All finally was well for the Bishop O’Connell Knights, and the result was the team’s first victory of the football season.
In the third week of the high-school campaign, host O’Connell (1-2) defeated the winless St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Saints, 38-12, the afternoon of Sept. 13 in non-conference private-school action.
In the win, the Knights had no turnovers, which were multiple and costly in the team’s prior two losses against teams still undefeated (each 3-0) at this point. Plus, once that third game began, most of the players seemed to have recovered after various illnesses spread through the team in previous days, causing some to miss practice.
“It was one of those weeks when so many were sick. Pretty much, today, most of the players were OK,” O’Connell coach Todd Sabatino told ARLnow.
Going forward, Sabatino hopes the victory gives the Knights both confidence and momentum, as the team’s schedule is a bit more favorable for the next four games.
In the victory over the Saints (0-2), O’Connell won behind a dominating, ball-control and power running game that amassed 234 rushing yards. Knights’ quarterback Ryan Turpin was efficient in the nine passes he threw, completing seven for 56 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, O’Connell caused three turnovers, one a 71-yard interception return for a TD by Zander Schied. Kai Molter intercepted another pass he returned 34 yards, and had a sack; James Fatzinger recovered a fumble; and Eli Moran and Nolan White had sacks.
Moran and Jayden Campbell had tackles for losses. Among other tackling leaders were Jon Tyler and Josh Taliaferro.
The O’Connell defense had a big first-half stop when the Saints had a first-and-goal but failed to score, with Moran having a key third-down sack and Campbell a tackle for a loss on second down.
“We played well today and got the job done,” said Taliaferro, who proved versatile in the win by playing multiple positions. “We really needed this win and we needed to play well like we did. Hopefully this sets a tone.”
The senior was a running back and tight end on offense, a linebacker on defense, and on special teams punted and kicked off. He was a place-kicker because the starter was sick and missed the game.
“My legs cramped up a few times in the game, but I made it through,” Taliaferro said.
On offense, Taliaferro rushed for 45 yards, mainly on physical inside carries, and scored on a run of three yards. He caught one pass for five.
The Knights’ leading and busiest rusher was Pierce Hall with 112 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown run, on 15 carries.
Schied also got into the act on offense, catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Turpin. Nick Morris scored O’Connell’s other TD on a 26-yard run. He ran for 55 yards in the win. Also, Moran rushed for 34 and Campbell for 14.
“That’s the way we have designed and want to run the ball,” Sabatino said. “We ran by committee today. We had some receivers make good catches.”
Xavier Reid led the team in catches with three for 21. Fatzinger, Schied and Jacob Geisler caught a pass each.
Jack Wall booted two extra points for O’Connell, Hall ran for a pair of two-point conversions, with Turpin passing to Geisler for another.
Sabatino credited O’Connell’s offensive line of Kellen Hicks, Nolan White, Daniel Erickson, Mateo Quiroz, Tyler Mcmanus and Ariston Kroeger for strong play.
NOTE: The Knights enjoyed success running the ball despite losing starting and speedy running back Anthony Pham to a season-ending injury in their previous game. Pham ran for 190 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown, in O’Connell’s season-opener against Washington-Liberty.
