The Archbishop Carroll Varsity Football team took down the Bulldogs of Simon Gratz Charter School 16-8 on Saturday at home. Following the club’s victory over School of the Future last week, the win was the second in a row for the Patriots after two seasons of losses.
Simon Gratz took the ball out to their 49-yard line to start, but after a couple of hard runs from Gratz, senior captain Cleveland Woodson sacked the Bulldogs quarterback on fourth down, and, just like that, the tone for the game was set.
Though the Patriot offense struggled to get much going during their early possessions, the defense held strong for the entire first half, holding Simon Gratz scoreless. A fumble that set Gratz up with a 3rd and 20, eventually led to the Bulldogs punting it away and making way for Gavin Wray to put Carroll up 3-0 midway through the second quarter. The Carroll defense never took their foot off the gas as senior cornerback Hassan Bailey picked off a driving Simon Gratz offense.
With a narrow lead to begin the 3rd quarter, the Carroll offense trotted onto the field and took just one play to blow the whole game open. Junior running back Aaron Barnes took the first offensive play of the half 63 yards to the house, giving the the Patriots a 10-0 lead over Gratz.
A defense that wasn’t stunned was Carroll’s. The Pats continued to act as a brick wall, stopping everything Simon Gratz threw at them. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were pounding on the door in the Carroll red zone, threatening to tighten the score. On a pivotal 4th and 11 from the Carroll 12-yard line, it was once again Bailey who came through for the Pats, picking off the Gratz quarterback and taking the ball 97 yards and making the score 16-0 after the missed extra point.
Bailey, the Patriots’ running back and defensive back who is fielding offers from Carleton University and Wilkes University, continues to show off his ability on both sides of the ball. The senior captain has recorded touchdowns on offense and defense this year along with a team-high four interceptions in only three games, two of which helped to secure wins for the Pats.
As the fourth quarter trudged on, the Bulldogs drove in a touchdown run up the middle to end the shutout for the Carroll defense with just four minutes remaining, bringing the score to 16-8. After recovering the failed onside kick attempt, the Patriots ran the clock down on the backs of their two star runners — Bailey and Aaron Barnes. Carroll finished the morning with a kneel down to run the clock out, picking up their second win on the young season.
With their three out-of-conference games behind them, the team heads into Philadelphia Catholic League play next week with a matchup against Monsignor Bonner.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on having a tough out-of-conference schedule because we know our league is so tough,” head coach Kyle Detweiler said. “Credit to Simon Gratz, they’re a physical bunch, and that’s a team you want to go against so you can get ready for Catholic League play next week.”
The Patriots will kickoff their PCL season 7 p.m. Friday when they take on Monsignor Bonner at Wissahickon High School.