October
31- Overcoming a rash of turnovers and a determined home team, the
Bishop McDevitt Crusaders prevailed over the State College Little
Lions tonight, 28-17, before a lively crowd at Memorial Stadium. The
win gave the Crusaders a perfect 9-0 regular season, the third in the
history of the Market Street school and the second under current head
coach Jeff Weachter. Unlike the previous 8 victories this season the
game was closely contested into the fourth quarter, before McDevitt's
sturdy defense and the running of junior Jameel Poteat prevailed. The
Crusaders trailed at one point in the third quarter, 17-14, marking
the only time so far this year that McDevitt had faced a deficit in
the second half. A stunning scoring drive, fueled by a reconfigured
offensive line and Poteat's inspired running, quickly erased State
College's lead. Then the Crusader defense, forced to defend a short
field all night due to untimely turnovers, staged a memorable goal
line stand to erase any hope the Lions had for an upset. The victory
earned McDevitt the top seed in the upcoming District 3 class AAAA
playoffs.
State
College received the opening kickoff and returned the short kick to
the SC 37. A McDevitt penalty and a couple of short runs by
quarterback Dom Mills led to a first down, but the drive soon stalled
when seniors Jon Duckett and Corey Ford teamed to swat away Mills'
first pass attempt. The punt that followed rolled into the end zone
and McDevitt began its first possession at the McD 20. Poteat tried
to run inside, challenging the Lions' front wall, but met with little
success, so junior Ted Deily came on to boot a 31 yard punt to
midfield. Again the Crusader defense was up to the challenge,
stopping Penn State recruit Alex Kenney on a third down play to force
another punt. This time the ball was fielded by senior Dawan Smith,
in his first game back from an injury. Smith reversed direction no
less than three times before being hauled down for a 1 yard loss. A 1
yard Poteat plunge and an incomplete pass resulted in the Crusaders
facing a third-and-9, at the McD 12. Junior quarterback Matt Johnson
decided it was time to impress the home crowd with his arm strength,
so he fired a 34 yard bullet to senior Aaron Sye for the first down
that kick-started the McDevitt offense. After two more short Poteat
runs Johnson hooked up with senior Salath Williams for a 33 yard
completion, to the SC 22. On the next play Johnson drifted back into
the pocket but found no open receivers. He quickly darted to his
right and circled around right end for a first down, running out of
bounds at the SC 10. A 3 yard shovel pass to Duckett followed before
the Crusaders were flagged for a motion penalty. Johnson then threw
incomplete to Williams on a fade, but the Lions were penalized for
holding, moving the ball to the SC 6. McDevitt then employed their
“Berwick” package, a Power I formation featuring
Duckett and
senior Fred Dietz ahead of Poteat, and twin tight ends. Poteat fought
for 3 tough yards before Duckett, following pulling linemen Tony
Harris and Victor Shaffer, cruised into the end zone for the game's
first tally. Freshman Connor Maloney drilled the PAT and McDevitt had
a 7-0 lead, with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter. Maloney then
popped another short kickoff that was mishandled by a State College
lineman. Dietz quickly fell on the loose pigskin and the Crusaders
were back in business at the SC 37. Poteat then netted nine yards on
2 carries before the quarter ended.
