Football Recap: Luke Pongratz Leads St. Mary's Defense on Friday

After low-scoring totals in their previous four matchup, St. Mary brought some dynamite into their most recent game. They took down the Loyola Blakefield Dons 50-35 on Friday. The Saints pushed the score to 50-21 by the end of the third, a deficit the Dons cut but never quite recovered from.

Dj Hitaffer

Passer Rating (Career)

10/10/25 vs Loyola Blakefield	151.4
10/25/24 vs Mount St. Joseph	137
10/03/25 @ Archbishop Spalding	59.3
09/19/25 @ Gilman	58.3
10/11/24 @ Loyola Blakefield	57.9

Dj Hitaffer was nothing short of spectacular: he threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 passes. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (151.4). Jamal Epps was in the mix too, providing St. Mary's with two scores.

Special teams also played a big role in the game for St. Mary's, adding 12 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Dylin Jackson, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.

St. Mary's didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Luke Pongratz, Jackson, and Luke Frayer picked up one apiece. Jackson got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

Several Dons players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Carlos Spencer, who threw for 293 yards and four TDs, and also rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown. Spencer is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for three or more in each of the last three games he's played. Loyola Blakefield's leading receiver Carston Brown was Spencer's top target yet again, picking up 92 receiving yards and a pair of scores.

With the victory, St. Mary's broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 4-3. As for Loyola Blakefield, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 4-3.

We've got plenty of inter-region action coming up soon. St. Mary's will square off against rival Calvert Hall at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Loyola Blakefield is set to challenge their familiar foe Mount St. Joseph at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.