No. 2 DeMatha Uses Tough Early Schedule to Down Gonzaga, 28-14

DeMatha’s domination of Gonzaga last Saturday was set in motion by the three strong teams the Stags played on the road this season.

DeMatha played – and lost – the season-opener at Spalding, the No. 1 team in Maryland and the DMV. After that, the Stags went to Philadelphia and defeated Roman Catholic, which at the time was ranked No. 3 in Pennsylvania.

DeMatha followed with a victory at Washington High in Massillon, Ohio. The Tigers were at game time the top-ranked team in Ohio. Each of those games helped prepare the Stags for the quality opponent it found in No. 10 Gonzaga.

DeMatha, ranked second by The Washington Post, scored the first 28 points of the game against Gonzaga en route to a 28-14 victory. Winners of five straight, the Stags improved to 5-1 and 1-0 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

“That’s the reason we play those tough teams,” DeMatha coach Bill McGregor said. “Spalding, Roman Catholic and Massillon are all quality football teams. We schedule games like that on purpose. You’ve got to get battle-tested before you go into the WCAC.

“By throwing the guys into the fire, we see what we’re made of.”

The Stags arrived at Gonzaga’s Buchanan Field in Northwest Washington a confident bunch. They seized control of the contest by blocking the Eagles’ punt on their opening possession.

James Pace came crashing through the line and got a hand on John Holley’s punt. Fellow sophomore Mark Martin recovered the ball at the Gonzaga 6-yard line. Two plays later, junior running back Elijah Lee took it in from the 1 to give the Stags an early 7-0 lead.

Pace, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive lineman, blew past one blocker and then jumped over a second with both arms outstretched.

“The way they block was kind of spread out, so they let me right through,” Pace said. “Then I just jumped over the little shield they had with the three people in the back, and I was able to get the block.”

DeMatha held the Eagles (5-2, 0-1) to just four yards the second time they had the ball, and Holley’s 17-yard punt set the Stags up on Gonzaga’s 41.

DeMatha moved backwards five yards, but senior Alex Amaya’s 45-yard punt took a few bounces before going out at the Eagles’ 1. For their third-straight possession, Gonzaga punted after gaining no more than five yards. Holley’s 14-yard effort gave the Stags the ball on Zags’ 18.

Senior running back Bud Coombs started the drive with a 10-yard run, and four-year staring quarterback Denzel Gardner finished it with a 3-yard touchdown run. With 1:16 left in the first quarter, DeMatha had scored 14 points while holding the Eagles to 12 yards.

“We always play good defense. We can’t ask for anything more than they’re giving us,” McGregor said. “We’re fast, we’re long and we can run. If you’re going to win a WCAC game, you’ve got to be around the football. You can’t give up too many big plays. We’ve just got to stay healthy, that’s the key.”

Holley, a senior, did get off some good punts. He had a 31-yarder, a 34-yarder and, out of his own end zone, sailed one 44 yards. But junior Lavar Keys returned it 13 yards to the Gonzaga 29, giving the Stags another short field.

Following a false start penalty and a 10-yard sack by former St. Jerome basketball star Tyson Harley, Gardner scrambled for nine yards. On fourth-and-15, he completed an 18-yard pass over the middle to junior Josh Parker.

Coombs then took advantage of a huge hole to score from 16 yards and boost the DeMatha lead to 21-0 with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. The Stags concluded another short drive – from the Eagles’ 27 – on a 1-yard run by senior Michael Boxley.

DeMatha’s four touchdown drives totaled a mere 80 yards. Gonzaga, meanwhile, often started from deep in its own territory, like when Amaya nailed a 43-yard punt to the Eagles’ 5 that was returned to the 11.

“I thought our kicking game was outstanding,” McGregor said. “They had no field position the entire day. Their drives, for the most part, were all from the 20-yard line on in. It’s hard for a high school football team to go 80 yards. Then we get a sack or another minus play and next thing you know, they’re backed up.

“I just thought we controlled, through the kicking game, the field position most of the day.”

Next Game – The Stags host No. 4 Good Counsel (4-3, 1-0) at the P.G. Sports & Learning Complex (Wilson Field) in Landover on Friday at 7 p.m. The Falcons defeated DeMatha twice last year, including 7-0 in the rain-soaked championship game.

“Even though they started 1-3, their three losses were against really quality teams,” McGregor said. “Since then, they’ve come back and won three in a row and had a great win against St. John’s [28-13 on Friday]. They’re a very good football team.”

The Stags are now ranked 24th in the nation by MaxPreps.

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