MILLTOWN — Saint Mark’s opened up a lead on St. Georges when the teams’ met on the football field Sept. 5, but the Hawks rebounded with a stellar defensive effort and a potent running game in a 35-20 win at the Graveyard.
The Spartans dropped to 0-2, but both losses have come against Class 3A teams. Will mean bonus points toward their postseason index.
A win, however, was on the minds of the Saint Mark’s players, who were out for a win in coach Bill DiNardo’s Spartans debut at the Graveyard. They delivered on their second offensive possession.
St. Georges’ first offensive series stalled near midfield, necessitating a punt. The ball bounced high into the air, and the St. Georges returner leapt to grab the ball. It bounced off him and fell to the ground, where the Spartans took control at the Hawks’ 23.
It didn’t take long for Saint Mark’s to score. Terron Tippens, lined up at quarterback, ran three straight times, gaining three and 15 yards before finding the end zone from five yards out.
Special teams play helped the Spartans build their lead. Freshman Scott Fillingame blocked a St. Georges punt, and the offense was in business at the Hawks’ 28. After an incomplete pass, Elijah Burke burst up the middle for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
The Spartans’ defense came up big again, forcing the Hawks into a three-and-out. After a short punt from the Hawks. Saint Mark’s extended its lead to 17-0 on a 38-yard field goal from Matteo Bracalenti with 11:11 left in the first half.
Fillingame partially blocked another St. Georges punt on the next possession, but the Spartans could not add to their lead. The Hawks took over at their own 16 and embarked on their first scoring drive. A mix of rushes, primarily by Ayden Jones, and passes by quarterback Jayden Goffigan, set St. Georges up at the Saint Mark’s 7, and Jones scored from there with 5:22 left in the half.
The Hawks blocked a punt of the own with a minute to go, taking over at the Spartans’ 35. From there, Goffigan found Michael Hartley with a scoring pass to pull St. Georges within three at the half.
The Hawks took the second-half kickoff and picked up where the left off. Jones and Joel Buck did most of the damage in the 80-yard drive, with Buck getting the final six yards off right tackle. The extra point put the Hawks on top, 21-17, with 9:36 on the clock.
Bracalenti cut the deficit to a point with his second field goal, from 30 yards out, but Saint Mark’s could not add any other points in its two subsequent possessions in the second half. The Hawks used a long punt return by Jayden Dmeza to set up a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Jones with 10 minutes to go in the game. St. Georges got the ball back with 7:53 to go, and the Hawks drained six and a half minutes off the clock before Jones added the final score of the night.
Statistics were not available Saturday afternoon. St. Georges (2-0) visits Caravel on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Saint Mark’s (0-2) travels to Archmere on Sept. 13 at 2 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
