O’Connell sophomore Kenya Brown lumbered 55 yards untouched with a fumble recovery for a touchdown with only 1:05 remaining to blunt Ireton’s drive and seal the Knights’ win, 20-13 in Arlington Saturday. The Cardinals (0-1) regrouped and marched 60+ yards in the final minute to close the gap to 7 on the final play of the contest, but the fourth Ireton miscue on the afternoon decided the affair.
It was a picture perfect Saturday afternoon with a good crowd, including a strong Ireton following, as the 2010 edition of Cardinal football displayed moments of thrilling offense and hardnosed defense, but also exposed their inexperience in falling to Bishop O’Connell in the season opener for both clubs. For the Knights (1-0), they surprised few with a punishing ground game that was rarely flashy, but did prove to be relentless and time consuming.
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff to their 46 yard line and went right to work. With Moses Webb pounding the ball on the ground and sophomore quarterback PJ Zingler finding Brandon Williams-Price and Malcolm Westbrook, Ireton marched smoothly down the field. Anthony Rivers scored on a 26-yard pass play and the Alexandrians had a 7-0 advantage with 8:42 left in the first period.
When DJO running back Patrick Simms fumbled on the next O’Connell possession at the 35 yard line, Ireton went back to work. The drive stalled when Webb was caught for a 5-yard loss on the first play and a third down pass fell incomplete. Theo Daubresse’s short punt sailed just into the end zone and the Knights began an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 29-yard dash by freshman Marvin Stewart. The PAT kick was wide right and the Cardinals clung to a 7-6 lead.
Ireton mounted another drive behind Moses Webb on the ground and Zingler’s tosses to Westbrook and Rivers, but the drive stalled on downs at the O’Connell 11 yard line.
O’Connell fullback Michael Katz, one of four backs that pounded away on the ground 49 times for 219 yards, gained 11 yards on two carries, then senior got behind the Cardinals defense and dashed 74 yards with a Nicholas Morabito toss down the right sideline to give the blue and gray clan hosts a 12-7 lead. With the earlier missed kick, DJO attempted to run for a 2-point PAT try but again was unsuccessful. Morabito would complete only 3 passes on 6 attempts, but this bomb provided the lead the Knights would not relinquish.
Zingler once more marched the cardinal and gold down the field, aided by a personal foul penalty and an effective mix of runs and passes. He would complete 23 of 28 passes on the day for two touchdowns and 255 yards. But after a dash to the goal line, the young sophomore in his first varsity start fumbled the pigskin out of the end zone resulting in a touch back and ending the scoring drive. With Katz, Trimble, and Sims rushing the ball, the Knights line began to control the scrimmage line and the clock as they rumbled down the field. Ireton stiffened their defense and the a 26-yard field goal was wide to the left as the half ended.
Coach Steve Trimble came out in the second half with the same attack that proved so successful at the end of the first. He fed the Ireton defense a steady diet of his son, Joshua; Katz, and Stewart, all methodically moved DJO down the field. With only 8:07 remaining in the third, Morabito tested the Cards pass defense but found Ireton’s “mister everything” this day, Moses Webb, who picked off the aerial at the Ireton two-yard line.
Junior Andrew Bladen spelled Zingler to open the third for Ireton, but in such tight quarters two runs, a holding penalty on the Cardinals, and an incompleted pass left junior punter Aurelian Guillard without much room to work. He nonetheless drilled a 45-yard kick to give the visitors some breathing room, but still left the Knights at the Ireton 40 after Trimble added his five-yard return.
The Cardinals again stopped O’Connell, this time on downs at the 26, but then the game began to turn away from Coach Tony Verducci’s squad. On the second play of the drive, linebacker Jason Makoutz stepped in front of a Zingler throw and returned the interception to the Ireton 26. Penalty flags flew and both teams were assessed personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, a situation that would occur again before the contest’s end as emotions and frustrations erupted in the heated rivalry.
Yet again, with Daubresse, Rivers, and juniors Webb, Sean Boldaji, and Andrew Lutterloh leading the defense, Ireton would stall a short O’Connell opportunity and Trimble’s punt would pin Ireton deep in their own territory.
The clubs traded offensive series without making a threat to score as the final quarter wore on. Finally with just over 4 minutes to play, the Cardinals seemed to find a new urgency and began to gain chunks of real estate. Webb scampered 13 yards for a first down, Malcolm Westbrook hauled a pass 25 yards for another first down, then he lined up at quarterback and carried the ball for 7 more yards on the next play. Ireton seemed to be on the move. But with 2:32 left, another interception and more personal fouls on both clubs began to marr an otherwise exciting contest.
O’Connell could not score, but did run time off the clock as Ireton burned through their timeouts and regained possession with 1:50 to play; still down just 12-7. Zingler quickly hit Westbrook for 25 yards before the fateful sack and Brown’s ramble with the loose ball to put the game away. Ireton did fight back in those final 65 seconds with aerials to senior Tommy Gallinaro and Westbrook before Zingler’s touchdown pass to Westbrook in the corner of the end zone on the game’s final play.
While the Cardinals expressed disappointment in the outcome, Ireton AD Bill Simmons tried to reassure Ireton fans after the contest. “In this offense, to start a sophomore quarterback in his first varsity game on the road against your biggest rival, you have to be encouraged that PJ was 23 of 28 throwing the ball with two touchdowns, he played with confidence and poise. Moses Webb had a great game, as did a number of guys on both sides of the ball. Our defense played well against an all conference calibre back, they made two big plays against us. It’s a young team and looks like an exciting team to me. Sure, we **** losing to O’Connell but we did alot right today. The one thing that did concern me was the unsportsmanlike penalties. I haven’t talked to the staff, but I know that will be an issue Coach Verducci will fix this week.”
The Cardinals return to Alexandria for their home opener Saturday, September 11th with Benedictine High School from Richmond before going back on the road the following week to Woodbury Forest School. The Cadets head to Ireton with a 1-1 record after an opening win over Goochland, but a 42-7 setback to Atlee this weekend. Game time with Benedictine’s Cadets is scheduled for a 2pm kickoff, admission is $5, booster club season passes will be at the Club’s will call table before the game.
Bishop Ireton 7 0 0 6 13
Bishop OConnell 6 6 0 8 20
First Quarter:
BI Rivers 26-yard pass from Zingler (Daubresse kick) 8:42
DJO Stewart 29 run (kick failed) :53
Second Quarter:
DJO Katz 74-yard pass from Morabito (run failed) 7:19
Fourth Quarter:
DJO Brown 55-yard fumble recovery (Morabito run) 1:05
BI Westbrook 30-yard pass from Zingler (game end) :00
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