Facing
a third-and-one to start the second quarter, Johnson tried to sneak
for the yard but was held for no gain. Poteat then converted the 4th
down try to move the chains, and followed that effort with runs of 2
and 6 yards. After McDevitt was hit with an off sides penalty Johnson
threw a swing pass to Poteat, who got a crushing block from Williams
en route to a 12 yard gain and a first down at the SC 12. One play
later Johnson lofted a fade pass down the left sideline toward a
streaking Williams. The lanky senior caught up with the ball just
before running out of room in the end zone, completing the splendid
15 yard scoring play and giving McDevitt a 14-0 lead, with 8:25 left
in the half. State College then embarked on its only long scoring
drive of the game, going 55 yards in 13 plays. The drive appeared
over at the McD 40 when the Lions, facing a 4th-and-6, sent in the
punt team. But punter Aaron Sallade threw a pass to senior Colby Way
(who tortured the Crusaders all night from both sides of the ball)
that was good for a 17 yard gain that kept the drive alive. After
McDevitt pressured Mills into a third down incompletion Zak Khayat
kicked a 34 yard field goal to narrow the Crusader lead to 14-3, with
3:34 remaining in the first half. That, of course, is plenty of time
for the high-powered McDevitt offense to score so, after freshman
Brian Lemelle's 18 yard kickoff return, Johnson revved up the passing
machine. From the McD 33 Johnson gunned a 33 yard completion to a
wide-open Williams, who fought for extra yardage. On the next play
Johnson, hounded by Way and Brad Holzwarth, was chased into a 17 yard
sack. Johnson then retreated to pass but was soon scrambling to
escape the rampaging Mr. Way. Johnson drifted to his right and passed
to Williams in the middle of the field. The pass came out high,
though and bounced off of Williams' outstretched hands into the
waiting arms of Kenney, one of the fastest players in the state.
Kenney wasted no time in converting the errant pass into 6 points for
the Lions, much to the delight of the Senior Night crowd. McDevitt's
Lemelle returned the ensuing kickoff 18 yards and Weachter, much to
his credit, decided to keep trying to score, with only 1:48 left to
play in the half. The decision looked questionable after Way sacked
Johnson again, this time for a 12 yard loss. But Poteat ran a 6 yard
draw play and Johnson converted the first down by dashing down the
left sideline and leaping over the sideline marker. Johnson then
threw 2 more incomplete passes, pursued by Way on every attempt. The
slick junior then ran a keeper for 14 more yards, to the SC 42,
before a holding penalty against the Crusaders doomed the drive.
Poteat had a 11 yard run to end the half.
Things
went from bad to worse for the Crusaders in the opening moments of
the second half. On the first play from scrimmage Johnson's option
pitch hit a State College defender and the Lions recovered. Six plays
later Mills' screen pass to Shane Dorner resulted in a touchdown and
State College had a 17-14 lead. Much has been made of McDevitt's
habit of taking early leads in games this year, and there had been
conjecture about how well the Crusaders would play when trailing in
the second half. The drive that followed answered a lot of those
questions. McDevitt had made some offensive line changes at half time
to control the State College pass rush, moving senior center Steve
Mosey to tackle and bringing in sophomore Kyree Ross to center. After
Duckett returned a short kickoff 6 yards, to the McD 29, Poteat
ripped off a 13 yard gain. One play later he fought for an 11 yarder,
to the SC 47 , before Johnson passed to senior Dan Leonard for an 8
yard gain. Poteat ran for the first down and then, after an
incompletion, took Johnson's handoff and ran to the left. He drifted
toward the sideline and then suddenly made a sharp cut upfield,
blasting past a pair of would-be tacklers and broke into the clear.
Poteat outraced his pursuers easily and McDevitt had regained the
lead, 21-17. After the kickoff an aroused Crusader defense held the
Lions to a 3-and-out, forcing a punt. The kick was a low line drive
that kicked off of the artificial turf and brushed past Smith's
outstretched hand, rolling past the startled senior where the Lions
recovered, at the McD 23. Kenney then swept left end for a 9 yard
gain and Way bulled for the first down at the McD 10. Three State
College runs could only net 5 yards, but Lions coach Al Wolski
decided to skip the field goal attempt and go for the touchdown.
Mills took the shotgun snap and looked for an open receiver. Finding
none, he darted for the goal line where a welcoming committee of
Crusaders was waiting for him. Dietz, Duckett, Mosey and Brandon True
shared in the touchdown-saving tackle, with the valiant True getting
a major headache for his effort. Poteat bulled for a 4 yard gain and
some much-needed breathing room as the quarter ended.
