McDonald Vs. St. Paul

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Norwalk vs McDonald

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High School Football, Friday November 7, 2008. Photos by William D. Lewis.

By Joe Scalzo

The Blue Devils were outplayed by a Norwalk St. Paul team that many consider the eventual Div. VI champ

MEDINA — After making the playoffs for the third straight year and winning his second straight league title, McDonald High football coach Dan Williams was eager to see his team take the next step.

“We talked this week about how we wanted to see how we lined up with the big boys in the state,” Williams said. “I thought we were right there.”

For three quarters, he was right. Against a Norwalk St. Paul team that many around the state pegged as the favorites for the Division VI state title, the Blue Devils were competitive for three quarters before imploding in the fourth, falling 34-0 in a regional semifinal Friday at Ken Dukes Stadium.

“We’re close,” Williams said. “We just need to finish football games.”

Trailing 13-0 late in the third quarter, McDonald appeared to be gaining a little momentum before a key stretch of plays ended the suspense.

On fourth-and-1 at the St. Paul 49, Williams called for a fake punt. The McDonald ballcarrier fumbled and appeared to recover the ball on the Flyers’ 47.

But the officials ruled otherwise, giving St. Paul the ball and flagging Williams with unsportsmanlike conduct when he ran on the field to protest.

“I thought we had the football there,” Williams said. “Of course, the ref saw it different. Our kid got up with the football in his hands, but five seconds prior to that, they ruled the other way.

“That was on me.”

St. Paul then drove 37 yards for a score — helped by another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on one of the Blue Devils — to take a 21-0 lead with 11:07 remaining.

McDonald then lost a fumble on its next offensive play and the Flyers scored on their first offensive play, making it 28-0 to end the Blue Devils’ upset hopes.

Matt Wilde carried 18 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns to lead St. Paul (12-0), which will meet Bascom Hopewell Loudon in next week’s regional final for the fourth straight year.

“In the second half, he really got going, but you’ve got to give credit to the line,” Flyers coach John Livengood said of Wilde. “They did a nice job of blocking and our receivers blocked well downfield.”

Alex Sampson carried 21 times for 78 yards for McDonald (11-1), which became the first team in school history to qualify for the playoffs three consecutive seasons.

“Our senior class has been playing together since we were 6 or 7 years old and we never lost, so it’s hard to take one like this,” senior lineman Bill Lowry said. “We played hard all year and we always fight and we always win.”

McDonald, which won Tier Two of the Inter Tri-County League, claimed its first outright league title since 1994 and reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

They did it with a dominating running offense that averaged 41 points a game before Friday.

“They’re [McDonald] a great football team and they present a lot of problems offensively,” said Livengood, whose team had to play its starters well into the fourth quarter for one of the few times this season. “Our defense bent a little, but we didn’t break.”

Friday’s game was the first time McDonald was held under 21 points this season.

Williams said was disappointed in the outcome, but not his team.

“Life goes on,” he said. “We have a lot to be proud of, from the seniors on down.

“Our kids were confident. We were definitely touted as the underdog, but we thought we could win. And we’re getting there. We’re getting to where we need to be to beat teams like Norwalk St. Paul.”

scalzo@vindy.com