On Friday September 7th the Saint Anthony’s Friars took on the Delbarton Green Wave from New Jersey in their season home opener on the new Cy Donnelly Turf Field. The Friars were looking for a strong start to get the season off on the right track, and did with a 34-17 win.
In the opening moments of the game Senior Jamel Joyner had a 47-yard pick six. The ball bounced off the hands of a Delbarton wide receiver and fell right into the arms of Joyner as he took it all the way to the house. Missing the PAT, SA was on the board first, 6-0. The pick six fired up the home crowd, as the the strike right back on their first offensive series with a 77-yard touchdown by Senior Kyle Angus. Angus, running out of the backfield right up the middle connected with quarterback Senior Greg Campisi quick pass and he was off to the races. The Friars converted the two-point conversion to go up 14-0. Senior Nick Espada had an interception late in the first quarter securing the 14-0 lead.
Fearing the game was getting out of hand, Delbarton knew they needed to score and that’s exactly what they did. They scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass and was back in the game. The Friars answered right back scoring on a 66-yard touchdown pass to Senior Danny Parker. It was a strong spiral by Campisi hitting Parker right on the numbers, who made a great cutback to shake the defender. The Friars would miss their second PAT of the night. Delbarton would add 3 on a 37-yard field goal making the score 20-10 at the half.
The Friars took the opening kickoff of the second half and returned it 60 yards giving them excellent field position. SA would add 7 more on a 1-yard run from Angus. Delbarton would answer right back with a touchdown on a 1 yard quarterback draw. The third quarter would end with the Friars up 27-17.
The Friars would put the game away in the 4th on an 82-yard touchdown run by Senior Makai Murphy. Murphy ran a slant route over the middle and absolutely burned the Delbarton secondary. The Friars PAT closed out the scoring, winning 34-17.
Campisi finished the game completing 11 of 18 passes, throwing for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was dominant in his season debut and will look to keep this play up all season long. He also had 30 rushing yards.
Running back Angus rushed for 24 yards and had 2 catches for 105 yards scoring 2 touchdowns. The top receiver for the game was Parker totaling 110 yards on 5 catches and a touchdown. Murphy had 1 catch for 82 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball Espada and Joyner both had interceptions.
The Friars next game is on the road against arch rival Chaminade on Saturday September 15th at 1:30pm. Come out and support the team on this important early season road game.
About The Author:
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Alex Rocco Alex Rocco is a junior at St. Anthony’s High School, writing for his third year with the Friar Scoreboard. He hopes to have a career in Sports Management and Media one day. He is also a member NHS, SALT, Friar Faithful, Special Needs Ministry and Franciscan Youth Ministry. |
