DeMatha Blasts St. Johns 42-6 in Football Playoff Semifinals

Unlike the first time No. 2 DeMatha and No. 11 St. John's met this year, the Stags left little doubt Friday who was the superior team.

DeMatha scored touchdowns on its first three drives and rolled to a 42-6 victory in a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Capital Division semifinal at Wilson Stadium in Landover.

"We started fast. We did everything we had to coming out of the gate," Stags coach Bill McGregor said. "We had 21 points in the first quarter, and that's a great way to begin. I thought we did a good job offensively and defensively, and special teams played well, too.

“It was a good team win all across the board."

DeMatha, which has won nine in a row since a season-opening loss, will face No. 5 Good Counsel (7-4) for the championship at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Sunday at 6 p.m. It will be a rematch of last year's title game, won by the Falcons, 7-0.

Stags senior quarterback Denzel Gardner rushed for three TDs and threw for one against St. John's, and junior Darrell (pronounced dur-rell) Carey returned one of his two interceptions for a score to propel DeMatha into the championship for the fourth time since 2018.

Senior running back Bud Coombs, who scored on a 57-yard gallop Friday, said losses in the past two title games are a motivator for the Stags.

"For sure," said Coombs, who has committed to attend Maryland to play baseball and football. "Winning is the only option. We've lost the past two years, and we can't lose again. We've worked too hard, we've practiced too hard to lose.

"So, winning is the only option this week."

After senior linebacker Noah Chambers (Virginia Tech) dislodged the ball from sophomore Dajon Talley-Rhodes on St. John's opening drive, Jacob Wallace recovered to give DeMatha the ball on the Cadets' 31-yard line. Gardner hit wideout Lavar Keys (Penn State) for 14 yards and then scored from the 17 to put the Stags up early.

On its ensuing possession, DeMatha needed just three plays to keep the scoreboard operator busy. Coombs posted back-t0-back runs of 11 and 7 yards ahead of Gardner dropping a beautifully thrown spiral into Keys' waiting arms for a 53-yard TD. The junior speed merchant got behind the defense and caught the ball at the 5 to set up senior Alex Amaya's point-after-touchdown and 14-point lead.

Keys said it was offensive coordinator Luke Casey who noticed something he thought they could capitalize on.

"At first, [the St. John's defensive back] was pressing, but once he got off, coach Luke said we should just take it over the top," Keys said. "I had to beat him, and I got over the safety because he came down a little bit. That's when I just stayed upfield, and Denzel put up a great ball."

Coombs had two more good runs midway through the first quarter - 16 and 14 yards - and junior Elijah Lee went up the middle for 9 more. Gardner brought it home from the 4.

After the DeMatha defense forced its third punt of the opening period, Keys almost made it 28-0 at halftime with a 60-yard catch-and-run. The Stags, however, were called for an ineligible man downfield.

Carey joined the scoring parade with a 73-yard return of sophomore Nyeem Woods' pass along the edge. Woods forced him back to the middle of the field but was unable to slow him down. Carey tallied with four teammates trailing him close behind.

Following Wallace's 26-yard kickoff return and a 6-yard gain by Lee, Coombs took a handoff from Gardner and bounced to the left. He got a nice downfield block from junior Josh Parker and sprinted 57 yards down the sideline. He finished with 11 carries for 124 yards.

With 11:13 to go in the third quarter, DeMatha led 35-0.

"Our offensive linemen were blocking their butt off all night, so I just followed them, and I can't let anybody catch me," Coombs said with a laugh. "So, it was lights out."

The Cadets, who defeated the Stags in the 2022 championship game, 7-3, finally found the scoring zone on an 81-yard drive. Woods had runs of 6 and 23 yards, and Talley-Rhodes picked up 11 before junior running back Breyon Williams took a pitch from Woods, rolled right and found senior Amir Wallace Jones in the near corner of the end zone. Their try for two points failed.

Gardner, who has committed to Marshall, concluded the scoring with a 1-yard tush push, and Carey ended St. John's final drive with his second interception.

The game was a far cry from the contest the teams played on Oct. 26. St. John's led that one 7-0 at halftime. Its lead quickly evaporated as DeMatha scored 31 straight points en route to a 31-15 road victory. In the six quarters against the Cadets (5-5) since that intermission, the Stags rolled up 73 points while allowing just 14.

Despite the lopsided nature of the two games this year, McGregor had high praise for the team from Northwest Washington.

"St. John's is a big, strong, outstanding football team," he said. "They're very well-coached, and we knew we had to come out and answer the challenge. They have a lot of really good football players. I just like how we came out and played."

DeMatha knows it has to win one more to return the WCAC championship trophy to Hyattsville.

"These last two years have definitely been disappointing," said Wallace, a talented senior cornerback whose brother, Josh, plays for the Los Angeles Rams. "It's win or bust right now."

Chris McManes (mick-maynz) is DeMatha Catholic High School's communications manager.