Walsh Jesuit forced five turnovers, including a wild 97-yard pick-six by sophomore defensive back Aiden Henry, and despite being outgained 367-286, routed the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish 41-14 on Senior Night in Cuyahoga Falls on Friday night.
Henry was the leader of the Walsh Jesuit Warriors defense on Friday night, intercepting two passes in the first half and nearly adding a third in the second half. Henry’s second interception came with the Fighting Irish threatening to score, at the Walsh Jesuit 17 with seconds left in the first half, with Walsh Jesuit leading 21-7. SVSM junior quarterback Markell Carter rolled out to his left to evade the rush and threw low and behind his receiver. Thus, Henry made a shoestring catch for the interception. Henry then raced down the sideline, making one cutback on his way to a 97-yard interception return touchdown to put the Warriors up 27-7 going into halftime.
Photo by Hannah Hrusovsky
Carter struggled on Friday night as the SVSM quarterback, throwing three interceptions and throwing for only 4.6 yards per attempt. Things did start great for the Fighting Irish offense. Their first drive was a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard run by Carter that took up over seven minutes. From that opening drive, however, the Irish offense would only score seven more points. Which came on a D’Anthony Kelker 80-run touchdown run in the third quarter to bring the game to 27-14.
Walsh Jesuit’s offensive production was marked by a number of short drives set up by their defense’s five takeaways. In the second quarter alone, Walsh Jesuit had a blocked punt, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. Short field after short field led to three easy offensive touchdowns for the Warriors in the second quarter, with Walsh Jesuit senior quarterback Ryan Krescher finding senior wideout Quintin Walton for a 29-yard touchdown, Kerscher running for his own 12-yard touchdown 51 seconds later, and senior running back Justin Bremner following them up with a 1 yard run of his own to put the game at 21-7. An interesting note is that Walsh Jesuit was actually lost the yardage battle – this certainly felt like a game that St. Vincent-St. Mary lost more than a game Walsh Jesuit won.
Photo by Hannah Hrusovsky
Kerscher was the more effective quarterback on Friday, going 14-26 for 160 yards and 3 TD. While his yardage output was just okay, what separated him was the lack of turnovers. He had no fumbles and no interceptions. Kerscher took what his defense gave him and capitalized – you can’t ask for much more. As for the run game, Bremner was especially punishing in the second half. Including the final drive of the game where the Warriors simply gave him the ball every play to seal the game. Bremner got stronger as the game progressed, finishing with 118 yards on 27 rushes as well as 40 yards on 5 catches.
What’s Next
Walsh Jesuit is currently projected to be the #6 seed in Region 5, hosting #11 Rhodes in Round 1 of the playoffs. As for SVSM, the Fighting Irish are projected to be the #5 seed in Region 5, hosting #12 Mayfield in Round 1. Both of these projections are courtesy of Joe Eitel (joeeitel.com).
Notable Stats
Ryan Kerscher (Walsh Jesuit): 14-26, 160 yards, 4 TD (3 pass, 1 rush)
Quintin Walton (Walsh Jesuit): 3 catches, 78 yards, 2 TD
Justin Bremner (Walsh Jesuit): 27 rushes, 118 yards, 1 TD, 5 catches, 40 yards
D’Anthony Kelker (SVSM): 10 rushes, 98 yards, 1 TD, 1 catch, 2 yards
Markell Carter (SVSM): 11-26, 124 yards, 3 INT, 1 rush TD
Santino Harper (SVSM): 16 rushes, 84 yards, 1 catch, 18 yards
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SVSM: Markell Carter, 1 run (kick good, 4:17)
2nd Quarter
Walsh Jesuit: Quintin Walton from Ryan Kerscher, 29 pass (kick good, 5:33)
Ryan Kerscher, 12 run (kick good, 4:24)
Justin Bremner, 1 run (kick good, 2:23)
Aiden Henry, 97 interception return (kick failed, 0:00)
3rd Quarter
SVSM: D’Anthony Kelker, 80 run (kick good, 5:30)
Walsh Jesuit: Eric Polousky from Ryan Kerscher, 10 pass (kick good, 3:47)
4th Quarter
Walsh Jesuit: Quintin Walton from Ryan Kerscher, 34 pass (kick good, 8:05)
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