GREENVILLE – Salesianum, the second-ranked team in Division I football by 302Sports.com, used a solid ground game and a perfect passing night from junior quarterback Dylan Mooney in a 42-0 shutout of No. 7 William Penn on Sept. 6 at A.I. DuPont High School.
The Sals had possession first and drove the ball down the field using Andrew Watkins and Liam Mara. They faced a second-and-goal from the Colonials’ 16 following a penalty, and Watkins scampered into the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 6:52 left in the first.
On the next scoring drive, Jehoshua Johnson provided a big moment with a 43-yard run. On a third-and-20 from the Penn 25, Mooney found Jack Kelley in the end zone, but the point after was blocked. It was 13-0 after one quarter.
John Healy recovered a fumble to put Salesianum back in business in the second. The Sals faced a third-and-11 when Mooney connected with Carmine Poppiti for a 10-yard catch, and they converted on the fourth down. Mooney helped his own cause with a 12-yard bootleg for a touchdown.
The Colonials moved the ball after taking the kickoff, reaching their own 49, but a high snap was scooped up at the 25 by Healy, who ran it in to extend the lead to 27-0. Sallies got the ball back with 45 seconds left in the half, but Mara was stopped at the 5-yard line as time expired.
On the Sals’ first drive of the second half, Mooney hit Healy with a 60-yard pass to set them up at the Colonials’ 15. Mara scored three plays later to make the score 33-0. The Sals added a safety, and Joseph Montooth scored from 10 yards out on the final play of the third quarter to close out the scoring.
Mooney finished four for four for 110 yards and a touchdown, in addition to his rushing TD. He was happy with his running backs.
“The running backs were so effective that it opened up the play-action pass for us,” he said.
The Sals (1-0) will host Dover next Saturday at Brandywine High School at 7 p.m. William Penn (0-1) plays its home opener next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Cape Henlopen.
