Long Anderson run boosts Paul VI
It was a game of tough defenses and missed opportunities until the last 59.4 seconds of play in the neighborhood rivalry between Bishop Eustace and host Paul VI.
It was a game of tough defenses and missed opportunities until the last 59.4 seconds of play in the neighborhood rivalry between Bishop Eustace and host Paul VI.
That's when Johnel Anderson emerged the hero for the home team. He raced 70 yards, breaking three tackles along the way, for the game's only touchdown.
Robert Hehl added the extra point for a 7-0 lead that stood, as the Crusaders' comeback bid ended on an interception by the Eagles' Max Albertus.
Paul VI moved to 2-2 overall in the West Jersey Football League interdivisional game. Eustace also went to 2-2.
"It was a play to the right and I cut it back [to the left sideline] and there was a defender coming, so I bounced it a little more," said Anderson, a 5-foot 10, 180-pound senior tailback.
"I stiff-armed, and all of a sudden, I found myself going down the sideline. I gave the last defender a head fake and cut it back across and saw the end zone and got there.
"It was wonderful."
So were the defenses. The Eagles stopped long Eustace drives engineered by senior quarterback Chris Spellman in each quarter with goal-line defenses, sacks, or interceptions.
And Eustace kept the Eagles from getting good field position most of the evening and forced a turnover.
"Give the defenses all the credit," Anderson said. "They stuck in there. They played hard.
"We had to break one. Before we went out there on that play, we all said to each other we had to get in the end zone. We had the opportunities; we just hadn't capitalized on them."
Until Anderson's magnificent run.
"Johnel has been playing since he was a freshman," Paul VI coach John Doherty said. "He's our home-run hitter. He's had a tough senior year; he's been pretty banged up. He's a tough kid."
Anderson had entered the game with 239 yards rushing and three touchdowns on a team that had scored 31 points and allowed 52.
"This has been a huge rivalry since I got here [nine years ago]," Doherty said. "The two schools are only a mile away."
Except for a 6-2 loss to Independence Division rival Woodrow Wilson on Sept. 23, when it was anyone's game in a quagmire, the Crusaders had dominated their two previous opponents.
They entered Friday's game having scored 56 points and allowed 12, which underscored the effectiveness of their run defense led by senior linebacker Nick Batistini.
Eustace left the field at intermission in a scoreless tie after Conner Bar missed a 27-yard field goal in the closing seconds. Spellman had led the Crusaders 51 yards in 13 plays.
"Spellman is a two-year starter who did everything right in the offseason," Eustace coach Robert Cormier said. "He's the strongest kid on the team in the weight room. He's about 6-2 or 6-3 after going through a growth spurt. And he's a natural leader."
Bishop Eustace 0 0 0 0 – 0
Paul VI 0 0 0 7 – 7
P: Johnel Anderson 70 run (Robert Hehl kick)