CHESTNUT HILL – For these competing within the vaunted NEPSAC, the opportunistic groups are usually those who come out on high.
St. Sebastian’s seized its possibilities Saturday at Boston School and continued to construct upon its spectacular begin. Junior quarterback Duke Ciongoli completed 9-for-15 passing with 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns, whereas senior Tedy Frisoli added a pair of highlight-reel touchdowns defensively because the Arrows (2-1) erupted for a 42-7 romp of Hotchkiss (1-3) at Alumni Stadium.
It was the primary matchup with the Bearcats beneath the newly-reformed NEPSAC format for Ciongoli and his group. They have been definitely prepared for the problem.
“Coming into it, we didn’t actually know a lot about Hotchkiss,” stated Ciongoli. “That is our first time enjoying them. However they’re actually gifted, particularly on their offense. Their protection, too. However our protection clearly performed superb. Then our offense? We simply made probably the most out of the alternatives we had.”
It didn’t take too lengthy for St. Sebastian’s to strike. Through the opening drive for Hotchkiss, a mishandled handoff led to a fumble restoration for the Arrows, setting them up within the pink zone simply 34 seconds into play. Going through fourth down, Ciongoli fired a bullet over the center. Sophomore wideout Michael Walbridge hauled in a four-yard landing reception, as St. Sebastian’s seized an early 7-0 lead.
Later within the second quarter, the Arrows handed it off to senior David Hahm. The workhorse again discovered a seam earlier than breaking off a 24-yard landing scamper, extending issues to 14-0 with 8:04 remaining within the half.
Hotchkiss proceeded to stage a methodical drive, milking the clock because it looked for a late strike. Within the waning seconds of the half, the Bearcats tried a tush-push play, trying to drive quarterback Thomas Hubert into the tip zone.
Nevertheless, in a development that turned all too frequent for Hotchkiss, a expensive mistake was made. The ball was punched free and instantly scooped up by Frisoli, who took it for a 99-yard defensive landing to offer St. Sebastian’s a surprising 21-0 benefit on the break.
“I believe it says quite a bit,” St. Sebastian’s coach Dan Burke stated of his group. “I used to be giving the protection a ton of credit score for the 2 instances the place (Hotchkiss) was first-and-goal. Then, rapidly, it turns into touchdowns for us each instances. These momentum swings are big, particularly going into the half nearly down 14-7. We flip it to make it 21-0. That was big.”
The momentum carried on into the third quarter for St. Sebastian’s. Throughout a third-and-long sequence, Ciongoli noticed Sam Weston sprinting liberate the center. The junior lobbed a go to his wideout, and watched as his wideout sprung unfastened for a 53-yard landing reception to present the Arrows a commanding 28-0 lead.
Hotchkiss continued to battle, establishing one other lengthy drive to start the fourth. As soon as once more, nevertheless, errors got here again to chew the Wildcats. Huber was picked off in the long run zone by Frisoli, who managed to rattle off a 100-yard pick-six for his second defensive landing. In backbreaking vogue, St. Sebastian’s had prolonged its edge at 35-0 with 10:12 remaining.
Defensively, St. Sebastian’s concluded with 5 pressured turnovers.
“We knew that they had a very good operating again going into the sport,” Frisoli stated. “We needed to comprise him many of the sport. I believe we did an excellent job with that. Once more, it’s (from) watching movie, practising the entire week.”
Hahm added 11 carries for 40 yards speeding and a pair of touchdowns for the Arrows.
Hubert related with Freddy Conyers on a 62-yard landing go within the fourth quarter, offering the lone rating of the afternoon for Hotchkiss.
St. Sebastian’s now appears forward to a matchup with St. Paul’s.
“We hope we take pleasure in this immediately,” Burke stated. “But it surely’s lots of work. That’s an excellent workforce subsequent week. We’re going as much as play at their place. So we all know we’ve obtained lots of work forward of us.”
