Greenwood Blues
Woodbridge Speed And Fast Start Do In Spartans
Officially, St. Mark's 42 - 0 loss to the Woodbridge Blue Raiders only counts as one in the win loss column, however this one felt like more. Greenwood, Delaware was a tough place to be a Spartan last Friday night, whether that be as a player, coach, or fan. Not because St. Mark's lost to Woodbridge, they are a good team, and were favored to win. It wasn't that the defeat dealt a major blow to the Spartan's playoff hopes either. That in itself would have been cause for disappointment under normal circumstances, but this was different. This loss was stunning, not in the end result, but in how it came to be.
A fact that was evident by the expressions on those in Green & Gold as they exited the stadium, trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
A fact that was evident by the expressions on those in Green & Gold as they exited the stadium, trying to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
The Blue Raiders scored three times on their first four plays. Striking first 12 seconds into the game, building a 21 - 0 lead a little past the halfway mark of the 1st quarter. As if that wasn't enough to put the Spartans on their heels, they would tally twice more to push their lead to 35 points only 14:43 into the contest. The Blue Raiders Jamon Kane did the early damage, scoring on runs of 80 and 60 yards on his first two carries. St. Mark's offense was having some success, but struggled to sustain drives, giving Woodbridge further opportunity to build momentum. That they would seize the opportunity was difficult enough on the reeling Spartan defense, but adding two scores on fortuitous bounces was a back breaker.
It looked as though the tide may have turned for St. Mark's, after Carter Benham chased down Jayquon Massey on a long run and stripped him of the ball. But is wasn't to be as Gabe Westcott picked up the fumble in stride and waltzed into the end zone. Massey would get his score on the Blue Raiders next possession with a 23 yard run. Facing a 28 point deficit, and with their offense struggling, things didn't look good for St. Mark's. Yet there was still some cause for optimism with close to three quarters of football to play. But after an acrobatic catch off a tipped pass, by the Blue Raiders Michael Brewer, it became clear, this was Woodbridge's night. They would finish the drive with a score, and tack another on shortly before intermission. The entire second half would be played with a running clock. The Spartans would have their moments on both sides of the ball, but they were few are far between, and certainly not enough to overcome a fast and athletic Blue Raider team.
It was a tough loss for St. Mark's, for the obvious reasons, but perhaps more so for how the game unfolded. Things went bad so fast for the Spartans, the game had slipped away before they likely even knew what happened. Much of the credit for that goes to Woodbridge, they were hitting on all cylinders, and looked to be a difficult match up for St. Mark's. There is a reason the Blue Raiders are the defending Division II state champions, 20 -1 over the past two seasons, and owners of the state's second longest home winning streak (14 ). Unfortunately, the Spartans and their fans found that out the hard way.
St. Mark's offense was held to their lowest output this season with 160 total yards. Andrew Watkins led all rushers with 80 yards on 17 carries. Jelani Bryant added 44 yards to the team's total of 123 gained on the ground. He also combined with A.J. Popitti to go 5 of 18 for 37 yards passing. Cole Balint was the top receiver with 14 yards, followed by Ian Noonan (12), and Matt Dougherty (11). The defense also allowed season highs in both total yards (453) and rushing yards (411). Matthew Tynes led the group with 8 tackles, while Will Hoffman and Tyler Shields added 5. Matthew McGuirk had a fumble recovery.
Scoring Summary:
W - Jamon Kane 80 yard run (Rust kick)
W - Jamon Kane 60 yard run (Rust kick)
W - Westcott 93 yard fumble recovery return (Rust kick)
W - J. Massey 23 yard run (Rust kick)
W - Westcott 15 yard pass from Haynes (Rust kick)
W - Mosley 1 yard run (Rust kick)
Box Score:
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
St. Mark's |
000 |
000 |
000 |
000 |
000 |
Woodbridge |
21 |
21 |
000 |
000 |
42 |
Editors note: Video highlights will be posted at a later date.