SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. – Archbishop McCarthy’s game plan was clear from their first possession – get the ball to Jacob Baptiste and get out of the way. The sophomore sensation picked up where he left off last week, finding the end zone three times on the night for the Mavericks (2-1) in their 35-6 rout of the visiting Coral Glades Jaguars (2-1).
THE INFO: The Jaguars received the opening kickoff and were unable to move the ball outside of the McCarthy 20-yard line. Tight defense early forced a turnover on a botched toss and the Mavericks’ defense put them on the board just over a minute into the game, leading 7-0.
Taking over on the 50 after a Coral Glades punt, McCarthy drove down the field, led by Baptiste. The running back picked up a crucial third down conversion on the drive and was able to cap off the eight-play drive with a touchdown from six yards out.
The pressure from the Archbishop McCarthy front line found Coral Glades quarterback Cameron Brooks on the ground more often than not. Brooks received little protection in the pocket and the repetitive blindside hits that he took resulted in him taking a seat on the sideline late in the second quarter. Receiver Donovan Samuels (who played quarterback last season) replaced Brooks behind center.
The Maverick sideline held their breath late in the second when Baptiste went down with an injury. Rashad Dollar took his place in the backfield next to quarterback Quinn Dempsey, and the Mavericks lined up to go for it on fourth down. Dempsey’s hard count drew the Jaguars defense offside on fourth and short resulting in a first down.
Later in that same drive, the Mavericks opted not to punt on fourth down and the running attempt was stuffed well short of the first down marker but a costly horse-collar tackle call advanced the ball 15 yards and Baptiste scored on the very next play, up the middle for 16 yards to put his team up 21-0.
With less than 30 seconds on the clock, a botched punt by the Jaguars set up the Mavericks deep in the red zone with an opportunity to go up 28, and that they did. Dempsey found receiver Logan Giordano in the end zone for the score.
Following the point after attempt, the two teams got in a fight near the end zone. The cause was unclear but the result of the incident was the ejection of two Archbishop McCarthy players and a penalty against Coral Glades.
In the second half, Jesse Cross Rivera was subbed in for Dempsey at quarterback and finished the game there.
The only scoring play of the game for the Jaguars was a 98-yard kickoff return by Samuel Oshodi who went nearly untouched up the middle. Oshodi returned a punt for a touchdown in last week’s win over Pompano Beach.
The Jaguars inability to stop the Mavericks on third and fourth down was instrumental in the 35-6 loss.
KEY PLAY OF THE GAME: After Coral Glades was unable to move the ball inside their own 20, the Mavericks took over with less than 30 seconds on the clock and were able to extend their lead to 28 points before the first half came to a close on a Logan Giordano receiving touchdown from Quinn Dempsey.
STAR OF THE GAME: Jacob Baptiste has been sensational for the Mavericks through two games and he continued his stretch of excellence Friday night. Baptiste scored three times on the night and now has seven rushing touchdowns through just three games. At the rate that Baptiste is being handed the ball, it appears he will be able to keep up this pace as the season wears on.
DID YOU KNOW: With the graduation of Anthony Rey, the Mavericks backfield was a huge question mark for the Archbishop McCarthy offense. Willie Davis was expected to fill the void, but transferred out of the school to Miami Central last year. Coach Walker was looking for someone to step up in the running back role and Baptiste has done just that through three weeks.
QUOTABLE: “We’re still a young team, we’re doing things better every week, trying to get a little better blend in our offense,” Archbishop McCarthy head coach Byron Walker said. “Tonight what I was pleased with was that we got a faster start [than previous games], we’ve been starting pretty slow and I challenged the team to start faster.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Up next on the schedule for Archbishop McCarthy is a trip to face Pembroke Pines Charter (0-3), who are coming off of a 17-7 loss to Coral Springs Charter. As for the Jaguars, they will return home next week to host Calvary Christian (3-1), who are coming off their first loss of the season at the hands of Westminster Academy.
