Patriot Classic: Good Counsel defensive stand thwarts Gilman

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Saturday night on the outskirts of Navy-Marine Corps Stadium the mood was somewhat solemn on the campus of the United States Naval Academy as cadets joined millions of Americans honoring the memories of those affected by the tragic events that took place 10 years ago on Sept. 11.

Inside the stadium, the song "We're coming to America" boomed over the public address system as the Gilman (Baltimore) Greyhounds marched onto the field in cadence carrying the American flag.

The scene was set for two national powers to do battle on the gridiron in the feature game of the inaugural Patriot Classic, an event put together for the sole purpose of honoring the victims and heroes of 9-11.

Gilman, fresh off a big win in its season opener over Virginia powerhouse Oscar Smith, and Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), with its own impressive overtime victory over Manatee (Fla.), squared off under the lights in arguably the biggest game in the country this weekend.



It was a game involving two of the most prized recruits in this year's class – Gilman's Cyrus Jones and Good Counsel's Stefon Diggs.

It was a contest pitting the nation's No. 13 team - Gilman - and No. 15 Good Counsel.

On paper it had all the makings of the perfect matchup. On the field, it was exactly that.

It took a fourth-down stand by the Good Counsel defense on its own 6-yard line late in the fourth quarter to secure a thrilling 26-21 win over Gilman.

"Well, you know, we beat a really, really good football team," an exasperated Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy said. "It's so exciting I haven't gotten my thoughts collected. We went over there last year and they kicked our brains in and I think our kids remembered that. We didn't play so great but found a way to win."

Good Counsel's night started out perfectly. The Falcons marched right down the field on their first possession, covering 74 yards on eight plays, capped by a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brendan Marshall to Drew Stefanelli to post a 7-0 lead. Marshall finished the night completing eight of 17 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.



The teams then exchanged two punts and on Good Counsel's second, Jones returned it 18 yards to the Falcons' 21-yard line. Four plays later, junior quarterback Shane Cockerille (8-for-11, 82 yards and two TDs) found junior Micah Kiser wide open up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown. Trevor Wey's extra point knotted the score at seven with 2:59 remaining in the first half.

Good Counsel wasted no time marching right back down the field. But on second-and-goal on the 2-yard line with time running out in the first half, a direct snap to Diggs was fumbled back to the 16-yard line. A 33-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Corriere sailed left as time expired. However, a roughing-the-kicker penalty on Gilman, followed by an offsides penalty on the defense, gave Corriere a second chance. The senior took advantage, converting from 23 yards out to give the Falcons a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room at the half.

And then it got exciting…

Good Counsel came out of the locker room and, starting on its own 20-yard line, the Falcons needed just seven plays to get into the end zone. A 39-yard pass from Marshall to junior wide receiver Kendall Fuller set up senior running back Wes Brown's 7-yard sweep around the right for a touchdown at the 9:18 mark of the third quarter.

"I saw it and I hit the hole hard all day and that's what my mind was prepared to do, to hit the hole," an elated Brown, who carried the ball 14 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns, said after the game.

Despite the quick score, the Greyhounds struck right back. Cockerille finished off an eight-play, 69-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to pull Gilman within a field goal, 17-14, with 5:01 left in the third quarter.



Gilman's defense forced Good Counsel to a three-and-out, and on the Greyhounds' first play from scrimmage following the punt, Cockerille hit a wide open Jones streaking down the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown. Wey's extra point gave Gilman its first lead, 21-17.

After forcing another Good Counsel punt, it appeared all the momentum was on Gilman's side. However, on first-and-10 on their own 20-yard line, a botched snap bounced into the end zone and Cockerille was forced to kick it into the tunnel for a safety as time expired in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 21-19.

Gilman punted on its next possession and after a 31-yard reception by Diggs, Brown scampered 40 yards untouched around the left end for a 40-yard touchdown. Corriere's extra point gave the lead back to Good Counsel, 26-21.

Diggs, who is mulling scholarship offers from just about every major college program in the country, had a relatively quiet night finishing with two catches for 39 yards and four carries for 23 yards.

