QUICK GLIMMER FADES FAST FOR GIBBONS

by James Peters

For about a minute Friday night, the Cardinal Gibbons football team looked
poised to challenge their mighty hosts from Good Counsel High but that upset bid
came to a screeching halt and things just kept getting worse from there en route
to a season-opening 42-0 loss by the Crusaders.

Playing against the Falcons,
ranked No. 4 in the state, in their first game at their new location in Olney,
the Cardinal Gibbons defense recovered a poor shotgun snap to Good Counsel
quarterback Tyler Campbell on third down and nine from his own 34-yard
line.

The Crusaders took over on the Good Counsel 18-yard line but on the
very next play, quarterback Blake Thompson (3 for 13, 35 yards) had his
attempted middle screen pass tipped in the air and interception by Falcons
linebacker Jelani Jenkins.

“That was really big, especially on our new field,
we didnâ??t want them to score first,” said Jenkins, a junior fullback-linebacker
who has already received offers from Maryland and Virginia. “I saw it up in the
air and I jumped up and I caught it.”

Two plays later, Jenkins (106 rushing
yards) turned a trap play up the middle into a 67-yard touchdown run with 9
minutes, 58 seconds left in the first quarter for a 7-0 advantage.

“That was
huge,” said first-year Crusaders coach Dante Carter of the Jenkins interception.
“It was a huge momentum changer. We watched three or four films on those guys
and they had no turnovers so for them to turn the ball over we couldnâ??t hand it
right back.”

The Falcons (1-0) scored on their final four possessions of the
first half for a 35-0 halftime lead on runs of 27, 6 and 8 yards by junior
tailback Caleb Porzel and a one-yard dive by back-up fullback Michael Nittoli.
Jenkins capped the gameâ??s scoring with a one-yard run midway through the third
quarter.

“Theyâ??re a good football team,” Carter said. “They do a good job of
executing.”

The same could not be said for the Crusaders offense, which
mustered just 63 yards from scrimmage and two first downs against Good Counselâ??s
blitzing defense. The Falcons rushed for 185 yards and all six touchdowns on 25
carries while Campbell completed 9 of 11 passes for 86 yards.