Bishop Ireton’s Tony Franklin offense stretches defenses and can be a high octane explosion.   The Cardinals looked to be explosive in the first half of their 42-14 win over St Stephens/St Agnes Saturday at Fannon Field.
The redbird defense kept the Saints stymied most of the day as well, although Saints stellar running back junior Darius Menora gained a game-high 95 yards rushing and junior Myles Nelson was 9-18 passing for 104 but also gave up a pair of interceptions to Robert Banez and Jack Luzik.
Ireton had a textbook start to the “backyard brawl” on Cambridge Road. After Malcolm Westbrook returned the opening kickoff 41 yards to the Saints 46, junior quarterback PJ Zingler went to work connecting with Brandon Price-Williams for 5 yards and Matt McShea for 27 more. After Price-Williams picked a yard on his first carry, Zingler tossed a 13-yard aerial to Moses Webb for the first of three touchdowns the senior running back would score on the afternoon.  It was a 4-play, 46 yard drive with only 1:10 gone in the game.
The Saints first drive started as poorly as the Cardinals was good. Myles Nelson battled center snaps most of the afternoon and the first offense play resulted in a difficult snap to control and 12 yard loss. With no gain on a rush, the third down saw yet another tough snap to corral and St Stephens’ Sam Gallahan punted from deep in their own end of the field.
The home team was in business on the Saints 38, but the white-shirted visitors played a tough defense and held Ireton on downs regaining possession on their own 38. The offense, however, mustered only a first down before punting the football and the Cardinals got the ball back on the Ireton 15.
Both teams would trade punts on their next possessions as the first quarter was drawing to a close. The Cards took the ball on their own 25 and Zingler hit Justin Paige for 9 yards before handing off to Moses Webb. The Ireton track sprinter bolted 66 yards, outrunning the Saints down the sideline, to score with :03.3 remaining in the opening period.
The Saints immediately countered to open the second quarter, as Nelson connected with Teddy Shervin for 11 yards and Gallahan for 32 more before sophomore Percy Martin broke free for a 36-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 14-7.
Before St Stephens could gain any momentum, however, Ireton responded with their third scoring drive of the game, a 10-play, 71 yard drive capped off by Webb’s third touchdown. On the ensuing visitors’ drive, senior Robert Banez picked off a Nelson pass and returned it deep in Saints’ territory at the 17. Moments later Zingler tossed the third of five touchdown passes, this time to Malcolm Westbrook and the Cardinals were in high gear at 28-7.
A Saints drive began to stall late in the second quarter and, when Patrick O’Connell and Andrew Bladen stopped Martin on 4th and 1 for no gain, Zingler went back to work with little left in the half. Price-Williams and Webb rushed for 9 and 7 yards respectively then the lanky junior quarterback found Westbrook for a 46-yard strike with seconds left in the half to send Ireton to the locker room with a 35-7 advantage.
The second half was a continuation of the first as Ireton forced St Stephens into a three and out, and promptly went back to work. In three plays, the Cardinals moved 75 yards for their final score of the day, aided by a 46 yard jaunt by Price-Williams, when Merid Merid snared a 24-yard scoring pass to push the lead to 42-7.
The high school running clock rule took effect and Cardinal reserves began to see some playing time for Ireton. As the game moved into the 4th quarter the Saints (0-2) mounted their best offensive effort, an 86-yard drive for the final touchdown of the afternoon. Nelson combined a pair of passes to junior Khaamal Whitaker and the rushing of Manora, who gained 35 of his yards on the day on this march, and capped the drive with an 18-yard scamper to the endzone.
Zingler had another strong day at quarterback, going 17 of 23 for 236 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Price-Williams rushed for 87 yards and Webb 84 on the day. All totaled, Ireton gained 451 offensive yards, 247 yards through the air and 204 on the ground.
Westbrook, one the area’s top receivers hauled in 5 passes for 93 yards and 2 TDs, one of 8 Cardinals to catch a pass from Zingler and Houston Sullivan. Price-Williams had 4 catches for 59 yards, Webb 3/19 and McShea and Merid 2 each for 33 and 32 yards respectively.
“I continue to be quite pleased with the focus we bring to the field for every game. We knew St. Stephen’s had some very talented players and wanted to score early and play from out in front. Our offensive line has done a superb job the past two weeks of balancing the run with the pass and our playmakers, Moses Webb, Malcolm Westbrook, and Brandon Williams-Price contributed explosive plays.” praised Bishop Ireton’s head man, Tony Verducci. “Our defense did an excellent job of running to the ball and creating turnovers this week. We’re pleased to be 3 – 0 and looking forward to traveling across Quaker Lane to play an always tough Episcopal High School team.”
Bishop Ireton (3-0) looks to complete the Alexandria private school sweep when they journey a mile and a half to Episcopal High School’s Hummel Bowl Saturday to face the Maroon (0-1), coming off an opening day loss to Flint Hill 10-7. It is “Migration” to Quaker Lane for the Ireton faithful as the Cardinals encourage all students, fans, and alums to join the undefeated squad for the 1:30pm kickoff. It is the first visit to Episcopal since the 2006 season when Coach Pete Rotkis took Ireton down the road for what was a 35-6 win for the home team.
Summary:
1st             2d             3rd         4th     Final
SSSASÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14
BIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 42
BI – Zingler 13 yd pass to Webb (Galdos kick)
BI – Webb 66 yd run (Galdos kick)
SSSAS – Martin 36 yd run (Habliston kick)
BI – Zingler6 yd pass to Webb (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 13 yd pass to Westbrook (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 46 yd pass to Westbrook (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 24 yd pass to Merid (Galdos kick)
SSSAS – Manora 18 yd run (Habliston kick)
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