Saints get the message

Something that someone out there in cyberspace said about St. Anne’s-Belfield’s defense got coach John Blake and that unit’s attention — and Covenant felt the Saints’ wrath.

“Our kids read the message boards and everybody says we can’t play defense,” Blake said. “We can play defense.”

Clearly the Saints can, shutting down Covenant in a 27-14 victory over the Eagles, who were ranked No. 2 in the state going into the contest.

St. Anne’s, who was ranked third, held the Eagles in check most of the contest, limiting Covenant running back Luke Heinsohn to just 100 yards on the ground (well under his 142.3 yards per game average). In fact, Covenant scored just a single offensive touchdown, a one-yard plunge by Heinsohn in the second quarter.

The Saints’ front seven kept the pressure on all night, coming up with a couple of critical fourth quarter sacks by Michael Battle and Bryan Stinnie. Stinnie’s sack on Covenant’s next-to-last drive effectively sealed the Eagles’ fate as Covenant turned it over on downs. That left little time for the Eagles’ methodical offense to score a pair of touchdowns to have a chance at a win.

“They earned that game right there at the line of scrimmage,” said Covenant coach Mark Sanford. “We tried to make some adjustments at halftime and thought we had it picked up but they started running a few different stunts. Charlie Scott [STAB’s defensive coordinator] did a great job getting them ready defensively for us.”

Linebacker Quincey September also played a big part in the Saints’ charged defensive performance, recovering a fumble that eventually led to a STAB touchdown and stuffing Heinsohn twice during a goal-line stand as time expired in the contest. September also broke up a pass in the first half with a solid hit on Covenant’s Andy Colberg that dislodged the ball for an incompletion on third-and-9, forcing a punt.

Senior defensive lineman John Chambers made a number of big plays including a fumble recovery on Covenant’s first drive. Chambers teamed with Stinnie and Matthew Sewell to create a lot of havoc in the Eagles’ backfield. That trio regrouped consistently after Heinsohn managed some big gains and came with stops shortly thereafter.

“Last week against Collegiate, we gave up a lot of points, but we worked hard, we had some competitive practices and we stepped it up,” Stinnie said. “Heinsohn is a great running back and we knew we had to come out and pound him and pound him and we got the job done.”

Collegiate put up 54 points against the Saints last week behind quarterback Jake McGee.

The Saints’ running game also made it tough for Covenant to get into any kind of rhythm on offense because the Saints held onto the ball for a big chunk of the game. STAB ran 27 more plays on offense than the Eagles. In the second quarter, Covenant ran just two plays on offense — Heinsohn’s one-yard touchdown and a six-yard gain as time ran out on the opening half. STAB recovered an onside kick during the quarter to maintain control of the ball and the clock.

“When our offense got back on the field I thought we needed to go through a stretching routine again because we’d been on the sideline so long,” Sanford said.

Heinsohn had a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown to put Covenant up 14-7 during that stretch, but STAB just kept plugging away. Aaron Clark piled up 126 yards on 23 carries before a re-aggravated turned ankle in the third quarter forced him out of the game. That’s when junior Will McGhee took over, ripping off 67 yards on 12 carries during the second half, including a 20-yard touchdown run early in the fourth that helped put the game out of reach.

“[Clarke has] been on and off in practice so coach Blake was telling me that I might have to step it up,” McGhee said. “So I just went with it. I was very relaxed, I had confidence in my line, I knew that they were going to get it done.”

Howie Long also performed well on the ground, rushing for 49 yards on 14 carries, and true to form, the senior made a number of clutch third-down passes to keep the Saints moving. He hooked up with Owen Van Arsdale on a two-yard touchdown pass with less than 10 seconds left before the break.

“He had a couple of balls that he knew as soon as he threw them were [wrong] but he turned right around and threw some great balls,” Blake said. “The play right before the half, what a great throw.”

Covenant’s offensive rhythm problems seemed to sink the Eagles, but it didn’t start out that way. On the Eagles’ opening drive, Heinsohn ripped off two 11-yard gains and Lee Coppock hooked up with Colberg on a 13-yard strike to help move the Eagles to STAB’s 17. A fumbled snap and Chambers’ recovery halted Covenant’s offensive momentum.

“We were in a nice rhythm there and then we never really got into one again,” Sanford said.