Even though St. Anne’s-Belfield’s quarterbacks threw more interceptions than their team scored points in the first half, the Saints pulled out a 26-7 victory against Virginia Episcopal School Friday night with a big second half.
Bottom line — the third quarter belonged to STAB.
The Saints finally got on the board with 9:59 left in the third when senior running back Aaron Clark burst through the line and into the secondary, stiff-arming a defender before zooming to the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but the momentum had clearly shifted toward the Saints.
STAB then recovered an onside kick and quickly punched it in again with Clark, this time on an 18-yard run with 7:07 left in the third. The two-point try was unsuccessful again, but it ended up not mattering.
Following a Bishop three-and-out, the Saints marched right down the field for a third consecutive drive, scoring this time on 14-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jacob Rainey to senior running back Willie McGhee.
“The line did an excellent job blocking and Rainey was under control and made a great pass to the flat,” McGhee said. “(Senior wide receiver) Joseph Stuart had some great blocking down field.”
STAB coach John Blake again went with rotation at quarterback, using both Rainey and freshman Jack Yost. Rainey got the majority of snaps and completed 6 of 15 passes for 88 yards and the one touchdown. The quarterbacks recovered from a dismal first half to contribute to the team’s comeback in the second half.
“We had a lot of errors, a lot of passing errors [in the first half],” McGhee said. “Coach told the quarterbacks they just had to calm down and get under control. Rainey came back out and made some good passes and was a lot calmer.”
The Saints also got their rushing attack on track in the second half. Clark finished with 178 yards on 30 carries while McGhee added 63 yards on just five carries, scoring on a 27-yard touchdown to pretty much put the game out of reach at the start of the fourth quarter.
When the scoring barrage was over, STAB had totaled 26 points in 12:08.
“I asked them (at halftime) what they would’ve thought if they were standing there watching themselves play,” Blake said. “There answer was a little bit silent but I think they got the message.”
From there, the Saints’ defense kept the Bishops at bay, stopping a passing game that moved the ball down the field effectively in the first half.
“We just told the guys to get closer in the zones and try to match up a little better,” Bale said.
With 3:23 left in the first quarter, Bishop senior Bennett King intercepted the first of a trio of passes the Bishop defense would pick off in the first half at the STAB 15-yard line, running it into the end zone from there for the first period’s only score. In the second quarter, junior Zachary Jones and sophomore Martin Owens recorded interceptions two and three, contributing to a defense that was stout throughout the first half.
“We made a few changes to deal with St. Anne’s speed and I’m real proud of how our kids reacted,” said VES coach Kyle Alexander. “It was the best half of ‘D’ all year for us.”
For the second time in two weeks, STAB won a game where it was held scoreless int he first half. The Saints also beat Trinity two weeks ago 28-0 after a 0-0 halftime score.
“F-O-C-U-S,” Blake spelled after the game, emphasizing that most of what changed was the attitude the players brought on to the field.
Next week, STAB will almost surely need to focus for an entire game, as Collegiate and Jake McGee come to town.
