Crusaders Humble Colts, 49-14

October 7- Tonight's game at West Shore Stadium between the Cedar Cliff Colts and the visiting Bishop McDevitt Crusaders was expected to be a close, hard-fought affair. Colt coach Jim Cantafio has made it no secret that he considers the McDevitt program to be the area's best, and the Colts sported a 4-1 record coming in. The Crusaders were 4-2 and riding a 2 game winning streak, starting to live up to lofty preseason expectations, but few expected the 49-14 romp that ensued. The senior-laden McDevitt defense, led by defensive end Noah Spence and a trio of rampaging linebackers, lived up to their hype, holding the Cedar Cliff offense to one harmless score. No, it was the Crusader offense that had the crowd impressed. An all-senior offensive line of Kyree Ross, DeAndre Lawson, Tyler Conde, Pat Narus, Travis Arnold and Tom Scully kept junior quarterback Alec Werner's uniform spotless all evening, and provided ample running room for junior Darnell Holland, sophomore Rashad Lawson and freshman Andre Robinson. Senior end Shaun Seif and juniors Brian Lemelle and Nate Showalter ran wild and free in the Colt secondary, grabbing accurate Werner passes for a total of 286 yards. The game was effectively over by half time as McDevitt jumped to a 28-0 lead behind the passing game and cruised in the second half on the ground, Lawson leading the way with 200 yards on only 17 carries.

    Senior safety Miles Williams returned Cedar Cliff's short opening kickoff to the McD 37, an 8 yard return, and five plays later McDevitt had the game's first score. The drive began with a 6 yard Lawson run, followed by Werner's screen pass to Robinson, which the talented yearling took for a 42 yard gain to the CC 15. Holland ran for 3 and, following an incomplete pass, Werner targeted Lemelle for a 12 yard touchdown. Connor Maloney booted the first of his 7 successful PAT's and McDevitt led, 7-0, with 10:11 left in the opening quarter. What followed was one of the strangest, most annoying possessions in the history of high school football. It lasted 15 agonizing plays, not counting plays when penalties were called before the ball was snapped. And that's how the "drive" started as the Colts, attempting to run an offense that looked like it was drawn up in the parking lot before the game, were called for a motion penalty before the ball could be snapped. McDevitt returned the favor next when the Crusaders were flagged for off sides to move the ball back to the CC 22. An incomplete pass followed and then Colt QB Tyler Orris was dropped for a 2 yard loss. On third down Orris' pass sailed 15 yards past the intended receiver but McDevitt was called for holding: first down, Colts. Then 3 short runs and a 14 yard pass to talented end Adam Brenneman moved the ball to the McD 48. After a Cedar Cliff delay penalty and an incompletion, Spence sacked Orris but McDevitt was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct: first down, Colts. Then, after a short completion another Orris pass sailed harmlessly down the field, only to be rescued by another yellow flag. Interference McDevitt: first down, Colts. Now at the McD 27, Cedar Cliff responded with a motion penalty, a short pass and 3 consecutive incomplete passes, as Orris ran desperately from the Crusader pass rush. After 7 penalties (4 on McDevitt) and 15 plays Cedar Cliff's possession was over. With the ball back in the hands of the McDevitt offense, the visitors launched another drive from the McD 29. Holland ran for a 4 yard gain and then Werner passed to Showalter for a 17 yard gain, to midfield. Lawson squirmed for 8 yards before Robinson ran for 8 and a first down. Three plays later the Crusaders faced a 4th-and-6 from the CC 29. Werner led Holland with a screen pass that went for an apparent touchdown, but McDevitt was penalized for a lineman downfield and the loss-of-down penalty gave the ball back to the Colts at the CC 44. The home team quickly went 3-and-out and the punt that followed rolled dead at the McD 18 as the first quarter ended.

