McDevitt Advances to District 3 Class AAA Finals

November 25- The Bishop McDevitt Crusaders will return to Hersheypark Stadium next Friday night to defend the District 3 Class AAA football championship. That trip was finalized tonight, as the Crusaders flattened the Red Land Patriots, 42-7, at Mechanicsburg's Frederick Field in a Class AAA semifinal contest. There was little doubt that McDevitt was a prohibitive favorite coming into the game since they had throttled Red Land in the regular season, 42-14. Although the Patriots, encouraged by the recent emergence of sophomore running back John Ford, looked and played with considerably more spirit than their previous effort, the strength, cohesiveness and overall talent of the McDevitt side proved to be too much for the visitors. The Crusaders raced to a 35-0 half time lead under the direction of junior quarterback Alec Werner, who turned in another brilliant performance. Werner completed 13 of 16 passes for 250 yards and 4 touchdowns, most of the stats coming in the first half when the McDevitt attack swept across the emerald carpet of Frederick Field like an advancing army. The War Eagle defense, in contrast, disrupted the Red Land offense so successfully that the Patriots could only muster 24 yards in total offense until a late  56 yard scoring run by Ford spoiled the shutout.

    The Patriots' short kickoff to open the game proved to be disastrous for the visitors. Freshman Andre Robinson fielded the pop up at the McD 25 and bolted 30 yards on the return. A 15 yard personal foul against Red Land had the Crusaders starting at the RL30 and McDevitt scored in 4 plays. After a 5 yard Robinson run Werner targeted senior Shawn Seif in the left flat. The elusive Seif picked his way for a 20 yard gain, to the RL5, and sophomore Rashad Lawson scored one play later to give McDevitt a 7-0 lead, only 1 minute and 39 seconds into the game. The subsequent kickoff was returned to the RL 28 and Patriot quarterback Kyle Biddle quickly passed to Taylor Bryant for a 16 yard gain. Senior linebacker Alan Holman stalled the drive by sacking Biddle for an 11 yard loss, though, forcing the first of 7 Patriot punts. Junior Brian Lemelle fielded the boot and advanced the ball to the RL 42. It looked like the Crusaders would pick up another quick score after another Werner-Seif connection worked for 10 more yards, but junior Darnell Holland coughed up the football after an 8 yard gain and Red Land recovered. The Pats tried to run Ford on 3 consecutive plays but the McDevitt interior, led by seniors Noah and Tariq Spence, held fast, forcing another punt. Lemelle's second positive return was erased by a blocking penalty so the Crusaders began at the McD 38. This scoring drive started off with a screen pass to Robinson. The powerful freshman rumbled for a 37 yard gain, following the blocks of seniors Kyree Ross and Tyler Conde. A 10 yard pass from Werner to junior Connor Marsico followed , and then Robinson fought for a 14 yard gain, to the RL 1. Robinson walked across the goal line on the next play and, after another of junior Connor Maloney's 6 perfect PAT kicks McDevitt had a 14-0 first quarter lead. Red Land's next possession was similar to the first two, featuring Ford getting nowhere on the ground and Noah Spence and Holman sharing a 9 yard sack.  Patriot punt #3 was gathered in by Lemelle at the McD 37 and returned to the RL 45, an 18 yard advance as the first quarter ended.

