The Irish started the season ranked as The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey team and were No. 3 in one state poll.

There are plenty of reasons to be impressed by the Irish, but they are being judged this season on what may not be the fairest of curves.

Camden Catholic is not in The Inquirer's South Jersey Top 10, yet the Irish are still judged on the standards accorded teams that are in this elite group.

Camden Catholic could join this group - it's 3-1 after last night's 28-6 win over host Holy Cross - yet the Irish have yet to impress the South Jersey football community.

The Irish led, 14-6, halftime and there is always the expectation that they should put away opponents by intermission.

Even after being upset, 14-9, in the season opener by Camden, there were still high expectations for the Irish. The only difference is the team's reading habits.

"We stopped reading the papers and the Internet," Camden Catholic coach Rick Brown said. "We read about how untouchable we were, and we started believing it, and South Jersey football is too good for that to happen."

There is a lot to like about the Irish, starting with Joe Brennan, a quarterback with an arm as strong some of the best quarterbacks in South Jersey history.

Last night the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Brennan was 6 for 18 for 143 yards and two touchdowns, and receivers dropped a few catchable passes.

Brennan said he wasn't worried about style points.

"I know I have a lot to work on, but you can't take winning for granted," Brennan said. "We said after losing to Camden that we didn't want to lose again, and that is our goal."

Brennan showed last night that he can throw the deep ball, the short pass and anything else required.

He is an elite player, and people tend to rank teams highly that have a highly regarded quarterback.

Another big-time prospect is tight end-defensive end Sherard Cadogan, whom Holy Cross had trouble blocking with one or more players.

Yet another player under the publicity radar has been Zach Sheard, a fullback-linebacker who scored on a 51-yard run and had a key interception and a big sack in the first half.

After leading, 14-6, at halftime, the Irish put the game away with two third-quarter touchdowns.

Brennan threw a short pass that Wayne Young turned into a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Later in the quarter, Brennan connected on a go pattern to Terrence Casper for a 29-yard touchdown.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Casper is one of the best receivers in South Jersey. He has speed to go deep and can outleap virtually any defensive back.

That's a difficult combination to stop.

Sophomore Michael Blandon, who rushed for 184 yards and a touchdown, adds to Camden Catholic's diversified offense. And the Irish showed class late in the game when they took a knee instead of going in for a final score.

"That was a great gesture on their part," Holy Cross coach Frank Holmes said.

So whether the Irish have turned the corner or not, they are doing something that is bound to help – ignoring what the public thinks, and just trying to improve. This is a team more worried about playing in December than how they look getting there.

Camden Catholic 8 6 14 0 - 28

Holy Cross 0 6 0 0 - 6

C: Zach Sheard 51 run (Sheard pass from Pete Galiano)

H: Kevin Miller 10 pass from Austin Stein (run failed)

C: Michael Blandon 4 run (kick failed)

C: Wayne Young 51 pass from Joe Brennan (Kyle Matis kick)

C: Terrence Casper 29 pass from Brennan (Matis kick)