WILMINGTON — St. Elizabeth fell behind in quick fashion in their football game against Christiana, but they rebounded in a big way and went on to a 42-12 win in a key Class 1A District 1 game on Thursday at Abessinio Stadium.
The battle of the Vikings began with a bang. Christiana’s Jayvion Pollard dropped the opening kickoff, but he quickly picked up the ball, broke a few tackles and ran down the right sideline for a 93-yard touchdown return.
The situation got worse for St. Elizabeth when they fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, but St. E’s defense came up big, a recurring theme on the night. They forced a turnover on downs.
Much of the first quarter took place in the shadow of the St. Elizabeth end zone, but the momentum of the first quarter and perhaps the game turned when Nick Mancini (St. Joseph Parish, Aston, Pa.) intercepted a Christiana pass at the St. Elizabeth 5 and returned it to the Christiana 30. A face mask penalty added 15 yards to the return, and the maroon-and-gold Vikings were in business. Ryan McCormac ran for four yards on first down, and Jose Maldonado covered the rest on second down to tie the score at 6.
Mancini struck again on the next defensive series for St. E’s. The Vikings forced a punt, which Mancini fielded on a bounce and took down the left sideline 66 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, putting St. Elizabeth on top, 12-6.
Special teams kept Christiana in the game early. St. E’s kicked the ball away from the returners, but Tre’Von Wilson grabbed Justin Bozzo’s kickoff at the 25 and scampered 75 yards for Christiana’s second kickoff return touchdown of the night. Their conversion was good, and with 10:44 to go in the half, Christiana led, 14-12.
The big plays continued. Mancini set the Vikings up at the Christiana 43 with a long kick return, but a few penalties left St. E’s with a second down at the Christiana 45. This time, St. Elizabeth went to the air. Quarterback Cole Andrews took a two-step drop and floated a pass to Maldonado, who made an acrobatic catch and broke a tackle for the touchdown that put the team on top to stay.
St. Elizabeth scored once more in the first half, getting an 8-yard run from Ne’Hemiah Hamilton. The big play on that drive came on a fourth down and 8 when Andrews, who doubles as the punter, instead sent a pass to Mancini 31 yards to the Christiana 15.
The St. E defense stopped their opponents all night, not allowing a touchdown. They forced three turnovers on downs after Hamilton’s touchdown, forced a punt and ended another drive on an interception by Andrews, who caught the ball while flat on his back on the turf. The defensive standouts were many, including Dominic Carucci, Nick Florencio (Our Lady of Charity Parish, Brookhaven, Pa.), James Adair and Spreewell Dickerson.
Offensively, St. Elizabeth added to its lead with a touchdown in the third and another in the fourth. Mancini scored his second of the game with a twisting 15-yard run down the right sideline with 7:25 to go in the third. Hamilton added the final touchdown to cap a drive that took eight minutes off the clock.
Final statistics were not available late Thursday night. St. Elizabeth (3-4) will visit Tatnall on Oct. 26 at 2 p.m., while Christiana (4-3) heads to Dickinson on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
