The DeMatha Stags football team couldn’t send off the seniors in style, losing in overtime against a tough Good Counsel squad for their last home game of 2017. In a low scoring game that primarily featured run defenses, both teams stayed knotted at the conclusions of half and full times. The relatively equally matched teams have become familiar with each other’s strategies over the years and they each only managed a touchdown in the first half. DeMatha took a 14-7 lead until 2:02 left in the fourth quarter when Good Counsel tied the game on a spectacular passing play that left the Stags stunned. The Falcons would then stop DeMatha in overtime and score a winning touchdown with a final score of 20-14.
https://twitter.com/ByDanRoth/status/919012916396949504
DeMatha dropped their second game in a row and falls to 0-2 in the WCAC football standings. Eric Najarian made his second start at quarterback of the season and Tyler Lenhart didn’t take any snaps. The Stags are left to search for a way to restore the high expectations that they had for themselves at the start of the season with a 4-3 overall record. While a WCAC football title is still in reach, DeMatha has to understand now that they are merely fighting for survival at this point. The Stags aren’t used to this position.
Still the current crisis isn’t nearly as bad as it could be due to league restructuring. There are six teams competing for the title and DeMatha is still all but assured of beating two of them to secure a playoff spot. However nothing in the WCAC comes easy. The Stags need to embrace what has quickly manifested into a rebuilding year and take a longer view for the season. Head coach Elijah Brooks appears to have already done so with his decision to bench a former starting quarterback on his senior night in favor of a junior.
The quarterback controversy is sure to be revisited because the Stags seemed anemic on offense in their latest losing effort. Senior running back Detrick Washington scored on the ground in the first half, and DeMarcco Hellams broke a crossing pattern loose after gaining fifty yards for a score in the second half. DeMatha wouldn’t sustain a drive until late in the fourth quarter, but they failed to score and didn’t chew up enough clock to prevent Good Counsel from scoring. A personal foul put the Falcons in DeMatha territory with time winding down. The momentum shifted and the Stags never recovered.
Good Counsel used a strong running game to keep the DeMatha defense from pinning their ears back and rushing the passer. The Falcons running back Latrele Palmer demanded a lot of attention at the line of scrimmage, and it was eventually the big bruising back that scored in overtime. DeMatha did manage some bright spots on defense, but Falcons head coach Andy Stephanelli mixed in a good array of plays. Both teams had crucial turnovers in the game but the outcome was decided when Good Counsel maximized their opportunities when DeMatha couldn’t.
DeMatha looks ahead to one of their biggest challenges of the season when they have to go to Military Road and take on the Saint Johns Cadets. SJC beat Good Counsel last week and they have been itching for some kind of revenge for over a quarter century of losses to the Stags. The October 21 game will be a difficult test but DeMatha can’t afford to take any of the games lightly now. With no home games left to hide behind, the remaining WCAC teams are going to look to cow the Stags into submission. Suddenly now the last two games of the season against Bishop McNamara and finally Archbishop Carroll are important.
We are all anxious to see how DeMatha football will respond in the future but feel free to check the tale of the Good Counsel tape on Twitter at #GCvsDM. The DeMatha Football website is back up and running, so you will have to follow there from here on out. We will do our best to keep you posted but there are no more DM Stags TV football broadcasts scheduled in 2017.
The DeMatha Stags have had a rough start to the WCAC season so far, and they are looking for a bright spot.
[Featured Photo, RoughGuides.Com ]
The Chronicles of Six 