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Payin' the Bills |
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Payin' the Bills |
NOV.
28
THANKSGIVING RIVALRY
Roman Catholic 41, Roxborough 12
As a
tribute to their limited preparation, the Roman Catholic Cahillites posted a 22-point
"three-phase" third quarter that propelled the them over a spirited Roxborough
Indians team in the 31st annual Thanksgiving Day game at a frozen Westerman Field. A strong holiday crowd withstood frigid conditions
to also see an impressive individual rushing effort by RB Dante Bryant, who finished the game with 182 yards
and both of the Indians' touchdowns. In the
end however, Bryant couldn't match a Cahillite rushing attack that generated 313 yards
from eight different runners, led by a 159-yard performance from Johnny Ortiz.
A defensive
struggle began the action, with each team refusing to give up the game's first score. After being forced to punt on their opening
series, Roman LB Joe Millie recovered a fumble at the Roxborough 38, only to watch Indian
LB Brandon Sutton (7 tackles) recover a botched
handoff exchange three plays into Roman's second series.
The middle of the Cahillite defense stiffened and, following a quarterback
sack by LB Sean Matthews (4 tackles, 1 for
loss, 1 sack), the Indians could only muster three yards and gave possession back to
Roman.
From the 19, Roman used their third series to unveil the power-running of RB Rob Deery.
On his first attempt of the game, he bulled through an excellent
running lane and arm tackles for 34 yards until Indians LB Anthony Harris (5 tackles) prevented a sure
touchdown when he caught Deery from behind. Deery
wouldn't be denied however, and he capped a near perfect 81-yard clinic on power running
with a seven-yard touchdown run to give the Cahillites a 6-0 lead.
Roman DB Mike Gavin made things tougher
for Roxborough when he snuffed out an attempted reverse on the ensuing kickoff, leaving
them to start from their 16-yard line. The
Cahillite defense then began to close the outside running lanes, prevented each of the
Indians' three running backs from netting a single offensive yard and set up the type of
punt return that can quickly shift momentum. Roman
WR/K John Pendergast came close when he took
the punt from his own 43 and ended up just 25 yards from the Roxborough goal line. Following an Ortiz 20-yard run, Roxborough-native
RB Andy Amaro used his first chance of the game
to deliver a touchdown from five yards out, doubling the Cahillite advantage.
Indians DB/KR Tyree Wyche, who filled in
admirably as starting quarterback for the game, took the ensuing kickoff, went though a
small crease on the left side and raced 51 yards to match the Roman punt return. On their first play of the series though, an
errant lateral from Wyche to Bryant was knocked down by Bryant, but in the scramble over
the free ball, Roman came up with it and ended Roxborough's first real scoring chance of
the game. Consecutive tackles for losses by
LB Kyle Earls (8 tackles) then forced Roman to
punt, but Roxborough mishandled the return and gave possession right back to Roman. Determined to get the Indians offense back on the
field, Earls forced and recovered a fumble on Roman's first play from scrimmage. A tackle for a loss on fourth-and-three by Roman
DL Kevin Cahill (4 tackles) and an
interception by Roxborough CB Andrew Stridiron,
(team leader in INT's) prevented further scoring before halftime.
Playing inspired football to begin the second half, Roxborough used a third down
pass to move near midfield, where Bryant then slid through a brief opening on the left
side, turned on an exceptional display of acceleration and bolted 53 yards to cut the
Roman lead in half. The Cahillites
countered decisively when Ortiz followed a 12-yard run to within a yard of where Bryant's
touchdown run began. Using a massive hole
formed between the left guard and tackle, Ortiz broke into the secondary, made his moves,
dashed into end zone and scored on the conversion to give Roman a 20-6 lead.
A test of will would dictate what would be Roxborough's last chance to stay close. By varying their snap count, the Indians forced a
pair of offside penalties to move them into Roman territory, but consecutive false-start
penalties of their own, took Roxborough out of a third-and-one situation. Roman DL/OL John Odom seemed to wrestle the game, along with
spirit, from Roxborough with the subsequent third down tackle for a loss. Cahill then came
up big again when he blocked the ensuing Roxborough punt, picked up the loose ball and set
Deery up with another seven-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. As a final compliment to their coach, Ortiz (tied
team lead for INT's) and DB Tim Breslin each
intercepted Roxborough passes, which were turned into touchdown runs by Pete Cupo and Ortiz. On the third play of a six play final scoring
drive for Roman, Ortiz ran 28 yards and became one of seven Catholic League players to run
for over 1000 yards for the 2002 season.
