As is its trademark, Curley pounded Calvert Hall
with its power running game and scored on its first two possessions to
jump out to a quick 15-0 lead.  Senior Kevin Franklin powered five
yards for the game’s first score on a drive that was keyed by a 56-yard
screen pass from quarterback Marquis Graves to Franklin’s younger
brother Eric, a sophomore.

Following a Calvert Hall punt, Curley
need just two plays to reach the end zone again, as senior Ray Ridgeway
churned his way through several would-be tacklers and raced 77 yards
for a touchdown.

On its ensuing possession, Calvert Hall struck
back quickly, as sophomore quarterback Evan Cain found senior Tyler
Miller in single coverage, on first down, and hit him on a slant
pattern.  Miller side-stepped the only defender in the area and went 70
yards for the first score by the Cardinals.

Curley’s fortunes
took a major turn for the worse on its next drive as it lost three
starters, all to ankle injuries, in span of two plays.  Ridgeway, at
the end of a powerful 15-yard run, got tangled up with teammate Kellen
Gray near the Friar sideline and both were forced out of the contest. 
On the next play, senior tackle Ben Dantoni also went down.  Gray
eventually returned in the second half and contributed a big
interception, but Ridgeway, Curley’s best player who is being recruited
by several Division I programs, and Dantoni each saw their high school
careers end on that drive.

In visible pain, Ridgeway had the
ankle taped and gingerly tested it throughout halftime and early in the
third quarter, but was not allowed to re-enter.  He finished with 110
yards on severn carries and the one score.

For the remainder of
the first half, the momentum swung to Calvert Hall.  Junior Kenneth
Harris blocked a Curley punt and the Cardinals hit a 34-yard touchdown
pass on the first play of the possession, only to see it overturned by
a holding penalty.  On their next drive, however, the Cardinals did get
in the end zone as junior Dan Zentz capped a 34-yard drive with a
two-yard touchdown run, shrinking Curley’s lead to 15-13 at the half.

Curley
regrouped during intermission and opened the third quarter with a
20-play, 80-yard drive, which consumed 9:28 and resulted in Franklin’s
second touchdown run of the day.  With Ridgeway out of the lineup,
Franklin became the workhorse, finishing the day with 105 yards on 23
carries and the two scores.  At that point, Curley led 22-13.

Calvert
Hall’s next drive resulted in an interception by Gray, which was forced
by a near sack by Curley cornerback Terrance Dandrige, who hit Cain
just as he released the ball.  The Friars took over near midfield and
although they did not score, they chewed another six minutes off the
clock as they drove to the Calvert Hall 17 before turning the ball over
on downs.  Curley needed just one play to get the ball back as junior
Malcom Jones came down with an interception and the Friar offense
ground another four minutes off the clock.

Junior quarterback
Zach Blake, who split time with Cain, got the Cardinals back in the end
zone when he capped a 75-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run, with
1:09 remaining in the contest, but Calvert Hall’s ensuing onside kick
was recovered by Curley as the Friars secured the victory.

Curley,
which has been known to go three or more consecutive games without even
attempting a forward pass, also got a big contribution from Graves, who
complimented the running attack by completing 5-of-7 passes for
110-yards.

“This is a tremendous win for our program,” said
Curley head coach Sean Murphy, who saw his team set a school record for
wins one season after tying the school record for losses.  “Calvert
Hall has a good football team, despite their record.  They play an
extremely difficult schedule and, based on our experience last year, we
know a team’s record is not always indicative of its ability.”

With
the loss, Calvert Hall fell to 1-7 this fall, but it now has 12 days to
prepare for its Thanksgiving clash with Loyola where it will have the
opportunity to deny its arch-rival a share of the MIAA A Conference
title.