Call it a blowout. Call it a dismantling. Heck, call it whatever you want. But the Blue Devils 40-6 victory over the Lincoln Railsplitters was a much-needed victory for SCH.
The Railsplitters had played the Blue Devils closely last year. It was a defensive battle, and they struggled to get their offense into high gear consistently for the entire night during the last encounter, which ended 14-13.
This time, it looked easy for the Blue Devils. With their most balanced attack all season, the Devils mixed runs and short passes to move down the field, with a catch and run from junior WR Aaron Clark getting the Devils into scoring position, where Junior QB Liam Zelman punched one in to take the lead on their opening possession.
SCH 7 – Lincoln – 0
Lincoln was unfortunately battered with the injury bug, down their starting QB, and their best player, 3-Star Ziyyon Bredell, who’s committed to Syracuse. However, the Lincoln offense was still formidable, besting GA earlier in the year.
SCH held firm, their stout defense quickly forcing Lincoln to give up the ball once again after a pass fell harmlessly incomplete to the ground. Then they got right back to work.
Zelman and Clark weren’t able to connect on the deep ball – Lincoln kept the WR doubled with a safety overtop, and even when Clark had a step, the two couldn’t link on any deep passes.
But with the defense playing so heavily on Clark, it gave senior RB Finn Whittle an easier job, allowing him to take an outside run for 42 yards down the sideline, and outspeed the Railsplitters secondary to score.
Devils 14 – Lincoln 0
Early in the second quarter, junior DB Joe Flach snatched a pick on them, but the Devils failed to turn it into points, although it seemed to break the resolve of the Lincoln offense, as they moved cautiously.
Now having to come down from behind, the Railsplitters put together a solid drive, but they were stopped at the Devils’ 30 yard line, lining up a field goal attempt to try and score on the Devils for the first time this season.
As they lined up though, the Devils rushed through the gap to block the kick, recovering it as they kept their streak alive, and demolished any momentum the Railsplitters were building right then.
The two teams traded punts before the Devils got back in the driver’s seat. Again, they kept dominating on the ground, and then getting themselves down to the 3 yard-line. Zelman punched in his second TD rush of the night, as the Devils extended the lead.
Devils 21 – Lincoln 0
Unlike their last matchup, the Devils offense was almost unstoppable, keeping Lincoln playing from behind the entire game. Lincoln kept moving the ball, however, getting deeper and deeper into Devils territory, before facing 4th and 3 from the Devils 23-yard line.
Despite their best efforts, the Devils held firm, as the Railsplitters came up empty, but the Devils had little time left on the clock to move the ball.
They kept the mindset to score, as they drove down the field, pushing down into Railsplitters with a deadly efficiency. Set up with no time remaining, Zelman lobbed a pass to Clark, which fell incomplete but drew a flag, giving the Devils an untimed down.
And with that little extra time, Zelman rolled and found senior captain WR Sean Brett, hauling in his first touchdown of the year, scoring with no time remaining, although the Devils missed the extra point, leading big into halftime.
Devils 27 – Lincoln 0
Lincoln once again put together a solid drive, getting down field quickly as they threatened a score, but Joe Flach came up big again, catching his second INT off of a tipped pass, and stopping any momentum available.
SCH took that momentum, and the Devils got into scoring position as they got onto the goal line on 4th and 5 where Zelman found the endzone for his third rushing touchdown of the game. SCH did fail to get the two-point conversion.
Devils 33 – Lincoln 0
Now, as Lincoln tried to answer, they looked to go deep and put up…something while down this much. As they looked to find a deep ball, throwing a far post, Flach read the play beautifully, rolling out of his zone to snag his third interception, and setting up Zelman for another touchdown.
Devils 40 – Lincoln 0
With a quarter still left, the Devils kept their defense stout and solid, even when the JV was in. Although, thanks to Lincoln using their timeouts and managing the clock, the Railsplitters got their first score, and the first score on the Blue Devils all year.
Devils 40 – Lincoln 6
While the Railsplitters scored, the Devils varsity defense has yet to allow a single point while they’ve been on the field, still being one of the best defenses in PA right now. Now, the team is 3-0, with 2 games to play before the Inter-Ac.
Their next game is against the Hill School, this one the first away game for SCH, this Friday at 7:00pm. If you can’t watch the game, tune in to Gametime Sports to catch all the action!
