Roman Catholic Ends Springfield’s Historic Season with Dominant Performance
Springfield’s remarkable 14-1 season came to an end as Roman Catholic proved too powerful, securing a decisive victory and halting the Cougars’ dream run. A quick start and explosive plays from Roman Catholic quarterback Beals proved pivotal in the Cahillites’ success.
Roman Catholic wasted no time establishing control. After a quick screen for a 7-yard score, Beals connected with Roberts deep for a 48-yard touchdown, quickly building a 14-0 lead. Another connection between Beals and Roberts, this time for 41 yards, further extended the advantage.Springfield’s first series saw quarterback John Hopkins intercepted by Stead.
Despite the early deficit, Springfield attempted to stick to its strengths. “It was just brutal because we have six guys going both ways,fighting their tails off on both ends of the ball,” Springfield senior Luke Valerio explained. “So, getting a drink of water or a breather was hard to come by.They have a ton of great athletes on their team. One big play from them just flips the whole field. Unfortunately they took advantage of that.They understood that right from the get, and they’re just a great football team.”
Springfield found some momentum in the second quarter, with Valerio breaking free for a 27-yard touchdown run on the first play. The penn State lacrosse signee had surpassed 2,000 yards from scrimmage on the season during the game. However, Beals responded with two more quick scoring drives, finding Maajid Williams for a 26-yard touchdown and then connecting with Hanif Sheed for a 21-yard strike. Roman Catholic lead 35-7 at halftime, having amassed 356 yards of offense.
“It’s definitely hard to catch up being down 21-0, but I’m definitely proud of our guys, especially coming out of halftime,” Valerio said.”A lot of guys could hang their heads, but we came out firing in the third quarter and all of our guys still had a ton of energy. They were so excited that we got to play football today, and a lot of other teams don’t get to play right now. I think the guys really understood that, and they left everything out there on the field.”
The second half saw Springfield drive to the goal line,but Hopkins was intercepted by Haamir Lowry. Springfield’s defence briefly gained a takeaway when Alex mcginnis intercepted Beals and returned the ball to the 1-yard line, setting up a Valerio touchdown that narrowed the gap to 35-14 with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Roman Catholic quickly answered, utilizing running back Trey Montgomery, who finished with 118 yards on 16 carries, to set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Stead. Justis Gaskin then intercepted a Springfield pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 48-7.
Springfield managed a late score as valletti connected with Mike Neville on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds.
Valerio led Springfield’s rushing attack with 134 yards on 25 carries, finishing the season with 1,690 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. Valletti added 17 rushing yards,four catches for 28 yards,and the touchdown pass,while Coll rushed for 40 yards.
Despite the loss, Valerio expressed immense pride in the team’s accomplishments. “It’s been such a past season,and I’m proud of every one of our guys,” he said. “Our JV guys sticking around to help us get through these last few games and help us get this far. We wouldn’t be anywhere without them. Our coaches doing everything they could for us, and all of the guys were bought in at the end of the season. we marked our name in history, and there’s just so much to be proud about. It’s sad that our season is over, but we left our mark at springfield and we set the expectations very high for next season.”
