34 -28 overtime win helped propel them to a 9 -1 regular season finish, and their first postseason appearance since 2014. For Saint Mark's, the loss stung, and seemed to hang with them throughout the remainder of the season. Fast forward a year to the day, and the teams will meet again under almost identical circumstances. Both squads are once again unbeaten and ranked. And just as it was last season, the Saturday matinee showdown is being viewed by some in the media as a litmus test for playoff contention. Indeed, there is a feeling of familiarity surrounding the contest. But when it comes to the teams that will face off for the 19th meeting between the catholic schools, much is different from those that clashed last year.
Last season, Saint Mark's and Archmere Academy went toe to toe in a gridiron classic, that was billed as a match between possible playoff contenders. The teams, both unbeaten in divisional play and ranked, put on a performance that justified their pregame hype. For the Auks, the 34 -28 overtime win helped propel them to a 9 -1 regular season finish, and their first postseason appearance since 2014. For Saint Mark's, the loss stung, and seemed to hang with them throughout the remainder of the season. Fast forward a year to the day, and the teams will meet again under almost identical circumstances. Both squads are once again unbeaten and ranked. And just as it was last season, the Saturday matinee showdown is being viewed by some in the media as a litmus test for playoff contention. Indeed, there is a feeling of familiarity surrounding the contest. But when it comes to the teams that will face off for the 19th meeting between the catholic schools, much is different from those that clashed last year.
0 Comments
Just as it was last season, Saint Mark's football team could find themselves in a week four showdown between unbeaten and top ranked teams. In that meeting, Archmere Academy won an overtime thriller, that's likely still fresh in the minds of many in the Spartan community. And with both teams facing favorable match ups this weekend, the anticipation for the rematch will start before the final whistles on week three have blown. For the coaches, the situation adds a different element to the game week preparation. Not only do they have to install a game plan, they have to make sure their squad stays focused on the job at hand. It is a situation that every coach and staff finds themselves in at one point or another.
I think every coach is worried about kids looking at the schedule and circling games on the calendar. We preach to the kids all the time to take things one week at a time. - Joe Wright When asked how he and his staff are approaching this week's opponent, Joe Wright replied: "I think every coach is worried about kids looking at the schedule and circling games on the calendar. We preach to the kids all the time to take things one week at a time. Our staff is constantly communicating to the players that we only worry about ourselves and what we can control. We need to get better each day, each week if we want to be playing late into November. This week we are working on getting ourselves better to beat Charter. That is the number one priority." The Spartans will enter Friday night's contest as considerable favorites, though no opponent should be taken lightly. "Two tough catholic conference teams that are going to play 4 quarters of hard fought football. It will be a battle and hopefully we come out of it 2-0, but we need to play our game in order to be victorious.” After passing last week's challenge with flying colors, the Spartan football team faces their next test against St. Elizabeth, Saturday night at Caravel Academy. It's a home game for the Vikings, however with Baynard Stadium being renovated, all of their contests this season will be played on the road. Both teams bring a 1 - 0 record into the match, with dominating season opening victories. The fashion in which they won, is similar as well. Both squads used a punishing running game, rarely going to the air. The strategy, besides being successful, allowed their younger and inexperienced players to ease into their positions, and build cohesion on their lines. The 35th meeting between the schools comes earlier in the season (than many in the past), though the stakes are no less as high. Besides bragging rights, the victor gets a leg up on an opponent battling for a postseason at-large bid. With three catholic schools in Division II facing off against each other, the team that comes out on top, increases their odds of securing that bid. For Saint Mark's and St. Elizabeth this is round one of a series of contests, that will likely determine their playoff fate. While Saint Mark's has won three straight in the series, and six out of the last seven, Coach Wright and his players are not taking their opponent lightly. When asked about the team's upcoming foe, Joe Wright replied: “St. E's is a team that is going to play hard and physical. They always have been and will because that is who they are. Their offense has some misdirection with a lot of motions and pulling lineman, so we have to read our keys and play sound football on that side of the ball. They have a really good running back that can hurt you in many ways. He was able to run wild last week for them as they put up 41 points, so we must contain him and keep the score down if we want to have a chance to win. Defensively, they have some big bodies up front with a really good DE and DT. Our line has to be able to stop penetration to allow us to run our offense. This is going to be a great test for us to see where we stand in D2. Two tough catholic conference teams that are going to play 4 quarters of hard fought football. It will be a battle and hopefully we come out of it 2-0, but we need to play our game in order to be victorious.” Though St. Elizabeth's has suffered some down years since 2013, the program has seen a resurgence as of late.
Coming off a 5 - 5 season, the Vikings are looking to take the next step in Marvin Dooley's second year at the helm. Like the Spartans, St. Elizabeth is breaking in new players at key skill positions. The Vikings feature a run heavy offense, a standard for Marvin Dooley teams at past schools. Transfer RB Thomas Mosley Jr. (#6) had a big night against Christiana, running behind a veteran line. While Mosley Jr. will get the bulk of the carries, QB C.J. Small (#9) will mix it up with a group of backs including Sam Janicki (#22). Small didn't pass much in their opener, but he was a perfect 4 for 4 when he did. TE Luke Schiavoni (#89), wasn't on the receiving end of any of Small's passes, but will likely emerge as his top target as the season progresses. Seniors Schiavoni and Janicki provide leadership on a young defensive unit. With a lopsided win in their opener, St. Elizabeth wasn't forced to show their hand. It is likely they will have a few tricks up their sleeve for the Spartans.