    The McDevitt scoring drive that opened the second quarter was hampered by penalties. After an incomplete pass the Patriots were flagged for illegal substitution. Lawson had a 4 yard run before Werner, using a staggered cadence, cleverly drew Red Land off sides and earned a first down at the McD 45. Holland chipped in a 2 yarder and then Lawson took a short pass and turned it into a 10 yard gain. Robinson's 14 yard run that followed advanced the ball to the RL 29, but a false start cost McDevitt 5 yards. Werner then tried to hit junior Nate Showalter on a crossing pattern but Red Land had it covered, narrowly missing an interception. Undaunted, Werner soon found Lemelle for a 13 yard gain and Lawson followed with a 2 yard first down run, to the RL 19. Robinson plowed for 4 more yards but a personal foul penalty against the Crusaders cost 15 yards and pushed the spot back to the McD 30. Robinson quickly got 9 of the yards back before Lemelle made an acrobatic, leaping catch and landed at the RL 4. Noah Spence then made a rare appearance at tight end and grabbed Werner's quick flip for a 4 yard scoring play and a 21-0 lead, with 7:34 left before intermission. The Pats returned the ensuing kickoff to the RL 24 and Noah Spence wasted no time in dropping Biddle for a 3 yard loss. Noah's brother Tariq then drilled Ford for a yard loss but a questionable holding call in the McDevitt secondary gave Red Land new life. After a pass to Brant achieved a rare first down Tariq was at it again, dropping Ford for a 3 yard loss. Then a motion penalty and an incomplete pass led to yet another Red Land punt, which rolled to a stop at the McD 31. A blocking penalty against the Crusaders cost more yardage, and McDevitt was forced to start from the McD 11. Lawson burst through the now-tiring Red Land defensive line for a quick 25 yard gain and then the Crusaders were hit with a motion penalty. On the next play Werner heaved a long pass down the left sideline in front of the home crowd. Timing his jump perfectly, Lemelle snagged the ball at the top of his leap, spun away from the defender and bolted down the sideline for a dazzling 69 yard touchdown. After Maloney's kick sailed halfway to Shiremanstown McDevitt had a 28-0 lead, with but 3 minutes left in the half. The Crusaders then forced a quick 3-and-out and the punt that followed stopped bouncing at the McD 35. McDevitt was anxious to tack another TD on the scoreboard  and played in a hurried manner, uncharacteristic for this squad. Werner flubbed a pass attempt which resulted in an 8 yard loss. then, after a fine 10 yard gain by Robinson Werner was intercepted for only the 5th time all year, by Biddle at the McD 38. now it was Red Land's turn to stumble. Biddle threw a pass to Bryant, lined up as a wide receiver. Bryant attempted to lateral to Ford, circling behind him, but the trick play backfired when the lateral was wild and the ever-alert Tariq Spence recovered at the McD 48. Now the offense was back to their efficient selves, despite the rapidly dwindling clock. Lawson had a 3 yard run and then Werner passed to Marsico for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the RL 13. Werner spiked the ball to stop the clock before passing to Lemelle, who skipped out of bounds after a 13 yard gain. Now at the RL 20 Werner dropped back to pass and waited for an open receiver, courtesy of the offensive line's pass blocking. He finally spotted Marsico streaking along the goal line and led him perfectly with an accurate spiral. Marsico made the grab and McDevitt had a 35-0 lead. As all McDevitt fans should know by now (since this is the 9th consecutive week), a 35 point second half lead triggers the "Mercy Rule", with a continuously running game clock. The Pats desperately tried to score on the half's last possession to avoid the "Mercy Rule" sentence but could only make it to the McD 48 as the half ended.

    The abbreviated second half began when Maloney's deep kickoff was returned from the RL 8 to the 20. The Patriots fared no better in this opening second half possession than they did in the first half and were soon punting, as Lemelle made a fair catch at midfield. Lawson's 2 carries netted 9 yards before Robinson moved the chains with a 6 yard plunge. The Crusaders then featured  Seif on the next 3 plays, and the senior didn't disappoint, advancing 24 yards on the carried. Werner's last pass of the evening was also his 4th touchdown pass, flipping a screen pass to Robinson who followed seniors Pat Narus and DeAndre Lawson into the end zone. Now leading 42-0, McDevitt reserves began taking the place of the starters. The defense was still rock solid, though, forcing another 3-and-out as the 3rd quarter ended. Red Land got a break when the subsequent punt hit a McDevitt blocker and the Pats recovered. With possession at the McD 32, the forlorn visitors responded with 2 false start penalties before senior linebacker Brock Dean intercepted Biddle's pass in the left flat and returned it to the RL 33. Now it was time to feature senior Dan Gebhard, freshman Tyrone Gibson, freshman Gevante Elam, freshman Amechie Walker, junior Ian Greene and sophomore Tommy Moore. These players, and a number of others, were rewarded for countless hours of practice and workouts with some treasured playing time in a district playoff game. The Patriots finally got on the board when Ford finally got some running room and burst for a 56 yard touchdown run. After regaining possession the Crusaders featured junior quarterback Bobby Zweigart and freshman running back Que Shawn Jenkins and the duo responded by advancing downfield until the clock ran out

