November 4- The defending District 3/6 Class AAAA Champion Bishop McDevitt Crusaders overwhelmed the Carlisle Thundering Herd this morning, 48-6 at McDevitt Field. The Crusader’s (7-3, 6-3 in Mid Penn Commonwealth play) dominance over a young Carlisle team was evident early on, as they sprinted to a 21-0 lead and then opened the second half with another scoring burst. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Koncar was particularly effective, completing 11 of 18 passes for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns and piloting the offensive confidently. Receivers Julian Harrell and Mike Comasco both had big games, and running back Mike Jones rushed for 67 yards and two scores in limited action. The early advantage allowed Head Coach Jeff Weachter to substitute liberally on Senior Day, as 8 players carried the football, 5 had receptions and 7 different players scored points. On defense, an ever-changing cast of characters held Carlisle to 192 total yards and only one score. Linebackers Pat Berry, Matt Vargo, Dante Ushery, Vince Lochetto and R.J. Hetrick were seemingly everywhere. Defensive linemen Sebastian Sullivan, Matt Dietz, Dave Onorato, Brian Christman and Wes Jesperson ensured that their final game at McDevitt Field was a productive one, and Tyrell Harris, Evan McGovern and Thomas Mitchell were active in the secondary.

Carlisle received the opening kickoff and managed a first down before fumbling at the CAR 39. Ushery recovered and two plays later Koncar and Harrell combined for a 23 yard gain. On the next play Jones scooted behind blocks by Berry and center Hector Cabrera to finish a 16 yard touchdown run. Comasco’s PAT made the score 7-0 with 9:10 left in the opening quarter. On the next series Herd quarterback Jordan Holter was pressured by Onorato and Lochetto and lofted a pass into the waiting arms of Mitchell, who covered the 29 yards to the end zone in a heartbeat. The pick and score gave McDevitt a 14-0 lead and a rising sense of confidence. Carlisle ran for a first down on the ensuing possession before Harris broke up a third down pass attempt, forcing a punt to the McD 30. Koncar began this scoring drive with a 10 yard completion to McGovern before Harrell made a dazzling catch, good for a first down at the CAR 47. Two Onorato runs netted 8 tough yards before a 9 yard Koncar-Harrell hookup moved the chains. With the ball now spotted on the CAR 30, Jones took a handoff and skirted left end behind tight end Steve Westhaffer’s block. The shifty junior avoided a linebacker and then put it in high gear and bolted past the secondary for the score. A Carlisle personal foul penalty on the kickoff that followed pinned the Herd deep in its own territory as the quarter ended.

Carlisle managed to move out of the shadow of its own goal line before punting to the CAR 45. After an incompletion and a 2 yard Comasco reception Koncar threw a rainmaker deep downfield. Harrell made an impressive leaping catch at the CAR 3 and the Crusaders were poised to score again. But Comasco uncharacteristically dropped a Koncar pass at the goal line and, on the next play, the sophomore signal-caller made his only bad decision of the game, throwing an interception to Carlisle’s Jon Jackson at the 4. On the next play Demetrius Thomas broke through the Crusader line and sprinted down the right sideline. Only a hustling play by Harris prevented a touchdown, as Thomas was finally brought down at the McD 17. One play later Berry made a splendid individual effort by first forcing, then recovering a Carlisle fumble at the 15. Koncar then averted disaster by avoiding a sack on third down and managing a short pass to Jones, but the Crusaders were forced to punt. Comasco sidestepped the onrushing Carlisle defenders but rushed his punt, resulting in a 2 yard loss to the McD 17. Jackson ran a clever inside reverse for 12 yards and then Thomas finished the drive with a 1 yard touchdown run. When the extra point attempt was wide of the mark Carlisle had narrowed the McDevitt lead to 21-6, with 2:24 left in the half. Carlisle then attempted an on side kick and recovered at the McD 47. Comasco then took control of the game. First the junior playmaker broke up a long pass attempt. On the next play he tipped, then intercepted Holter’s pass at the McD 30 and returned it to the 40. After Harrell’s 8 yard catch and a 2 yard Jones run Comasco was at it again. First he took a Koncar pass and ran for a 32 yard gain, to the CAR 18. On the next play Koncar lofted a pass to Comasco in the left corner of the end zone. Comasco leaped with a Carlisle defender and tipped the ball high into the air, toward the back of the end zone. Somehow he managed to dive for the tumbling pigskin and made a brilliant catch before the ball hit the ground. After his individual effort (and a Jones interception on the next Herd series), McDevitt was able to take a 28-6 lead into the locker room at half time.

