It was St. Christopher’s defense that quieted a rowdy crowd at the home opener for St. Anne’s, and it did so early and often. At night’s end, the Saints from Richmond had never trailed and posted two defensive touchdowns en route to a 51-22 victory that spoiled the STAB’s only home game before October.
The student section, with painted chests and giant cardboard faces of Saints players, was energized after a quick three-and-out and 52-yard punt return by senior Kareem Johnson. On STAB’s first offensive play of the game though, St. Chris senior linebacker Sean Menges scooped up a bobbled snap deep in the backfield and raced 60 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw George Fisher cause a commotion in the backfield,” Menges said. “He got the ball away from the quarterback, and I just scooped and scored like our rugby coach taught us.”
It was the first of seven turnovers by STAB, which was forced to the air to try and rally as St. Chris bottled up the ground game while its own senior running back Charlie de Venoge powered forward all night long. He hit the century mark at the 9:23 mark of the second quarter with a one-yard score that opened a 21-0 lead.
“Our line was going great,” said de Venoge, who finished with 239 yards on 39 carries. “It was more of a scheme game, and I benefitted from my line.”
STAB senior Patrick Blake, who claimed the quarterback job in week one, found his trio of receiving targets to rally the Saints in the second and third quarters, but his 36 attempts by game-end are not indicative of a new pass-first offense.
“We’re not built to just sling the ball,” said STAB coach John Blake. “That was probably 25 more times than I ever want to throw the ball again. We have to be able to control the ball more than that.”
After the early Menges scoop-and-score, STAB’s next two possessions ended with interceptions. While STAB’s defense forced a turnover-on-downs and Campbell Miller made a pick deep over the middle, St. Chris put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Menges to lead 14-0 at the end of the opening quarter. After a quick STAB three-and-out, De Venoge’s touchdown came three plays after St. Chris senior quarterback Jeb Bemiss hit John Damgard down the sideline on third down for 29 yards.
“Our offense is designed to take what the defense gives us,” said St. Christopher’s coach Lance Clelland. “We saw, formationally, we could get some favorable matchups on the perimeter, and we tried to do that.”
STAB finally answered by putting together its best drive of the night: 86 yards in 13 plays over 5:19. Javon Johnson picked up 32 yards on the first two plays, and Blake found Miller twice for 27 yards to move inside the St. Chris 30. STAB converted two fourth downs with Blake passes to Kareem Johnson, including a fourth-and-goal jump ball along the right edge of the end zone where Johnson battled for joint possession on the way to the ground. In the last minute of the half, senior defensive back Logan Lucas setup another scoring chance with an interception and 33-yard return to the St. Chris 39. Blake hit Campbell down the middle for 16 yards, and then found Johnson again in the end zone to make it 21-13 at the break. The energy was back as STAB received the third quarter kickoff, but the Saints went three-and-out. St. Chris found a different fate on its third and five, as Bemiss hit senior Sam Cain down the left sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.
“That put us back on our heels, and was probably the play of the game,” Blake said as the quick score put STAB behind 27-13. “We had a little momentum, and then it was gone.”
STAB rolled out the gadget plays on its next series, with Harrison picking up 17 yards on a reverse, but then Blake was sacked for a loss of 13 on a double-reverse option-pass. He was picked by Menges on third and 23, and de Venoge covered 43 yards in three plays to put St. Chris ahead 34-13. The Blake-to-Johnson connection propelled STAB to the red zone on its next series, but senior defensive back Sam Turner halted it with an interception. Still, the STAB defense took advantage of field position, and along with a holding penalty forced a punt from the end zone. The low kick was blocked and the punter’s second kick of the loose ball in the end zone triggered a safety. After the free kick, on the last play of the quarter, Blake found senior Jalen Harrison for a 53-yard touchdown, and it was a two-score game (34-22) entering the fourth.
It remained a two-score game after Willy Bemiss’s 40-yard field goal with 9:43 left. However, STAB was foiled as Turner made his third interception of the night. With the margin still at 15 points with 6:51 remaining, STAB went four-and-out, and de Venoge sealed the outcome as he covered 39 yards on two rushes for this third touchdown. Menges capped the scoring moments later with a 65-yard pick-six.
Blake finished 18-of-36 for 279 yards. Johnson hauled down a game-high nine receptions for 129 yards, while Harrison grabbed three for 93. Miller also had three catches for 43 yards. Javon Johnson finished with just 61 yards on 19 rushes.
STAB (2-1) heads back on the road to division rival Trinity Episcopal for a 2014 state final rematch next week.
