyder said. "It's a good problem to have when it comes to how to share the workload."And it's clear that Hall will support the game plan whether he's the focus or not."Harry's very unselfish in that regard," Snyder said. "He doesn't care if he doesn't score; as long as the team's doing well, he's having fun. He's very unselfish in that way and he's genuinely excited to see his teammates do well."And our linemen love when Harry carries the ball, and the other guys like blocking for him in open space because they know that if the defense starts loading up the box to stop him, then they're going to get more touches. It works hand-in-hand, and it's a nice situation to be in as an offensive coach."