First-year Covenant coach Seth Wilson had a lot to ponder when he called his third and final timeout with 2:07 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Trailing by four at St. Anne’s-Belfield, his squad had first-and-goal at the 2. In a second half that had seen two lead changes already, did the Eagles risk scoring too quickly and leaving too much time?
“To be honest, I don’t think anybody was too nervous,” said Covenant quarterback John Huemme. “It was less emotion and a lot more looking at what we needed to do. Do we need to leave time on the clock if we need to score again? Coach comes over and he draws it up almost like a sandlot play.”
He drew up several of them actually.
“I had to plan for four plays, and we were going to run that same play over and over again,” said Wilson. “At that point, it’s just about man-on-man, who wants it more, who’s willing to block harder? They just made plays, and it was really awesome to watch.”
Huemme and the Eagles’ offensive line needed only one play, as he barreled into the endzone on first down to put Covenant back on top, the gamewinning score in a 32-28 victory over the Saints.
“I was super stoked,” Huemme said, as his keeper capped a seven-play, 60-yard drive that started when Covenant held STAB on downs with 5:10 to play.
“That one was my bad,” said STAB coach John Blake of keeping the offense on the field for fourth-and-16. “We should’ve punted the ball and made them drive the length of the field. Now they might’ve driven it. The bottom line was that Huemme kind of took the game over.”
While Huemme broke the plane for his fifth touchdown on the night, Jonas Sanker and Jacob Smith also picked up big chunks on the series. Smith went for 25 yards on his only touch of the game when Huemme pitched it over at the last possible moment, while the STAB sideline and home crowd thought Covenant had been pinned back for third-and-long. Huemme reprised the touchdown play to deliver the Eagles’ first successful point-after conversion of the game, thereby swinging the Saints’ four-point lead into the same deficit.
“My mind was racing for all of the different possibilities and just trying to finish the game,” said Huemme as 2:01 still remained on the game clock.
STAB’s offense set to work at its own 29 and picked up nine yards with a pair of short passes. Then quarterback Chase Emmert looked deep for top target Myles Ward, who already had a pair of touchdown receptions.
“I know Myles and he’s a great player so I was a little nervous,” Huemme said. “I saw the ball go up and look and it’s Jonas guarding him. I was like, ‘Jonas: he’s going to make the play.’ And he did.”
The younger Sanker elevated in front of Ward and brought down the game-clinching interception, thus sealing a 32-28 Covenant victory. It was the program’s second-ever win over its cross-town VISAA foe, and the first on STAB’s campus.
“You couldn’t me more proud of a group of guys for fighting as hard as they did,” said Wilson in an emotional interview on the field after breaking the postgame huddle and sending his squad to celebrate with the white-clad Eagle student section. “It was a hard-fought battle. They played their tails off and just rose to another level…I’m having a hard time keeping it together because I’m just so proud of how hard they worked. I’m proud of our community and how much they came out to support us.”
A glance at the halftime stat sheet would have suggested a much larger STAB lead than the 12-6 margin on the scoreboard. The Saints outgained the Eagles 233-70 over the first 24 minutes, and Huemme was harassed to the tune of minus-16 yards rushing. He turned that red to black on Covenant’s first play of the third quarter when he popped off a 40-yard run. Four more keepers followed that covered 40 more yards, including a 23-yard touchdown to tie the game at 12. The Eagles’ grabbed their first lead after their next series as Huemme tallied his second touchdown through the air when he hit Jonas Sanker with a swing pass in the left flat. Sanker got around the corner and raced down the home sideline for a 57-yard touchdown.
STAB’s three third quarter possessions all reached at least the Eagles’ 40, but they came away empty. They started the half with a successful onside kick, but a 30-yard field goal attempt sailed just below the crossbar. After Huemme tied the game, the Saints were five plays into a drive when sophomore cornerback Nathan Weaver fell on a fumble as Emmert dove for a would-be first down at the 34. Trailing 18-12, the Saints picked up a couple of first downs on runs by Emmert and freshman running back Amani Woods before a deep shot was intercepted with 10 seconds left in the period. STAB had 66 yards of offense in the frame and two turnovers, while Huemme alone accounted for 145 (88 rushing, 57 passing) and two touchdowns.
STAB did engineer a momentum shift as the interception flipped field position with Covenant backed up at its own 2 yardline. On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Thomas Harry wrapped up Nic Sanker in the endzone for a safety. Mason Meulenberg returned the ensuing free kick inside the Eagles’ 30, and a penalty setup the Saints’ offense in the red zone. Woods picked up nine yards before sophomore fullback Joe Ambrosi ploughed in from five yards out to put STAB back on top. The Saints’ defense next forced Covenant’s only three-and-out of the second half, and the offense needed one play to extend the lead. Emmert hit freshman Gabe Decker for a 61-yard touchdown, the Saints’ sixteenth point in two-and-a-half minutes as the home crowd went wild with a 28-18 lead and 9:17 to go.
However, the ensuing kickoff proved disastrous. Covenant opted for a re-kick after the first bounced out of bounds. The second effort was returnable and the Eagles’ return unit took it back into STAB territory. A personal foul penalty along the Covenant sideline tacked on 15 more yards. Then, it was Huemme time, as he ran three times for 27 yards, including a 3-yard keeper to pull back within 28-24 with 8:30 remaining.
With an inclination that 28 points might not be enough to secure victory, STAB started at midfield on its next drive. Emmert picked up 15 yards to the Eagles’ 34 to convert a fourth-and-9, but then Covenant made back-to-back tackles-for-loss to setup third-and-16. Emmert’s pass fell incomplete, and then Blake rolled the dice on fourth down. Another incompletion setup Covenant for its winning drive.
“Playmakers have got to make plays, and I told them that we’ve got to just keep playing the right way,” said Wilson, as his team battled back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit in a venue where the program had never won. “There were some adjustments that we made to keep our leverage on all their ball carriers out there. We needed to wrap up and gang tackle. And we just need to keep it simple on offense.”
STAB junior playmaker Myles Ward exploded in the first half on both sides of the ball. STAB received the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in six plays. Ward made a 24-yard catch to convert third-and-4, and then hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass on third-and-3. Midway through the second quarter, Huemme was being pulled down deep in the backfield when the ball popped loose; Ward made a sliding recovery in the field of play headed toward the STAB sideline at the 21. Four plays later, he caught a 13-yard touchdown for a 12-0 lead. Most of Covenant’s first-half offense came on its ensuing possession when Huemme hit Nic Sanker streaking down the middle behind the secondary for a 47-yard touchdown.
Emmert finished 11-of-23 for 202 yards with three touchdowns and two picks. Ward was his top target with five receptions for 75 yards and two scores. Decker caught three for 78 yards. Woods led the team with 88 yards rushing on 18 carries. Emmert kept it 22 times for 83 yards.
Huemme completed 4-of-7 passes for 122 yards and rushed 19 times for 115 yards. Jonas Sanker added 37 yards on six carries and caught two passes for 71 yards.
Covenant (6-1) heads to Roanoke next Saturday to take on North Cross (5-1, pending Saturday afternoon’s outcome) in a huge battle for Division II playoff position. STAB (3-4) jumps back into 8-man action with a rematch against Hampton Roads Academy looming on Friday night, this time on the road.
