Football finals are set in Delaware

Two turnovers proved to be the difference as the St. Mark's (Wilmington, Del.) Spartans sailed into the Div. I state title game with a 24-10 victory over longtime rival Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.).

Sals running back Ryan Kilpatrick fumbled the ball late in the first half and with eight seconds remaining junior quarterback Jeff Ziemba found Ryan Taylor wide open in the corner of the end zone to give St. Mark's all the points it would need. It was the seventh time this season the seniors hooked up for a score.

Jabre Lolley, who finished with 109 yards on 13 carries, scored two rushing touchdowns (1 and 3 yards) and set up T.J. Dematteis' 27-yard field goal with a 62-yard run. But it was the junior cornerback's interception of a Jonathan Godwin pass midway through the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Spartans.

St. Mark's (11-0) will face Middletown (Del.) (9-2) in the championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Delaware State University. The No. 2 Cavaliers recorded eight sacks and took advantage of two second-half turnovers to put away No. 3 Concord, 36-14, in the other semifinal game.

* Sixth-seeded Archmere Academy (Claymont, Del.) kept its run of upsets going with a 31-24 come-from-behind win over top seed Appoquinimink in a Div. II semifinal game.

Down 10 points early in the third quarter, Archmere (9-3) managed to score 24 straight points to earn its 12th trip to the state title game but first since 2003.

Senior quarterback Christopher Ambrogi rushed for 92 yards and completed 8 of 12 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns to lead the comeback win.

Archmere will face No. 2 St. Elizabeth (Wilmington, Del.) (8-2) in the title game Friday at 7:30 at Delaware State University. The Vikings defeated defending champion and fifth-ranked Delmar 39-14 behind Craig Napier's three touchdown runs of 11, 3 and 9 yards, and Frank Samluk's two touchdown passes of 65 and 42 yards.

PHOEBUS NEEDS COMEBACK TO MOVE ON IN VIRGINIA
Phoebus (Hampton, Va.) wide receiver Daquan Romero hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Roby on fourth-and-goal with 2:55 remaining to give the Phantoms a narrow 12-7 win over Hampton in the Eastern Region Division 5 championship game.

"What a great route," Roby told the Daily Press. "He had the perfect speed and when he caught it, I said, ‘Please get into the end zone.' He made a great play."

Tyree Lee rushed for 155 yards on 31 carries as the Phantoms won their 43rd consecutive game.

Phoebus, ranked No. 12 in the MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 presented by the Army National Guard, moves on to face Dinwiddie (Va.), a 28-21 winner over Hanover in the Central Region Division 5 championship game.

Andre Thweatt rushed 14 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns and caught at 10-yard scoring pass from Chris Hall for another score to lead Dinwiddie.

Phoebus will play at Dinwiddie on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in one Division 5 state semifinal game, while Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.) will host Osbourn (Manassas, Va.) in the other.

WOODSON TAKES OUT DUNBAR IN D.C.
Woodson (Washington, D.C.) cruised to its third straight DCIAA championship with a 44-12 win over Dunbar on Thanksgiving Day.

Off the field, the annual DCIAA Turkey Bowl game was overshadowed by a decision to include Dunbar in the final instead of Ballou, after it was discovered the Knights had used an ineligible player during their playoff win over Dunbar.

On the field, Woodson (10-3, 4-0) was led by offensive most valuable player Terron Buchanan, who completed five of 11 passes for 86 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score in the win.

Turnovers proved to be costly for Dunbar as Woodson scored three of its final four touchdowns on an 86-yard interception return by Ian Jackson, a 34-yard fumble return by Virginia-Tech bound Adeboye Aromire, and a 35-yard interception return by DeJon Wilson, whose eight tackles and three sacks earned him the defensive most valuable player award.

THE BUZZ
Hats off to the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association and Delaware State University for changing the start time of the Div. I football championship game back to the original (and traditional) 7:30 p.m. time. The game was originally moved to 2 p.m. due to a Delaware State men’s basketball game, but after hearing complaints from a variety of sources, including parents, media and fans of the University of Delaware and Wesley College football teams (both teams are hosting playoff games Saturday afternoon) the two organizations came together and worked things out.

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