It was a tough, emotional night at the ‘A’ field in Conshohocken as Archbishop Carroll fell to Conwell-Egan 29-0 on senior night, finishing up the 2023 season.
The loss may have been difficult for the Pats seniors, but it’s nothing they haven’t experienced before. The club went a combined 5-30 across the last three seasons, with three of those wins coming at the forefront of an eventful 2023 campaign during which the Pats went 3-7.
During the last four years, the Patriots were shut out a whopping 11 times. Those stats never deterred the class of 2024, who stood tall even in the most provoking of circumstances.
“Just stick to the grind man,” said senior running back Kevin Knox. “I mean, we obviously grinded this offseason a lot, and we obviously had a good outcome. Not the best outcome we wanted, but if you really stick to it you can get what you want.”
While not the best outcome by any means, the Patriot’s 3-7 record is leaps and bounds better than their back-to-back 0-10 marks in 2021 and 2022. For the class of 2024, there wasn’t much else to ask for, aside from a slightly different outcome on their senior night.
After kicking the ball away to begin the game, the Carroll defense had their backs against the wall from the start. Pushed up at their own goal line, senior captain Cleveland Woodson delivered a huge sack on the Egan quarterback, eventually forcing the Eagles to kick a field goal.
After an uninspiring first offensive drive, the Pats defense got the ball back as junior defensive end Owen Bonner forced an Egan fumble. However, on the first play of the incumbent drive, freshman quarterback Jay Boyd threw an interception, handing the ball right back to Egan deep in its own territory. It didn’t take too long for Egan to strike, as they ran it in from 10 yards out, making it 9-0 as senior defensive back Too Jemawhou blocked the extra point.
Carroll got only one drive going before halftime, mainly fueled by a 40-yard pass from Boyd to freshman receiver Ty Ty Mattson as Boyd launched a bullet while being tackled in the backfield. The drive stalled out, however, as the game went into halftime with the Eagles leading 9-0.
Just three plays into the second half, Boyd would be hit and struggle to get to his feet before being helped off the field. Sophomore Chris Sponburgh, who led the Pats last week in their loss against Neumann-Goretti, took over. The Pats punted it away once again.
Egan regained possession and took only four plays to run it downfield, scoring another touchdown. Egan failed on its two-point conversion attempt, making the score 15-0 Egan. On the next drive, Egan marched the ball straight back downfield for the score and brought the lead to an even more insurmountable 22-0 Eagles.
As the fourth quarter trudged on, however, the Pats became restless and started their final march downfield, making it all the way to their five-yard line. Sponburgh launched one into the hands of an Egan defensive back who brought it back 98 yards for the score, 29-0 Egan. After that, a few futile attempts were made but little clock remained.
With the loss, the Patriots now finish the season with a record of 3-7 and 1-6 in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Carroll will also end the season with three straight shutouts, a feat not seen in nearly a decade.
“We’re not happy about it,” said offensive coordinator Rashad Mims. “We definitely wanna be better. We definitely wanna do better. We take a lot of time preparing for each game. We’re not just going out there and not putting our best foot forward. We definitely go out there each week and try to win everything that we see on film and in practice.”
Despite the shutout defeat, coaches and players didn’t lose sight of what tonight was all about: honoring the Patriots, seniors.
“We talked about it all the time,” said head coach Kyle Detweiler. “The last two offseasons have been huge for that, because we talked about how we have this group and we have the lack of success in the past few years that we do have. We said, how many kids did we lose to transfers or just quitting and the answer was none. You know, those guys stuck it out – that’s when I tell them I’m proud as heck of them.”
The emotions were certainly not just felt by coaches but players the players as well.
“It was an honor to play with my teammates,” said senior linebacker Declan Anstock. “I’m sad it’s over, but it’s a bright future ahead.”