There’s nothing more important in the Inter-Ac than building momentum. Stringing together a set of wins helps to keep a team optimistic and energized before league play. Conversely, coming into the Inter-Ac cold can leave a team sluggish and keep them out of title contention.
After a crucial loss last game against Roman, the Devils knew they needed to get back to their winning ways in week three against Lincoln, and they did just that with a 27-14 win.
Once again, SCH has found an identity behind a ground-and-pound offensive system, which was displayed early in the game when sophomore running back William Howard took a handoff right up the middle, shredding tacklers and breaking off a 42-yard touchdown.
Howard managed to turn 23 attempts into 259 yards and 3 touchdowns, with one of those being a staggering 88-yard touchdown off a pitch to the left side. “That play probably will be my favorite [run] from the season,” said Howard postgame. “It was an answer to Lincoln’s scoring drive and discouraged their team.”
SCH also improved on its many mistakes from the last game. Junior kicker James Brennan Rothschild made huge improvements from last week, making all three of his extra points this game and adding on two field goals as well, one from 29 yards, and one from 38 yards.
But the big improvement came from the Devils’ pass rush, which only tallied one sack against Roman Catholic last week. This week, however, they harassed Lincoln, tallying five sacks and 11 QB pressures.
SCH also managed to snag an interception thanks to senior linebacker Johnny Nosal, who read the eyes of the quarterback, shifting underneath a curl route to snatch the ball from the receiver’s hands, giving the Devils the ball in Lincoln territory.
With that win, the Devils move to 3-1, but face a tough challenge this coming week against the Hun School, which MaxPreps has ranked as the 3rd best team in New Jersey, and the 127th best team in the nation. The Devils will certainly have their hands full as well, especially with their offensive line. The Hun School sports a talented defensive line, headlined by 4-star USC commit Luke Wafle, a senior on the team.
SCH’s matchup against the Hun School marks an increase in the difficulty of last year’s schedule. Between Roman Catholic, Hun, Lincoln, and Lawrenceville, SCH has played four of its five games against Inter-Ac level competition, with Roman and Hun marking two teams that could even compete for an Inter-Ac title.
The Devils will try and keep up their winning streak against Hun this Saturday, and the game will be live on Gametime Sports. Tune in early at 12:00 PM for the pre-game show!