MEDFORD – David, meet Goliath.
No. 1 seed Catholic Memorial flexed its proverbial muscle, defeating beforehand undefeated Winchester, 49-0, at Hormel Stadium to advance to the Division 2 state championship.
The prevailing thought getting into the sport was that fourth-seeded Winchester would wrestle with the multifaceted CM offense, and that’s exactly what occurred. With the victory, CM (8-2) returns to the Tremendous Bowl trying to win back-to-back titles – and their third prior to now 4 years.
“We respect Winchester very a lot, and our purpose was to play very properly early so that they didn’t get their confidence,” mentioned CM coach John DiBiaso. “We made it powerful for them to return again.”
Led by senior quarterback Kise Flannery, CM was unstoppable within the first half. The Knights compiled 292 yards to Winchester’s 114, scoring on their first 5 drives of the sport.
Flannery (4-4, 100 yards, 5 carries, 58 yards, 3TDs) discovered a solution for every little thing the Winchester protection threw at him. That started on the opening drive, the place he punctuated a five-play, two-minute drive with an 18-yard landing run.
“My O-line is nice they usually deserve a number of credit score,” mentioned Flannery. “They’re properly coached by coach (Michael) Milo, they usually’re so powerful.”
Senior defensive again David Vadnais triggered a fumble eight performs into the subsequent drive, curbing any probability Winchester had of night the rating. Christian Simmons prolonged the lead for CM with a 34-yard landing dash, making it 14-0 with 4:18 to play within the opening quarter.
Winchester (9-1) punted on the subsequent possession, pitting CM by itself 23 yard line. Powered by a 23-yard sprint from senior working again Ibrahim Kaba and a 24-yard go from Flannery to senior receiver Caleb Garrity, CM senior again Jayden Martinez rushed for a 12-yard rating – which constructed the result in 21-0.
The CM protection then compelled a fast three-and-out, organising Flannery, who threw a 35-yard bullet to Garrity earlier than bulldozing his manner into the tip zone for a 28-0 lead. Flannery completed the masterpiece of a half with a 37-yard TD go to sophomore Ramar Thomas, giving the Knights a commanding 38-0 lead on the half.
“Flannery is totally different from each different quarterback in our division,” mentioned Boston School-bound offensive lineman Marcelino Antunes. “And he’s so good below stress. We take a number of satisfaction on the O-line, and we’re all about accountability. We work each single day, and we push one another to go tougher.”
CM scored within the third quarter when Kaba rushed for his second landing of the sport, then pushed the result in 49-0 within the fourth when junior Aman Messiah ran for a 32-yard rating.
“We hear everybody say we must be in D1, and we take that as gas for each single recreation,” mentioned Flannery. “We need to win regardless of who we play.”
Winchester was carried by senior captain Gianni DePrimeo (24 carries, 157 yards). As hungry as Winchester was to win this recreation, they have been merely overpowered by their opponents.
“CM is a heck of a group,” mentioned Winchester coach Wally Dembowski. “We struggled with their measurement, they usually have been very gifted defensively. Our guys competed … but it surely wasn’t ok on this one.”
There’s loads of noise that CM must be competing in Division 1, the place they may have a state title showdown with Catholic Convention rival St. John’s Prep. However the Knights are centered on the duty at hand–and relish remaining poised below stress, each of that are staples of a DiBiaso-coached group.
“Earlier than the sport, we bought video messages from Boubacar Traore, who’s at Notre Dame, and Devon Marshall, who performs for North Carolina State, wishing the youngsters properly and telling them to uphold the CM custom,” mentioned DiBiaso. “We’re at that time the place we now have such an amazing custom that nobody desires to let anybody down.”
