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LANDOVER — Despite suffering what presented itself as a detrimental breakdown, the moment was built for them. After St. John’s brought the game to within one point, DeMatha was flagged for too many men on the field on the ensuing PAT, moving the ball from the three to the half-yard line.
It was clear to what St. John’s would do next, ushering their special teams unit off the field in exchange for their goal-line offense gunned by University of Maryland commit, quarterback Kasim Hill, to attempt the go-ahead two-point conversion with 3:12 to go.
With a brief minute before the one play that would soon send a shockwave throughout the country, DeMatha head coach Elijah Brooks delivered an empowering message to his defense.
“He told us, ‘This is what we always practice for, this is what we grind for all the time’,” said defensive end Chase Young, a 5-star recruit committed to Ohio State University. “It brought real motivation and grit to our soul.”
In the pistol formation, Hill took the snap and handed the ball to hulking fullback, Tyree Johnson (6-foot-4, 210 pounds), a Texas A&M commit. Young and company stuffed the Cadets’ courageous bid to end a 22-year drought, preserving the 14-13 romp in a rainy Friday night atmosphere.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
After a 15 yd TD pass from Kasim Hill to Quincy Hall, the St. John’s go-ahead 2-pt conversion gets STUFFED. DeMatha still leads, 14-13. https://t.co/KroyM9Iosy
“This is why we come to DeMatha, to play big time games, to be on the big-time stage,” said running back Khory Spruill. “Coach told us, as long as we play our football, we were going to win.”
The hype for Friday night’s showdown between the two top-10 ranked teams in the nation, according to High School Football America, really began months ago when St. John’s acquired some of the country’s elite talent.
Hill, the 4-star quarterback, transferred from Baltimore’s Gilman School to lead the charge that would soon follow 5-star defensive tackle Cam Spence and 5-star offensive tackle Calvin Ashley from Florida. The top linebacker in the Class of 2019, Shane Lee, transferred from Gilman to join the Cadet jamboree as well, amplifying the stage for the Cadets-Stags slugfest.
“This is what we’re built for, this is what we were waiting for,” Young said. “When the lights are on, and the cameras watching, this is when DeMatha shows up.”
Both teams approached every drive with caution, given the slick conditions. Spruill, who finished the night with 104 yards and one touchdown on the ground, produced the night’s longest play on a 25-yard run.
Out of DeMatha’s 58 offensive plays, only eight were pass attempts.
“It was hard to handle the football,” Brooks said of the conditions. “We just didn’t want to put ourselves in a bad position.”
DeMatha (6-0, 2-0 WCAC) set the tone from the onset and never trailed since when quarterback Beau English capped their opening drive (89 yards in 19 plays) on a 1-yard sneak. The drive spanned eight minutes and 38 seconds.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Quarterback Beau English caps and 8 minute, 89 yard drive with a 1 yd sneak to give the Stags a 7-0 lead over St. John’s early in the 2nd Q. https://t.co/TmSzstgAnx
“It was key,” Spruill said of the opening drive. “We wanted to punch them in the mouth early to let them know we here, that we want to win this game.”
St. John’s (4-2, 1-1 WCAC), who punted on their first series, followed DeMatha’s opening series with an eight minute scoring drive of their own, trudging 80 yards in 18 plays topped by a 3-yard pass from Hill to running back Keilan Robinson in the back of the end zone.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Maryland commit Kasim Hill finds Keilan Robinson in the back of the end zone from 3 yds out. This thing is tied at 7-7. https://t.co/9XkBWdVhEG
At halftime, the game was tied at 7-7. Both offenses had a difficult time moving the ball in the third quarter.
After a botched St. John’s snap on a punt deep into their own territory, DeMatha set up with prime field position at the Cadet 25-yard line to start the fourth quarter. Seven plays later, Spruill hammered home the decisive blow on a 2-yard run to give DeMatha a 14-7 lead with 8:53 remaining.
Kyle McFadden on Twitter
Khory Spruill plunges in from 2 yards out to give DeMatha a 14-7 lead over St. John’s with 8:53 to go. https://t.co/jAc80E7Awi
The Cadets took an 80-yard drive following Spruill’s touchdown, but that’s when the gutsy two-point conversion was snuffed out.
“People were saying this is St. John’s year and DeMatha isn’t good enough this year,” Spruill said. “But we thought otherwise.”
DeMatha, who rushed for 200 yards on Friday, travels to Bishop McNamara next Friday and St. John’s will take on St. Mary’s Ryken.
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Stags, once again, proved why they are one of the top gridiron programs in the nation.
“We figured the game would turn out much like this,” Brooks said. “Where it wasn’t going to come down to X’s and O’s, it was going to come down to who wants it more. We once again found a way.”
Box score
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| DM (6-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| SJC (4-2) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Scoring summary
First quarter
None
Second quarter
DM — Beau English 1-yard run (PAT good), 11:13
SJC — Keilan Robinson 3-yard pass from Kasim Hill (PAT good), 3:05
Third quarter
None
Fourth quarter
DM — Khory Spruill 2-yard run (PAT good), 8:53
SJC — Quincy Hall 15-yard pass from Kasim Hill (Run failed), 3:12
Individual statistics
DEMATHA PASSING
No. 17 Beau English — 5-8, 48 yards, 1 interception, 39.6 QBR
DEMATHA RUSHING
No. 22 Khory Spruill — 21-104 (4.9 YPC), 1 touchdown, 25 long
No. 25 Myles Miree — 12-51 (4.3 YPC), 14 long
No. 17 Beau English — 8-38 (4.8 YPC), 15 long
No. 32 Marshawn Lloyd — 1-7 (7.0 YPC), 7 long
TOTAL — 50-200 (4.0 YPC), 1 touchdown, 25 long
DEMATHA RECEIVING
No. 11 Jermaine Johnson — 3-13 (4.3 YPR), 10 long
No. 2 DeMarcco Hellams — 1-30 (30.0 YPR), 30 long
No. 30 Grant Donaldson — 1-5 (5.0 YPR), 5 long
ST. JOHN’S PASSING
No. 11 Kasim Hill — 19-32, 137 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 77.2 QBR
ST. JOHN’S RUSHING
No. 11 Kasim Hill — 6-38 (6.3 YPC), 13 long
No. 28 Keilan Robinson — 6-18 (3.0 YPC), 9 long
No. 21 Jochiam Bangda — 7-11 (1.6 YPC), 7 long
No. 22 Ronald Cook — 1-3 (3.0 YPC), 3 long
TOTAL — 20-70 (3.5 YPC), 13 long
ST. JOHN’S RECEIVING
No. 5 Quincy Hall — 8-62 (7.8 YPR), 1 touchdown
No. 28 Keilan Robinson — 4-25 (6.3 YPR), 1 touchdown
No. 7 Ed Lee — 4-20 (5.0 YPR)
No. 21 Jochiam Bandga — 1-10 (10.0 YPR)
No. 10 Maurice Bellan — 1-6 (6.0 YPR)