    Lawson began the second quarter with a 2 yard run and Robinson gained a yard. Then Werner fired a bullet to Lemelle that went for 24 yards and a first down at the McD 45. A 6th Crusader penalty followed (illegal receiver downfield) but Lemelle's 17 yard reception erased the loss. Lawson lost 2 yards and then Werner hit Showalter on a slant pass and the big junior raced for the goal line. Showalter was hit at the 10 but dragged the flailing Brenneman into the end zone to complete the impressive 45 yard scoring play that pushed the McDevitt lead to 14-0, with 9:25 left in the half. The defense forced another 3-and-out, with the punt this time rolling dead at the McD 20. This scoring drive started with a 10 yard Lawson run, followed by a Werner-Lemelle connection good for another 18. After a 2 yard Lawson run Werner's swing pass was gathered in by Robinson and advanced 11 yards, to the CC 39. The next Werner-Lemelle hookup gained 29 yards, and that was followed by a 6 yarder to Seif. Holland bulled in for the touchdown on the next play as the Crusader's lead grew to 21-0, with 4:22 left before intermission. After Maloney's kickoff was returned to the CC 22 a fine Holland tackle sparked a 3rd consecutive Cedar Cliff 3-and-out, McDevitt eventually taking over at the McD 42. Werner quickly flipped to Robinson on another screen pass and the powerful freshman followed his blockers downfield for a textbook 58 yard scoring play the ballooned the lead to 28-0. Three-and-out #4 was turned in by the dominating Crusader "D" and the Crusaders took over at the McD 20, but Werner's deep pass was intercepted. The Colts then ran four harmless plays before the half ended.

    Cedar Cliff took the second half kickoff and strung together a couple of first downs, using successful short passes to move to the McD 27 before surrendering the ball on downs. From the McD 27 Lawson ran for 3 and Seif had a 5 yard reception before Holland fought 4 yards for a first down. On the next play Werner's swing pass was intercepted by Xavier Baney, who put the Colts on the board by returning the pick for a 40 yard touchdown and narrowing the McDevitt lead to 28-7. Seif took the ensuing short kickoff 12 yards, to the McD 37, before Robinson ripped off a 5 yard run. Consecutive 3 yard gains by Lawson and Holland moved the chains, and then Holland blasted 11 yards to the CC 41. On the next play Lawson burst into the Colt secondary, veered to his left behind Lemelle's screening block and galloped 41 yards to stake McDevitt to a 35-7 lead. After the kickoff it looked like Cedar Cliff would suffer yet another 3-and-out but the Crusaders were again flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, this time on the punt, keeping the Colt drive alive at the CC 35. Four plays later Orris passed to Brenneman for a 19 yard touchdown and Cedar Cliff had moved to within 21, 35-14, with 1:38 left in the third quarter. The Crusaders answered quickly. The kickoff drifted to the McD 10 and Lemelle's return reached the 32. Lawson quickly dashed off an 18 yard run and a facemask penalty tacked on 5 more as the 3rd quarter ended. Two more Lawson runs netted 11 yards before Holland and Robinson split 8 more yards, to the CC 26. Then Lawson followed a crushing block by senior fullback Josh Skoczynski and strolled through the exhausted Colt secondary to make the score 42-14. The Colt's Orris followed with a fine 45 yard kickoff return but consecutive sacks by Noah Spence and sophomore Steve Marrazzo forced a Cedar Cliff punt that rolled dead at the McD 20. From there Robinson ran for a 6 yard gain and Holland earned the first down with 4 more lengths. Another short Holland run preceded Lawson's massive 64 yard sprint, to the CC 5. The rugged soph was in for his 3rd score of the game two plays later, and the 49-14 advantage enacted the "Mercy Rule" and its continuously running game clock. Cedar Cliff tried in vain for a final score as McDevitt reserves flooded the field, but the Crusaders held fast, preserving the impressive final margin.

