Good Counsel rallies to knock off St. Xavier

Salem (Va.) wins opener; Gilman (Md.) wins clash of MIAA champs; I-95 Kick Off Classic Sept. 3-4.

Defending Maryland state champion Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), ranked No. 14 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25 preseason rankings, was shut out for three quarters but switched to another gear on both sides of the ball in the fourth to complete a 21-6, come-from-behind win over St. Xavier (Cincinnati) in a game televised nationally on ESPN.

Trailing 6-0, sophomore running back Dorian O'Daniel scampered into the end zone from the 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter to put the Falcons on the board. Senior Michael Jefferson then picked off St. Xavier senior quarterback Nick Albers' pass and returned it 55 yards for a score to put Counsel ahead 14-6. And then, just three plays later, junior Stefon Diggs sealed the win when he returned an interception 50 yards for the game’s final score with 4:21 remaining.

Our Lady of Good Counsel's Zach Dansel.

File Photo by Michael Starghill, Jr.

Diggs, who already has scholarship offers from Maryland, North Carolina, Pitt, Rutgers, UCLA and Virginia Tech, had two interceptions, two sacks and two tackles for loss on defense. On offense, the talented junior caught five passes for 91 yards, including a 21-yard reception from senior quarterback Zach Dancel on a fourth-and-12 to set up O'Daniel's touchdown run.

"He is a talent," Good Counsel coach Bob Milloy said of Diggs, who also had a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown nullified by a penalty. "He was part of our game plan. We knew we had to get the ball to him 10 to 12 times to give us a chance to win and he ended up winning the game for us."

St. Xavier senior linebacker Steven Daniels had 10 tackles (5.5 for a loss) and two sacks and according to Milloy was the main reason the Falcons were shut down through the first three quarters.

Good Counsel returns to the East Coast to play defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association champion Gilman (Baltimore) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the inaugural I-95 Kick Off Classic’s feature game.

2. Salem (Va.) opens with win: Salem (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points to run away with a 25-7 win over Kempsville (Virginia Beach, Va.) in the season opener for each team.

Salem fell behind 7-0 late in the first quarter after giving up a 40-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, but it would be the last score for the hosts as the Sundevils outgained the Chiefs 316-73.

Sophomore quarterback Bucky Hodges threw for 261 yards, passing for one touchdown and running for another, as the Sundevils unveiled their new pass-first offensive scheme.

3. MIAA defending champs clash to open 2010 gridiron season: It was a matchup of defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association champions as Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) (B) hosted Gilman (A) in the private school conference's season opener, and as many expected, Spalding came away with a convincing 41-14 win.

Senior quarterback Darius Jennings (35 TDs in 2009) picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns to lead Gilman. The highly-recruited run-first quarterback also scored two touchdowns (88 and 87 yards) on kickoff returns.

Spalding's K.K. Smith rushed for 153 yards in the loss.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.) running backs Malik Johnson and Jonathan Haden (brother of Cleveland Browns rookie cornerback Joe Haden) rushed for 98 yards and 94, respectively, to lead the Lions to a 28-0 win over Coolidge (Washington, D.C.) Friday night, ruining the much-publicized head coaching debut of the school's first female football head coach, Natalie Thompson.

* Lauren Russell of Poquoson (Va.) scored three goals and added an assist to lead her field hockey team to a 6-0 win over Warwick (Newport News, Va.) in its season opener.

RECRUITING NEWS
The following athletes recently made verbal commitments to play Division I lacrosse:
* Dylan Bozel of Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.), Rutgers.
* Jay Carlson of St. Paul's (Brooklandville, Md.), University of Maryland.
* Brady Faby of McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), Johns Hopkins
* Wyatt Land of St. Paul's (Brooklandville, Md.), Bucknell
* Ryan Madigan of Broad Run (Ashburn, Va.), Robert Morris
* Patrick McEnerney of Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), Loyola

Also, Trevor Jenkins, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive lineman at Goochland (Va.), made a verbal commitment to Liberty University.

GAMES TO WATCH
* It's one-stop shopping this coming weekend when the inaugural I-95 Kick Off Classic takes place Sept. 3-4 at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the Towson University (Md.) campus. The event features competition between two of the state's toughest conferences, the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) takes on McDonough (Pomfret, Md.) in the opener on Friday at 7. Saturday's games include Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) vs. Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore) at 10:30 a.m., Archbishop Spalding vs. Calvert Hall (Baltimore) at 1:30 p.m., DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) vs. Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.) at 4:30 p.m., and Good Counsel vs. Gilman at 7:30 p.m. For more information visit www.i95kickoffclassic.com.

THE BUZZ
South River (Edgewater, Md.) football coach Steve Erxleben was suspended indefinitely last week, reportedly over an issue regarding the safety of his players. … Daquan McNeil, a 6-foot-3 point guard who starred as a freshman at Carver High (Baltimore), is transferring to Vermont Academy for his sophomore season.

Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.