No. 5 DeMatha pulls away from rival Gonzaga for 23-13 win

Video: No. 5 DeMatha @ Gonzaga
View images by photographer Al Connor from this WCAC showdown in Washington, D.C.

DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) keeps finding ways to outlast determined WCAC opponents.

Just two weeks after narrowly beating St. John's by a point at home, No. 5 DeMatha went on the road Saturday afternoon and held off stubborn Gonzaga (Washington, D.C) 23-13 at Buchanan Field.

The win by DeMatha (8-0, 4-0) was its 13th in a row, a streak that started one year ago following a 10-point regular-season upset loss to Gonzaga.The Stags went on to win their third consecutive WCAC championship with playoff victories against St. John's and Good Counsel.

Gonzaga, which had its five game winning streak stopped, falls to 5-2, 2-1.

With the score tied at 3-3 entering the third quarter, DeMatha took control of the game with its running attack, spearheaded by Khory Spruill and Myles Miree. Two long scoring drives by DeMatha ate up much of the clock in a third quarter, while another drive that came up empty still helped shortened the game.

Beau English threw a 10-yard scoring strike to Delante Hellams with 7:27 left in the third, breaking the deadlock and giving DeMatha a 9-3 lead.

Marco Kemp's second field goal of the game, a 42-yarder, pulled Gonzaga to within 9-6 but Spruill's 14-yard run off an inside counter increased the Stags advantage to 16-6 with 2:06 remaining in the period.

Gonzaga survived yet another time-consuming drive by DeMatha before pulling to within 16-13 with 4:41 left in regulation on a Sam Brown to Max Fisher 11-yard pass.

A QB sneak by English with 68 seconds left closed out the scoring, capping an impressive 60-yard drive.

Spruill and Miree combined for 216 yards rushing and one touchdown. Hellams added 11 catches for 70 yards and one score.

DeMatha Archbishop Carroll (Washington) next weekend. Gonzaga has a date with Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), the team that knocked it out of the 2015 WCAC playoffs in the semifinal round.