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Gut-check: Alexander helps power STAB to win over Covenant

Photo by Ashley Thornton

St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Jaylen Alexander was exhausted, and who could blame him. The freshman essentially had to psych himself up for every late carry during a game where he’d handled the offensive load and made several big plays defensively, including breaking up a potential touchdown pass late in the first half.

 

“I started cramping up a little bit but I knew I had to stay in there,” Alexander said.

 

That exhaustion was worth it though as the Saints grabbed their second win of the year with a 35-25 victory over the Eagles. The rivalry game served as a pride-check for the Saints who came into the game with just a single win on the year and in the midst of a six-game losing streak.

 

“It was definitely a pride-check,” said STAB’s Isaiah Kilby-Sharp. “After all the losses that we suffered, it’s so good to get back to basics and get a win against our rival here tonight.”

 

Alexander rushed for 180 yards, accounting for 64 percent of the Saints’ yards, helping the Saints recover from last week’s frustrating loss to Blue Ridge where STAB was forced to concede to the Barons in the third quarter as injuries piled up.

 

“The rebound that we made in three or four days was remarkable,” said STAB coach John Blake. “We got healthy and we changed a few things up but we were focused this week. (With) everything that happened last week, I asked them where can we go from here and everybody said up.”

 

The Saints got the job done against the Eagles despite surrendering 310 yards on the ground to Covenant’s Rick Weaver. Covenant dropped into a 21-0 hole and that proved too deep to climb out of even as Weaver got going in a big way.

 

“So proud of our kids, you look out on the field and you can see they’re giving it everything they have,” said Covenant coach Dave Hart. “I’m just proud for who they are and the way they’re being shaped and molded through this game.”

 

Early turnovers helped put Covenant in that hole with three key giveaways that gave STAB’s offense a big boost. The defense played big-time football in most of that opening half for the Saints, a welcome development for a unit that has struggled at times this year.

 

“We can be really good if we’re focused and that’s really what we focused on,” said STAB’s Will Edelson. “It’s more emotional than physical really.”

 

Juwan Woodson’s 11 solo tackles and his interception set the pace for the Saints on that side of the ball and Isaiah Kilby-Sharp, Gabe Sanok and Christian Smith also did most of the heavy lifting in the interior against the Eagles’ dive/option combo.

 

Covenant managed to cut the STAB lead to just eight points in the third quarter when Weaver powered in from four yards out. But on the ensuing possession, Alexander raced in from 61 yards out to extend the Saints lead back out to 29-13 with a two-point conversion. Covenant answered with a touchdown of their own by Donavan Jackson set up by a battering-ram run by Rick Weaver, but couldn’t convert the two-point try and trailed 29-19. A couple of minutes later, STAB quarterback Thomas Harry connected with Myles Ward for a 53-yard touchdown and the Eagles were right back in the hole.

 

John Huemme made his return to the lineup at quarterback for the Eagles after offseason surgery and orchestrated the offense well while throwing a touchdown pass and rushing for 36 yards. Donavan Jackson rushed for 65 yards.

 

For the Saints, it was a huge win, a needed victory in a season that’s been full of growing pains and struggle. Now the Saints will travel to Virginia Episcopal next week while the Eagles host North Cross.

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