Dialog reporter
BEAR – Archmere and Caravel played football the night of Oct. 8 after a two-day delay, and for a half the Auks hung with the host Buccaneers. But Caravel opened the second half with a xx-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and the Bucs went on to a 35-9 victory.
On their first possession, Caravel used a steady diet of runs to march down the field. Mandela Montgomery was the featured back, and he ended the drive with an 11-yard run around right end, going untouched for the touchdown.
The Buccaneers doubled their lead after taking over at their own 22 with 1:49 left in the first quarter. A 47-yard pass from Jakob Hoffman to Brandon Sengphachanh was the big play, taking Caravel to the Auks’ 27. The teams changed ends as the first quarter ended, but in the first minute of the second, Hoffman fired a strike through the hands of an Archmere defender and into the hands of Joey Silan for the score.
The Auks’ offense, which had shown promise in the first half, finally broke through late in the second quarter. Quarterback Joseph DiGregorio kept the drive alive at one point by picking up five tough yards on a third-and-4. Connor Ruggieri, who had 69 yards rushing for the game, went for 11 on first down at the Bucs’ 26, and two plays later he plowed into the end zone from 14 yards out to cut the Caravel lead to 14-6 with 2:15 left on the clock.
After forcing Caravel to punt, Archmere got the ball back with a little over a minute to go in the half. The Auks were facing a fourth-and-2 near midfield, and they earned a first down on a fake punt as Dom Cipriano found Brady Dalton with a looping pass. After an incomplete pass, a pass interference call on Caravel put the Auks at the 24. DiGregorio rushed the ball to the 5-yard line, and as the clock expired, Matt Specht connected on a 22-yard field goal.
The fake punt was Archmere’s second of the game. Cipriano found Tim Rogers on a fourth-and-21 with the ball at the Auks’ 9. The play went for 56 yards.
It didn’t take long for the momentum to swing back in Caravel’s favor, as Jorden Veney took the opening kickoff of the second half 79 yards down the left sideline for a score that made it 21-9 Bucs. The Auks were forced to punt on their first possession of the quarter, and the Buccaneers made them pay as Ethan Potter caught a 51-yard scoring strike. The final points of the night came on a 16-yard run by Ethan DeRegis.
The Auks (3-2) will try to end their two-game skid against Delaware Military Academy on Saturday at noon at Baynard Stadium. Caravel (3-2) will travel on Friday to meet Howard (Md.) for an 8 p.m. start.
