The Saints clinched their first playoff berth in 18 years with a 31-28 win over Maryland School for the Deaf on Saturday. The win ensured a spot in the tournament and the Saints still have a chance to play a first-round home game as well.
The Saints started quick on offense after receiving the opening kickoff. On the first play off the game Mike Lilley found Brandon Graves down the left sideline picking up 25 yards before being pushed out of bounds. On the very next play Lilley found Will Dulaney streaking down the left hash for a 34-yard touchdown strike to put the Saints on top less than 30 seconds into the game. Tony Wang's extra point made the score 7-0.
The Orioles wasted no time answering back, taking only two plays to get on the scoreboard themselves to cut the lead to 7-6. Before the first quarter ended the Saints were able to extend their lead when they put a drive together which featured a 31-yard touchdown connection from Lilley to Graves to make the score 14-6.
The Saints forced a punt on the next possession and the offense went to work again. This time the drive was capped off by Lilley finding Dulaney in the back corner of the endzone. The score stood at 21-6 midway through the second quarter.
The game felt firmly in control, but the Orioles were able to make some things happen late in the second quarter and scored two touchdowns to shrink the Saints lead to 21-20 at the half.
The second half started with a strong defensive stand by the Saints. One the ensuing offensive possession Tony Wang kicked a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-20. The Saints defense proved tough to move the ball on the rest of the third quarter. On offense, Nick Osbourne gave the Orioles defense everything they could handle. With great offensive line play up front, Osbourne carried the ball 24 times in the second half to wear down the Orioles defense. The Saints marched down the field eating up over 8 minutes on the clock their next possession, with Osbourne doing all the leg work. They capped off the drive when Osbourne plunged into the endzone from one yard out to push their lead to 31-20.
The Orioles weren't finished and answered back on their very next possession to cut the lead to 31-28 with under 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter. After a three-and-out on offense, the Saints defense took the field one last time to turn the Orioles over on downs and secure the win.
Offensively, Lilley completed 15 of 24 passes for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns. His favorite target on the day was Graves who caught 9 passes for 127 yards and 1 touchdown. Dulaney had 3 catches for 59 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Osbourne had his biggest offensive day as a Saint carrying the ball 30 times for 172 yards and 1 touchdown.
On defense, Dulaney led all tacklers with 9 on the day; he also had an interception. Graves and Griffing Patterson each chipped in with 8 tackles. Ibrahim Kazi had a big fumble recovery that led to one of the Saints touchdowns.
With the win the Saints move to 6-2 (4-1 Class 1A, District 1) on the year. Their next game is the annual Cannon Game against Tatnall, which the Saints have had in their possession since the 2018 season. Tatnall (5-3, 4-1 Class 1A, District 1) will visit the Saints on Saturday at 12:00 PM with home field advantage implications on the line.