PIKE CREEK — St. Elizabeth’s football team returned to action after an unexpected week off, and the Vikings were ready to go. They scored early and often in a 43-8 win at Dickinson on Nov. 8 in the regular-season finale.
St. Elizabeth was scheduled to close out its home schedule last week against A.I. DuPont, but the Tigers did not play the final two games of their schedule, and the Vikings got a forfeit win. Unfortunately, it was also set to be senior night, so that was moved to Friday night at Dickinson.
The Vikings received the opening kickoff and went right to work. After an incomplete pass, Jose Maldonado carried the ball 30 yards to the Rams’ 35. The first-down play lost two yards, but on second down, Nick Mancini tore down the left side for a touchdown less than two minutes in.
Later in the quarter, after forcing a Dickinson punt, St. Elizabeth embarked on a 54-yard drive. A personal foul on the Rams on the first play of the drive resulted in the Vikings setting up with first down at the Dickinson 32, with Maldonado covering half of that on a rush. A holding penalty negated an apparent touchdown run, but Mancini again ran for a score, this time from 14 yards out.
Ryan McCormac (St. Margaret of Scotland Parish) was next to score. His 8-yard run with 1:17 left in the first quarter extended the lead to 21-0.
Cole Andrews set up the Vikings’ next score with an interception at the Rams’ 40 with 8:48 left in the first half. On third and 17, Andrews — also the St. E. quarterback — connected with Mancini for a 29-yard gain. The next play was a pass to McCormac in the end zone, good for 18 yards and a touchdown that made it 28-0.
The Vikings added two more scores in the final three minutes of the half. After a Rams fumble, Andrews finished the series with a 32-yard scoring strike to Ne’Hemiah Hamilton. Jayden Gonzalez added a 9-yard run in the final minute of the half.
The Vikings finished the regular season 5-5 and will find out Sunay where they will be playing next week in the DIAA Class 1A state tournament.
