CLAYMONT — Homecoming weekend at Archmere worked out well for the Auks. They scored five times in the first half on the way to a 48-6 win over Mount Pleasant in Class 2A District 1 football.
A bad snap on a punt set the Auks up for their first score. Starting at the Green Knights’ 30, Michael Donovan (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) ran for 23 yards on the Auks’ first play, then to the 2. Noah Blessington (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) did the rest, plunging in for a touchdown with 7:30 to go in the first quarter.
Mount Pleasant did get their punt off after a three-and-out, but that just added a few yards to the Archmere drive. The Auks needed nine plays to go 48 yards, but the result was an 11-yard pass from John Orsini (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) to Ryan Hagenberg with 37 seconds left in the quarter. The extra point was blocked.
While the Green Knights struggled to move the ball, that was not an issue for Archmere. After a Mount punt early in the second, the Auks marched 65 yards in just four plays to add to their lead. The big play was a 38-yard run by Donovan to the Knights’ 26. Hagenberg (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) followed with a 19-yard rush, and Blessington added his second score of the afternoon.
The Auks’ defense forced another punt, and the offense started at its own 48. This drive included a 36-yard run by Donovan and was finished by Orsini, who followed lineman Andrew Zakielarz eight yards into the end zone with 4:39 to go in the half.
Donovan’s interception set up the final score of the first half, an 8-yard pass from Orsini to Hagenberg. The two-point conversion extended the Auks’ lead to 33-0 at intermission.
Mount struck quickly for its lone touchdown of the game. The Green Knights had the ball at their own 32 after the second-half kickoff, and on the first play, quarterback Ashton Emerick found Lyle Johnson on the right side, and he went the distance.
Orsini scored his second rushing touchdown later in the third, and Donovan concluded the scoring in the fourth with a 97-yard run.
Donovan finished with 197 yards rushing on 10 carries. Orsini threw for 74 yards and rushed for 60. Defensively, Donovan, Hagenberg and Jack King had interceptions. Justin Hartman led the way with seven tackles. Archmere (4-2) heads to Laurel on Oct. 18 for a noon kickoff.
Mount Pleasant (1-4) returns home on Oct. 18 at noon against Wilmington Friends.
Photos by Mike Lang.