Next Friday, December 2nd, McDevitt travels to Hershey to battle the Lampeter Strasburg Pioneers. The second seeded Pioneers sport a 12-1 record and are coming off a 24-13 win over West York in the other Class AAA semifinal. McDevitt played Lampeter Strasburg in the 2010 playoffs, winning 40-10 in the District 3 Class AAA semifinals. Game time is 7:00 PM

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

I was very pleased because last week we didn't play Bishop McDevitt defense. We were sloppy tackling and we were misaligned a lot. I got on the defense a little bit but I didn't have to; when we left here last week they knew. They had steam coming out of their ears all week and they were very intense and came out and did a great job. On offense Red Land tried to take away our running game early so we just went to the passing game and also the spread running game.  I'm starting to feel old; I coached against (Red Land Head Coach) Chad Weaver, he was a player when I first came here at McDevitt and his dad John was the head coach. I really don't know the other guys but I know Chad and John and they're good people. He's done a nice job with them this year. The whole offense played well and we just have to keep on getting better. Next week we're going to have to play better than we have been playing. They run that three stack defense which we've seen a couple of times this year and they run that funky offense that has a lot of motion so we'll have to prepare hard. The coaching staff will get together this weekend and work hard and then we'll bring the guys in on Monday and prepare for them.

Assistant Coach/Defensive Coordinator Pat Berry

Our defense did a good job. They prepared well and we tackled a heck of a lot better than we have in the last couple of weeks. Those late scores against our second team don't bother me as much as they used to; it used to bother me quite a bit. It's not about shutouts, it's the playoffs. It's about winning the game, being safe and being wise enough to get the kids out of there and letting the younger kids get a little time. I think we do a better job of not letting down when we're a big favorite because the kids have bought in. We've done all right on defense but we haven't been playing as well as we could have. I think what got their attention was not worrying about the other team but worrying about themselves and getting better. We played Lampeter Strasburg last year so it will be interesting. We'll get a week of preparation and hopefully we won't get any rain so we can use the field. That will be the big thing.

OG/DT Tyler Conde

I think the offensive line did pretty good tonight. We opened up some decent-sized holes and on pass blocking we did pretty good so it was a good day. I think this game was easier than the first one because we kind of knew what to expect this time and we got used to what they were doing. Every team is going to be different every week, even if we've played them before.

RB Rashad Lawson

I think in the first game Red Land actually played a lot more physical. In this game they came in a little too hyped and tried to get the ball to John Ford and it just didn't work. The offensive line hasn't really let down at all. The line has been making holes since the second, third game of the season and we've been hitting them. I've always seen a lot of upsets and teams, underdogs, beating favored teams and I know that if we let down the other team will pick up and we'll give them a chance, so I'm not going to let down no matter who the opponent is.

DB Maurice Geter

Red Land had a lot of pick routes this time but we worked hard all week on trying to defend them. We're taking this one week at a time because each week the teams get better so we have to be prepared. To prevent a letdown you have to keep a level head and make sure you're focused. Just because we beat them last time doesn't mean we're going to beat them this time so we have to come out and make plays. We feel like any field we step on is our home field. We thank Mechanicsburg for letting us use this field. It's a lovely field.

DE/TE Noah Spence

Playing Red Land this time was about the same as last time. Once we knuckled down and did what we can do, stayed with our assignments on offense and defense it was the same game as last time. To get ready for this year I pretty much came out and did my thing, the physical part. Now I have to put it all together for college. You know, step everything up for the next level. I remember Lampeter Strasburg form last year; they did a lot of passing and we did a lot of scoring, so that means we should have a good game.

DB Miles Williams

Red Land came out real intense. They really wanted to win the game. Now the last game they also came out pretty strong and they ran pretty well, but they didn't hit us with anything we weren't expecting. We have to remember to never play down to the competition and to continue to work hard every day in practice. I'm pretty conscious of where all the other defensive backs are. Being the free safety I have to make the calls and adjust everybody to where they're supposed to be.

K Connor Maloney

Before I kick I just imagine it going in and it will go in. You have to stay  focused and rely on the snapper and the holder and the line; they all did an exceptional job. Just like all year, so I hope they keep that up and we'll be good. We've been practicing different kickoffs in case we need them. We may kick the short kickoff for a change of pace. Maybe we'll pop one up and we'll recover; that could be a game-changer. I'm still looking at colleges for soccer. I'm looking at Penn State, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's. They're all great schools but I still have to visit them. They have to see me play one more time and then they'll offer me something.