Carroll eases past O’Hara while easing Minor-Shaw back in
MARPLE — The biggest play of Friday’s game didn’t find its intended target. But then again, in a battle of Catholic League Class 4A teams that have dealt with injuries all year, adapting is nothing new.
Nick Lamey rolled out as the horn sounded on the first half and spotted Tyler Alston tracking to the end zone to await the Hail Mary heave. As Alston settled into a pocket between defensive backs, Lamey watched the arc of the ball and thought he’d connected.
Out of nowhere, though, came Carroll receiver Brennan Robinson, swooping in to make the catch, almost out of Alston’s hands.
“To be honest, that was not meant for Brennan,” Lamey said. “That was going right to my friend Tyler. But I was running, saw Tyler deep, threw it and Brennan came in like a hawk and hawked it down.”
Brennan Robinson comes flying in for the hail mary. 34-yard TD from Lamey at the buzzer.
At half, Carroll 23, O’Hara 0. pic.twitter.com/2lSrAoFybt— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 1, 2019
You’d expect nothing less from a game where both teams’ primary signal-callers wore the very unquarterback-like number of 23.
Robinson’s 34-yard touchdown put the Patriots up 23 points, on the way to a 36-6 win over Cardinal O’Hara. It marked the Patriots’ passage of their final test without starting quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw, who worked two series on the way back from an ankle fracture and expects to be ready for next week’s District 12 Class 5A final against Bonner-Prendergast (Saturday at noon at O’Hara).
Lamey’s handling of the position allowed Minor-Shaw to ease back in. He fractured his ankle Sept. 27 against Conwell-Egan, the Patriots going 1-3 without him.
Friday, Minor-Shaw got a handful of snaps under center, going 2-for-4 through the air for 52 yards. He zipped a 30-yard completion to Malachi Hansen and a 22-yarder to Robinson. While instructed to avoid contact, that’s not in the bruising QB’s style, which led to four carries.
What a catch from Malachi Hansen! Lamey finds him for an 11 yard TD. 36-0 mid 3Q. Running clock. pic.twitter.com/t6r2EKxUiN
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 1, 2019
All in all, however, he escaped unscathed and with his appetite whetted.
“I was a little nervous out there,” Minor-Shaw said. “I haven’t been out there in a while. It felt really good to get back into things.”
He could afford to be so cautious because of the job Lamey has done. He was 7-for-13 for 106 yards, hooking up with Mike Dempsey four times for 57 yards. In addition to the Robinson TD, Lamey applied a little touch on an 11-yard out route to Hansen for a TD in the third.
“I’m just trying to get the job done because I know when (Minor-Shaw) gets back next week, we’re going to be at full strength again,” Lamey said. “We went down early with injuries in the year, and we’ve been wounded for the last five games, and now we’re back at full strength.”
“He’s growing really well since last year,” Minor-Shaw said. “He wasn’t really that good last year, but now it looks like he’s matured in the pocket.”
Keed Kpoto in from the 1. Set up by hookups of 26 and 41 yards to Solo Bambarra. O’Hara on the board trailing 36-6 pic.twitter.com/qFfmPXHfwu
— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 1, 2019
There was little question that Carroll (6-5) was the superior team. It outgained O’Hara, 326-56, for the game. O’Hara had one first down and minus-19 yards of offense in the first half.
The Patriots led a minute into the game on Richie Kimmel’s 16-yard run. Victor Taylor added a four-yard dash in the first quarter, and Carroll expanded the lead to 16-0 when one of several botched snaps was covered by Keed Kpoto in the end zone for a safety.
But literally from the first play — an errant screen pass by quarterback Devon Alexander that hit Kpoto in the shoulder pad and, as a lateral, was recovered by Tyreese Watson — O’Hara put itself in a hole.
“It was a big momentum-shifter, and that set the tone of the game,” said linebacker Matteo Santoleri, who recovered a fumble to set up Robinson’s TD. “I feel like O’Hara was kind of so distraught after that play, and that was our motivation.”
O’Hara’s defense didn’t surrender, forcing four punts. Joe Kelly in particular shined with three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.
“You’ve got to give it everything you’ve got every play no matter what the score is,” Kelly said. “We can only control what we can control on defense.”
O’Hara (2-8) finally got on the board in the final minute of the third quarter, with third-stringer Jacob Carbin connecting with Solo Bambarra on screens for 26 and 41 yards. That set up Kpoto’s one-yard sneak from under center, one of just five offensive snaps in Carroll territory all night.
Carroll is just two weeks removed from a three-game losing streak. But with a blowout win and their starting QB back, the Patriots carry momentum into the clash with Bonner.
“It just makes it even higher. We have high hopes now,” Santoleri said. “We’re going into this game, we’ve got everyone back. We were a wounded deer last week and now we’re going into this game full force.”
