NDCL finishes off Padua late

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin entered its final quarter of the regular season without a defensive touchdown in 2017.

Naturally, the Lions’ Zach Urda and Matthew Arko pick-sixed Padua quarterback Kevin Peterson on back-to-back passes midway through the fourth quarter. The scores provided the final margin in a 28-14 win for the 8-2 Lions and secured a return trip to the postseason.

“I saw the quarterback look for the slant, and I put my hands up,” Urda said. “The ball just fell in there and I stopped and stood, I’m like ‘Oh my gosh, I just got it’ and I just started running. Best feeling ever.”

Urda, a junior linebacker, and Arko, a senior defensive back, turned a 14-0 NDCL lead into a 28-0 gulf with 7:30 to play.

Urda’s interception followed a Padua goal-line stand, and he returned Peterson’s errant pass from the 15. On his next dropback, Peterson tried to complete a pass to a receiver on the sideline where Arko stepped in front for the interception and returned it 21 yards.

The scores constituted the first two in a three-play stretch of successive touchdowns.

Arko’s touchdown stood as the Lions’ final regular-season score, and was particularly meaningful to Coach Andrew Mooney. Among the senior group recognized on senior night, Arko was the only one who entered the school as a sophomore.

“For him to be the guy who jumps in and seals the deal on senior night, that was nice,” Mooney said. “Then Urda is like a quiet assassin. It was awesome for him to get that and get some limelight. He’s never going to stick his head into the spotlight.”

After Arko’s interception, Padua’s Crishawn Long returned the ensuing Gabe Brkic kick 99 yards for the Bruins’ first score. A night soaked by rain and chilled by piercing wind resulted in little offense before 21 points were scored in as many seconds.

NDCL’s defense contained the Bruins’ offense until Peterson scored on a 1-yard dive with two minutes left in the game. Padua’s bruising rushing attack, led by the stout Trent Cramer, amassed 163 yards on 36 carries but the Lions’ defense yielded no gamebreaking carries.

The Bruins’ opening drive spanned seven minutes and ended as close as it could’ve without a touchdown. NDCL stood Cramer up at the goal line to keep the game scoreless, and 155-pound sophomore linebacker Jack Robinson’s pads were the first to hit Padua’s 210-pound back.

“We call him the T-1000,” Mooney said. “He’s not the original Terminator, he’s not big enough, but he’s sleek and he just turns it and gets in there. He’s a nosay-die kid.”

The teams traded punts before Long muffed a Brkic kick. Steve Dailey recovered the fumble to put the Lions at the Bruins’ 21. Josh Peroni, who led NDCL with 169 yards on 29 carries, ran in a nine-yard score for a 7-0 lead.

The Lions opened the second half with their second scoring drive. Play action created the misdirection necessary for Charles Forbes to complete a 29yard touchdown to Brian Carney behind the Padua defense for a 14-0 NDCL lead. Then, Urda and Arko broke the game open to send the Lions back to the playoffs.

NDCL was one of Division IV’s final eight teams in the postseason before the Lions were defeated by state semifinalist Perry.

“Last year was kind of a disappointment,” Urda said. “We felt like we could beat Perry. We fell short that game. We’re determined to go further than last year.”