Both McDevitt and KIPP Dubois entered Saturday night’s PIAA District 12 championship down its starting quarterback.
Dubois suffered greatly, whereas McDevitt didn’t miss a beat as the Lancers dismantled Dubois 50-12.
“We’re on a good path, we’re improving everyday,” wide receiver turned quarterback Dontae Mason said. “Every practice is getting better, more intensity, everybody just helping out.”
The game was competitive through the first quarter and in fact McDevitt trailed early in the game. Mason hit Vince Dileo for a touchdown to give McDevitt a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.
After the first quarter Dubois self-destructed and the Lancers took advantage. Dubois committed 18 penalties in the game and fumbled the ball five times, losing three.
“Thing are going to happen in football, you’re going to have ups and downs,” McDevitt coach Pat Manzi said. “They scored first and we said, ‘look you just got to get back to work and it worked out.'”
Entering the season McDevitt knew it had talent at its skill positions and knew it would lean on those players greatly. On Saturday night the three-headed monster of Mason, Dileo and Jaron Macon accounted for nearly all of McDevitt’s offense.
As McDevitt leaned on the players it knew it could depend on, the Lancers also got excellent line play as they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball all night.
“We have big play capability but the line now is catching up,” Manzi said. “The line is young, there is only one senior on both sides of the ball.”
Mason, receiver by trade, filled in at quarterback for injured starter Max Bryson. Mason ran the offense efficiently all night as he threw for 250 yards.
“The quarterback went down and I stepped in, I didn’t want to but its for the team,” Mason said. “I’m a team player, I want the team to win. That’s all its about. The team winning and having fun.”
McDevitt will take on Jenkintown next Friday in the Class A playoffs. Bryson saw limited action on special teams Saturday so the team could get a shot in the arm but either way this resilient Lancer squad has made great strides and playing confident ball at the right time of the season.
“We’ve been maturing as the season is going on,” Manzi said. “We put our best week of practice together and I said to them Thursday, ‘this is good sign, we’re starting to mature and put pieces together at the right time.”
