MILLTOWN — They met on the gridiron for the first time since 2019, but four years was not enough to cool the rivalry between the two programs. Salesianum and Saint Mark’s renewed the Holy War on Nov. 10 at the Graveyard, and the Sals left with a 47-12 victory in the regular-season finale.
A capacity crowd that began arriving two hours before kickoff did not have to wait long to see some action. The Spartans fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, losing the handle on a damp, chilly and foggy night. R.J. Johnson recovered the ball at the Spartans’ 20, and the offense went to work. Brady McBride threw to Ben Anton at the 5 on first down, and the first of the game’s numerous personal foul penalties moved it up a few more yards. McBride tossed to Hunter Balint on the next play, and the Sals had a 7-0 lead 16 seconds in.
The Spartans began the next drive at their own 29. After two running plays, they attempted a pass on third down. Sallies’ Nick Strusowski stepped in front of the ball, intercepted it and ran 31 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, but the lead was 13-0.
Saint Mark’s was able to move the ball on its next possession, staying on the ground to move inside the Sals’ 20. They did so with a combination of running backs Keigan Barnes and Caleb King, along with quarterback Aidan Lehane. The drive ended, however, when a field goal attempt was wide.
Andrew Ransome played a big role in the next scoring drive for the Sals, which came in the middle of the second quarter. He had runs of 17 and 28 yards as the team chewed up yardage and clock before Salesianum faced a fourth and 3 from the Spartans’ 9. B.J. Alleyne took a direct snap and ran around the left end for his first touchdown with 5:49 to go in the half.
The visitors got the ball back at midfield with 1:07 left in the half, but they wouldn’t need that much time. On first down, McBride dropped back and lofted a pass over the middle to receiver Bill Neumann, who caught it in stride and scored. The halftime lead was 26-0.
Alleyne scored on a 59-yard run down the right side on the first play of the second half, and Aiden Lego added a 5-yard scoring run later in the third to help the Sals stretch the lead.
The Spartans got on the board on the first play of the fourth quarter. Logan Klein, who had taken over at quarterback, ran 6 yards for a score with 11:54 remaining. After forcing a Sals punt, the Spartans drove again, with Klein finishing the series up with a 14-yard touchdown on a reverse.
Ransome finished the scoring with a 3-yard run.
McBride completed all six passes he attempted for 71 yards and the two scores. Salesianum (9-1) will be the top seed in the eight-team DIAA Class 3A tournament when the brackets are announced Sunday. They will open at home next week against a team on a date and time to be announced.
Saint Mark’s finished 4-6 in its first year playing in 3A, the classification consisting primarily of the state’s largest programs.
All photos by Mike Lang.
