We have all heard of interhall football here at Notre Dame. We know that ND has one of the only full contact interhall leagues in the country. We have followed the story of David Ruffer, the Notre Dame kicker was plucked from the interhall fields two years ago by Charlie Weis and is perfect as the Irish starting kicker this year.
But how good is the competition in the league, really?
Dillon freshman quarterback Kevin Fink is finding out quickly that interhall is more than your average recreational league.
Fink is no stranger to good football. He was a two-year starter in high school, and as a senior at Milwaukee Marquette in Milwaukee, Wis., he led the Hilltoppers to a perfect 14-0 season that cumulated in a state championship. After conquering the high-school gridiron, Fink grabbed his cleats and headed south to Indiana to take his game to the next level.
"I chose Notre Dame for its academics, atmosphere and the fierce interhall football competition," Fink said.
But before Fink could hit the field, he had to hit the books — the playbook, that is. Luckily for Fink, it didn't take long for him to pick up Dillon's offense.
"The Dillon offensive scheme is less demanding then my high school's, but the foundation tries to expose the same weaknesses in defenses that a high school's offense would," Fink said. "The biggest offensive challenge I have found so far has actually been getting used to my new receivers, which is a challenge especially with the limited amount of practice time that we have."
That's not to say Fink isn't making plays on the field. On Sunday he led Dillon to a victory over O'Neil, going 7-for-10 in passing for 217 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He found the O'Neil defense to be a fun challenge.
"O'Neil impressed me, especially the speed of their secondary," Fink said. "They were more disciplined than I thought an interhall defense would be."
As far as talent goes, Fink said that so far he has seen more talented teams deep on the road to the title back home in Milwaukee, but he believes most interhall teams could compete with an average Wisconsin high school football team.
