St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Shane Palmateer has scored a number of touchdowns in his high school career, and he’s piled up many more tackles as one of the Saints’ true ironmen, starting at fullback and linebacker. But what he did last night in STAB’s 43-6 victory over Covenant, which will almost surely be the senior’s final game at home, was nothing short of tremendous.
“It was something to remember,” Palmateer said.
Clearly. Palmateer intercepted a ball and returned it for a touchdown in the first half, threw for a touchdown on a running back pass in the third quarter and finally rushed for a touchdown later in the third quarter of the rout. He’d joked around with head coach John Blake about the possibility of throwing the ball during the squad’s walkthrough.
“He said if I think of a play I’ll let you do,” Palmateer said. “I didn’t really know where I was throwing it and Dylan (Park) made a heck of a catch on that.”
Palmateer unleashed a 27-yard rainbow after rolling out to his right. Park, who’d completed a 25-yard pass to Miles Davis on a fake punt just a play earlier, leapt up and hauled down while battling tight coverage by Covenant’s cornerback. The play appeared to put STAB in complete control with a 24-0 lead.
STAB’s leading rusher Branford Rogers usually executes that play, a common part of the Saints’ gadget-filled playbook, but Rogers got knocked out of the game with a hip injury in the first half. Palmateer and Charles Sipe tag-teamed Rogers’ role at tailback after Rogers left the game. Palmateer rushed for 73 yards while Sipe did much of the heavy lifting with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 18 touches.
“Any time a player like Branford goes down, a leader and a huge part of our team everyone’s got to step up,” Sipe said. “When my number was called I just tried to make some plays.”
It’s the second year in a row that Sipe, the backup tailback and a starting defensive lineman, has gutted Covenant. He rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns last season when Rogers was also out with an injury against the Eagles.
Palmateer’s interception was the first of three in the first half for STAB as the Saints smothered Covenant’s passing attack. Park and Rob Schotta also had picks, though STAB failed to capitalize on the dominant defensive performance and left a lot of points on the board in the first half. Turnovers and an inability to finish drives — including the opening march where Covenant stuffed the Saints on fourth down inside the five after STAB recovered one of a slew of onside kicks in the game — prevented the Saints from carrying an overwhelming lead into halftime.
“We just weren’t executed,” Palmateer said. “We were in the red zone four times in the first half and didn’t get a touchdown and we can’t let that happen. We can’t afford to slip up on any opportunity that’s given to us.”
Covenant put itself in a deep hole before the break with the three interceptions, but the third quarter was a veritable nightmare for the Eagles, who just couldn’t get their hands on the ball. In a wild sequence during that frame, STAB pulled off the back-to-back trick plays which Covenant followed up with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Dominique Talley. On the ensuing kickoff Covenant attempted an onsides kick and Antione Currie corralled that one and raced in for a touchdown. STAB then attempted another onsides and recovered the ball. Two runs by Sipe later and the score was 37-6 with Covenant barely touching the ball.
“We were prepared for a lot of (the Saints’ gadget plays),” said Covenant coach Dave Rocco. “But he must come up with fix or six every week. You see so many on film and then something else comes up.”
Talley’s 90-yard kickoff return was the Eagles’ lone score. Covenant continues to ride a bit of a roller-coaster this year, though with only three seniors suiting up for the Eagles, that comes as little surprise. One of those seniors, Clark Crutchfield did make a tremendous play. The big lineman made a diving interception on a tipped ball near the line of scrimmage.
Covenant effectively moved the ball in the later stages of the game using a more single-wing style look that put the ball in freshman Tony Massie’s hands usually via a direct snap. Junior Jaime Gaston and Talley, a sophomore, also handled the ball in that set
“They’re a very young team and they’re going to be something to be reckoned with next year,” Palmateer said. “They’re very young and very athletic. They’ve got the potential to be a very good team.”
The Saints are fighting for their playoff lives, and with two games left they need victories in both to guarantee a spot in the VISSA Division 2 tournament. Beating Collegiate last week and Covenant Friday were good steps, but a major test comes next Saturday on the road against Christchurch, currently ranked number one and sporting an unblemished record.