The Roman offensive line of Guinter,
Grimmie, Suplick, Sugden and DeMalto had
much to do with the difference in this game and would be a welcomed sight for a Roxborough
team, who through no fault of their own have lacked such talent this season. However, Roman's vivid demonstration of sound
fundamentals and an unwavering work ethic at all three phases of the game went a long way
towards determining the outcome of a crucial third quarter and the game.
Cahillites Charron Fisher led the team with 8
tackles.
NOV.
21
NON-LEAGUE
Roxborough 26, Southern 6
Winning is not a sometime
thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right
once in a while--you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
-Vince Lombardi
Behind season
high rushing performances by Brandon Sutton and
Dante Bryant, the Roxborough Indians
prevailed over the Southern High Rams in a contest that featured two of the most
frequently defeated teams this season. In
addition to breaking an eight-game losing streak--the longest in recent history--the
victory will prevent the Indians from ending the season in a possible tie for Public
League's worst overall record regardless of the result in the upcoming Thanksgiving game
against Roman Catholic.
Bryant's return to
action, after spending the last two games on the injured list, had an immediate impact on
the Indians first offensive series. Averaging
five yards per attempt, his fifth one gave the Indians a first and goal at the three
where, on the next play, RB Kyle Earls ran
through the middle of the Southern line to post his first career touchdown and an Indians
6-0 lead. Southern began their first series
with a 21-yard run by RB/QB Mark Lee, but the
Roxborough defense grabbed control four plays later when LB Andrew Hicks recovered an errant
center/quarterback exchange near midfield. Using
an effective assortment of pitches and screen passes, Indians head coach Cliff Hubbard called on Sutton from 17 yards out
and he delivered around right end to double the advantage.
Although they stopped Southern on the ensuing series, Roxborough's offense lost some
discipline and yardage, forcing them to punt from deep in their own territory. The
Roxborough special teams failed to pick up the tempo and Southern's sole offensive threat
of the day, Mark Lee, took the punt, tricked the special teams into the middle of the
field and then raced 48 yards down the right sideline to slice the Roxborough lead in
half. Sutton recovered a Southern fumble with
less than a minute before halftime to avoid further damage.
The Rams opened the second half with a "four-down territory" approach and
succeeded twice as RB Darrell Horton ran for 10
yards on a fourth and one and, Lee passed to WR Steven
Rudd on a fourth and three to move the Rams 23 yards away from a tie game. A sack by Indians DE William Tolson on the next third down play created
fourth down too far for Southern to convert. The
Indians offense then put together a 13-play drive, which was highlighted by a 26-yard pass
run from QB Karon Hill to Sutton and ended with
a 6-yard touchdown run by Bryant, who finished the afternoon with 102 yards rushing.
Any chances of a Southern comeback were halted by the defensive effort of Roxborough LB Ed Fairfax when he forced, and promptly recovered,
a Rams fumble during the next series. A
couple of plays later, Sutton used his seventh rushing attempt to run around the left end
for 35 yards and complete the scoring with his second touchdown, raising his lofty yards
per attempt average to 13 for the afternoon.
Roxborough C/LB Terrell Ford represented his
recent "All Public League Team" honor well with a crushing hit on the second
half kickoff and a pair of late-game tackles for losses.
An interception by Indians DB Andrew
Stridiron ended the final scoring threat for Southern.
NOV.
14
PUBLIC LEAGUE
King 32, Roxborough 16
After getting manhandled
by playoff-bound teams lately, Roxborough went through warm-ups this week more confident,
but were eventually out-dueled by a King squad that made up for the difference in size and
strength to that of a Frankford or Central with simple teamwork and execution. Paced by the fine play of the offensive line that
turned quarterback sneaks into four-yard rugby scrums, the Cougars piled up 228 total
rushing yards and gave senior RB Kenneth Barnes
all the confidence he needed for a three touchdown/198 all-purpose-yard game. Barnes' first three-touchdown game (which may earn
him his first-ever tedsilary.com "player of the week" honor) seemed to set the
tone for an afternoon of first-timers.
For the first
time in weeks, Roxborough had some early momentum when WR/DB Jamal Womack took his first career interception 50
yards for his first touchdown. Barnes then
grabbed the ensuing kickoff and showed how quickly momentum can change as he dashed
through the Indians special teams untouched for an 81-yarder to even the score. After
that, everything seemed to be an uphill battle for the Indians as dropped passes plagued
them repeatedly. The Cougars followed up
Barnes' return with an 11-play drive that ended with senior RB Roland Penn getting his first career touchdown
that wouldn't have happened had QB Dion
Whittington's 23-yard scoring run the play before not been negated by penalty. More importantly though, his "this is my
first touchdown" declaration, spared me the time of having to look it up--thanks and
congrats!!
