Moeller running back Keith Watkins rushed 18 times for 117 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter when his team opened up a 28-0 lead en route to a 35-14 win over Gilman (Md.) in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.
Photo by Wayne Litmer
The
Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown – the nation's largest and longest-running high school football showcase – boasted 42 teams and 21 games over a 10-day stretch. Most of those days featured close, compelling, down-to-the-wire, no-way-that-just-happened moments.
Sunday was not one of those days.
Yes, four of the top teams in America closed out the showcase on Sunday in games that were supposed to be tight throughout. Instead, both were over by halftime.
How bad was it? The combined halftime score was 47-0.
Moeller quarterback Spencer Iacovone
accounted for four touchdowns.
Photo by Wayne Litmer
In the end,
University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) dismantled Trotwood-Madison 33-14, and
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) defeated
Gilman (Baltimore) 35-14 in games that were played at Kings High School in Kings Mills, Ohio, and aired on national television.
Skai Moore stole the show for University, blocking a first-quarter punt that was recovered in the end zone and taking a fourth-quarter interception 41 yards to the house to hold surging Trotwood at bay. The blocked punt broke a scoreless stalemate, and the interception made it 26-7 with roughly 6 minutes remaining.
University outgained Trotwood 226-81 in the first half, including 125-1 in rushing. Trotwood punted on its first seven possessions and didn't record a third-down conversion until 15 seconds remained in the half.
And then there was
Jordan Scarlett. The University sophomore, who averaged more than 10 yards per carry as a freshman, rushed 10 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. He accounted for all 60 yards (53 rushing, seven receiving) on University's first offensive touchdown drive, which gave the Suns a 13-0 lead, and his 22-yard touchdown scamper on 4th-and-1 sent University into the locker room up 19-0.
Trotwood, the defending Ohio Division II state champion, returned 14 starters – including nine on defense – and entered the contest a winner of 15 straight and 24 of 25.
The Rams, however, looked shaky throughout. Several botched snaps and encroachment penalties, including one on 4th-and-2 that gave University a first down, were too much to overcome. The Rams played with energy in the third quarter – and actually outgained University 100-22 in that period – but could only turn a blocked punt and two fumble recoveries into seven points.
Trotwood senior defensive back and kick returner
Cameron Burrows, an Ohio State recruit, was held in check for much of the game, though he did have a nice pass break-up.
Michigan State-bound Shane Jones
of Moeller.
Photo by Wayne Litmer
The second game, meanwhile, unfolded much like the first: a dominant first half by one team, a spirited third quarter by the other, and a fourth-quarter squashing of rebellions by the eventual victor.
Moeller senior quarterback
Spencer Iacovone, who will play baseball for Marshall, accounted for four Crusader touchdowns – two on the ground, two through the air – to lead the top-ranked team in Cincinnati to the win. He rushed nine times for 33 yards and was 12-for-21 passing for 156 yards, including a 31-yard strike to
Max Foley in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring and halt Gilman's comeback.
After the game, Moeller coach John Rodenberg praised Iacovone's toughness, grit and desire to win.
Moeller also got a stellar performance from senior running back
Keith Watkins, who rushed 18 times for 117 yards and a score. His 4-yard touchdown run with 9:05 remaining in the second quarter came after a blocked punt and gave Moeller a 14-0 lead.
Shane Cockerille accounted for all but
29 yards of his team's offense.
Photo by Wayne Litmer
As for Gilman, senior quarterback
Shane Cockerille accounted for 217 of his team's 246 yards. The Maryland recruit rushed 25 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including scores of 7 and 37 yards that brought Gilman within 28-14 in the third quarter. He was also 7 of 16 passing for 58 yards.
Defensively, Gilman's
Micah Kiser, a Virginia recruit, had a dozen tackles and forced a fumble, and Moeller's
Shane Jones, a Michigan State recruit, recovered one.
It was a strong season-opening statement for Moeller, which returned 13 starters from a team that started last year 7-0 before losing four of six. The Crusaders' win over Gilman gave the Greater Catholic League South Division a 3-1 record in the Showdown.
Tony Meale, author of the book 'The Chosen Ones: The Team That Beat
LeBron,' is a freelance writer and MaxPreps.com contributor. He may be
reached at tony.meale@gmail.com