Carlisle pooched the third quarter kickoff and the Crusaders recovered at the McD 37. An 18 yard Jones run soon had McDevitt in Carlisle territory but a Herd sack of Koncar stopped the drive and Comasco punted to the Car 18. Carlisle soon went 3-and-out and punted back to Mitchell at midfield. Jones was dropped for a 4 yard loss and then Koncar hit Harrell on a slant pattern and the speedy junior raced 52 yards for the touchdown and, after Casey Bolton’s PAT, a 35-6 McDevitt lead. Carlisle was stopped on three plays again and punted to Mitchell at the McD 28. Mitchell weaved his way to the 50 before he was forced out of bounds. A frustrated Carlisle defender then blasted Mitchell in front of the McDevitt bench and the 15 yard penalty that followed moved the ball to the CAR 35. With Mitchell now at quarterback the Crusaders moved to the 14 before a sack and fumble turned the ball over to the Herd as the third quarter ended. Carlisle moved into McDevitt territory aided by an interference penalty (McDevitt’s only penalty of the game), but the Crusader defense stiffened and McDevitt regained possession at the McD 38. Onorato ran for a yard before Mitchell passed to Vargo for a 16 yard gain. Onorato then carried 3 straight times, totaling 15 yards and advancing McDevitt to the CAR 33. After an offside Carlisle penalty, Mitchell again targeted Vargo, who was racing down the left sideline. Vargo made a leaping catch at the CAR 4 and finished the scoring drive with a 4 yard run on the next play. With McDevitt now leading 41-6 the “Mercy Rule” came into effect, with a continuous clock. On the kickoff Bolton booted a high, short kick to the CAR 20. The Carlisle returner fumbled the ball, picked it up and then was blasted by a speeding Ushery as the ball fell to the ground. Fred Dietz alertly pounced on the loose ball at the CAR 20. With Xavier Butts now at quarterback, the McDevitt reserves didn’t miss a beat. First Bill Stair blasted for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the CAR 9. Sophomore Pat Vargo then rumbled for 6 yards before Butts followed an impressive offensive line surge into the end zone for the senior’s first career touchdown with 4:51 left in the game. Bolton tacked on the PAT and McDevitt had a 48-6 lead. After the ensuing kickoff Weachter called a time out and had his seniors come on the field. Then he gave a signal and the McDevitt class of 2007 football players left their home field for one final time, accompanied by a standing ovation. This class has been the key to the resurgence of McDevitt football, with 2 district titles and 3 consecutive playoff appearances to their credit.

But the final chapter in the story of the class of 2007 has yet to be written. Next Saturday, November 11^th, McDevitt begins play in the District 3/6 Class AAAA playoffs with a rematch against the Altoona Mountain Lions. The game will be played at Central Dauphin’s Landis Field and kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jeff Weachter

We wanted to open it up a little bit, go to a bit of a spread and I thought it worked pretty well. Other than the second quarter when we lost focus, we dropped a touchdown pass and we threw an interception and gave up a big run, other than that I thought we played well. It was nice to see the offense moving the ball consistently again and, hopefully, that will continue in the playoffs. We’ve really been preaching about the penalties and the one they called, I’m not so sure that was a penalty! I thought Evan turned around and made a play on the ball. But give credit to the guys: we’re starting to get a little healthier and it sure helps to have a healthy Mike Jones. The playoff situation reminds me a lot of two years ago where we get a chance to make amends for a game where we didn’t play very well. They have to come here and it’s going to be a very physical game because they’re a very physical team. Let’s just hope that our guys are up for the challenge. I think that they will be. 

