No. 1 DeMatha Football Explodes for 42 Second-half Points in 45-17 Victory

WILMINGTON, DEL. – In searching for a word to encapsulate DeMatha’s second-half performance against St. Joseph’s Prep on Saturday night, this one seems best:

AVALANCHE

After slogging through the first half of its season opener and trailing 10-3 at halftime, the Stags erupted for 42 points to overwhelm Pennsylvania’s reigning three-time 6A champion, 45-17.

Not only did DeMatha get stellar play on offense, defense and special teams, each unit scored a touchdown.

Senior running back Elijah Lee scored three TDs during the Stags’ onslaught. Junior defensive back Knyair Crumb had an interception in each half and took one to the house. Junior defensive end James Pace blocked two punts and recovered one in the end zone.

It was complete and total domination by The Washington Post’s No. 1 team.

“We answered the challenge and did what we had to do,” said DeMatha coach Bill McGregor, after beginning his seventh year since returning to the Stags’ sidelines. “We did everything we were supposed to do. It was a great, great second-half performance.

“Now, we have a lot of things to clean up, but this was game one. This is probably the toughest opponent we’ve played – and beat – in the opener since I’ve been back”

The contest was the final game of the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic and played in Salesianum School’s Abessinio Stadium.

Lee’s first TD, from 5 yards out, ended DeMatha’s initial drive after the break. The key play was a 19-yard pass from junior quarterback Tristan Sabb to senior wide receiver Lavar Keys. The Stags’ defense then forced a three-and-out, and Keys, a Penn State recruit, flashed his 4.3 speed toward a 34-yard punt return.

A personal foul against DeMatha, however, pushed the ball back to the Stags’ 44-yard line. On third-and-5, Sabb found senior wideout Josh Parker for 33 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the Hawks’ 6. Parker’s catch was spectacular. With a defender in front of him, he leaped to snag the ball at its highest point.

On fourth down from the 2, Sabb scooted to his right and beat the Prep defense to the pylon to give the Stags their first lead, 17-10, with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

After DeMatha forced another three-and-out, Sabb found Parker on a comebacker down the left sideline. The 14-yard pass and catch came on fourth-and-11 and set the Stags up on St. Joe’s 20. Lee eventually scored from the 2 early in the fourth quarter. Crumb, who transferred from Calvert Hall (Towson, Md.), followed with a 32-yard pick six 13 seconds later to put DeMatha up, 31-10.

But the Hawks, who entered the game as the top-ranked team in Pennsylvania’s Class 6A, were far from done. Charlie Foulke, their talented junior quarterback, completed two passes for 41 yards and, aided by roughing the passer and pass interference penalties, set up camp at the Stags’ 12.

On the ensuing play, Foulke hit Jett Harrison in the right corner of the end zone to draw Prep to within 14 with 6:37 remaining. Harrison, a son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, Sr., had a 5-yard scoring grab in the first half. The drive consumed a mere 46 seconds.

Lee put the game away with a 27-yard scoring jaunt and finished with 82 yards rushing. He was named game MVP.

Pace, who has several major Division I scholarship offers, punctuated DeMatha’s opening-night performance when he swooped in from the left side to block another punt and fell on it for six points.

“James was outstanding,” McGregor said. “He was just a man among boys. He could not have done any better than he did. Our defensive game plan was outstanding. Their offensive line is very good, and they have some very good running backs.

“We had to shut down the run, and fortunately we were able to do it.”

A Good Start – Sabb, who transferred from St. Frances in Baltimore, was the Stags’ first starting quarterback not named Denzel Gardner in four years. He passed for 116 yards and added 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He also had an interception returned for a TD that was negated by penalty.

Sabb was operating behind an offensive line that returned just one starter from 2024. Lee has replaced Bud Coombs, now a Maryland Terrapin, as the featured back.

“We’re a brand new offense,” McGregor said. “Our receivers are there, but we have a new quarterback. Even though Elijah [Lee] played a lot, it’s totally different as the starter.”

Haven’t We Seen This Movie? – DeMatha had a mere 36 yards of total offense in the first half. Three of its five first downs came via penalty. Keys said the game reminded him of last year’s regular-season contest at St. Johns. DeMatha trailed 7-0 at halftime before scoring 31 straight points in a 31-15 win.

The reigning Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions tallied 11 points more than that in the final 24 minutes Saturday.

“I don’t know what it was, but we came together as a team,” Keys said. “The defense had been getting great stops, and the offense finally woke up. We came back on the field and just dominated.”

Rising Up – The Stags’ first big stop of the night came after Prep had taken a 10-3 lead. A poor exchange between Sabb and Lee gave the Hawks (0-2) the ball on the DeMatha 18.

Senior linebacker Kai Jones recorded a 6-yard sack on the drive’s first play, which ultimately resulted in a missed 36-yard field goal. Had Prep scored a touchdown there, it would have had 14-point lead. Crumbs’ first interception came on the Stags’ 2 with less than a minute to go before intermission.

“Those were incredibly big plays,” McGregor said. “I don’t think the defense could have played any better than they did the entire night against a really quality football team.”

Getting His Kicks on Route 36 – Senior Robert Reeser (No. 36) made all six of his extra points in his debut as DeMatha’s principal placekicker. His 20-yard field goal accounted for the Stags’ only first-half points. Reeser serves as co-president of DeMatha’s Student Government Association and plays on the golf team.

National Jump – The Stags went from unranked to 15th in the MaxPreps Top 25.

Next Game – DeMatha hosts Imhotep Charter at Wilson Stadium in Landover on Friday night at 7 p.m. It will be the second of three straight Philadelphia schools on the Stags’ schedule. The Panthers (1-1) won the most recent Pennsylvania 5A state championship

Chris McManes is a former sports writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He has been covering the Stags since 2015.