The Saints took the field Friday against the First State Military Academy Bulldogs, who came into the game undefeated on the season. The Saints knew that the game was a chance to show Delaware what type of team they were. A strong team defensive performance got the day going for the Saints, and came up big late in the game as well.
Midway through the first quarter, after a perfect punt by Theo Jaffe ’19 pinned the Bulldogs on their own one yard line, Mason McKee ’21 came up with the first big play for the Saints. On a third down play it appeared the Bulldogs were on their way to pick up a first down until McKee hit the ball carrier and ripped the ball out as they were going to the ground. This set up the Saints with a 1st-and-goal at the Bulldogs' 10 yard line, where Micah Turpin ’19 took a hand-off on the first play and barreled over Bulldog defenders to put the Saints on the board first. Jaffe's extra point put the Saints up 7-0.
However, the Bulldogs were not going to go down without a fight, and answered on their next possession with a drive capped off by a three-yard touchdown run to even the game at 7-7 as the first quarter came to a close.
From there the Bulldogs got a heavy dose of Turpin and Adrian Watts ’20, while the Saints defense made a host of big defensive plays. On a key third down Watts dropped back and found Alex Maruszewski ’20 deep down the middle of the field for a 41 yard pick up down to the Bulldogs 18 yard line. From there Jaffe got behind center and found Watts on a slant, and Watts then maneuvered through the middle of the defense and dove into the endzone to put the Saints back on top 13-7, the score they would take into halftime.
To open the second half, Watts wasted no time in extending the Saints lead. He caught the opening second half kickoff at the 24 yard line, and weaved his way to the left sideline where he found a hole and took off for a 76 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. This put the Saints up 19-7 just 14 seconds into the second half. The Saints defense then held their ground and got the ball back for the offense. On the next possession Watts again dropped back to pass and found Turpin down the right sideline for a 43 yard touchdown pass to put the Saints up 26-7.
The defense again proved to be too much for the Bulldogs as McKee undercut a slant on the next possession and picked off a pass and returned it to the Bulldogs 41 yard line. On the first play for the Saints, Turpin took a handoff and sprinted around the right side of the defense for a 41 yard score. The Saints took a 32-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
Tim Odutola ’20 also came up big on the defensive side of the ball, pulling in two second-half interceptions. Brandon Graves ’22 also gave the Bulldogs offense fits by pressuring the quarterback all day and tallying two big sacks on the day. Possibly the most impressive part of the day was after Odutola's second interception, when the Saints took over on their own 32 yard-line with exactly nine minutes left. The Saints would not give the ball back to the Bulldogs as they methodically marched the ball down the field for the final nine minutes of the game to seal the win.
The quarterback duo of Watts and Jaffe had an extremely efficient day as they completed 8 of 12 passes for 149 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Watts added 56 yards rushing, 27 yards receiving and his aforementioned receiving touchdown and 76 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Turpin carried the ball 15 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns and added 3 receptions for 77 yards and one touchdown. McKee set the tone on defense with 11 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and an interception. Graves had 8 total tackles, 4 going for a loss, and two sacks. Odutola had two key interceptions.
Video highlights from the game can be viewed via DelawareOnline.
The Saints are next in action this Saturday against another undefeated opponent in the Academy of the New Church who is 6-0 on the year. Kickoff is at 2:00 P.M. at Academy of the New Church.