Goal line stand as time expires preserves Irish victory

Mike Parris, cleveland.com, October 03, 2008 10:07 p.m.

 Watch the second half video archive and access game stats from SVSM's exciting 10-6 win over Walsh Jesuit. 

 Watch the first half video archive.

Akron - St. Vincent-St. Mary used a goal line stand as time expired to perserve a dramatic 10-6 victory over Walsh Jesuit Friday evening at packed John Cistone Field.

The Irish (6-1) stuffed Walsh Jesuit running back Armand Dehaney from the one yard line on the final play of the game, using a big hit from linebacker Garrett Wilcox to bottle up the elusive back and send the Irish sideline into a frenzy.

Walsh Jesuit (4-2) used two 15-yard penalties on their final drive to preserve their momentum. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to near midfield and a personal foul on a late hit several plays later pushed the ball down to the St. Vincent-St. Mary 24 with under a minute remaining. A pass to Dehaney gave the Warriors a first down at the one-yard line with under ten seconds left, setting up the exciting conclusion.

The Irish took the lead their previous drive, going 73 yards on 11 plays and capping it off with a 4-yard touchdown burst by running back Harvey Tuck IV with 2:21 left. The key play was a nifty 18-yard run by quarterback Vince Pelini that set up a first and goal situation.

St. Vincent-St. Mary was put the first points on the scoreboard with 2:21 left in the first quarter as backup kicker Daniel Toth booted a 27 yard field goal to give the Irish the 3-0 advantage. The drive was set up by a 26-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Vince Pelini to junior wide receiver Dominique Mitchell, who found plenty of running room down the left sideline.

The Irish, using a workman-like effort from the 220-pound Tuck IV, were able to drive deep into Warriors' territory late in the second quarter. Tuck, who carried the ball 15 times in the first half for 63 yards, pounded it into the Walsh redzone. However, Warriors' all-around standout Cameron Ontko blocked an Irish field goal attempt as the first half clock expired to keep the Warriors' deficit at 3-0 at intermission.

Walsh, meanwhile, struggled to develop any consistency on the offensive side of the ball in the first half. The Warriors' running game was thwarted by a stout Irish front seven, as St. Vincent-St. Mary limited Walsh Jesuit to only three first downs in the opening half. The Irish held a decisive 2-to-1 advantage in the first half time of possession.

The Warriors came out fired up on their opening drive of the second half, as running back tandem Ontko and Dehaney combined to punch the ball into St. Vincent-St. Mary territory. The drive was short-circuited, however, as quarterback Kyle Snyder tossed an errant pass into the arms of St. Vincent-St. Mary cornerback David Lee at the 20-yard line.

After forcing a St. Vincent-St. Mary punt, Walsh went back to work from deep in their own territory at the 17-yard line. Sticking exclusively to the running game, the Warriors used the nifty work of fleet-footed Dehaney and the bruising style of Ontko to power the ball all the way down field.

A facemask penalty gave Walsh Jesuit a first down inside the Irish five yard line to begin the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Ontko plunged in the endzone from two yards out, giving the Warriors their first lead of the game. The extra point bounced off the crossbar, leaving the score at 6-3.

The bruising Walsh scoring drive covered 83 yards in over seven minutes and all the yards were picked up on the ground without a pass being attempted.

For the game, Ontko and Dehaney combined for 153 rushing yards while Tuck led the Irish ground attack with 23 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown.