The Archbishop Hoban defense brought its “A” game Friday night against St. Vincent-St. Mary at the University of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium.
Hoban’s defenders were rewarded with a 24-0 victory in the annual game between the two Catholic high schools. Junior Donny Swain and senior John Bozzelli led the way defensively for Knights, who retain the coveted Shillelagh Trophy presented by the Ancient Order of Hibernians for the second year in a row.
Hoban (4-1) has won the past three games (two regular-season games, one playoff game) over St. V-M (2-3), after the Irish won eight in a row from 2007-2014.
Hoban, which beat St. V-M nine times in a row from 1998-2006, forced four turnovers.
“Our defense played unbelievable and our special teams played unbelievable,” Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. “This was a total team victory today.”
A moment later, Tyrrell rattled off his top defenders — Swain, seniors Arison Sanders, Marc Westover, Nate Adolph and Jabari Taylor; juniors Kentrell Stovall, William Collier, Nate Bauer, Daeshon Martin and Reid Allen; and sophomore Matt Salopek.
“They really came out and showed how they can play to their full potential,” said Hoban senior Todd Sibley, who rushed for 55 yards. “They played like a state championship defense. We couldn’t be more proud of them. They stepped up in this rivalry game.”
Hoban senior quarterback Danny Clark was named the game MVP by the Great American Rivalry Series, which is presented by the U.S. Marine Corps.
“The defense was working their butts off tonight,” said Clark, who also praised the play of his offensive linemen, seniors Brandon Yankovich and Marc Westover and juniors Cade Thomas, R.J. Kelly and Ryan Persinger and sophomore Nolan Rumler.
Hoban took a 7-0 lead on the opening play of the second quarter when Swain blocked a punt in the end zone and Adolph fell on the ball for a touchdown. Senior Grant Kersh converted the first of his three extra points.
“I had been practicing that all week,” Swain said of the blocked punt. “Our defense was great. I wasn’t even supposed to be starting. A starter [junior Daulson Fitzpatrick] got hurt and I had to fill in.”
Hoban’s offense then took advantage of short field opportunities and led 21-0 at halftime. Clark finished off a nine-play, 34-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run at 7:08, and then completed a two-play, 12-yard drive by tossing a 9-yard touchdown pass to junior Garrett Houser. The Knights’ third score was set up by a Bozzelli interception at 6:58.
“This was a great performance by our team,” said Bozzelli, who also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter that Allen forced. “This win is a great feeling.”
Irish senior quarterback Donte Taylor (104 passing yards, 30 rushing yards) battled admirably.
“It’s alarming,” St. V-M coach Marcus Wattley said of his offense’s struggles. “I don’t think the school has gone four games without scoring a touchdown on offense. We thought we had a sound game plan. We had some early success. We hit a rough patch and we never got our momentum back. We have got to be mentally tougher than that.”
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps.
