Spartan's Finish Strong
Defeat Archmere 35 - 7
St. Mark's broke open a tight game against Archmere Academy Saturday, by scoring 21 unanswered points in the third quarter. The teams spent most of the first half engaged in a defensive deadlock before Victor Marceleo scored on a 53 yard pass from Jelani Bryant, giving the Spartans a 7 - 0 lead at intermission. St. Mark's would carry that momentum into the second half, driving for another score after taking the opening kickoff. This time Bryant connected with Matthew McGuirk for a 12 yard touchdown pass, however it was the Spartan ground game led by Andrew Watkins, that paved the way.
Down 14 - 0, things started to unravel for the Auks. They would fumble on the first play of the following possession, giving St. Mark's a short field, which they took advantage of. Andrew Watkins finished the 3 play drive with an 11 yard run. He would score again, this time from 50 yards out three minutes later, giving the Spartans a commanding 28 point lead with a little over a quarter to play. Complicating matters for the Auk's, they would face erasing a four score deficit with a running clock, after St. Mark's struck again on their next drive. Archmere would avoid being shutout when Antwyne Scott-Coleman scored on a 19 yard pass from Joe DiGregorio with 1:33 to go in the game.
St. Mark's offense gained a total of 326 yards, with 170 rushing, and 156 through the air. Andrew Watkins led all runners with 147 yards on 27 carries and 2 touchdowns. Jelani Bryant had his best game as a passer, going 7 of 12, for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Victor Marcelo was his top receiver with 3 catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line wore down the Auks in the second half leading to 156 of St. Mark's rushing yards. The Spartan defense had an outstanding effort, holding Archmere to a total of 173 yards. They only allowed 52 yards rushing to a group that had been averaging 191 per game on the year. Brandon Holmburg led all tacklers with 10, while Tyler Shields and Joey Cartwright each had a sack. Eric Ludman was 5 for 5 on extra point attempts, bringing his season total to 16 of 17.
Scoring Summary:
SM - Marcelo 53 yard pass from Bryant (Ludman kick)
SM - McGuirk 12 yard pass from Bryant (Ludman kick)
SM - Watkins 11 yard run (Ludman kick)
SM - Watkins 50 yard run (Ludman kick)
SM - Balint 35 yard pass from Poppiti (Ludman kick)
A - Scott-Coleman 19 yard pass from DiGregorio (Specht kick)
SM - Marcelo 53 yard pass from Bryant (Ludman kick)
SM - McGuirk 12 yard pass from Bryant (Ludman kick)
SM - Watkins 11 yard run (Ludman kick)
SM - Watkins 50 yard run (Ludman kick)
SM - Balint 35 yard pass from Poppiti (Ludman kick)
A - Scott-Coleman 19 yard pass from DiGregorio (Specht kick)
Box Score:
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
St. Mark's |
000 |
7 |
21 |
7 |
35 |
Archmere |
000 |
000 |
000 |
7 |
7 |
Editors Note: Our deepest sympathies go out to the Penna family and the Archmere Academy community. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you go forward.