Rummel pummels St. Aug to earn third-seed in playoffs

Needing a victory to secure a double bye in the Division I playoffs, Archbishop Rummel had to deal with a motivated St. Augustine team trying to earn a home playoff game on its Homecoming with a big crowd on hand.

The Raiders handled the situation well, returning to the punishing running game and stout defense which the program has made its name on, downing the Purple Knights 38-14 at Tad Gormley Stadium Saturday afternoon in a game heard live on WGSO, 990 AM.

Rummel gashed St. Augustine for 299 yards rushing, including 100 by Jaelen Sturgis on 12 carries and 84 and a touchdown by Logan Diggs on 13 carries.

“Everything starts with our O-line,” Diggs said. “First and foremost, everything starts with practice. We practiced harder to make sure that we get this win to make sure that we get the third-seed and get a bye into the quarterfinals. The touchdown was a stretch play. Our two guards pulled. I ran out and I saw the safety and he was on top of one of our guards and I faked like I was going to cut outside and I went out, cut behind him and it was wide open.”

Donovan Kaufman set things in motion early for Rummel, interception a Trevon Woodson pass and returning it 53 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead.

No one’s catching him.

Donovan Kaufman PICK 6 @ArchRUMMEL @RummelFootball1

Rummel leads 7-0 over @StAugnola early on pic.twitter.com/V5Z2QBKsu5

— Jordan Liuzza (@jordanliuzza) November 3, 2018

“I read the route, had the proper coverage and I jumped it,” Kaufman said. “It feels good, better to win. I waited two years to play this game. I know a lot of people that play for their team and they beat us the last two years. My freshman year, I wasn’t really playing and I had to sit out last year with a concussion.”

After getting a stop, Rummel drove 58 yards in nine plays with Patrick Vanderbrook kicking a 29-yard field goal to give the Raiders a 10-0 lead with 3:01 to play in the first half.

St. Augustine bounced back, driving 76 yards in eight plays with freshman Justin Doyle scoring on a two-yard run to make it 10-7 with 11:44 to play in the first half.

Justin Doyle gets the 2-yard TD run for @StAugnola. It’s 10-7 — 2Q pic.twitter.com/ZUpPfR1Q9c

— Jordan Liuzza (@jordanliuzza) November 3, 2018

The Raiders responded with a 69-yard in 12 plays with senior quarterback Chandler Fields scoring a 13-yard quarterback draw to give Rummel a 17-7 lead by halftime. Fields leaped over a St. Aug defender on a brilliant run.

.@1chandlerfields hurdles a player, avoids tacklers for a 13-yard TD run to cap a 12-play, 69-yard drive.@ArchRUMMEL leads @StAugnola 17-7 at halftime. pic.twitter.com/VZsbw54BGX

— Jordan Liuzza (@jordanliuzza) November 3, 2018

The Raiders put the game away with a dominant third quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points.

Rummel drove 55 yards in eight plays with Logan Diggs scoring on a 15-yard run to give the Raiders a 24-7 lead with 6:29 to play in the third quarter before the Raiders added to the lead on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Fields to Amour Rachal to break it open at 31-7 with 3:49 to play in the period.

Kaufman put the game away with a 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown when Jordon Williams, who had a pair of sacks, forced a fumble by St. Augustine quarterback Kendell Sampson and it was 38-7 with 3:51 to play in the third quarter.

Big play—

DE Jordon Williams brings pressure, forces the fumble and @SosaKaufman scoops it up and runs it for his second defensive TD today @ArchRUMMEL @RummelFootball1 pic.twitter.com/L6t1uZD5WA

— Jordan Liuzza (@jordanliuzza) November 3, 2018

“Jordan made a good play, a strip-sack, and I saw the ball and scooped and scored,” Kaufman said.

The Purple Knights scored against Rummel reserves in the fourth quarter, driving 79 yards in five plays with Sampson connecting with Devin Coatney on a six-yard touchdown pass to complete the scoring.

Rummel (8-2, 5-1) forced three turnovers, including an interception by Gavin Holmes. The Raiders sacked St. Augustine quarterbacks five times.

