DeMatha Football Comes Alive in Second Half, Downs St. John’s 31-15

WASHINGTON – During its current seven-game winning streak, No. 2 DeMatha has faced little adversity or been severely challenged. That changed on Saturday at No. 7 St. John’s when the Stags found themselves trailing 7-0 at halftime.

Not only was DeMatha behind, it was being dominated on both lines of scrimmage. Cadet sophomore running back Dajon Talley-Rhodes was picking up big chunks of yardage, while the Stags were being bottled up on the ground and through the air.

The story completely flipped in the second half as DeMatha scored on five straight possessions en route to a 31-15 victory in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference action at Fernandez Stadium.

Stags senior quarterback Denzel Gardner threw two touchdown passes – both to junior Lavar Keys – and senior running back Bud Coombs scored twice to give DeMatha (7-1, 3-0 WCAC) the top seed in the conference playoffs.

“We didn’t practice well all week, and we didn’t have the focus we needed,” Stags coach Bill McGregor said. “We needed a wake-up call and we got it.”

The Cadets looked good in the first half, forcing DeMatha to punt twice, turn the ball over on downs once and give up two sacks. They scored on a 61-yard drive that Talley-Rhodes punctuated with a 15-yard burst with 1:01 to go before the break.

Gardner was sacked and fumbled on the ensuing possession, handing St. John’s (5-3, 1-2) the ball on the DeMatha 29-yard line. With one second remaining in the half, junior Nolan Stringer lined up for a 41-yard field goal and potential 10-point lead.

Stags sophomore James Pace, who blocked a Gonzaga punt on Oct. 12, blocked Stringer’s attempt. It was one of the only good things to happen to the Stags in the opening 24 minutes.

McGregor said he had a simple message for his team at halftime: “We are not playing DeMatha football. We’ve come too far to let this slip through our fingers. We’ve got to go out and earn it. The mark of a champion is someone who overcomes adversity.

“We scored 31 points in the second half; it’s a good football team that does that.”

Senior Jacob Wallace got things going for the Stags when he took the second-half kickoff back 41 yards to the DeMatha 48. Wallace bounced off a defender at about the 30 and then sped left to pick up more yardage.

Following a 1-yard gain by Coombs, Gardner went right and, picking up sealing blocks from Keys and junior Josh Virgil, raced down the sideline before being knocked out of bounds at the 10. A personal foul call against the Cadets moved the Stags up to the 5. Coombs scored two plays later.

DeMatha was just getting its engine warm. After a punt, the Stags got the ball on their 35. On first down, Gardner found Keys on a slant for 27 yards. He then located him all alone for a 38-yard tally.

“The [defensive back] was always biting on the hitches, so once he bit, I just took it,” said Keys, a speedster who has committed to Penn State. “I was wide open and made him fall and just had to be a playmaker and finish the play.”

With the defense doing much better against the St. John’s running game, DeMatha forced its second consecutive three-and-out and started its next drive on its own 45. A 7-yard run by Coombs and a 6- and 14-yarder from junior Elijah Lee got the Stags in position for senior Alex Amaya’s 35-yard field goal.

The kick pushed the DeMatha lead to 17-7 with 2:38 to go in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth, Gardner and Keys hooked up again for six more points. This time, Gardner rolled to his left and was along the sideline when he unleashed the ball to Keys, who went up and made the catch with a man in front of him. Keys caught the ball at the 7 and backed into the end zone.

It was an impromptu scramble-drill type of play between two talented players who are on the same page.

“He had coverage on him,” Gardner said, “but I threw the ball to him anyway because he had [his man] one-on-one, and he made a play on the ball.”

Keys caught four passes for 122 yards. Gardner finished 6 of 10 for 140 yards. Each of his three second-half completions went to Keys and totaled 112 yards.

Keys said afterwards that he wasn’t feeling well in the first half, but he – and the team – perked up after halftime.

“We decided to play football,” McGregor said. “The offensive line blocked a little better, and we executed better and did the little things. The game of football is so mental. If you’re mentally prepared and emotionally prepared, you have a chance to go out and play halfway decent. And when you add enthusiasm and a sense of urgency, you can do good things.

“We didn’t have any of that in the first half. We were flat, just going through the motions.”

Talley-Rhodes, who has several offers to Power 4 schools, finished with 26 carries for 106 yards. He also caught one of Nyeem Woods’ passes for 21 yards.

“It was a hard-fought game,” said McGregor, who picked up his 320th career victory. “St. John’s is a big, strong football team – they’re very good.”

Highlights – You can watch highlights of the game here, or a complete replay, courtesy of 1st Amendment Sports.

Rankings – DeMatha is ranked second by The Washington Post and 24th in the nation by MaxPreps.

Safety Returns – Senior Nijel Cross, who sustained several serious upper-body injuries in the Stags’ win over Washington High in Massillon, Ohio, on Sept. 27 returned to action against the Cadets. Cross, who had been a starting safety, is in his first year playing football. Also a member of DeMatha’s basketball team, he is the younger brother of Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross. Both of them graduated from St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville.

Next Game – The Stags will play their final regular-season home game at Marvin F. Wilson Stadium in Landover against Bishop McNamara this Friday night at 7 p.m. Twenty-eight DeMatha seniors will be honored before the game. The Mustangs (4-3, 0-2 WCAC) are coming off a 27-0 loss to Gonzaga.

The playoffs, which feature the top four teams in WCAC Capital Division, begin Nov. 15. The Stags will host a game that evening.

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