For video highlights from this game, click here.
By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
So much for 14-game losing streaks. It’s time to start thinking postseason at St. Anne’s-Belfield.
On senior night, the Saints topped cross-town rival Covenant 21-7 to notch their third straight win. Now, no one’s kidding with talk about the playoffs.
“We’re definitely not out of it,” said STAB coach John Blake. “If we win out and some things happen, we’re in. I never thought I’d say that this year, but if we can eke out a couple of wins here in the next couple of weeks, who knows.”
STAB’s defense effectively shut down Covenant’s offense in the second half, as the Eagles took a total of three snaps in Saints’ territory. STAB forced turnovers to end each of Covenant’s last four offensive series, with sophomore Jalen Harrison coming up with two picks in the secondary. Harrison also helped lead the offense; first as a running back, and then at quarterback after starter Lee Parkhill was banged up early in the fourth quarter.
“I want to give thanks to my offensive line,” said Harrison. “I haven’t played quarterback or running back the whole year, when Coach Blake told me I was going to play running back and quarterback this game. They told me they would protect me, so they had a good game.”
Covenant opened the game in promising fashion as junior Paul Huemme returned the short squib kickoff to the STAB 42. Four plays later, on fourth and one, junior running back Austin Llera took a pitch to the left and raced 33 yards for a touchdown.
“Covenant came out with a big crowd, and we were pretty hyped up at the beginning,” said Blake. “That touchdown they scored kind of took the air out of us for a little bit.”
However, the Eagles managed just 10 yards of offense over the remainder of the first half and punted five times. Inside of a minute before halftime, junior Ryquane Washington picked up a bouncing punt near his own 40 and appeared to find a lane to go all the way for a big special teams touchdown; but, inside the 10, a Saints defender knocked the ball loose from behind, and no Eagle could recover before it rolled through the endzone for a touchback.
“It was probably the biggest play of the game, to be honest with you,” Blake said. “For the kid to make a great run, and then [fumble it], it reminded me of the kid from Tennessee. That’s just a bad luck thing on their part, but weird things happen in games like this.”
STAB’s first-half offense was just as dismal. With one exception, the Saints did not have a play go for double-digit yardage, and they did not record a first down until the third quarter. Harrison provided the sole big play with a 66-yard touchdown run at 9:34 in the second quarter. After an unsuccessful pass attempt on the try for two, the Eagles held a 7-6 edge at the break.
“They opened a hole up on the backside for me, because it was a 6-hole play,” Harrison said. “I just cut it back and ran.”
The Saints’ offense looked much better to start the third quarter on an impressive 11-play, 65-yard drive lasting 6:03. A couple of key penalties helped, as Parkhill drew Covenant offside with a hard count on fourth and two near midfield, and defensive pass interference negated an interception on a deep pass that caromed off the receiver’s foot. Parkhill hit Campbell Miller in the back-right corner of the endzone from 13 yards out to cap the drive and put STAB ahead for good, 12-7.
On its next possession, Covenant turned the ball over on downs as Llera was tripped up a half-yard short of the Eagles’ 45 on fourth and two. However, on STAB’s first play, Bobby Findley picked off Parkhill’s deep pass at the 7. Brodie Phillips returned the favor six plays later with the first of STAB’s three second-half interceptions of Jay Gaffney.
“I really said at the beginning of the game that we can’t have turnovers, and we had turnovers and penalties,” said Covenant coach David Rocco. “I think that our kids had a heck of an effort defensively, and I’m very proud of how they’ve been playing. Offensively, we need to come up with some changes.”
After a missed long field goal to start the fourth quarter, Harrison halted Covenant’s next series with a pick near midfield. Parkhill was dinged on the third play of the Saints’ possession, forcing Harrison and Phillips to split time taking snaps the rest of the way. STAB continued to win the field position battle, as following a punt the defense came up with another turnover when Gideon Elron fell on a Gaffney fumble at the Eagles’ 21. The Saints converted that into three points as Cameron Paton hit a 22-yard field goal with 4:22 remaining to extend the lead to 15-7.
Still facing a one-score margin, Covenant finally crossed midfield on its ensuing possession. Washington rushed for 14 yards on second and long, and then caught a pass from Gaffney for 12 yards to the Saints’ 35 on fourth and two, forcing a STAB timeout.
“We weren’t lining up right on defense,” Blake said. “Within our zone, our linebacker wasn’t out wide enough to be able to play that [fourth down] ball. We were playing a four-deep coverage with that, so the kid was wide open. We called the timeout and settled our kids back down again.”
Harrison then made the game-sealing play when he picked off a deflected deep pass at the 13, and returned it 56 yards. Covenant used its two remaining timeouts, but Phillips picked up one first down with 11 yards on two rushes, and Harrison converted a third and one by racing into the endzone on a keeper around the right side with 36.5 seconds left.
Harrison led all rushers with 112 yards on 16 attempts, while Phillips added 41 yards on 14 carries. Parkhill completed 5-of-14 passes for 42 yards. For Covenant, Llera carried 13 times for 54 yards and caught three passes for 13 yards. Gaffney went 5-of-12 for 31 yards.
STAB (3-4) will try to continue its playoff push next Saturday on a trip to Christchurch (0-6, play Saturday afternoon vs. Norfolk Christian). Covenant (3-5) hosts North Cross (5-2) next Friday at 3:30.