“I thought our defense played well,” Rummel head coach Jay Roth said. “When you come up with three turnovers and two are returned for touchdowns, you are going to win. I was pleased with the way we ran the football. It is important to run the ball well and play defense if you want to win in the playoffs. This was important to us to get the third-seed and a double bye. We will take three days off, get everyone healthy and get back to work. We responded well. We knew they would be ready and play hard on Homecoming. I am pleased with the win.”

The Purple Knights used both Woodson and Sampson at quarterback. Sampson had the touchdown pass but lost the fumble while Woodson was picked off twice.

“Anytime you turn the ball over for touchdowns, then you get these type of results,” St. Augustine head coach Nathaniel Jones said. “The past two weeks, we’ve been turning the ball over way too much and that’s the results you are going to get. If you want to be an efficient, winning team, you cannot turn the ball over. At the end of the day, you’ve got to be disciplined and make plays when you have the opportunity. You can’t turn the ball over like that. If we turn it over like this in the playoffs, we’ll go home real quick. If we play like we play earlier in the season, we can win.”

Doyle led the Purple Knights with 13 carries for 71 yards.

St. Augustine will finish as the ninth or tenth-seed in Division I.

Final
RUM 10 7 21 0 38
SA 0 7 0 7 14

Scoring
1st Qtr.
RUM—Donovan Kaufman, 53-yard INT return (Patrick Vanderbrook kick) 7-0 RUM @ 9:06-1st
RUM—Patrick Vanderbrook, 29-yard field goal 10-0 RUM @ 3:01-1st

2nd Qtr.
SA—Justin Doyle, 2-yard run (Jaron Marks kick) 10-7 RUM @ 11:44-2nd
RUM—Chandler Fields, 13-yard run (Patrick Vanderbrook kick) 17-7 RUM @ :32-2nd

3rd Qtr.
RUM—Logan Diggs, 15-yard run (Patrick Vanderbrook kick) 24-7 Rum @ 6:29-3rd
RUM—Amour Rachal, 33-yard pass from Chandler Fields (Patrick Vanderbrook kick) 31-7 RUM @ 3:49-3rd
RUM—Donovan Kaufman, 40-yard fumble return (Patrick Vanderbrook kick) 38-7 RUM @ 3:51-3rd

4th Qtr.
SA—Devin Coatney, 6-yard pass from Kendell Sampson (Jaron Marks kick) 38-14 @ 8:51-4th

Final Statistics
First Downs
RUM 17
SA 12

Sacks
RUM 5
SA 0

Penalties
RUM 12 penalties for 109 yards
SA 6 penalties for 33 yards

Turnovers
RUM 0
SA 3

Rushing Yards
RUM 299
SA 106

Passing Yards
RUM 41
SA 109

Total Yards
RUM 340
SA 215

Individual Statistics
RUM Rushing
Jaelen Sturgis 13 carries, 100 yards
Logan Diggs 13 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD
Chandler Fields 4 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD
Alex Sider 5 carries, 29 yards
Kyle Walker 5 carries, 27 yards
Koy Moore 3 carries, 10 yards
Cole Trosclair 1 carry, 7 yards

RUM Passing
Chandler Fields 4-of-8 for 41 yards, 1 TD

RUM Receiving
Amour Rachal 1 catch, 33 yards, 1 TD
Koy Moore 3 catches, 8 yards

SA Rushing
Justin Doyle, 13 carries, 71 yards
Mahmoud Bailey 4 carries, 19 yards
Trevon Woodson 10 carries, 11 yards
Broderick Martin 1 carry, 3 yards
Kendell Sampson 2 carries, 2 yards

SA Passing
Trevon Woodson 4-of-8 for 51 yards, 2 INT
Kendell Sampson 5-of-8 for 58 yards, 1 TD

SA Receiving
Khi Mathieu, 1 catch for 15 yards, 1 TD
De’Andre Cooper 1 catch, 11 yards
Mahmoud Bailey, 2 catches, 50 yards
Broderick Martin 2 catches, 5 yards
Albert Quest 1 catch, 12 yards
Devin Coatney, 1 catch, 6 yards, 1 TD
Josh White, 1 catch, 9 yards