Poteat
began the final stanza by darting for a 17 yard gain behind a Mosey
block. One play later Johnson threw a delayed swing pass to Sye, who
eluded a couple of tacklers and registered a 14 yard gain. On the
next play Poteat found a hole and pushed through for a 15 yard gain,
to the SC 49. A holding penalty against the Crusaders moved the ball
back to 41 and then Poteat dove for 2 yards. Now facing a 3rd-and 18,
Johnson faked a handoff and dropped back to pass. Stepping up in the
pocket, Johnson heaved a long, hard pass down the right sideline.
Leonard, streaking down field with a Lion defender in hot pursuit,
turned back for the ball and reached up to make the catch, tumbling
out of bounds at the SC 12. The spectacular pitch-and catch was the
play of the game, rescuing the floundering McDevitt drive and setting
up the score that followed. Poteat ran for a yard and then Johnson
scrambled for 7, skipping out-of-bounds at the SC 2. Two State
College defenders followed Johnson and made contact past the
sideline, leading to a personal foul penalty and a McDevitt first
down . The Crusaders went back to Duckett for the short yardage play
and the senior didn't disappoint, patiently waiting for his blockers
to push in for the score. After Maloney's successful PAT the score
was 28-17, with 7:23 left in the game. To their credit the Lions
fought back, using a face mask penalty against McDevitt's Stephan
Belle (who was a major force on defense the whole game) and short
runs to move into McDevitt territory. On third-and-8 at the McD 36,
Kenny was tripped up by Anthony Pyzikiewicz on a short pass, and then
sophomore defensive end Noah Spence swarmed Mills' pass attempt,
forcing an incompletion that ended the threat. The Crusaders punted
back to the Lions a few plays later, but State College's final gasp,
a long Mills pass, was picked off by True and returned into Lions'
territory. McDevitt ran out the clock and celebrated the hard-earned
win.
After
an off week McDevitt's next game, the weekend of November 14th, will be a first round
playoff game against an opponent to be
determined.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff
Weachter
This
was a game we needed. It wasn't a clean game because we turned the
ball over quite a bit. I'm very proud of our guys, to be down in the
third quarter against a very good football team and come back and get
the win, it was a total team effort. I'm happy with these guys and I
think they've earned a few days off next week. We have a big
offensive line and a great running back so any time we start hitting
them with the passing game they change their defense. Tonight they
put Way about 4 yards outside our offensive tackle and he was tough
to block. We had guys open but Matt couldn't pass off of his back
foot while he was scrambling. We thought we had some things in the
run
game that we could do. That keeps them honest so they can't drop
so many people in coverage. Now we can play action and pass, so that
was our thinking. Next week we're going to refocus . Monday we're
going to take the seniors back to the Grotto to refocus for the
playoffs. Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on the weather, we'll
probably give them those days off to get away from football a little
bit. Thursday and Friday we'll bring them back in and practice some
things we need to get better on and sharpen up. After that we'll just
get ready for the playoffs.
Offensive
Line Coach
Jamie Harvey
I was
definitely excited tonight. I was excited for our young sophomore
center Kyree Ross, who came in and stepped up real big. I've been
training him all year just in case we got into a situation where we
had to use him. We actually put the line in the way we had it last
year. I hated to take Mosey away from center but Ross has developed
enough that he can play now. #84 (Way) gave us a lot of problems
coming off the edge but I just put my two senior tackles out there
and they're two of the best pass blockers in the league, for sure. In
the second half we had no problems.
S
Brandon True
We came
out here and we held it tight defensively. On defense we play as a
family. On the 4th
down play I saw the quarterback roll
out and then he saw a seam. I saw him coming up and I wasn't letting
him get that touchdown. I gave it everything I had on that play and
it was enough. On the interception we were in our 4-2 and they had me
over the top to make sure there wasn't anything long. The quarterback
threw the ball and I just came across, focused and caught the ball.
