GAELS WINNING AGAIN

The Mount St. Joseph football team burst onto the scene with a season-opening victory over Archbishop Spalding, lost two straight, then rebounded with last weekend’s decisive win at Georgetown Prep in their MIAA A Conference opener.

Or, at least, the Gaels are winning once again.

After two weeks of subpar performances, the Gaels are on the upside of what has become a rollercoaster year after scoring a decisive, 40-3, victory at Georgetown Prep of Rockville in the their MIAA A Conference opener.

The victory avenged an overtime, 28-27, loss of a year ago; improved the Gaels to 2-2 overall, and 1-0 in the league; and dropped the Little Hoyas to 1-3, and, 1-1.

A year ago, the Gaels finished at 3-7, after losing three games by less than four points, and a fourth by a touchdown.

“It was a much-needed win to help us to bounce back from a really poor performance,” said Gaels’ coach Chip Armstrong, referring to a 15-14 loss to previously winless Landon of Bethesda a week earlier. “It was a workmanlike performance. A real solid effort, overall.”

Led by quarterback Chris Collins, the Gaels totaled 350 yards of offense. The Gaels led, 12-0,
after the first quarter, and, 26-3, at halftime.

Collins rushed for scores of 1, and, 3 yards to give the Gaels their initial lead by two TDs. Collins also was 8-for-11 passing for 151 yards and threw touchdowns from 22 and 30 yards to Dom Serio and Derek Cotton.

Nick Hutcherson returned a punt 66 yards for a score; Chris Costabile rushed for another; Chris Rowe booted two extra points; and Anthony Armstead caught a two-point conversion pass from Collins.

	Collins credited an undersized line of Jay Drenner (6-foot-3, 255 pounds), John Evans (6-2, 255), Tyrell Friedie (6-2, 200), Kirk Brooks (6-0, 220), Tom Conley (6-0, 200) and Jake Willertz (5-11, 190) for its blocking. “Our offensive line stepped up,” said Collins, a tough, fleet-footed 6-foot, 153-pounder. “We were playing well on defense, and we were clicking on both sides of the ball.” Shelton Hall-Bennett and Ty Richburg had interceptions. Among the Gaels’ “four or five sacks,” said Armstrong, were one-each by linebacker J.T. Ervin and defensive tackle Tyler Linton. Others playing well, defensively, were Brooks, Conley, defensive end Tim Lynch and strong safety Rob White.
(From left) Kirk Brooks, Tyrell Fridie and Jay Drenner were part of an offensive line that “stepped up” in Saturday’s MIAA A Conference-opening victory at Georgetown Prep, said quarterback Chris Collins. Coach Chip Armstrong (kneeling) called the win, “a workmanlike performance.”

“It was the opening game for us in the MIAA A Conference, and we wanted to perform well,” said
Collins. “Now, we’re 1-0 in the league, and we have some momentum.”

That was also the case, however, following the Gaels’ season-opening, 47-14 rout of Archbishop Spalding, a victory that ended a 14-game winning streak by the two-time defending MIAA B Conference champions.

Against Archbishop Spalding, Collins scored the Gaels’ first points on a 75-yard punt return, and, later, scored on rushing TDs from 1, 7 and 62 yards.

Over the next two weeks, however, the Gaels were inconsistent.

The Gaels lost, 21-12, to Thomas Johnson of Frederick County after having held a 12-7 halftime lead.

A week later, the Gaels fell to Landon, a team which, last weekend, was routed, 35-7, by MIAA A
Conference tri-champion McDonogh.

“We weren’t able to finish either of those teams off. We made too many mistakes. We kind of fell apart a little bit,” said Collins.

“During last week’s practice, we decided to begin all over again,” Collins said. “We said, ‘this is a new season for us.’ We figured out what was wrong, and we left those games behind us.”

Next up is a trip to Steubenville, Ohio, a team the Gaels lost to, 34-20, last season.

“They’re a pretty good team. A physical team,” said Collins. “It’s going to be a tough game because they take their football seriously.”