Once 1-3, Archmere romps past Woodbridge for eighth straight win in Class 2A semifinals
CLAYMONT – On Sept. 29, trudging off the field after a loss at Caravel, Archmere certainly didn’t look like a Class 2A football championship contender.
The Auks’ losing streak had just reached three games, and they were searching for answers.
“When you’re 1-3, you have to start by putting one foot in front of the other,” coach John Bellace said.
Archmere found the solutions, and now the Auks are rolling at a full sprint. They piled up 463 yards of total offense on their home field Saturday, screaming past Woodbridge 56-28 in the Class 2A semifinals.
Second-seeded Archmere (9-3) will go into next Saturday’s championship game on an eight-game winning streak. The opponent – at 3 p.m. at Delaware Stadium – will be top-seeded Caravel (11-0).
The Buccaneers thrashed the Auks 28-2 for that third straight loss. But now, that seems like forever ago.
“They keep relying on each other, and they have incredible work ethic,” Bellace said of his team. “… Our defense really started to turn things around, and then we started to play better fundamental football on offense. Just little by little.”
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Quarterback Miles Kempski did most of the offensive damage on Saturday, rushing 13 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns and completing 9 of 17 passes for 171 yards and two more scores.
“It just worked out that way,” Kempski said of higher-than-usual running load. “They were keying on some of our key guys. … If I can slip through the cracks and run some counters, it’s good for our offense.”
Third-seeded Woodbridge rebounded from a 2-8 season last year to win District 2A-3 and finish 9-3 this year. And the Blue Raiders had plenty of early highlights in the semifinals.
Traci Johnson went 70 yards on the first play from scrimmage. On the Raiders’ second play, the 5-foot-6, 160-pounder speedster weaved 63 yards for another score.
But Archmere was keeping pace, as Kempski ran for a 36-yard TD and threw a 46-yard scoring pass to Drew Duncan to tie it at 14 with 7:08 still remaining in the first quarter.
Then the teams traded second-quarter scores – a 42-yard pass from Logan Moran to Ji’Kare Banks for Woodbridge and a 16-yard Kempski run for the Auks – to go into halftime tied at 22.
But Archmere kept scoring in the second half, and the Raiders couldn’t match.
Ryan Hagenberg punched one in from the 4, and Kempski tiptoed the left sideline for a 19-yard TD.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Kempski lofted a deep ball to Duncan for a 31-yard score and a 43-22 lead.
“Coaches were asking our guys what we wanted,” Duncan said. “Funny enough, I called the play. I said, ‘I think I like my matchup.’ We kind of just did what we were designed to do. My line and my quarterback put it right where I kind of needed it to be.”
Johnson answered with a 49-yard touchdown run for Woodbridge. But the Auks put it away with P.J. Blessington’s 1-yard plunge and Brendan Burke’s 65-yard interception return.
Johnson finished with 27 carries for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Duncan caught four passes for 111 yards and two scores for the Auks.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X (aka Twitter): @BradMyersTNJ
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Archmere topples Woodbridge to reach DIAA Class 2A championship game
