Bishop McDevitt holds off Schuylkill Haven

NORTHEAST PHILLY >> In a PIAA Class 2A District 11/12 sub-region semifinal game, the second-seeded Bishop McDevitt Lancers outran the No. 3 seed Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes at Northeast High School Saturday afternoon 27-19.

With heavy wind in Northeast Philadelphia, the semifinal game turned out to be a big running game as both teams ran for 557 yard and seven touchdowns combined.

Highlighting the win for Bishop McDevitt was the duo of running back JonLuke Peaker and quarterback Lonnie Rice.

Peaker and Rice were the only two players for Bishop McDevitt to run the ball and each had two rushing touchdowns.

“I was a little tired at first,” said Peaker. “but the wind condition helped so I was good overall.”

“I feel like everyone executed today. We talk about that everyday in practice and in games that if we execute, we win games.”

Schuylkill Haven was able to strike first on its first drive of the game that ended with a quarterback sneak from Kyle Donati to take a 6-0 lead before the extra pointed failed.

After the nearly 10 minute drive from Schuylkill Haven, the Lancers wasted no time as they only needed three plays in their first drive that ended with a 42yard touchdown run from Peaker to gain a 7-6 lead.

Peaker and Rice later increased the lead to 21-6 at halftime after both of them ran for one touchdown in the second quarter.

The Hurricanes managed to bounce back from a tough first half by shutting out the Lancer offense on its first possession.

After that, Hurricane running back Kobe Brish ran down the field for a 46yard touchdown to decrease the Lancer lead to 21-13.

However, on just the second play of Bishop McDevitt’s next drive, Rice ran down the field for a long 76-yard touchdown.

For the Lancers next two drives in the fourth quarter, they both ended with fumble recoveries for Schuylkill Haven.

Unfortunately Schuylkill Haven could cash in for one touchdown to make the score 27-19.

The Lancer defense came up big in the last drive making Schuylkill Haven turn the ball over on downs and secure the 27-19 semifinal victory.

The passing defense was also a big factor for Bishop McDevitt as the team held the Hurricanes to only one completion in the entire game.

Peaker finished the game with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in the win.

Rice led the game with 151 rushing yards on only nine carries to execute the win.

“The whole team really stepped up today and showed a lot of courage,” said Rice. “The line made a lot of holes and me and Peaker ran right through them.

“I was gassed after that long 76-yard touchdown run. I didn’t know that was going to happen, I just saw the hole, went through it and saw a lot of field.”

Bishop McDevitt head coach Mike Watkins was thrilled for his team to come up big in the District 11/12 sub region semifinal win.

“We felt really good about how we moved the football today,” said Watkins. “We always want to run the ball and we did that a lot today.”

Highlighting the Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes was Brish who had 240 yards and one touchdown on 45 carries.