Assistant Coach/AD Tommy Mealy

I thought that we came out and went back to McDevitt football for that first quarter, but we did get a little sloppy in the second quarter. We had a special teams mishap on the onside kick, and some missed tackles and those things have been among the weaknesses we’ve had as a team. We really challenged the kids at half time and they came out and responded and, more importantly, finished the game. The two major concerns that we’ve constantly harped about are the fumbled snaps and the penalties. If you look since the Central Dauphin game the errors have gone down each week. Now McDevitt traditionally has done well in rematches in the playoffs. Against Altoona we had a big special teams breakdown and we missed tackles. Those are the two areas we have to concentrate on to beat this team. We are excited to play them.  Now playing McCaskey (against Tommy’s brother Todd, McCaskey’s Defensive Coordinator) would have been trouble. I’m glad it didn’t happen; I know my parents are glad it didn’t happen, but I think Todd wanted to play us!

Assistant Coach Dave Weachter

On offense we obviously played better. I thought Kyle threw the ball better today. I don’t think last week against Cedar Cliff in the rain was a fair read because of the weather and I thought he threw the ball pretty well against Altoona. I thought the receivers did a great job and I’m really excited about Julian, the way he’s going up, using his size and taking the ball away from defensive players. I was glad to see Matt Vargo make some big grabs. When you have a kid like that who plays hard all the time it’s great to see him get rewarded on the field. Matt is probably the biggest leader we have on the team. Whether McGovern’s play was or wasn’t a penalty, well, I guess we have to have one! I thought the kids did a great job keeping their composure. Carlisle had nothing else to play for and there was a little bit of talking going on out there. The refs actually commended our kids for walking away from some of the stuff that was going on. The big thing against Altoona is being healthier this time. Last time we played them we had a few back ups in on the offensive line and then when Jared Henley got hurt we had to substitute again, so this is probably as close to healthy that we’ve been in a long time. There were a lot of things that we did well in that game so I think we’re going to be OK.

WR Julian Harrell

We wanted to come out and play well, to prove a point with the playoffs coming up. We knew that if we came out strong Carlisle couldn’t handle us so we wanted to put some points on the board early. We like the idea of a rematch against Altoona. We really didn’t care who we played or where we played; we just want to beat whoever we play. But now we get to play a team that beat us last time.

LB/WR Matt Vargo

I’ve been waiting all year to make a catch and they finally threw one my way. On that long throw I was supposed to go into the flat but I saw Thomas rolling out so I just broke it up field and Thomas made a good read on it and got the ball to me. On the touchdown run the line did a great job and blew the whole left side back and I just went right in. I can’t wait to play Altoona again. Two years ago we had the same thing with Central Dauphin and Carlisle. We’re going to come out and play really hard; you’ll see.

QB Kyle Koncar

I was pretty confident going into this game. Actually, we did some things differently this game; more spreads formations instead of the smash-mouth McDevitt football as usual. On the touchdown to Julian, well, I’ve been having trouble hitting the slant the past couple of games. I worked on it a lot in practice and it all came together on that one play when Julian took it to the house. This week we’re going to work hard with the offensive line. We’re going to get Vince Sullivan back and that’s going to help us a lot. We’ll be ready to play Altoona.

QB/S Thomas Mitchell

On the interception I was playing free, in the zone and I was reading the quarterback’s eyes. It was pretty predictable where he was going to throw it. It was great, seeing all of that open space in front of me, especially on Senior Day. I love it! Playing quarterback today was good; on the scoring drive I just do my thing out there. We’ll be ready for Altoona.

RB/DE Dave Onorato