By Joe Pantorno
Christ the King opened the Tyree Allison era with a lopsided football win over Nazareth last weekend, but an early winning streak for the first-year coach will have to wait. The Royals were routed 43-6 at the hands of Bishop Ford in a Catholic High School Football League Class AA game at John Adams Saturday afternoon.
Senior wide receiver Jordan Fuchs had five receptions for 107 yards in Week 1, but was held to just three catches, his first coming with 6 minutes left in the game, for 49 yards. He felt his number wasn’t called as much as he expected. Running back James Coleman, who had 327 yards and seven touchdowns against the Kingsmen, was also shut down.
“I just have to go in and watch some film and see what I can do better,” Fuchs said.
Christ the King’s defense allowed Ford’s junior running back Dante Aiken to rush for 147 yards and four consecutive touchdowns that immediately put the Royals (1-1, 1-0) in 28-0 hole. The defense was also prone to big plays through the air as Ford senior quarterback Xaviah Mattocks threw for 122 yards on four completions.
“This game didn’t turn out as expected,” said Fuchs. “We’ll just have to start looking forward to next week.”
The offense sputtered. With Fuchs limited, the running game was non-existent as the offensive line was having a troublesome afternoon. Bishop Ford had three sacks and the countless pressure forced senior quarterback Matthew Gluick to throw two interceptions.
“The defense played lights out today,” Ford Coach Jim Esposito said. “We allowed Fuchs to catch a touchdown pass but we did a spectacular job with him.”
When the Royals tried to be aggressive, they were burned by the stellar Ford defense. On three occasions they went for it on fourth down and they were shut down on each of them.
“It was extremely frustrating,” Fuchs said.
Christ the King scored its only points of the game with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter, when Fuchs started to make an impact. His first reception came via a 30-yard fade down the left sideline, followed by a leaping touchdown catch from 6 yards out.
“It’s like a cycle,” Fuchs said. “It starts all over again.”