OL/DL
Steve Mosey
We came
out real strong and we were dominating to start. We just had some
mistakes that let them back in it. I thought we finished up real
strong, though; we came together like a family. On the 4th
down play it looked like a jet sweep at first, the quarterback kept
it and everyone did their job, being in the right place. That Way is
a great player, he's real fast, he's strong and he comes off the ball
well. We just had to stay in front of him to stop him. This has been
a four year project. The seniors have been here four years and we
know now that we can do it.
RB
Jameel Poteat
State
College always plays us hard and this is a hard place to play in. Our
line played great tonight. When I get hit like I did tonight I think,
“Just keep going. My team is counting on me so keep
going”. We
really needed that goal line stand. That got us all excited. We
played like a family with everyone chipping in. We have a couple of
guys that are sore so the off week will be good to get us ready for
the playoffs.
CB
Corey Ford
Normally
when we come into a big game like this the other team will have one
speedster, one athlete and the coaches will put me on him. Today it
was Alex Kenney. He's a very good athlete. On the jet sweep we ran
the corner up on it and they made me run with him so it was like
double-teaming him, and kept him from cutting back. We couldn't have
stopped them on that fourth down if we weren't playing together. We
showed a lot of heart on that play. We have to get better these next
two weeks. We're almost there but we're not where we need to be yet.
We almost lost today because of mistakes and we have to be able to
play mistake-free football.
WR Dan Leonard
The
long pass was a wheel route. We noticed that, after half time, that
it was going to be wide open so Matt threw it up and I was able to
get under it. I had to adjust a little so I just threw my hands up
and it was good. State College was definitely the best team we've
played.
OT
Victor Shaffer
I
thought we had some trouble moving the ball in the second half
because we had some trouble with our assignments and #84 is a great
player. He comes off hard and he was in our backfield a lot. He had a
lot of penetration. We love it when we run the ball like we did in
the second half. We want to take control of the entire game. The
coaches put all of the pressure on our backs and we like it that way.
We just took it down the field and did our jobs. The off week will
help us rest up. I know I really need it.
State
College received the opening kickoff and returned the short kick to
the SC 37. A McDevitt penalty and a couple of short runs by
quarterback Dom Mills led to a first down, but the drive soon stalled
when seniors Jon Duckett and Corey Ford teamed to swat away Mills'
first pass attempt. The punt that followed rolled into the end zone
and McDevitt began its first possession at the McD 20. Poteat tried
to run inside, challenging the Lions' front wall, but met with little
success, so junior Ted Deily came on to boot a 31 yard punt to
midfield. Again the Crusader defense was up to the challenge,
stopping Penn State recruit Alex Kenney on a third down play to force
another punt. This time the ball was fielded by senior Dawan Smith,
in his first game back from an injury. Smith reversed direction no
less than three times before being hauled down for a 1 yard loss. A 1
yard Poteat plunge and an incomplete pass resulted in the Crusaders
facing a third-and-9, at the McD 12. Junior quarterback Matt Johnson
decided it was time to impress the home crowd with his arm strength,
so he fired a 34 yard bullet to senior Aaron Sye for the first down
that kick-started the McDevitt offense. After two more short Poteat
runs Johnson hooked up with senior Salath Williams for a 33 yard
completion, to the SC 22. On the next play Johnson drifted back into
the pocket but found no open receivers. He quickly darted to his
right and circled around right end for a first down, running out of
bounds at the SC 10. A 3 yard shovel pass to Duckett followed before
the Crusaders were flagged for a motion penalty. Johnson then threw
incomplete to Williams on a fade, but the Lions were penalized for
holding, moving the ball to the SC 6. McDevitt then employed their
“Berwick” package, a Power I formation featuring
Duckett and
senior Fred Dietz ahead of Poteat, and twin tight ends. Poteat fought
for 3 tough yards before Duckett, following pulling linemen Tony
Harris and Victor Shaffer, cruised into the end zone for the game's
first tally. Freshman Connor Maloney drilled the PAT and McDevitt had
a 7-0 lead, with 46 seconds left in the opening quarter. Maloney then
popped another short kickoff that was mishandled by a State College
lineman. Dietz quickly fell on the loose pigskin and the Crusaders
were back in business at the SC 37. Poteat then netted nine yards on
2 carries before the quarter ended.
