Quarterback PJ Zingler (9) sends the signal as speedy Malcolm Westbrook (7) heads for paydirt Saturday against Pope John Paul the Great at Fannon Field.
It felt like football weather, cool, blustery, and the rains held off long enough for Bishop Ireton to tackle two tough opponents, cancer and the Wolves of Pope John Paul the Great on Saturday at Fannon Field. While the Cardinals may have made only a slight impact on the fight to eradicate cancer, they did considerable damage on the football field with a 35-0 win in a contest that was all but over at halftime. The bigger struggle however was the one sponsored by the Cardinals for the Cure.
With cancer claiming the lives of three faculty and administrators, in addition to countless families suffering the loss and illness of loved ones  in the Bishop Ireton community, the Cardinals for the Cure teamed with the National Foundation for Cancer Research to raise money and awareness of the efforts to find a cure. Pink balloons, pink t-shirts, even the pink cheer clinic shirts for more than 85 little cheerleaders put the emphasis on the day with an issue bigger than football.  Some Ireton players wore pink items to show support for the event; one made more poignent during the week with the news that JPG head coach, Jerry Sarchet, learned his two-year old son was diagnosed with leukemia. In the spirit of the day, both teams gathered at the end of the contest to pray for those afflicted with this dreaded disease.
The Cardinals fifth win of the season, and sixth in a row dating to last season, started slowly with Ireton going 3 and out on the first drive of the contest and the Wolves predictably riding the rushing of Zak Perroots on their first drive. Perroots took the Wolves on his shoulder and marched the visitors into the “red zone” with a series of carries until a Brian Strickland pass was picked off by corner Moses Webb.
A blocking penalty on the return put the ball back on the Ireton 25, but Brandon Price-Williams set the tone for the day on the first play from scrimmage to start the Cardinals’ second drive. The speedy junior took a handoff from PJ Zingler, broke outside and dashed 75 yards down the sideline to put the home team up 7-0.
J0hn Paul’s second drive would again be victimized by an interception, this time a tipped pass snared by senior Malcolm Westbrook. The Cards put the ball on the ground on their first play from scrimmage however, and the Wolves went back to work. Much like the week before, the defense was not about to let an error cause problems for the cardinal and gold. They held the visitors and after a punt Ireton’s offense was back on the field.
The second quarter saw Webb gain 19 yards on his first carry in the series, then Webb and Westbrook caught aerials to put the Cardinals on their own 36 yard line. Westbrook was the target for a Zingler bomb and suddenly the Cardinals were up 14-0.
A JPG drive again rode the rushing of Zak Perroots to Ireton territory, but a 49-yard field goal attempt was blocked and the Cards again took over the football. The teams traded possessions with the redbirds regaining the pigskin in Ireton territory. On the third play of the three-play, 70-yard drive, Zingler found a wide open Merid Merid for a 54-yard touchdown strike.
For the third time in the first half the white-shirted visitors were victims of a pass interception, this time by junior Justin Paige, giving the Cardinals the ball on the Wolves 5-yard line. A Webb 5-yard run made it 28-0 with time left in the half. When the visitor’s drive stalled, Zingler found Westbrook once again on a long pass play. The screen pass so effective for Ireton this year worked to perfection once again as Westbrook took the short pass 64 yards, zigging and zagging his way toward the west endzone before finally being hauled down inside the 20-yard line. The lanky senior finished the job 4 plays later when he caught 9-yard toss to balloon the lead to 35-0 with only seconds left in the half.
The second half, with the high school running clock rule in effect with the lead is 35 or greater, Coach Tony Verducci gave a number of Ireton players time for game action that had not seen time in the first half. Both Hudson Sullivan and Andrew Bladen ran the offense for the VISAA’s top-ranked football team while Jonathan Frischkorn, Tommy Kelly, and Mike Moseley kept the Wolves at bay on the defensive side of the field. Paige snatched his second interception on the afternoon and Ireton wrapped up it’s fifth win of the year just before the Saturday rains resumed.
“I think our team believes they can make the big play” suggested Verducci after the contest. “Our defense is really playing well right now and with Flint Hill up next in a short week, that is important.”
The Cardinals go back on the road for the next two weeks, challenging the 4th ranked and undefeated Huskies of Flint Hill at 4pm on Friday at Flint Hill. They head to Richmond the following weekend for Benedictine’s homecoming at the Abbey.
In the JV contest rescheduled and moved to Bishop Ireton on Saturday, the youngsters spotted John Paul a 2-0 halftime advantage that grew to 8-0 in the third quarter. But, like an old Popeye cartoon, the “good guys” broke open the spinach and finished with a 29-point avalanche to overcome the visitors 29-8 in the preliminary contest.
Scoring Summary:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â total
John Paul the Great             0        0           0       0          0
Bishop Ireton                        7         28         0       0        35
BI – Price-Williams 70yd run (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 64yd pass to Westbrook (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 54yd pass to Merid (Galdos kick)
BI – Webb 5yd run (Galdos kick)
BI – Zingler 9yd pass to Westbrook (Galdos kick)
News and Notes:
– 4pm kickoff for Flint Hill game on Friday Oct 7th is to accomodate the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday
– First year place kicker Nick Galdos is 21 for 21 on PATs this season
– Three different quarterbacks passed for Cardinals ending 11 for 18 and 226 yards
– Six different Cardinals caught aerials for the day
– Six Ireton ball carriers racked up 150 yards, with Price-Williams gaining season low 85 on just 4 carries.
– Bishop Ireton is 5-0 for only the second time in school history, no team has ever opened 6-0.
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