Second QB leads huge Salesianum rally, tops Week 8 Delaware high school football roundup
WILMINGTON – A starter since the opening game of his freshman year, Ryan Stoehr lost the job as Salesianum’s top quarterback three weeks ago.
But the sophomore continued to compete in practice. And when he got another chance in a huge game on Friday night, he was ready.
Stoehr came off the bench midway through the third quarter and completed 4 of 5 passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns as the third-ranked Sals scored the final 30 points and roared past No. 1 Middletown 37-14 at Abessinio Stadium.
“When I got the call to be in, I just took full advantage of it,” Stoehr said. “I had a chip on my shoulder. I felt like was everyone was doubting me, and I finally got to prove it to them.
“It feels good. It feels like a burden is lifted off my shoulders.”
The Sals (7-1, 3-0 District 3A-1) were trailing 14-7 when Stoehr lofted a bomb to Ben Anton on his sixth play of the game. The senior caught it in stride and romped 61 yards for a tying touchdown with 3:09 left in the third quarter.
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The Sallies defense forced a punt, and Stoehr carried out a perfect play-action fake and found Lukas Ryan all alone behind the Cavaliers’ secondary for a 29-yard touchdown with 9:53 remaining.
The Salesianum defense came up big again, scoring a safety when the referee ruled intentional grounding in the end zone. Nine plays after the ensuing kick, Jasir Gaymon turned Stoehr’s shovel pass into a 12-yard touchdown for a 31-14 lead with 3:54 to play.
Then B.J. Alleyne, on his 31st and final carry, had enough energy left to weave for a 57-yard score at the 2:46 mark.
Alleyne finished with 202 yards rushing. Brady McBride passed for 71 yards and a touchdown for the Sals, while Ryan had two scores among his six catches for 65 yards.
Amare Glover rushed six times for 79 yards for Middletown, including a 62-yard catch-and-run TD on a bounced pass that was ruled a lateral. Austin Troyer passed for 96 yards and scored on a 2-yard run for the Cavaliers (6-2, 2-1).
Sussex Central 13, Dover 12
DOVER – The seventh-ranked Golden Knights (6-2, 3-0 District 3A-2) stopped a two-point conversion after a Senators touchdown late in the third quarter, then controlled the ball to hand second-ranked Dover (7-1, 2-1) its first loss.
Malik Bell rushed for 97 yards on 22 carries as the Knights’ Wing-T gobbled up 200 rushing yards.
Sussex Central marched 59 yards on 10 plays on the opening series, taking a 7-0 lead on Jajuan Sturgis’ 1-yard carry and a Rodney Escobar-Gonzalez PAT.
The Knights stopped one Dover series on downs at the Central 16. But the Senators went 71 yards on nine plays on their next possession, with John Parker scoring from the 1 on a direct snap. The extra-point kick was blocked.
William Harmon’s 17-yard TD dash in the third quarter extended the Knights’ edge to 13-6. It closed an 82-yard drive that began after what Dover coaches argued was an incomplete pass was ruled a fumble by the Senators at the Central 18.
Dover pulled within 13-12 with 42 seconds left in the third quarter on another 1-yard TD run by Parker, who gained 155 yards on 17 carries. But Central thwarted the two-point run.
Of the 25 offensive snaps the rest of the game, Central had 21 of them on two possessions sandwiching a Dover three-and-out. The Golden Knights converted three third downs while running out the final 6:52.
FSMA 27, Brandywine 7
CLAYTON - With four interceptions and a pair of long touchdowns on screen passes, First State Military Academy (5-3, 3-2 District 1A-2) upset Brandywine (5-3, 4-1) to reach five wins for the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs of Clayton, who first competed in football in 2017, celebrated an unseasonably warm homecoming afternoon with a dominant win. Led by senior defensive lineman Levi Martineau’s three tackles for a loss, FSMA kept Brandywine’s running game quiet.
When Brandywine turned to the air, freshman Damier Bryan capitalized with three first-half interceptions. Senior Jayson Caldwell added another late to seal the win.
“We tried to play a little bit of a five-man front and a man-free scheme on the back side,” FSMA coach Jeff Braxton said. “If they were passing the ball, we had guys drop out to give underneath coverage and that’s what helped us out with those picks.”
FSMA attacked Brandywine with zone runs, then employed screens to the perimeter. Junior De’Jere Johnson took two screens 43 and 44 yards to the end zone after opening the scoring with a 3-yard TD on a slant.
“They’re a very good run defense so we wanted to attack them on the perimeter where we thought we had an advantage,” Braxton said.
DMA 28, Newark 14
WILMINGTON – Odell Teel threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Seahawks (4-4, 2-1 District 2A-1) downed the Yellowjackets (3-5, 1-2).