Things
went from bad to worse for the Crusaders in the opening moments of
the second half. On the first play from scrimmage Johnson's option
pitch hit a State College defender and the Lions recovered. Six plays
later Mills' screen pass to Shane Dorner resulted in a touchdown and
State College had a 17-14 lead. Much has been made of McDevitt's
habit of taking early leads in games this year, and there had been
conjecture about how well the Crusaders would play when trailing in
the second half. The drive that followed answered a lot of those
questions. McDevitt had made some offensive line changes at half time
to control the State College pass rush, moving senior center Steve
Mosey to tackle and bringing in sophomore Kyree Ross to center. After
Duckett returned a short kickoff 6 yards, to the McD 29, Poteat
ripped off a 13 yard gain. One play later he fought for an 11 yarder,
to the SC 47 , before Johnson passed to senior Dan Leonard for an 8
yard gain. Poteat ran for the first down and then, after an
incompletion, took Johnson's handoff and ran to the left. He drifted
toward the sideline and then suddenly made a sharp cut upfield,
blasting past a pair of would-be tacklers and broke into the clear.
Poteat outraced his pursuers easily and McDevitt had regained the
lead, 21-17. After the kickoff an aroused Crusader defense held the
Lions to a 3-and-out, forcing a punt. The kick was a low line drive
that kicked off of the artificial turf and brushed past Smith's
outstretched hand, rolling past the startled senior where the Lions
recovered, at the McD 23. Kenney then swept left end for a 9 yard
gain and Way bulled for the first down at the McD 10. Three State
College runs could only net 5 yards, but Lions coach Al Wolski
decided to skip the field goal attempt and go for the touchdown.
Mills took the shotgun snap and looked for an open receiver. Finding
none, he darted for the goal line where a welcoming committee of
Crusaders was waiting for him. Dietz, Duckett, Mosey and Brandon True
shared in the touchdown-saving tackle, with the valiant True getting
a major headache for his effort. Poteat bulled for a 4 yard gain and
some much-needed breathing room as the quarter ended. 
Poteat
began the final stanza by darting for a 17 yard gain behind a Mosey
block. One play later Johnson threw a delayed swing pass to Sye, who
eluded a couple of tacklers and registered a 14 yard gain. On the
next play Poteat found a hole and pushed through for a 15 yard gain,
to the SC 49. A holding penalty against the Crusaders moved the ball
back to 41 and then Poteat dove for 2 yards. Now facing a 3rd-and 18,
Johnson faked a handoff and dropped back to pass. Stepping up in the
pocket, Johnson heaved a long, hard pass down the right sideline.
Leonard, streaking down field with a Lion defender in hot pursuit,
turned back for the ball and reached up to make the catch, tumbling
out of bounds at the SC 12. The spectacular pitch-and catch was the
play of the game, rescuing the floundering McDevitt drive and setting
up the score that followed. Poteat ran for a yard and then Johnson
scrambled for 7, skipping out-of-bounds at the SC 2. Two State
College defenders followed Johnson and made contact past the
sideline, leading to a personal foul penalty and a McDevitt first
down . The Crusaders went back to Duckett for the short yardage play
and the senior didn't disappoint, patiently waiting for his blockers
to push in for the score. After Maloney's successful PAT the score
was 28-17, with 7:23 left in the game. To their credit the Lions
fought back, using a face mask penalty against McDevitt's Stephan
Belle (who was a major force on defense the whole game) and short
runs to move into McDevitt territory. On third-and-8 at the McD 36,
Kenny was tripped up by Anthony Pyzikiewicz on a short pass, and then
sophomore defensive end Noah Spence swarmed Mills' pass attempt,
forcing an incompletion that ended the threat. The Crusaders punted
back to the Lions a few plays later, but State College's final gasp,
a long Mills pass, was picked off by True and returned into Lions'
territory. McDevitt ran out the clock and celebrated the hard-earned
win.