St. Albans football found itself in unfamiliar territory in its IAC conference opener Thursday when Episcopal’s speedy running back Judah Ofori-Ansah took a screen pass 70 yards to the end zone on the first play of the third quarter to give the Maroon a 17-7 lead. In their first five games, all against non-conference opponents, the Bulldogs had been behind for less than 20 minutes of total game time and had never trailed by more than a touchdown. To make matters worse, starting sophomore quarterback Brett Pautskis was sidelined on the final drive of the first half with an injured ankle. After getting checked out and re-taped at halftime, Pautskis came back to lead two third quarter scoring drives sandwiched around a Nelson Pittman 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown that fueled a 24-17 STA victory.

 

Both teams entered the game with prolific passing attacks and high scoring offenses, but the biggest plays of the night were made on the defensive side of the ball. The first quarter featured sustained drives by each team that resulted in red zone defensive stops. St. Albans started the game with a 9-play, 36-yard drive that ended with a field goal attempt that came up just short. Episcopal then marched 73 yards to the STA seven where the Bulldog defense stiffened and held the Maroon to a field goal. After the teams exchanged punts, St. Albans started its fourth drive of the game on its own 46-yard line. Pautskis completed five of six passes on the drive, finishing with a 17-yard back shoulder toss to senior Christian Cherilus, who spun around to make the catch and got his foot down just inside the pylon with 6:01 left in the first half. Peter Prince converted the extra point to give STA a 7-3 lead. On the ensuing kickoff junior Rowan Banks made an outstanding tackle on Ofori-Ansah to pin the Maroon at their own 14. On first down, junior Zahir Cobb made a spectacular leaping one-handed interception on a deep ball at the Episcopal 45-yard line. But EHS got the ball back on the next play, intercepting a deflected pass.

 

Seniors Mark Oesterle and Rezin Wiegmann teamed up to sack the EHS quarterback on second down to force a long third down and eventual punt. The 53-yard EHS punt drove Cobb back to the STA 30-yard line and he fought for a five-yard return to the 35. After a one-yard run on first down, Episcopal’s Zion Allen returned an interception 56 yards to the STA one to swing momentum to the Maroon. Pautskis was injured on the play and Ofori-Ansah outraced the Bulldog defense to the corner of the end zone on the next play to give EHS a 10-7 lead with 1:59 left in the half. Pautskis was on the sideline being evaluated for the Bulldogs’ final possession of the half, which ended with another EHS interception. The Maroon received the opening kickoff and Ofori-Ansah put them up 17-7 with his first-down catch-and-run.

 

Facing their biggest deficit of the season the Bulldogs drove 53 yards to the Maroon 19-yard line highlighted by a 20-yard catch and run by senior Lacy Rice and tough running by junior Will Martin who picked up 20 yards on five carries during the drive. Prince nailed a 36-yard field goal to draw the Bulldogs to 17-10 with 6:57 left in the third quarter. The St. Albans defense produced its own heroics on the ensuing Episcopal drive. On second and one from the Maroon 43-yard line senior linebacker Kenny Dilanian, playing in his first game of the season after recovering from an injury, stuffed a run for no gain. On the next play, Oesterle sacked the EHS quarterback with a hard hit that jarred the ball loose. Pittman scooped up the fumble at the 33 and sprinted to the end zone. Prince’s extra point tied the score at 17.

 

On the ensuing kickoff Oesterle and sophomore Nick Hoffmann teamed up to pin the EHS returner at the Maroon 15. Cherilus had blanket coverage on a deep sideline throw on first down. Pittman and fellow junior Tyler Smith blew through their gaps on a second down run for a 5 yard loss. Then the swarming Bulldog defense stopped a third down hitch pass to force a punt. With the Bulldogs facing a third and two from the Maroon 41-yard line on the next possession, Martin took a handoff over left guard, cut back to the right hash to beat a Maroon defender, then followed a downfield block by Cobb to run into the left corner of the end zone and put STA up 24-17 with 1:35 left in the third quarter. Senior interior linemen Matthew Len, Clyde Eaton and Pavit George opened the initial hole and tackles Chris Solomon and Connor Mitchell sealed the linebackers to spring Martin, whose speed and elusiveness were on display.

 

Smith snuffed out a reverse for a 10-yard loss on Episcopal’s next possession and the Bulldogs forced another punt. St. Albans turned to Martin and his offensive line to milk the clock and protect the lead. He got the ball on four consecutive plays and five of six plays overall on the drive before a fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete. The STA defense stood strong again on the next drive. Dilanian and Smith stuffed a first down run at the Maroon 41. Pittman pressured the quarterback into an incompletion on third and nine and a fourth down pass over the middle was out of the reach of a well-covered Maroon receiver. Regaining possession at the EHS 45-yard line with 5:10 left the Bulldogs were determined to run out the clock. With the offensive line clearing the way Martin blasted away for 18 yards on three consecutive carries. Fellow junior Rowan Banks gave Martin a rest and gained four tough yards on the next two plays. Then Martin returned to close out the game with runs of 2, 3, and 6 yards.

 

After dropping their final non-league game on a last-second touchdown at St. Paul VI October 4, the Bulldogs had a short week to ready themselves for the IAC opener on Thursday. The teams met on the indoor field at The St. James sports complex in Springfield, VA as part of the facility’s popular Friday Night Lights High School Football series. Pittman was named the Sheehy Ford Defensive Player of the Game. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in IAC play. After a few days off, they will return to the practice field Monday to prepare for a Friday night showdown with Georgetown Prep. Kickoff is at 6:30pm at Prep.