For all the renown and prestige that follows the nationally ranked DeMatha football team and its roster full of Division I recruits, the secret to the Stags’ success this fall is far less glamorous than it may seem. In this pass-happy era, they prefer to pound opponents into submission.
That brute force produced a familiar scene Saturday afternoon as No. 1 DeMatha closed out its 23-13 win over No. 4 Gonzaga by wearing down the home team in Northwest Washington.
The Stags, three-time defending Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions, scored touchdowns on three of their final four possessions and chewed up valuable clock in the fourth quarter behind an offensive line that paved the way for crucial yards in crunchtime. Minor, a Maryland recruit, even delivered a pancake block almost 10 yards down the field to the delight of his teammates at one point.
Then came the clinching touchdown drive, once Gonzaga closed the gap to 16-13 on an 11-yard scoring pass to senior Max Fisher with less than five minutes remaining.
DeMatha (8-0, 4-0 WCAC) answered by marching 60 yards without attempting a pass. According to quarterback Beau English, the Stags called only three running plays during the sequence. It ended with a late one-yard touchdown dive from English that sealed the outcome.
“We feel like we’re tougher than anybody,” English said. “We feel if we come downhill and try to move people, that’s what we’re going to do. Nobody can really stop it. Those last drives, we proved that.”
Gonzaga (5-2, 2-1) was poised to upset the Stags for a second year in a row, but only had a 3-0 lead after driving inside the 35-yard-line on each of its first three possessions. A potential 64-yard touchdown pass to Fisher just before halftime was negated by a holding call.
DeMatha took control to open the third quarter when English fired a 10-yard touchdown strike through traffic to wide receiver Delante Hellams. Another Gonzaga field goal followed, but DeMatha then converted a fourth down on a pass interference penalty. On the next play, tailback Khory Spruill scored on a 14-yard touchdown run to push the Stags' advantage to 16-6.
But for DeMatha Coach Elijah Brooks, the closing two minutes were more meaningful. Facing third-and-two, Spruill lowered his shoulder and barreled over a defender for the first down. Gonzaga had no timeouts, and so Brooks removed his headset to pound his chest in celebration.
If the coach had any questions about his team’s identity, that surge answered them.
“You guys are different,” Brooks said to begin his postgame speech. “I’ve never felt this way about a team.”
