Roman Catholic pulls away in 2nd half, shuts out Archbishop Wood in PCL-5A final

LOWER GWYNEDD >> For Tyseer Denmark, it was about getting the Roman Catholic offense up to speed after holding just an 8-0 halftime lead over Archbishop Wood.

“It wasn’t even missing plays, we were just moving too slow,” said the Cahillites standout junior wide receiver.

Roman found the right pace in the second half and found the end zone on all three of its drives after the break to pull away from the Vikings and earn a 28-0 victory in the Philadelphia Catholic League Class 5A final Saturday afternoon at Wissahickon.

Our defense is always going to hold it down, we got the number one defense in the state of PA,” Denmark said. “So we know our guys on the defensive side of the ball is going to go out there and handle business. So coming out offensively we just was ‘Gotta go kill now.’ Playmakers gotta be playmakers and it’s time to make plays.”

Denmark had a pair of touchdowns – one rushing, one receiving – while catching eight passes for 117 yards. Freshman quarterback Semaj Beals threw two TD passes as the Cahillites advanced to the District 12 final against either Mastery Charter North or Imhotep Charter in two weeks.

“We just kind of found our matchups and we started to get hot,” Beals said.

Roman (8-2) topped Wood 12-7 in their Oct. 8 matchup and for a half things were again close between the PCL Red Division rivals.

While the Vikings offense was limited to 47 yards, one first down and three punts in the first half, Wood kept the Cahillites off the scoreboard until Denmark’s one-yard touchdown run on 4^th-and-Goal with 4:08 in the second quarter.

“We were playing as hard as we could,” said Wood’s Ryan Wilson, a senior quarterback/defensive back. “Our coaches try and put us in the best positions that we can be in. So we really were just doing our jobs, just playing football, having fun.”

Roman began the third with a six-play, 65-yard drive capped by Mekhi Watson going over a defender to grab a 13-yard touchdown pass from Beals.

After a Wood three-and-out, the Cahillites pushed their lead to 22-0 when Jamir Robertson burst through the middle and raced away for a 47-yard TD at 6:11 in the quarter.

“Just telling them to stay the course, stay the course, keep it close, do the best you can,” said Vikings coach Dave Armstrong. “And we fought it’s just sometimes it’s too much to overcome.”

The defeat ends Archbishop Wood’s season at 1-7, the Vikings losing its final six after earning its only win Sept. 16 over Northeast.

“They’ll just look at the record and say they didn’t have a good year,” Armstrong said. “I’m saying this is the best one-win team I’ve ever been on.”

Wilson paced the Vikings on the ground with 61 yards on 14 carries while adding another 24 yards through the air on 6-of-8 passing.

“It’s tough,” Wilson said. “This was a rebuilding year and a lot of our guys left due to the coaching and tuition but all of our guys stayed and they worked their asses off all throughout the summer and spring. We tried our best during the season. I couldn’t ask the younger guys and the freshmen to do anything more. I thank them and I love playing with them.”

Beals was an efficient 6-of-7 passing in the second half for 116 yards and two TDs as he finished 14-of-22 for 200 yards.

“We were just trying to get started, you feel me,” Beals said. “We were just trying to execute and do a lot of things and then second half we just narrowed it down.”

On the first play of the second quarter, Archbishop Wood went for it on 4^th-and-1 from its own 29 but was stuffed for no gain – the Cahillites taking over at the 44 after a personal foul. Two false starts and another personal foul penalty sent Roman to its own 38 before it eventually gave the ball back after a fourth-down incompletion.

Facing another 4^th-and-1 at the Cahillites 47 on the following drive, Wood opted to go for it again and Roman once more held.

“Maybe if we could get that half-yard, yard and maybe keep the drive going for a little longer – a little mini-win on offense,” Armstrong said. “And maybe it’ll turn into something bigger down the road.”

Roman proceeded to use the good field possession to grab an 8-0 lead. On 4^th-and-4 from the Wood 47, Beals found Denmark over the middle for a 37-yard completion.

A false start and a four-yard loss on a run had the Cahillites with a 2^nd-and-Goal at the 19. Consecutive 9-yard Beals completion gave Roman 4^th-and-Goal at the one. Denmark took a direct snap around the right side and into the front corner of the end zone at 4:08 left before halftime. Robertson then ran for the two-point conversion.

“It’s outside zone run but I can make my decision,” said Denmark of his touchdown run. “If the hole open up and they block, then I can make that decision but I always usually bounce it outside because it’s just always there.”

On the first drive of the third quarter, Roman fumbled after a completion but recovered, The next play Richard Mosley hauled in a Beals pass down the right sideline for a 33-yard gain to the Wood 19. Two plays later, Watson jumped up to haul in the ball over a defender in the left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass at 9:01 in the third.

”I see that it was one-on-one, he’s one-on-one – that’s man, I’m going to throw the 50-50 ball,” Beals said. “I know he (is) going to come down with it.”

Roman made it 22-0 with 6:11 in the third, Robertson bursting through the middle, cutting to evade a tackle attempt then dashing away for a 47-yard touchdown.

Archbishop Wood put together its best possession of the afternoon, starting at its own 40 and twice converting fourth downs as it drove to inside the Roman 10. On 2nd-and-Goal, Eric Gardner ran for six yards down to the two but Wood came away empty after a run for a yard loss then an incompletion on 4th-and-Goal.

Denmark gave the Cahillites a 28-0 advantage in the fourth, catching a short pass from Beals and turning it into a 48-yard touchdown with 3:17 remaining.

Roman Catholic 28, Archbishop Wood 0

Archbishop Wood (1-7) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Roman Catholic (8-2) 0 8 14 6 – 28
Second Quarter
RC – Tyseer Denmark 1 run (Jamir Robertson run), 4:08.
Third Quarter
RC – Semaj Beals 13 pass to Mekhi Watson (Chris Whittle kick), 9:01.
RC – Robertson 47 run (Whittle kick), 6:11.
Fourth Quarter
RC – Beals 48 pass to Denmark (kick failed), 3:17

                                AW RC

First Downs 7 12
Rushes-yards 37-133 23-110
Passing 6-8-0 14-22-0
Passing yards 24 200
Totals yards 157 310
Punts 4 2
Penalties-Yards 3-30 9-65
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0

Rushing
Archbishop Wood: Ryan Wilson 14-61; Nakai Robinson 9-28; Eric Gardner 7-19; Michael Holly 1-10; Jimmy Wade 3-8; Markus Dixon 3-7.
Roman Catholic: Jamir Robertson 6-56, TD; Tyseer Denmark 5-15, TD; Mao Howell 8-26; Dazhaun Hopkins 4-13.

Passing
Archbishop Wood: Ryan Wilson 6-8-0, 24.
Roman Catholic: Semaj Beals 14-22-0, 200, 2 TD.

Receiving
Archbishop Wood: Markus Dixon 3-19; Luke Shaeffer2-4; Joseph Scarpello 1-1.
Roman Catholic: Tyseer Denmark 8-117, TD; Mekhi Watson 3-41, TD; Richard Mosley 1-33; Dazhaun Hopskins 1-9; Jamir Robertson 1-0.

Interceptions
Archbishop Wood: None.
Roman Catholic: None.