St. Albans Wins IAC, Prep Falls in Finale
By Adam Chasen:
BETHESDA, MD - Entering the regular season finale Saturday afternoon, both Landon and St. Albans remained undefeated in IAC play, creating a de facto "Championship Game," for the two football programs. The game was a defensive battle, but it was special teams that were the difference. St. Albans senior, Andrew Jones, picked up a muffed punt with only three minutes remaining and returned it 52-yards for the game's first score and led his team to a 13-7 victory.
St. Albans defense, led by the ferocious pass rush from defensive end Marquis Johnson, gave Landon and its Spread Wing-T offense fits. The home Landon Bears were held to just one first down in the first half and did not have much more success in the second.
On the other side of the football St. Albans was without their leading rusher Arthur Jones, who was out with an ankle sprain he suffered a week ago against St. Stephens. Regardless, senior quarterback Will Strother found ways to move the offense, but could not score. St. Albans did have a few chances however as they were 0 for 3 on field goal attempts.
With only three minutes remaining in the game, the crowd seemed to sense overtime was all but set. On a 4th down and long near midfield, Landon chose to punt. As the Landon punter stepped up to hit the ball he made contact with his personal protector set just off to his left. The ball came off his foot directly towards the far sideline as Landon's coverage unit dispersed up the field. Andrew Jones saw the ball right away, gathered it cleanly and took off to the end zone.
After the Jones score for St. Albans, they shut Landon's offense down on four straight plays to recover possession, and running back Fritz Parker rumbled in for another score, this time from 30-yards out. After a flubbed extra point the defending champs held a 13-0 lead with only one minute remaining.
On the ensuing kickoff Landon was desperate for a score. Quarterback and return man John Lynn caught the kickoff and dashed towards the right sideline. As he neared the 20, co-return man Antione Hudson dashed towards Lynn's right side and took a pitch all the way to the end zone for a 93-yard score. Hudson, who also had two interceptions from his cornerback position, made a sweet hesitation move on the last St. Albans defender and burned past everyone to close the gap 13-7.
It was too little too late, as St. Albans recovered an onside kick attempt by Landon and killed the clock by running the ball. St. Albans repeats as IAC Football Champions and remarkably completes their second consecutive undefeated season in conference.
Marquis Johnson was named the Gameday Player of the Game for his marvelous work on the defensive line. Johnson had two sacks and numerous pressures and hurries.
Prep Falters Under the Lights
The long tradition of playing daytime Saturday afternoon football games was broken at Georgetown Prep on Saturday as the Little Hoyas hosted Loyola for a key MIAA Conference game. New lights have been a long term project at Prep and the school was finally able to test the new addition on Tuesday for a dry run, before Saturday's unveiling. Unfortunately for Prep fans visiting Loyola had no interest in participating in any celebrations except for the party on the bus ride home, as they blew out Prep 49-24.
Prep took a 10-7 lead in the latter stages of the first quarter, but would trail the rest of the way. Loyola senior quarterback Mike Fafaul threw for four touchdowns and was marvelous carving up the Prep defense. Fafaul's two top targets, receivers Mike Smith and Jordan Floyd also had fantastic performances and kept Prep on their heels all game long.
Entering the game, Prep had a shot at a shared MIAA title, with a win against Loyola and then another loss in Loyola's last game on November 25th against Calvert Hall. None the less, Prep finished their season 7-4, which is nothing to sneeze out when you consider their tough schedule, but it was the last two games, both losses that will leave a bad taste in their mouths.
The one bright spot for Prep on the evening was the surprising passing attack that finally got going. Quarterback Bobby Rutland has relied on his running ability for most of the season and had not had a passing touchdown all season, until he had not one but two against Loyola. He also completed five consecutive passes on a drive in the second half, also believed to be a season high.
Loyola has one last game on their schedule as they fight for the MIAA title against rival Calvert Hall. The game will be played at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, on Thanksgiving Day as part of a tradition between the two teams known as the "Turkey Bowl". Last year's game drew more than 15,000 fans in attendance.
