WILMINGTON — Saint Mark’s football team held a lead most of the night on Oct. 3 at Delaware Military Academy, but the Seahawks struck late for a 15-10 win at an energized Fusco Field.
The Spartans opened with the ball, but they couldn’t generate anything against the DMA defense and were forced to punt. That turned out not to be an issue, however. On the fifth play of the Seahawks’ first drive, Spartans defensive back Matthew Saunders jumped in front of a DMA receiver and intercepted a pass, taking it back 60 yards for a touchdown.
DMA tied the game late in the first quarter. They started the drive at their own 10-yard line after a Matteo Bracalenti punt, but they weren’t pinned deep for long. On second down, quarterback Ryan Andrews threw a screen pass to Chris Keller, who raced down the left sideline to the Saint Mark’s 7, an 81-yard gain. From there, it took them three plays to score on an Andrews pass to Davar Rice-Jackson with 34 seconds left in the first.
The Spartans were forced to punt again on their next possession, and Bracalenti pinned the Seahawks at their own 1. That paid off after the Saint Mark’s defense forced a three and out.
Colin Foley returned the DMA punt to the Seahawks’ 22. The Spartans had a first and goal from the 10, but they advanced only to the 5. Bracalenti’s 21-yard field goal put Saint Mark’s back on top.
That was it for either team’s offense until the fourth quarter. The Spartans had the ball as the fourth quarter started, lining up for a punt on the first play of the final stanza. Rice-Jackson got through, getting an arm on the punt, which rolled out of the end zone for a safety, cutting the Saint Mark’s lead to 10-9.
Delaware Military took possession at their own 43 after the free kick. Facing a third and 8, Andrews connected with Isaiah Rice at the Spartans’ 25, although a penalty moved the ball back to the 40. That didn’t deter the Seahawks. Andrews found Keller in traffic at the 5 on first down, and three plays later, Alex Mozol powered in from the 3 with 4:07 to go. The 2-point conversion was no good, and the Spartans trailed by 5.
The Spartans had two more possessions, but they could not answer. The first possession ended on a fumble, but DMA fumbled it back to Saint Mark’s at the Spartans’ 10 with 1:39 to go. DMA clinched the victory with an interception with 20 seconds to go.
Delaware Military (3-3), which ended a three-game losing streak, is off until Oct. 17, when they visit Polytech at 7 p.m.
Saint Mark’s (2-4) also plays Polytech in its next game, which is Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Graveyard.
