Football: Ellis gets last laugh, leads No. 3 McDonogh to staple win over No. 5 Gonzaga, 32-29

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — With a sopped rag draped over his head, McDonogh quarterback DeJuan Ellis sat hunched over on the metal bench, aching in the sweltering Saturday afternoon atmosphere.

Moments removed from his game-clinching first down on third-and-7 with under two minutes to go — a 23-yard burst through the teeth of the Gonzaga defense — Ellis then arose and stood on top of the bench, pumping his fist in the air after realizing the final dagger has been doled.

Battling cramps and weariness amid the 100 degree weather, Ellis totaled 219 total yards (133 passing and 86 rushing) and found the end zone twice to lead McDonogh to a staple win over D.C. power Gonzaga, 32-29.

“If you start something, you have to go out and finish it,” said Ellis, the Virginia Tech commit. “And that’s exactly what I did.”

When the game was knotted at 14-14 four minutes into the third quarter, Ellis unstrapped his helmet and collapsed to the turf after an awkward slide, grimacing in pain. At the time, it appeared unlikely the junior quarterback would reenter the decisive contest as trainers helped him off the field.

Minutes into the fourth quarter, Ellis returned and left no doubt in the Nation’s Capital against one of the country’s premier programs.

“That’s one of the biggest wins in our program,” said McDonogh head coach Dom Damico. “We have a lot of respect for Gonzaga, one of the top teams in the country. We knew we had to play almost the perfect game in order to beat them. Our kids played great, sucked it up, and played with a lot of heart.”

For McDonogh, Domico said the game plan heading into Saturday’s opening contest was to exploit offensive depth and at least score 30 points. Due to cramps, which sidelined Ellis and starting running back Mylique McGriff for most of the second half, Domico had no choice but to call upon his bench in vital situations.

Nate Walsh tossed two touchdowns on his four pass attempts in relief for Ellis and Jabriel Johnson collected 115 rushing yards in the absence of McGriff, including a momentous 49-yard touchdown run with under five minutes to go that gave McDonogh a 32-21 lead.

“That’s tough,” Domico said on losing starters to injury during the game. “You’re counting on guys who are untested and make plays and step up. Nate Walsh stepped up, made some great throws and ran the offense well. … (Johnson) definitely stepped up and did a great job.”

On McDonogh’s opening drive, a punt was muffed deep into their own territory to set up a 9-yard score from Gonzaga running back Tyree Randolph, which gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead at the 8:13 mark in the first quarter.

Ellis then capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive, lasting five minutes and 18 seconds when he skirted around the Gonzaga defense on a 3-yard bootleg to tie the game at 7-7 on the ensuing series.

Kyle McFadden on Twitter

Virginia Tech commit @HeadHonchoJuan amasses 219 total yards & 2 TD’s to lead @McDonoghFB to 32-29 win over Gonzaga. https://t.co/urWjAD0sPI

“He adds another dimension for defenses to stop, his speed is incredible,” Domico said of Ellis. “Virginia Tech has an incredible athlete. He’s got an incredible heart, he’s tough. His foot speed is the difference.”

Gonzaga’s Randolph (106 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries) scored on a 16-yard run five seconds into the second quarter and Ellis plunged in from five yards out with 46 seconds remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14 at halftime.

McDonogh led by as many as 11 in the second half.

“That’s one of our best wins in program history,” Domico said. “We’re really proud of our kids and we hope to build on it.”

Gonzaga senior quarterback Sam Brown completed 17 of his 26 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown. Gonzaga’s Max Fisher caught nine passes for 116 yards.

McGriff, who exited the game three minutes into the third quarter, finished with 82 yards rushing on 13 carries. McDonogh travels to Franklin in Baltimore County next Friday and Gonzaga (0-1) will fly to Miami and take on Riviera Prep next Saturday.

“It’s a great start,” Ellis said. “But it’s just the beginning.”

 

Box score

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
MS (1-0)	7	7	6	12	32
GCHS (0-1)	7	7	0	15	29

 

Scoring summary

First quarter

GCHS — Tyree Randolph 9-yard run (PAT good), 8:13

MS — DeJuan Ellis, Jr. 3-yard run (PAT good), 2:55

Second quarter

GCHS — Tyree Randolph 16-yard run (PAT good), 11:55

MS — DeJuan Ellis, Jr. 5-yard run (PAT good), 0:46

Third quarter

MS — Marquis Thornes 10-yard pass from Nathan Walsh (PAT blocked), 7:35

Fourth quarter

MS — Marquis Thornes 7-yard pass from Nathan Walsh (Run failed), 10:35

GCHS — Tyree Randolph 6-yard run (PAT good), 7:00

MS — Jabriel Johnson 49-yard run (Pass failed), 4:32

GCHS — Jirhe Love 7-yard pass from Sam Brown (Brown pass to Mitchell Johns), 3:27

Gonzaga College High-McDonogh School stats

GCHS-MS

14 –First downs — 19

 351 — Total yards — 436

 26-142 — Rushes-yards — 53-286

209 — Passing — 150

17-26-0 — Comp-Att-Int — 12-19-0

 1– Turnovers — 0

McDonogh individual statistics

 

PASSING

#3 DeJuan Ellis, Jr. — 10-14, 133 yards, 101.1 QBR

#10 Nathan Walsh — 2-4, 17 yards, 2 touchdowns, 101.0 QBR

#2 Marquis Thornes – 0-1, 39.6 QBR

TOTAL — 12-19, 150 yards, 2 touchdowns

 

RUSHING

#5 Jabriel Johnson — 22-115 (5.2 YPC), 1 touchdown, 49 long

#3 DeJuan Ellis, Jr. — 16-86 (5.4 YPC), 2 touchdowns, 23 long

#33 Mylique McGriff — 13-82 (6.3 YPC), 24 long

#20 Andrew Hurdle — 2-3 (1.5 YPC), 2 long

TOTAL — 53-286 (5.4 ypc), 3 touchdowns, 49 long

 

RECEIVING

#2 Marquis Thornes — 7-67 (9.6 YPR), 2 touchdown, 18 long

#19 Jack Simmons — 1-47 (47.0 YPR), 0 touchdown, 47 long

#33 Mylique McGriff — 1-16 (16.0 YPR), 16 long

#1 B.J. Farrere — 2-15 (7.5 YPR), 9 long

#12 Curtis Jacobs — 1-5 (5.0 YPR), 5 long

 

Gonzaga individual statistics

 

PASSING

#7 Sam Brown — 17-26, 209 yards, 1 touchdown, 102.8 QBR

 

RUSHING

#2 Tyree Randolph — 14-106 (7.6 YPC), 3 touchdowns, 20 long

#7 Sam Brown — 3-24 (8.0 YPC), 12 long

#24 Jason Labbe II — 6-11 (1.8 YPC), 6 long

#6 Dean Engram — 2-3 (1.5 YPC), 3 long

#15 Andrew Irvings — 1-(minus 2)

TOTAL — 26-142 (5.5 YPC), 3 touchdowns, 20 long

 

RECEIVING

#1 Max Fisher — 9-116 (12.9 YPC), 26 long

#6 Dean Engram — 3-64 (21.3 YPC), 35 long

#3 Jirhe Love — 2-16 (8.0 YPC), 9 long

#9 Jake Bergmann — 1-8 (8.0 YPC), 8 long

#45 Robby Mangas — 1-5 (5.0 YPR), 5 long

#2 Tyree Randolph — 1-(minus 2)