Cards reach new heights in 27-7 win over third ranked Flint Hill

: Moses Webb scored 4 TDs and intercepted a pass Friday at Flint Hill

: The sun wasn’t shining on the Cardinals Saturday in their 14-6 loss to Potomac School.

: Moses Webb scored 4 TDs and intercepted a pass Friday at Flint Hill

On the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, it was perhaps fitting that Moses would make a heroic appearance. While the original Moses of the Bible led the Israelites out of Egypt, the Cardinals’ Moses, senior Moses Webb, scored all four Ireton touchdowns and added an interception to lead Bishop Ireton’s top ranked football team out of Oakton with it’s unblemished record intact thanks to a convincing 27-7 victory Friday afternoon.

The Cardinals advanced to 6-0, the first time ever a Bishop Ireton football team has won the first six games of the season. The team is riding an 8-game win streak, started last season against Flint Hill.

“We played a very good football team today,” commented head coach, Tony Verducci. “we made more big plays today and that was the difference.”

Ireton kicked off to the Huskies and the home team went to work on the ground, riding senior running back Conor Chess as they moved from their own 19 to the 40 before punting. The Cards could do little on their first possession but senior Aurelian Guillaud boomed a 50-yard punt to push the Huskies back into their own end of the field.

Once again Flint Hill began to push down the field, gaining a first down before testing senior cornerback Moses Webb. A dangerous proposition, as many Ireton opponents have learned, and the sure handed two-way player intercepted an Andy Rehberger pass and Ireton regained possession on the Cards’ 21 yard line.

Though the Cardinals did begin to gain some ground offensively, they once again were forced to punt and the blue-clad hosts began their third drive of the game. As they pushed to midfield, Rehberger was forced out of the pocket and the lanky 6’4″ senior headed up field only to lose the football when tackled at the Ireton 35.

Like the anaconda snake, the Cardinals began tightening the hold on the Huskies that would slowly squeeze tighter as the game wore on. Junior PJ Zingler, who would throw for nearly 300 yards, hit his favorite receiver, Malcolm Westbrook, for a 24-yard gain, sending Ireton deep in Flint Hill territory. A pair of lashing runs by junior Brandon Price-Williams put the visitors on the doorstep when Webb scampered around the right end for 21 yards for Ireton’s first touchdown on the final play of the quarter.

Flint Hill responded with their best drive of the contest, with Alex Abraham catching a 10-yard toss from Rehberger, junior Jerrod Reed rushing for 10 yards, but it was workhorse Conor Chess who carried for 29 yards on 6 carries to pull the home team even at 7-7 early in the second quarter.

When Ireton’s next drive stalled, the Huskies were back in business and driving into Cardinal territory until junior Jack Beer and senior Patrick O’Connell slowed the Huskies ground attack, then Andrew Lutterloh and Beer combined for a big sack of Rehberger. Flint Hill’s exceptional senior placekicker Hunter Windmuller had plenty of leg for a 37-yard field goal, but the severe angle pushed the kick just wide.

That swing of events seemed to turn the tide in the Cardinals’ favor for the next two plays. Zingler connected with Price-Williams for 22 yards on Ireton’s first play after the missed field goal, then dropped a 58-yard bomb to Webb who sprinted to the end zone and Ireton was back on top, 14-7.

The Cardinals got the ball to open the second half and came out fast. After another Windmuller kickoff went into the endzone, Zingler engineered a 4-play, 80-yard drive with Webb again hauling in a Zingler 58-yard aerial and dashing into the endzone to quickly extend the lead to 20-7. Senior kicker Nick Galdos, a soccer player for the Cardinals, had made 22 straight PATs before his 3rd attempt that afternoon was tipped and no good.

The “anaconda” Cardinals were tightening the grip. Flint Hill gained one first down and returned the ball to Ireton via the punt to the Cardinal 37. This time Ireton methodically moved down the field mixing the running of Price-Williams, Bladen, Zingler, and Webb with crisp passes and Webb broke up the middle for a 7-yard TD and a 27-7 advantage.

Once again, the defense squeezed the increasingly desperate Husky offense and soon Ireton was back on offense. The teams traded punts and the setting sun served as a metaphor for the fading chances as the final period wound down for Virginia’s third ranked Division I football team, who entered the game with a spotless 4-0 record.

The Cardinals once again drove deep into Husky territory late in the 4th quarter but coughed up a fumble at the Husky one yard line to save Flint Hill from yet another Ireton score. The hosts started a drive from deep in their own end, but could not sustain the drive and Ireton rode out the clock.

The Huskies held Ireton to a season low 93 yards rushing, but Zingler responded with an 18 for 25 day passing, racking up 297 yards through the air, 167 of those to Webb. The defense had another spectacular performance, holding Flint Hill to a season low 7 points, where the Huskies were averaging just over 25 per contest.

The surging Cadets of Benedictine are next for the Cardinals. It will be homecoming for Richmond school, kickoff is slated for 1pm. The Cadets have manhandled Paul VI in the season opener 33-7 before suffering their only setback on the season when Woodberry Forest edged the Cadets 16-13 in week two.

Scoring Summary 1 2 3 4 Total

Bishop Ireton 7 7 13 0 27

Flint Hill 0 7 0 0 7

BI – Webb 21 yd run (Galdos kick)

FH – Chess 3 yd run (Windmuller kick)

BI – Zingler 58 yd pass to Webb (Galdos kick)

BI – Zingler 65 yd pass to Webb (kick failed)

BI – Webb 7 yd run (Galdos kick)

News and Notes:

– Flint Hill/BI game was covered by WUSA, channel 9, Friday night. See the clip aired at 11:20pm at: http://alexandria.wusa9.com/news/news/74796-ireton-flint-hill-wins-game-week

– Ireton’s new white pants on white jersey road uniforms this season will likely remain for the balance of the season, replacing the gold pant with stripes of cardinal and white.

– Liberty Christian and Ireton are only undefeated Division I teams remaining in poll.

– Benedictine, currently ranked #4, finishes season with 2 tough opponents, Fork Union & LCA, currently ranked #2