It was a chop block — an ever-prevalent maneuver that is the bane of a defensive lineman’s universe and an annoying, occasionally dangerous part of life in the trenches where the offensive player cuts out the legs of the defender — early in the second half that caught St. Anne’s-Belfield defensive end Antoine Curry off guard.
“Just play the game — you can’t do that to me,” Curry said.
Boys’ Latin quickly found out that they shouldn’t do that to Curry. The speedy defensive end turned his frustration into a huge second half and became as close to unblockable as any one lineman can as the Saints knocked off previously unbeaten Boys’ Latin out of Baltimore 14-10 Saturday afternoon.
“Is there something bigger than big?,” said St. Anne’s coach John Blake of the win. “We are just finding kids every week that step up.”
Curry was one of those players Saturday. The junior had five tackles, 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery, nearly all of it coming in the second half. Throw in a heavy dose of linebacker Shane Palmateer (two fourth quarter interceptions) and linebacker/nose guard Brandon Spitzer (11 tackles, three for a loss) and you’ve got part of the foundation for STAB’s current winning formula — suffocating defense and a clock chewing offense.
The Saints’ offense hasn’t scored more than 23 points since the season opener, but the unit is able to eat clock consistently with Branford Rogers handling the majoirt of the carries, and Saturday he piled up 116 yards including a first quarter touchdown from 40 yards out on 25 touches. The defense has given up an average of just eight points per game, essentially completely shutting down opposing offenses. The St. Anne’s (6-0) defensive line drives that dominance, particularly late in the game when Spitzer, Curry, Charles Sipe and Jordan Davis’ quickness and speed take over.
“Our defense just comes up with big play after big play,” said STAB coach John Blake. “And Antoine, they just couldn’t block him.”
Saturday, the offense did unleash one huge play through the air, a deep ball down the right sideline from Charlie Murray to Nicco Freeo for 62 yards, putting STAB on the one-yard line. Three plays later, Murray barreled in on a quarterback sneak and then hit Andrew Crockett on the two-point conversion to put the Saints up 14-10 after STAB trailed 10-6 at the half. Freeo, who injured his shoulder a few weeks ago against St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes, appeared to subluxate the shoulder at the end of his catch and run. Freeo has gutted through the pain of the injury over the last few games, continuing to fill a series of critical roles like placekicker for the Saints.
“He’s the Phoenix, he just keeps coming back and making a play and coming back and making a play,” Blake said. “It just keeps popping and every time he gets tackled he lands on that shoulder.”
After Freeo’s catch and run, the Saints’ defense took over and dominated the rest of the game, occasionally surrendering big gainers, but just as often quickly responding with a sack or a tackle a loss. Palmateer’s interceptions sealed the win, allowing the Saints’ offense to continue to grind out the clock.
“This year the ball just seems a lot bigger than it ever has,” Palmateer said.
For the unbeaten Saints’ sake, hopefully it stays that way against Collegiate next week in another battle against another tough squad, defending Division I state champion Collegiate.
The Saints, who sported pink ribbons on the back of their uniforms in support of breast cancer research, were able to pick up the win amid the distractions of the school’s Centennial celebration, a massive undertaking that included events on Saturday from 6:30 a.m. on into the night—and that was just Saturday.
“For us to overcome those sort of things, I’m just proud of the kids,” Blake said. “They’re just a real resilient group.”
