By Anthony Bosco
The Christ the King varsity football team turned the ball over five times Saturday night against the Chaminade Flyers, with two leading to Flyer touchdowns, as visiting Chaminade held off a second-half comeback by the Royals to win 18-15.
What may have come as small consolation for Christ the King head coach Mike Cassidy was the fact that the heretofore anemic Royals’ offense finally got things going in the second half Saturday night, as running backs Craig Nelson, Timmy Ducey and Anthony Lazarus brought the team within striking distance numerous times throughout the game.
“We made a couple of adjustments this week,” Cassidy said of the offense, which had operated with a two-back, two-wide receiver set until this weekend. “We put the tight end in and it really got the running game going. The offense is coming around and getting better.”
Chaminade started the scoring on the team’s second possession of the game. Following a short punt by CK’s Joe Deverge, the Flyers took over on the Royals’ 38-yard line and needed just four plays to put the ball in the end zone. Christopher Jacques took a draw up the middle, made some nifty moves in the secondary and beat the CK defense to the outside, sprinting to pay dirt from 24 yards out.
Ryan O’Connor’s extra point missed wide left, but the Flyers had seized the advantage, 6-0, with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter.
The Royals could do little on offense in response on their next two drives, the second one ending when Ducey coughed up the ball on the CK 35 and Chaminade’s Jason Salerno recovered.
The Flyers then went to work again, as quarterback Daniel Devine hit Daniel Zenker for a 31-yard pick-up to the Royals 4. The CK defense kept Chaminade out of the end zone for three plays, but on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Christian Foschi barreled his way through the line for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, but the Flyers now led 12-0 with 11:12 remaining in the first half.
The Royals managed their first first down on their next possession, on a 1-yard run by Ducey and a five-yard face mask penalty, but turned it over again on the very next play, when Deverge was intercepted by Brian Hehir at midfield and returned it all the way to the CK 1-yard line.
Foschi took the Flyers’ first play from scrimmage into the end zone to make the score 18-0 with 8:26 to go in the second quarter. The two-point conversion failed again.
“We put ourselves in too big of a hole, getting down 18 points to them.” Cassidy said.
Now behind by three touchdowns, the CK offense finally awoke from its season-long slumber. Starting on their own 10-yard-line, a steady diet of runs by Nelson, Deverge and Ducey slowly brought the Royals up the field. On third-and-four from the CK 38, Nelson took a toss up the sidelines before being dragged down by Chaminade’s Thomas Costello at the Flyers’ 12.
Ducey took the next two hand-offs for seven and then five yards for the score. Justin Capace’s extra point was good, putting the Royals on the board, 18-7, with 3:41 remaining in the half.
Christ the King missed a chance to cut the lead to eight when Ducey muffed a snap on a 40-yard field goal attempt by Capace. It was the first of two such plays in the game that could have swung the final score in favor of the Royals.
“[Capace’s] range is right from the 25,” Cassidy said. “We thought if he could make one of them it would be really important. But we had high snaps both times. We have a young team. It’s going to take time to correct those mistakes.”
The Royals turned the ball over on their first two possession of the second half, a fumble by Nelson recovered by Dominic Claro on the Chaminade 48 and a Deverge pass interception by Kraig Binick at the Flyers’ 45, but the CK defense, led by Rolando Garcia, stopped Chaminade both times.
After CK’s second botched field goal — this one from 34 yards out — Chaminade took over at its own 33, but gave the ball back when Devine was picked off by Benjamin Sawyer at the 42 and returned to the 28.
A three-yard sneak by Deverge, a 12-yard run by Nelson, an encroachment penalty and two runs by Ducey gave the Royals first-and-goal at the Flyers 1. Lazarus went off-tackle to his right and punched his way into the end zone for the touchdown.
Lazarus then scored on a run for the two-point conversion, making the score 18-15 with 4:19 remaining in regulation.
After holding the Flyers to three plays, the Royals’ last possession of the game ended quickly. After a pass incompletion, Deverge was again picked off, this time by James Severin, who brought the ball down to the CK 31. The Flyers managed one first down and ran out the clock.
“I thought from maybe the halfway point of the second quarter to the end of the game we dominated them,” Cassidy said. “If there was a fifth quarter I think we would have beat them. There were maybe two or three plays in the game that just killed us.”
The Royals, now 2-1 in league play and 2-2 overall, will host Kellenberg, also 2-1 in league play, Saturday at St. John’s University at 7 p.m.
Monsignor Farrell 32, Holy Cross 0. Kern Coleymore rushed for close to 200 yards against the Knights, who fell to 1-3 on the season. The lone bright spot for Cross was sophomore Kavell Gordon, starting in place of the injured Woody Aime, who ran for 178 yards on 24 carries.
The Knights squandered four red-zone opportunities in the first half, coming away with no points courtesy of a missed field goal, two turnovers and a failed fourth down conversion.
Cross will look to get back in the win column next week when the team travels to take on the Xaverian Clippers Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
St. Anthony’s 32, St. Francis Prep 7. The Friars remained unbeaten in league play, dominating St. Francis Prep Saturday afternoon. The Terriers, now 1-2 in league play, will square off against a struggling Cardinal Hayes team Sunday at 1 p.m. at St. John’s University.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
