It was perhaps the most anticipated quarterback debut in the country in recent history Friday night when
David Sills stepped under center for his
Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) team and called out the signals for what should be the first of many, many times in his high school career.
Red Lion Christian Academy quarterback David Sills.
Photo courtesy of Sylvia Carlson
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound eighth-grader made national headlines when he accepted a non-binding scholarship offer from Southern Cal earlier this year. And with an ESPN television crew on the Bear campus all week and at the game Friday night, those headlines proved just to be the first of many.
Sills completed 10 of 14 passes for 163 yards in leading the Lions to an easy 35-9 win over Smyrna in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
"I thought David played very well for his first game," Red Lion coach Eric Day said in a text message the morning after the game. "It was obvious he was nervous in the first series but he settled down and played a very solid game. He managed to make at least three third-down completions and one fourth-down completion to keep drives alive."
Sills didn't throw a touchdown in his rookie appearance. Instead, the Lions were carried to victory by senior running back
Jhurell Pressley (157 yards, 2 touchdowns) and sophomore
Wendell Smallwood (103 yards, three touchdowns).
"We were able to establish a solid running game which took the pressure off of David," Day added.
2. Oscar Smith returns east, picks up first win: After opening its season with a loss to Pickerington Central (Ohio) in the Kirk Herbstreit Classic in Ohio, the
Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) Tigers returned home and captured their 29th consecutive Southeastern District win with a 35-3 romp over Indian River.
Junior quarterback Jaylian Williamson completed 13 of 20 passes for 359 yards and two touchdowns, including a 69-yard pass to junior running back J.C. Coleman, who also scored on runs of 4 and 10 yards.
Coleman finished with 65 yards on 11 carries and caught three passes for 83 yards.
3. DeMatha survives scare: Perhaps looking ahead to next week's showdown with nationally-ranked Gilman, the
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) Staggs found themselves trailing early in the fourth quarter and needed two touchdown runs of 18 and 6 yards by senior running back Jacob Siwicki to complete a come-from-behind 35-32 win over
Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.).
Trailing 20-12 at the half, Friendship Collegiate (2-1) scored three third-quarter touchdowns to take the lead before the Staggs rallied.
DeMatha senior kicker Michael Branthover connected on field goals of 27 and 49 yards, and Siwicki finished with 54 yards on 10 carries. DeMatha (1-1) plays Gilman (2-1) Saturday at 8 p.m. at Towson University.
4. Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) humbles Gilman: Gilman (Baltimore) knew it would have its hands full facing defending national champion — as ranked by the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and several other national polls —
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) Friday night at Morgan State University. And sure enough, shortly after the team bus pulled into the parking lot, running back Paul Canaveri drove through open holes, rushing for 321 yards on 22 carries and scoring three touchdowns to lead Don Bosco to an easy 33-6 win over Gilman.
Gilman (2-1), which came into the game ranked No. 23 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard and was fresh off its upset win over Our Lady of Good Counsel, was led by quarterback
Darius Jennings (24 carries, 105 yards).
"You play like you practice, and we didn't have a great practice on Wednesday. It showed today," Jennings told The Baltimore Sun. "They definitely handled us up front. They played better than we did and outsmarted us. They just wanted it more.
"We just have to regroup as a team and be ready to play [DeMatha] next week."
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK* Frank Braham, junior,
Delmar (Del.): Rushed for 170 yards and five touchdowns in his team's 55-12 win over C.M. Wright (Md.).
* Taylor Reynolds, junior,
Newark (Del.): Passed (340 yards) and rushed (80) for 420 total yards and had four touchdowns (two passing and two rushing) in the Yellowjackets' 36-29 loss to Concord.
*
Nick Rosati, senior,
Arundel (Gambrills, Md.): Completed 17 of 21 passes for 214 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 52-6 win over Severna Park.
*
DeAndre Reaves, senior
Dominion (Sterling, Va.): Rushed for 205 yards and six touchdowns on 10 carries and also returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score in a 54-20 win over Wakefield.
GAME TO WATCH* DeMatha and Gilman square off Saturday at 8 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the Towson University campus.
THE BUZZ
Casting a shadow over Sills' Red Lion Christian debut is the fact the school remains under investigation by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association for a variety of alleged violations. Kevin Charles, executive director of the DIAA, stated in an e-mail Monday that he could not comment on the situation at this time.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
