With Patrick Henry hoping to end the season with yet another comeback victory at home, and ensure a home playoff game, St. Augustine defensive captain Mark McRoskey stepped up in a big way.
McRoskey intercepted quarterback Kevin Farley in the end zone to prevent a possible overtime and preserve a 31-24 victory for the Saints.
“I told them it was going to be a battle because Henry has done a great job with their offense this year and we just had to pick it up,” said St. Augustine coach Jerry Ralph. “Whoever wanted it the most at the end was going to win this game.”
The interception ended an explosive second half that featured scores on the first six drives of the third quarter. It seemed as though every time St. Augustine was able to translate great field position into points, Patrick Henry would answer.
The Saints gave sophomore quarterback Evan Crower all day to throw to his favorite target, Alan Aguilar.
Crower carried the offense, completing 11 passes to Aguilar for 100 yards and a touchdown. Crower marched through the Patriots' defense, going 35-for-57 for 334 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
“He's the number one sophomore quarterback in the state and he's only going to get better,” Ralph said. “We just got him to calm down in the second half and shorten his stride.”
Crower came into the game with 25 touchdown passes to only seven interceptions. His only turnover occurred on a fumble after a 3-yard run. Running back Anthony Cometa had 22 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown while adding a receiving touchdown.
Patrick Henry kept the ball in the air despite the ability of senior running back William Dabbert. Dabbert rushed for two touchdowns but only carried the ball seven times for 52 yards as the Patriots put the game in the hands of Farley.
“We felt our best matchup was our receivers against their secondary. Overall, that's a pretty tough defense to run against,” Patrick Henry coach Mike Williams said.
With the victory, the Saints expect to enter the playoffs with a sixth seed. Williams believes that six wins would still get the Patriots a home playoff game.
