McDevitt Dominates East, 34-14

September 6- The Bishop McDevitt Crusaders evened their record at 1-1 (1-0 in the MidPenn Commonwealth Division) this morning with an impressive performance, dominating on both sides of the ball in a 34-14 win over C.D. East. Emerging from halftime with a 14-0 lead, the young squad reeled off 3 impressive scoring drives in its first 4 possessions to build a 34-0 lead, while the McDevitt defense held the Panthers scoreless until the outcome was no longer in doubt. Individually, Linebackers Jeff Ritter and Larondo Tucker and Wide Receiver Jeremy Smith were key two-way performers. Ritter and Tucker led the defense that held East scoreless until the game’s final minutes, and also contributed to McDevitt’s strong ground game. Ritter rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown on just 4 carries, and Tucker added 27 rugged yards on 6 attempts. Smith contributed 2 pass receptions for 86 yards and one score, handled the kickoff and PAT duties, and was active in the secondary from his Safety spot.

Sophomores Jeremy Ricker and LeSean McCoy were the statistical leaders for the Crusaders. Ricker showed continued improvement at quarterback, finishing with 10 completions in 22 attempts for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns, with one interception. McCoy gained 85 tough yards on 24 carries against a defense designed to stop him, and added 2 scores. On defense, the secondary benefited from the return of Senior Cornerback Ryan Williams, frustrating the Panther’s passing game. The defensive line showed an improved pass rush, as Uriah Aviles was credited with one sack and monstrous linemen Quincy Rain and Jason Kates shared another.

After both teams ended their initial possessions with punts to start the game, C.D. East started their second drive on their own 30. When Panther Quarterback Allan Donato was hit and fumbled, Ritter alertly pounced on the ball on the 25. Three plays later, Ricker hit Smith with a 16 yard scoring strike to give McDevitt the lead it would never relinquish, at the 7:20 mark. When the Panthers fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Tucker recovered at the East 21. After an incompletion, Ricker found Tight End Mike Mitchell over the middle for a 17 yard completion. McCoy dashed in from the 4 on the next play, and, after Smith’s 2nd successful PAT, the Crusaders had a quick 14-0 lead. Amazingly, C.D.East left the next kickoff uncovered at their 25 and the Crusaders regained possession, but Ricker’s end zone interception ended the threat. East mounted a threat minutes later, gaining to the McDevitt 34, but Aviles stalled the drive with a 10 yard sack of Donato, forcing a punt to end the quarter.

The second quarter featured 4 punts, as both teams struggled offensively. Another successful defensive series by the Crusaders (they stopped East 4 times in the quarter) found the Panthers at their own 3 yard line as the half ended. The second half, however, began with a big play. With McDevitt facing a 3rd-and-8 at their own 22, Ricker targeted Smith on a slant that the 6’0 senior hauled in the 30. Smith wasn’t hauled down until he had reached the East 8, a 70 yard gain. Two plays later, McCoy circled right end for the score, and Smith’s PAT gave McDevitt a 21-0 lead with 10:17 left in the third. After the Crusader defense forced another punt, McDevitt took over at their own 15. This drive took 7 plays to cover 85 yards, featuring a 17 yard Ricker-to-Tucker hookup, a Tucker run of 18, McCoy runs of 5 and 11 yards, an 11 yard blast by Cedric Bowling and a 14 yard scoring scamper by Ritter. The scoreboard showed a 28-0 Crusader lead at the 5:16 mark of the 3rd quarter. East’s next drive was stopped by yet another fumble recovery, this time by Cornerback Kris Scott at the McDevitt 35. The home team’s final score came after an impressive 13 play, 93 yard march that ended halfway into the fourth quarter. Ritter completed 5 of 6 passes in the drive to 4 different receivers, and finished it off with a fade to a wide-open Mike Goldston from 10 yards out to end the Crusader’s scoring. C.D. East got on the board twice in the final 5 minutes as the McDevitt coaching staff began to substitute liberally.

McDevitt’s next game will be a major test for Coach Jeff Weachter’s young team. The Crusaders travel to New Kingstown next Friday, Sept.12th, for a battle with Cumberland Valley, currently the 2nd ranked team in class AAAA. Game time is 7:30 PM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

I think we let up a little in the first half when we got the big lead so early. At halftime we did a little butt-chewing because we had gotten sloppy. Jeremy settled down in the second half and had a nice game. The 3rd quarter was a good one for us overall, and I’m very pleased with those long scoring drives. I am particularly pleased with the play of our secondary. Ryan coming back really helped us. He gives us stability back there; he keeps the younger kids calmed down. We got a real nice game from Jeremy Smith, too. With Cumberland Valley coming up, we have to cut down on mistakes. We’re looking for improvement every week and if we get it, we’ll be all right.

Assistant Coach Corey Jett

We redeemed ourselves this week after the loss to State College. We had a chance to pass the ball today and you could see what happened. The d-line had a better pass rush this week but there is plenty of room for improvement. The defensive backfield came to play today. That was a great effort.

CB/WR Ryan Williams

It feels good to get that first win under our belts. I thought the East QB was pretty good; he had a good touch on the ball but not as good as Jeremy. With CV coming up next week we have a lot of hard work ahead of us in practice this week.

Tackle Quincy Rain

We can still improve on the pass rush but it got better from last week. We have made a lot of progress so far. We want to have a real good rush inside.

LB/RB Doug Ritter

It’s good to get that first win. We had a good week of practice so I thought we would have a good game today and we did. On my touchdown run, it was 42 trap and there was really a big hole to go through. Give Uriah credit, he threw the trap block on all of my carries. You can always count on Uriah to throw a good block. I was surprised to get that many carries today.  

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