WEST CATHOLIC 28, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 17
Sept. 26th, 2008
West Scores 28 Unanswered Points to Secure Win
There was little panic in the Burrs this past Friday night against Archbishop Wood at Northeast High School’s Charlie Martin Stadium. Despite falling behind 10-0 to the Vikings early in the second quarter, the Burrs quickly regained their composure and righted themselves before things became even gloomier.
Spearheaded by the exploits of their senior backfield in running backs Rob Hollomon and Raymond Maples, as well as quarterback Curtis Drake, West scored the next twenty-eight points in the contest. The dynamic trio accounted for 266 yards on the ground on 32 carries. The ground attack, along with an improved defensive effort in the second half, propelled the Burrs to a solid 28-17 victory over a quality opponent.
The Burrs and Vikings had spent the past nine seasons in the now defunct Catholic League Blue Division. Over the past five seasons these teams formed a spirited rivalry that resulted in five consecutive championship game clashes. After Wood had won the first three titles, the Burrs responded with two of their own in 2006 and 2007. West now has won five straight games over the Vikings.
This season the clubs reside in separate leagues, West in the CL 2A and Wood in the CL 3A. Still, the will to win this game was as strong as ever, even if the stakes weren’t as high.
Trailing 10-0, Hollomon returned a Wood kickoff 36 yards to give the Burrs respectable field position. Eight plays later, Drake scampered around the left end on a keeper for a 18-yard touchdown run. This made the score 10-7 Wood, with 8:15 to go in the half.
Though, the Vikings would again penetrate West territory, they were denied on a fourth down attempt, which allowed the Burrs to take over at the 42-yard line. Wasting little, Drake went aerial with a lovely 53-yard heave to sophomore wide receiver Quaran Kent to the Wood five. Three plays later, Hollomon slashed in for a 2-yard score. The extra-point was partially blocked, but the Burrs still led 13-10 with 1:53 left in the half.
Looking to create a little space between themselves and the Vikings, the Burrs took off on their opening drive of the second half. Big runs by Hollomon (22 yards) and Drake (18 & 20 yards) help set-up a 10-yard smash-mouth run to the house be Maples. The bruising tailback also added a conversion run to bring the score to 21-10.
With the offense running on all cylinders, it was the defense’s turn to make a statement. This statement came in the form of a leaping interception by Hollomon in the Burr end zone. This was Hollomon’s third pick in the last two games.
West would put the game out of reach at the 5:02 mark of the fourth quarter, when Hollomon took a pitch from Drake on an option play, and zipped down the right sideline for a 25-yard touchdown. This made the score 28-10 Burrs.
Wood would add a late-game touchdown with just 38 seconds left to make it 28-17.
Hollomon led the rushing attack with 106 yards on 12 carries, while Drake (9-96) and Maples (11-64) also had effective outings.
Defensively, West allowed just 86 total yards in the second half. For the game, they gave up just 99 rushing yards on 35 carries. Leading the charge in the tackling department was; senior defensive end Chris Williams (nine, 7 solos) and junior Bill Tobin (seven). Senior defensive tackle Dwayne Shaw registered a sack amongst his five stops. Also playing active role were Hollomon (five), junior linebacker Dante Dickens (five), and Maples (four).
West now sits at (4-1) overall and will get back into league play this coming Friday night. The Burrs will tackle the Wolverines of Kennedy-Kenrick. The game is set for 7 o’clock at Norristown’s Roosevelt Field. The Wolverines (3-2) will enter the game at the top of the CL 2A division, after consecutive wins to start league play.