Not In Our House!
Third Quarter Explosion Leads St. Mark's Past Lake Forest 37 - 7
For 24 minutes Friday night it looked as though the Lake Forest Spartans were going to serve St. Mark's a slice of humble pie for the second year in a row. Unranked and winless on the season, they came into The Graveyard and were taking it to the Spartans. They were disciplined, determined, confident, and deceived.
Coming off an opening season loss to Hodgson in which their offense made numerous mistakes and gained a total of 94 yards, they looked to have turned the corner. They had minimized their mistakes and gained 141 yards with a ground attack that kept St. Mark's offense off the field. After trailing 21 - 0 at intermission
the previous week, they found themselves heading into the locker room with a 33 -10 advantage in plays and a 7 - 6 lead.
Coming off an opening season loss to Hodgson in which their offense made numerous mistakes and gained a total of 94 yards, they looked to have turned the corner. They had minimized their mistakes and gained 141 yards with a ground attack that kept St. Mark's offense off the field. After trailing 21 - 0 at intermission
the previous week, they found themselves heading into the locker room with a 33 -10 advantage in plays and a 7 - 6 lead.
Lake Forest hardly looked liked a young inexperienced team early in the game. They opened with a methodical 12 play drive that fell short when they took a penalty on 4th down deep in St. Mark's territory and were forced to pass, which fell incomplete. It wouldn't be long before they would have another opportunity in St. Mark's red zone. Unable to do much, the Spartans would give the ball back to Lake on their 11 when pressure from the defense prevented them from getting a punt off. However Lake Forest would fail to score after a penalty and a tackle for a loss put them in another passing situation, which again, fell incomplete.
St. Mark's offense got going on their next possession, but wouldn't get another chance until the second half. Taking over inside their own 10 yard line, Billy Sullivan would end the first quarter with a 17 yard run, followed by an Austin Colmery 44 yard sideline sprint. Two plays later Dom Catalano opened the scoring with a 24 yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt would be foiled after a bobbled snap. Lake Forest would answer with a time consuming 18 play drive, taking the lead on Elle Harden's 4 yard run and Cam Lewis's extra point kick. St. Mark's would get the ball back, but with only 6 seconds left, they would head into halftime trailing 7 - 6.
The deficit, while only a single point felt larger, and as the players left the field, I wondered what Coach Wilson would say to the team. The real question that I should have been pondering , was what was being said in the opposing locker room. Something was clearly amiss with St. Mark's, but they weren't playing that bad. The offense had made a few mistakes, but with only two possessions, barely had the chance to get things going. And while the defense struggled to get Lake Forest off the field, they had not given up any big plays, and limited the southern Spartans to a single score in three red zone trips. For Lake Forest's young and inexperienced team, that lead likely felt larger as well. Coach Wilson had to wake his team up, but the more difficult chore may have been for Lake Forest's Freddie Johnson convincing his youthful group that this one was far from over.
Lake Forest opened the second half with an onside kick, in an apparent attempt to continue the strategy that had worked so well in the first. And though they failed to recover and keep the ball out of St. Mark's hands, they still came away unscathed, when the northern Spartans would turn the ball back over on downs at the Lake 25. After gaining 14 yards on 1st down the southern Spartans looked to have picked right back up where they had left off in the second quarter, but it would end there. Whether it was the halftime speech, adjustments, or a combination of both, the St. Mark's defense took over. They would hold Lake Forest to a total of three yards on the next three plays and force a punt. A trend that would continue throughout the remainder of the game.
When St. Mark's offense took over after the punt, they quickly validated Lake Forest's strategy to keep it out of their hands. After Billy Sullivan hooked up with Dave Balint on a 38 yard pass on 2nd down, Dom Catalano finished the 70 yard, 3 play drive, with a 31 yard run. Sullivan and Balint teamed up again on the 2 point conversion pass giving St. Mark's a 14 - 7 lead. Lake Forest would then make their first costly mistake of the game, fumbling on their own 15 yard line. After St. Mark's defense recovered the ball, their
offense quickly pounced, with Dom Catalano scoring for the third time on a 10 yard run. He would strike again after another quick series by Lake Forest. This time scoring from 41 yards out, after a nice punt return had set the offense up in good field position. Trailing 28 - 7, things unraveled for Coach Johnson's young team.
offense quickly pounced, with Dom Catalano scoring for the third time on a 10 yard run. He would strike again after another quick series by Lake Forest. This time scoring from 41 yards out, after a nice punt return had set the offense up in good field position. Trailing 28 - 7, things unraveled for Coach Johnson's young team.
They would fail to move the ball on their next two possessions, with special teams gaffes resulting in St. Mark's points both times. First a high snap caused their punt to be blocked which lineman Aran Porte scooped and returned for a touchdown. Then another high snap sailed over the punters head which he had to fall on in the end zone for a safety. In what seemed like a blink of the eye, the team that had once led
7 - 6 , now found themselves on the wrong side of a 37 - 7 blowout. The teams would take turns on offense again, with Lake getting inside St. Mark's 10 on a crazy play where a player emerged from a pile with a fumble and streaked towards St. Mark's end zone. After chasing him down, the defense held for one last time, ending the game.
7 - 6 , now found themselves on the wrong side of a 37 - 7 blowout. The teams would take turns on offense again, with Lake getting inside St. Mark's 10 on a crazy play where a player emerged from a pile with a fumble and streaked towards St. Mark's end zone. After chasing him down, the defense held for one last time, ending the game.
Coach Johnson had his team well prepared and they tested St. Mark's early on. As they gain experience and improve they could become a handful for opponents down the road. St. Mark's started slow, but their experienced players came through when needed. After having the game slip away in last years meeting with Lake Forest, they raised their game in the second half to ensure that it didn't happen again. Not in our house! The Spartans will look to improve to 3 - 0 when they visit the Brandywine Bulldogs this Saturday at 10:30 AM, while Lake Forest (2-0) will visit the Dover Senators Friday night.
Box Score: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final
St. Mark's 0 6 15 16 - 3 7
Lake Forest 0 7 0 0 - 7
Scoring Summary:
SM - Catalano 24 yd run (kick failed)
LF - Harden 4 yd run (Lewis kick)
SM - Catalano 31 yd run (Sullivan pass to D. Balint)
SM - Catalano 10 yd run (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Catalano 41 yd run (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Porte 5 yd blocked punt return (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Saftey, ball snapped into endzone
St. Mark's 0 6 15 16 - 3 7
Lake Forest 0 7 0 0 - 7
Scoring Summary:
SM - Catalano 24 yd run (kick failed)
LF - Harden 4 yd run (Lewis kick)
SM - Catalano 31 yd run (Sullivan pass to D. Balint)
SM - Catalano 10 yd run (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Catalano 41 yd run (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Porte 5 yd blocked punt return (C. Ludman kick)
SM - Saftey, ball snapped into endzone