Excellent
concentration by Indians RB Jared Davenport
produced his first career touchdown pass and the first 100-yard passing game for QB Karon Hill (7-15-125), who showed that, given more
than a millisecond to setup and throw, he can move the Indians offense through the air. Had a few more of his earlier passes been caught,
the final score probably would've favored them more.
Despite falling on a pair of late-game fumbles, any last second Roxborough heroics
were put to rest when King DE Quinn Peterson recorded
consecutive blind-side sacks, causing 14 yards in losses and the clock to expire. King DT Kyle
Patillo also added a pair of sacks earlier in game, one a drive stopper.
NOV.
8
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Germantown 45, Olney 0
With
the playoffs now out of reach for Germantown, some of the seniors and underclassmen that
had seen limited action prior to the last week's tough defeat against Central were given
an opportunity to put up some numbers. Any
chances of a letdown from last week were erased as the Bears posted their highest single
game point total of 2002, and added a defensive effort that held Olney to 130 yards of
total offense, including 12 plays that resulted in a loss of yardage or no gain. Junior RB Marcus
Walton (9-100) seemed especially ready and rambled 40 yards on the second play of the
game--a strong overall showing for a player who was brought up from the JV roster earlier
in the season. Despite his size (5'6"
145), he's quickly learning how to make people miss and, with the return of Omar McDonnaugh next season, gives head coach Mike Hawkins an excellent combination of power
and speed in 2003. Likewise,
senior RB Taurean Filmore gained 13 of his 38
rushing yards in scoring the first two touchdowns and added a five-yard reception from QB Ryan Graves (3-4, 57 yards) for the fourth
touchdown. Perhaps the biggest thrill of the
afternoon went to young Don Williford. When a blocked Olney punt went straight up in the
air, the sophomore snatched the ball up, broke a couple of tackles, managed to stay
inbounds with an Olney defender pulling at his jersey and scored the first touchdown of
his short high school career--many happy returns Don !!
G-town Senior RB Anthony Smith
almost added to the scoring with an exciting 45-yard punt return, but a penalty brought
the ball back. Senior RB David Roberson, who had a first quarter
interception, hit pay dirt six plays later to
complete the G-town scoring.
One of the few
bright spots for Olney was the play of RB Platini
Michel, who after a tough start to the game, accounted for just over half of the Olney
offensive output with 40 yards rushing and a nice 27-yard catch out-jumping his defender. He also added an interception on defense.
With
the playoffs now out of reach for Germantown, some of the seniors and underclassmen that
had seen limited action prior to the last week's tough defeat against Central were given
an opportunity to put up some numbers. Any
chances of a letdown from last week were erased as the Bears posted their highest single
game point total of 2002, and added a defensive effort that held Olney to 130 yards of
total offense, including 12 plays that resulted in a loss of yardage or no gain. Junior RB Marcus
Walton (9-100) seemed especially ready and rambled 40 yards on the second play of the
game--a strong overall showing for a player who was brought up from the JV roster earlier
in the season. Despite his size (5'6"
145), he's quickly learning how to make people miss and, with the return of Omar McDonnaugh next season, gives head coach Mike Hawkins an excellent combination of power
and speed in 2003. Likewise,
senior RB Taurean Filmore gained 13 of his 38
rushing yards in scoring the first two touchdowns and added a five-yard reception from QB Ryan Graves (3-4, 57 yards) for the fourth
touchdown. Perhaps the biggest thrill of the
afternoon went to young RB Don Williford. When a blocked Olney punt went straight up in the
air, the sophomore snatched the ball up, broke a couple of tackles, managed to stay
inbounds with an Olney defender pulling at his jersey and scored the first touchdown of
his short high school career--many happy returns Don !!
G-town Senior RB Anthony Smith
almost added to the scoring with an exciting 45-yard punt return, but a penalty brought
the ball back. Senior RB David Roberson, who had a first quarter
interception, hit pay dirt six plays later to
complete the G-town scoring.
One of the few
bright spots for Olney was the play of RB Platini
Michel, who after a tough start to the game, accounted for just over half of the Olney
offensive output with 40 yards rushing and a nice 27-yard catch out-jumping his defender. He also added an interception on defense.