Next Friday, October 14th, the 4-2 Crusaders travel to Mechanicsburg's Memorial Field to take on the 2-4 Mechanicsburg Wildcats. Game time is 7:00 PM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game. We had a great practice Wednesday; the best practice of the year. We were sharp in the passing game, we were physical in the running game and we came out and played like we practiced on Wednesday. If I knew how to replicate that practice every week we'd bottle it! We're starting to come together as a team. Every year there's a new team and we're looking for leaders to step up. Early on in the year guys were being a little immature and not working that hard and screwing around a little bit. In the last 3 weeks or so the kids have done a great job taking practice a lot more seriously and it's paying off for us. We work very hard on our running game and recently we simplified it. The other thing is the young running backs are really starting to pick things up. It's just like Alec; Alec's getting better each week and so are the running backs. And Josh Skoczynski is doing a great job of stepping in and blocking at fullback. Dan Gebhard is a little nicked up and he should be back next week so we're happy about that. The biggest thing is when you can throw like we do it softens them up. In the first half we were throwing all over; they didn't know what to stop. And then in the second half they changed their defense so we came back after the interception and said, "OK, if you're going to play 4 deep we're going to run the ball on you". And the offensive line  did a great job, not only run blocking but the pass blocking is getting a lot better than early in the season. I've never been to Mechanicsburg's stadium. We're trying to get on a roll like last year. Last year we didn't play well in the second half of the game against Mechanicsburg. We hit a spell where we were winning big but we were playing sloppy. Our goal this year is to just keep getting better each week and get on that roll. We didn't really start playing well last year until the Harrisburg game and in the playoffs so we want to keep it rolling this year.

  Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator Pat Berry

The kids had a great week of practice. This might have been the most they concentrated since the beginning of the year. You know, we took Brock Dean and put him in coverage and he showed that he's a great linebacker. He had a lot of coverage responsibility and we got pressure from Noah up front. The inside guys played well but, really, I have to give credit to the secondary. They were awesome! We were pretty much prepared for what they were going to try to do. We knew it was going to be wide open; a long game. The kids reacted real well. Besides that first drive it was an excellent game. Next week will be a real tough game for me. I really love the kids over at Mechanicsburg; they're great kids, but I love my guys, too. It's gonna be a tough one.

RB Rashad Lawson

I think that, as the year is going on, our practices are a lot sharper. We're practicing the running game better and it's showing up in the games. When I run usually I look for the linebackers.  If I see a linebacker going one way I just go the other way. If there's no hole I just put my head down and try to get as many yards as I can. When we run "Ice" I try to follow the fullback as long possible. Next week we just have to keep the momentum going.

RB/S Darnell Holland

The offensive  line is doing an excellent job and we all had a good week of practice. They came out here just doing what they did so we just kept on running with it. On short yardage I just square my shoulders and get upfield. That's what Jameel Poteat told me to do so that's what I do. On defense Cedar Cliff had a lot of trick plays. They're a passing team so the DB's had to pick up our game and that's what we did. We do look for the big hit; we're all headhunters! Mechanicsburg is a good team but if we do what we're taught I think we'll win.

WR/DE Nate Showalter

When I'm playing wide receiver I feel like I have to make good sticks and make sure you're paying attention to when Alec is going to throw the ball, and have your hands ready.  I try to break that first tackle. I think that if you break the tackle then it's easier to get the first downs. We feel that, if we keeping working hard against cover 4, then no one can cover us. To be successful we have to keep working hard, stay focused and stay humble.

DT/G DeAndre Lawson

I think the line finally put it together last week. We really emphasized getting the running game going because we're going to need it for the playoffs. We've been working on the pass protection, too, keeping Alec clean. He's a young QB, not a lot of experience, so we keep people off him, nobody touching him. On defense I don't think Cedar Cliff did anything that we didn't practice. We were ready for everything they did so we were in a pretty good situation. Mechanicsburg played us pretty good at home last year so we'd like to jump on these guys and get a big lead in the first half.