When you connect on an old school, drop kick extra point, odds are good you’re having a pretty good night.
In the fourth quarter, St. Anne’s-Belfield coach John Blake yelled from the sideline for STAB placekicker Patrick Blake to “try the drop kick.” The younger Blake took the snap, dropped the ball and kicked it a split second after it hit the ground. He knocked it through, the final point in a 56-13 dismantling of Virginia Episcopal by the Saints.
Blake said it was the third time in his tenure at STAB that they’d had their kicker try a drop kick and the first time that the Saints converted.
On senior night a sophomore, Cameron Carr, helped ignite the Saints, scoring a pair of first half touchdowns including a 71-yard sprint down the sideline that put STAB up 21-0 in the second quarter. Carr finished with five carries for 102 yards, stepping up in a big spot for a STAB backfield that has suffered a spate of injuries, Javon Johnson and John Woodson chief among them.
“The thing about Cam is he’s been around since seventh grade so we kind of know him and we know he can do it,” said STAB coach John Blake. “For him it’s a confidence thing and last week was a big confidence builder for Cam and he came out and did really well for us tonight.”
Carr scored and kept the chains moving late in last week’s game against Covenant, opening the door for the opportunity to get more touches for the Saints.
Carr provided enough of a ground game to open things up for Jalen Harrison in the passing game where Harrison was a perfect 6 for 6 for 150 yards and three touchdowns, two to Campbell Miller and another to Chris Barry. Harrison’s first touchdown to Miller came from 39 yards out, a tremendous toss on a well run pattern by Miller to the front pylon of the endzone. That play put the Saints up 28-0 and gave Miller, a key senior, a solid memory on Senior Night.
“All of our seniors deserve it but that was great,” Blake said. “That was a great play, I’m so proud of Campbell and all these guys, it was fun. This was just a fun night tonight.”
Kareem Johnson had a tremendous all around night, catching a touchdown pass from Patrick Blake while also finishing with nine total tackles, three of them for a loss. Reserve running back Jackson Mullins rushed seven times for 54 yards to close the door on VES.
The win puts STAB on a collision course with the Blue Ridge School next Saturday at 2 p.m. with a home playoff game at the very least on the line.