Teel gave the Seahawks the lead for good with a 93-yard pass to Malcolm Roy with 40 seconds left in the second quarter, breaking a 14-14 tie.
He added a 6-yard TD rush in the third quarter.
Joshua Roy caught a 7-yard touchdown pass and Edward Emmens rushed for a 30-yard score in the first quarter for DMA.
Makeevis Rogers had a pair of touchdowns for Newark, although the senior quarterback did not play in the second half.
Rogers rushed for a touchdown on a QB sneak and threw a 15-yard screen pass to Shaun Whyte for another score.
Tower Hill 35, Odessa 28
ODESSA – The Hillers (5-3, 2-1 District 2A-2) got a late touchdown pass from Michael Waesco and forced five turnovers to rally past the Ducks (2-6, 0-3).
Tower Hill trailed 28-21 when Waesco connected with Jamar Taylor for a 33-yard touchdown. Shane Pierce ran in the two-point conversion to give the Hillers their first lead, 29-28, with 8:20 to play.
On Odessa’s ensuing possession, Mason Kator returned an interception for a 45-yard score to give Tower Hill a 35-28 lead with 5:35 remaining.
Tower Hill forced its fifth and final turnover on an interception with 3:47 left to seal the victory.
Chase Belin scored two touchdowns for Odessa.
Cape Henlopen 21, Smyrna 6
LEWES – Maurki James played a part in all three touchdowns as the Vikings (6-2, 2-1, District 3A-2) topped the Eagles (2-6, 1-2) for the first time since 2014.
James forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage, and Cape’s Jackson Cunningham returned it for a touchdown for a quick 7-0 lead.
Then James ran for a 15-yard TD, and Ty Handy stopped a Smyrna drive with an interception as the Vikings led 14-0 at halftime.
The Eagles pulled within 14-6 with 4:22 to play. But James broke free for a 32-yard score with 2:57 remaining, and Lextyn Wescott sealed the victory with another Cape interception with 1:11 to go.
Woodbridge 17, Lake Forest 14
FELTON – Cotton Collins capped an exciting fourth quarter with a 26-yard field goal to lift the Blue Raiders (6-2, 3-0 District 2A-3) over the Spartans (3-5, 1-2).
Traci Johnson opened the scoring for Woodbridge with a 6-yard run and two-point conversion in the first quarter.
It stayed that way until the third quarter, when Darius Miller caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Ne’Von Pierce to pull Lake Forest within 8-6.
Johnson’s 35-yard touchdown run pushed the Blue Raiders’ lead to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter. Lake Forest tied it on Ayden Young’s 1-yard run and a two-point run by DeMarcus Russ, only to see Collins’ late kick win it.
Indian River 42, St. Andrew’s 7
MIDDLETOWN – Darnell Stokes rushed for three long touchdowns as the Indians (5-3, 3-2 District 1A-2) had an easy time against the Saints (2-6, 2-3).
Stokes scored on runs of 63 and 47 yards, Jayvion Chandler returned a fumble for a 31-yard TD and Davon Handy ran for a 47-yard touchdown as Indian River built a 28-7 lead after one quarter.
Then Stokes broke a 76-yard TD run in the second quarter, and Chandler sprinted for an 81-yard score in the third quarter.
St. Andrew’s only touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from Frank Nasta to Yasir Felton.
Ray Quinones rushed seven times for 89 yards for the Saints, with Spencer Fairbanks catching eight passes for 76 yards.
Saturday’s games
Hodgson 21, Appoquinimink 14
GLASGOW – Xavier Brown passed for a touchdown and ran for another score as the Silver Eagles (6-2, 2-1 District 3A-1) outlasted the Jaguars (4-4, 1-2).
Daniel McConomy, one of the state’s top running backs, returned from injury to play for the first time since Sept. 14. The senior got Appoquinimink on the board first with a 6-yard run.
Hodgson answered on a fourth-and-4 play early in the second quarter, as Brown hit streaking tight end Rikye Jenkins for a 40-yard touchdown.
The game remained tied at 7 until midway through the third quarter, when Marlon Sparks turned Brown’s pass into a 53-yard gain and Maki Beach ran for a 15-yard touchdown on the next play.
The Silver Eagles forced a punt, and Brown capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge for a 21-7 lead with 1:51 left in the third quarter.
Appo pulled within a touchdown on Blake Caccamo’s 72-yard strike to Dillon Griffith with 3:30 remaining.
But Hodgson’s Julius Wilkinson sacked Caccamo on fourth-and-5 with 1:32 left to clinch the victory.
Brown completed 10 of 16 passes for 163 yards, with Jenkins catching six for 68 yards and Sparks snagging three for 89 yards. Beach rushed 21 times for 86 yards.
