MILLTOWN — Saint Mark’s took a 7-6 lead into halftime of their game Oct. 22 against Delaware Military Academy, but the Seahawks used a potent running game and punishing defense to dominate the second half in a 35-7 win over the Spartans.
It was homecoming at Saint Mark’s, and a gigantic crowd filled the campus. A good portion of them were DMA students who filled one end zone, and the Seahawks gave them something to cheer about in the first quarter, scoring on a long touchdown run. The extra-point attempt was blocked.
The Spartans answered late in the first quarter on a six-play, 46-yard drive. Quarterback Jack Burns converted a third down and two with a four-yard keeper, taking the ball to the Seahwaks’ 34. Donovan Artis ran for three yards on first down, and on the next play, Burns rolled to his right and lofted a 31-yard scoring pass to Tahj Johnson. The point after gave the Spartans a 7-6 lead with 1:11 to go in the first.
Neither team could score in the second, although Delaware Military was driving when the Spartans’ defense knocked the ball from quarterback’s Brian Alleyne’s hand, and Saint Mark’s recovered the fumble at their own 46. The Spartans went on a lengthy drive of primarily running plays, but their drive ended with a missed field goal on the last play of the first half.
DMA opened the second half with an impressive drive that started at their own 47. On first down, Devon Green ran 28 yards to the Saint Mark’s 25. Two plays later, it was first and goal at the Spartans’ 7, but Johnson intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the threat.
But the Spartans’ offense could not get untracked, and after a punt, the Seahawks took over at their own 40. After personal fouls on both teams on the first two plays of the drive, Alleyne took a first down carry 23 yards to the Spartans’ 26. The last four plays of the drives were all rushes by Green, and they covered 20 yards, with the last being a five-yard touchdown run. Green also ran for the two-point conversion to give DMA a 14-7 lead with 5:10 left in the third.
The fourth belonged to the visitors. In the opening seconds of the quarter, C.J. Coombes set the Seahawks up for another score. He intercepted a pass and returned in about 35 yards to the Spartans’ 25. Green made it a one-play drive with a run off right tackle for another touchdown.
The DMA defense stopped Saint Mark’s, and the Seahawks took over at the Spartans’ 46. Coombes finished that drive with a short scoring run to make it 28-7 with 5:34 to go. The final score came with 2:14 to go, when Delaware Military linebacker Kevin Decker tipped a Burns pass, then grabbed it out of the air and ran it back for the final touchdown.
DMA improved to 7-0 and is home for its final three games of the season, beginning next Friday against Newark at 7 p.m. Saint Mark’s (5-3) travels to Delcastle next Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff.
All photos by Mike Lang.