While it is difficult to gauge the teams, this early in the season, the contest is shaping up to be a classic, much like the Spartan's game against Archmere Academy last year. Whether it lives up to its billing only time will tell, but it's great to see the catholic rivals go at it, under the bright lights of a marquee match up once again!
Saturday's game is also the 4th annual installment of the Muscle Movement Foundation's 'Sack Muscle Disease' game. Saint Mark's has prevailed in the previous three, which should only add a little fire in the belly of the Viking's, eager to take their turn with the trophy. If you would like to know more about the MMF, which was founded by Saint Mark's Director of Admissions Rob DeMasi (class of 2009), or are interested in joining their fight, please visit their site (link on logo below). If Jeremiah Moore was nervous, getting his first varsity start, It didn't show. When the 5'9", 182 pound running back rumbled around the right end for the game's first score, he looked every bit the poised veteran. His 12 yard strike sparked a big first half by Saint Mark's, that the Red Wolves were never able to fully recover from. The sophomore from Maryland would go on to rush for 149 yards, and three touchdowns. Though the young man, who played his youth ball with the Cherry Hill Cougars, did admit to some pregame jitters, his motivation was drawn from something personal. When asked if he expected to have a big night, Jeremiah replied: "No, but I was hoping to have a good game. A year ago I lost my Grandmother and I was playing this game in her honor." It would have been difficult enough containing Crystal Moore's inspired grandson, but as a team, the Spartans were more than Conrad could handle.
The Red Wolves started strong and played hard throughout the contest, but from the outset things didn't go their way. A fumble on their opening drive, recovered by Ben Anderson, set up Jeremiah Moore's first score to put Saint Mark's up 7 - 0, 2:52 into the game. After the defense held Conrad on the following drive the Spartans would double their lead, with Moore going 51 yards to pay dirt. The game would settle down, with both offenses finding some success, until Saint Mark's took command of the contest 7:36 into the second quarter. Blaec Sanders, who had contributed on both the Spartan's earlier drives, with 27 and 19 yard receptions, hauled in a 15 yard Jack LaFrankie pass and danced his way to the end zone. LaFrankie would push the lead to 28 - 0 with 22 seconds left in the half. After a Christian Colmery interception at midfield, LaFrankie connected with Patrick Palm on 4th down to keep the drive alive, and finished it himself, with a 1 yard plunge. Feeling the game slip away, the Red Wolves got aggressive and were rewarded, with Stephen Allen hitting Ja' Teir Berkley-Osborne with a 57 yard strike, three seconds before intermission.
"The thing that we saw from Conrad was their players play hard. We knew that they were going to come at us for 4 quarters." - Joe Wright The Spartans seemed to draw more inspiration than the Red Wolves from Conrad's late score. When play resumed Saint Mark's took over the contest, running the ball, and chewing up clock. Jeremiah Moore would round out the scoring with his third touchdown of the night, on a 5 yard run. While Moore got the spotlight, the victory was a total team effort. Zion Glover helped fuel the ground game with 102 yards. Jack LaFrankie, making his debut, went 8 of 13 for 138 yards and a touchdown, Blaec Sanders caught 5 of those passes for 85 yards and a score. The line played well, paving the way to 281 yards on the ground. Patrick Palm and Christain Colmery both made key plays on both sides of the ball. The defense, led by Jack Palmer, Wayne Shannon, and Nick Muzzi, kept the Red Wolves bottled up, with the exception of their lone score. Special teams were solid, with kicker Brandon Keen making four of five extra point attempts in his first start. More telling than their stats though, was the unity the team played with, and support they afforded each other. Leading up to the opener Joe Wright had Don Burawski, Saint Mark's first coach, stop by practice and speak to the team on what it means to be part of the school, the program, and the football family. Burawski's wisdom was reflected in Captain Patrick Palm's response when asked if he was pleased with how the group is coming together, and the chemistry the team is forming. “I could not be happier with how the team is coming together this year. The chemistry with the upperclassmen has been there since we were in our underclassmen years, and this year’s underclassmen have worked hard to quickly become a part of the tight-knit family that is St. Mark’s football. Everyone on the team knows that when one of us fails, we all fail, and when one of us succeeds, we all succeed. This is a team where every one of your teammates has your back, on and off the field.” With new players joining the squad, and inexperienced players stepping into bigger roles, how a group plays as a unit is as equally important as the chemistry they form.
"Everyone on the team knows that when one of us fails, we all fail, and when one of us succeeds, we all succeed. This is a team where every one of your teammates has your back, on and off the field.” — Patrick Palm When asked his concerns prior to facing the Red Wolves, and how the team responded, Coach Wright replied: “It is hard to gauge the teams based off their scrimmages. Sometimes teams do not show everything in those scrimmages and other times you can’t tell who is who because of the practice jerseys., but the thing that we saw from Conrad was their players play hard. We knew that they were going to come at us for 4 quarters. They have a really good WR that when he had an opportunity, had some big plays for them. Fortunately, we were able to keep him in check for most of the game. I think the big take away from the game was that we got better as a team compared to our last scrimmage. We played as one team and were able to cause some havoc on the defensive side and capitalize on the offensive side.” The Spartans weren't perfect, nor were they facing a daunting opponent, but for an opener, with a team still finding its way, they aced the exam. All Game Ball photos courtesy of Richard Christians. |
On The HillA website dedicated to the historical legacy of Saint Mark's Football and Spartan athletics. Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|