Defense Powers Top-ranked DeMatha to 16th Straight Victory

OLNEY, MD. - Several WCAC football observers – players, coaches, press box personnel – were surprised at how tough top-ranked DeMatha’s game against No. 4 Good Counsel was Friday night.

Stags coach Bill McGregor, who was coaching DeMatha (6-0) when the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference was formed in 1993, was not among them.

“Anytime you play a WCAC opponent, you don’t know what to expect,” McGregor said following his team’s 7-0 victory over the Falcons. “Good Counsel’s played one heck of a schedule, they’re battle tested and they’re a very, very good football team.

“We haven’t really played the caliber of [opponent] they have the past three weeks. And I think it showed offensively.”

Points were harder to find at Dancel Field than the missing remote when you want to turn on the TV. For the first 42+ minutes, both teams were scoreless.

DeMatha has been the No. 1 team in the DMV all season and, in the Rivals composite national rankings, checks in at No. 12.

The Stags finally removed their zero with 5:52 to go in the fourth quarter when junior Tristan Sabb threw a 41-yard strike to Lavar Keys in the end zone. The senior wideout, drawing single coverage along the right sideline, leaped high to catch a spiral that sailed more than 50 yards.

“We saw that they were in cover zero [defensively], the safety came down and it was just me and the cornerback. And you just have to win those 50-50 [jumps] and score the touchdown for your team so you can win the game.”

Keys, well covered on the play, got just beyond the defensive back and outjumped him.

“It was a perfect ball by Tristan,” Keys said. “He threw it out there and trusted my speed and my ability to make the catch. It was an amazing throw.”

Defense Comes Up Big

While DeMatha’s offense was being stymied for most of the night, the Stags’ defense played superbly and recorded their second shutout of 2025.

“Defensively we couldn’t play any better than we did,” McGregor said. “I thought we were outstanding.”

The DeMatha defense, under longtime defensive coordinator Deno Campbell, saved its biggest play for when it was most needed. With the Falcons having moved from their own 20-yard-line to the Stags’ 33 late in the game, GC junior quarterback Jackson Rice dropped back to pass on third-and-nine.

James Pace, a junior defensive end, came flying through to pressure Rice. The three-star signal caller dodged Pace but couldn’t escape linebacker Justin Booze, whose sack dislodged the ball. Fellow senior Jordan Stevens recovered it for the Stags with just 48 seconds remaining.

“I was seeing red; I was ready to hit,” Booze said. “All I was looking for was the quarterback as soon as I got free.”

Stevens swooped in from his position on the defensive line.

“I saw J-Rod [Pace] got a big pressure on the QB, which made him curl up, and then Booze just came and punched it right out,” Stevens said. “And I just saw the ball roll right there and my eyes lit up.

“It was like candy, so I just went and jumped on it. It was a team effort. The D-line was working as a unit and we got it done.”

Two kneel downs later and DeMatha had booked its 16th straight victory. Good Counsel dropped to 4-3.

“I’m so happy we were able to take a knee and get out of Dodge,” McGregor said. “This is a tough place to play. We’ve come over here with a lot of really good teams and did not win.

“It’s a tough environment.”

Dogs In, Lions Out

Count Keys among those who expected a tough matchup with the Falcons, the team the Stags have met for the past two WCAC championships. The schools split those contests.

“Playing against Good Counsel is always going to be a dogfight,” said Keys, who scored the only touchdown in DeMatha’s 16-7 win over the Falcons in last year’s title game. “From past years to last year to now, we expect a dogfight, and we just had to do something different to come out with the win.”

After James Franklin was relieved of his head coaching duties at Penn State on Sunday, Keys decommitted from his pledge to the Nittany Lions. He will now be one of the most sought-after players in the country … once again.

Meeting the Challenge

McGregor thinks his squad’s first close game of the season will pay dividends moving forward.

“This was the first time all season that we had to win the game in the fourth quarter,” he said. “It was the first time we had our backs to the wall and had to compete and make plays.

“I’m so proud of the guys. It’s unbelievable. I thought it was a great team effort.”

Next Up

The Stags head to Forestville, Md., on Saturday to take on a McNamara squad fresh off its first WCAC victory in 10 years, 21-0 over Gonzaga. The Mustangs (4-3) were rewarded by joining The Post’s Top 20 at No. 14.

Game time is 1 p.m.