McConomy carried 18 times for 46 yards for Appo, with an early 77-yard touchdown burst being negated by a holding penalty.
Caccamo passed for 194 yards, with Griffith catching three for 91 yards.
Wilmington Friends 37, Mount Pleasant 14
PENNY HILL – Ryan Tattersall passed for two early touchdowns and Kato Connor kicked three field goals as the Quakers (7-1, 2-1 District 2A-2) outdueled the Green Knights (2-6, 0-3).
Connor started the scoring with a 25-yarder, and Tattersall fired scoring strikes of 37 yards to Jason Hughes and 21 yards to Andrew McKenzie for a 17-0 lead after one quarter.
Then Connor split the posts from 34 yards out and McKenzie scored from the 3 to make it 27-0 at halftime.
Connor’s final 3-pointer came from 24 yards away, and McKenzie ran in another from the 4.
Mount Pleasant got rushing touchdowns from Naim Dudley (20 yards) and Dylan Prosser (43 yards).
Tatersall rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries and completed 11 of 19 passes for 126 yards. Hughes had four catches for 87 yards.
McKenzie cranked out 144 rushing yards on 15 carries, and added 47 yards on five receptions. The senior also had an interception.
Archmere 13, Howard 6
WILMINGTON - When it mattered most, Archmere coach John Bellace turned the game over to his favorite position group: his offensive line.
After getting out to a 7-0 halftime lead, the Auks (5-3, 3-0) salted the game away with two long drives late, possessing the ball for more than 9 minutes in the fourth quarter en route to a 13-6 win against Howard (5-3, 2-1).
Archmere married that methodical offensive approach with a defensive emphasis on limiting Howard’s big plays. The Auks succeeded, keeping the Wildcats’ potent passing attack under 10 points for only the second time this season. Howard completed only two passes of longer than 20 yards.
With a 7-6 lead and 10:48 remaining, Bellace inserted John Orsini at quarterback, opting to allow starter Michael Donovan to focus on playing cornerback down the stretch.
Facing third-and-7 from the Auks 28, Orsini completed a 35-yard pass to Ryan Hagenberg. Eight plays later, seven of which were runs, Hagenberg reached the end zone on a 9-yard run. Archmere led 13-6 after a blocked PAT.
On the second play of Howard’s ensuing possession, Jack Chesman slipped past the right tackle on a play-action fake and sacked the quarterback. Howard punted two plays later, returning possession to Archmere with 3:38 to play.
The Auks ran the ball six straight times, including a toss to senior Cole Fenice that converted a third-and-7. Archmere returned the ball to Howard with just 5 seconds remaining.
The Auks ran for 229 yards on 46 attempts. Last year, Archmere beat Howard in the DIAA Class 2A quarterfinals after falling to the Wildcats in the regular season. With the win Saturday, the Auks took sole possession of the top spot in District 2A-2.
Thursday’s game
Tatnall 41, St. Elizabeth 6
WILMINGTON – Micah Stamper and Rahshan LaMons each scored three touchdowns as the Hornets (7-1, 5-0 District 1A-1) – ranked second statewide in Class 1A – eased past the Vikings (3-5, 3-2).
Stamper returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown on St. E’s first play from scrimmage. Then LaMons scooted 80 yards for a score to make it 12-0.
The Vikings cut the lead to 12-6 on Cole Andrews’ 32-yard scoring strike to Gavin Andrews. Stamper answered with a 1-yard plunge for a 20-6 margin at the half.
In the second half, LaMons ran one in from the 5 and returned an interception 60 yards for another TD. Stamper got the final score on a 10-yard run with 1:12 left in the third quarter.
LaMons finished with 227 yards on just nine carries, with R.J. Moore adding 97 yards on nine carries. Ben Nerlinger was in on 10 tackles for the Hornets, while Justin Smith had eight stops.
Jihad Brown led St. Elizabeth with 16 carries for 99 yards.
Other scores
Conrad 30, Early College HS@DSU 26
Milford 42, Sussex Tech 13
Polytech 22, Seaford 21
McKean 14, Charter of Wilmington 7
Caravel 35, Concord 0
Christiana 32, Dickinson 26
Red Lion Christian 55, Delcastle 18
Hodgson 21, Appoquinimink 14
Glasgow 51, A.I. du Pont 0
Laurel 27, Delmar 7
Caesar Rodney 23, St. Georges 18
Saint Mark’s 24, William Penn 14
Kevin Tresolini, Brandon Holveck, Tim Mastro and Kevin Phillips contributed to this article.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X (aka Twitter): @BradMyersTNJ
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware high school football: Week 8 scores, stats, photos and videos
