Saints slog past Eagles

When the ball is inside the 5-yard line, football strategy is fairly universal. On the opposing team’s goal line, punch it in; from your own goal line, protect the ball and play it safe.

In Friday’s match-up between St. Anne’s-Belfield and Covenant, though, plays from inside the five included three turnovers and two plays for a combined 128 yards. In a sloppy, yet thrilling contest, St. Anne’s made more positives from those plays than Covenant, and that determined the Saints’ 35-21 win.

After trailing 28-0 midway through the third quarter, Covenant mounted a furious comeback, taking advantage of two STAB turnovers, a recovered onside kick, and some big gains out of the wildcat formation from running back Chris Shifflett to pull to 28-21.

With 1:53 remaining, Covenant had the ball at its own 4-yard line, looking to tie the game.

Covenant, though, would give the game away on the first play of the drive. Coppock couldn’t handle the snap, and the ball fell into the end zone, where it was recovered by Alex Payne of St. Anne’s for a touchdown.

“I think we had the right call, I think the kids were ready to execute the play,” Covenant coach Rich Little said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go your way.”

St. Anne’s coach John Blake added: “I told the other [coach], we haven’t got a break all year. We got a break there, finally.”

The late fumble was one of several mistakes by both teams near the goal line.

The tale started midway through the third quarter with STAB leading 14-0. Covenant drove the ball to the Saints’ 1-yard line.

On the next play, though, quarterback Lee Coppock attempted to sneak into the end zone and was stripped by Brandon Spitzer at the goal line.

With St. Anne’s up 14-0 on its next possession, quarterback Jacob Rainey connected with wide receiver Joseph Stuart, setting up a 15-yard touchdown run from Will McGhee. After an onside kick, the Saints scored again to go up 28-0.

Covenant just wouldn’t quit, though. On fourth-and-2 at the STAB 27, Shiflett shed several tacklers and found the end zone.

“That was the first time we used [the Wildcat this season],” Little said. “I was just trying to implement a couple guys - we needed to get the ball in their hands.”

As Covenant build momentum, STAB helped it along. On the Saints’ next drive, they fumbled a snap from their own 38-yard line, and Covenant recovered. Shiflett then rolled to a 19-yard touchdown run, and all of a sudden it was 28-14.

And the furious comeback wouldn’t stop there. The Eagles tried an onside kick of their own, and they too succeeded, as Chris Luck recovered the kick at the STAB 39. On the ensuing first down, wide receiver Sam Dale carried the ball to the outside and down the sideline for a touchdown.

“It’s typical of a team that hasn’t gotten a lot of confidence,” Blake said. “We just had a mental lapse there for about seven minutes, and we put them right back in the ballgame.’

STAB appeared to still be in control with a one-score lead and the ball, but then the nightmare for Blake continued. Covenant’s ensuing line-drive kickoff was mishandled, and McGhee only managed to return the kick to the 5-yard line. Clark then followed with a three-yard loss on first down, and the Eagles had the Saints pinned.

McGhee, though, came up with his biggest gain of the day at the most important time of the game. He broke off a run well into Eagles territory; a downfield block in the back reduced it to a 28-yard gain, but Covenant was effectively deflated. Clark and McGhee continued to pick up big yardage, driving to the Eagles’ five.

“The fullback, Brandford Rogers - he laid a great block on that corner, and just opened up the sideline for me to cruise right down,” McGhee said. “The line held great, they held their blocks.”

Again, though, inside the five, the unexpected occurred. STAB ran a reverse to Stuart, but Stuart fumbled to Covenant at the four yard-line.

“Here we are, we drive [94] yards, and we fumble the ball,” Blake said. “We gave them a little breath of air there.”

From there, though, came the mishandled snap in the end zone, and Covenant’s hopes of a win were finished.

Shifflett ended with 116 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, with 98 of those yards coming on his last seven rushes. On the other side,

Clark led all backs with 125 yards and ran for two touchdowns, while McGhee finished with 111 yards and a touchdown.

Coppock had a disappointing night, finishing with just 72 yards on 9-of-21 passing with an interception. STAB held his favorite target, Dale, to just two catches for six yards, though he did rush four times for 61 yards.

“We wanted to take [Dale] out of the game,” Blake said. “He made a couple big plays in that run, but I think, all in all, I will take that against a big athlete like that.”

Covenant (3-5, 1-3 Old Dominion Football Conference) stays on the road against North Cross next week, while STAB (3-4, 1-1) plays at Christchurch.