St. Anthony's rolls to 23rd straight win
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- It was prime position for St. Anthony's: first-and-goal at the Archbishop Stepinac 3. Prime position, that is, until Maston Ellerbe was tackled for a loss of a yard, and until Pete Carew's shovel pass to Ellerbe misdirected out of bounds for a 7-yard loss.
But these Friars -- still undefeated, though so very different from last season's team -- have a Teflon quality: slick and tough, all the more evident when teams turn up the heat.
On the play after the fumble, Carew hit a slipping, sliding Jack Poetzsch, who nestled the ball for an 11-yard touchdown and a 21-point lead in the second quarter, as St. Anthony's rolled to its 23rd straight win, 55-29, at White Plains High School Friday night.
"We can score quickly, run the clock down," Carew said. "We can do whatever we want."
Carew was 10-for-11 with 141 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing). Ellerbe scored two touchdowns, a 2-yard run with 1:02 left in the third and a dazzling 81-yard score on the first play after Tim Stackpole's second interception of the game gave St. Anthony's the ball to begin the fourth. He had 157 yards on 15 carries.
It was a meeting of upstarts against stalwarts, as Stepinac (4-1), which had a 16-game winning streak dating to its time in AA, faced the Friars (4-0), who despite being severely hobbled by injuries, have kept winning.
A glance through the most notable injuries, all to starters: Sean McDonagh (the original starting quarterback, out for the year); Dariyan Riley (running back, ankle) and Brian Sherlock (running back, ankle). Poetzsch, too, had to be escorted off with a right ankle sprain. He didn't return to the game.
But St. Anthony's has proved versatile. Six different players scored Friday, including Durelle Napier with a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown, two TDs by Anthony Anderson (77 yards on 14 carries) and another score by Brandon Lane.
"They showed their stuff tonight," Carew said. "But we weren't losing. We refuse. The only team who can beat us is ourselves."
