BRANDYWINE HUNDRED – St. Elizabeth’s football team gave up a touchdown to Concord on the opening possession of the game, but the Vikings’ defense came up big throughout the rest of the game in a 22-14 win on Oct. 25.
A large crowd turned out on a sunny, mild Saturday morning for football and homecoming. Both delivered.
The host Raiders ran seven and a half minutes off the clock as they took a 7-0 lead in the first on a 10-play, 72-yard drive. Concord went primarily to Tevonnie Braxton, including for 15 yards on a screen pass that got the Raiders to the St. E’s 19, then on the ground for eight more. Braxton opened the scoring with a 10-yard scamper down the right side on a pitch.
The Vikings answerered with an 86-yard drive of their own. Isaiah Coleman ran for 17 yards a few plays in, and a face mask penalty added another 15 to get St. Elizabeth to the Concord 34. Cole Andrews (Sacred Heart Parish, Oxford, Pa.) and Terrence Williams hooked up on a fade pass for a 24-yard score, and the two-point conversion gave the Vikings an 8-7 lead in the final minute of the first quarter.
St. Elizabeth’s first big defensive stand came on the next series. Concord faced a third and 20, but they kept the drive alive with two passes that got them to the Vikings’ 39. Braxton covered 14 yards on the next two carries, and on first down from the 25, Raiders running back Sean Floyd took a reverse to the 1.
The defense took it from there, forcing a loss of two yards on first down, another yard on second and no gain on third. Concord went for it on fourth down from the 4, but a sack of quarterback Declain McNulty caused a turnover on downs, as well as a celebration in the visiting bleachers.
The Vikings added to the lead after receiving the second-half kickoff. Emmanuel Matagaro sprinted for 35 yards on the first play, getting the Vikings to the Concord 40. Andrews and Matagaro then teamed up on a pass, with the receiver reaching the 2 before being tackled. It took three plays to cover the final two yards, but Andrews got into the end zone on a keeper as the Vikings extended the lead to 14-7.
Concord’s next two possessions began deep in St. Elizabeth territory, but the Vikings’ defense held. St. E’s recovered a fumble on their own 9 yard line on the first of those possessions, but a St. Elizabeth fumble a few plays later set the Raiders up at the 24. Holding penalties on consecutive plays backed the Raiders out to the 44, and they were forced to punt.
The Vikings extended their lead in the fourth quarter. Matagaro was the key, rushing for 23 and 24 yards on consecutive plays and getting St. Elizabeth to the Concord 2. Coleman got the first of those yards, and Andrews scored his second touchdown of the game. Mi’Cah Hamilton added the two-point conversion to get the lead to 22-7 with 5:41 to go.
There was still a lot of drama to go. McNulty passed the Raiders from the 20 all the way to the Vikings’ 5, and the Raiders turned to the run. Victor Davis got the touchdown on a two-yard run with 2:24 to go.
The Vikings recovered an onside kick at their 47 and ran two plays, picking up a total of six yards. After a timeout, Davis intercepted an Andrews pass and returned it to the St. Elizabeth 30 with just over a minute remaining. McNulty, operating with no timeouts, passed the Raiders to the 8, and on third and goal, he picked up two yards on the ground before being forced out of bounds. Concord’s last-ditch effort to tie the game came down to a pass intended for Lucas Culver. Defensive back Alex Soto (St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Swedesboro, N.J.) reached around Culver and knocked the pass down, and the Vikings had the tough road victory.
Both teams remain in the hunt for the Class 1A District 1 title. St. Elizabeth (6-2) will host A.I. duPont on Oct. 30 at Abessinio Stadium at 7 p.m. Concord, also 6-2, visits Dickinson on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
