Concord junior Francis Willie leaps into the air to make the catch, helping the Concord Raiders defeat the St. Elizabeth Vikings, Saturday afternoon. Photo Credit: Dave Reeder
The Concord Raiders (6-2, 3-0 Class 1A-D1) defeated the St. Elizabeth Vikings (2-6, 0-3 Class 1A-D1), 7-6, on October 31 and are tied with Brandywine for first place in Class 1A District One standings.
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Raiders broke from their huddle and took their positions with the ball on the St. Elizabeth 40-yard line and less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Declan McNulty stood alone in the backfield and took the fourth down snap, needing seven yards to continue the Raiders’ second offensive possession of the game.
McNulty went into his drop and surveyed the field. He peaked left, but returned his eyes to the right side where the majority of his receivers were running their routes. McNulty fired a high pass toward the middle of the field for junior receiver Francis Willie and Willie rose above the defensive back in front of him. Willie secured the catch as the defender tried to swipe it out of his hands and turned toward the endzone running untouched for the Raiders first and only touchdown of the game.
Willie’s 40-yard touchdown grab and junior Derrick Hoon’s extra point were the difference in Concord’s 7-6 win over St. Elizabeth, Saturday afternoon.
“All week in practice I just do it and I haven’t been able to get an opportunity, I was out for two weeks, so to bounce back and get that touchdown that was incredible,” Willie said postgame.
The Raiders earned an extra possession before halftime forcing a fumble on the ensuing kick-off after the touchdown, but the Vikings defense forced a turnover on downs holding Concord to the single score. Concord finished the first half with three offensive possessions after it looked like they may only get one shot on the offensive side of the ball.
St. Elizabeth started the game with possession and held the ball for over 15 minutes of game action. The Vikings ran 20 plays on their opening drive — all of them runs — and marched 80 yards downfield for a game-opening score. Viking players Isaiah Coleman, Mi’Cah Hamilton, Ethan Valentine and Christopher Cerasari all carried the ball during the drive with the junior quarterback Cerasari leading the group with 38 rushing yards and the opening touchdown.
Cerasari scored on a quarterback sneak and gave the Vikings a lead with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Cerasari’s legs were a big part of the Vikings’ offense in the second half as well as they tried to regain the lead. Cerasari rushed for over 70 yards in the second half and helped the Vikings encroach into Raider territory, but the Raider defense held firm, never letting the Vikings enter the red zone. Cerasari finished the game with over 110 rushing yards.
“We just had to be more physical, you know,” Raider sophomore Colton Biddle said about the team’s halftime adjustments. “Coaches came in there [said] we had to be more physical, play with a higher intensity and that’s what we came out and did.”
The Viking defense was similarly stout against the Raider offense. The Vikings held the Raiders running game to short gains and tackled well in the secondary keeping the Raiders’ passing attack in check.
The Viking defense made a couple crucial stops late in the fourth quarter returning possession back to their offense for a chance at a game winning drive, but with little time remaining in the game the Vikings’ offense was forced into obvious passing situations. St. Elizabeth attempted seven passes in the final three minutes and all fell incomplete. Biddle broke up four of those pass attempts.
“I just knew what they were gonna do and I just stayed with my head, kept the intensity up and yeah I just had to put on for my team,” Biddle said after the game.
The Raiders have two games left to play this season and both are against district opponents. Concord will play Dickinson at home next Saturday and then travel to Brandywine High School for a Friday night matchup against the Bulldogs. Both the Raiders and Bulldogs are 3-0 in District One play this season, meaning should both teams win next week, their Week 10 matchup will determine the winner of District One. The winner of each district earns a top-seed in that class’ DIAA Tournament bracket and is guaranteed at least one home game in the tournament.
Concord’s next game against Dickinson will start at 10:30 a.m.
The Vikings also have two district opponents remaining on their schedule, McKean and A.I. duPont. St. Elizabeth’s next game against A.I. duPont will be on Friday, November 6, at 6:00 p.m. The game will be held at A.I. duPont High School.
Ryan Colasanti joins Delaware Live following four years at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism. There he covered multiple sports for the school’s radio station as both a reporter and editor. Ryan is excited to return back to the state and cover all things Delaware sports.
