Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – Salesianum let St. Mark’s hang around for the first quarter of the rivals’ annual Holy War football matchup on Nov. 11, but the Sals asserted themselves in the second quarter, scoring 24 points on the way to a 31-0 shutout at a crowded Baynard Stadium. The win in the season finale improved the Sals’ record to 7-3 and they will find out this weekend their first-round Division I playoff opponent and where they will play.
Neither team could generate much offense in the first quarter, as the Sals and Spartans kept the ball on the ground most of the time. Salesianum stopped St. Mark’s best drive of the first quarter deep in Sals territory, forcing a punt that would lead to the game’s first points.
Taking the ball at their own 17 with 4:39 to go in the first, the Sals unleashed a passing game that complemented their running game well. Nick Merlino ripped off a 14-yard run on a third down, and quarterback Zach Gwynn followed with his first completion, hitting Logan Bushweller on a crossing pattern that would go for 24 yards to the Spartans’ 47.
On the first play of the second quarter, the Sals found themselves facing a fourth-and-2 at the Spartans’ 30-yard line. This time, Gwynn connected with Bushweller down the right sideline for 29 yards, and Josh Patrick took it in on the next snap for the 7-0 lead.
After forcing St. Mark’s to go three and out, Salesianum embarked on a 57-yard drive that doubled the lead. This time, it all came on the ground, with Gwynn finishing the drive on a five-yard keeper.
The rushing attack is the Sals’ bread and butter, said senior lineman Zeb Wright.
“We trust our backs. We just put the team on our backs and pave the way for them. They just have to follow through,” he said.
St. Mark’s again could not generate any offense and was forced to punt. Gwynn hit Liam Mulvena for 15 yards to the Spartans’ 23, and Patrick scored again, going untouched off left tackle on the next play to make it 21-0. They scored once more after a punt, with Cooper Urban drilling a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The big plays included a 43-yard run by Merlino, along with a pass interference penalty on the Spartans that put the Sals within striking distance.
Michael DiNardo scored the final touchdown for Salesianum, going in from two yards out on a speed sweep with 9:30 remaining in the game. That capped a 75-yard drive.
Patrick and Merlino were the primary rushing weapons for Salesianum, but the Sals also gave a significant number of carries to Peyton Mullin, Garrett Million and Joseph Wesselman.
St. Mark’s (6-4) did generate some offense in the second half, although they were not able to score. Mikey Drake intercepted a pass at the Sals’ 5-yard line to end one threat, and in the closing minutes, the Spartans got as close as two yards from the end zone, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
The Spartans will now wait until the dust settles among the teams fighting for the eighth and final Division II playoff spot to find out if their season will be extended. Brackets should be announced Sunday.
If Salesianum holds on to the fourth spot in the six-team Division I playoff party, it would host a first-round matchup next weekend against the fifth seed. Wright said the team will be ready to go.
“Once we find out who we’re playing, we’ll figure out their schemes and look at their films. We’ll just stick to what we do always: work hard. And if we block our man and all do our job, we’ll be fine,” he said.
“We’re feeling good,” he continued. “I really think that the Middletown, William Penn and Smyrna losses stuck with us. As a team, we became closer and closer. We’ll be ready for the first round, hopefully the second round and at UD.”
