CLAYMONT – Archmere trailed undefeated Lake Forest by just a point in the middle of the third quarter, but the Spartans’ big-play capabilities paid dividends as they pulled away for a 35-13 Class 2A football victory on Sept. 27 at Coaches Field.
The Auks played some stingy defense on the warm afternoon, forcing a turnover on downs on the opening possession of the game when Blaise Bastian-Pastore sacked Lake quarterback Jackson Parson near midfield. The game remained scoreless into the second, when Archmere took over at its own 32 a minute into the quarter.
Running backs Ryan Hagenberg (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Glen Mills, Pa.) and Noah Blessington (St. Mary Magdalen Parish), and quarterback John Orsini (St. Thomas the Apostle, Glen Mills, Pa.) got the offense to the Spartans’ 38. Orsini then hit Mark Mervine over the middle for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 7:14 to go in the half.
The lead lasted 11 seconds. Demarion Russ took the kickoff at Lake’s 16 and streaked 84 yards down the left sideline to tie the game.
Lake Forest got the ball back with 1:37 to go in the half after holding the Auks on a fourth down, but they didn’t need anywhere close to that much time to take the lead. On first down from the Spartans’ 36, Berry Reynolds ran to the Archmere 29. After an incomplete pass, Parson tossed a shovel pass to Andrew White, who covered the final 29 yards.
Archmere’s Jack King returned the second-half kickoff to the Lake 48, and the Auks went to work. After a series of short rushes, Michael Donovan (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) caught a long pass on fourth down to get to the Spartans’ 6. Hagenberg covered the next four yards, and Blessington scored to make it 14-13. A penalty on the extra-point attempt moved the ball closer to the goal line, and the Auks went for two. Lake held, however, and the score was 14-13.
The Spartans took advantage. A 63-yard run by Isaiah Wright got the ball to the Auks’ 5, and Andrew White covered the last five yards on two carries. Russ closed out the Spartans’ next drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. That 72-yard drive included a 44-yard run by Dominique Hall.
Parson added a touchdown pass in the fourth, hitting Lamier Wright from 50 yards.
Lake (4-0) leads Class 2A in scoring defense, allowing just over 10 points per game, and the 22-point win on Saturday was their smallest of the season thus far. They visit Sussex Tech on Oct. 4 at 11 a.m.
Orsini completed 17 of 29 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown. Mervine had five receptions for 76 yards. Shane Harding had 10 tackles to lead the Auks on defense. Archmere (2-2) is on the road Oct. 4 at Wilmington Friends. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