"I don't give the credit to me," Diggs said. "We got a lot of playmakers on our team. It's not just me. We had a monkey on our back and we were the underdog. We lost last year so we had to come out and prove ourselves."

And prove themselves the Falcons did. Yet, despite the Greyhounds' loss, perhaps it was Jones (eight carries for 41 yards and six catches for 81 yards and a TD) who summed it up best a few days before the game when he said, "The best thing we can do is play our hardest for those who were killed [on 9-11], and the families and friends they left behind."



And play hard they did. Mornhinweg, St. Joseph's Prep impressive (continue reading){PAGEBREAK}ST. JOSEPH'S PREP WINS BEHIND LAVELLE, MORNHINWEG

Ignoring boisterous chants from the Gonzaga student section, St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) senior quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg completed a 51-yard pass on the Hawks' first play from scrimmage to set up a 10-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Vincent Moffett.

"We just game-planned the heck out of it and the coaches did a great job knowing what plays to call," said Mornhinweg, who verbally committed to Penn State earlier in the year.
But despite how easy that first drive looked, the 41-14 win by St. Joe's over Gonzaga wasn't decided until late in the third quarter when junior running back Joe LaValle carried several tacklers into the end zone to score on a 10-yard touchdown run.

"That run is what put [the game] away," said LaValle, who also tacked on a 10-yard touchdown run with 8:47 left in the game. "That's when they started breaking down. I give [all the credit] to my line."

A muffed Gonzaga punt covered in the end zone by junior linebacker Todd Jones gave St. Joe's a 13-0 lead with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter, and it appeared the game was slowly slipping away from the Eagles.

But after being held scoreless on their next three possessions, Gonzaga junior quarterback Connor Ennis and junior wide receiver Paris Person hooked up for a 23-yard touchdown. The extra point failed but the Eagles had pulled to within 13-7.



Mornhinweg, who is the son of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, didn't let two first-half interceptions slow him down. Instead, he led the Hawks on a 44-yard scoring drive, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Eric Medes to give the Hawks a 21-7 lead at the half. It was the drive that would prove to be the game-winner.

"We knew it wasn't important and we knew we needed to get a score in the first half," said Mornhinweg, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. "I relied on my teammates and they picked me up and we got in the end zone."

Despite the late first-half score, St. Joe's coach Gabe Infante reinforced to his players in the locker room that the game wasn't over yet.

"If Gonzaga has shown anything over the past couple weeks and the past year under coach [Aaron] Brady, who does a tremendous job, it's that those kids play hard and are going to play for four quarters," Infante said. "I told this team that if we are going to win this game, we were going to have to come out after halftime and the score would be 0-0 and we had to play a second half as if it was the first part of the game all over again. And our kids did that."

Medes picked off a pass from his linebacker position and returned it 39 yards for the score to give the Hawks their final margin of victory with 5:44 left in the game.

"Playing in this atmosphere was just amazing," Medes said as he knelt in the end zone after the game. "We prepare so much. We practice over three hours a day. It's all worth it."



Red Lion Christian routs Annapolis Area Christian (Continue reading){PAGEBREAK}RED LION ROUTS ANNAPOLIS AREA CHRISTIAN

Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.) scored on three of its first four possessions on the way to a 41-6 rout over Annapolis Area Christian Saturday afternoon in the second game on day two.

Red Lion Christian freshman quarterback David Sills showed on the field why he's one of the most talked about prospects off it. Protected by offensive linemen whose size would rival that of some Div. II college teams, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound right-hander engineered the hurry-up offense effortlessly, completing five of seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown — a 30-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Freddy Canteen — in the first quarter alone.
"The offseason workouts we had made a difference," Sills, who verbally committed to Southern California as a seventh-grader, said of his team's early success. "If we didn't push that hard we wouldn't be achieving what we are now. And we have God behind us in everything we do and we are pretty good when we all play together and as a family."

