St. Augustine relies on defense to down McDonogh 35, 24-13

NEW ORLEANS – The first game of the season is always a challenge.

From the stifling heat to the growing pains of learning on the job, it often produces a bit of a ragged overall performance.

While the offenses were ragged, the defenses were rabid at Tad Gormley Stadium Saturday night. In the end, the St. Augustine defense was a tick better as the Purple Knights downed rival McDonogh 35 by a 24-13 margin in a battle of Gentilly in a game heard on 106.1 FM NASH ICON.

The Purple Knights forced three turnovers and produced five sacks in a terrific effort to overcome a brilliant effort by the Roneagles defense.

The tone was set early by senior linebacker Taiwan Berryhill.

The Kansas commit picked off a Demond Pratt pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to give the Purple Knights a 7-0 lead with 4:54 to play in the first quarter.

“I was in position and saw where he was going with the ball and just made the play,” Berryhill said. “It felt good to make the play. I could have made another one later but it was good to get one.”

The defense came through again in the second quarter when Future Lee Jr. recovered a fumble at the McDonogh 35 ten yard line. Jaron Marks capitalized, kicking the first of two 25-yard field goals to make it 9-0 with 9:33 to play in the half.

After a botched snap on a punt attempt, St. Augustine got the ball at the Roneagles’ six-yard line. Marks kicked the second of his 25-yard field goals to make it 12-0 with 6:30 to play in the half.

Just before halftime, the McDonogh 35 offense awakened, driving 61 yards in eight plays, taking 5:06 off the clock with Pratt connecting with Desmond Carriere on an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 12-7.

The Roneagles took their first and only lead to start the third quarter, driving 60 yards in nine plays, taking 6:22 off the clock with Steveland Williams scoring on a 25-yard touchdown run to make it 13-12 after the extra point was blocked.

The St. Augustine special teams then came up with a big play as Joshua Alexander recovered a fumbled punt at the 33-yard line of McDonogh 35. Three plays later, Kendell Sampson hit Jaheim Walters with a seven-yard touchdown pass to give the Purple Knights an 18-13 lead with 3:39 to play in the third quarter.

Mahmoud Bailey put the game away with a six-yard touchdown run with 2:40 remaining to account for the final margin of victory.

“It was a team effort,” Berryhill said. “I am really confident in our team. Our players have my back. We have a chance to be a really good team.”

While the victory was sweet, St. Augustine coach Nathaniel Jones knows his team must improve.

“I have mixed emotions,” Jones said. “I didn’t think we played as well as we needed to on offense. We got in the red zone a few times and settled for field goals. We made too many mental mistakes. We didn’t dominate the line of scrimmage like we should but give credit to 35 and Coach Wayne Reese. His team played well.”

Sampson finished 9-of-20 for 78 yards while Walters had three catches for 50 yards and the touchdown. Bailey rushed 11 times for 27 yards and a touchdown.

St. Augustine won despite accumulating just 113 yards of offense.

Williams rushed 17 times for 67 yards and a touchdown while reserve quarterback Manual Armstrong completed 5-of-6 passes for 56 yards.

McDonogh 35 coach Wayne Reese knows why his team fell short.

“Our offense did not produce,” Reese said .”Our execution was not there. We made too many mistakes. We put ourselves in bad positions. I’m trying to find an answer with our two quarterbacks. We’ve got Karr next Thursday. We’ve got to regroup. Our kids need to feel good about themselves. I thought our defense played great. Our defense was really good. We have a ton of juniors. We hurt ourselves throughout. I think we will be okay down the line.”

It only gets tougher for McDonogh 35 as the Roneagles have a short week before facing powerful Karr next Thursday night.

“I think the schedule we’ve got keeps the kids spirit high,” Reese said. “The kids want to show what they can do. We know the challenge in front of us. We want to prove that we can compete with them and we understand they are the three-time defending state champions. They have a super program. If we cut down on our offensive mistakes, we can compete with them.”

St. Augustine battles Landry-Walker next Saturday night at Tad Gormley at 7 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast live on 106.1 NASH ICON.

“They say the biggest improvement is from week one to week two so I am counting on it,” Jones said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We were not as good on certain fronts and pretty good on others.”

Final
SA 6 6 6 6 24
McD 35 0 7 6 0 13

1st Quarter
SA—Taiwan Berryhill, 14 yard INT return (kick failed) 6-0 SA @4:54-1st

2nd Quarter
SA—Jaron Marks, 25 yard FG 9-0 SA @ 9:33-2nd
SA—Jaron Marks, 25 yard FG 12-0 SA @ 630-2nd
McD—Desmond Carriere, 11 yard pass from Demond Pratt (David Green kick) 12-7

3rd Quarter
McD—Steveland Williams, 25-yard run (kick blocked) 13-12 @ 6:38-3rd
SA—Jaheim Walters, 7-yard pass from Kendell Sampson (run failed) 18-13 @ 3:39-3rd

4th Quarter
SA—Mahmoud Bailey, 6-yard run (kick failed) 24-13 @ 2:40-4th

Final Statistics
First Downs: SA 6, McD 12
Turnovers: SA 1, McD 3
Sacks: SA 5, McD 1
Penalties: SA 10 for 81 yards, McD 11 for 68 yards

Rushing Yards:
SA 35, McD 93

Passing Yards:
SA 78, McD 99

Total Yards:
SA 113, McD 191

Individual Rushing:
SA—Mahmoud Bailey 11 carries for 27 yards and 1 touchdown, Justin Doyle 3 carries for 8 yards, Kendell Sampson 6 carries for 0 yards

McD—Steveland Williams 17 carries for 67 yards and 1 touchdown, Ashton Jones 4 carries for 14 yards, Raymond Foreman 2 carries for 11 yards, Manuel Armstrong 2 carries for 7 yards, Demond Pratt 8 carries for -6 yards

Individual Passing:
SA—Kendell Sampson 9-of-20 for 78 yards

McD—Demond Pratt 4-of-17 for 43 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, Manuel Armstrong 5-of-6 for 56 yards

Individual Receiving:
SA—Jaheim Walters 3 catches for 50 yards and 1 touchdown, Mahmoud Bailey 2 catches for 16 yards, August Banks Jr. 1 catch for 12 yards, Khi Mathieu 1 catch for 9 yards, Albert Quest V 1 catch for -2 yards

McD—Dwayne Dales 2 catches for 28 yards, Desmond Carriere 2 catches for 19 yards and 1 touchdown, Claudell McDonald 1 catch for 16 yards, Renwick Doyle 1 catch for 9 yards, Paul Ellsworth 1 catch for 9 yards, Steveland Williams 1 catch for 25 yards