Donohue’s two late field goals lift Saints
Kicker hits from 27 and 17 yards; Wicks rushes for 233 yards and two TDs in win
Coach Jason Budroni can’t even remember the last time St. Mary’s football played in overtime.
“I don’t remember. We beat Severn here, five years ago maybe. It’s been a long, long time,” he said.
That means none of the boys in sapphireblue who lined up at the 10-yard line for Friday night’s overtime had ever done that kind of thing before on high school turf. And yet, they knew exactly what to do. The Saints edged out Boys’ Latin, 20-17, in a 2½-hour game that required every unit in the St. Mary’s roster to do it.
Running back Alex Wicks led the Saints (5-3, 4-0 MIAA B Conference) with 233 yards on 29 carries and a pair of touchdowns to pace St. Mary’s. Kicker Dominic Donohue’s set of 27- and 17-yard field goals sealed the deal.
“Dominic is the man. He’s an outstanding kicker,” Budroni said. “He doesn’t get fazed at all. He knows if it’s coming down to him, he’ll make that kick.”
The two were deadlocked by each others’ defenses for each of the first three drives. First-down conversions were scarce.
Before the first quarter ran down, though, the Saints had a spark in senior Grant Hines, who sacked Boys’ Latin quarterback Matt Greaver after the sophomore hesitated in the pocket, killing the Laker’s third campaign.
“Grant Hines was a monster tonight,” said Budroni. “A monster.”
Continuing their drive from the first quarter, the Boys’ Latin (3-5, 2-2) offensive crew reinvented itself. Greaver engineered eight plays together that not only swallowed a fourth of the frame but also gave the visitors the first lead.
Greaver even did it himself, breaking in from 6 yards out.
Down by seven, and with senior running back Marcus Marshall out after the first quarter due to an undisclosed injury, Saints quarterback Chris Golini turned to Wicks to eat up hash marks. And it immediately paid off. Wicks strung together 22 yards on four runs to convert a first down for the Saints. Then, on the snap, the junior streaked through the scrum and toward the end zone on a 52-yard run.
Boys’ Latin cornerback Carlos Davis scored on a 31-yard interception return.
In the third quarter, Wicks zoomed 74 yards into the end-zone for the tying touchdown setting the stage for the wild finish. Budroni just knew his Saints could do it. “We’ve been down against Loyola, we’ve been down against Curley, so, we’ve been down before,” the coach said. “We know ‘Just keep fighting. Keep working. It’ll work out — hopefully.’ ”