BOCA RATON – Archbishop Carroll, the visitors from Miami, marched off the Saint Andrew’s football field, deliberately avoiding the traditional handshake line.
Maybe the sixth-seeded Bulldogs wanted to get out of Boca Raton as quickly as possible before they could get scored upon again.
The monster season continued on Jog Road as third-seeded Saint Andrew’s racked up 41 points in the first half and cruised to a 54-20 rout over Archbishop Caroll in a Region 4-1A quarterfinal contest on Friday, Nov. 14.
The Scots, who moved to 10-1, scored on every possession and added two kickoff returns for touchdowns with Notre Dame commit Dylan Faison (90 yards) and Boston College commit Wesley Winn (62 yards) hitting special-teams paydirt. The duo in black and red combined for six touchdowns Friday.
“We got two of the best athletes in the area in Dylan Faison and Wesley Winn,’’ Saint Andrew’s coach Jimmy Robertson said. “Anytime they touch the ball, they’re going to be explosive. We game-planned specials team for them to get the ball kicked to them. When you have Power 4 players, you try to get them the ball.’’
Faison scored three first-half touchdowns in three different ways – an end-around jet sweep, a reception and a 90-yard kickoff return. Faison had four touchdowns in all, scoring for the final time in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard grab that capped a 99-yard drive. Faison finished with close to 300 all-purpose yards.
“It says a lot about the trust the coaches have in us to let us execute those plays,’’ Faison said
Next week, the Scots will travel to Miami to face second-seeded True North in the regional 1A semifinals.
“They got a lot of talent on their football team,’’ Archbishop Carroll coach Jorge Zagales said. “They’ve been putting that team together for a long time. They should make a good run in the playoffs.’’
Asked about his decision not to have his players shake hands with the Scots, Zagales said, “I don’t want to talk about that.’’
As Archbishop Carroll’s player were almost through the gates, the players from Saint Andrew’s waved them goodbye and started cheering them.
Roberston didn’t appreciate his players’ taunting reaction and reprimanded them during the post-game talk.
“It was a hard-fought game but I don’t know why they didn’t want to (shake hands),’’ Robertson said. “I didn’t like how my team stooped to that level waving to them and clapping. I don’t like that stuff.’’
It was a game filled with trash-talking as St. Andrew’s roared to a 27-0 lead late in the first quarter. The Scots scored 57 seconds into the game and padded two touchdowns in the final minute of the first period.
The chippiness led to a few personal-foul penalties and post-whistle shoving matches.
“You play a long game, there’s a level of respect and sportsmanship,’’ Faison said. “You come out and shake hands with your opponents. There were issues on the field. They made a decision. It’s OK with what they did.’’
After sixth-seeded Archbishop Carroll finally got on the board in the second quarter, it gave it right back on one of the worst onside kicks of the millennial. Positioned perfectly, Winn caught the short bloop kick and scampered 62 yards for a touchdown for 34-7 second-quarter lead. In the second half, Winn hauled in a 43-yard touchdown catch.
“We scored every drive,’’’ Winn said. “Just very explosive. Credit to our coaches.’’
Because Archbishop Carroll runs a Wing-T, passing only three times all night, Robertson decided not to play Winn and Faison in the defensive backfield.
“We knew we weren’t going to play defense because of the Wing T so we wanted to maximize every time we touched the ball,’’ said Winn, who moved from San Francisco this year to join Saint Andrew’s. “That’s what we did.’’
Quarterback Jack Williams was stellar as well with three touchdown passes and a running score of his own.
Faison scored two of the first-quarter touchdowns – the first one on a 24-yard burst on an end around that capped a three-play, 48-yard drive. The score came after Faison returned the short opening kickoff 25 yards into Archbishop Carroll territory.
The second touchdown drive was a masterpiece – a 25-year Faison catch-and-run, a 15-year completion from quarterback Williams to Winn, a 14-yard run by bullish Remi DeOrsey to the 1-yard line. DeOrsey barreled in on the next play for a 14-0 lead.
Williams then used his legs on a third straight drive that ended in the Bulldogs end zone. Williams lit it up on 14-yard scramble deep into Archbishop Carroll territory, then got into the end zone on a 9-yard scramble with 53 seconds left in the opening session.
“It was great night team-wise,’’ Faison said.
Winn recovered the ensuing muffed kickoff at the 20. On the drive’s first play, Faison hauled in a 20-yard touchdown catch with 39 seconds left in the opening quarter and it was 27-0 with three quarters left of garbage time.
St. Andrew’s lost focus on defense and let Bulldogs big quarterback/running back Dylan Galadza loose on a handful of big runs. That kept this landside from becoming a running-time scenario (35-point bulge). But it was 41-14 at halftime, the scoring capped by Faison’s 90-yard kickoff return.
Robertson will let his player sleep “late’’ and stage a 9 a.m. Saturday practice with True North looming. (Normal practice time on Saturdays is 8 a.m.).
It still sticks in Robertson’s mind that in the second playoff game last November, Saint Andrew’s was drubbed 70-0 by Chamindade. Robetson said he looks at photos of that 70-0 scoreboard often to remind him of what can’t happen again.
“True North is a great team,’’ Winn said. “We definitely have to do a great job of watching film and practicing and come out like we did today.’’
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dylan Faison, Wesley Winn fuel Saint Andrew’s football in playoff opener