Junior running back Wendell Smallwood rushed for Red Lion's other two first-quarter scores, waltzing up the middle into the end zone through gaping holes on runs of 2 and 6 yards to jump-start the Lions to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Red Lion increased its lead to 41-6 at the half.

Red Lion's defense forced three turnovers in that decisive first quarter. Junior defensive back Hakeem Harriott and sophomore defensive back Vashawn Tucker each had interceptions.

Sills, who sat out the fourth quarter while the game was played with a running clock, finished the game 18-for-27 for 292 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Red Lion upped its record to 2-0, with its first win coming two weeks ago in a 51-18 drubbing over three-time defending Ohio state champion Ursuline.



Dwayne Thomas, in his first year as Red Lion Christian coach, said he's surprised by the early season success.

"You know what, yes, definitely," Thomas said. "The kids work hard and obviously it's paying off. For the kids to come out and play the way they did today I'm happy and proud of the guys."

Annapolis Area Christian (1-1), which had an 18-game winning streak snapped, pulled to within 27-6 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from junior Taylor Leabhart to junior running back Perez MacKell with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter. The score was set up by Leabhart's 45-yard run on a quarterback sweep.

Archbishop Spalding edges Potomac (Continue reading){PAGEBREAK}ARCHBISHOP SPALDING EDGES POTOMAC

A 33-yard field goal by junior Kevin Weiman gave Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) a two-score lead and propelled them to a 15-12 win over Potomac in the opening game on day two of the Patriot Classic.
Senior running back Ryan Cochran scored twice on touchdowns runs of 4 yards each and Dejaunte Smith led all rushers with 157 yards on 29 carries to lead Spalding (2-0).

Senior defensive back Jeremiah Johnson led Spalding's defensive effort with two fumble recoveries, while senior linebacker Connor Pequiney had one, and senior free safety Richard Gableman had an interception.



Calvert Hall shuts out DeMatha (Continue reading){PAGEBREAK}CALVERT HALL SHUTS OUT DEMATHA

The Calvert Hall (Baltimore) defense was relentless, and its effort was rewarded, as the Cardinals kicked their way to a lead and then cruised to an 18-0 win over DeMatha in the nightcap Friday night at the Patriot Classic at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Calvert Hall (2-0) scored all of the points it would need in the first quarter when, following Delando Johnson's recovery of a bad snap on a DeMatha punt attempt, Austin Strachen nailed a 31-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead on their way to a second-straight win over a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference team.
"We just didn't come out there as a team," DeMatha defensive end and Virginia-commit Michael Moore said. "Our defense was ready but our offense had to step up."

Instead it was the Calvert Hall offense that came out ready to score in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, quarterback Tom Stuart found Kyle Levere for a 9-yard touchdown to put Calvert Hall up 10-0.

The Cardinals then tacked on the final points of the game when Da'Quan Davis scored on a 35-yard interception return with 1:36 remaining in the game.

DeMatha fell to 1-1 under first-year coach Elijah Brooks.



"We just made too many mistakes that were under our control," Brooks said. "A bad snap on a punt, multiple delay of game penalties and formation mistakes. Improving on offense and special teams is a priority going forward. However, our defense played extremely well even when they were put in tough situations."

Landon beats Bishop McNamara (Continue reading){PAGEBREAK}LANDON BEATS BISHOP MCNAMARA

Landon (Bethesda, Md.) defeated Bishop McNamara 29-14 in the opening game of the inaugural Patriot Classic.

McNamara put the first points of the game on the scoreboard when quarterback Milan Collins scored on a 4-yard run. Landon responded by scoring 29 unanswered points to take a commanding 29-6 lead after three quarters.
Landon (1-0) quarterback Charlie Schnider completed 7 of 13 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Joe McDonald, a Division I college basketball prospect, was on the receiving end of five of those passes for 91 yards. Running back Myles Allen had 16 carries for 74 yards and two touchdowns for Landon (1-0).

Bishop McNamara (0-1) was penalized 12 times for 80 yards.

Jon Buzby is a columnist for the Newark (Del.) Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.